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"The copycat plague"

A lot has been said on these forums, (myself included), about the startling lack of originality in games today. Well lets face it, there hasn't been anything TOTALLY new about anything for absolutely ages. As my English teacher says, "there's no such thing as an original idea".

Thinking about it, that is true. There isn't a single thing that hasn't got influence, snatched ideas from, or swiped tactics away from something else. When teen pop temptress Britney exploded onto the scene, Christina wasn't far behind. Coca Cola becomes the biggest selling soft drink, then lo and behold we have Pepsi, different in its appe...no, its taste. Yeah, its taste...that'll do. Thats not the only example - the Walkman, DIY programs, etc. - I could go on forever. Unfortunately, this disease of 'copying' has spread to gaming.

Don't get me wrong, I know that all games can't be totally original and that there will be similarities in fighting games, driving games etc. I'm talking about the sort of copying thats indefensible. You know when your're in school and someone uses your brilliant idea for a project, and tells the teacher before you, thus making it look like you copied them (c'mon its happened to all of us hasn't it?) That sort of copying, the infuriating, annoying, blatant type.

So how has this painful disease spread to gaming? As gaming veterans you have probably seen more copycat concepts than most, and nowadays, an original idea is as rare as a good Army Men game. Obviously, some of the best ideas will be incorporated and (hopefully) advanced in other games. But its the shameless didn't-even-try-to-hide-it rip-offs that are the most annoying. Right through history there have been prime examples of plagiarism of the highest order, even as far back as 1978...

Space Invaders, a gaming milestone, was shamelessly ripped off by little known Galaxians, a game hoping to emulate Space Invaders massive success by meticulously copying the top down shooting aliens format. Thankfully, Nintendo intervened with arguably the single most important birth in videogames - Donkey Kong, the birth of platformers. This was followed by a classic, Mario Bros. But even Nintendo weren't immune to the curse. Mario was copyed by the laughable Great Giana Sisters, which was so close to the Mario formula Nintendo had the game removed from the shelves. It even had the slogan 'Move over Brothers, the Sisters are here'. The cheek of some people, eh?

And on to modern gaming, where we recently witnessed probably the single most blatant rip off in gaming
history - Simpsons Road Rage. Identical in all but name, the game involved picking up passengers on the streets and taking them to the destination in the quickest time, driving over everything to get there. Sound familiar?
Not only is the concept nicked, the graphics, coloured ring, even the taxis looked perfectly similar. Fortunately for them, the hilarious world of the Simpsons provides slight redemption. Only slight, mind.

They aren;t the only example - Metal Gear Solid found a strikingly similar partner in Headhunter, and Konami tried to bridge the wait with a noticeable clone of Mario Kart, Konami Krazy Races (don't forget Crash Team Racing). Ad of course you have Mario Party, Sega's clone Sonic Shuffle and the instantly forgettable Crash Bash. Tsk.

Its not all bad. When done properly, videogames can succesfully integrate old ideas. This is particularly noticeable when it comes to films. The Indiana Jones-style bouldrr chase in Tomb Raider, Lylat Wars/ Independence Day final battle and the ever so slightly obvious Living Dead/Resident Evil comparisons.

Nor is there anything to say about game developers ()sensibly) drawing inspiration from other games. If it wasn't for Mario, we wouldn't have Sonic. Likewise Tetris and Columns. Actually, scrap that. Unfortunately, we often hardly see developers striving to advance old ideas. Rather than try anything new, their comfortable just giving out the same old, same old for a tidy profit. And when new ideas, like Ecco the Dolphin or Vib Ribbon, do come out, they are disappointingly lost in the clamour to buy Fifa: March 2002.

Are we encouraging game developers do do this? Its certainly something to think about...

Thanks for reading

RM18

It was funny :-) well done

Unfortunately, I wasn't in it

*head droops even lower*

Yeah, my spoofs never win either :(

Anyway, check out my The Thing spoof in the movies/tv forum, see if you're in it

You never know, I may get lucky with this one

nah, it didn't win

Nice post, I agree totally

& I think you'll be in for a GAD

Goodluck.

Great post but i'll have to disagree.

There original ideas all over the place. Take the new Next Gen best seller, Luigi's Mansion, probably the first ever spook-'em-up to hit the gaming market. Mixing the beauty of wonderful 3D grapgics but set out like a good old 2D platformer.

And just recently, Smash Bros. for the N64, all the best characters in one massive fight, i don't think that's been done before.

There may be more and more ideas being used up but creators will never run out of inavative and original ideas for games. As the future goes on, so does gaming. Whether it may be the simple concept of actually playing the part of a planet, trying to keep the life that you have on you alive.

There can only be more and more original ideas to come.

Don't think i'm ripping your topic apart, it's great, it's just that's my point of view, so no offence

the worst thing about ps2 sequels is that their not even sequels of PS2 games, but rehashed graphical updates of PSone games

Some original games come out occasionally but the gaming world and especially the PS2 is plagued with these boring sequels and copies the most.

I could write more but i'm not....

Thanks! How did you know my name?

I thought this was a topic about people who copied posts, but then I thought it should have been on FOG Chat as it loaded and I began to read, so I actually realised what it was. Nice topic Russ.

Anyone out there?