OK so i was looking at a few games on the app store and noticed an app company. (so it claims) with titles like "Subway runner"(which is identical to Subway surfer) fruit smasher (which is a copy of fruit ninja) and Drunk the Chicken (which is a copy of drop the chicken) there are several more like this. They didn't even change the look, or divert far from the characters or names of the apps! Firstly! Why is apple letting these through? I mean surely you make a movie or a song similar you get sued. All the hard work that goes into these apps and the time not to mention money some people put into coming up with something amazing, only to have some complete and utter fool pretty much copy inch by inch someones hard earned work!! I emailed the developers of some of the ones that are ripped off and one was a small company with just a few people tirelessly working hard on the app for around 1 year. You could tell a lot of blood sweat and tears when into the game and the disappointment was there, but the developers were somewhat flattered that it was good enough that someone would spare their time to copy it. The free version was pretty funny considering one of the in apps was to support the developer.. REALLY!! There are so many clones and I get that but isn't half the fun coming up with the initial concept? I know its also about the $$$$$ at the end of the day I just don't know how some people can sleep at night... Im not a developer but can someone please explain to me how Apple lets these go through onto the store? And why developers are not suing these guys?
It's like the wild nature where there're predators, scavengers, and parasites. Just relax and concentrate on your hunt. Don't waste energy on chasing hyenas or even flies.
Yeah and that's the problem right there! there needs to be a law in place for this kind of thing... They stopped the flappy birds clones if it applies for one then it should apply for all... fairs fair!
They aren't, however it would be nice to see Apple/google give advantages to developers who choose not to do this. Encourage some quality over quantity.
I can understand the direct clones needing to be judged a little stricter than a non clone. I do think it's difficult to come up with an original idea so there is a grey area for some games and Apple probably just think it's easier to stay out of grey areas altogether, unless it starts to become a big drain on their resources. Like flappy bird. I like the idea of helping game developers who do decide to try and make something that isn't a direct clone, it's a good way of making the developers who do clone think twice about what would benefit them most... maybe.
None of the like and dislikes here is going to change anything. The best is to understand that these are the rules you have to play by.
It does, copyright is a law and using someone else copyrighted material is both against the law and Apple's review policy. You can report these users to the stores and account of the users with repeated violation (multiple cases) can be removed from the Apple Developer Program. Obviously, Steve Jobs was a strong advocate for creativity and hated any rip off since Apple has experienced many times from their competitors while he was at the throne. I has been an App Developer since the store was first introduced and there are instances where apps were simply not approved because their function are too similar to something. It even earned the moniker of "Walled Garden". And it was great because of that. I think it has became more lax since his departure and can easily be compared to Google Play at this point.
Its only copyright infringement if it uses assets from your game or store listing. Its only trademark infringement if the name is close enough for your potential customers to get confused. A clone which merely "steals an idea" or "look and feel" is not doing anything illegal. There was nothing illegal about the vast majority of Flappy Birds clones out there for example. And nothing legally wrong with 2048 "cloning" Threes (though in a twist, there are a lot of 2048 clones out there that ARE infringing on the rights of the 2048 guys, including from developers who post on this forum).
From the U.S. Copyright website: Copyright does not protect the idea for a game, its name or title, or the method or methods for playing it. Nor does copyright protect any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in developing, merchandising, or playing a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles. Copyright protects only the particular manner of an authors expression in literary, artistic, or musical form.
Improving on existing game concept I think there are cases where as a developer we get inspired from a game idea and make a similar game with new additions and improvements. Sometimes the similarity may be too much but I think if its your own code, art, music it should be OK. As an example, I just submitted my game Super Polygon for AppStore review. I am a big fan of the original game Super Hexagon, and wanted to do develop something similar with new additions. I have seen a few cheap/bad clones out there, and I wanted to develop a quality game. So I added Super Octagon mode to it, 4 visual themes, 6 original sound tracks, new patterns and a different level structure because I think the original is freakin' hard from the get go. Super Polygon is also optimized for retina / iPhone 5, 6 and 6+, IPad, one of the main complaints I see with SH on the appstore. I know I may get some negative reviews from die hard SH fans.. but I think majority players will appreciate the additions and the iPhone6 support. It will be free to play, all levels can be unlocked without making in-appp-purchase. But you could remove ads and buy the 4 visual themes. Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel
While I think you are indeed bringing innovations to the table of an existing game, I personally think you are still riding a little close to their name and aesthetic, and in that sense are still riding their coattails. I think it would have been better if you you came up with a name more removed from "Super Polygon" and a unique art style.
Yes, the issue with art style is that this is a minimalist game with basically quads.. so there is not a whole lot of room for differentiation there. Still I added 4 visual themes to it where the shape of the quads is different. I think it should be Ok releasing a similar game with additions 3 years after the original BUT I completely understand your opinion on the matter.
I totally agree. While you may of made some minor modifications, you are trying to leverage on the super hexagon brand in art style and name. There are plenty of different ways to it but you tried to make it resemble the original as much as possible.
Yes, I wanted to stay true to the original game mechanic. It is an extension of Super hexagon mechanic into a higher dimension i.e. Octagon. I did make minor visual enhancements but it is a minimalist game afterall. I am not trying to pass this as MY idea. But I am happy with my implementation.
Im actually talking about same everything this developer that i originally posted about didnt change a thing! Im talking same layout look feel animations just different name! Im pretty sure a sheer breach of copy right!
Personally I have a strong dislike for games that not only rip off some else's idea, but rip off the style as well, such as the Super Hexagon coattail-rider featured above. Fair enough that people are going to be inspired by other ideas, but if they have any creative integrity, they should at least try to not only build on the idea but also differentiate the style/execution.