Pixel Piracy Devs Pirate Pixel Piracy

Well, this is just confusing. The last time I posted about Pixel Piracy, it was part of my drive to reclaim the RPS 'piracy' tag. I am trying to steer it away from the choppy waters of people acquiring games they haven't paid for, and into a calm bay of games about pirates. Pirates of the sea, and not of the Internet. Well, the makers of the Pixel Piracy have stuffed that notion right up: their charming little roguelike (and honestly, while it's at an early stage it's completely utterly winning me over) is being seeded on Bit-Torrent, and running the Traceroute program that the NSA loaned me exposed the developers as the seeders. Before you start disconnecting, don't panic! The devs are only doing this to ensure that pirates receive a safe and reliable version of their game. Thanks, Solidust! You've messed my tag right up.

I can't blame them, though. In this age of and micro-studios, being trusted and connected is a powerful tool for developers. It's the sort of thing that will earn you a click on Greenlight from people who have little interest in playing your game, or who can't/won't buy it. Say the devs:

If you LIKE the game you can support us in a number of ways besides purchasing the title outright. Steam Greenlight is very important to us right now, and a vote for it DOES make a difference, and your warm reception on our IndieDB review page is what pushed us to initially take this decision. Not everything is about money, and we want to thank those that pirate our title and actually give them the opportunity to do so with our blessing, while giving them an opportunity to actually make good on the piracy itself. Tell your friends about us, share the link around IF and only IF you enjoy the game, and if you DON'T enjoy it at least you didn't have to pay for it!

They've already released an alpha you can try, and just look at it!