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‘Darkwood’ Devs Upload Game for Free?!
It’s an unfortunate side of videogames, but piracy happens. Obviously, companies have tried a variety of methods to lessen or eliminate their games being pirated, but it always seems to be that hackers find a way. In the case of Acid Wizard Studio and their recently released game, Darkwood, they took the “beat ’em at their own game” approach.
After Darkwood was released on August 17th (and became one of the Global Top Sellers on Steam), Acid Wizard Studio decided to upload the game themselves to Pirate Bay. One of the reasons behind doing this was that the team wanted to “ensure that people who can’t afford [Darkwood] can download a safe version of the game”.
Acid Wizard Studio aren’t the first devs to do this with their games. 11 bit studios did much the same thing with their game, This War Of Mine, after it was released back in Novermber 2014.
Obviously, the question of “Are you guys nuts?” comes to mind, but it’s an interesting strategy. Yes, for a small developer, it’s a huge gamble. But, the goodwill gesture in theory can lead to those who normally wouldn’t have paid for the game (or couldn’t) to buy a legit copy at some point. Think of it as a revised concept of a demo: Instead of getting a piece of the game, you get the full game. But, in order to receive updates/fixes, you have to buy the game yourself.
Again, it’s a gambit that can backfire. But on the other hand, fighting hackers to prevent the game from being pirated can potentially waste more energy and resources that could be better spent on the game itself.
To download a legit copy of the game, as well as see some cool concept art (and the devs explaining their reasons for going this route), head here. And as always, if you like the game and want to support the team, buy it. You can do so on its Steam page, or on GOG.com.
This story was originally posted on Plenty Dreadful. Head there for more horror video game goodness!
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
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