The creator of the beloved indie game ULTRAKILL, Arsi “Hakita” Patala, recently commented on a post designed to make the blood boil of any hard working small time devs out there. The post basically mocked the idea of actual paid work by boldly claiming how the user loves to pirate indie games. While you’d expect then that Hakita would give them a piece of their mind, they actually had a far more nuanced take on this.
As can be seen from the reply above Hakita stated that, while you should support indie devs, if you can’t afford something like a piece of media then you should still be able to enjoy it, you should just then spread the word of it so that someone else may possibly buy it. It’s a nice sentiment, and in many ways I agree, however I can see this leading to some problematic individuals. Humans are inherently selfish creatures, and so getting what is essentially the thumbs up to not pay people for media that they worked hard to create will lead to many just choosing to take this as a sign that they can do whatever they want. My own personal stance is that indie game devs really deserve your money and that you should absolutely pay them. Many of their games are much cheaper than the big names and ensuring that they are paid will lead to bigger and better projects further down the line. For the BIG AAA companies though? If you can’t afford, go nuts, not like you will be truly hurting them anyway.
What are your opinions on this matter? Be sure to share them in the comments. That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.