GOG: Preserving Gaming's Past & Future

How do old games come back from the dead? We talk to the people at GOG (www.GOG.com) about the work they do to hunt down & release classic games, and their mission to encourage more DRM free releases.
Noclip's work is 100% crowdfunded. Consider supporting us on Patreon: / noclip
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Music Tracks (Adack):
Salvation: / salvation
Three of Swords: / three-of-swords
Music Tracks (Audio Network):
Silent Collision
www.audionetwork.com/browse/m...
Single Blow 2
www.audionetwork.com/browse/m...
Clash 3
www.audionetwork.com/browse/m...
Fracture 3
www.audionetwork.com/browse/m...
Element One One Five
www.audionetwork.com/browse/m...
Time Decay
www.audionetwork.com/browse/m...
Ascendance
www.audionetwork.com/browse/m...
Ecliptic Drift 2
www.audionetwork.com/browse/m...
Games Featured (in order of appearance):
Theme Park, Lion Kind, SWAT 4, Black and White 2, Homeworld Cataclysm, Realms of Arkania 3, Dune 2, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, The Operative: No One Lives Forever, Sensible World of Soccer, Rainbow Six: Rogue Speak, Re-Volt, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Harvester, Fallout 2, Baldur's Gate, Superfrog, Syndicate, Eye of the Beholder, Wing Commander, Theme Hospital, Operation Flashpoint, Splinter Cell, Theme Park, Outcast, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate, Konung: Legend of the North, Toca Race Driver 3, Carmageddon, Cannon Fodder 2, Worms, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Jagged Alliance, Alien Breed 2, Beneath a Steel Sky, Paper’s Please, This War of Mine, Monster Hunter World, Battlefield 1, Far Cry 5, Destiny 2, Total War: Three Kingdoms , The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Gwent, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Pro Evolution Soccer.
00:00 Intro
03:08 Old Ideas
08:27 The First Signature
11:58 The Hunt
24:38 Cleaning Code
33:35 The Future
40:53 Credits

[@NoclipDocs]

We hope you enjoy this dive into the work that GOG goes through to resurrect old games. This was another project that was requested by a large contingent of our community last year so we're delighted we managed to get it out. So in keeping with that spirit we'd love to know what games you'd like us to cover next? We have projects in the works already but always love hearing what you'd like us to cover. Good old games, or new!

[@gentlemantom9658]

As you have become a new farther, how about the games that have been used for educational purposes. Minecraft, LittleBigPlanet etc.. used in schools for kids to learn in a more interactive way.

[@Bonerlord]

World of Warcraft, perhaps? A look into the history of developing the world's biggest MMO? Some candid comments on their biggest successes and and mistakes?

[@alfredo4664]

Agree with Gentleman Tom on Edutainment games (It’s history from Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego to more recent examples). I’d also love to see an episode on the Hitman series and one on an Indie game publisher like Devolver Digital.

[@whiskeyjuliet]

Do one on Tom Francis creator of Gunpoint and Heat Signature. Whats it like to go from games journalist to games developer? He's only in Bath, lots of nice pubs.

[@isaackaper6291]

Personally I'd love to see a few videos showing how ubisoft went from rock bottom to being one of the most trusted AAAs in the span of a few years. But due to secrecy they might not be the best option... Thanks again for this episode

[@davidarcher2717]

"How do we combat piracy? We provide a good selection, a great product with the best service we can provide, fairly priced, guarantee it works while being DRM free because why punish a paying customer with all that hassle?" I really wish more services would take note of this. Its really this simple.

[@joesterling4299]

Right. It's not like DRM will stop piracy anyway. All it does in the long run is encumber honest gamers with extra baggage.

[@Lawlaliet]

Oh, I can call SO much bullshit on their fucking statement: Selection isn't good, products aren't great and the service is a fucking joke, they aren't fairly priced infact in some cases it's a fucking robbery. So, all they have left is their ever present DRM-Free card, which is another load of fucking bullshit.

[@lalas198]

Joe Sterling don't forget that some older forms of DRM (safedisc,securom,starforce for example) are listed are potential vulnerabilities in win10 and therefore not supported, so you can't regularly install games that use such programs (only via virtual box or getting a DRM-canceller patch if there's one available).

[@aarondumas1629]

​@poorman I wouldn't bother with this kind of statement if i was you. Looking to all the foolishness and hatred in his comment, this guy should be a teenager that doesn't understand how game industry, copyright issues and political relationship works and are only spiting out all his shit from the wrong part of his body because of his "favourite game" aren't there or still keep with a high price where he lives. Most lads with this same attitude need to undestand that the things they like aren't likeble for everyone; besides the mandatory absense of DRM on games there, GOG really has a great and crescent catalogue with many titles for many tastes from old to some new games, always offer the most pleasant services possible for their costumers WHEN it's possible with prices that are AT MINIMUM in pair with other sellers like Steam or Origin (when some comercial blocking don't keep them out of the country and they need to sell their things in some foreigner coin at least, which really can be a pain due to financial matters)... and lets not forget their awesome work bringing back some old school things to our newly made systems running modern OS without the need of ANY knowledge from the user than his own account and password to install and play them. This is why GOG deserve more respect from us, but unfortunately, some of us aren't capable to do it, like some people can't recognise a valuable ore when step on it.

[@Plevell]

@@Lawlaliet they are fairly priced and once when I missed a sale (due to some internet issues) they just sent me a voucher with the same discount without any problem so yea even their services are pretty good

[@fapnawb]

The idea that "if your DRM is causing more grief to the person who bought your game than the person who pirated it, something is wrong." is incredibly true and I wish more companies actually thought this way.

[@alexguskov25]

fapnawb Don't forget movies. "You wouldn't steal a car" downloading is the same. Lol

[@JoubaMety]

@@alexguskov25 You can make multiple copies of same game with virtually no cost. With a car, well... You have to make another car with materials, that cost a lot of money...

[@Assimandeli]

I remember one time being shocked by a blu-ray I bought because it said "Thank you for legally purchasing our Blu-ray". I'm so used to DVDs shaming me for pirating (even though I bought the goddamn DVD) that I was not expecting that thank you message.

[@agamaz5650]

SOOOOOOOO TRUE, this is why Poland is genius

[@michamarkowski2204]

CDPR learned it the hard way. Witcher 2 day 1 (box version) had a DRM making the game unplayable and after a week or so CDPR released a patch to remove the DRM. During that time a lot of people downloaded from torrent trackers a GOG version without DRM, because it was the only way to play the game without issues.

[@MandaloreGaming]

They've been excellent for old games. I hope they keep at it.

[@Tarhiel]

For any games in general.

[@Bizargh]

You and me both mate! There's too many past gems that could shine in the present or even future for the lessons they could teach or the new-found appeal they could find.

[@mr.bluesky4130]

Please keep making awesome reviews of jank ass games, my dude.

[@bulekman]

Mandy

[@ZeMovinPixxle]

Good seeing you here :3

[@michaeljohn5130]

I never realized how much of a headache licensing old games is. It's something I always took for granted. good job GOG.

[@ghosface353]

That's why there is still noway legal way to get a new copy (unless someone has one on ebay) of No One Lives Forever (and I think it's sequel is also gone in rights hell). I would love to plays does two game. Also where is my PC version of Moterhead, the Steam version is an PSOne port! The original PC version can be upscaled to 4k, and is so much better than the PSOne version. It was even made by Dice. Common I need this game on PC in original PC version.

[@Nerdule]

This is actually a *huge* problem for other media as well, like books. If you think it's difficult to track down the rights for a videogame published 20 years ago, imagine how difficult it is to track down the rights for a book published 60 years ago. (In the US, works remain under copyright for around a century.)There's huge masses of "orphan" work that are just being lost to time, because they're still legally under copyright but nobody can reprint or archive them since there's no way to find out who to ask for permission.

[@hummens44]

Motorhead was a great game, I remember being so impressed by it's performance given how pretty it was at the time. I didn't even know it was on Steam, let alone a weird PS1 port (how does that even happen??) - I still have my original CD copy, I think I'll have to see if I can get it running on my dedicated 'old games' machine (basically a modern PC with a 4:3 1024x768 monitor on it and a 1tb drive full of old stuff).

[@irllcd13]

It's the same reason many beloved old games are likely to never get a sequel or reboot. In some cases, whoever owns the IP doesn't care. In others, multiple parties own the IP and/or different parts of the IP. In other cases, the IP owner doesn't even know they're the IP owner. @Eldritch In the US, books remain under copyright for 70 years after the author's death. After that, they become public domain. I know because I remember just a few years ago there was a big deal when Mein Kampf went Public Domain. Music has the issue of License Trolls. People will buy up the rights to obscure old songs and then go looking for *anyone* that is using that song and sue them.

[@ijustintime4u2bui46]

It's quite amazing how much of a legal/licensing wall has been put around even quite small games, such as Tetris and how multiple companies from different countries tried to get licensing deals for it, only for some deals to be left in limbo or misunderstood by each party.

[@ZrinNZ]

I adore their outlook on DRM. It's basically "we know that stuff will get pirated, so why not make a product that is worth NOT pirating?"

[@matternicuss]

GOG is one of the best things to happen to PC gaming. I discovered so many classic games I otherwise would have missed out on, and rediscovered many more from my childhood. Also excellent documentary as always Noclip!

[@Jourihara]

All this hassle to find the legal owner of the game, It really looks like a bunch of RPG fetch quests

[@kanalkucker14]

Yes, so true 😂😂

[@EposVox]

I love GOG. Great stuff

[@JL-sk8fs]

Check their website FCKDRM.com where you can find drm-free sites for music and other forms of media.

[@yungndumb8228]

good old downloads was better. lol

[@lloydchristmas4547]

Nice to see you here!

[@unclerubo]

At this point I have around 90 games on GOG and 300 on Steam. And I have a policy. If a game is on both platforms, I'll buy it on GOG.

[@MasterAnge]

Good policy

[@emiliano.canton]

Same policy for me. Sad thing is many games on my wishlist will take a long time to get to GOG, if ever, so Steam library keeps growing faster.

[@bradleyokane]

Same here, having recently found out about GOG, I've re-bought games I already have on Steam

[@kensmith2829]

I haven't seen a single noclip video that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. This documentary hasn't changed that. Well done!

[@CaptPonyholder]

I have. The one where they openly insulted fans of the series for criticizing their choice of speakers for the FMV Games video they made.

[@CaptPonyholder]

Zoe Quinn, in particular. Disregarding all previous history - there are far better developers to talk to that have had far more of an impact and historical significance on FMV games than her.

[@pferreira1983]

Even the Zoe Quinn one?

[@centhron89]

The thing I love about GOG is that I can buy games and then download the whole installer file to a local storage like a external hard drive, so if for any reason GOG disappear in the future, I still have the games that I have bought! Try doing that with your steam library.

[@NazmusLabs]

centhron89 disc based console games are the closest thing to GOG, but GOG is obviously better.

[@tamaiantama]

That's why. If that game is available in GOG, I don't need others. I will straightly purchase from GOG.

[@mysteriousdoge1298]

yes, but on steam you don't need aprox 30-50 GB for the installer file, and then double that with the actual instalation of the game. GOG could be good for little games, but not for the big ones.

[@NazmusLabs]

You're fired! If you are limited in disk space, you don’t need to retain the installers though.

[@mysteriousdoge1298]

@@NazmusLabs Yes, but I prefer when Steam automatically installs the 50GB game on my disc and I don't need to do anything else, it's already installed when you downloaded it. Nowadays the games are just too big to deal with downloading and then installing this monster on your disc. Of course it would be better without the damn DRM cause you need to have internet to play most of the time.

[@thetrustysidekick3013]

As a regular customer of GOG, they do great work. Each release is bundled with goodies and extras you just can't get elsewhere.

[@Simte]

Thank you for this upload. In my opinion, videogames constitute an important part of human heritage and history. The fact that some of them are recognised beyond pop culture and get involved in disciplines such as arts and sciences enphasise their importance. GOG has certainly acted as a living museum preserving master pieces for the enjoyment of new generations.

[@michaelsimoneau8364]

no its hacking and they stole content

[@zenozisgaming5175]

When and where, exactly?

[@tecnicstudios]

Michael Simoneau going through the process of finding the various rights to games and of legally attaining the licences to sell the games after organizing of the rights and rights holders of those games is hacking and stealing content? Please tell me how that's hacking and stealing.

[@michaelsimoneau8364]

the whole documentary is based on hacking you dumbfuck

[@zenozisgaming5175]

Is this guy serious?

[@epiccontrolzx2291]

39:39 YES!!! This. 100% This. I've always said that if GOG is able to bring old console games to the PC, this would propel them to the status of being a genuine competitor to Steam. The GOG brand could really grow into something special and counter the current trends of the games industry with sheer quality services and true respect for their audience. Aside from simply growing their games library, I've also had the idea that there's an open market left that GOG could capitalize on. The market of PC ports/versions of games. Bad, unoptimized, and rushed ports of games has remained a stubborn stain on PC gaming. But what if there was a company to whom a developer could always outsource to and completely trust to release a polished version of their game on PC? A company who has proven themselves time and time again to consistently deliver excellence? A company whose foundation is rooted in localization and releasing different versions of games for different audiences? Seeing the "GOG" logo every time you boot up the game would be a sign to gamers everywhere that it would be a top-notch version of the game(and it certainly wouldn't hurt brand recognition either). Developing trust with publishers may also open doors to allow for brand new games to be able to come to GOG after some time. Just a thought.

[@AndreasElf]

Yeah, they could start of by finding the IP holder of some old obscure console and ask him/her/them just to test the market. Why old and obscure? Well, propably easiest to get a yes. Think about the amount of pr this would generate.... Would love to see retro console games get legally released on pc.

[@andrewriker2192]

GoldenEye 64 on PC would sell huge.

[@sirravixfourhorn7681]

Emulators have contributed a great deal to preserving old and obscure console games.

[@Assimandeli]

@@andrewriker2192 GoldenEye 64 is owned by Microsoft, Nintendo and whatever company (companies?) that owns GoldenEye the movie. That game will NEVER see a re-release.

[@Benadryllionaire]

God... that would be a dream for Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath from the PS2. That engine isn't able to leverage discrete GPUs without a split screen rendering bug on PCSX2, and Intel iGPUs, even on the 9900k, can't run it very well.

[@Crowborn]

GOG's work preserving and fixing old games is insanely important and i love them for doing it all, especially for their rational look on drm.

[@osokfrosty]

I love the work that CD Project and GOG do for games preservation and after getting a bit of the history during the Witcher docs, i'm glad you were able to go more in depth with them. Thanks Danny!

[@billygowhoop]

This is way more interesting than I was expecting. The part about how they track down the deals and contracts behind a game was just fascinating

[@kombinatsiya6000]

It's amazing how in just a few years you've become the premier documenters of gaming culture.

[@darthXreven]

check out escape from mt stupid and The Point on Gamespot, Danny ran those shows which are similar high quality content

[@Shinkajo]

It's Danny O'Dwyer, so not that surprising at all. Probably the best game journalist ever.

[@Nerdule]

Ahoy deserves at least some mention for his documentaries on gaming history. (His hour-long documentary on the urban-legendary Polybius arcade game is absolutely the most comprehensive and well-researched coverage of the topic on the entire Internet.)

[@mfmr200]

@@Nerdule GVMERS is good too

[@conor.jdavies]

Its a shame that GOG doesn't get more support, if every newly released game came to GOG, I would probably buy my games from there.

[@Tarhiel]

I do it now already, otherwise that change will never happen :)

[@lusteraliaszero]

It's probably because developers can't stomach the idea of not having their day 1 cracked drm.

[@PetrSojnek]

Not really developers.... but publishers. When they find out that who wants to pirate thing will pirate it and who wants to buy it will buy it and no DRM will change it (actually there is a case where you pirate game just because dealing with DRM is a nightmare) they may realize that paying for DRM is just wasted money.

[@lusteraliaszero]

yes I meant publishers, couldn't be bothered to fix my mistake though.

[@PaveMentman]

+Turtlemain To be somewhat fair, the roots of "THQ Nordic" is "Nordic Games", a retail-video-game-store-line alongside importing in a quite major scale. Back in the day when in Nordic-countries (especially Finland) were still really isolated when it came to video-game-releases (on non-PC and non-Sega plus "Game Boy"-devices), it was semi-legal to circumvent the region-locking back then ( pirated-copies and various other knock-off and related things were obviously still frown upon, at least by those who knew about it ( E.G. the "multi-carts" many of us had zero-idea was "illegal"; they still offered more content than most of majour-companies even bothered to release games over here within decades ). So basically the current "THQ Nordic" are kinda same as "CD Project"-folks: Both share a somewhat similar history when it comes to pirated-media and the general scarcity of video-games in the regions in general ( E.G. the classic lack of JRPGs over here in Nordic still seemingly applies with the mock-rumour-text of "Nordic- Countries are only interested in sport-games, especially rally"). So hence it is not a big surprise they ( Nordic Games / THQ Nordic ) folks really want to go "up-to-eleven" with their game-publishing-mentality of "re-publish / re-master all the things!" ( to be fair also, Nordic-countries do have some financial and other backing from the goverment(s), plus as far as I know "Nordic Games" still is fully a privately held company; so no need to appease the "stock-holders" ). --- --- ---

[@Hikariinu124]

GOG is the best video game distribution service, hands down. Long live GOG!

[@constanzabestest]

Buy Gothic 2 on Steam Game won't even launch until you do tons of additional trouble shooting When after fixing the issue game finally launches it doesn't go properly into full screen mode which leaves an annoying white block in the top left corner of the screen that can't be fixed in any way. Random Framerate drops(That in some cases can drop even below 10 FPS) For some stupid reason bottom of the screen disappears completely and is replaced with a huge, flashing(As if, epileptic blinking) blue block in certain areas of the map(Earliest spot where this happens is just outside a cave near a Gate to Khorinis where blacksmith sends you to fight an Orc for it's weapon) Crashes every 30 minutes that happen for no reason Buy Gothic 2 on GOG It works perfectly without any issues.

[@baronsengir187]

@BOOZE & METAL Well that would need a pro consumer law that forces them to keep games in playable condition on modern Systems. And that weill never happen in western culture brainwashed capitalism.

[@agamaz5650]

Steam is sooooooooooo overrated

[@GameplayandTalk]

Fantastic topic for a documentary. As someone who's been on the site since the original Beta site, it was very interesting to hear what goes on behind the scenes.

[@Nafferoni]

I didn't realize how hard they worked on the games that they sell... crazy. I loved GOG before, but now I love 'em even more! Thank you so much for this one, Danny. You're shining a light on a great website that deserves more attention.

[@OdinPerez]

This has to be my favourite Noclip documentary of them all.

[@nathane5287]

Eye-opening. I always vaguely understood that it took work to get the old games on GOG with rights and compatibility all figured out, but going into detail about all the detective work & diplomacy needed between old companies around the world, it's simply amazing, and your respect for both GOG and noclip for bringing this to our attention, skyrockets. It really is like a detective working on a cold case, having leads gone cold, archives and faded memories to sift through, no wonder it takes years to build a case of what happened in the past.

[@Davitron_87]

Fantastic vid. This highlights just how short sighted the gaming industry was, and continues to be. No thought at all for the preservation of classic games. I've been a massive supporter of CD Projekt for the past decade. So glad companies like them exist for the purpose of games preservation. I absolutely love GOG.

[@vitelliu5]

GOG is awesome. I try to buy exclusively from them these days.

[@fretzil]

I love GOG and will stand by them.

[@StaticPA]

Funny how Ubisoft approached them when they overburden their games with DRM nowadays

[@Trisstan20]

i know its popular to hate on ubi, but i actually like uplay nowdays, it improved a lot, i just need to make sure i got ubi game on their platform, cause steam + uplay is overkill ugh

[@Derpderpson123]

Trisstan20 I agree, but it wouldn't hurt to have the achievements in steam for most of their games (yes I know Uplay has achievements, but I would like them in steam)

[@pirat87pl]

You obviously don't play much on Uplay. It is beyond terrible when it comes to social features and online stuff. It's just so badly designed and executed. Things just don't work in it and there are no solutions, workarounds, or fixes even thought the issues have been there for years. Both single- and multiplayer games are affected. You can't uninstall DLC at all. Once you own it - you have to use it. I bought a full edition of AC IV Black Flag and I can't get rid of the 'booster DLCs' that just unlock stuff. So my playthrough consisted of me constantly checking if stuff that I'm buying is something that should be available at this point. Adding people to your squad in Rainbow 6 sometimes just plain doesn't work. Some people just can't play together and there's no explanation or solution.

[@Trisstan20]

playing Siege and Wildlands on regular basis and never got a problem, i own both ac IV + its dlc and also np, but trying play AC2 which i got on steam and it has to go through uplay as well... yea thats where trouble starts

[@tecnicstudios]

Trisstan20 free, unlockable in-game DLC is always good.

[@Turalyon0001]

Awesome video as usual, very cool to see "behind the curtain" from GOG, love their behaviour around retro gaming

[@TF_Tony]

Damn, Daniel, back at it again with the relevant high quality videos.

[@somebonehead]

That meme was old before you posted it.

[@LungMing23]

Really cool to see our Wing Commander community getting mentioned here. I sent a link to this vid to Ben Lesnick as he was mentioned. Great community that are still improving these old classics. Great documentary btw!

[@aperson806]

Thanks to GOG, I'm currently playing through the original Tomb Raider; despite being over 20 years old it runs without issue, and it's easy to see why it was such a phenomenon. It's pretty ironic that GOG are leading the way forward by harking back to gaming's past. They deserve more praise and recognition than they are currently receiving, as does Noclip for another fantastic documentary.

[@peanutismint]

Loved this Danny. Such a fascinating subject. I think I prefer this kind of content, not specifically about one game in particular (which can be polarising if you don't like or never played the likes of Fallout or The Witcher etc...) but from a more wide-angle point of view about the industry in general. Would love to see more like this in addition to the 'deep dives' into a specific title or developer. Maybe a profile on Rockstar or why their games take so bloody long?!

[@chewbaccasaurusrex692]

Amazing story , GOG is such a great concept and company.

[@jerrodkilla23]

Gaming journalism at its finest right here folks. Great work Danny.

[@MakoSDV]

If a game I want is on GOG, I buy it from GOG. I think it's a much better company, culture, and platform than the competition.

[@christianlaumark8774]

It's admirable all the hard work the troopers at GOG go through to give us our nostalgia trip, and more. Thanks for showing us Noclip. Awesome stuff!

[@Mysterialic]

Speaking of CD Keys, I still remember the CS ones. It's stuck in my head forever.

[@IncapableLP]

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[@Tuckdragon]

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[@lorekeeper2190]

CD Projekt and CD Projekt Red are my corporate Heroes. In this day and age, they're one of the last remaining morally good companies.

[@ancorites969]

CD Projekt RED, maybe, but CD Projekt themselves made the worst PC port of all time.

[@tecnicstudios]

Lorekeeper Ronan they made the Witcher trilogy, of course they have morals, those games are made with love. Also they're a developer and publisher, so they understand both how developers put their blood, sweat, and tears in a game and how they feel and the publisher's need to make money, eliminating the instability an independent game development studio has as well as a publisher's urge to use immoral practices to gain more money in a small amount of time while killing the game's longevity, the enjoyability, and the money it'll make in the long run.

[@Deliveredmean42]

You try to port every single old games in history, and tell me if its easy :P

[@SPTX.]

Dontnod was never good nor moral. Not sure what he got this from.

[@Lawlaliet]

+TechnicStudios No, they don't have any morals. Infact, CDPR is about as scummy and shady as any other AAA company. They treat their working staff like shit, there's insane crunch time, overworking hours, getting underpaid or not paid at all, the higher ups treating anyone who doesn't kiss their ass like shit.

[@Darkholow]

Really happy you decided to do a doc on GOG Danny! Game preservation is a very important thing in an industry that is filled with DRM ontop of DRM to hurt the paying consumer.

[@ShellComics]

The unsung heroes! Loved this one :)

[@BurakCYldz]

This was super interesting. Huge fan of CDP and GOG here, and have been following since nearly day one. But even so, I have never thought that deeply about the legal intricacies and the required detective work to bring the older titles into modern systems. I appreciated them for making the games compatible and DRM-free, but I did not even think of how difficult it is to obtain the rights. Thanks to your hard work we all learned that we should be appreciative about that aspect as well, and maybe think about how long it takes sometimes to get a game, before just thinking "Oh come on, so many people want that game, why can't they just get it?". I must say, even though I love all the documentaries here, and it is interesting to hear about the intricacies, challenges, and stories about game development, there is something special about stories like this (like the other history pieces like studio pieces, rediscovering the mystery, or the story behind the first FF14). It is getting better and better, and I am glad that Noclip is here for us to learn more about the background, history, and the business side of our favourite games and studios. And I love how it is inspiring more premium gaming documentaries, being in the frontier of it. Thanks for the hard work one more time Danny! :)

[@TheStowAway594]

What these guys do is incredible, without them so many games would be lost forever! I wonder what will happen with the recent multiplayer, and always online games like rainbow 6 siege, overwatch, etc. will they just be lost to future generations, once they're shut down?

[@techieg33k]

With so many changes since this was published, I'd love to see a new piece with GoG...Proton, Windows 11, etc

[@Hochmann2]

GREAT documentary. I have loved GOG ever since I found my all-time favorite game there in the year 2012: Starflight. Since then, I’ve bought dozens of games there. Thank you very much for this fascinating look into all it takes to do this.

[@0banon]

This was a really wholesome look into the company, and made me optimistic for the future. I already liked GOG, but I'll definitely try to support them more in the future now.

[@attilarischt2851]

Considering they re-released Tyrian in an easy installer, CDP already got my like. Also, they showed how you combat piracy. Not with DRM, but by simply making the legit coppy a better deal.

[@Zero86Sk]

CD Projekt also distributes games still here in Slovakia, and Czech Republic, they also translated games into Czech.

[@Jargonloster]

I'd like to praise not only the documentary itself, but the subtitles as well. I'm sure I could understand most of what's being said if I listen closely enough, but the subtitles go a long way for making the experience better.

[@afinney88]

Just realised I've been pronouncing CD Projekt wrong for about a decade

[@FahmiZFX]

Cey-dey proyect Red. Sounds pretty cool when you know their proper pronunciation. Thanks Noclip

[@michaelsimoneau8364]

good they dont derserv anything

[@Taizunx]

Michael Simoneau, what...

[@michaelsimoneau8364]

this a hacker group.....................they break code to make it theire own they are cancerous fuck.........................

[@GTK_Aztech]

Just like Mojang vs Moyang. ALternatively, if they were Spanish, then it'd be CD ProHECCt Red (ngl CD Prohect Roja sounds like a killer company)

[@Richard.Linder]

I love these guys. They do such great work. I beleive it's really important to support them. Slowly, some poeple in the industry are beginning to understand that it's just good business to reward, not antagonise your paying customers. We know we can get games illegally, for free. And we know those illegal copies have no DRM. So they are just less hassle. But many of us actually want to do the right thing, and buy the game legally. And with GOG, you can do that, and get all of the extras, none of the DRM hassle, and it's usually fixed to work on modern systems. It just feels good to support the industry and work the guys at GOG are doing. Hopefully the developers and publishers will eventually see the benefit. Stop punishing and antagonising your paying customers out of fear that they may steal your product. We know we can steal it, and we still choose to buy it. So accept that, trust us, respect us and reward us with a pleasant and easy experience. There will always be those who won't pay, but DRM has never stopped them, and it never will. It only serves to antagonise your loyal, paying customers, which makes no business sense at all. GOG gets that. Hopefuly, in time, the rest of the industry will too. In many ways, GOG and the gaming community actually value and respect the older games and their preservation more than their actual owners and publishers do. It is an honor and pleasure to support GOG and the work they do, in any way we can.

[@insomnious52]

Awesome as per usual. They have an amazing story to tell and I'm glad you covered it!

[@theosamd]

This company is so important. Not just in games, but for IPs generally.

[@viewtifuljoe99]

Been nothing but the biggest supporter of GOG for the past decade. Absolutely love the work they do and their efforts towards preservation have made a big difference in the world of PC gaming.

[@RudalPL]

CD Projekt spoiled a bit polish gamers with how they released their games. Back when it all began it was something special to have a box with original art, printed manual and a map but later on they went even further. I moved to UK in 2006 and remember when ME2 came out. I got it as "collectors edition" on PC where it was just a fancy box with the game. Few months later I went back to Poland for my holidays and when I saw a "normal" edition with T-sirt and some other stuff I instantly regretted I bought it in UK...

[@AndreAckermann]

This is fascinating. So so SO much work. Really makes you appreciate it so much more. Thanks for the great insights and keep up the great work.

[@12pandemon]

This is my favorite video from this channel so far, the editing and professional presentation along with a fantastic choice of music and wording makes it worth every second.

[@enz025]

This is absolutely fascinating, I had some idea of the work they had to do for these games, but no clue it took this much effort to get it done! Thank you, Danny and Noclip for getting this out there!

[@burnout563]

30:21 sick roast XD

[@Klarden]

Proud to have been part of this wonderful team

[@Mysticbladegod]

GOG is the best market to purchace games on PC. They value ownership and games preservation. This empowers the consumer.

[@jws1272]

As an old-school PC gamer, I LOVE GOG and their efforts. There are SO many games that I remember, that I have gotten from them. I shop their sales almost religiously, when the money is there.

[@benjaminfibla-yates5918]

I love these guys! Wish I could buy all my games from GoG, I'll always buy from them if the game is available. Keep it up guys, you are a bright light in these dark days of the Northmen

[@andrew94]

i had no idea how much work it takes to get the old games preserved

[@bradleyokane]

Fully support digital drm free ownership of games, hope these guys keep it up 👍

[@thecheekychinaman6713]

Still think this is one of the best documentaries in this industry. No one talks about the nitty gritty, insane effort it takes to get games out there. Well done Noclip.

[@carl8790]

GOG gives me an incentive to check out older titles before my time, safely. I don't have to worry about checking out sketchy sites that might give me a malware.

[@Archontasil]

I wish they do the blade runner point and click game

[@armandoschneider3328]

You are Lucky :D

[@n7troopern795]

Lol good news

[@afrenchiplays8664]

I'm a member of GoG since 2013 and they never disapointed me. Being able to play old games on a modern PC really feels satisfying and without DRM you can now share a game with your friends just like in the 90's, I never thought this would be possible again ! :D

[@Leatherfacet]

It's not often you almost get chills and teary eyes due to watching passionate people do hard work. And do it good. Very impressive. Also great directing, editing and sound mixing from the noclip team!

[@teh_sid]

Love this stuff. We need more company's wiling to do this. Thanks for the doco!

[@XzaroX]

A nice documentary. At 5:07 that guy says exactly the most important point: If a legal paying customer has to go through all the hassle cause by a DRM, while a pirate doesn't, there's something really wrong at that point. And that's exactly right. Also, movie pirates don't have to sit through stupid FBI threats, or bundled trailers either... Unfortunately western companies never seem to get any of that. I'm glad that the east does.

[@StiffAftermath]

GOG is one of my heroes. When Night Dive Studios (My other hero) secured the rights for System Shock 1, and bought the licence out-right, GOG had the honor of distributing it first. They always do. They are the best gaming site in the Galaxy as far as I'm concerned! Great work, as always, NoClip!!! Amen.

[@foreducation408]

This is such a awesome documentry thank you no clip for making it.

[@Ap3xPr3dator01]

This sparked my interest seeing I purchased the Witcher 3 on the GoG client. I must say I learned a lot and am glad to have taken that leap. When possible I will for sure be buying titles that interest me on this platform. Great Documentary !

[@random_nonsense]

I greatly look forward to your Cyberpunk documentaries Danny

[@liamdonahoe354]

My first introduction to your work. It was effing fabulous! Thank you.

[@JosephAlanMeador]

This is amazing, great stuff! Thank you for this documentary! Fascinating to see how far they have come and the astounding amount of work these teams in Poland must have done! Makes me even happier for getting my old and new games from GOG. Long live good games, and DRM-free! Cheers from Colorado

[@ThrashMetalAvenger]

Rad stuff as always! Maybe they'll be able to put some kind of IP-tunnel software into GOG Galaxy to make it easier for SWAT 4 to work in multiplayer (though some stuff like port forwarding and router settings will have to be done manually still).

[@miialamia1653]

It would be more user friendly and portable for them to just write their own DirectPlay replacement. Also port forwarding for the most part does not need to be done manually anymore. An application can use UPNP broadcast messages to tell the local router(s) to forward a certain port for a certain amount of time to the originating device, and most routers will accept these commands readily without any access control in place. There's also the usual NAT Punchthrough method used by most p2p games today. Both clients will connect to a central matchmaking server (of which GoG has plenty), which can see both parties outgoing IP addresses and source ports. Both clients receive each other's address:port pair from the matchmaking server, and client A will send a packet to client B's address. This packet won't reach client B, but it will create an automatic opening in client A's router's NAT table. Right after this, client B will send a packet to client A's address, and because of the NAT hole created earlier by client A's connection attempt, this packet from B will finally reach A. Now computers A & B can talk to each other directly without a third party, despite both being behind NAT-enabled blocking routers.

[@miialamia1653]

Grakiao Well I did entertain the idea after seeing this documentary, but I'm already rather well employed and not necessarily ready to move to Poland :) Still obviously I have a lot of respect for them and hope for all the best for them in the future.

[@miialamia1653]

Also I have no doubt that this is all something they already know and will consider inhouse. It's not like I dropped some arcane knowledge in the comments :)

[@itsdeonlol]

I

[@WrestlingWithGaming]

Good Lord, what a well executed documentary. This whole channel is an inspiration to creators. Really happy to see GOG get this level of attention. They're my go to for games before even thinking about looking at Steam.

[@SkullMan---]

This was so well done, I was glued to the screen watching this. Good job on the video!

[@northsouthy74]

Thank you GOG. I don't even get why anyone would down vote this video?

[@haloshock360]

A couple of months back MGS 1, 2, and silent hill 4 came out on Gog which means the reality of getting console games on PC is actually coming true

[@CFHoneyBadger]

That was an absolutely awesome video, NoClip! Thanks for doing this. This was entertaining and educational. Keep up the great work!

[@Alexandra-Rex]

Man, I recognized No One Lives Forever right away there. Haven't seen that for a while. Loved that game!

[@P3C0L4]

i used to be Steam fan... but i have evolved into GOG airconditioner

[@Kamil999666gmail]

Its sad that ubisoft no longer support gog, no more splinter cell classics and old assassin creeds besides that first one released years ago.

[@ruskind391]

This is amazing stuff. As a somewhat older gamer (35) I remember a lot of these games as they came out. I remember the shift from GIANT boxes to the more standard book sized ones. I missed some of the earliest days of gaming but I still had my C64! I love what GOG does and seeing how much work, effort and love they put into those just makes me love them more. Thank you for a great feature!

[@marluxes]

Thank you so much, Noclip team! Keep up the amazing work.

[@Wolfsheim23]

Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Still an awesome game and still totally unique.

[@vizthex]

I always thought GOG was just a Steam competitor.

[@MASTERSLY1973]

Nothing but love for GOG. Keep up the good work guys.

[@SuckItDown]

Five years later and I still waiting for No One Lives Forever.

[@Davyartt]

I wish I could move my steam games to GOG now.

[@MrWiented]

Welcome to the future, where GOG 2.0 IS A THING. :D

[@morbid1.]

People do not think about drms until internet is down, then you notice you can't play anything, even damn solitaire needs windows store.

[@NazmusLabs]

Neurotyczny Kot solitaire doesn’t need Microsoft Store. Microsoft Store apps & games don’t require DRM, and even paid games, once installed, no longer required the Store.

[@RossOrlando]

So happy and proud to help contribute to these incredible documentaries being made (even if it is just a few dollars a month)!

[@pathduck]

Wow, this was really interesting, will definitely become a patron for seeing more stuff like this. Love all the little stories related to the different games. Absurd how complicated all the rights stuff gets. And GOG are such nice guys, true heroes of gaming. It's obvious they've grown up with the games and loved them. Been with them from the start - and this reminded me to buy more games from them, instead of the other platforms :)