I'd much rather someone get to experience the game if they want to but can't afford it, than not get to play at all. I created the game to be played :) If someone pirates it and enjoys it, I hope that perhaps they choose to buy it later or tell their friends.
I cannot afford this, but I MUST support a dev with an reaction like this at all costs. I'm treating this as a demo for now, and wishlisting to purchase for real when I absolutely can.
Gonna tell everyone in every discord server I'm in how fun the game is, as well. Passion for gaming has to be rewarded.
Wow, thank you, I really appreciate that! If you have any problems or feedback, please feel free (and anyone, even if you pirated, it's fine) to join the Discord and chat to me :)
This is literally how Stardock got their start. Galactic Civilizations I was put on pirate sites by the devs themselves. Along with a blurb about the game, and a thank you to those playing it. Asking anyone who enjoyed it to buy a copy to support them making more, and most importantly to tell their friends how good the game is. It's advertising. Because the games WILL be pirated no matter what devs do. So why not lean into it and make the most of it?
This is the very same belief Stardock started off with. They knew people would be pirating their games. There's absolutely no way to stop that. So instead of punishing the players with intrusive DRM, they personally put their full games on pirate sites, along with a letter from them explaining the game and telling people that if they had fun to consider buying a copy to support them, and most importantly, telling their friends how great the games are.
It's basically free advertising.
It's great to see more devs doing this. I've seen a few other indie devs doing the same, and they've skyrocketed their sales by doing so. Great word of mouth, great support from the dev, and while many will just download a game, beat it and never think about it again, many people use piracy as a "demo". They'll try out a game and if they like it, buy the full version.
I've bought many games after playing a pirated copy and making sure I would enjoy it. And it lets me tell my friends about a great game to try.
Appreciate it, Adam! I've pirated games myself and went back to buy them, so I can't exactly sit on a high horse and stop people from doing the same. I just hope people like the game and decide to support me to be able to keep making them!
As a pirate out of necessity, I truly appreciate the sentiment. I do try to recommend games that make an impression on me, and as a prospective gamedev myself I hope to follow in those footsteps someday. It's a bit odd to say preemptively that I want to give them away for free when I'm this poor, but it's like giving back to places like this for letting even someone like me play whatever's new all the same.
Art is made to be perceived. The paywall is just there to support the artist, which I would be glad to do if I ever get the chance. But given the excellent reviews on Steam, it seems like you made it even without me.
Thanks for the update. The game is fun, but only if you like games that can melt your GPU. FPS caps, Vsync, the game doesn't care, the oven is 65+°C. It's disappointing.
Gonna tell everyone in every discord server I'm in how fun the game is, as well. Passion for gaming has to be rewarded.
Galactic Civilizations I was put on pirate sites by the devs themselves. Along with a blurb about the game, and a thank you to those playing it. Asking anyone who enjoyed it to buy a copy to support them making more, and most importantly to tell their friends how good the game is.
It's advertising. Because the games WILL be pirated no matter what devs do. So why not lean into it and make the most of it?
I applaud your attitude.
This is the very same belief Stardock started off with.
They knew people would be pirating their games. There's absolutely no way to stop that. So instead of punishing the players with intrusive DRM, they personally put their full games on pirate sites, along with a letter from them explaining the game and telling people that if they had fun to consider buying a copy to support them, and most importantly, telling their friends how great the games are.
It's basically free advertising.
It's great to see more devs doing this. I've seen a few other indie devs doing the same, and they've skyrocketed their sales by doing so. Great word of mouth, great support from the dev, and while many will just download a game, beat it and never think about it again, many people use piracy as a "demo". They'll try out a game and if they like it, buy the full version.
I've bought many games after playing a pirated copy and making sure I would enjoy it. And it lets me tell my friends about a great game to try.
So good on you for doing this.
Art is made to be perceived. The paywall is just there to support the artist, which I would be glad to do if I ever get the chance. But given the excellent reviews on Steam, it seems like you made it even without me.
The game is fun, but only if you like games that can melt your GPU. FPS caps, Vsync, the game doesn't care, the oven is 65+°C.
It's disappointing.