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Standing on the shoulders of giants generally means you evolve or build upon your predecessor. I haven't played either game, but this looks to be a plain reimpl

by tensor 15y ago

Standing on the shoulders of giants generally means you evolve or build upon your predecessor. I haven't played either game, but this looks to be a plain reimplementation of the game right down to the mechanics with little or no change. Based on other similar news stories in the past, it seems like this is Zynga's general business plan. While it appears profitable and is legal, it's hardly a laudable practice.

teej 15y ago
I could do a screen-for-screen comparison of Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 and you would have a hard time telling them apart. Each actually has distinct gameplay that sets it apart. I think it's a stretch to say there's clearly "little or no change" from 4 cherry-picked screenshots. Zynga has actually had an improving track record in the last 6 months with Adventure World, Hidden Chronicles and Dream Zoo. They're still sticking to "hit" genres, but they have been pushing out of cloneville and taking more risks.
- mbrzuzy 15y ago
  I see where you're coming from but I'd have to disagree. Battlefield and Call of Duty are both in a pretty much generic first person shooter genre. The game made by Nimblebit looks like a fairly specific and deliberate Sim type game designed in a specific way for mobile devices. I think the screenshots chosen are good enough to come to the conclusion that it's a clone.
  - teej 15y ago
    I'm not denying that it's a clone. I'm saying that Zynga's "ripoffs" have gone from literal feature-for-feature clones to progressively more "innovative" titles in the last 5 years. Back in 2007, my game was the second game Zynga ever copied. I've been there, I know what it feels like. It sucks. What I'm saying is that Zynga is aware of their past and is moving towards less copy and more creativity. I think their actually released products in the last 6 months are a testament to that. Dream Zoo is a great example of coming into a genre, "Zyngafying" it, and coming out with a hit product that's better than the competition. They even built new tech that they've open sourced and shared with the Cocos2d community. But no one talks about that because it's easier to hate Zynga than it is to make a reasoned discussion about them.
    - darkxanthos 15y ago
      Upvoted for getting screwed and still remaining objective.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
georgieporgie 15y ago
it seems like this is Zynga's general business plan People seem to have forgotten this already: Zynga founder and CEO Mark Pincus, who reportedly told his employees, “I don’t fucking want innovation.” http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-09-08/news/farmvillains/ http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-09-08/news/farmvillains/

by tensor 15y ago

teej 15y ago

I could do a screen-for-screen comparison of Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 and you would have a hard time telling them apart. Each actually has distinct gameplay that sets it apart. I think it's a stretch to say there's clearly "little or no change" from 4 cherry-picked screenshots. Zynga has actually had an improving track record in the last 6 months with Adventure World, Hidden Chronicles and Dream Zoo. They're still sticking to "hit" genres, but they have been pushing out of cloneville and taking more risks.

mbrzuzy 15y ago
I see where you're coming from but I'd have to disagree. Battlefield and Call of Duty are both in a pretty much generic first person shooter genre. The game made by Nimblebit looks like a fairly specific and deliberate Sim type game designed in a specific way for mobile devices. I think the screenshots chosen are good enough to come to the conclusion that it's a clone.
- teej 15y ago
  I'm not denying that it's a clone. I'm saying that Zynga's "ripoffs" have gone from literal feature-for-feature clones to progressively more "innovative" titles in the last 5 years. Back in 2007, my game was the second game Zynga ever copied. I've been there, I know what it feels like. It sucks. What I'm saying is that Zynga is aware of their past and is moving towards less copy and more creativity. I think their actually released products in the last 6 months are a testament to that. Dream Zoo is a great example of coming into a genre, "Zyngafying" it, and coming out with a hit product that's better than the competition. They even built new tech that they've open sourced and shared with the Cocos2d community. But no one talks about that because it's easier to hate Zynga than it is to make a reasoned discussion about them.
  - darkxanthos 15y ago
    Upvoted for getting screwed and still remaining objective.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]

georgieporgie 15y ago

it seems like this is Zynga's general business plan People seem to have forgotten this already: Zynga founder and CEO Mark Pincus, who reportedly told his employees, “I don’t fucking want innovation.” http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-09-08/news/farmvillains/ http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-09-08/news/farmvillains/