zidders

I first spotted the demo for Torchlight on Steam in late October of 2009, so I torrented it. Then, I ended up visiting the Runic forums.

After getting to know the devs a little (they were pretty active on the forum back then), and reading up on all the stuff that had happened with Flagship I realized that Max Schaefer & his crew were a bunch of good people. It made me realize that I was taking something they were hinging their futures on. Something they had worked hard for.

I don't judge people who download because I know that not everyone who torrents games is a bad person but for me...I felt so guilty. They had welcomed me with open arms, and I went and took their game...so I apologized on their forum. They were gracious, and very forgiving.

I ended up getting to know some of the devs, and helped promote their first game. By the time Torchlight II came along I was a pretty major part of the community. I even have some in game items named after me & my guild. While what I did was inexcusable the fact is that I was going through a lot of bad stuff at the time.

Over the years my friendship with the folks from Runic as well as the friendships I've gained because of Torchlight & Torchlight II have helped me become a much happier person. This is why I suggest folks support developers of games they enjoy as much as they can. If you are gonna download at least do the right thing & buy it at some point or recommend it to friends who will.