This evening I was notified by Stencyl user Photon that another Stencyl user had "Cracked" my game and posted it on his site. While I have not reviewed the offending file myself I just want to make it clear to other stencyl users that your hard work IS protected under copyright law. There are no forms to fill out, it's all automatic as long as it doesn't infringe or plagiarize anothers copyrighted work (I did my research, but I'm to lazy to pull up proof). If you find illegally modified software of yours floating around you have every right to take action.
It saddens me to see a fellow Stencyl user illegally modified and hosted "Mr Tart" without my expressed permission. I'm all for trying new things, playing with current or future software/hardware, and to be honest I've hacked a game or two myself and only for myself. But the act of uploading and hosting modified software I condemn.
It's acts like these that make me question the possibility of game/software development and whether or not I should continue. I love making games as much as I love photography, traveling, music, and Shakira, and wow do I like Shakira
. But the fact of the matter is hundreds of hours and lots of hard earned money went into the production of this game. The sheer passion for this game alone is worth a lot; and for it to be illegally modified and hosted for another users gain saddens me.
I want to give many thanks to the Stencyl team, specifically Photon and Hectate for taking fast action and notifying me of this. You guys rock
