Public Domain Clay how the Public Domain can aid creation

 

Political poster produced by the German Social Democratic Party,
"Give your vote to us! And protect this house!"

 

I've been playing an addictive game called Social Democracy and Alternative history (SDA), it's a game where you try to stop the rise of Hitler. The game is on Itch.io and can be played in browser here, and my review of the game can be read here. The reason I'm writing about that game on this blog is because in addition to its many plus points as a game, it is an excellent example of what's possible thanks to the public domain.

The game's setting is historical and its "characters" were real people, it also uses artwork and recordings from the period to set the scene and build up the world. This game is one of my favourites for this year, and it would not exist if copyright had an even stronger hold on art than it does currently. It was made by one person using an open source game engine (Dendry Nexus) and materials that are out of copyright, and is released under another the MIT licence. The public domain has a bad reputation, associated with B-movie schlock and amateur efforts, I don't think that's entirely fair, but it is the reputation it has, so I'm happy we also get games like SDA that elevate the concept and show its potential in a more impressive manner.

Music credits:

Choir. English:  The Internationale in German. 19XX. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXKr4HSPHT8, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Internationale-de.ogg. CC-BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

CNT. A Las Barricadas (Instrumental). 17 June 2014. http://www.cnt.es/, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_las_barricadas_(Instrumental).ogg. CC-BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

Columbia Orchester and Mendelssohn. Fruhlingslied. Columbia, 1917. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/78_fruhlingslied_columbia-orchester-mendelssohn_gbia0003448a. Public Domain

“Deutsche Arbeiter-Marseillaise.” Wikipedia, 31 Oct. 2023. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deutsche_Arbeiter-Marseillaise&oldid=1182815568. Public Domain

Erich-Weinert-Ensemble. Workers of Vienna. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/WorkersOfVienna. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Großes Odeon-Orchester. Warszawianka. 5 May 1928. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/WarszawiankaOdeon1928. Public Domain

Kapelle Jais, München. AUF HOHEN BERGEN. Odeon, 1920. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/78_auf-hohen-bergen_kapelle-jais-mnchen_gbia0166297b. Public Domain

Marek Weber and Bruno Granichstaedten. Fräulein, wie kann man nur so treu sein. Parlophon, 1920. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/78_frulein-wie-kann-man-nur-so-treu-sein_marek-weber-bruno-granichstaedten_gbia0290517b. Public Domain

Mitgliedern des Berliner Schubert-Chors mit Blas-Orchester. Marsch Der Eisernen Front. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/front_20210826. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Pauline DOBERT - Alt, Bruno SEIDLER-WINKLER-Orgel. Komm, süsser Tod. Sept. 1923. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/dobert-komm-susser-tod. Public Domain

Peasant Band BAUERN KAPELLE and Sousedska. BEIM FENSTERLN - U OKENEČKA. Columbia, 1923. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/78_beim-fensterln-u-okeneka_peasant-band-bauern-kapelle-sousedska_gbia0483844b. Public Domain

REICHSBANNER-GAU-KAPELLE mit Chor. Wann wir schreiten Seit’ an Seit’. 1928. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/reichsbanner-gau-kapelle-wann-wir-schreiten-seit-an-seit. Public Domain

---. Zur Sonne, zur Freiheit. 1928. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/reichsbanner-gau-kapelle-zur-sonne-zur-freiheit. Public Domain

SIGRID ONEGIN and Schubert. DER LINDENBAUM (The Linden-Tree). Brunswick, 3 Dec. 1923. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/78_der-lindenbaum-the-linden-tree_sigrid-onegin-schubert_gbia0260352b. Public Domain