This War of Mine Dev Responds to Pirates with Free Copies of Game

[GAunderrated]

I just bought this game right now after watching TB's video on it and reading this article. Not only is the game something interesting that I would enjoy but the developers are upstanding developers. I hope this game gains traction.

 

[Grabehn]

This game looks REALLY interesting, and after a video today I really felt like trying it, but it's a shame that I just can't get into this type of game anymore, as much as I want to like it I'd probably stop after half an hour.

 

[GabeZhul]

I noticed that this attitude seems to be particularly prevalent among Eastern European developers. Maybe it has something to do with the culture there? Less wealth? Post Soviet occupation? I hope I'm not stereotyping now with these simplistic notions.

I would say it's partially the culture over here and partially just the difference in income levels. In Eastern Europe if you are making a game and it nets you a million dollar profit, you are already on the top of the world and don't care if you could have made two million by plastering DRM all over the thing. If you were a Western developer, you would get your ass fired for putting out a financial dud and thus you would desperately want to squeeze every single cent out of the sales.

It's pretty much the same difference as between an indie game being a success by selling a few hundred thousand copies and Square Enix bitching that Tomb Raider didn't sell 10 million.

 

[Super Cyborg]

I think I'm going to buy this game asap because of how cool the developer is!

I watched Jesse Cox do a Fan Friday of it, and it looked like a very interesting and different game. If they will make more interesting games by supporting them, while not being jerks about certain practices, then I'm all for them.

It would be very interesting if someday for PC games there was a Netflix like service for games. You could pay a certain amount of money per month for access of many games a month, some which stay all the time and others that come and go. There's probably a lot for complications for that, but maybe it would help with the piracy aspect for those who can't afford all games.

 

[Strazdas]

Edit: im blind and cant read apperently.

On topic. This is a good outlook at piracy. there are many different types of people in the world, some pirate, some dont. Not all piracy is bad and not all coypright is good (heck one could argue that most of copyright nowadays are bad). And then of course there is often problems with companies being stuck in 19th century politics when they think "Regions" is a thing that isnt insane in its concept.

 

[infohippie]

I don't even know what this game is about but I'm now considering buying it just because the developers are good guys.
Anyone else out there in dev-land watching? No? Didn't think so.

 

[Scorpid]

SHit becomes harder to steal from someone when they are looking at you and saying "well I hope you enjoyed it. I understand what you're doing." So uncapitalistic.

 

[Aeshi]

Would the world be really be a more just place, if some Ukranian teenager with his dad's desktop PC, would act oh so righteous, and instead of keeping up at least with this aspect of culture, accept his deserved place as a poor person whose entertainment must consist of terrestial TV, and old library books?

Plenty of people have paid for this game. What makes him so much more important than them that he doesn't have to pay?

 

[Teoes]

Neato! This news brought an interesting-looking game to my attention and the dev's commendable actions have convinced me to buy a copy and check it out.

Well played, 11 Bit.

 

[odolwa]

Neato! This news brought an interesting-looking game to my attention and the dev's commendable actions have convinced me to buy a copy and check it out.

Well played, 11 Bit.

So you would pirate it yourself if they hadn't conceded to the pirates?

 

[bificommander]

Plenty of people have paid for this game. What makes him so much more important than them that he doesn't have to pay?

The difference isn't that he's more important. It's that he's unable to pay for it. Nor will he be able to pay just by waiting till next week's paycheck/allowance, unless he wants to deviate funds from vital things like food, housing or educations. And if he does, people who typically don't need to defer buying small luxuries for more than a week will blame him for his poverty. Because he could've easily pulled himself up by his bootstraps if he didn't waste money on frivolities.

I'm simplifying and exaggerating, obviously, but this dynamic does play out a lot in these types of discussions.

 

[Teoes]

Neato! This news brought an interesting-looking game to my attention and the dev's commendable actions have convinced me to buy a copy and check it out.

Well played, 11 Bit.

So you would pirate it yourself if they hadn't conceded to the pirates?

I'm trying to re-read my post, but dammit I just can't seem to find any reference to piracy whatsoever.

I said the news post brought the game to my attention.. implying I was not previously aware of it.. and that the dev's good actions have earned them a sale from me.. implying I will exchange legal currency for a legal copy of the game. (edit: Past tense. Have now exchanged.)

Nope no part of that says that I at any time considered pirating this or any other game.

Have another go.

 

[odolwa]

and that the dev's good actions have earned them a sale from me.. implying I will exchange legal currency for a legal copy of the game.

Their 'good' actions have 'earned' them a sale? Was taking the time to craft a game that has reviewed reasonably well not good enough in the first place?

 

[Teoes]

and that the dev's good actions have earned them a sale from me.. implying I will exchange legal currency for a legal copy of the game.

Their 'good' actions have 'earned' them a sale? Was taking the time to craft a game that has reviewed reasonably well not good enough in the first place?

You are intent on picking away for some reason, aren't you? Did someone piss you off earlier? Not sure why you have such a problem with me.

I was not previously aware of the game. Had I been aware of it, I might not have bought a copy. I have not bought many games of late as I'm trying to save some money. I don't know if this particular game will be up my street; I could not tell on first glance if this is the sort of game I would normally appreciate. On reading the article I decided that did not matter and that I would take a chance on something I may or may not enjoy, as I felt the developer deserved extra sales for their good actions.

edit: Also, am I supposed to buy every game that reviews reasonably well? That seems neither reasonable nor plausible.

Are you satisfied? I do hope so, I would hate to think I've not adequately explained myself to you.

 

[odolwa]

I felt the developer deserved extra sales for their good actions.

There you go again with the 'good actions' argument. They're only good for would-be pirates. You'll never see EA or Ubisoft handing out keys for a new game after a bout of piracy, because they have stock options to soften the blow. A small dev team, on the other hand, has to bow to public pressure and perform 'good actions' in order to prove themselves. It's pathetic.

 

[Teoes]

I felt the developer deserved extra sales for their good actions.

There you go again with the 'good actions' argument. They're only good for would-be pirates. You'll never see EA or Ubisoft handing out keys for a new game after a bout of piracy, because they have stock options to soften the blow. A small dev team, on the other hand, has to bow to public pressure and perform 'good actions' in order to prove themselves. It's pathetic.

Would you rather I enacted GOG's 30-day money back clause to return the game, and contacted the developers to say "soz guys, odolwa thinks this is pathetic, I can't have your game."?

It is irrelevant to me in this situation who made the game, whether it be the biggest AAA behemoth on the planet or the smallest-scale indie dev that ever inhabited a leaking, dimly-lit basement. If a dev acts like a twat, I am less likely to buy their game. If they act like a champ, I am more likely to buy their game.

Do you think I should be expected to buy every game that is released to reasonable review? Do you think it unreasonable that I look at a game, think that it may not be to my tastes and therefore decide not spend my limited funds on it? If we can establish that the answer to the first question is 'No' and the answer to the second question is also 'No', then take that in conjunction with the second paragraph of this post (which, again, I do not think is unreasonable), then I don't see why it is such a crime that I decide to spend my money after all.

We can also take into consideration the more specific situation that lead to this thing in the first place. It's not just "pirates" as you put it, as the dev said they feel nothing can be done about those sorts; it's about people "..pissed about the current quality of many games, or those who simply can't afford the game at the time, because of some personal reasons.". If I felt I needed justification for my "good actions" comment, that would be it. These folks are trying to help out people who might not feel able to buy the game and that's a bloody decent thing to do (again, irrespective of their size as a company). Note how that ties in with my previous comment about my trying not to spend too much money at the moment. Note how that ties in with my deciding to pay for the game, note how despite my limited funds I was not choosing to resort to piracy, despite your attempt to put words in my mouth post.

Have a go at genuine discussion, without twisting my words or cherry picking to leave out statements that might flesh out my stance, as you have done already. I believe you are simply being belligerent for the sake of it - see if you can change my mind.

 

[Entitled]

Yes it would (though admittedly not by much.) Plenty of people have paid for this game. What makes him so much more important than them that he doesn't have to pay?

I guess we just have different values about justice.

All other things being equal, I would rather see freeloaders having a good time, because the more people enjoying themselves the better, than to make sure that all people are rewarded proportionally to their contribution even if that means less overall enjoyment with no positive benefit.

It's a similar issue issue as whether you would see criminals in a brutal max security prison knowing that it will set them up for a lifetime of crime, or rehabilitated in a swedish resort prison, that has absurdly low recidivism. What's more important, maximizing society's well-being, or soothing our demand for deserved rewards and punishments?

It's also related to the issue of positive externalities. If you buy a bunch of fireworks, do you carry them to the middle of an empty field, where no oe can see their effect for free? If you renovate your house, do you also put a big ugly wall around it to make sure that your neighbors' property prices won't undeservedly increase from the better-looking neighborhood?

There are plenty of situations, where some people can and do spend effort for their own purposes, and some of the results of this can trickle down to those who couldn't and wouldn't do it anyways. Trying to deny these would feel like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

[odolwa]

..pissed about the current quality of many games, or those who simply can't afford the game at the time, because of some personal reasons

The 'quality of games' bit is entirely subjective. It's PR speak. They are on the defensive. They have 'no' recourse but to grin and bear it. Do you honestly think if the game weren't being pirated that they'd be handing out keys? Of course they wouldn't! Otherwise, they'd have published the game with an "If disenfranchised with gaming industry, click link for free game-key" button!! They aren't 'being champ', as you put it, they're being as smart as they can be under the circumstances. And it's a shame they can't just sell a game on it's own merits, without validating themselves further in this manner.

 

[Teoes]

..pissed about the current quality of many games, or those who simply can't afford the game at the time, because of some personal reasons

The 'quality of games' bit is entirely subjective. It's PR speak. They are on the defensive. They have 'no' recourse but to grin and bear it. Do you honestly think if the game weren't being pirated that they'd be handing out keys? Of course they wouldn't! Otherwise, they'd have published the game with a "If disenfranchised with gaming industry, click link for free game-key" button!! They aren't 'being champ', as you put it, they're being as smart as they can be under the circumstances. And it's a shame they can't just sell a game on it's own merits, without validating themselves further in this manner.

Well you're still cherry picking and disregarding most of my post, but at least you're no longer making stuff up or twisting my words, so I'm grateful for some progress at least.

It may be PR speak, but I'm not wholly inclined to agree. It seems to me to be a little more like an honest statement from a person. In the grander scheme of the sort of shite that some developers and publishers put out on a regular basis, I'll take this happily and ask for more. Do you think it's an unreasonable or unrealistic statement that people out there might be frustrated with the state of the games industry and therefore unwilling to pay for games, or that they might feel a little strapped for cash for purchases? Note that this question can be both asked and answered without condoning piracy. As an aside, I'm aware of the fact that I've asked you a number of times if you feel something is unreasonable, but you have failed to answer a single one.

I agree that they wouldn't be handing out keys if the game wasn't being pirated. It is, however, being pirated. Considering they could either be ignoring the pirates or wailing and gnashing their teeth, promising swift bloody brutal vengeance on the pirates, but instead they choose to try and be understanding and give the situation what many would consider is a positive outcome, then yes, I think they are doing a good thing. I see this as being very similar to other companies and their more positive responses to piracy. Isn't it GOG who are aware their lack of DRM could lead to piracy, but choose to trust people instead and hope that positive behaviour encourages positive behaviour in response? Isn't it Valve who like to treat pirates as potential customers? Are either of these practices pathetic? Should we not be holding up these practices of GOG, Valve and 11 Bit as a positive example to others?

So that's things (my response, my opinion) with regards to your post and the issue of this news, the developer and their response to piracy. I'll post this bit again:

Do you think I should be expected to buy every game that is released to reasonable review? Do you think it unreasonable that I look at a game, think that it may not be to my tastes and therefore decide not spend my limited funds on it?

If you can address that (and I think the reasonable answer to both questions is "no"), can you tell me what is so unreasonable about me changing my mind in light of a situation coming to my attention and deciding to buy the game after all?

 

[chikusho]

Great! Another developer who understands the times we live in. I wish them every possible success!