It was inevitable I guess, but I was not expecting it to happen this quickly.

http://XXX.XXXXXdownload.XXX/games/games/_world_of_goo-skidrow.html

+many more sites I'm afraid.

This saddens me deeply. I hope 2dboy are pro-active in their approach to piracy, as they were good enough to go without any DRM. I would hope a carefully worded letter to the admins of these sites might help stem the flow.

Who the hell RIPPED A COPY?!? Jeez, It's only 61MB for chris-sake!

sigh!

It was actually out within roughly a week of the release. Point is, it would also be, if it did have DRM. So the DRM would only bug the actual customers.

And no, an email is not going to help.

Virtually all of these sites claim that they do not host any actual files etc. etc.

They almost all supply a way to remove copyrighted content if the copyright holder contacts them. This is probably complete baloney anyways, but it might be worth a try.

The only feasible method for indie game devs to prevent piracy is by making really, really good games that people want to buy. Lawyers and DRM are the realm of large corporations, and even then the effectiveness of their measures is questionable.

If you make good games, people will buy them. There's no need to lose sleep over inevitable piracy.

[quote author=Marius link=topic=625.msg4431#msg4431 date=1225103494]
It was actually out within roughly a week of the release.

s/week/day/

I saw this on Releaselog and 90% of the people in the comments kept saying ppl should buy this because they're indie guys :D, or because it was too good :D

Internet: 10% douchebags
90% awesome people

out of those 90% awesome people 70% "demo" a game by downloading it (when there's no demo available) *bioshock *cough *cough*
20% buy the game no matter what

True, making a good game helps.
I know of (*counts) 4 people who usually pirate games, who have bought this game because it's awesome.

It's good to see favourable comments on "file sharing" sites. It's another thing to turn that into purchases. I would like to at least see some kind of online verification of leaderboard activity, as I want to PUNISH, KILL, KILL, DISMEMBER... ahem ... punish those who are using pirated version.

It's not like the game is hard to buy - it must be available for purchase at least 8 ways that I know of, and there is a demo now (and a big one at that!).

I think there should be a "freestyle" leaderboard, for people who do super-funky things on levels, that do not lead to OCDs. This would mean that I might have a rough chance of making it. I remember getting an absolute fluke of an OCD - just dropped the goo from a great height, straight into the pipe - it was something to behold - truly it was!

Yes Marius, I am one of the pirates you mentioned. I guess when a game is so good it converts life-long pirates to happy game purchasers, it can only be a good thing...

[quote author=themacmeister link=topic=625.msg4543#msg4543 date=1225183625]Yes Marius, I am one of the pirates you mentioned.You are?
*Thinks
No you're not. I meant people I personally know ::)
But yeah it applies to more people :P

I'm one of the people who buy a game no matter what, but I'm giving anything with Securom or any other agressive drm a wide berth these days, so it was an absolute joy to me to get a game this good that wasn't going to stuff with my pc. And I'm glad to see people recognise that the guys are doing the right thing, we should all be buying it, it gives me a bit of hope.

[quote author=martinarcand1 link=topic=625.msg4523#msg4523 date=1225161991]
out of those 90% awesome people 70% "demo" a game by downloading it (when there's no demo available)


That's right, and it's something the gaming industry invariably "overlooks" in their statistics. The quality of games varies a lot, as do personal tastes. Games are also relatively expensive (I know someone is going to contest this, but please, lots of people have less money than you), so many people will get a pirated version just to see if they like the game or not. Then, if they do like it, many will go out and buy it. As such, piracy benefits the gaming industry, since it's free advertising. I makes people buy games they would not otherwise have bought. And before everyone jumps all over me, understand that I am talking about one aspect of piracy only. Some people use piracy like this, not all people. But the fact is that one pirated copy of a game does not equal one lost sale.

I had an experience personally, where I downloaded a cracked game (Psychonauts), and it was about as much fun as using WindowsME. It crashed often, and corrupted save files (@75% thru!).

I did some heavy research, and discovered that these flaws were probably caused by the DRM cracking. I have since purchased the boxed (signed) PC version, and am playing it gleefully (except Meat Circus sucks - hard).

I have since found a working No-CD crack for the game (to help save my original disc 1) - but I would have always bought this game. I saw enough, and investigated the instabilities - and got enough feedback that was all positive. What I am saying is that you cannot always trust cracked games to gauge stability.

I hope when WoG goes platinum, they drop the prices (except on the boxed Euro version) to thank everyone :)

That seems illogical.
Lowering the price to thank the people who already have bought it?

Just ignore the pirating and spread the word of this awesome game :)

Well, there's no surprise there.

Torrent sites are quick, and since this games comes with no DRM (which is a good thing, mind you) you really can't be all shocked to see the game there.

Also, I'd like to point out a small thing...

I DID download WoG from one such site at the start... there was still no demo at that point. I played through the first chapter, and then I directly proceeded to buy the game! And now I advertise it to my friends (word of mouth style).

So be weary that some of those downloaded torrents will turn out to be sales in the end.