‘Game Dev Tycoon’ hits back with in-game anti-piracy features

Here’s an interesting way to approach piracy as a game developer. Patrick Klug from Greenheart Games lets players fill his shoes as a struggling game developer in a world of piracy. The cracked version of the indie game Game Dev Tycoon has embedded catchy features to remind players of what pirating does to the gaming industry. Only minutes after being made available in the Greenheart Games store, the cracked version was uploaded on to popular torrent sites by the developer himself. As suspected, cracked downloads soared, but there’s a catch…

Game Dev Tycoon is very similar to 2010 Game Dev Story, some may even call it a ripoff. As the name suggests though, players create their own business as a developer back in the 80’s when the PC movement sprouted enthusiast geeks in garages across the US. You go through the rollercoaster motions of running a business as you “research new technologies and create best-selling games” and “hire and train staff. Move into bigger offices and unlock secret labs.”

The catch is that hours into the game your business will bizarrely start to crash. Messages like “Boss, it seems that while many players play our new game, they steal it by downloading a cracked version rather than buying it legally” and “If players don’t buy the games they like, we will sooner or later go bankrupt.” start appearing and you’ll end up going bankrupt. A creative way to reach out to pirates’ hearts indeed.

This unique feature in the pirated game obviously tries to tuck at your guilt strings or at least send out a message. Ironically some players complained “Why are there so many people who pirate? It ruins me!” and “I can’t progress further… HELP!”

On this blogpost Klug claims that 93 percent of the game is played as the cracked version after a day. That’s a difficult number for anyone who aims to make a living as a game developer. The game is available for download at US$8 a copy. Where do you stand? Do you hate pay-to-play games where you need to pay in order to gain points or unlock secrets? Or do you enjoy sequels? If your answer is yes to either then support the industry.