beaten to it

[barrygamer]

hey,

Just thought I would get this off my chest, it must've happened to others..?

I've been working on my casual game, havent got that far, but still quite excited about the concept and gameplay. BUT, as I'm surfing through my daily blogs/sites I see a review for a new game which is very very similar to mine! And yes, its in the casual game market. So, feeling quite deflated today.

On the positive side:

1) I havent got *that* far with the game.
2) My gameplay was better :cool: I could perhaps re-theme it? Maybe I was too attached to my 'theme' and graphics, which leads to 3) -
3) a lesson learnt: have alternatives ready if this happens?

oh well, such is life... do others worry that their idea could suddenly appear in another game??

barry

[RedKnight]

I once had a idea about a grand theft auto game.
but with zombies.
a game where you have to survive a zombie invested city.

and you know what?
Capcom beat me to it. :-(


I Should have patent my 2 cent idea anyway!

[cliffski]

cheer up.
the first true RTS game was dune. Does anyone still play it?
no, because people have played it, learned from it, and improved upon it.
Diner dash outsells wild west wendy (i presume - and this upsets me), and you can outsell this other game. Dont look at this as bad, actually its really good news for you.
Download it
Play it
Note everything it does badly.
make sure your agme fixes these problems
Read EVERY review and forum comment on this game. Make a big list of what people like/hate etc about it.
use that feedback to make your game way better.
And also make sure your game isn't *too* close to it. Its unlikely you will be accused of cloning if it was your idea, as your implementation is likely to be somewhat different anyway.
I dislike cloning, but in the case when its just a good idea different people have independently, your game will come accross as different naturally.

Look upon this as free market testing and prototyping. Finish your game. make it better.
And good luck.

[mahlzeit]

I see a review for a new game which is very very similar to mine!
It probably isn't. Often two ideas seem similar, but when you look at all the little details, they just as often turn out to be very different and the similarity is only superficial. Of course, this happens all the time. You get a great idea and ten minutes later you find out -- often without even specifically looking for it -- that something like it already exists. (Then again, if your game is an clone with a twist, then it's fair to assume someone else came up with that twist too.)

[barrygamer]

thanks guys! The theme will have to change for sure. I know one can try to make a better version of something else but I suppose I like to feel I am being original :( Makes me realise how much effort I spent on non-gameplay aspects already (I mean stuff related to the theme). Like I said, I think I mightve got too attached to the theme, in the absense of the core stuff.

I think the worse thing is that it has knocked my enthusiasm for the project. I do have other projects on the backburner, but that was my main one. The fact I am early in development is good from one point of view, but on the other hand its more tempting to abandon and move on... its my first indie game too.

Will sleep on it, maybe a new twist / theme will spring to mind and all will be well again :) thank you for your positive comments!

[Sirrus]

Tumblebugs came out around the time that Svero was going to release Beetle Bomp. He spent the extra time to improve it, polish it even more, and make different than Tumblebugs, depsite similiar themes and gameplay. I believe it did pretty decently, so a similiar game isn't the end of the world.

[Hiro_Antagonist]

2 games similar to each other in the casual game space? Say it isn't so!!! :eek:

[dmikesell]

cheer up.
the first true RTS game was dune. Does anyone still play it?
no, because people have played it, learned from it, and improved upon it.
Diner dash outsells wild west wendy (i presume - and this upsets me), and you can outsell this other game. Dont look at this as bad, actually its really good news for you.
Download it
Play it
Note everything it does badly.
make sure your agme fixes these problems
Read EVERY review and forum comment on this game. Make a big list of what people like/hate etc about it.
use that feedback to make your game way better.
And also make sure your game isn't *too* close to it. Its unlikely you will be accused of cloning if it was your idea, as your implementation is likely to be somewhat different anyway.
I dislike cloning, but in the case when its just a good idea different people have independently, your game will come accross as different naturally.

Look upon this as free market testing and prototyping. Finish your game. make it better.
And good luck.

*standing ovation*

God forbid the converse happens. You release the first in a new genre (are there anymore?), and competitors with lots of money beat it to death in six months.

[svero]

Tumblebugs came out around the time that Svero was going to release Beetle Bomp. He spent the extra time to improve it, polish it even more, and make different than Tumblebugs, depsite similiar themes and gameplay. I believe it did pretty decently, so a similiar game isn't the end of the world.

Don't forget luxor, atlantis, and bubblefish which also all released within a few months of me. None of those games were released when the first version of Beetle was done. If I'd released a few months earlier it probably would have made a huge difference in sales. But yes the game still managed to do well despite that.

I think it's in the nature of the casual game business these days. Unless you're doing something really particularly innovative there's almost certainly going to be similar games out. Even just generally people are bound to be thinking along the same lines. How can I make Zuma but different? How can I make Diner Dash but different? and coming up with similar ideas.

[Bmc]

Let me guess ... Teddy Factory?

Anyways, as long as it's not a carbon copy you shouldn't have any problems with it. Especially if the game is that "beat" you winds up successful.

[JiriNovotny]

the first true RTS game was dune. Does anyone still play it?


I do. Dune 1 and 2 have unique atmosphere that can't really be replaced. I love these games. Modern RTS games are just missing something for me. My favorite game is Starcraft though.

[dxgame]

Who cares if the a similar game to yours is out there or coming soon, today's battle is in the marketplace anyway. May the best promoter win. ;)

[barrygamer]

Cheers chaps. This has made me think hard, but on the whole its a positive reality-check I think. :eek:

Note, I didnt set out to write a clone as such, hence surprise at seeing something similar. However, it does now make me more realistic over what an 'original' idea is -- it wasnt so original after all. I may continue with it as-is, but more likely I will twist it around a bit, which I already have ideas for.

I didnt realise Tumblebugs/Beetle Bomp arose in some similar situation. Must be tough to find a similar game released just before yours :(

cliffski -- I really had not thought of it like that! Very interesting.

The casual game market is a strange but fascinating one. I grew up in the ZX Spectrum era, really nothing like this market at all.

laters,
barry

[Ricardo Vladimiro]

Just thought I would get this off my chest, it must've happened to others..?

I've been working on my casual game, havent got that far, but still quite excited about the concept and gameplay. BUT, as I'm surfing through my daily blogs/sites I see a review for a new game which is very very similar to mine! And yes, its in the casual game market. So, feeling quite deflated today.

When I started to develop my casual game I was almost sure that appart from the match3 mechanic with a twist, it was preety new.

Since then (and since it got a 3 months delay) I saw a load of games and the weird thing is, I've found similar gameplay, similar theme, same twists and turns in some games yada yada yada...

You know what... I just learnt something new with all of them, both good and bad. So hang in there, finish your game, change something if you need, but don't redo it or start a new one. Things and themes happen, so do the Nike way, just do it!

After all it's just a game, but it's your game.

[zoombapup]

Youve got to remember an important factoid about the casual gamer market segment... and this is a generlism...

They dont have a memory!

What I mean, is that whilst you or I may have seen millions of games throughout our careers, the potential target audience hasnt actually played that many games, so seeing a game then seeing something similar is actually a good thing (its the marketing principle of having more choices along a theme).

That way, they know that if you do what the other game did, they will likely enjoy it.

Think about how restaurants tend to group together? its because alternatives within a restricted set are usually good at cross selling themselves.