作者：Josh Bycer

随着社交游戏和手机游戏市场的逐渐崛起，克隆问题也相继浮出水面。游戏克隆是指：有人公然复制其它游戏的设计，外观和图像，并将其占为己有。去年，克隆问题更是更是上升到一个新的层面，最近的案例就是EA起诉Zynga游戏《The Ville》侵犯了《The Sims Social》版权。

the-sims-social-the-ville-lawsuit(from wegotthiscovered.com)

EA公布一段视频，以此呈现出这两款游戏的相似点——包括UI设计和图像等。这是迄今为止游戏产业中关于克隆游戏的最大案例。关于克隆问题共存在多种争论：有些人认为游戏产业是建立在模仿的基础上，也有些人并不清楚如何界定一款游戏到底算不算克隆产品。

为何现在会出现克隆行为？

我认为游戏行业并不是建立在克隆的基础上，而是在其它游戏上汲取灵感。也正是因为如此才会出现今天如此广泛的克隆游戏。

首先是关于保存媒介和技术的变化。早前，所有的游戏都存在于储存设备中，不管是卡盘还是CD。而随着网络的发展以及传统媒体的过时，大众群体开始掌握越来越多的控制权。

之前CD和卡盘都设置了一定的安全措施以阻止外来人员对于数据的访问，但是在今天，当你下载了一款游戏，你便能够访问所有相关的代码和信息。大多数社交游戏是基于浏览器而建立起来的，所以任何人都能够很轻松地分析一款特定游戏中的各大元素。人们的技术能力也得到极大的提高。早在80年代末90年代初，计算机领域仍然不够成熟，大多数人都不清楚该如何进行编程。

直到90年代中期我才获得了自己的第一台计算机；而我也只是在小学期间接受过基础的计算机培训。但是今天，游戏设计却成为了大学中一大课程选择，所以越来越多人开始学习如何编程以及操纵代码。软件开发领域也逐年强大起来，这也让那些拥有专门技术的人员能够在自己的项目中使用相关资产和代码。

之所以说游戏产业并不是建立在克隆游戏基础上是因为，早前的开发者并未拥有如今开发者这种级别的游戏资产。磁盘的安全措施让任何人都难以轻松地访问他人的游戏资产。如此，任何公司都不能只是复制别人的游戏，而只能从大受欢迎的游戏中寻找灵感并创造属于自己的游戏理念。这也解释了为何早前的授权游戏会如此困难，因为它们大多是受到像红白机上的《星球大战》等挑战性游戏的启发。

设定一些基本规则

我们需要设定一些基本规则。因为对于游戏产业来说克隆游戏还是一个较新的问题，所以还不存在一个明确的规则定义何为克隆，所以当我们在谈论一款游戏克隆另一款游戏时这便成为了一道难以衡量对错的问题。

以下是我对于克隆游戏的定义：

1.某些人在自己欲发售的游戏中添加了其它游戏的代码和/或资产。

对我来说这不再只是克隆问题了，更确切的说应该算是偷窃，并且游戏产业应该对此采取零容忍态度。上个月，Runic Games（游戏邦注：《火炬之光1》和《火炬之光2》的开发者）控诉了《战魂OL》的开发者窃取了《火炬之光1》的游戏资产。从代码来看，Runic Games表示《战魂》开发者未经许可便采用了《火炬之光》的音效文件和图像资产。

Runic Games甚至发现对方连自己在《火炬之光》中的代码拼写错误问题都复制了。

2.某些人使用了其它游戏中的相同游戏元素，但却没有做出任何有意义的修改。

游戏产业是基于各种游戏从其它游戏中汲取灵感而发展起来的。许多优秀的游戏都是参考了早前游戏理念而诞生的。《忍者龙剑传》，《银河战士》以及《恶魔城》便都是受到《超级马里奥》的影响。但是这些游戏都是先明确基本的游戏理念并围绕它朝一个完全不同的方向而发展。

而今天我们所看到的游戏不仅突出了与其它游戏相同的玩法，同时还使用了各种相同的游戏元素。在EA与Zynga的视频对比中我们可以看到《The Ville》使用了与EA游戏相同的角色设计系统，并以相同的方式运行游戏。

如果我想要创造一款基于传送门并源于特定领域的一款游戏，我便无需担心来自Valve团队的谴责。但是如果我所创造的游戏是关于在一个巨大的实验室使用传送门去解决各种谜题，并且在我帮助一个静物时会出现一个疯狂的AI紧盯着我，那么情况也就不同了。

我们可以发现不论是在手机还是社交游戏市场，较热销的游戏都复制了其它游戏的相同机制。有些游戏改变了主题，也有些游戏只改变了名称或甚至未做出任何改变。对我来说，复制粘帖另一款游戏是对于原创开发者的冒犯，同时也是企图利用别人的辛苦劳动成果而获利的表现。

3.某些人未经所有者同意便从一个平台上将特定的游戏玩法/品牌复制到自己的游戏身上。

在今年初PlayStation上的一款游戏《Johann Sebastian Joust》出现了许多争议。iOS开发者Ustwo基于iOS设备（而非原版游戏开发者所使用的PlayStation移动控制器）发行了《Papa Quash》。Ustwo表示，有一位忠实玩家希望能够在iPhone中玩游戏，并告知Ustwo自己获得了Die Gute Fabrik（《Johann Sebastian Joust》开发者）的授权制作iOS移植版本。

然而Die Gute Fabrik却表示他们从未对任何人授权，所以该应用便从应用商店中移除了。有些人认为既然在其它平台上存在着另一个市场，那么在此复制其它游戏玩法也并无不妥。但是在我心中这却是最大的禁忌：只是因为你想获得一些自己没有的东西，就可以去偷别人的？这也是盗版者常有的思维模式：因为他们想玩没有版权保护的游戏，所以他们可以去盗版。

但是这却是再幼稚不过的想法了。就像我对许多iOS游戏非常感兴趣，如《无尽之剑》系列。我想要尝试这些游戏，但是我却没有iOS设备。而难道因为我不能玩这些游戏我就有权在PC上创造一款相同的游戏？当然不能！

也有一些游戏制作人允许其它开发者将自己的游戏从一个平台上移植到另一个平台，或者只是为玩家更新游戏内容。如《地面控制2》的免费软件项目：《The Ur Quan Masters》。原版设计师将游戏的源代码以开放源形式公开，并让其它开发者能够以此进行扩展。

在EA与Zynga的诉讼中，我们最好能够将问题扼杀在摇篮中，并以此为游戏产业建立一个基本的规则。随着社交和手机游戏市场的不断壮大，这一问题也将不断涌现出来。我将描述三个虚构的游戏理念，其中有两个属于我所定义的克隆游戏，那么你能指出哪一个不属于克隆游戏吗？

A：这是一款等距视图行动角色扮演游戏。游戏背景设定在未来，在一个巨大的实验室中通过创造一个复杂的网络生物体并以此制造出一个恶魔。该生物用一种病毒控制并感染了居民和机器，将它们变成了自己的奴隶。玩家不得不降落在复合体上（随机生成的地面）并一步一步前往生物所在的最底端，然后毁灭它们。

玩家必须追踪自己的生命能量和纳米储备以维持自己的生命，并分别使用各种技能。玩家能够逃出复合体并奔向最近的军用复合体，在那里他们可以使用之前所收集的废片创造一个新的装备，并帮助自己完成之后的任务。

B：这是一款2d平台游戏。为了降低成本，设计师的好友将自己在网络上所获得的原版《超级马里奥》资产交给了他。而为了区分游戏，该设计师改变了每个资产的颜色并混合了关卡设计。

例如关卡1便具有世界1-1和2-1的叠加片段。而当玩家进一步发展时他们将遇到全新的敌人，包括僵尸和机器蜘蛛人，并且他们必须想办法避开这些敌人。在游戏最后，马里奥将跳进一个机器中，打败巨大的库巴并拯救公主。

C：PSN游戏《Journey》是一款非常有趣的游戏，但是在PC上却没有任何一款类似的游戏。这便激发了开发团队去创造PC版《Journey》的斗志。在游戏中，玩家将扮演一个瘸脚，并披着巨大的斗篷在丛林中游荡的角色，他将穿越寺庙并到达背景中那个巨大的山寺。

玩家使用的循环带将随着他们的探索而不断变大。玩家可以与世界各地的其他玩家一起进行探索，但是游戏中却不存在任何语音聊天功能。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

The Cloning Conundrum

Josh Bycer

With the rise of the social and mobile game markets, the issue of cloning has appeared. For those not familiar with the term Cloning: it is when someone allegedly copies the design, look and art of another game and passes it for their own. This past year, the issue of cloning has escalated and has recently come to a head with EA suing Zynga for allegedly coping The Sims Social with Zynga’s game: The Ville.

At the time of this post, EA has put up a video* showing just how similar the two games are, right down to the UI design and art assets. This could become the biggest case of cloning in the industry and set the precedent of this issue for future games. There are several arguments about the issue of cloning: some people say that the industry was built on cloning, while others aren’t sure what the ground rules over what is and what isn’t considered cloning.

Why Cloning is Happening Today:

In my opinion the industry was not built on cloning, but on drawing inspiration from other games. And the evidence is with how it has become so easy to clone games today.

First is due to how the storage medium and technology has changed. In the early days, all games were on a storage device, either a cartridge or a CD. The rise of the internet and the move away from traditional mediums puts a lot of power in the hands of the community.

Before, CDs and cartridges had built in security measures to prevent someone from accessing the data, but in today’s world, once you download a game, you have access to all the code and assets. Most social games are built for a browser and that makes it very easy for someone who knows what they’re doing to analyze the elements that go into a specific game. The technical aptitude of people has also increased. Back in the late 80s and early 90s when computing was still young, most people did not know how to program much less use a computer.

I didn’t get my first computer until the mid 90s and before that; I took basic computer training in elementary school. Today, with game design a major option for college, more and more people are learning how to program and manipulate code. Each year, development software becomes more powerful allowing someone with the right know- how, to use assets and code for their own projects.

The reason why the industry was not built on cloning was simply because no one had the same level of access to game assets as they do today. Security measures on cartridges prevented someone from easily obtaining someone else’s game assets. Because of that, another company couldn’t just copy another game, but had to design original concepts drawing inspiration from popular titles. This is also why a lot of early licensed games were so difficult, as they were inspired by challenging games such as Star Wars on the Nes.

The Ville

Setting Some Ground Rules:

We need to lay some ground rules. Because the issue of cloning is so new to the industry, we don’t have a formal set of rules to define cloning, which becomes a major bullet point whenever we talk about if a game is cloning another game.

Here are in my opinion – The definitions of a Clone:

1. If someone uses the code and/or assets from another game on a project they intend to sell.

This to me isn’t just cloning, but flat out stealing and should be adopted as a zero tolerance policy in the industry. Last month Runic Games: The developers behind Torchlight 1 and 2 accused the developers of the game Armed Heroes Online of stealing Assets from the first Torchlight**. Upon looking at the code, the developer reported that the Armed Heroes developer took sound files and even art assets from Torchlight without their consent.

They even found out that the developer stole the actual code of Torchlight right down to spelling mistakes the Torchlight developers made in the code.

2. If someone designs a game using the same game elements from another title without adding any meaningful changes

The Game Industry’s growth was all about taking inspiration from other titles. Many of the best games that came out were built on the concept from earlier titles. Ninja Gaiden, Metroid and Castlevania all took influence from the platforming in Super Mario Brothers. However, each game took that basic concept and expanded on it by going in a completely different direction.

Today, not only do we have games that feature the exact same gameplay as a similar title, but in some areas they use the same elements. With the Ea v. Zynga comparison video, you can see how The Ville is using the same systems for character design, and playing the game.

If I want to make a game about using portals to go to and from specific areas I don’t have to worry about Valve’s legal team. But if I want to make a game about using portals in a giant laboratory to solve puzzles while a crazy AI is watching and during which I befriend an inanimate object, that’s different.

You can see in the mobile and social market, that a game that sells well is copied using the same exact mechanics. Some may change the theme, while others may just change the name and leave it alone. Copying and pasting game mechanics from one game to another in my opinion should be frown upon as the offending party isn’t creating a new game, but using someone else’s hard work to profit from.

The Sims Social

3. If someone takes specific gameplay and/or brands from one platform, and moves it to another without getting consent from the owner.

Earlier this year there was a lot of buzz*** surrounding the Playstation move title: Johann Sebastian Joust. iOS developer Ustwo released: Papa Quash that uses iOS devices instead of the playstation move controller which the original developers released it for. According to Ustwo, they were contacted by a fan that wanted the game for the I-Phone and told them that he got permission from Die Gute Fabrik (JS Joust’s developers) to make the port.

However, Die Gute Fabrik said that they never gave permission and the app was taken off the store. Some people argued that because there was a market for the game on another platform, that it was fair for someone to copy the exact game play. In my mind that is a big NO: Just because you want something you can’t have, doesn’t make it ok to steal it from someone. That same mentality is one of the excuses pirates have for stealing games: Because they want to play a game without copy protection, it’s ok for them to pirate it.

That kind of thinking is juvenile in my opinion. There are several iOS games that I saw that looked interesting to play, like the Infinity Blade series. I would like to try one, but I don’t have an iOS device. Because I can’t play it, does that give me the right to make or commission a game in the same exact style to be made on the PC? Hell no.

There are cases where interested modders port a game from one platform to another, or simply update a game for modern audiences. As was the case with the Star Control 2 freeware project: The Ur Quan Masters. That was a situation where the original designers released the source code as open source, allowing anyone to work with it.

With the EA v. Zynga lawsuit, we need to nip this problem in the bud by establishing some basic rules for the industry to follow. As the bigger the social and mobile markets get, the more this issue will rear its head before all is said and done. Before I end this post I have a quick challenge for everyone. I’m going to post the description of three imaginary game ideas, two of which fall under the realm of cloning by my definition. Can you figure out which one doesn’t?

A: This is an isometric view action RPG. The game takes place in the future where the Devil has been made real by creating a sophisticated cyber organism in a giant research lab. The creature has taken over and infected the residents and machines with a virus turning them into its slaves. The player has to descend into the complex (with randomly generated floors on play) and fight their way down to the bottom where the creature is and destroy them.

The player must keep track of their life energy and nano reserves to keep themselves alive and able to use skills respectively. The player can warp out of the complex to a nearby military complex where they can use collected scrap to create new equipment they can use and get quests to complete.

B: This is a 2d Platformer. To help cut costs, a friend gave the designers the assets from the original Super Mario Brothers that they found online. To help differentiate the game, the designers changed the color for each of the assets and mix up the level designs.

Level one will have segments of world 1-1 and 2-1 spliced together for instance. As the player gets further they’ll run into new enemies, including zombies and robotic spiders that they’ll have to dodge. At the end of the game, Mario will jump into a robot to fight a giant bowser to save the princess.

C: Journey for the PSN was such a good game, but there are no other games close to it on the PC. This sparked a development team to create a version of Journey for the PC market. For this project, players wander around a vast jungle as a figure completely covered in a cloak without legs, going through temples to reach a massive mountainous temple in the background.

Instead of a scarf, the player has a circular belt that grows bigger with each piece they find while exploring. Players can team up in the world to explore, but there is no voice chat available.(source:chronicgamedesigner)