There is a point in abject greediness beyond which people get a seizure at the mere though that someone enjoyed something they own without having paid them for it. This mental block is so strong in these people that they are incapable of moving past it, refusing to even consider any other aspects or implications of the phenomenon, even if a more objective / pragmatic / rational analysis would suggest such that such acts are either unavoidable (you can shout at the tide all you want, it won't stop just because you're angry), don't really harm them financially (as most of those people would not have paid if they had to) or might even benefit them overall (by increasing the pool of potential customers who do in fact decide to pay). All these people can think of is "BUT I AM BEING STOLEN FROM!!!" - and you better believe there's plenty of them around the world.
like Uncle Gabe said: "piracy is not a money issue, it is a service issue"
i get why a lot of people are apprehensive about giving devs money on patreon and other platforms...
first the tiers, if i have to pay 10$ a month for access to a game, screw that, i'd only do it if it's great stuff...
10$ gets me a decent old game (complete) on GOG or Steam
second, if the project gets abandoned, the money is gone and no conclusion or ending to a story... fuck no!
third: sooooooo many scammers... hell what was the name of that game again... made by lurking hedgehog... lust and power i think... he rewrote the entire game and has been "updating" (restoring the old content) for more then a year now...
th thread here on f95zone is an interesting read, grab some popcorn before you start...
overall, i get both sides, but privileged behaviour will only annoy the potential backers...
support devs that care and deserve it!