Responses To Nimblebit Point Out That Inspiration Comes From Lots Of Places

from the indeed-it-does dept

We just wrote about Nimblebit's response to Zynga upon discovering Zynga's game that looks a lot like a Nimblebit game. In that post, we noted that even Nimblebit's game was hardly the first such game out there, and now (as pointed out in our comments), someone decided to take the format of Nimblebit's letter, and redo it as a letter to Nimblebit about the other games that inspired Nimblebit's game. The tone is a little snarky -- and to be honest, I never got the feeling from the original that Nimblebit was claiming that it, too, wasn't inspired by others. Still, this really does show the nature of creativity and copying these days. All of these games can (and do) happily co-exist in the marketplace, where they can compete with each other to improve and provide a better consumer experience. And that seems like a good thing. On top of that, for those who are worried about another company copying them, it helps to remember that then you can copy their best ideas right back.... and improve on them. It's through this sort of process that innovation rates increase...
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Filed Under: building, copying, creativity, culture, video games
Companies: nimblebit


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  • identicon
    Morbius, 27 Jan 2012 @ 4:21pm

    Pot calling the kettle black

    And both games are a rip off of Sim Tower by Maxis.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 27 Jan 2012 @ 4:40pm

      Re: Pot calling the kettle black

      yeah, and if you read the graphic, they point that out.

      I wish there was a failure to read the entire article before commenting button.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jan 2012 @ 4:50pm

    Corporation Inc.

    Is that what the trolls here play?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jan 2012 @ 5:36pm

    According to Reddit, all of the games mentioned here are "similar", but Tiny Towers is NOT a straight copy of any of the games. Dream Heights, however, basically takes the entire gameplay mechanics, and just tweaks the names and the art style.

    Of course, having played none of these games, I can't offer first hand experience.

    Best example would be if someone made a game that was exactly like Mario Kart, with all the weapons and race-track mechanics, and just made it look different. Then someone says "Yeah, but you just copied Need For Speed!"

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Crashoverride (profile), 27 Jan 2012 @ 8:49pm

    Imagine if the patent system worked like this....Dear patent Troll it's amazing how much your patent looks like something seen on episode xy of Star Trek glad to see you had time and money to patent it. Too bad you never actually figured out how to build it nor sold or intend to sell XY product.....meanwhile I've been in a cave for the past ten years surviving on a diet of Red Bull and Cheetos. I had no social life and still wish to meet a girl someday. Amazing how you showed up out of no where...only after my parents sold there house to help pay for the first run of my X product and only after my sister slept with a producer on Oprah to get it featured on her show. If only my inheritance from my grandparents death that was spent on doing a patent search had discovered your patent. It would have saved me nine and a half years of making the damn thing work.

    P.S. One question why did you change your patent to appear more like my invention only after mine went to market???

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    JayTee (profile), 28 Jan 2012 @ 7:57am

    Sim Tower was a great game, I used to love it...still sits as a part of my collection of old PC games in their bigass boxes on the shelf :)

    Im certainly going to check out Tiny Tower now i think.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      JayTee (profile), 28 Jan 2012 @ 8:43am

      Re:

      So I downloaded and installed it but then have to sign up to the stupid mobage social network thing which apparently I can't because supposedly my email address is already taken despite the fact i've never signed up to it before

      fail

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    One Tom too Many (profile), 28 Jan 2012 @ 8:33am

    Spelchek!!

    Wow, I think my prescriptive grammarian school-marm eyes about popped out of my head reading this! His faux-handwritten soliloquy could've at least been spellchecked! Yes, F7 IS your friend, if you're a Micro$oftie. Hell, I would've been more than happy to proofread it for him.

    Anyway, his point is relevantly given and way to call them out on it too. Unfortunately, similarities abound in far too many ways and gaming is no different. The "creation" entitlement extravaganza for "creative monopolists" also is rather disgusting to see in its excess too.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Vic Kley, 28 Jan 2012 @ 9:30am

    Masnick's Paymasters want you to be Creative

    Masnick sells his services by among other things trying to convince creative people that complete freedom to steal is the best creative freedom (except of course when stealing his copyrighted material).

    It is NOT an even playing field for the obvious and simple reason that creativity is only a part of innovation and true product success in all endeavors (including games the subject of Mike's latest rant). Money/capital, marketing talent/connections and organization/business savvy and more are all required to be successful.

    It is least expensive in cash and royalties for a well heeled ruthless "innovator" to steal new work/ideas/creativity. Such people usually have driven away or burned out any creative people who might have been associated with them early on (Steve Wozniak, Paul Allen) and they are more then willing to eviscerate those people they hardly know at all.

    We need the protection of Law, and Justice.

    We need a healthy IP system of laws not the most lawmakers money can buy. We need an even playing field at court not the best justice money can buy.

    We need a voice in support of small start-ups and inventors/creators not more Mike Masnicks whose pens are for sale to the highest bidder.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 28 Jan 2012 @ 4:18pm

      Re: Masnick's Paymasters want you to be Creative

      Congratulations. Every single paragraph you posted is a blatant lie. That's impressive.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
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    link to this | view in chronology ]


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