I've agreed with what Jim Sterling has been saying in his latest jimquisitions, albeit I cannot stand his personality. Yes people, I get it, his conceitedness is a running joke, but it gets tiresome. So I overlooked it and found some good videos on piracy and I thank Jim Sterling for that. And I know this blog will be about the minority of people, so it may as well not even be made, but it's 8 at night, and what the hell. I feel like opening up a bit of a secret to you guys...
I've pirated indie games before. Oops. Now before Jim Sterling decided to cut my balls off, let me back up and explain why.
Jim was saying in his latest video that indie games are dirt cheap and if I don't feel like spending a few dollars on it, then I shouldn't pirate it because it's only a few dollars. The problem with this is how many indie games there are. Sure, if I'm interested in one, it's a few dollars out of pocket. But what if I'm a large fan of indie games? I'd want to buy most/all of them, right? But how can I be sure they're any good?
For example, Nation Red. It looked pretty cool, and I'm thinking “Oh boy, an indie game, they could sure use my money.” And I wasted $10. And people with functioning jobs would look at that and think they wasted maybe an hour's worth of work, but then there are people like me who have no income and look at it like, “Well, shit. There goes half of my allowance for this month.” I'm 17, and I still have allowance. It's really the only way I can survive through Senior year.
So what did I do? I decided to pirate and buy it if I felt like it needed support. And, not trying to glamorize myself, but when I got a prepaid visa I dumped about 200 HIB codes onto /v/ just so they wouldn't have to pirate it. I'm against piracy unless it's done right. Right now, my list of indie games is the only thing to compare to my list of FPS on my steam. I pirated SMB, then I bought it. I pirated Cogs, hated it, but bought it anyways. I pirated Amnesia, decided I didn't like it, and deleted it from my computer.
And trying before buying isn't with just indie games for me. Half of my steam library was pirated before I bought it, Just Cause 2 being an example.
Pirating indie games isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it can help you avoid making terrible decisions (Such as Nation Red). I feel like Jim Sterling did pretty good throughout his videos, but never takes any recognition of anything other than what he's thinking of at the time into account.
|
MathewRD's blog
Follow
RSS
Contact
Regardless of being 17 and having an allowance, you don't need to buy games at all. But just because you feel like you can't afford it is really not a legitimate excuse to obtain them illegally. It's an excuse to simply find something else to do, in fact...like spend your time studying to complete your "senior year." Or hell, maybe getting a part time job so that you don't have to rely on an allowance.
The fact is, Jim was expressing a valid point with liberal amounts of tongue-in-cheek aggression, and it looks like that got under your skin. If you didn't feel some small amount of guilt for doing what you know to be wrong, I have a feeling you would have shrugged and moved on, not bothering to post at all. Ultimately, a lot of people have succumbed at one point or another to the allure of the free game download, but the point is, we shouldn't. We should be better than that.
Also, there is an ample amount of available information when it comes to video games. Hours of YouTube videos, pages of reviews and analysis, and forums should give you ample information on any game you are interested in the future. It is really dishonest to say that you did your homework and then absolutely hated the game; I know if I am going to at least REMOTELY enjoy something after digesting enough information about it, personally, so there is really no reason to buy ANYTHING "blindly" to begin with.
I don't think there is much of an excuse for piracy, and that "try before I buy" mentality is not true for most people. I don't know you, so maybe it really IS the case for you, but that hurts these developers for every person who IS a lying sack of shit, and who is just trying to justify their guilt.
At the end of the day you don't have to justify your actions to anybody. But you felt the need to express your thoughts here, and while there are definitely people in this community who will sympathize, there are also those who will not, like myself. And I don't. I think it's just silly to take something that isn't yours because logically there is no good reason to do so.
I feel like I can afford these games, and I don't intend on beating them 100% illegally. And yeah, getting a part time job is kind of hard where I live where the job offerings aim for older people. Trust me, I've filled out more applications than half the people who have jobs where I live.
I can see where you're coming from when you say there's youtube videos, reviews and analysis, and forums. I see people using those things as a reference, but I truly don't know until I can get my own hands on it. To use an example, I didn't like world of goo, Machinarium, or Braid. I hated them all, but they all got raving reviews. I know I'm insane, but I can't even play zelda without getting bored.
Most people would probably pirate it and play it through, and I'm the minority. And in the end, I'm not trying to justify my actions, albeit it sounds like it, because I know what I'm doing is the right way, even if others believe its not. I'm trying to share my philosophy with everyone else.
As for "Large" indie game fans, indie games aren't a genre, they have many genres, types, and things about them that make each one different (except for the ones that are the same shit with different coats of paint on them). Needless to say, you can't buy them all and expect to enjoy them all because they are "indie". In the pc world we just call them games.
Your next thought, piracy as a demo, is BS. IF you want to see a game, go to youtube, if it looks interesting, then buy the thing. Don't sit there and try to logic yourself out of bad decisions just because you deleted the things from your system. That is like saying it is ok to steal something as long as you throw it away when you get home. Someone still lost something because you didn't want to spend a buck on it. Not to say that every pirated game is a sale, but in your case it would have been.
I will end this by saying piracy isn't a bad thing, it gets word of mouth out there and more opinions about things that lead to sales. However, don't say that you are OK to do it for the above, because obviously it is all bullshit.
Also, for the sake of reading, space out your 4 paragraphs into 4 paragraphs.
Flip that for a minute. Say you wanted to play every single boxed game for a current gen console. Obviously, that would be a tremendous time and financial investment even if you buy used or rent. Would that make downloading torrents a valid option? Of course not. You are not entitled to play EVERY SINGLE GAME. You have to realize that that's not a feasible option.
If you are playing sooooo many games that actually buying them would put you in the poor house, it means that you are playing TOO MANY GAMES. Narrow down your picks, cut your losses, and be sensible.
It's like you haven't watched any of the jimquisitions, although the idea was developed before his videos. Piracy doesn't remove anything from anyone, and it does not cause anyone to lose anything. It would cause a company to lose something if I stole a physical copy of the game from a store, but not if I downloaded it straight off the internet because then, I never planned on buying it. So if I don't plan on buying it, and pirate it, they wouldn't have made money either way.
So if I demo something and no one loses anything out of the deal, I think that's a pretty good idea.
And sorry about the formatting, I'm not a big fan of MS Word for reasons such as this.
Just because you delete something you rationalize as a demo doesn't mean you didn't deprive someone else of a financial opportunity. Had they released a demo, THEN you would have a valid point in not paying for it. But what you really have is an addiction and a sense of entitlement. Its out there, so you think you have a right to test it out.
You're essentially taking issue with Jim calling you a bottom-feeder and I can't say he's wrong. If you want to "demo" games from big publishers who go out of their way to make games a less convenient experience, few people would argue with you for doing so.
But for people that make a living off these indie games, no, you're stealing. If gaming is too expensive for you to keep up with then slow down and live within your means.
You think you're the only one who has it hard economically? Right now my gaming collection hasn't been smaller, but I make sure I get the most bang for my buck. Skyrim was a wise investment made months ago and its still giving. Nintendo dropped ten free GBA games on my about seven weeks ag, I still have my DS backlog and pleny of demos to try out online.
I don't need to play every new thing so I can keep up with others. I play what I want and stay within my means - simple as that.
And boo-hoo, times are tough for everyone. I haven't had a job since October but I'm not on my computer downloading each and every game that catches my fancy. I'm clearing my backlog.
I understand the mentality of wanting to play every game out there, because I used to be like that. Then I grew up.
I honestly believe that most of the numbers shown for pirated games, at least half of them end up translating into actual sales. Most are too cynical to believe that someone who liked a product they experienced for free would actually then go out and purchase it, for the sake of honor/stability/or just a more tangible experience with the product, but it happens every day.
The games I pirate are pretty damn obscure and cant be found on store shelves so I proudly maintain their legacy because I can. So all I can do is laugh in the face of anyone that would try to guilt me with accusations of theft.
However, your situation is a little different. The games you are "demoing" show up as stolen in the eyes of the indie developers and those who like to read up piracy statistics, thus strengthening the anti-piracy sentiment and creating a more hostile environment for us all.
Im not trying to throw a self contrived sense of moral ambiguity at you like the others but rather I would like you to realize that your actions, although arguably honorable, leave little poopy foot prints behind for others to see.
You have the world wide web at your fingertips, if you want to make a purchase you tons of resources and info at your disposal before dropping your money.
So if I demo something and no one loses anything out of the deal, I think that's a pretty good idea.[/i]
And sorry about the formatting, I'm not a big fan of MS Word for reasons such as this."
I think you should re-read what I was saying. Especially this line:
"Your next thought, piracy as a demo, is BS. IF you want to see a game, go to youtube, if it looks interesting, then buy the thing. Don't sit there and try to logic yourself out of bad decisions just because you deleted the things from your system. That is like saying it is ok to steal something as long as you throw it away when you get home. Someone still lost something because you didn't want to spend a buck on it. Not to say that every pirated game is a sale, but in your case it would have been. "
You can see the game many ways nowadays without stealing it. And you can say things aren't theft because the item is still there, no, that isn't the case... It is a matter of physical vs. virtual items, you took ownership of something that wasn't yours to own, that is the literal definition of theft. The only reason piracy doesn't "take anything" is because the good are virtual. It may not be monetary or similar damage, as I said every download isn't a lost sale, but in your case it was because you said you would have purchased it, but didn't want to.
I think you really need to deeply consider the following. Ask yourself the following questions, and do so in another blog entry. Deeply consider the following, don't just quickly reply to them.
1. If you were a game developer whose living was drastically tied to sales, would you care about piracy?
2. If you owned a store, and your living was drastically tied to sales, would you care about piracy?
3. Is there a difference between virtual and physical theft, in terms of the damage that they cause? What is the difference? Should either be accepted and why?
4. What are the negatives to piracy?
5. What are the exact reasons why you pirate things? Do you think the developers have not earned your money? Are you entitled?
Saying something like "I delete it afterwards" is more akin to just destroying the evidence.
If spending a couple of bucks is just TOO MUCH for you to do, then gaming isnt your hobby.
Stealing from some poor indie dev is the same as stealing from Microsoft. I'm retired and my savings and investments are what I live on (as will most of you). If Microsoft stocks take a dive into the toilet because they spent a million dollars on a game that gets pirated to shit and only makes back $300K... then the stock sinks and I'm the one that suffers. The laid off devs that made the game suffer. The laid off admin staff and support staff suffer. There's not really any such thing as a "rich evil corporation" that deserves piracy... those corporations are all made up of people like you and I. They affect the everyday person.
People can always rationalize piracy and personally there ARE some good rationalizations. If you bought the game and want a DRM free copy to play it up at the cabin with no internet, I don't think anyone would care. If you pirate games for dead systems from dead developers and publishers... I doubt anyone cares... but I guess the thing about piracty is that everyone has their own rationalizations about it and it comes down to the law. If something is illegal simply don't do it and instead spend your time and energy legitamately seeking to change the laws.
(though I really doubt that the laws could be changed to make everything free... we already have free content, and some people deserve to be paid for what they do. If you can't change the laws, then take the free content - there is lots of it available. If you want "better" stuff... then pay for it.)