[casual_games] Copycats -- What Can Be Done?

[bizdev at injoygames.com]

I think the bigger issue is not the pursuit of legal steps to preventing
clones but rather for casual game portals to _stop accepting_ them.  The
casual market will play what they are told to play.  Prime positioning can
skyrocket practically any decent game.  Portals keep pushing clones so its
a self fulfilling prophecy.

The second thing I think we need to see happen is for portals to open
their doors to the information they have mined on their player base.  Most
of us are shooting blindly based on Top 10 charts and the '35 year old
female gamer' stat.  Surely much more information is being pulled out and
why is it being so convented?  The more information we as developers are
given, the more targeted and successful games we can supply.

Alex
InjoyGames.com


Lee Crawford wrote:

> There are several axes to consider here, the legal, the moral and the
capitalistic side of the equation. I don't think there's a 'fix' for
what your talking about.
>
> On the legal side the copyright protects the expression of an idea but
not the core idea. A complete rip-off ( e.g., Dyner Dash) you could
pursue in court but with a few variations in theme, nouns, etc. and
you've got a separate expression of what might simply be shown to be a
similar idea. Conventional wisdom holds that a 10% difference is 'safe
ground'.
>
> On the moral side I tend to agree with you; i'd personally like to see
more new, novel game designs instead of some much consistency. With a
low innovation threshold you run the risk of over-dosing your customers
and losing you audience. But, on the other hand, people who like a given
game model appear to appreciate the variety (with spending as an
indicator).
>
> I can't imagine any sort of coercive force the would lead customers to
not buy similar games, distributors to not distribute those games,
publishers to not fund and market those games, etc. How would you even
make a clear determination; it's all lines in the sand.
>
>     * was Cake Mania a clone of Wild West Wendy or Diner Dash or ...
>     * what if Wild West Wendy seemed like a Diner Dash clone because it
came out after but they really started development first
>     * could the two simply be coincidence?
>     * Diner Dash clearly spawned a new flurry of games but didn't it
borrow from Betty's Beer Bar or the arcade classic (Root Beer)
Tapper.
>     * etc.
>
> Finally, the biggest problem is capitalistic. These games sell; all of
them. People who bought Diner Dash are obviously also buying Cake Mania
and they're enjoying them both. Customers are buying,
distributors/publishers/developers are all making money, etc.
>
> --lee
>
> On 4/27/06, Jim Stern <jstern at iwin.com> wrote:
>
>     I know there have been quite a few discussions in the past about
developers and publishers being frustrated with all the cloning that
is being done in games.  In some cases, the new games are clearly an
improvement from their predecessors, and they can help to push the
bar toward higher quality games.  In other cases, they literally are
mimicking the same UI, layouts, game play, and art style.  I would
like to know if anyone has information on:
>
>
>
>     1)       Legal steps that can be done to thwart this kind of
activity (whether certain parts of the game are copyrightable or if
there is legal precedence to get the offending party to cease and
desist), and
>
>     2)       Whether people are taking a stand against working with
developers who are clearly violating the rights of those who
developed the original idea
>
>
>
>     Thanks.
>
>
>
>     Jim Stern
>
>     iWin, Inc.
>
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>
>
>
> --
> --
> Lee Crawford
> yim: lee_crawford
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>
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