Erik Max Francis wrote:
> Brandon J. Van Every wrote:
>
>> Are you aware that there's a GPLed Risk clone available on
>> Sourceforge? http://jrisk.sourceforge.net/
The art assets are
>> acceptable for something that's free.
>
>
> The artwork for jrisk is clearly copied from the games themselves.
>
Heh! You're right. A clearer case of copyright violation there never
was. I really didn't wait for the full screenshot to download before I
wrote that, I was in "type a mile a minute" mode. I saw superimposed
circular numbers, figured "That's not in Risk" and stopped mentally
processing the image. Anyways, by "acceptable" I meant aesthetically
acceptable. Legally, it isn't acceptable; some people just don't get
prosecuted.
Whether wholesale cloning of games is ethically acceptable is a matter
of personal opinion. It isn't for me personally... aside from slagging
off of other's work, I think such energy should be used for the creative
betterment of the profession. Also in a world full of clones, it often
makes little business sense to provide yet another one. Really the only
justification I see for outright cloning is kids who are trying to learn
how to code and don't have much imagination. I'd rather they develop
imagination, but if they aren't into that, at least they learn something
by coding to a "known good" reference.
--
Cheers, www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every Seattle, WA
When no one else sells courage, supply and demand take hold.
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