A dev talking to pirates. <3

[Mobus]

His call for answers.
positech.co.uk/cliffsblog/?p=76

His response.
www.positech.co.uk/talkingtopirates.html

You don't want to know how long my email to him was.

[Darkmatter]

lol how long was yoru email?

what did you say?

[Mobus]

It's long and has a fair bit of rambling...I'm not sure if it even gets my points across, but here is my email to him. I re-read it and made a few edits to help with readability, but it is largely the same.

First let me say that I've not pirated any of your games, but I hope you'll listen to me anyway. Secondly, I want to say that I am truly intrigued, if not inspired, by what you're doing. I have a ton of respect for you now, and I didn't even know of you before. I would never think of pirating one of your games.

Now, to answer your question. Why do I pirate? There are several reasons I pirate, most of which are the common answers.

Cost is the biggest reason. I just can't afford to buy as many games as I'd like. So I pirate to make up for my lack of money. When I do have a job (college student), I buy my games. When I don't have a job, and don't have money, I pirate them instead. Not having money definitely does not make it right, but it does make it hard to resist. And combine no money with the ridiculously, insultingly (to the devs) low risk, and it becomes irrisistable. I'm much more likely to buy a cheaper game. But most games are not cheap.

Most often I pirate something as a super-demo. I get the real picture when I have the whole game, after all. Demos are often like sensationalist headlines. They don't give the whole picture, and are often misleading. And I've ended up disliking a lot of the games I've pirated. Most, even. In fact, even when I have money, I will pirate games to try them before I buy them. Pirating has saved me a lot of money. Of note here is that I am much less likely to pirate a game from a developer I know makes great games. They have a track record, they've earned my trust, I can have reasonable expectations - reassurance that hype is not just hype and nothing else. I can buy with confidence.

DRM is another reason, a huge reason. I won't buy a game that has restrictive DRM, like Mass Effect. When you can only reinstall a game 3 times before you have to call customer support and beg for permission to install it a 4th time, you don't own your game. So why buy it? I refuse to buy something that I can't own. DRM like that strips gamers of their ownership. Excessive DRM will make me pirate from even my most beloved of developers - and that's just sad, because DRM doesn't punish the pirates. It punishes the buyers. So why use it at all?

I will buy a game that I feel is excellent, even if I've pirated it already. I may have to save up, so it isn't always right away, but I'll buy it. Why? It's the same reason I will never pirate one of your games. Respect. Support. I'll buy excellent games out of respect to the creators, and to support them so they can continue to make more great games. They've *earned* it. But certain things cause a lack of respect. To give some examples: When a game is just bad, has excessive DRM, is riddled with bugs, or has been screwed over to meet a holiday deadline, I lose respect. I'll pirate. I always feel guilty pirating. But if I respect a developer enough, I can *not* make myself pirate their game, Nazi DRM aside. If a game is great, I feel too guily to justify it. All the truths come out, there is no longer any excuse. Pirating is wrong, it is theft, no matter what. A truly great game smacks me in the face with that truth, and I just can't pirate it.

But it just so happens that truly great games are the ones I want to be buying. They are the ones that deserve to be bought. That still doesn't make it right, but I believe most pirates actually do have morals and need vindication. Pirating just doesn't have the same deterrents normal theft does. It is a million times safer, a million times more common, and there's millions more peers doing it, too. So it is hard to feel as guilty as normal theft. I think making a great game with no DRM is the number one way for a developer to protect their game from piracy. It is so hard to justify pirating a really good game. You want to support the people who made that game, so they can make more for you. Even many of the people who crack games think you should buy a game if you like it.

Cost, DRM, super-demo, lack of respect. Those are the reasons I pirate a game.
Having money, respecting a developer, loving a game. Those are the reasons I do not pirate a game.

If you read this far, thank you. Thank you for listening to us, thank you for giving us a chance to tell our side of the story. What we do is wrong and unjustifiable, but you chose to listen to us anyway. For that, you have earned an incredible amount of respect from me and many others. Kudos!

[eoro]

That was too damn long mobus j/k
Also now that you've given them an email address to trace I would not pirate anything for a while.....they are watching you

[Mobus]

lol, I know, I write long posts n' such!

As for tracing my email address...I hacked into yours and sent it from there...don't hate me!

He said he wouldn't disclose personal information in any way, that he just wanted to hear from us to gain an understanding of pirating and what changes he could make, if any, to lessen piracy of his games. He came across as trustworthy to me. And he is an indie developer anyway, there's no big corporate machine full of lawyers behind him.

Besides, they'd have to prove that email address is mine. It having my initials and last name in it is pure coincidence, honest. Other than that, I didn't use my personal information to sign up for it. In fact I used a completely different name, zip code, and even age. Yahoo thinks the user of that account is 30 something. Probably 40 something by now. lol

[Darkmatter]

lol i think eoro wasn't serious when he said that.

As for the letter... good for you mobus

I'm more of the "I bought enough stupid games" crowd. At that point I figured... i'll try the game and if it is truly truly good! I shall buy. Or.... its an mmo, which i have to anyways.

[Mobus]

Oh I didn't think he was serious. The only part I was serious about was the paragraph where I say he was an indie dev. I think it is cool that he is willing to listen to pirates without trying to turn 'em in.

And yeah, there's so many great games out there, I know I'll be spending almost all my income on games and consoles when I get another job. Problem is finding a job opening in my area that isn't fast food. 0.o Driving an hour to work in another city/town would almost defeat the purpose with gas prices being as high as they are.

This is why I wish I could fly. That and I could just charge people a huge amount of money for a chance to ride on my back. The fatter you are, the more you pay. I'd be a one-man amusement park. Hawt!

[eoro]

I'm glad you used mine Mob's cause I used yours in turn for mine. If you follow where I'm leading ya here? lol

[Mobus]

The question is, do I want to follow where you're leading me? It's awful dark in there...