Preview: Digger

[SioSae]

Hi there,

it's almost done. hopefully apple will review the game soon and it will become available in the app store:

DIGGER, a remake of an old game I played as a young boy 20 years ago on my dad's KC 85/3.

Features of the iPhone/iPod Touch version:
- 230 levels (the 30 from the original game, plus 4 more cave packs with 50 more levels each)
- the design of the original game
- introducing new features like more animations (for the ghosts), new treasure ghosts and the amoeba
- an all new CAVE EDITOR to create your own levels
- controls designed after the original keyboard of an old KC85/3
- one savegame for each cave pack
- replay caves without changing your savegames
- control the game by multitouch on the buttons or swipe from one button to another with one finger

- uploading and sharing of cave packs will come with an update of the game later

here are some screenshots:
http://www.siosae.de/Digger/Screenshot%202009.02.10%2022.01.12.jpghttp://www.siosae.de/Digger/Screenshot%202009.02.10%2022.12.46.jpg
http://www.siosae.de/Digger/Screenshot%202009.02.10%2022.02.17.jpghttp://www.siosae.de/Digger/Screenshot%202009.02.10%2022.09.02.jpg

YouTube Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvmI6MIcuYE)

have fun,
SioSae

[pante]

i don't know why but almost every single old game rocks.

[butters]

SWEET! BOULDER DASH! :D

I will be looking forward to that one. :)

[SioSae]

updated the link to the YouTube Video: now with better quality

[pante]

my brother waited for boulder dash on iphone so long... he will be happy. :)

[SioSae]

Me too. Thats why I decided to make it myself so I can play it again, and on my iPhone everywhere I want to.

I hope you and your brother will like it.

[pante]

any news when it will be in app store?

[manolis]

hey its boulder dash. nice. :D

[SioSae]

it's still on review state for 4 days now. I dont know how long it usually takes but I check every day.

[SioSae]

Unfortunatelly the game wont be released because I decided to try to contact First Star Software and ask them if there will be any violation of copyright by remaking this old east german game.

And they told me that they would have taken legal action against me if i release the game.

But for anyone interested in, they also told me that they will release the original Boulder Dash game (Vol.1) and Boulder Dash Rocks soon on the iPhone.

So everything i did was for the trash can. Have fun,
SioSae

[superbad]

wow! im sorry to hear that. would have loved to check the game out.

PS. why wasnt copyright issues the first on to do list even before coding began.

[Zincous]

Sorry about the copyright issues....:(

Can't you just change your sprites and you won't have any issues? Since you added other things that weren't in the original as well..

[darwiniandude]

I'm really sorry to hear this, all that effort for nothing. I think if you change the graphics and make it your own, 'inspired by the classic games' and so on, there really should be nothing they can do, at least till theirs is in the AppStore. You haven't called it Boulder Dash after all.

Now, have a look here:
http://www.steffest.com/dxboulder/DXClones.htm

Boulderdash clones:
54 clones made for PC
20 or so for Amiga
and a dozen or more accross other platforms.

Surely they can't have taken legal action against all those?

I'd modify it a little, maybe modernise the graphics a bit, even making it look better. The key pad style looks great, would probably work well for this game.

Worse case, they complain, and you remove it from AppStore, big deal.

Don't throw away your work.

EDIT:

Also as you have a finished game, and polished, contact them and offer to split the profits. Not the best for you, but better than wasting your work. You could be able to pay them a license fee per unit sold, they get money with no coding work, everyone wins.

[SioSae]

i checked with the original programmers of the game and got their permission. yeah, maybe because they didn't have actually the rights on making a game that looked like boulder dash. you know, the game was made back in eastern germany before the wall falls. and i dont mean the one with the bulldozer, thats what first star software thinks, that i name it like this one but usind boulder dash grafix.

I also tried to contact the company 10tacle who had got lisenced for building new doulder dash titles and i didn't got any answers from them. now i read that the company doesn't exist anymore. thats why i contacted first star software.

i dont know if it will be enough to change the sprites because they referenced also to physics and gravity used in the game (what you can do and dont in the game) so i think it would be even a copyright violation if i change the grafix.

and also, the grafix arn't the ones from boulder dash, i mean they look like and i get the point: the customers will maybe confused (like first star software said) but even if i change them, a stone will always somehow look like a stone and a diamond like a diamond and even if i change them completely, i think everyone recognize it as a kinda boulder dash game.

i thought there are so many different games out there for free or to buy that are kinda boulder dash games. i dont know

the last thing i have done is asking them if there is any chance to lisence the interlectual property i "violated" but i dont think so, because they will make their own games for the iphone... EDIT: ("...We have two Boulder Dash titles in development right now for the iPhone/iTouch and if you were to release the game depicted in the YouTube video in any manner; but especially, on for iPhone/iTouch, that would cause us to suffer financial damages. Further, it would cause confusion in the minds of the public and we must, as above, therefore insist that you not move forward in either the completion nor the release of the game...")

anyway, have fun,
SioSae

[SioSae]

about changing grafix: how much do i have to change them, i mean, my stones look different, but how different do they have to look like, the same with diamonds, the ground, the walls, the ghosts doesn't even look anything but familiar with the fireflies and butterflies. the filter, exit everything but the main character, ok, maybe thats the one they after...

[Skywardsgames]

about changing grafix: how much do i have to change them, i mean, my stones look different, but how different do they have to look like, the same with diamonds, the ground, the walls, the ghosts doesn't even look anything but familiar with the fireflies and butterflies. the filter, exit everything but the main character, ok, maybe thats the one they after...


My game Digga (iDigger from 1.1.4 iPhone) was removed from Appstore by inquire of Firststar inc. They too do not give me any right to publish my Digga in Appstore because at this moment (august 2008) they already make Boulder Dash under iPhone.

[pante]

about changing grafix: how much do i have to change them, i mean, my stones look different, but how different do they have to look like, the same with diamonds, the ground, the walls, the ghosts doesn't even look anything but familiar with the fireflies and butterflies. the filter, exit everything but the main character, ok, maybe thats the one they after...

have you seen how many games are based on qix for example? try checking it, making your way... don't put your game, and all the effort you made into the trash.

all the best.

[SioSae]

My game Digga (iDigger from 1.1.4 iPhone) was removed from Appstore by inquire of Firststar inc. They too do not give me any right to publish my Digga in Appstore because at this moment (august 2008) they already make Boulder Dash under iPhone.

you see, changing grafix doesn't work. unfortunately. what i dont understand, is there really such copyright of the kind of game itself, i mean, could it be? because is there one developer who get lisence fees from every ego shooter or racing game? i mean grafix ok, but the rest? anyway, i dont know that much about copyright and from us copyright even less so i stay out of this. just one question, i mean you did release the game digga with a company rand not by yourself right? what was there opinion?

[pante]

or there is bomber online... something different than bomberman. check out what you can change. try adding some extra points, maybe. bonus levels. change graphics a bit.

[markx2]

I would just publish. At best you get some money back, at worst they insist you remove it - and while it is published work on some small changes.

You asked, they answered but you don't know they are even telling the truth.

[pante]

how about giving it to app store for free at the moment? you will not get money so they are not able to do anything. and after an update (that would make the game much different than boulder dash) you could give it a price.
hm?

[SioSae]

how about giving it to app store for free at the moment? you will not get money so they are not able to do anything. and after an update (that would make the game much different than boulder dash) you could give it a price.
hm?

First Star Software dont want me to release it "...commercially or even for free..." so I "...can avoid getting into any trouble..." and like Skywardsgames said: his game (wich also was based on the same game i remade with mine) was removed from the app store and it had different graphix.

EDIT: but actually I dont know why, because after some research i found at least that the UK's Court of Appeal has ruled, General ideas and structures behind computer games and programs can be copied as long as the source code and graphics are not. Ok its the UK, and I am from germany and First Star Software is from the US. And I didn't copy any graphics. But if Apple removed Skywardsgames Digga, they will remove mine too. No doubt about that.

[SioSae]

Hi there,

after long negotiations the now called game GOPHER will be released with permission of First Star Software, Inc. starting in Europe first and word wide later on.

Let's hope Apple wont take long for the review process.

have fun,
SioSae

[pante]

YES!
can you tell us the estimate release date or you just submitted it?
any screenshots?

[SioSae]

submitted it only three days ago. dont know how long it will take usually to review it from apple!?

here is a screenshot of the changed graphics:
http://www.siosae.de/images/gopher/screen_big_3.png

I will update the video shown on www.siosae.de too so the new look will be seen there too.

[Crowing]

Didnt you try and get this game passed through apple already? How will this time around be any different from the last time? Sorry i love this game and i cant wait for it to come out, i just want to no how and maybe i can help ya somehow :)

[spamboy]

COOL! It's coming!

[CandyNJ66]

This thread belongs in the Upcoming Games Board :)

[pharmx]

Hi there,

after long negotiations the now called game GOPHER will be released with permission of First Star Software, Inc. starting in Europe first and word wide later on.

Let's hope Apple wont take long for the review process.

have fun,
SioSae

Long negotiations? I hope you didn't get screwed into some sort of royalty deal...although if you're not looking to make any money, it probably doesn't matter. Just be careful though, and at the very least find someone who can offer legal counsel...even if you don't need it now, you never know when you might!

[SioSae]

Didnt you try and get this game passed through apple already? How will this time around be any different from the last time? Sorry i love this game and i cant wait for it to come out, i just want to no how and maybe i can help ya somehow :)

No I didn't. I tried and canceled it after i had begun negotiations with FSS. It is in the review process right now and will be released soon I hope. Although i had to make some compromises, maybe I can list them in a new Thread...

This thread belongs in the Upcoming Games Board :)

... in the Upcoming Games Board, because I don't know how to move this thread by myself and i want to rename the Thread anyway because the game is called Gopher now (due to other copyright restrictions).

Long negotiations? I hope you didn't get screwed into some sort of royalty deal...although if you're not looking to make any money, it probably doesn't matter. Just be careful though, and at the very least find someone who can offer legal counsel...even if you don't need it now, you never know when you might!

Thank your for your concerns and advice. I hope I never need them but had a specialized lawyer on my side during the negotiations. Unfortunatelly i can't tell you more.

Have fun,
SioSae