Are puzzle game ideas copyrightable?
by Joel Davis · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 03/23/2007 (5:11 pm) · 4 replies
I would guess they are not, since we see so many clones of popular puzzle games. I've heard that board game mechanics can not be copyrighted. I'm just curious. I'm not planning on going out and ripping off a bunch of puzzle games, but I've been playing "slitherloop", designed by Nikola, the designer of Soduku. I've been playing online at www.puzzle-loop.com, which is pretty primitive (and doesn't look like it has any official connection with Nikola) and was toying with the idea of making a "fancier" version for offline play. (I'm sure that the name itself is copyrighted, I was thinking it would be cooler to have the player building city walls or something, change the theme)
There's a lot of imitation and borrowing in the casual/puzzle arena, what does the community think about the ethics and legalities of doing something like this? Is this frowned upon? Or is this just healthy competition?
Joel
There's a lot of imitation and borrowing in the casual/puzzle arena, what does the community think about the ethics and legalities of doing something like this? Is this frowned upon? Or is this just healthy competition?
Joel
About the author
#2
But puzzle games are so pure -- you can't just add rules. There's so many match-3 type games that are different only in theme and graphics (and how well they are executed).
I'm not trying to strike it rich ripping anyone off. I have become hopelessly addicted to puzzle-loop, and the javascript one is very simplistic, just dots and lines. As a programmer I have the urge to make a nice desktop version with better graphics -- maybe with a city walls instead of lines. That's the entire design doc right there.
The founder of Nikola discovered Soduku in a puzzle magazine, after all. If I were to design a puzzle, and David Higgins made a game of it, I would be flattered and happy. But I tend to be one of those open-source types who thinks everything should shared, so I wanted to get the community perspective.
Anyways, I think for this particular case I don't really think it's an issue-- there are already a bunch of freeware versions of it out there anyways. But I'm still curious to know what people think about this, especially with all the emphasis on casual games these days.
Joel
03/23/2007 (11:36 pm)
Right, I think I have a good sense of it with a game like Warcraft -- another RTS could be similar but would still have different rules. Look at Exigo -- that's almost an exact clone of Warcraft III (with better GFX), but with caverns added. It's as derivative as it gets, but it's clearly a different game.But puzzle games are so pure -- you can't just add rules. There's so many match-3 type games that are different only in theme and graphics (and how well they are executed).
I'm not trying to strike it rich ripping anyone off. I have become hopelessly addicted to puzzle-loop, and the javascript one is very simplistic, just dots and lines. As a programmer I have the urge to make a nice desktop version with better graphics -- maybe with a city walls instead of lines. That's the entire design doc right there.
The founder of Nikola discovered Soduku in a puzzle magazine, after all. If I were to design a puzzle, and David Higgins made a game of it, I would be flattered and happy. But I tend to be one of those open-source types who thinks everything should shared, so I wanted to get the community perspective.
Anyways, I think for this particular case I don't really think it's an issue-- there are already a bunch of freeware versions of it out there anyways. But I'm still curious to know what people think about this, especially with all the emphasis on casual games these days.
Joel
#3
I'm definitely an open-source advocate, and if there are numerous other derivatives, then go for it -- the only time you should really have to think twice is when there's only one or two copies, and they are made by big-names ... otherwise, chances are ... the game your playing is a rip off of another game you haven't played.
I'm all for the idea ... run with it ...
03/24/2007 (2:31 am)
@Joel,I'm definitely an open-source advocate, and if there are numerous other derivatives, then go for it -- the only time you should really have to think twice is when there's only one or two copies, and they are made by big-names ... otherwise, chances are ... the game your playing is a rip off of another game you haven't played.
I'm all for the idea ... run with it ...
#4
03/24/2007 (9:20 am)
Ideas cannot be copyrighted. Gameplay mechanics can, however, be patented if they fall into specific, identifiable criteria. 
Associate David Higgins
DPHCoders.com
As for whether or not the game play is copyright-able, that I'm not sure of ... but it's generally not nice to rip off other peoples ideas ... now, Sudoku to my knowledge is an OLD game ... it's been played for many years, and its been in existence since before copyrights existed ... some stuff is covered under intellectual property laws, some stuff is covered under trademarks, others under copyright law, and sometimes even patents and other various protection laws ... in general, it's not a good idea to just rip off an idea ... however, if you have an idea that builds upon an idea, thats a different story ...
For example ... taking the game play mechanics of Warcraft II and building upon it ... does not constitute a 'clone' ... making a game that is identical, with the exception of artwork and maybe player species ... that is a clone ...
Use good judgement ... and think ... "If I made the game I want to copy, how would I feel if David Higgins made the game i want to make?" ... answer that, and you should be all set ... given that you've done your research on the general subject matter, if necessary...