Tim Schafer was a pirate

[4fromK]

Ok, so there I was, trawling through a Machinima series called "all your history", brushing up on my gaming industry history, when I came to the Tim Schafer episode (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl7i3DSl7Os&feature=autoplay&list=SL&index=9&playnext=1).
Very early on in the video, the presenter recounts Tim Schafer's job interview at Lucasfilm games: apparently, when asked if he was familiar with any of the company's games, Schafer replied that he was a massive fan of "Ball Blaster". The interviewer then proceeded to tell him that the game was called "Ball Blazer" and that Ball Blaster was a pirated version of their game. Obviously, he still got the job (the details are kind of awesome and recounted in the above video, but that's not what this post is about)
So at this point in the video, I do a massive double take, ("A PIRATED version??? whaaaa?"). Being an occasional pirate myself (not of games though - mostly of movies I could rent for $2 if I could be arsed and music that I eventually either Delete and never listen to or purchase; but I'm not here to explore my personal piracy either, so nuff said)(hahaha that was totally a joke, OF COURSE I've never pirated anything in my life, especially if admitting so could get me banned possibly maybe depending on if a mod is in a bad mood or whatever) so I'm not condemning his actions, but I saw kinda surprised that I'd never heard of this before (the repressed conspiracy theorist inside me suspects that the story has been suppressed and Jesus Christ I use brackets to much). Not even the comments of the video made any reference to this, so I left a comment that was basically "Tim Schafer is a pirate, lolwhat?" and thought, you know who'd want to hear about this? escapist forumites. and hence I quickly came.

So anyway, tl;dr Tim Schafer pirated at least one game at least one time before he was a big time game designer; what do you make of that, eh?

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I make nothing of that. Doing something once does not imply a pattern of action nor does he have a history of loudly condemning the various evils of the practice.

 

[Super Six One]

I don't like the use of the word Pirate here, i thought you were going to talk about people who sailed the seven seas plundering gold and silver from other vessels and settlements, while swinging their cutlas shouting "arrrr me'heartys"

Hope dashed again.

 

[SwimmingRock]

You may be forgetting context here. In yon olden days, it was occasionally much harder to find a legitimate copy of a videogame then to get it through other means. Hell, the first videogame store didn't open in the island of my brith until 2001. Seriously. There was a small section at Radioshack and that was it.

Also, information about videogames wasn't as readily available. For all we know, he wasn't even aware it was a pirated copy and simply believed it to be legit when he got hold of it (possibly through an actual monetary transaction in which he had essentially been misled).

tl;dr : Accidental pirating was much more common back then. You may be judging too harshly. Emphasis on "may".

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

In the words of a swedish eurovision song contest candidate: "Anyone can fall, say you will forgive [Tim Schafer]."

I think that you'd have to look long and hard to find a PC gamer who was active in the 1990's and didn't pirate a single game.

 

[Popido]

Oh plz. Hypocrite much?

 

[veloper]

Ninja'd a couple times already, but it's worth saying again. Every kid was a pirate back then.

 

[Mr Somewhere]

Clutching for straws man, clutching for straws.
If this is some kind of justification for pirating, it's not a good one. Just looks desperate.

 

[Etherlad]

You may be forgetting context here. In yon olden days, it was occasionally much harder to find a legitimate copy of a videogame then to get it through other means. Hell, the first videogame store didn't open in the island of my brith until 2001. Seriously. There was a small section at Radioshack and that was it.

Seriously this. Back in the day most people owned more pirated versions than originals and nobody gave a shit. Kids maybe got a OG a few times a year by their parents but were trading Floppy-Disks on the school-yard like candy.
That's also the reason why back-then SoftwareGiant Lucas Arts eventually invented anti-pirate devices like the Codewheel for Monkey Island http://www.geekworld.co.za/system/files/images/wheel-mi2-resized.jpg (which was subsequently just copied or redrawn by Kids) and later printed codes on the back of the Handbooks to type in (which were also just copied)

Really, you have to put this into context. It was a different time then (you meddling Kids, get off my lawn!)

 

[4fromK]

Oh plz. Hypocrite much?

If thats directed at me, you totally missed the part were I was all "man, I aint conemdning this niga for what he be doin" and "I juss be wantin to find out what y'all thought"
although, come to think of it, I might have typed in a different accent, and maybe less pseudorascistsly last time... so yeah I don't think that makes me a hypocrite.

pirate with a joystick peg leg, laser gun pirate pistol and megadrive game pad for an eye patch.

awesome.

and to people who are like "everybody did it back then" (and again I'm not judging him at all, I just think its interesting) isnt it kind of weird that an industry giant like Schafer pirated games once? Its kind of like finding out that Aronofsky or Tarantino used to sneak into theatres without paying. or, to take of my faggy and illdeserved moviebuff hat, like if JK rowling... photocopied... lord of the rings... at a bookstore? that one fell apart a bit, but yeah, I honestly find it pretty fucking funny and interesting

 

[frans909]

I pirated the shit out of everything when I was in high school. There was no way that I could actually afford buying any games. Empty cassettes and floppies were expensive enough already! But now I pretty much buy everything I play, and have been doing so for the last 15 years.

 

[Etherlad]

and to people who are like "everybody did it back then" (and again I'm not judging him at all, I just think its interesting) isnt it kind of weird that an industry giant like Schafer pirated games once?

No it just shows he was simply a gamer like everybody else then who eventually got into the industry because he has talent.

Its kind of like finding out that Aronofsky or Tarantino used to sneak into theatres without paying.

Yes pretty much this. You think they didn't when they were Kids just like everybody else? Or do you think that Musician Whatshisname (pick your favorite) never owned a mixtape when he was a Kid?

 

[4fromK]

I pirated the shit out of everything when I was in high school. There was no way that I could actually afford buying any games. Empty cassettes and floppies were expensive enough already! But now I pretty much buy everything I play, and have been doing so for the last 15 years.

yeah, but you aren't exactly one of the foremost videogame developers today (no offence, neither am I). I just think its wierd that nobody has pointed this out before - the story is obviously in the public domain, and I wonder why some vehement anti pirate DRM toting publishing giant hasn't called it out. I mean, schafers gotta be already on their hit list for building games with innovation in mind first and profits second.
and on that note, I have to sleep now (almost midnight here) but feel free to continue to discuss; I hope I just don't end up with a bunch of people thinking I'm attacking Schafer, because I'm totally not

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Judging by the data I just made up, most people who pirated a ton of stuff during their childhood either gave up on gaming completely in adulthood, or went on to get a console and ended up buying a ton of games when they had the means to do so.

I'm not saying it's right, but I am suggesting that those kids who couldn't get games any other way probably started buying when they found that they had disposable income and could get a nice new original.

Also, back then, piracy was copying tapes or floppy discs, and pretty simple.

I'm just amazed THIS didn't eradicate piracy in one fell swoop.

 

[4fromK]

A scholar and a gentleman.

 

[4fromK]

OK, so my general feeling is that people are defending Schafer, fair enough, I do myself.
But an interesting point of contention, and possibly a chance to examine your own morals or ethics -
If it was Bobby Kotick, who, instead of having made fanboys out of nearly everyone Has done almost completely the opposite (I don't have a problem with him myself, because geting angry at a CEO of a corporation is kinda pointless, but the general consensus seems to be KOTICK SHOULD BURN IN HELL overreaction rarr rarr off topic brackets once again) admitting to copying dat floppy once in the past, would you be all defending it and saying "everyone did it back then" or would you be all "Kotick should lose his job filthy pirates!"
well, probably the answer is that the reasonable people who were all "everyone pirated back then" would still say that, but they would be drowned out by a flood of retards calling for Kotick's blood, but hey, fuck it, I view the internet as a blob of conflicting perspectives and shouting dickheads, not as a collection of individuals, so whatever, if any, point I was trying to make stands; or rather, I lost my train of thought, and have maybe made a compelling argument or maybe just sounded like an idiot. Well, since everybody knows backspacing doesnt work on the internet, I'll let it stand and go to sleep.
oh and I feel the need to reiterate that my intent wasn't to either condemn Schafer or defend Kotick, lest I wake to an inbox full of hate mail.
seeya... wouldn't wanna... be ya.
yeah, yeah, yeah. (?)

 

[teh_gunslinger]

Back in the day, when I was a kid, and played on my Amiga 500 I mostly pirated my games by copying the floppys. The Monkey Island games were among the games. It was not because I was a man of low moral fiber. I am, but not in that way.

In Denmark at that point there simply wasn't many places when you could buy games so me and my mates used to swap games and copy them, lacking any legitimate way of obtaining them. I imagine it was the same in a lot of places.

Edit: we even copied the programs used for copying the games. X-copy for instance [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCDtnQiZlSc].


The only really notable thing about the interview is that he had pirated his future employers game.

 

[BENZOOKA]

I make nothing of that. Doing something once does not imply a pattern of action nor does he have a history of loudly condemning the various evils of the practice.

This.

You actually seem to have already shared the same opinion/view, that I have, although expressed a bit differently than I would've, like not forming ridiculously long sentences, like this one, for example, on many recent threads I've visited.