Clones, Ripoffs, Original Ideas, where do you draw the line?

[orange08]

Hello, fellow forum dwellers.

 

I am a game developer. I've been making games for about 7 years, since before I was a teenager.

 

The reason I created this topic is because there is a definite problem in the world of game development, in particular, the commercial realm, where HTML5 games are being sold and licensed out to gaming portals.

 

During the years that I made games, I often would copy other people's ideas. At the beginning all I wanted to do was clone Chip's Challenge, because that was my favorite game when I was growing up... and I wanted to make my version of the game, with levels designed by me, with new things and ideas that I had thought of, that I thought would be cool additions to the game.

 

not Chip's Challenge, but (freeware)Tim's Titanic Test!

 

As I progressed in programming expertise, my games were more like mix ups between games. I would take ideas from my most favorite games, and combine them all to make a totally new creation. Even now I will occasionally create a "clone" or "ripoff" of someone else' game idea(putting my own personal spin on the idea, of course), however, these games have all been freeware... because I was cloning them for fun, not for money.

 

Making games has been a thrilling and exciting hobby for me all these years... and I think that cloning other people's games is an acceptable practice, up to a point. You see, all the games I copied, I copied for fun... I wasn't selling any of these games. All of my clones were freeware, and that meant I wasn't trying to profit off of someone else' creativity or hard work, I was simply trying to grow and improve as a game developer. I've given a lot of consideration to this topic and I believe it is wrong to take/steal other people's ideas for your own financial gain, unless, of course, you get their expressed permission. I think this goes for everything, not just games. That's why we have patents, because they encourage creativity and new inventions. The ability to create new things without the fear that everyone is going to steal it and leave you in the dust with $0 in your pocket.

 

I'm a game developer, and I know what it's like to be an inventor, to discover an idea that is original, and then to have someone come along and steal that idea, and use it not only to make money, but also to make it less likely that someone will want my idea when they might have already bought a cheap clone of it.

 

eat a cookie or a cupcake... and leave behind four spikes...

 

Having one of my game ideas stolen has helped me to be even more firm in my standings. I have resolved not to steal other people's ideas... because if I do steal, then I'm just as bad as the people who steal from me.

 

Has anyone ever cloned one of your games? Have you ever cloned someone's game?

Please discuss.