Radical game development: large-scaled game developers copy games from independent studios

Independent game developers find themselves in trouble because large-scaled game developers copy their games. Rami Ismail, game developer of the Dutch company Vlambeer, suffered the same problem with its release of the game application Radical Fishing. Even before his game became available in the App Store, Ninja Fishing, a similar game yet in a ninja version by American publisher Gamenauts, suddenly appeared in the store and got in the top five best-selling games.

Despite the many similarities with Radical Fishing, Ismail is not planning to sue Gamenauts. Such costly actions are unfortunately not within financial reach of the independent developers. Rami Ismail said that they extensively researched the possibilities and ultimately refrained from action. According to Ismail, you should always ask yourself what you can gain from such a lawsuit and what you can lose. For a small developer such as Vlambeer, the outcome of such an equation is negative. In addition, the company prefers to concentrate on games rather than lawsuits.

A screenshot of both games are showed below: on the left Ninja Fishing, on the right Radical Fishing. Decide for yourself if Ninja Fishing is a copy of Radical Fishing.

^{Reference: Jasonleeelliott.com}

According to Dutch lawyer Olivier Oosterbaan it is difficult to protect a game against copyright infringement in the game world. Generally, game developers have the freedom to make what they want and to quote from someone else's work, explained Oosterbaan, because judges are guided by an overall impression. Game characters are usually well protected, even brands. But it is a matter of interpretation when it comes to the pay structure in such a game, the "feel" or the specific way you move through a game, says Oosterbaan.

What further complicates the protection of a game is that the mechanics are not protected, while their effects in graphics or levels are, Oosterbaan says. For instance when mechanisms are protected, there would not be another game were a character runs and jumps like in Super Mario, because that would be protected. This makes it difficult for game developers to proof copyright infringements, says Oosterbaan.

Furthermore, openness about the product is very important for independent game developers. Within such a company, there is no money for research, marketing, or (large-scaled) publicity. Therefore, independent developers run their game by as many people as possible to see whether their idea is interesting. Direct contact with other developers is also important. As a result, developers run the risk that a colleague copies their prototype. Closed development is however not an option for independent game developers.

Reference: De Pers

By: Karen Groen