iGame Radio

In November, game developer Lazy Peon Games released a game called League of Heroes to the App Store. This rogue-like game for the iPhone was a hit for the beta testers, and studio head Eric Farraro hoped would be so on the App Store. The only problem? It was a clone of IGF finalist Desktop Dungeons QCF Designs.

The saga regarding this controversy is recorded in detail elsewhere, but the summary is that when QCF Designs learned of the game, they contacted Ferraro, asking him not to release the game. They talked with him about making changes that would be positive to the game and yet not violate their copyright. Ferraro made excuses about his game, claiming that it was different enough, and released it. In the end, Ferraro had to remove the game in response to a C&D order through Apple from QCF Designs.

Sounds simple enough, until you read how many people are responding negatively towards QCF Designs for this action. Apparently, Ferraro was within his rights to clone their game and develop it for the iPhone platform without their permission. So many excuse this because to them cloning seems to have a history in the game industry for innovation. Ferraro had made it clear from the beginning that the game was a clone…that makes it right!

If you look at the comments (18 pages long) in the Touch Arcade thread regarding the release of League of Heroes, despite the fact that some of the beta testers had played Desktop Dungeons, none saw a problem with Ferraro cloning the game down to the core gameplay, ruleset, etc. In effect, he stole the game, then changed a couple of things to claim it as his own, and everyone thought this was fine.

This view is echoed in the comments made on the post that QCF Design made regarding the fallout of this issue. Again, many considered QCF to be in the wrong, that Ferraro was within his rights to clone Desktop Dungeons without permission, develop it in parallel, get it out on the App Store before QCF Design did, and make the profit from the idea before they did.

And yet, when Cooks Source editor/owner Judith Griggs was found to be lifting images and entire articles for her magazine for profit, the entirety of the Internet’s wrath came down upon her in vengeance for her actions, considered wrong to the writers and photographers.

How is that any different than cloning a game in development without permission and finishing it before the other team? Because I frankly don’t see it. Perhaps the game community is so worried about innovation that they have forgotten the right of someone who has a great idea to create a great game from that idea for the world to experience.