iPhone game accused of plagiarizing flOw |
When flOw burst onto the PS3 (and PSP) scene, a lot of people appreciated its minimalist and serene design. Creator Jenova Chen eventually released the game's source code for people to learn from, but now it seems as though someone didn't just learn from it but actually just copied it instead.
That's what Chen thought when he first saw Ketara Software's iPhone game Aquatica. On his Twitter page, Chen accused the Aquatica developer of plagiarizing flOw:
I released flOw source for people to learn. I didn't expect to see it on iphone without quoting the creator
I just gave out source for people who wants to learn Flash programming. However, according to them, they wrote it from scratch.
Chen also gave 1Up the following statement:
The image and animation in Aquatica is almost identical to the original web game I created. I felt maybe they are one of the many who asked me for the flOw source code. But according to the comments the creator of the Aquatica made on the youtube, they didn't use my source code.
...
I thought the creation of Aquatica is a very flattering thing because they mimic the game I created in the university and somewhat realized my dream for a flOw game on the iPhone. It could be a very sweet thing if they did this as a fan ware and put it out for free. But the fact they didn't mention flOw at all and call it a 'new, unique game completely in a class of its own' is disappointing.
Ketara, meanwhile, had this to say in the comments section of their YouTube trailer for Aquatica amidst more accusations from commenters:
Actually, all the source code is completely, 100% written from scratch. Please check your facts before you make such baseless accusations.
Also, what's wrong with adapting a general idea of one game to the iPhone? No one had done this before, and we wanted to play it with tilt controls. In general, most games within each class are practically the same, just different graphics.
It's noteworthy that Ketara's website for Aquatica now says that the game is "an iPhone from-the-ground-up re-make of the famous flOw game created by Jenova Chen of the ThatGameCompany fame."
Ketara has also since posted the following comment on the Aquatica YouTube trailer:
We deeply apologize for this. We simply (naively) did not think it necessary, since we did indeed write absolutely *ALL* the code ourselves, and were not even aware flOw's source was released. We can easily prove it by releasing any part of the code anyone requests.
We have corrected this by posting proper credits everyone (they will show up in iTunes in several hours, as all changes do).
We will also be contacting Jenova Chen to apologize.
Aquatica is currently available for free on the App Store, but that's only for a limited time promo. Here are videos of both games so you can judge for yourself if this is indeed a clear-cut case of plagiarism or not.
Aquatica gameplay
flOw gameplay
TL;DR?
Related articles:
- thatgamecompany talks about flOw and its new "emotional" game
- Korean company sued for plagiarizing FF7: Advent Children
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Comments [refresh]
looks pretty copied to me
At least it's free for the public. I assume that was the goal of the developer when he made the source free.
its a promo. they are going to price it later after the promotion expires.
Lmao They made it so obvious they copied everything
Jenova Chen should sue their asses off.
"i like how they say on their wed site that they are "dedicated to writing unique and creative computer graphics software." and forget to say that they sometime get lazy and copy others unique and creative work"
i feel really dumb doing this. i blame the commit system.
(which after the promotion they are) then yes, I hope they do get sued. It's such a blatant copy of flOw it's not even funny.
it's exactly the same...
their is one major difference, flow is cool and that other game looks like crap
wow, his name is really Jenova?
How is his son called, Sephiroth?
This is probably what that Russian guy that invented Tetris feels like.
The only thing different about it is that it looks like a ghetto flow. I hope they get sued.
I just attempted to download Aquatica for free on my iPhone I got this message:
"This item is currently being modified. Please try again later."
If it's free i'll download it, but I'm glad I read this article, because I might have paid $1.99 for it, but now that I know it's a Blatant Rip Off, I will never give them a penny.
It's like you had to pay for it for PS3, but the flash version online was always free. I always think it's crap when Free online games are "sold" on the iphone. If a games good I'll pay a few bucks for it for my iphone, but I prefer Free ad supported games instead...
"Ketara has also since posted the following comment on the AquaticaYouTube trailer:We deeply apologize for this. We simply (naively) did not think it necessary, since we did indeed write absolutely *ALL* the code ourselves, and were not even aware flOw's source was released. We can easily prove it by releasing any part of the code anyone requests.We have corrected this? by posting proper credits everyone (they will show up in iTunes in several hours, as all changes do).We will also be contacting Jenova Chen to apologize."
Yeah whatever! What are the chances that they made it almost exactly the same without knowing?! Fraud, I calling fraud! Man I even feel insulted by them trying to feed me that bull*****.
AHAHHA That made my day/
Jenova was Sephiroth's MOTHER.
It looks excatly the same even the main character. They should of at least the look of the characters.
This is an even bigger rip off than Rolando is of Loco Roco.
I don't think iPhone is going to get anywhere as a gaming platform as long as loser iPhone devs keep ripping off real game devs.
To make things worse the promo is allready over and theyre charging ?1.19/$1.96 :( o well would of downloaded it otherwise flow was a great game.
for those saying sure their asses
they wont get through the first barrier
you cant own a gameplay although in the very very unusual circumstances you can "own" an element of gameplay, but its never used
personally i see enough distinction to believe that this is a clone and not a port
even so the creator has absolutely no leg to stand on
they only time he would be capable of proving license infringement is if it was compiled on the same platform
and a memory dump was taken, showing identical results
I dont like to see people make money from clones
GET YOUR OWN *****IN IDEAS
however i think the focusing on this couple may be unfair
anyway the dev should never have released the src if he was afraid of this
he knew it would happen, trust me, he knew
anyway the only thing i would be pissed off about is the fact that it says this is a totally new game
for that id love to see their asses sued,
BUT IT IS NEVER EVER GONNA HAPPEN
APPLICATION DESCRIPTION
Aquatica is an iPhone from-the-ground-up remake (FAN VERSION) of the famous flOw fame created by Jenova Chen of the ThatGameCompany fame.
We deeply apologize for not properly crediting him earlier - our mistakes were out of naivety, not malice.
***
they you have, its all good now, but we should complain anyway about it not being free :)
greedy company...
i know how dare ppl make money for their work
so me any contributions you made, im guessing a tetris clone in lua compiled
Attention if ya want it free - I just downloaded it for free as of 11:00pm EST.
They did know that flow did exist..? But yet they're playing it as they don't? Nice nice..
i'd say its nearly identical to flow; seriously is it the same music even? (may have to fire up my psp to see)
yea, thats a pretty blatant rip off/copy.
I just downloaded it off my iPhone. The info says it was based on a classic FLash/PC game.
All he cared about was getting credit for it being a clone of his game, and would have been flattered if it was marketed as such. But they were marketing it as a "new and unique game". That is where the offense came. He should be fine now that they credit him.
First Loco Roco, now this...whats next...Patapon copy? come on apple...get original games...
It's all good now...the game still the same, music, graphics...and even gameplay (not controls since iTouch has no buttons)...they first sayd they didn't know flow existed in a comment on youtube...now they say is a remake version...BS...they're afraid to get sued because they'll loose it...
and the Iphone is supposed to be a threat against SONY.
you would know, *****got...
What a spanking winger.....you can clearly see they both ripped off the age old classic 'snake'????
Lesson learnt for next time....don't go open source if you expect people to never rip off your work...
That is about as copied as ever. Freakin' Apple, learn to make your own games and stop leeching off your competition. flOw is god, you aren't. Oh, and where the hell does the name "underwater adventure" and "Aquatica" come in? How is this copy anything like an underwater experience!? The PS3 version seems more underwater to me, but this copy seems more like a game or Parasites :/
They didn't say they made it the same by accident, they just said they didn't use the source code Jenova gave out and thus didn't think it was necessary to give credit to Jenova
It's exactly the same. No wonder has to be pulled off from iTunes App Store. What a loser!
I just tried downloading it and after finding it in the appStore, and attemtping to download it errors out. "The item you tried to buy is no longer available. Boo!
Quote from their youtube vid:
--
Please note that we have decided that it is in the best interests of everyone to delete this game from the App Store. We will also do our best to make sure nothing like this happens in the future.
--
Probably alot of users from here who spammed the comments xD
well *****... i wanted to get it. now its gone
Games are ripped off left and right nowdays as you'll rarely see an original game in most cases(rarely.)
I think the iphone developers know this so they're using it to there advantage.
There is atleast one good thing about this. It means that Apple must think that Sony has the better games, yet the bad thing about it is that if you can purchase everything of Sony's that you can on the iphone, then why by a Sony product?
The only possible way that it'll be won if they get sued is if Sony uses the fact that this ripoff could possibly be making them get less systems off the shelf, causing them lose more money than just the game of Flow, since these titles are exclusive and if people wanted a copy they'd have to buy a PS3(or in case of Patapon, a PSP.) I'm sure though that Sony has lawyers going back and forth through each detail in an attempt to make a case.
poor origional creator for flOw. they made a crappy copy of his game, the ripoff one has less animation and particles and background to it, so i think they should have at LEAST gave credit where it was due. also its not that hard to port actionscript to C languages.
This Katara guy has a point, that most games within a genre are basically the same code with a different face.
His problem here is that this looks almost exactly like Flow. They didn't even bother to change the look of the "main character".
Changes the colours, make the circles squares...do SOMETHING different....
if i paint a picture identical to the monalisa, call it dave and say i used a different paint brand, then sell it, do i still get sued?
You have no idea what you're talking about. Clearly not a programmer.
At least Rolando introduced novel gameplay elements like giving different abilities to different characters and using the touchscreen to move stuff around. This is just blatant, unabashed theft.
Hey guys, I'm working on a new game. It's called Car Stealing Mob Adventures. You play a Serbian guy named Nico who moves to Liberty City and has to do odd jobs around town like working for the mob and helping save his cousin from his gambling debts.
It's new, unique, and in a class completely on its own!
definite copy
To me it looks exactly the same as the flOw I got it on my PS3 and PSP and a free copy of the flash version, I love it but they are ripping this guy off, he really should sue them for doing this without his permission.
But thats just my opinion, and I like his first name.
I don't think that qualifies as "not ripped-off", though. And, I sure hope he sues their pants-off if they start charging money for "Aquatica". Regardless if they used his source or "coded from the ground-up", they still STOLE THE WHOLE GAME CONCEPT.
Apples to Oranges
but they are bouth like SPORE lol watch out bouth of you
Why are you blaming Apple? As much as I hate them, they are not the developers (or copiers in this case) of Aqautica.
You do realize that copyrights only apply for 75 years, right? Leonardo diCaprio has been dead for a little over 75 years (I think it's been about 90 years since he died, after cutting off his right ear).
Besides, I'm pretty sure it was photoshopped, so who cares?
[/bait]
Release date of fl0w
Flash Version - April 14,2006
PS3 version - February 2, 2007
PSP version - April 24,2008.
Spore
PC - September 4, 2008
iPhone/iPod - August 25, 2008.
Every version of fl0w came out before even one version of Spore came out.
According to the author's website at http://www.ketara.ca/aqua.html , he says that the game was removed and they give an apology to Jenova Chen.
The author should have asked Jenova Chen in the beginning for his permission.
hahaha, I thought it was really a mistake, now I realize its only a joke. Good one.
"Leonardo diCaprio" lol
the titanic film isn't 75 years ago ;)
p.s. i was creating an analogy, forget it......
until i found this...