How do you feel when identical idea was launched just 1 week before yours?

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by ylyu5, Aug 7, 2011.

  1. ylyu5

    ylyu5 Well-Known Member

    Sep 17, 2009
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    Game Producer
    Hong Kong
    What will you think if you have been working on a game for a long time. And eventually found someone released a game almost identical to your idea, while your game is at the final reviewing stage.

    Please spend some time to read my story, and take this as a reminder for you who are working on your own ideas. Timing is very important, and dont let too much people know your idea unless it is at the final stage, and dont loose your dream!

    Here is the story:
    I was working on an idea since last October. It was a coin dropping game that player earn coins by making coin chains and collect them. Indeed the game do not need such a long development time. But I have my job in the daytime, I can only spend my time on the development in my leisure time. And I always have to work until late, so the development progress is very very slow. :( After 10 months of slow development, the game is finally submitted to Apple last week. And then I found another game having the same rule of mine, was just released in the same week!

    Yes I understand that I can blame no one except myself, it is only a normal situation in the game industry, that's my own responsibility to delay the game for so long. And maybe I am too excited, telling too many people about my idea. And I can't deny that there might be somebody in the world having the same idea as me, even I found that person is in the same city as me.

    I just want to share my experience to you. What I learn from this lesson? Chances are valuable, timing is more important. Catching your dreams is not enough, you have to execute it fast. This is really bad to found your dream is reached by someone else just 1 step ahead. Take my experience as a reminder, and don't make the same regret as me. Wish you all succeed in your dream!! :cool:

    By the way, when I am drafting this thread, I found Apple approved my game! I will launch it in the coming week, it will be a free game. Please feel free to try it if you are interested :)

    This is the link to my own game:
    This is the link to the game that identical to my idea

    Below attached the screenshot of my game:
     

    Attached Files:

  2. IndieApp

    IndieApp Member

    Jul 11, 2011
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    London
    That really sucks, I've had a similar thing happen to me as well, its really disheartening. HOWEVER what I will say is I think yours looks much better, it looks really complete and polished. Great work!
     
  3. mr.Ugly

    mr.Ugly Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2009
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    Berlin, Germany
    arent there alot of thoose drop coin/ball/pachinko esque games on the store?
     
  4. ylyu5

    ylyu5 Well-Known Member

    Sep 17, 2009
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    Game Producer
    Hong Kong
    Thank you IndieApp

    You are right mr.Ugly
    But different drop coin/ball/pachinko have different gameplay rule
    At that time, I think my rule is another unique thing on the store, and now I found another game with the same rule is launched just 1 week before mine.
    The lesson is, when you found something unique, you should execute as soon as possible. Otherwise some other people may also find that unique things and maybe execute faster than you.
     
  5. mr.Ugly

    mr.Ugly Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2009
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    Berlin, Germany
    Are you sure your rules are unique? Often people imgine they are where they are not.. And just variations.. In te end not the idea counts but the execution..

    If this game is really your only direct competitior then you actualy can turn this into your favour.. You know what they offer, you know what you offer.. So you can improve over their offering since you can actualy disect it.

    Turn it into your favour... Good luck
     
  6. headcaseGames

    headcaseGames Well-Known Member

    Jun 26, 2009
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    Mobile Game Developer
    Hollywood, CA
    such a thing has happened to me in the past in different degrees. Same name, some mechanic, etc (and in their cases, those games were released by much higher-profile companies). I keep a pretty good finger on the game scene so it was never a case of anything that had been mentioned previously (by either their side, or my side). The thing one must realize is that for many ideas, it's important to always remember "if I thought of something, chances are pretty good that someone else has well" (especially if it is not something unbelievably elaborate)

    Ugly is right, you can use this to your advantage since you have something to compare yours to now - and you can play yours up where theirs may be lacking. Also to note is that their app doesn't look like it's made much of a dent (7 reviews) and unless you had mentioned it, I strongly suspect most people reading this thread never even would have heard of it.

    PS. be sure and try to spell the name of your own game correctly on your own website! A little quality control goes a long way, geez :p
     
  7. mehware

    mehware Well-Known Member

    Nov 22, 2008
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    I made a pachinko game once called "Tilt It" over a year ago, and it was in 3D with real physics! You guys all copied me...

    Any who chin up with the game... sorry someone beat you to it. Games are hard to sell on iOS as it is these days.

    Maybe try releasing one on the mac app store. I dunno if your using IAP tho.

    - Matt
     
  8. swiftest

    swiftest Well-Known Member

    May 18, 2009
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    With that many casual games coming out every day, I'd be more surprised if there weren't more stories like this. Who knows, there might be other similar games that you missed. In the end, I think the best you can hope for is for a flawless execution on your part and a little dash of luck.
     
  9. Attollos Technologies

    Attollos Technologies Well-Known Member

    Jun 20, 2011
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    iPhone Development Company
    I'm sure most games have a clone, just make sure yours is the better of the two :) it looks great, so I hope you have success with it :)
     
  10. ylyu5

    ylyu5 Well-Known Member

    Sep 17, 2009
    91
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    Game Producer
    Hong Kong
    Thanks everyone for the supports :)
    Yes I should turn this into my favor. Should not give up so early when I just lost on the starting line. :)

    Ugly you are right. I am sure that there must be someone else in the world having the same idea as myself. So I am not blaming anyone that having same idea as me. I just regret that, if I did the development faster, there would be less competitor on the store, especially when you found someone just 1 week faster than yourself.

    headcaseGames
    Oh thanks! I should pay more attention to quality control!

    mehware
    The game is implemented with IAP, that's a good idea to plan for a Mac OS version
     
  11. Oye Faction

    Oye Faction Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2011
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    Producer
    Yeah, you are really pathetic and I will take your experience as reminder, but if your game is better, it's okay. Good luck!:)
     
  12. Rubicon

    Rubicon Well-Known Member

    Feb 22, 2011
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    Lead Programmer, Chief Bottlewasher
    Isle of Wight, UK
    I'd stop beating yourself up over dev speed tbh. iOS games sell for a long time so even if you beat the other game out it wouldn't make /that/ much difference to your bottom line.

    Game looks ok for what it is, so I wouldn't worry - do more/better marketing and support than the other guy and you'll win. Most games have clones, it's a fact of life in game dev. As someone else said, just make sure yours is the best.

    Silver lining: If someone launches a similar game before you, download the bugger and improve yours way beyond it, then steal his launch thunder. :)
     
  13. ylyu5

    ylyu5 Well-Known Member

    Sep 17, 2009
    91
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    Game Producer
    Hong Kong
    #13 ylyu5, Aug 8, 2011
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2011
    Thanks Oye Faction and Rubicon

    Yes I am sending mails to review sites and blogs hope will get a chances to get some review from them. An youtube trailer will be prepared later today I think hope that helps:)

    By the way, just a side track discovery, I found that app got amazing numbers of 5-stars review in HongKong AppStore ONLY. It boost from 0 to 500 reviews in only 4 days, while AngryBirds got only 18XX reviews for all version in HongKong AppStore. 80% of the reviewers only review this game with a 5-star and a simple msg "Good" or "Very Good" in their lifetime.
    Guess that should be kinds of fake review services provided by some agent? Anyone have encounter this kinds of services? Does Apple have no methods to restrict this kinds of dishonestly?:confused:
     
  14. Blarrg

    Blarrg Member

    Aug 5, 2011
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    Similar game ideas

    Not to discourage you or anyone else who is developing a game, but from what I've seen trawling sites such as this is that there are really no 'unique' games anymore. Now, I don't know if this is because as homo sapiens we have reached the limits of creativity or that just everything has been covered already. Chances are any game you develop will be similar to x amount of other games already out there, I think you just have to add something to yours that gives it that... Je ne sais quoi.
     
  15. blitter

    blitter Well-Known Member

    There's plenty of original ideas and always will be. Think of it as 'you don't know what you don't know'.

    OP: it's a big world and happens. My fist release pushed a competitor to finish up their app and get it out already, riding my insect-sized-wake! funny in hind site as one of my old prototypes had the same name, but I went on to develop the app for around twice as long. Lessons were learned by the lorry load. And the best part is seeing my app at the bottom of the competitors store page.
     

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