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Game Dev Tycoon out-pirates the pirates

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Started 10 years ago by Anonymous
Latest reply from ChrisS

Anonymous
Unregistered

When Greenheart Games released game dev sim Game Dev Tycoon, it simultaneously released its very own pirated version — with an extra feature to expose the pirates.

Greenheart Games recently released a title called Game Dev Tycoon for Windows, Mac and Linux, a sim that sees the player working through the creation of a video-game.

At the same time as the official game's release, though, the developer decided to get the jump on its pirates. It released a cracked copy of the game to "the number one torrent-sharing site" itself — a copy of the game with a special Easter egg just for the illegal downloaders.

As players make their way through the game, they are tasked with thinking around common issues that come up during the games development process. An additional one was added for the "illegal" copy of the game: after a few hours of gameplay, working hard to try and make their development studio successful, pirates received the following message:

Boss, it seems that while many players play our new game, they steal it by downloading a cracked version rather than buying it legally.

If players don't buy the games they like, we will sooner or later go bankrupt.

After this, their money would slowly bleed out, any new games created would have a high chance of being pirates, and eventually, the studio would go bankrupt. Strangely, though, the irony seemed a little lost on some of the pirates.

"Guys, I reached some point where if I make a decent game with a score 9-10, it gets pirated and I can't make any profit ... is there some way to avoid that? ... There's no point inventing a new engine because the revolutionary game made out of it will get pirated and I will not be able to cover my expenses," wrote one.

Another said: "Why are there so many people that pirate? It ruins me! ... not fair."

"As a gamer, I laughed out loud: the irony!" wrote Greenheart Games' Patrick Klug. "However, as the developer who spent over a year creating this game and hasn't drawn a salary yet, I wanted to cry. Surely, for most of these players, the $8 wouldn't hurt them, but it makes a huge difference to our future!"

And well might he despair. Just one day after release, 93.6 per cent of the game's downloads had come from pirates: 3104 pirated downloads compared to just 214 sales, based on information collected via an in-game code that sends anonymous usage data to Greenheart Games.

(Credit: Greenheart Games)

And by now, the proper game without the added piracy problem will have made its way to the torrent websites, since Greenheart Games chose to release the game DRM-free so as not to inconvenience customers.

Of course, developers have been using similar techniques to discourage pirates for decades. For example, Eidos nerfed Batman for illegal copies of Arkham Asylum in 2009. EA's Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 in 2000 would spontaneously blow up all your assets. And then there was EarthBound. You don't even want to know about EarthBound. However, Greenheart Games had a fantastic opportunity to slyly let pirates feel the effects of their own actions.

"This was a unique opportunity. You need a game development simulation game to make this particular joke work. The more general idea/experiment to release a cracked version which inconveniences and counts pirates can probably work for any game and might work in the long run," Klug wrote. "If pirates are put through more trouble than genuine customers, maybe more will buy the real game. Sadly, for AAA games, it is currently the other way. Customers get the trouble with always-on requirements and intrusive DRM, while pirates can just download and enjoy. A twisted world."

article plus visuals

Posted 10 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Pirates make me sick. I totally agree with what they said about pirates destroying the gaming industry. Pirates and the recession have already cost several big development houses their livlihood. Trouble is if its easy to get a hold of many will continue to pirate copies of games. Especially AAA games that cost in the region of $50-60 a pop. to some that may seem excessive, but I think its a bargain when you consider the work that has gone into many of those games, plus the fact that games have in real terms come down in price significantly over the past decade. I was paying £30 for a newly released AAA game (that's approx $45) 15 years ago. You are still paying the same now despite inflation (£30 15 years ago is in real terms now worth £75 in todays money). The same is true of arcade games, They cost $20 (well $19.99) 15 years ago and remained at that price until about 4 years ago. when the recession hit they were reduced in price signficantly. I calculated that we are paying only 12% of the cost of one of these games compared to 15 years ago. So, just the fact that dev's are getting a much lower price for their games on top of the appalling number of gamers who rip off the games, its a wonder we have a gaming industry at all.

Posted 10 years ago #
PlainVanilla
Member

Reading that article made me chuckle and wish someone could have done that 10 years ago to music.

Back when I used to be a Mobile DJ (9 years or so ago) I used to download new albums, listen to the tracks then either buy the full album or go to Amazon for the better tracks that never made local radio. If it were songs or bands that I personally liked, I always bought the album anyway but for stuff I loathed but had to play then I'd review each track to see if it would even work for the biz. I never bothered with games because the cracks were always .exe files; using those from an unknown source was something I avoided because I didn't have the time or money to fix problems if they were malware. Now that I'm out of the music business, I just hit Walmart or Worst Buy for albums or movies. Games...well let's just say I seldom play anything other than World of Warcraft or Daggerfall unless GotD has something I just can't do without.

I left the DJ scene when Craigslist DJ's started posting prices of $50USD to $100 for up to 6 hours with a full light show and over 600k songs on cmoputer. I couldn't compete at those prices nor could I get my collection that high legally and I knew those people were downloading. That's when I realized how fubar piracy was.

Posted 10 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

I'm not going to say theft is OK, but my conscience prods me to say that while I'm no lawyer, IMHO sometimes theft is victimless, sometimes theft is more necessity than option, & sometimes any punishment for theft depends on whom does the stealing. The reason my conscience got involved is GOTD as a site probably attracts more people with less, compared to a site like Adobe frankly. I've no doubt that some of the people coming here feel that sometimes they have to download stuff illegally, & I feel that they deserve as much empathy as the game devs. I'm not trying to be politically correct as much as I'm trying to maybe give them a voice -- I know I won't tell you how broke I've been at times, nor of any of the injustice I've suffered, so why should they?

Last 1st, steal a phone from Apple or Google & they'll try to have you thrown in jail -- it's happened with prototypes lost by *their* personnel as well as stuff that's been physically stolen. Steal their designs or patents & attornies argue in court [likely wearing suits that cost more than your monthly food bill], over alleged properties that might well have been stolen to start with. The amount of money the accused has available makes all the difference in the world.

RE: necessity vs. option... games, movies, & music are a decidedly gray area, where you're arguing whether denying someone these sort of perks based on their income &/or circumstance is OK. That's a moral choice you'll have to make on your own looking in the mirror. Move on to software tools, for example Microsoft's Vistual Studio apps for coding software, & theft may be the only route for someone to learn & try to better themselves through that learning. Microsoft will give you a break on pricing, often will give you the software to use for free if you're a student, but if you can't afford the software there's no way you can afford the school admissions. If you're working to support yourself & possibly your family, even if/when assistance is available, classes aren't held in the lonely hours of the night when you're not working. Sometimes there are ways around that sort of thing, sometimes not, but there's no denying it isn't always fair, or just.

Now the victimless part, which is the hardest -- usually when you have alleged wrongdoing you have to prove intent & that the accuser actually suffered some harm... A tire blows out, investigation shows it was in reasonably good condition before it blew, & because of it your car runs into & damages a tree on someone's property -- are you guilty of vandalism? Likely not as you didn't have intentions of damaging that tree, plus how much harm did the tree's owner likely suffer? That doesn't mean you won't be charged or accused, but that's another matter. :)

Applied to illegal downloading, was/is your intent to harm the owner? It would be hard if even possible to prove you downloaded whatever to cause harm, rather than to just use what you downloaded. [That may be part of the reason for all the anti-pirating propaganda, to mute any claims of innocence of motive.] As for the harm suffered, AFAIK cases that have been successfully prosecuted involved file sharing where the accused made content they didn't own available to others -- I haven't seen news articles about any accused saying they downloaded something they couldn't ever afford. If it was proven they couldn't buy whatever, downloading & using it obviously would not deprive the owner of anything. That's not to say the judge or jury would find them innocent, but I'd guess content owners wouldn't want to press their luck -- just one innocent verdict would set precedent.

At any rate, it's easier to make generalizations, it's easier to not worry about means testing or empathy, it's frankly easy to blame one side or the other in the debate, which is why it's so often done. You could propose means testing or a sliding payment scale based on the honor system, & there's evidence that works -- just not enough evidence to convince all the content owners, greedy & not. You could, IMHO should strip the bounty hunters of any role, but that's why they pay [i.e. contribute to the campaigns of] our government officials, so we can't. *We* can however consider such things before we judge -- is the person illegally downloading/playing whatever game wearing $200+ shoes, $100+ jeans, spending 10x more on beer & pizza this weekend than the game's list price? Or are their clothes frayed, & a few hours spent playing the game their sole recreation after a hard week's manual labor, or worse, a hard week spent unsuccessfully looking for a job?

We might also ask ourselves if the game dev in the article is leveling with us? DRM costs money, either buying licenses or developing your own, so no DRM lowers costs -- it could be argued that DRM is so prevalent nowadays no one expects it not to be there, & so suffers nothing when it is. Their *trick* no doubt has PR benefits or we wouldn't have heard about it, might make more people more inclined to pay up, might well be prelude to heavier handed DRM in the future, where they can say: "Honestly, we tried". I'm not saying the dev is a saint or a crook -- I have no idea myself -- but rather that it might be wise to consider both sides of the debate with like amounts of skepticism.

Posted 10 years ago #
ChrisS
Administrator

The pirates have a point... they stole that game fair and square, it's completely wrong to have their work stolen from them. It's the old "let's share, what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine".

But let's not call them pirates, or redistributionists, or 99-percenters, or activists; let's call them what they are - thieves. The only DRM measure that will ever be truly effective is shame but, sadly, an increasing number of people are shameless.

Posted 10 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

FWIW I don't disagree in principle Chris... Disabled, I can't work, & so I made quite a few significant sacrifices to be able to buy apps like PhotoShop & Vegas Pro. It was a choice I made -- I could have much more easily gone with copies I didn't pay for -- & I'm grateful that I was able scrape together the money -- many can't. I can certainly identify with anyone feeling the deck's stacked against them, & if they want to learn to possibly better themselves, they either fork over a lot of cash or get an illegal copy of whatever software. I've spent years learning & practicing in hope that someday there will be treatment or cure for my illness & I'll be able to work -- will owe it to myself & everyone else to work. These are the sorts of people I talk about when I suggest a more, I guess I'd say realistic if not kinder attitude.

And yes, I know what it feels like to not have when others have so much. I might deny myself entertainment because I can't afford it, but I have a hard time condemning those who grab an illegal download for that purpose if they truly can't afford it, & when it's not done to excess.

I couldn't disagree more strongly though on the mention of the 99% stuff, even as used in your post -- I don't like to give any politically motivated attempt at class warfare [which is all the talk about percents is] any credence or legitimacy. Creating & Exploiting an Us vs. Them attitude is at the core of every lowest point in human history. To an extent that's what's happening if we set up a separate class of people we call thieves. Yes there is theft, & theft is wrong, but there are not two classes of people in the world, those who steal & those who don't -- pretty much no one is 100% virtuous, saints are very few & far between, & everyone lives in a glass house so-to-speak. Poor people steal, rich people steal, everyone in between steals -- that doesn't make it right, it makes it common. Pogo: "We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us."

There's no question that a great many people, maybe even the majority of those who don't pay for the software they use could [often easily] afford it. We should find that upsetting, but by rights & out of fairness we should be equally upset about theft from B&M as well as on-line retailers - people trying to scam retailers - people scamming & trying to scam service biz - some of the banks & other service biz rates, policies, & fees - gov fiscal irresponsibility - illegal practices by gov officials, e.g. bribes & kickbacks - people cheating or even exaggerating on their taxes - co-workers & neighbors who expect you to do, to contribute more than your fair share... All that & much, Much more can be considered theft, & it costs you the same way as illegal downloads. It raises the costs of of what you do, of what you pay, of what you have. That's Not saying any of it is OK, but as above, the Enemy is us -- Us vs. Them clearly doesn't, Can't work.

Now I freely confess I don't write my thoughts &/or ideas very well -- it's hard & takes considerable time & effort -- but along with wanting to say "maybe give the poor folks that truly can't afford to pay a break", I wanted to say please don't believe everything you're told, regardless who's doing the telling. Folks, people are people, & people [& the companies they own or work for] often try to justify their actions as well as exaggerate or outright lie. The bounty hunters, & that's exactly what organizations like the RIAA & MPAA are [they get to keep at least some of the money they collect], exaggerate & lie as they work to convince you it's us good guys vs. some nasty thieving scum. Perhaps the game dev who started the conversation, the guy the linked article is all about, says it well: "To be fair, there are still individuals who either can’t make a legal purchase because of payment-issues or who genuinely cannot afford the game. I don’t have a quarrel with you."

If he doesn't, should we?

Posted 10 years ago #
ChrisS
Administrator

Mikiem, it's always been my opinion that 99.9% of all decisions in life are easy decisions. We just make them difficult by trying to justify doing that which we know we should not do or not doing that which we know we should.

It looks like you spent an awful lot of effort saying "theft is bad, except when it's not, and we can't know the difference, so it's not". Sorry, but theft is theft and nothing good comes from doing evil, even if it is a minor evil.

Posted 10 years ago #
Anonymous
Unregistered

I think that the points mikiem2 and Chris$ are expostulating is very well exemplified by the movie Les Miserable or the novel.Jean Valjean vs Javert. Here is some more food for thought. A lot of comments as one would suspect:

Unemployed Gamers: 'I'm Not A Thief'

Last week, we asked readers to submit their stories of gaming while unemployed or underemployed. We received over 100 submissions. Today we'd like to share some of them.

When you don't have much money, gaming is more than just a hobby: it's a necessary distraction. Games can help you get through the day.

We heard from a number of people who found all sorts of ways to keep playing games without spending much money. Here are some of their stories:
'I'm Not A Thief'

While technically unemployed, I tend to pick up a few hours here or there doing painting jobs. Though work is seldom available, I always have in the back of my mind I'd have cash at some point.

Last year I sold all of my games, about 5-6, to buy Skyrim. I got caught up in the craze that any game that came out I would only buy if it was similar to Skyrim or something like it. Thus when Far Cry 3 was coming out and the inevitable "Skyrim with guns" comparison started happening, I needed it. I waited about 2 months for one to finally be available at my local Redbox and the day that one popped up, I rented it. I pretty much knew at that point I wouldn't be returning it.

I'm not a thief and I feel guilty about what I did, but I just couldn't spend $60 I didn't have on a game that I wasn't even sure would be worth it. So I "stole" it with the assumption that after a month when they finally charged me for it I'd have the money for them. Might not have been smart or even saved me money but I did it, and now I have it.

'I Had To Sell Plasma Every Damn Week'

My time as an unemployed gamer was probably the worst best thing to ever happen. I say this because I came to the conclusion that most games are not worth 60 dollars. I learned my lesson after the “crapfest” which was Resistance 3 (anyone that played and enjoyed R2 and tried R3 would understand). The game was worth 13 bucks at Best Buy 10 days after the release... 20 bucks on Amazon. I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought the game was that bad.

What’s worse than being an unemployed gamer is being an unemployed “Arcade” gamer. I live in Southern California where arcades still exist, but I would be fine playing on a console 365 days a year. However, since I’m a huge fan of music simulator games (Dance Dance Revolution, Pump It Up and all those other games), and not many console versions of those games are being released anymore (except those iPad/Android games), I’m stuck going to an arcade.

How'd I save money as an “unemployed arcade gamer"? I had to sell plasma every damn week. It is 20 miles to travel from where I’m staying to the valley. 40-mile round trip. Two times a week for a grand total of 70 bucks. First visit you get 30 dollars. Second visit you get 40 dollars. And on the sixth visit of the month you get a 10 dollar bonus… 50 dollars. I’m straight up hood rich during that 3rd week of the month. 290 bucks a month that’s covering bills and whatever female I trick to go out on a date with me. Unemployment checks... what’s that? Chilling on a bed, pumping my fist while a needle in my arm, sucking out blood and putting it in with crack heads, skaters, hustlers and people who need to get their weed fix, all while watching some movie to prevent me from sleeping sounds a lot more exciting.

Next, I have to scavenge for change everywhere and anywhere. You see something shiny on the ground, you have to inspect it. You see a dollar anywhere, get ready to grab and it claim it first. My mom got a water jug that’s full of change... I’m going through and collecting any much change that’s not a penny as I can with the quarters first. Someone at the gym had change in their pocket and it all fell on the floor and just left it there... just came up on 65 cents. You have to collect or as I would say it “rack up” as much change as possible before going to CoinStar. 8.9 cents for every dollar and I need to have as much as possible because this means gas, games, and whatever the EBT can’t cover.

'There's No Shame In Renting'

I no longer fall into this category, but what I did to accommodate my unemployed/underemployed lifestyle still applies today.

I used to have a well-paying job, until things went sour. After that day, I was unemployed for 3 months before falling back in to a less-than-$20k retail job. I used to buy games all the time with the former job. If something piqued my interest, even remotely, I bought it. When you go from $40k to nothing, the random games can't be that interesting any longer.

So I started up GameFly and rented just about every game that I would have bought. Sure, if there was a major game I knew I was going to enjoy, I bought it. Even now, in a completely different field making what I did before slumping back into retail, I still have GameFly, buying major games, renting the rest, and buying/adding to my collection those I rented when they go on sale/bargain bins.

I used to buy about 2-5 games a month that wasn't November. I'm buying about one game a month now (except March; BioShock and Tomb Raider wouldn't stop calling me), and I don't see myself going back to my old ways.

TL;DR == There's no shame in renting.

'Swipe Now, Pay... Whenever'

Greetings from the Philippines.

I'm not exactly unemployed, and from how I understand or defined under-employed is, well, not getting paid enough. Lol.

Either way, to add to the topic. A couple of years back (when I did not have a girlfriend) I always had a budget to buy brand new games. But when I did have a girlfriend (and now planning and saving up for a wedding) what I do now is, try to wait for most of the new games to pass their time, and then just buy them pre-owned. But for the 'blockbusters,' I save up for them by lets say, 'dieting' (eating at cheaper places) just so I can buy a game (for example, Tomb Raider a few weeks back, and now, am preparing for The Last of Us).

Also, usually, when some of the hit games are released, we'd have our bonuses at work (i.e. Christmas) and will take a part from it to buy a game.

If all else fails, there's always the good old credit card. Swipe and play now, pay... whenever. Lol.

My most recent game purchase (unplanned, and unbudgeted) would be Simcity. I never planned on buying it considering that I don't have a gaming rig, but it just sounded and looked too cool to pass up.

'Volunteer As Staff'

If you're truly living on the margin like myself, with no money for games or even the consoles themselves (and you're not a hardcore gamer), my personal favourite way to gain access to all the best games of the year is to volunteer as staff for an anime/gaming convention. Most conventions where I live are small and are willing to take on anyone so long as you're a good worker, for a few hours here and there over a weekend, and your reward is free access to a convention, including all the latest and greatest games in the games room, with almost no cost to yourself (especially if you can find someone who doesn't mind you crashing on their floor and if you can share a lift with someone to and from the place). Other tricks include entering every single raffle you can find (how I got my PS2) as around the release of a console, there are always a few giveaways (the more local, the better). If you have gamer friends, ask can you borrow their games when they're done (this one only really works if you have access to a console, or it's a handheld console) . Car-boot sales are also insanely good value if you are looking for old games (I've gotten 20 PS2 games for 5 before!).

'I Suggest No One Push Off Bills For Video Games'

Under-employed is the perfect verbage to describe the last five years of my video game life. There's been plenty of games I've bought that I shouldn't have, like the new Call of Duty or Rock Band. After I buy them I struggle to move money around to pay bills and often times find myself paying just the past due on the bill because I bought a game. It's a horrible circle to fall into and it's hard to get out of, I suggest no one push off bills for video games.

What I've been doing for a while now is taking advantage of trading games in. Hear me out, don't cry foul just yet. I know, I know, GameStop doesn't pay people enough for their games. To that I say, I disagree. I may be the only person on the planet that accepts GameStop is a business, and out to make money. I never walk into the store thinking, "this game is worth at least this amount." Instead, I go in thinking, "I'm taking these guys to the cleaners." I make sure I'm getting the best trade-in values, be it through a weekly promotion or through the Power-Up rewards program. Then I make sure I'm buying used, I rarely buy new. I also check to see if the game or games I want are on sale. I go into GameStop armed with knowledge and games and walk out a happy customer every single time. Want proof it works? I traded in Duke Nukem Forever, Modern Warfare 3, LA Noire and Gears of War 2 and was able to buy Black Ops 2 brand new without putting any of my own cash down.

Having few hours at work and barely making enough to support my kids, I have to make sure I get the most out of my trade ins or money. Knowledge is power in the right hands.

'It Helps Us To Have Fun'

I’m and 26 year old PhD student who certainly fits in your category. I’ve been trying since college graduation to find employment. I only planned on a little master’s work. To say it’s been hard is an understatement. My wife lost her job as a secretary recently and used the opportunity to switch careers. We are on a very limited budget but still find time to play games. Some may say it’s a waste or irresponsible to buy games in this situation but we don’t pay for cable, rarely eat out, and both pick up odd jobs to cover cost. Being unemployed and underemployed is not only hard on your finances but hard on you emotionally and psychologically. It helps us to have something fun to do once in a while.

A friend of mine or my brother usually split games with me. Recently, he got Dead Space 3 and I picked up Infinite. When we are done we trade so we essentially get two for one. Other than that I have been sticking with cheaper options. I’ve gone back to get some DLC for 10$-20$ rather than buying a new game. My wife even picked up Fable 2, it was 2.50$ because she had wanted to play it but never did. So if I have any advice for the broke-but-not-bored; get friends together and split cost, find some older games you may have missed and get them on the cheap, or pick up some DLC for something you have.

'You Don't Need To Buy Games, Ever'

Turns out that as long as you have a few GameStops in your area, and a flexible $54.99, you don't need to buy games, ever.

GameStop has an awesome exploitable return policy that lets you buy *pre-owned* games and return them 7 days later for a full refund however you originally paid for it, plus sales tax. Now, if the store is a relatively crabby store and gets tired of you doing it, they'll tell you so, but can't necessarily cut you off. I live in a town with 4 stores. I buy a game, keep my receipt, and bring the game back in 7 days.

Fiance and I just finished BioShock.

Fantastic game.

article

Posted 10 years ago #
Idunnobutiwastold
Gaming Acolyte

With 3D Printing and 3D Scanning technologies now available on the market, the issue of copyright protection for digital and physical merchandise may be exacerbated.

Using a combination of high-definition cameras and a red laser, [a 3D scanner] can scan physical objects to create digital models that can then be printed with a 3D printer.

Source of quote: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/04/05/matterforms-photon-3d-scanner-exceeds-funding-goal-in-first-week/

----------
An example of a 3D Printer manufacturer...
http://store.makerbot.com/replicator.html
An example of a 3D Scanner manufacturer...
http://store.makerbot.com/digitizer.html
(Links found via Web search engine and posted here for illustrative purposes).

Posted 10 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

I have to agree with Chris on this, taking without paying is basically theft (and shame seems to be a thing of the past for many). If you've no money to purchase games, then you should go to the free game sites and play those. There's a massive collection of free games available now (both downloadable and browser games).

Since starting the free games project back in 2008 I've accumulated well over a thousand free games, some of which are old AAA games that have been released to the public free of charge by the developer, to fan games distributed free by their developers, plus freebies from places like GreenManGaming (Age of Fear, Ninja Blade, Earth 2160, Necrovision, Disciples Gold II, Spec Op's The Line, Bioshock and Unstoppable Gorg) EA Games (Sim City 4 Deluxe and two of the early Command & Conquer titles) and BigFish games (several arcade titles), as well as others; all of which are of a high quality and MyPlayCity has over 800 decent arcade games available covering all of the main genres. Plus, many of the latest games can be purchased at rock-bottom prices within months of release. Just look at the recent Humble THQ bundle that almost gave us THQ's entire catalgoue of games released over the last few years for less than $6. (There was over $500 worth of games in that bundle if you counted each games cost at release) and included such blockbusters as Saints Row: The Third, Metro 2066 and the three Company of Heroes games plus , Darksiders and more.

Seriously, $6 is less than a packet of cigarettes, a cup of coffee, a sandwich from your local bakery or a drink of beer. I've done without a few meals in the past to purchase a game.

Personally I have little sympathy for those that use unemployment as an excuse to steal games. I've been unemployed a few times in my life. At those times I drew in my belt, stopped buying the most expensive coffees and stopped going out for meals and certainly didn't purchase any games. For entertainment, instead of going to the cinema or a night out on the town I'd go for for long walks over the moors, rock climbing, or just meditating in one of the many beautiful areas of the UK, watching a sunset, or arising early to watch a sun rise or sitting on a tussock of grass in the warm fragrant spring outdoors persuing one of my long term hobbies of pencil sketching using a set of cheap pencils I'd purchased and a drawing pad (purchased from the local discount store for a pound - i.e. approx $1.50). To travel further afield I'd used my thumb if I didn't have enough money for transport, or if it was too far to cycle. For sustenance while on one of my walkabouts I'd purchase a cheap loaf of bread and spread it with Jam (jelly); for afters and snacks I'd have a packet of digestive biscuits(and if I was lucky a small bar of Kendal mint cake - {I lived close enough to the Lake District to easily find it - it wasn't readily available away from the Lakes where the town of Kendal can be found} ). Not forgetting my old army waterbottle with carrier to carry a litre of free water (sometimes flavoured with a little orange or blackcurrant cordial). Not the most appetizing of meals, but it sustained me thoughout a day of exploration.

Of course, there are exceptions. I'd be the least empathic person on the planet if I didn't see that, but there's still no excuse for stealing for the simple reason, as I've already said above there are always good free games available and, if you want to play a AAA blockbuster, get on one of the beta programs that are always available these days so that you can play the pre release versions for free. I've done loads of beta's (and alpha's) over the years and they can be very rewarding. Another tactic I've used in the past is to ask for a discount directly from the developer. I wrote to Alawar (and Pie Eyed Games) several years ago (shortly after my accident when our family income had shrunk by two thirds) asking for a discount on a particular game (I'd explained the circumstances). They not only game me a discount, they gave me several of their older games for free (both Alawar and Pie Eyed Games)and Alawar also gave me a 50% discount on all of their games via a code that's still active today (six years later). I had spent a lot of time on their forums previously, leaving useful comments about games and had also been involved in beta testing arcade games for both Alawar (too many games to mention)and Pie Eyed Games (Darksiders, System Mania, Scavenger Arklight), so both knew me. Sometimes its heartwarming to get a personal letter from a developer who offers a good discount or in some cases a free copy.

With respect to DRM. Only those who pay tend to get stung with this. Not just with games but with music and videos. I'm a little fed up of paying full price for a movie only to have to sit through a lecture telling me not to rip off movies, then have to sit through several trailers (actually, not as bothered about the trailers as I've ended up purchasing at leat 20% of my movie collection through those). Ripped off movies tend to have all the preamble removed so they get straight to the movie.

I'm not entirely innocent in this though as I have accepted games from friends in the past; but usually, if I've enjoyed those I've ended up purchasing them anyway. I've also given away a considerable number of games that I've finished playing together with the registration codes. Which indirectly takes away from developers income. But to counter that, I've also purchased games twice and even three times (when they have had good discounts) with the idea in my head that I'm supporting the developer.

I dread to think how much I've spent on games over the past decade. It's well into the tens of thousands of pounds and my computers have cost several thousand over the past seven years since my accident.

Support the developer by purchasing their games not ripping them off.
:)

Posted 10 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

When I posted earlier I wasn't trying to change anyone's mind -- I'm still not really -- nor did I voice any of my own opinions... I simply, truthfully wanted some folks that might feel unwelcome after reading the thread to feel less unwelcome -- if it gave anyone anything to think about then so much the better, & that's why I tried very hard not to directly contradict or perhaps offend Anyone... :) So what changed that I'm posting this now? WAY Over The Top comments somewhere else. I'm nothing if not practical -- I won't do much of anything unless there's at least some potential benefit -- so I thought expressing the flip side of the coin here might provide some insight if nothing else... please forgive me if I'm wrong. First is my logic, why I wanted to post at all on the topic, while 2nd is my [somewhat tempered believe it or not] reaction to that other comment [at that other site].

I figure a Lot of GOTD regulars are regulars because it's free software -- for many of them it's not that they wouldn't like to buy it, but a matter of can't. GOTD isn't the only source of free software -- their distinction is the apps offered are licensed. Given that a good many GOTD offers are not best in class, if free was their sole, main criteria, logically they wouldn't bother to download GOTD offers but a relative few times a year. Now given the numbers that WR has reported in the past, it follows logically that for a good many folks a) they can't afford better, & b) that license means a great deal to them personally. It would also be logical to think that since the GOTD offers tend to be utilities or specialized apps -- not the sort of things most people have a PC for -- they also make use of that *other* free software when they can't avoid it. Finally, you're generally not going to effect someone that doesn't care one way or the other -- if someone leaves GOTD because they felt unwelcome it's because they did care -- so discouraging those folks not only hurts GOTD, but helps to convince them that caring isn't worth it, which would seem contrary to anyone's goals of seeing more people support [particularly small game] software companies.

Now as to what set me off... I have a set of moral, spiritual &/or religious, plain-spoken guidelines I try to live by. I strongly dislike those with overgrown egos who think most everyone else [along with their ideas] is inferior -- I strongly dislike arrogance -- & I've come to absolutely loath bigotry, to the point that I carry a Very lightweight aluminum cane because I'm afraid I'd be too tempted on rare occasion to use a wooden one as a baseball bat. :) A few people had commented at this other site that they learned on unlicensed software, & that led them to be employed today, & of course to purchase fully licensed copies. To that a rather vile [expletive deleted] person replied that they paid for their copy so that they could learn, going on to imply that everyone that didn't pay to learn was some sort of pond scum. What an arrogant bigot, assuming everyone has roughly $600 lying around they can spend on anything they please -- bigoted in the denial that the poor don't exist. In person I would have gone to the head of the line, in front of all those folks who came in contact with this jerk & wanted to wreak physical havoc & pain on the schmuck. On-line I have to make do knowing that those people wanting to inflict harm on bigots certainly do exist, that if there is an afterlife the dweeb will certainly regret their bigotry, & if not, that at least their legacy will be in part marked by celebrations at their passing. Some feel more strongly than I, some regard this sort of person as not worthy of being considered the same as other human beings, & everything that goes along with that... those are the depths of emotion we're talking about.

Facts are, no one is in absolute control of their life or their destiny [if you believe in such a thing], but subject to whatever life throws at them -- being built like an American football player didn't prevent me from becoming disabled due to illness, but it certainly did make finding diagnosis & treatment impossible because idiot docs thought no one that physically big & strong could actually be that sick. [Of course if I had had tens of thousands of dollars lying around that would have been a different story] A few years earlier, nothing could prevent a good friend & his wife from being hit by some kid who ran a red light, nor could anything prevent the years of convalescence his wife went through as a result, nor the fact that she would never be the same. I could go on with more examples I've been touched by personally, but there'd be no point -- life throws whatever it wants in our direction. That includes the circumstances of our birth, e.g. where we're born & what class we're born into, what jobs are available, whether an employer went belly up & so on. Not everyone has enough that they can scrimp & save anything to buy whatever -- not everyone has some sort of safety net at least providing food when they can't pay for it -- not everyone has reason to believe that things will ever improve. There are people around the world, including in the US, that feel that the elite are so far above them that there's a near total absence of hope. The elite have lied to them so much over the years, for as long as memory really, that when some bounty hunter makes what seem outrageous claims it's not even worth a laugh -- when someone parrots those claims they're often considered either part of the elite themselves or foolish, & either way not worth thinking about overmuch.

OK, so... No one can say how much any company or individual loses because of unlicensed content use -- somebody jacks a load of HDTVs, the owner knows just how many HDTVs were in the boxcar or whatever, knows exactly what they cost, but 1) there's no way to count everyone using something like an unlicensed copy of whatever game or app, & 2) no one knows how many of those people could or would pay for it otherwise. Dealing strictly, only in facts, the 2 devs that were the subject of the article reported how many unlicensed copies were used because the game phoned home -- the numbers could have been higher if users prevented the game from phoning home, they could be less if the devs aren't being honest, & I didn't see anything that said they were monitored over time, so there's like as not no accounting for those giving it a shareware type try, which is common for non-shareware BTW, because software companies, sellers etc. do very often lie. I wouldn't expect the devs to say we had X number of installs, but a few weeks later only 1% of those installs were still active, because that would hint 99% of players didn't like it. At any rate, I know the light's on because I'm sitting next to it & can see it -- you know somebody wrote this if you're reading it -- I don't believe you know equally as fact how many sales of the game were lost because of unlicensed use.

That does not mean that folks who don't have to steal don't steal -- the fact that they do is actually one of the major points made in their defense by unlicensed software users. Part of it is simply mental gymnastics -- thanks googoo for the examples BTW -- where people will redefine along with justifying most anything. That goes for unlicensed users as well as their critics [unless we have some unrecognized saints among us]. That's not to say the pot can't call the kettle black -- in the justice systems guilty people testify against guilty people all the time -- but it can strike home whenever & wherever there's moral indignation. If you can't win the argument, or don't feel like bothering to try, some feel it's worth any small bit of amusement. Personally I like to quote the latest Sherlock Holmes movie, where Sherlock says: "Bad people do bad things because they can." That in a nutshell is why I don't judge anyone using unlicensed content for strictly personal purposes, the same way I don't judge those who never pay all or some of the taxes due [most of the people who buy on-line in the US are guilty of that one BTW]. I don't judge people who think unlicensed use is right or wrong, nor do I hold most people responsible for not knowing how fortunate they really, truly are. I do simply & dearly hope that bigots rot, whether they're bigoted towards sex, race, religion, social class, disability etc.

For the more practical minded, a final note... Laws are defined geopolitically as rules & regs that can be enforced, e.g. the President of the US is technically in violation of the law for not presenting his budget by deadline, but since there's no enforcement possible, it's only considered law by his political opponents. A great many legal opinions worldwide say the EU broke laws by compelling Cyprus to take money out of bank deposits, which itself falls within the definition of theft. There is no mechanism to throw the heads of the EU, nor the gov in Cyprus in jail because of it. Therefore there is no law in that case to break. Applied to the unlicensed use of content, again the law seems to be solely what can get you arrested if you break it -- something I imagine Dotcom's learned BTW since I haven't heard of us invading NZ a 2nd time, & he was back in biz.

Posted 10 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Hi Mikiem. I wasn't offended by your comment and I hope my comment hasn't offended anyone either. That was never my intention. As always I appreciate your erudite and well tempered arguments and can appreciate what you are saying.

As you've said/implied above, my reply was just trying to express one side of the argument with respect to ripping games off. I still think there's no need to rip games off, especially now, simply because there are so many freebies available these days.

It's possible that many of the latest games that are ripped off are through peer pressure. i.e. a friend is playing the latest game and is begging you to play it with him scenario), or the impatient 'must have it now' person etc.

Even the most popular games like Minecraft, Gameglobe as well as games like the brilliant shooter Crysis all have free versions available. It's more true now that it ever was with the advent of the free to play MMORPG's that are popping up virtually every week now. (Steam has at least 30 or so available to play right now. You can play all of them totally free of charge. That said, you'll find yourself at a distinct disadvantage when coming up against players that have purchased upgrades such as better armor and weapons. I played a particular post apocalyptic 'gang themed' game last year (can't remember its name) without purchasing any upgrades and within 40 minutes of game play hadn't managed to win one fire fight despite having played first person shooters for years. At one point in the game I'd managed to creep up behind a player and shot them several times into their imaginary head. They promptly turned around and shot me once with their 'purchased' weapon and killed me instantly. Still, you can explore and enyoy many of those games for free without purchasing the extra's.

Thanks for being such a diplomat Mikiem. :)

Posted 10 years ago #
ChrisS
Administrator

The rules of society are, at their core, a primer on how to be successful. If you consistently make good decisions in life then you're more likely to have a good outcome. If you consistently make poor decisions then you're more likely to have a bad outcome. And, if you consistently make good decisions then you're more likely to be able to prevent a "stuff happens" moment from becoming a disaster.

When you say these people (insert group designator) don't have to follow the rules because (insert excuse) then you set them up for a life of failure. A former President called your argument "the soft bigotry of low expectations". We should be encouraging people to be the best that they can be, not the least that they can be.

A casual look at Inner City, USA (or Inner City, UK) gives ample proof that encouraging people to destroy themselves is not kind, compassionate or charitable.

Posted 10 years ago #

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