Some of you may know that I am a strong believer in making good things better and feel it is a natural part of business. I used it when I built products, designed web businesses, remodeled houses etc. It was used and continues to be used by major players in various business. Steve Jobs renovated the Walkman which saved Sony in days gone by and created iPod. Those that fail to improve end up like companies like Nokia standing in the wings watch Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi etc racing by them. Enough I made 3 games which many here say are clones and I say and hope other say are improvements / upgrades to the original. I selected 3 games that are big winners in the market. My case: 2048 The game although not created by Ketchapp was one of their big hits. I made this game into a faster game by adding a diagonal swipe to increase the possible moves from 8 to 16 and multi join tiles which means you dont have to swipe multiple times to join tiles in the same line. Also the skin has a bit of Monet colors to it to soften the look. My game is called 2048.v2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/2048.v2/id937669142?mt=8 Dont Touch The White Tile This piano tune game was originally create by UMONI and recently sold to some company. I changed the introduction of white and black tiles by having them explode from the center out making it less predictable and forcing you to eliminate tile by touch the screen in 6 areas instead of 4 and I feel more graphically appealing. My game is called PianoTap Squares https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pianotap-squares/id943710266?mt=8 Stick Hero The game was introduced by Ketchapp and one of their few games that Apple gave a recommendation on. I changed the game into a game where the small figure plays an important part in the game. Unlike the Ketchapp version where the stick always extends from the corner of the rock my figure carries the stick as it is extending then when you release your finger it drops the stick and the stick is kicked to the other side. This makes it harder to calculate the distance and you have a limited time to extend the stick because the figure is walking towards the edge of the cliff. Plus if you drop the stick on a previous fallen stick the stick will slide to the end of that stick then fall. Also the sweet spot on the opposite side is a moving target in the form of a chicken where Ketchapp has a red spot in the middle of the rock. I have 4 other levels that will be introduced to the game soon. My game is called stickHero Stickman Saga https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stick-hero-stickman-saga/id978927227?mt=8 In brief those are the 3 games I want you to judge and I ask you to respond by telling me if you feel the game is a clone and why and if you feel it is an upgrade then why. Also if some of you have been accused of producing a clone please present your case here
A good rule of thumb is when the best way to describe your game is "It's like [popular game], but with one small difference," it's a clone. Sorry man. Wouldn't touch any of these games with a ten foot pole.
When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, he didn't come on stage and say "Here it is everyone, the Walkman v2!" Taking an established gaming concept and building on it or improving it is fine (usually). But if that's what you've done with these games, nobody will ever see that because you're not letting them stand on their own merits. You're blatantly using the popularity of the names of those games in order to sell your own versions. This will never go over well no matter how fun or innovative your game concepts are.
Except when Jobs introduced the iPod, he kind of did. He did a walk through of the history of portable music players, and their incremental improvements.
Sure, just as one might compare their game to another's in an app's description. He did not literally name the iPod a "Walkman" as the OP has done with his games. The fact that that does not seem to be an issue to so many people is disturbing.
Good lord, I just saw that - who on earth would think it's a smart move to name their game <popular game>.v2? I mean, forget about whether it's right or wrong - you'd be begging a lawsuit.
Yes, exactly. Re-reading my comment I see I wasn't super clear, because you're absolutely right, Jobs basically did come out and say "Here's the new Walkman!" But yeah the real issue is with the name itself, which I find super scummy. A similar thing happened with this game when it came out: Blue Bird 2: Flappy Resurrection. It looks like they've changed it now, but originally the app description and all the marketing (and possibly the game title itself?) were all calling it "The true sequel to Flappy Bird!" in a very obvious attempt to trick people into thinking it was an actual sequel. The sad thing is that it seemed to work, as that game has been downloaded a ton and I'm sure made a shit ton of money, to the point that now it seems they are able to remove all the scummy stuff that got them the downloads in the first place :-/
This is the truly shitty part about these scummy clones too. You look at these and think to yourself "These people are never going to make money with such blatant clones," but all it takes is the Apple Search engine roulette wheel landing on the right number and suddenly some dude with a scummy clone of whatever the latest viral hit is turns into an overnight millionaire. The ridiculous success of some of these absolutely terrible clones on the App Store is a fabulous example of how unfair life actually is.
1stSpin I think you are confusing why people are angry. It isn't that you are making clones with improvements, mechanics aren't IP. It is that you then use the previous games brand to try and leverage sales. You try to make it look as much like the original name or fool people into thinking you are a legit sequel. You are hoping people will search for the original game and see yours and think they are part of the same brand and thus download.
i would say they are clones. Bad ones too. I don't see any "improvements", just bad design descisions. Thoose games are simple by design, adding odd complexity to them does not make them better. Its their purpose to be simple and easily approachable. Its like saying Mario Kart would be better if it had realistic driving model. There is more to game design than copying a game mechanic one clearly does not understand. Copying does not involve any creativity and you are missing the actual design work that leads to the result presented in the games. Then of course 2048 is a bad clone itself. So go figure.
Thank you very much for your comments. You presented a number of points worth considering. Did any of you try any of the 3 games to see if my changes to the logic / presentation justified making those games.
Again what would you think if i released a game called Monument Valley 2 which 'looks' like the original but is slightly different ? I've got nothing to do with the original devs but i thought i would just use the name and make out its a sequel. Its not right one bit, i cant believe you even thought it was a good idea. When devs do things like that to 'piggyback' on the success of others i'll stay away. A decent dev wouldnt have to do that
If you do a little research you might find that their artwork is inspired by a famous artist Escher who did ink etching. Mind you this comes from a quick view of the intro images of their game. The angels and even the hooded figure seems to come from this artwork. If they were inspired did they give a little credit to Escher? I did not upload their their game this just comes for a surface observation and I did not read any credits or company / game info.
Escher is on a different medium, and monument valley devs didn't call it 'Escher 2.0'. They didn't use the same color palette, nor anything else besides 'crazy messed up stairs'. This is what one would call a strawman argument. No, Monument Valley is not a clone.
What has this todo with cloning? Does the paintings include gameplay elements someone cloned? MV is not the first game inspired by the art of Escher and surely won't be the last. I still don't see the point.
Totally agree ! Again calling your game 2048v2 is just a joke. They want it to seem like a proper sequel so theyve called it that way intentionally. I dont think i've ever seen a game on the app store called something like Baldurs Gate III or Paper Monsters 3 which isnt an official sequel by the same devs. The isometric view used in Monument Valley of course is very 'escher' like but your game is something totally different Youre purposely jumping on the 2048 bandwagon to try and pretend your games official
I made my living as a artist for over 20 years in Toronto and had 3 art galleries, published art and all of my friends were artists. Images of painting are etched in my brain. But as I said I have not played monument or have I seen all of the images other than a few. The moment I saw them Escher paintings immediately flashed. If you take a close look you will see there is a lot of similarity in the perspective, stairs running in different directions and hooded figures. I don't think this happen by chance. Pallet of colors, Escher works are mainly ink etching. But if we want to make reference to colors, certain artists are know for their pallet of colors and with a bit of research we can find parallels. All creative people go through art books, watch DVDs, in your case look at games and like or not are influenced. That goes for movie makers, musicans etc. That is but a brief shot from the hip response to you. It is not meant to discredit the game, I am sure it is a great game but if it was influenced by Escher then somewhere in the description the creator/s should make some mention. I would think that is the honorable thing to do. In my description of Stick Hero I make mention of it's source: Unlike the classic hero game where the stick is always extended from the same position making it easy to calculate the distance,.......... In my description of 2048v2 I think I don't make any reference that it is my original game: We added 2 new features to make 2048 faster, more challenging and more fun. Now you can move the squares in any 1 of 8 directions instead of the old 4 and 1 swipe will auto fuses all twin squares in the path of the swipe. We balance the benefit of the 8 direction swipe by randomly adding 1 positive or negative 2 or 4 square after your swipe fuses 1 or more squares, you can only fuse a positive 2 or 4 with another positive 2 or 4 and like wise with a negative 2 or 4. You will know which is which by the color. The object is get the 2048 square in the fastest time and or get the highest score. We hope you enjoy 1stSPIN’s new version, tell your friends and please check out our other puzzles. Sorry for the number of edits, just read the description and don't see any mention of Escher. I post them below" Description ** Apple Game of the Year 2014 ** ** Winner of Apple Design Award 2014 ** In Monument Valley you will manipulate impossible architecture and guide a silent princess through a stunningly beautiful world. Monument Valley is a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry. Guide the silent princess Ida through mysterious monuments, uncovering hidden paths, unfolding optical illusions and outsmarting the enigmatic Crow People. "Forgotten Shores": Eight new chapters of adventure and illusion available now as a separate purchase. ======= "This might be the most beautiful iPad game of 2014" - Wired "Brilliant design... stayed with me like a dream I didn't want to forget" 9/10 - Polygon "The most sublime hour my iPad has ever given me... and the value of such a thing is incalculable" - Kotaku "Monument Valley stuns with it's serenity... each screen is a work of art" - Huffington Post "Almost impossibly gorgeous... a feast for your senses" 5/5 - Touch Arcade ======= BEAUTIFUL Inspired by minimalist 3D design, optical illusions and palaces and temples from around the world, every monument is a unique, hand-crafted world to explore. Under BEAUTIFUL Inspired by Escher's optical illusions, places and temples, composition, and 3D design craft fully adapted to an exploration into ... Might have been more appropriate. Artists (painters) don't get a lot of credit and should be recognized when the opportunity arises. If you want me to spend more time pulling out more parallels I will have to download the game and spend a bit of time with it.
Lets turn this around Imagine if you had an original game (not one of your many clones), imagine if it was successful. Lets call the game 'Happy' Now you might be flattered or angry if someone released a game 'similar' or based on your type of game. But what happens if someone released a similar game and then called it Happy v2 ? It wasnt by you, someone had just made an homage/clone game and then changed it ever so slightly and called it v2 ? That would be terrible wouldnt it ? If you released this 2048 copy and called it something else thats one thing, but being deceitful and calling it 2048v2 like its a proper sequel. Thats just poor and dishonest. Call me crazy but anyone who has a sequel should be the person who created the original in the first place.
hi 1stSPIN, Since you're asking, I'll speak my mind. Sure, everyone has a right to publish something, but the trade-offs are real and affect everyone. Your games don't contribute anything of substantial value. Users are looking for fresh experiences not lower-quality versions with a few features tacked on. Your games are clones that are shamelessly leveraging popularity. Consider the greater impact of clones. When there are dozens of clones on the appstore it creates a cancer that affects both end-users and game developers. End users suffer because they're wasting their time with endless crappy downloads. This causes the end-user to lose confidence in the appstore store. Lower confidence results in users spending less $ in fear that it will be yet another crappy game. This drives down prices for games as developers scramble to compete with saturation. Do yourself a favor and work on something original. You'll feel better about it and you'll earn a lot more respect in the game community.
