VISIONPOL

I was browsing Hacker News earlier today and (finally) noticed a post speaking out against some earlier posts advocating piracy to react to inconvenient DRM measures.  I felt some massive vindication after reading it, because I haven't really met anyone who doesn't regularly pirate media (be it music, movies, games, and other software).

I'm not really sure if the author's post would convince any pirates to stop doing what they are doing, as it is titled "you can't have your cake and eat it."  Well, the pirates probably think to themselves that they are having their cake and eating it.  That is pretty much the definition of what they are doing, so I thought to create a post that may or may not be more convincing.

I recall two particular instances where two of my friends justified piracy for different games.  One of them justified pirating Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for not having dedicated server support.  The other justified pirating Spore for having unforgiving DRM measures.

For those who don't know, a single copy of Spore only allows you to install the game on three distinctly different computers.  If you want to remove an authorized computer for your copy, you have to run a certain tool that required Internet connectivity on that computer.  Of course if you reformatted that computer's hard drive without doing so, you were out of luck and would have to call EA customer support, which requires a moderate investment of time.

My friend justified pirating of Spore because he believed that pirating the game would be the only way to get developers and publishers to do away with DRM.  I replied to him that if you want something like that to happen, you either give them your money or your don't.  He replied, saying that since there was no way to take money away from them, pirating was the best measure that he (as a fanatical gamer) could take since denying them his money was not a strong enough approach.  He even went so far as to say that pirating the game and deleting it afterwards would be appropriate.

This is utterly selfish slacktivism, if it can even be called a subset of activism.

So maybe copying a developer or publisher's game isn't technically "stealing."  If you honestly believe that you can justify pirating a product that you enjoy (or even don't enjoy because a free trial isn't available or adequately representative), then maybe you should try your hand at developing a game.  Learn to program, produce music, draw, or make films, and then try to learn just how difficult it is to profit from such a skill, especially in their respective industries.

I am very much a generalist.  At one time or another, I have attempted to produce music, visual art, films, games, and software in general.  I'm young (20 years old), and I have yet to complete a project that I would feel comfortable enough to release into the public.  I had gained a great appreciation for every single kind of craft I have attempted to learn.  I have experienced firsthand just how difficult it is to create and finish a game.

I had ended the practice of piracy long before today, but after working with code, music, and visual arts, I find the thought of piracy to be incredibly criminal.  I'd like to ask you, the reader, to please attempt to create something of the same medium as the product you are pirating, attempt to master that craft (I know that requires a large investment of time, and certainly more so than the convenience of piracy), and then reflect upon that experience to see if you are really willing to pirate someone's work with your current rationalization.

Additional Notes:  I know some of my links lead to things like Lua and other pieces of software instead of alternatives you may prefer.  I invite you to use alternativeTo to explore your options, as I'm not really trying to advocate learning about a particular field or tool.