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is it ok to steal someone else idea for a game?
i started Falling Boxes a few weeks ago and now i see on Facebook a post by TGC and by Freedom Engine about DropBlox which is basicly the same game with one diffrence.

and also my game in Freedom Engine was deleted and now i have to build it again.

so, is it ok to steal?
cause if so.. i might not want to continue with posting here on the forums anymore..
so just to be clear am im going from now on underground until my final release or can i trust this community?

sorry for posting here on AGK.

Well, while it may seem unethical, I'd say just looking at a game and using the ideas presented isn't strictly speaking, stealing. Look at how many FPS games there are, all pretty much based on the same idea. I understand that you're pretty mad but just thinking about it, avoiding fall boxes (or any obstacles for that matter) is a pretty basic idea. How many games are spin-offs of space invaders?

There is also the possibility that the person who wrote the FE falling boxes didn't see your thread.


While I find this community very trustworthy, the forums are open to the public, anyone can see them. For ideas that you want to make big bucks off, you'll probably have to keep them locked away until release. Also remember to copyright your work.

I have played both your Falling Boxes and DropBlox and even though they both require the player to avoid falling blocks they play different.

Also not wanting to sound harsh, but the avoiding falling block idea isn't new as there are hundred of flash games that already based on that idea that were made years before your own game. I googled "avoid falling blocks" and found games like Falling Blocks 2, and Pushies Plus 2 that are like advanced versions of Falling Boxes and DropBlox.

I dont recommend you going underground but rather keep promoting your game, and worry less about people copying any of your ideas.

ty for your kind answers. had no idea there were games like mine.. thought i was the first :/

I wrote DropBlocks . It's just a small part of a larger program that I coded to test out Box 2d physics system within AGK. I'd been programming it well before you started your Falling boxes game.

I'm sorry, if you think I stole your idea. Like Apocolyp4 stated the falling object game can be traced back to Tetris. If anything it was their idea I borrowed.

I hope you continue to post, and good luck with your game.

Auger

its ok sorry for the trouble.

To have a completely original game idea these days would be doing well!

We all must remember there is NO original work anywhere. Before you start screaming at me.... Think a LITTLE!

Since the you were born you have unconsciously 'absorbed' thoughts and and ideas. When you are being creative you 'use' all of those experiences as input to create 'new' ideas...There are no new ideas only modified ideas.

You dig? As long as your idea is as modified as YOU can make it and it contains something personal from you it can seem original.... That is good enough. Remember that all you see are different coloured pixels.....that has not changed since computers had a visual display.. So how original do you think you really are....?

deep thoughts Daddy.

As someone pointed out much of this started with Tetris.


Something to be aware of when you think someone is 'stealing' is video game 'case law'.

http://www.davis.ca/uploads/cp2/Summary-of-Video-Game-Case-Law_en.pdf

This PDF link is a history largely of US Case law and a bit of Canadian in as well (google for your country specific laws but the US is probably the industry leader right now so many people go by these standards)

When you read this document what you will find is that law has supported these findings:

1: IF you use someones actual art; this breaks the law.
2: IF you use someones actual code; this breaks the law.
3: IF you use all of or part of someones name in your name ; this breaks the law (Think "3D Tetris" )

4: If your game looks similar the other game , no problem!
5: If your game plays similar to the other game, no problem!
6: However if you copy the design of something EXACTLY this can be a violation. So if you make a guy who looks EXACTLY like Mario but you call him "Cletus" you still copied Nintendo's copyrighted/trademarked property and design.
7: Conversely just because you have a character who dresses in overalls who's a plumber doesnt mean you did anything wrong.

These are general guidelines, and I'm not a lawyer. But these ideas are ones that many in the game design industry try to go by to 'be safe' in their designs and not get sued if possible.


There's no issue with having the same idea as someone else. In fact we all have hundreds of similar ideas, the odds that well make games very similar to each other is probably very high , very often.


So in other words what you found someone who has a game with a similar "look and feel" and there is nothing illegal, immoral, or dishonest about it. At least according to case law.

Your personal feelings are always valid, but may not do you much good in a court battle.

With that in mind; I would always feel comfortable sharing screenshots; but when sharing code I tend to share only as much as needed to convey my idea OR make a NEW piece of code that demonstrates my problem without giving out the functions of my game.

Sometimes in writing this sample code you might solve your own problem (as I do about half the time) and even if not you can feel good that you are 'protecting' your code.

Hope this information helps a bit.

My father, smart man, said a few things to me while I was growing up,

he said,
"trust no one!",
"Never assume people will be honest just because you are",
"If you have an Idea for a new invention Ken, keep it too yourself, cause I'm tired, and get me a beer!"
" Never for any reason show the government the Nuclear Bomb you have stashed in your tool shed",
I like to tinker, jk,
"and if you see a monkey pickin his butt while at the zoo, step away from the cage!"

All this being said, if you want to keep prying eyes out of your code, do not show it till its finished, and people here need to post whether or not any code they post maybe reused by others.

That way we can avoid confusion as some people use other peoples code to learn from or solve a certain problems.

I doubt anyone knowingly stole your code, but then again, "I believe robots are stealing my luggage!"- Steve Martin

So what do I know? nothing!, I just say things. you'll get used to it.

Peace out and Go Steelers!