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What is the absolute worst, most blatant Mobile carbon-copy of another game?

Pikawil said:
ORIGINAL SONIC CHARACTER DO NOT STEAL
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kubus said:
Castaway Paradise, published by StolenCouchGames (dat name tho)

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On mobile so I can't paste the screenshots from their website but these images I took from google can also tell you what game this was copied from.
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That's different enough, depending on game mechanic specifics.

The other stuff in this thread is awful.. Who the hell are making these ripoffs and have they no shame? I have very very little patience for direct copying, let alone copying and making money. Really really hurts the image of the people that do this, and I'm not saying it's the Chinese, but... it's the Chinese, right?
 
mechphree said:
The app stores need to crack down on this blatant stealing. IOS and android have rampant clones but still allow them to publish games.
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Well, Google doesn't actually review apps in any way before they are published. Which is good and bad. Good because anyone can publish cool apps with no hassle, bad because you get tons of crap like this. But that's their model, and overall I prefer it as it makes the ecosystem much more open. You just have to be a bit careful with what you install, just like on a PC.

Apple, on the other hand, does review and block stuff from getting published, or takes it down. But still this shit thrives, Apple just sits back and lets it happen. Guess they make a lot of money from it.
 
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I miss this.

Sure, shitty games still came out, but what it does is create some ownership by the platform owner suggesting they're responsible for any game that was released on their system bearing the seal.

Steam is doing it wrong, but this mobile shit is far and away out of control.
 
Ugh, some of these are insanely blatant, I'm surprised that Nintendo hasn't already tried to sue developers or even Apple or Google for this kind of thing like they did with Great Giana Sisters almost 30 years ago.
 
Azure Wolf said:
Ugh, some of these are insanely blatant, I'm surprised that Nintendo hasn't already tried to sue developers or even Apple or Google for this kind of thing like they did with Great Giana Sisters almost 30 years ago.
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It's not worth it. The vast majority is made by developers in countries like China and Russia where nobody gives a fuck. Most of these games also sell very, very poorly (as do most mobile games without a proper marketing push), so there's little money to recoup there.

It's no different from the dozens of thousands of copyright infringement-based Flash games all over the web (those also make money through ads). Actually, the mobile market is just a more streamlined version of the Flash game market.
 
kubus said:
Castaway Paradise, published by StolenCouchGames (dat name tho)

1397550220151PpIo.jpg


Cast.png


On mobile so I can't paste the screenshots from their website but these images I took from google can also tell you what game this was copied from.
Click to expand...
Thats my game. You should try it out, it's different. But it is very much inspired by Animal Crossing & Harvest Moon. It's also a game we've been working on for more than 2 years now. Hope you'll try it out.
 
Would Game Dev Tycoon count? Seems to keep showing up on steam sales but short of actually buying it I have yet to find anything differentiating it from Game Dev Story apart from the art style. (Obviously not in the class of clones like some of the outright content thefts here though)
 
There's a difference between ripping another property off and simply being inspired by it.

Ripping graphics, sounds, designs? That's a ripoff.

Creating something that is similar to another property but has original artwork, music, levels, etc? That's perfectly fine in my book. Castaway Paradise is clearly trying to evoke an Animal Crossing-esque vibe, but all of the art is original, albeit derivative. It's not a ripoff by any means.

OP's game is a clearly amazing example though, damn.
 
I wish some journalist would sit down and interview these people. I'm curious about the production details of games like these.
 
Try searching for "buy app source code" or "reskinning apps" on Google. You might be interested in some of the articles that pop up.
 
Porcile said:
Back in the day, I used to practice creating game art with existing sprites and such. I was 13. Of course, I never published or tried to earn money off that shit. These guys have no shame.
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That's different I do the same thing now. Man that Mario 64 rip off is goddam awful! Can't see how can someone do so with no shame, maybe -13 years old boys?
 
There are some cool games on mobile, but its always depressing to search through the store and run across countless shameless rip-offs. Can't even put out a good quality game and ask for some money without having someone else undercut you with these types of games.
 
Shin Kojima said:
Turrican II
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edit: oops, didn't read the word Mobile.
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Doesn't count; it is a licensed reskin of Turrican II, and in fact was going to be Turrican II on the Genesis proper were it not for dumb men in suits:

If it weren't for Jean-Claude Van Damme and this stupid movie, the Genesis would have goten all three main Turrican games. The Code Monkeys were in fact working to port Turrican II as well, but then someone at publisher Accolade had the big idea to transform Turrican II into a tie-in of Van Damme's movie. And so they did.
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Thorakai said:
There are some cool games on mobile, but its always depressing to search through the store and run across countless shameless rip-offs. Can't even put out a good quality game and ask for some money without having someone else undercut you with these types of games.
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Yeah, sucks what happened to Threes. Happy I supported the devs. And it looks like the game's getting the spotlight again, with the recent Apple feature and getting an Xbox One version

I hate how all these clones and rip-offs give mobile gaming a bad name. So many quality games - Monument Valley, Blek, Kiwanuki, Penumbear, dozens more - and yet what comes to mind for many is how IOS is just rampant with endless clones and how the awesome original games
 
Wow. That is crazy. I don't think Bob Bros can be beaten. It makes it extra hilarious that they threw in The Legend Of Time.
 
Bamihap said:
Thats my game. You should try it out, it's different. But it is very much inspired by Animal Crossing & Harvest Moon. It's also a game we've been working on for more than 2 years now. Hope you'll try it out.
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It does appear to play different, but I can't help but feel intentionally mislead. The graphic art, for instance the title, is clearly just copied from Animal Crossing. Your game is definitely no where near the level of other things in this thread, and it actually seems very polished as a product, but from a creative / artistic direction it belongs in the thread.
 
Polioliolio said:
I miss this.

Sure, shitty games still came out, but what it does is create some ownership by the platform owner suggesting they're responsible for any game that was released on their system bearing the seal.

Steam is doing it wrong, but this mobile shit is far and away out of control.
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It's ironic that these concepts were specifically created to prohibit a deluge of poorly-designed, poorly-made, cloned garbageware- the kind which caused the '83 crash.

And here we are with a repeat of the same situation. Except now, advanced graphics, mobile convenience, and a carrot-dangling drip-feed retail system have allowed it to prosper rather than deservingly implode.
 
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