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[SpacePirate Ridley]

You haven't played it. It's remarkably almost the exact same game with different graphics. It may be expanded a bit but it doesn't change that they tried to clone the game and are chasing the same success Kairosoft had.

RollerCoaster Tycoon compared to Theme Park is a poor analogy. Both games played radically different and are only similar in genre. RCT is leagues ahead of Theme Park in scope and longevity. Game Dev Tycoon just barely puts forth a minimal effort to not be a clone of Game Dev Story.

Theme Park was released in 1994
RCT1 was released in 1999

That is why its a million times more complex and better. Both of them are still theme park management games in its core.
I think its normal that somebody wants to take the same concept and expand it. Now, it could be less similar looking? yes, theres no doubt about that
Part of the fault that a pretty similar game has appeared is kairosoft for not releasing a sequel in 15 years. And its not even in the same platform, so its no cannibalizing any sales (also it was released two years ago in english, so they are not even competing).
Still, I will download the demo and play it. If it play similar but expands some of the concepts I will defend the game. Its its actually EXACTLY the same without expanding anything, then I will start calling it a ripoff.

 

[Ploid 3.0]

Yes there is a demo and there is no 'officially released free' version. So yes, downloading it is illegal.

I don't know why people are having such a hard time grasping the concept of why downloading the torrent is still illegal regardless of the uploader?
In many ways it is no different than someone with the intent of paying for sex approching an undercover cop posing as a prostitute. The prostitute being a cop doesn't make the person any less of a John, or any less of a criminal act.

At this point I feel it would be fair argue that any person currently downloading the pirated version could be doing so with the intent of using it as a demo, with knowledge of developers public statement.

Hey I just asked about it due to the situation the guy I quoted was in. There's a demo so there would be no need to consider the second part of my post. I'm not even interested. There was also a minecraft dev that did something like this, Minecraft has a free version I believe (browser version and the old version but it's pretty much the same apparently). I clicked on this thread because of the title, and the funny. Tried to help out the guy.

 

[DocSeuss]

A friend of mine tweeted me after I mentioned the game, saying that the game's torrent connections dropped off a cliff after it left the "new" page.

All that's really happening here is that a game with no marketing whatsoever didn't get any sales because it didn't get any marketing, and the normal "oh, there's a new torrent, it looks vaguely interesting so I will download it" thing happened, the way it always does on piracy sites (yes, most people don't go to places to get specific things, they just browse what's new and pick it up if it looks interesting).

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but... copyright infringement: making a product with a name so similar that people believe it to be the original product, yes? Lots of people here saying that they thought it was a sequel to Game Dev Story. It's a bit like calling your game Call of Battlefield or Grand Theft 5. Huge legal problem.

These guys are, uh, breaking the law here, it would seem.

 

[PaulLFC]

Haha, brilliant. I like clever features like this much more than "Throw Starforce and Tages and who knows what else on it".

Just bought it after playing the demo, yes it's (very) heavily inspired by Game Dev Story, but it has a few improvements (from what I remember anyway, haven't played GDS in a long time).

I plan on making my own company and then, after a break if I get burned out on the game, following the release schedule of a big publisher like EA or Activision (as closely is possible with unlocked genres and such) - to see if they would have survived to today and in the future.

 

[LiK]

hahaha

 

[Toma]

A friend of mine tweeted me after I mentioned the game, saying that the game's torrent connections dropped off a cliff after it left the "new" page.

All that's really happening here is that a game with no marketing whatsoever didn't get any sales because it didn't get any marketing, and the normal "oh, there's a new torrent, it looks vaguely interesting so I will download it" thing happened, the way it always does on piracy sites (yes, most people don't go to places to get specific things, they just browse what's new and pick it up if it looks interesting).

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but... copyright infringement: making a product with a name so similar that people believe it to be the original product, yes? Lots of people here saying that they thought it was a sequel to Game Dev Story. It's a bit like calling your game Call of Battlefield or Grand Theft 5. Huge legal problem.

These guys are, uh, breaking the law here, it would seem.

Apparently the Game Dev Tycoon devs even copyrighted the Game Dev name, so law is on their side, but yeah it all smells super fishy.

 

[cakefoo]

Because they are judging people by what they seduced them to do? Sure, people downloading with the intent of pirating, didnt have the best of intents, but the dev uploading a version to trick people into pirating is also not the best course of action. Say what you will but a game WILL be less pirated if there is no pirated version up. And some of those wanna-be-pirates would have translated into game buyers too if they cant find the pirated version online.

Care to give examples of unpirateable games that sold well?

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

I laughed when I read that post: "can I research a DRM or something..."

That entire post is gold.

Cognitive dissonance at its best.

 

[Proven]

So, these guys released a torrent of Game Dev Story? Not cool.

I know that discussion on this happened over the next two pages but this is still my favorite comment of the entire thread.

People who already didn't pay for your game will continue not paying for your game because you decided to release to them a worse version of a bad product! Congratulations!

I just don't see the rationale behind this kind of behavior. I'm guessing spite. Treating people who steal your game as a contiguous group to be combated as a whole is both illogical and pointless.

Eh, most of life is illogical and pointless. Might as well get your laughs.

 

[Amir0x]

i sort of feel like piracy should be implemented in such a game anyway, as a natural part of the industry that a person has to account for (and perhaps try to implement counter measures on, which themselves might backfire if they're too anti-consumer). since there is never any way to eliminate piracy 100%, it'd be an interesting exercise.

 

[King_Moc]

All that's really happening here is that a game with no marketing whatsoever didn't get any sales because it didn't get any marketing, and the normal "oh, there's a new torrent, it looks vaguely interesting so I will download it" thing happened, the way it always does on piracy sites (yes, most people don't go to places to get specific things, they just browse what's new and pick it up if it looks interesting).

Yeah, I do that too. The difference is that if I like the look of something I actually fucking buy it.

 

[Night_Trekker]

I absolutely LOVE it when devs do stuff like this.

 

[Tukker]

i sort of feel like piracy should be implemented in such a game anyway, as a natural part of the industry that a person has to account for (and perhaps try to implement counter measures on, which themselves might backfire if they're too anti-consumer). since there is never any way to eliminate piracy 100%, it'd be an interesting exercise.

piracy seems to be in the game aswell as fans creating fan games that you have to deal with.

 

[Stuart444]

Well I'm downloading the demo now anyway to see if/how much different it is from GDS.

 

[ramoisdead]

Kudos to Green Hart Games. The least I can do is upvote their Greenlight page.

 

[DGRE]

People who already didn't pay for your game will continue not paying for your game because you decided to release to them a worse version of a bad product! Congratulations!

I just don't see the rationale behind this kind of behavior. I'm guessing spite. Treating people who steal your game as a contiguous group to be combated as a whole is both illogical and pointless.

No it's not.

 

[Stuart444]

So I just tried it out...

Initial thoughts:

I agree with something I read (either here or on Eurogamer) that the HUD/interface looks very... paint like? As if it was done in Paint however the in-game graphics looks okay to me.

It feels like a Game Dev Story clone with added options though, some of the stuff (ie the introduction text and the "A newcomer has entered the industry") looks like it's straight from GDS actually. Still it does look like it has some added options though I haven't played GDS in quite a while.

There may be more things to differentiate it from GDS later in the game but the demo shows it off very poorly in that regards. Still I'm kinda having fun? I do like how you start off literally from your 'garage' as a garage developer.

Does anyone who has played the demo or full game know if I can switch to window mode? I can't seem to find an option to (Alt + Enter not working) in the demo and I prefer window mode for simulation games :/

edit: Well, got to the end of the demo and well... it was a lot of fun honestly. Bought the full version and we'll see how it goes I guess.

 

[Relix]

Bought. $8? Pff.

 

[dutchguyjack]

bittorrent is just a means of distribution. using a torrent tracker is not automatically piracy. the owners of this particular file seeded it themselves onto a service designed to make copies. making a copy of that file is very clearly not piracy.

but you're both missing the point. they just wanted to see how many people would download their game via bittorrent.

which wasn't a very wise thing to do no matter how funny it is(and it is pretty funny). look at what the Anodyne devs did:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/02/20/anodynes-the-pirate-bay-promotion-made-them-lots/

You're right - using a torrent tracker doesn't make it piracy. It's the fact that the people who downloaded it never acquired a license to use it. Therefore, the moment they download and use the software without owning a license to it, the software is pirated. It's the same principle as a crack. A crack is not a component of piracy as long as you own the game. But using it with a downloaded copy of the game makes it piracy.

False. You're buying a copy. Not a license.

False. You don't own any of the software you buy, you own a license to use it:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/09/first-sale-doctrine/

Games are just a form of software. Easy to forget, but you don't strictly speaking own any game in your collection.

"We hold today that a software user is a licensee rather than an owner of a copy where the copyright owner (1) specifies that the user is granted a license; (2) significantly restricts the user's ability to transfer the software; and (3) imposes notable use restrictions."

 

[Beautifully Shaped Monsters]

I played the game a little, and while it's enjoyable, it's also very simple. And it suffers from too much hand holding, and having to research even silly little things (research genre sci fi, really?).

I kinda wished it played like a proper western tycoon game from the 90s, instead it frankly plays like a mobile game, but on the PC.

Whether or not it's a rip off, I don't know, but it's somewhat a sad fact in modern game development, especially on mobiles, that you just release a polished up existing concept and then win the success lottery.

Angry Birds is for example a pretty blatant rip off of the flash game Crush the Castle.

 

[Amir0x]

piracy seems to be in the game aswell as fans creating fan games that you have to deal with.

Ah that is cool. maybe i'll check it out sometime

 

[demosthenes]

Just saw this on facebook, came to see if it was here. Great story

 

[Hours Left]

Amazing.

 

[milsorgen]

I see no link to a Demo on their site so they are punishing people very likely demoing the game with an unwinabble scenario, never telling them what's actually going on. And now I'm sure after this initial sales boost thanks to this press dwindles they will then blame piracy on their lackluster performance.


Really the whole things reeks of a marketing effort.

 

[Toppot]

I see no link to a Demo on their site so they are punishing people very likely demoing the game with an unwinabble scenario, never telling them what's actually going on. And now I'm sure after this initial sales boost thanks to this press dwindles they will then blame piracy on their lackluster performance.


Really the whole things reeks of a marketing effort.

Front Page > Orange 'Get it for Windows, Mac, Linux' Button > scroll down a bit > select Windows or Mac button

http://www.greenheartgames.com/game-dev-tycoon-downloads/
https://s3.amazonaws.com/gdt-demos/GameDevTycoon+DEMO.exe
https://s3.amazonaws.com/gdt-demos/GameDevTycoon+DEMO.dmg

 

[PaulLFC]

People who already didn't pay for your game will continue not paying for your game because you decided to release to them a worse version of a bad product! Congratulations!

I just don't see the rationale behind this kind of behavior. I'm guessing spite. Treating people who steal your game as a contiguous group to be combated as a whole is both illogical and pointless.

So then what do you suggest?

I'd much prefer this lighthearted joke affecting people who don't want to pay for the game, rather than some DRM like Starforce affecting everyone, paying customers included.

 

[gingerbeardman]

I'd like to point out that this isn't a new idea.

Nintendo have been using this exact same kind of DRM that subtly breaks their games since the original DS released to deter piracy (it obviously wasn't effective lol R4 card)

Examples? Thanks.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Examples? Thanks.

You couldn't gain experience in Pokemon Black and White from battles in the ROM.

 

[Krilekk]

Thats funny as hell. Pirateception.

And also stupid as hell. Bad word of mouth leads to less sales overall. You're only doing it right if you ignore pirates, not by teaching them a lesson or two. Stuff like this leads to bad Metacritic, Steam and Amazon reviews and you're only hurting yourself.

 

[NekoFever]

You couldn't gain experience in Pokemon Black and White from battles in the ROM.

This was especially funny when reputable websites started reporting that you didn't get experience from battles when they supposedly got their early copies from Japan.

 

[davepoobond]

things that come to mind:


1. this is hilarious
2. this is the only game ever that can actually do this in the same context (it'll never happen again)
3. people still don't get why they shouldn't actually pirate, which is sad. In the end, this game and the lessons it taught teach nothing because in the end the game is still "free"

 

[Rocket Scientist]

This is the most amazing thing. I salute you.

Edit: Wow, so many haters.

 

[Oersted]

Love it.

You're right - using a torrent tracker doesn't make it piracy. It's the fact that the people who downloaded it never acquired a license to use it. Therefore, the moment they download and use the software without owning a license to it, the software is pirated. It's the same principle as a crack. A crack is not a component of piracy as long as you own the game. But using it with a downloaded copy of the game makes it piracy.




False. You don't own any of the software you buy, you own a license to use it:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/09/first-sale-doctrine/

Games are just a form of software. Easy to forget, but you don't strictly speaking own any game in your collection.

"We hold today that a software user is a licensee rather than an owner of a copy where the copyright owner (1) specifies that the user is granted a license; (2) significantly restricts the user's ability to transfer the software; and (3) imposes notable use restrictions."

Well... no...

...the principle of exhaustion of the distribution right applies not only where the copyright holder markets copies of his software on a material medium (CD-ROM or DVD) but also where he distributes them by means of downloads from his website.Where the copyright holder makes available to his customer a copy– tangible or intangible– and at the same time concludes, in return form payment of a fee, a licence agreement granting the customer the right to use that copy for an unlimited period, that rightholder sells the copy to the customer and thus exhausts his exclusive distribution right. Such a transaction involves a transfer of the right of ownership of the copy.
Therefore,even if the licence agreement prohibits a further transfer, the rightholder can no longer oppose the resale of that copy.

 

[spindoctor]

This is the best bit of viral marketing I've seen. Every news and blog site picked this up and now everyone who reads those sites knows what Game Dev Tycoon is. This game has been available on Win 8 for about 3 weeks and I hadn't read a single thing about it anywhere.

I have to agree. If this gets greenlit, it's also a testament to how easy it is to manipulate gamers. A shameless ripoff of another game getting onto Steam because the developers knew how to caress the anti-DRM sentiment.

 

[Septimius]

A friend of mine tweeted me after I mentioned the game, saying that the game's torrent connections dropped off a cliff after it left the "new" page.

All that's really happening here is that a game with no marketing whatsoever didn't get any sales because it didn't get any marketing, and the normal "oh, there's a new torrent, it looks vaguely interesting so I will download it" thing happened, the way it always does on piracy sites (yes, most people don't go to places to get specific things, they just browse what's new and pick it up if it looks interesting).

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but... copyright infringement: making a product with a name so similar that people believe it to be the original product, yes? Lots of people here saying that they thought it was a sequel to Game Dev Story. It's a bit like calling your game Call of Battlefield or Grand Theft 5. Huge legal problem.

These guys are, uh, breaking the law here, it would seem.

I agree. Too much of their initial drive came from the confusion with Game Dev Story. It's not OK, to me. The name in itself is one thing, but when it is just the same game with some new features and "prettier" graphics, I'm rather off-put, and I don't think it's cool. At all.

 

[jlh]

And also stupid as hell. Bad word of mouth leads to less sales overall. You're only doing it right if you ignore pirates, not by teaching them a lesson or two. Stuff like this leads to bad Metacritic, Steam and Amazon reviews and you're only hurting yourself.

I think that's why they jumped out in front and did the blog post. Now instead of bad word of mouth from pirates calling their game broken on various forums you have legit owners (& a far larger audience who picked up this story) pointing and laughing at the cheap bastards who torrented an $8 game.

It seems like everyone has the solution to the pirate problem but no one has the solution. This company apparently did everything you're supposed to do to build a happy, *paying* customer base (low price point, releasing on every pc platform, no drm, offering previous customers Steam keys if they ever get on the service) and still they get pirated like crazy. It kind of puts it all into perspective that some people (immoral, thieving assholes) are always going to want free shit so why ignore them when you can make fun of them, publicly shame them and get yourself some free publicity.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

Yeah this is not at all meant to stop pirates or combat them, it's just accepting that they exist and having a laugh at their expense. They were never going to buy your game anyway.

 

[Raika]

This is ironic and funny, in a way, but also rather unfair. 93.6% pirated the game? What did you expect? If you provide a cheaper (in this case free) method of obtaining something people have to pay for side by side with your product, which do you think people will go for?

 

[MarkMclovin]

Pretty funny.

What happens in the game when you completely rip off another developers work though?

 

[Mithos]

Pretty funny.

What happens in the game when you completely rip off another developers work though?

You place a *cracked* copy of your own game online and then complain that people downloading it are pirates.

 

[PaulLFC]

This is ironic and funny, in a way, but also rather unfair. 93.6% pirated the game? What did you expect? If you provide a cheaper (in this case free) method of obtaining something people have to pay for side by side with your product, which do you think people will go for?

Hardly any games don't have a "free" version on or near to release these days. That doesn't make it right.

You place a *cracked* copy of your own game online and then complain that people downloading it are pirates.

They are.

 

[Joni]

You place a *cracked* copy of your own game online and then complain that people downloading it are pirates.

Those people didn't believe they were downloading a legal free copy spread by the developers, they believed they were downloading a free cracked version.

 

[Ferulci]

Absolutely brillant. But WOW, haters gonna hate.

 

[Coffee Dog]

After giving it a little thought, i realized this is one way to sell a no name knockoff game.

I would ordinarily recommend that they treat pirates like customers and have the game gain popularity on 4chan and other sites before it gets big in a way similar to hotline miami, but that would require them to actually have the game stand on its own merits, and being just another tycoon game that would never happen. This causes them to have to make headlines with clever drm instead of the game itself.

I'm not claiming that they implemented this only to make the news or anything, but its pretty obviously the only reason we give the slightest shit about a blatant ios style rip off.

 

[KefkaPalazzo]

How dare a company try to improve upon another company game! We must accept mediocrity darn it!

 

[PaulLFC]

After giving it a little thought, i realized this is one way to sell a no name knockoff game.

I would ordinarily recommend that they treat pirates like customers and have the game gain popularity on 4chan and other sites before it gets big in a way similar to hotline miami, but that would require them to actually have the game stand on its own merits, and being just another tycoon game that would never happen. This causes them to have to make headlines with clever drm instead of the game itself.

I'm not claiming that they implemented this only to make the news or anything, but its pretty obviously the only reason we give the slightest shit about a blatant ios style rip off.

See, this is what I don't get. "ios style"? Tycoon games have been around on PC for years. Is this game, inspired by Game Dev Story? Yes, undoubtedly. Probably more than it should be. It's not a straight rip off though, there are some tweaks and improvements, but more could be done.

I like it, though. It's nice to have a game dev simulator on PC to play every now and then, even if it is similar to the one on my phone.

 

[Mithos]

They are.

Within the game too? Awesome.

Those people didn't believe they were downloading a legal free copy spread by the developers, they believed they were downloading a free cracked version.

Still doesn't make them a pirate of that game, its ok to download it.

 

[PaulLFC]

Within the game too? Awesome.



Still doesn't make them a pirate of that game, its ok to download it.

Is it? Why's that? Piracy is okay now?

 

[Mithos]

Is it? Why's that? Piracy is okay now?

Developers put out an alternative version of their own game for people to download, making it legal to download at least here, stuff put online with the consent of the rightful owner makes it fair game.

 

[Coffee Dog]

Is it? Why's that? Piracy is okay now?

If the dev wants you to pirate their games, it does remove the moral question of piracy, unless you think legality has an impact on morality.