For every successful new game, there will be clones made in an attempt to cash in on its success. Some games are blatant copies of the original but get a free pass (or simply ignored) because either they're terrible or because they're on a different platform. Some games take inspiration from the original and become either "good enough" games for those wanting to play more games like the original, or they spin the original concept well enough to become original games in their own right.
We wonder how the larger companies like Gameloft and Zynga are able to copy other games blatantly and get away with it, while smaller developers whose games bear a passing resemblance to the original games are forced to make sweeping changes. Sometimes we find games by indie developers that are similar enough to well known other games, that we wonder why they didn't spend their effort on an original concept.
For some of these games, the answer may not be so obvious. In one particular case that happened to a good friend of mine, the game was already completed before the licence was revoked. As an indie developer, spending almost a year developing a game on your own savings before being blind-sided really hurts, and your options are limited if you thought that you were working with the other party in good faith.
My friend decided not to spend some time to re-skin and release the game out of respect for the original designer, but I'm not so sure that I could do the same. If you found yourself in a similar situation, could you avoid the temptation to release a clone game?
We wonder how the larger companies like Gameloft and Zynga are able to copy other games blatantly and get away with it, while smaller developers whose games bear a passing resemblance to the original games are forced to make sweeping changes. Sometimes we find games by indie developers that are similar enough to well known other games, that we wonder why they didn't spend their effort on an original concept.
For some of these games, the answer may not be so obvious. In one particular case that happened to a good friend of mine, the game was already completed before the licence was revoked. As an indie developer, spending almost a year developing a game on your own savings before being blind-sided really hurts, and your options are limited if you thought that you were working with the other party in good faith.
My friend decided not to spend some time to re-skin and release the game out of respect for the original designer, but I'm not so sure that I could do the same. If you found yourself in a similar situation, could you avoid the temptation to release a clone game?