Yarr... The battle lines be drawn. On port, there be massive comp'nies intent on pillagin' yer wallet. On starboard, flyin' the jolly roger, be they intent on keepin' their loot. An' in the middle, there be us.
The subject of piracy when it comes to computer games has been discussed ad infinitum. On the one hand, companies (especially publishers) want to be paid. On the other hand, the cost of games to the consumer has continued to rise. Coupled with the dearth of good demos or shareware being released, this has led to an increased risk for consumers. No one wants to make an uncertain bet on entertainment with $50-$60. The situation is even more dire for gamers outside of the US, who are now literally paying more for their games than their American counterparts. There are many factors, of course, but at the end of the day piracy is an eminently understandable response.
What we'd like to tell pirates is that we're not out to get you. Yes, we're including DRM in Purify Puzzle but all of us would be rather shocked if the game doesn't show up on torrent sites within a day of release. We understand that pirates will be pirates and that fact does not, necessarily, make them bad people or worth our ire. Our main concern is this: we want to make a living creating an awesome game studio that makes the games we love playing. Yes, piracy definitely impacts that goal. However, with piracy affecting games that are delivered free of charge and even games you have to pay a cent for, piracy is simply a fact of life in the PC game space.
Our strategy against piracy is this: we're honest with you. Paper Child Studios is formed of some industry veterans, a very small knot of talent with the passion and the drive to dare big things. There are three full-timers in the studio right now, most of whom haven't been paid in really any way during the development of Purify Puzzle. There are several contractors who've provided our great art assets and awesome sound, who are working under a revenue share agreement. None of us will really make any money if Purify Puzzle doesn't sell.
So that's our situation, pirates. We're hoping that, in order to recoup costs, we can clear ten to fifteen thousand sales of Purify Puzzle. If the game is pirated to a million homes and a fraction of that actually purchases our game that's perfectly fine by us. We hope that you don't feel the need to pirate Purify Puzzle but in actuality those determined to do so will do so.
We also understand uncertainty about the title. We are, at this very moment, working on a demo build of the game that will show off many of our features and provide something a bit more comprehensive than most modern demos. We're also trying to figure out a way to do a flash demo that folks can play on our website. We absolutely don't want you to have to pirate the game to get a feel for it.
So, that's it. To those of you who will pirate the game, all we'll ask is that if you're satisfied with the game that you take the time to purchase it. To those of you who will buy the game, thank you! Paper Child Studios intends to take the profits from Purify Puzzle and put them towards even grander games, even more fun experiences, and every dollar towards that goal is a gift.
