Yet Another Developer Sees That Free Can Work For Video Games As Both An Anti-Piracy Strategy And As Promotion

from the getting-it dept   ,https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170919/10400038240/yet-another-developer-sees-that-free-can-work-video-games-as-both-anti-piracy-strategy-as-promotion.shtml

We've made the argument for some time that there are ways to use giving away free content in order to both stave off the threat of video game piracy and to garner greater attention for the product. For all of the congratulations we heap on game developers for simply not completely freaking out over the fact that piracy exists, far too few of those developers go on to actually take advantage of what freely given away products can do for them. But there are those out there who get it, including Indie Gala, a studio that is essentially giving away its product as it stands for free, both because it wants gamers to get clean copies of the game from clean sites and in order to drive those gamers to the Early Access Steam version of the game.

One of their two flagship titles on Steam - Early Access survival horror game Die Young - has been received well enough, but the developers believe piracy is enough of a problem to necessitate an unusual solution: Players unable or unwilling to buy the game are able to just download it, directly and DRM free, from the Indie Gala site.
Speaking candidly, Indie Gala state that piracy is a double-edged sword. For a smaller independent title such as Die Young with little marketing budget, it helps to get eyes on the product, even if they are piratical ones. Less good is that pirated copies tend to be older, less stable builds, and potentially located on malware-strewn sites. The move to just allow access to the game direct seems to be done with the intent of at least converting some would-be pirates to customers as development continues.

Now, the key to this is that Die Young is still in active development in Early Access. The free version the studio is giving away is nearly the entire product as it currently stands, but those freely given versions won't receive the updated content that gets developed. For that, downloaders will have to transition to the Steam version of the game. In that way, this is a strange sort of hybrid between a game demo, playtesting an early build, and the try-before-I-buy scenario so many of those that admit to pirating games have claimed they engage in. For all this to be embraced by the game studio itself is the difference here, along with its claim of concern that gamers could get malware from untrustworthy sites.
It's easy to see how this could work. Gamers who like the content will want the updates and some of them will go to Steam to get them legitimately. Some gamers will be willing to try the game out since it's free when they might otherwise not have and, if they like it enough, will go to Steam to get the updated game legitimately. And some gamers will simply want to support a studio that has treated the larger gaming community so well and will go to Steam to get the game legitimately.
There's no downside to this. Piracy does exist, but by utilizing free content and treating people in a way that's human, its effects can be greatly mitigated.

Undercover Investigation Reveals Photos of Foxes Bred 5x Their Normal Size & Killed For Their Fur      ~ CON~SUMERS... this IS what the so~called "elites" want from this Planet (& off) ...ya think we r go~in the right ...way ?  WTF !!!   ... wtf wont "they"   ....har~vest !   HUH     what?
Consumerism has become far too prevalent in society, and it’s blinding us from seeing how our desire for more is affecting other beings... Why is your desire for fashionable clothing so strong that you try to justify animal cruelty just to make a fashion statement? ( besides your just an sick ,twisted fuck )

Kalee BrownSeptember 27, 2017 ,http://www.collective-evolution.com/2017/09/27/undercover-investigation-reveals-photos-of-foxes-bred-5x-their-normal-size-killed-for-their-fur/

It’s astonishing that there’s still such high demand for fur, leather, and other animal products in the fashion industry when there are so many cruelty-free alternatives that are equally as affordable, durable, and aesthetically appealing. Most of us living in industrialized nations are no longer living in the wild and require fur for warmth, as the vast majority of us have access to houses with heating and jackets with man-made fillers to keep us warm.

Yet, we still see this obsession with fur and other animal products in the fashion industry. Fashion is not fuelled by necessity, but rather consumerism. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for expressing yourself and I encourage people to dress however they please, but does an innocent animal really need to die in order for you to do so?

Developing your own unique image and expressing yourself through your appearance can be a wonderful part of life for many people, but at what cost? So many people become so obsessed with their appearance that it leads to genuine unhappiness, and tons of people in third world countries as well as animals are suffering at the hands of the fashion industry.

One of the more recent examples of animal cruelty within the fashion industry was revealed thanks to an undercover investigation performed in Finland. The investigators found extremely overweight foxes bred for their fur who were trapped in cages and so heavy that they could barely move. The investigators even captured it all on camera, so you can really get a glimpse of how animal cruelty is embedded in the fashion industry.

Shocking Photos of Overweight Foxes Bred for Fur

The following photos were taken by the investigators from a local animal rights group in an effort to expose the animal cruelty that takes place within the fashion industry. These foxes are being bred in Finland for their fur, and they’re so overweight that they can barely move and most of them cannot see because their rolls of fat literally cover their eyes.

These animals are bred to be five times their natural weight, so it’s understandable why they can barely move or support themselves. Some of these foxes weighed an astonishing 19 kg as a result of genetic selection, in comparison to their average weight of 3.5 kg.

Of course, the fur from these animals isn’t just being purchased by the Finnish. In fact, over the course of the past five years, over £2.5 million worth of fur items were sold and exported from Finland to the UK.

The following images are of some of the overweight foxes in Finland bred for their fur:

Final Thoughts 

Of course, it’s not just foxes that suffer at the hands of the fashion industry. Millions of animals are tortured and killed every year for their fur, from raccoons and coyotes to wolves and otters, and many others in between.

It’s not just the fashion designers and clothing companies to blame; it’s us! We are the consumers of these products. If there weren’t such a high demand for them, then these companies wouldn’t be torturing and killing these animals in the first place.

Consumerism has become far too prevalent in society, and it’s blinding us from seeing how our desire for more is affecting other beings. If you purchase or wear fur, ask yourself, “Why?” Why is your desire for fashionable clothing so strong that you try to justify animal cruelty just to make a fashion statement? ( besides your just an sick ,twisted fuck )

Sometimes, when we see the fur on a piece of clothing, it allows us to become detached to where it came from. You’re not seeing it on a murdered animal, you’re seeing it on a clothing rack, so we don’t always make the connection.

Nevertheless, it’s important that we remind ourselves where these items came from, so we can put an end to animal cruelty once and for all. Remember, you vote with your dollar, so if you’d like to take a stand against animal cruelty, all you have to do is stop purchasing products from the companies who support these inhumane practices!

Much love.