A friend pointed me to the following link today: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/heli-attack/id354125823?mt=8#100 The guys at riseuplabs have ripped our flash game HeliAttack [released in 2005 on miniclip.com and other selected sites] and used the art & gameplay and even had the nerve to keep the name HeliAttack. I contacted apple's devprograms and asked them to remove the application. Is there anything else I can do to get this app removed as fast as possible?
Looks like customers aren't happy with the controls either. Bad reviews. And they were fans of the online version tricked into buying this. Sorry about that.....hate when that happens. At least it hasn't been out that long. Only 3 days.
I don't know how they thought they could get away with that. Apple are usually pretty quick at responding to copyright claims so I wouldn't worry too much. This is the "developers" email if you want to straighten them out: [email protected]
Thanks... I hope it get's sorted quickly... It's just sad that those guys made a proper release of the game nearly impossible by wrecking the name for the iphone users. I emailed them and posted on their facebook and youtube pages as well as requested the removal on those sites as well... I am surprised by this incredibly blatant and stupid attempt though...
Sprite Attack, will you create your port to the iPhone? It seems like you could do better then this imposter
I hope this gets sorted out soon, it's a real shame when a dev stoops so low as to do something like this. Speaking of which, you said you released your game on Miniclip, right? Does this look familiar? http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=44039&highlight=crazy+cable
your art looks a lot like a guy I used to know on a site called pixelation. sorry someone ripped your stuff.
dogmeat... I used to be pretty active on pixelation years back... had some falling out over my approach to pixel art and the need to produce game art versus the purist pixel art... long time ago...
I think in a case like this is Apple should take down the App (which they will do) and any money that was earned from it should go to the original developer. It's a shame the damage has been done already...
Hopefully you get this sorted out quickly SpriteAttack - as we (and you) all know HeliAttack is an insanely popular online game, if ported to the iPhone properly you could have a cash mine (aka. why they stole the concept in the first place). This poses a big question though, do alot of these iPhone developers have rights to publish even some of these online games that were ported to iPhone?
And now they're giving away promo codes... http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?p=873269#post873269
Maaaan, that sucks sooo bad! I totally feel your pain. Alongside app development, I do my own sound design and game music (cheeky advertisement: check iWillSurvive). I also do "real" music, and although it is released under creative commons, I would get so incredibly MAD if someone claimed my doings as their own. I hope it turns out for the best, and that the imposters will be banned from iPhone development for good (if that's remotely possible). For shame!
Sue them. Seriously. It seems that the App Store is a real scum magnet. We also had one of our games quickly cloned. At least the didn't stole the graphics from us, and resided to stealing some if from Windows Vista. I consider ethics to be one the largest bricks in the foundation of the my studio. We purchase stock photos even if we need something extremly basic (like a christmas tree photo for a christmas advert). We even go to the extent of googling and random character/company/etc name whe use in a game or product. ---- Good luck with your quest!
I am really surprised with the lack of action by apple... They are aware of the problem for a week now and have still not taken the game out of the store... Obviously copyright doesn't mean anything anymore as long as apple makes money... Looking at all the ripped stuff apple is selling for thieves - eg. the mario sound board - how obvious can it get. I am utterly disappointed in apple and their support of smaller developers. Sadly it's all about the big names and the big money.
With shady tactics dominating the App Store more and more each day, this can't lead to a right direction.
