4 ms·

Horseshit. The similarity between SimTower/YootTower (same developer/designer!) and TinyTower is that they both have towers; the differences is basically every

• tzs 15y ago
  The Forbes author explained it well on page 2: "To use an analogy I’ve drawn on before, the gap between Tiny Tower and Sim Tower might be the difference between James Cameron‘s sci-fi Avatar and the similarly themed Dances with Wolves. However, the space between Tiny Tower and Zynga’s Dream Heights would be the difference between Dances with Wolves and another film set in the 1800s about Native Americans with the exact same plot, lookalike actors and titled 'Cavorting with Bears.'"
  • ericd 15y ago
    That's a wonderful analogy. I was a bit confused by people saying "So? Tiny Tower was just a SimTower rip", and I didn't know how to express the gap difference which that analogy does so well.
    • RodgerTheGreat 15y ago
      I think some of the confusion comes from people who haven't tried Tiny Tower and are judging purely based on the name and a few screenshots. My original reaction to hearing about TinyTower was "Great, finally a SimTower remake!" Gameplay-wise, though, they couldn't be more different. SimTower is a complex simulation game in which the design of the tower and how it runs is largely up to the player. Tiny Tower is firmly in the "social skinner box" genre, where most of the game plays itself, and random chance and waiting are core mechanics. The graphics are largely incidental to gameplay. Tiny Tower and SimTower have the same setting, but are not similar games.
      • ericd 15y ago
        Agreed, I loved Sim Tower as a kid, it was quite deep. I was excited when I heard about Tiny Tower via this news, only to realize that it was more Farmville than deep strategy.
        • joshu 15y ago
          FYI for iPad there is Yoot Tower. It's SimTower plus a little. A bit buggy though.
          • ericd 15y ago
            Oh, awesome! Thanks! I might actually start using my iPad now :-)
            • joshu 15y ago
              I apologize in advance for wasting any time you may spend on it.
              • ericd 15y ago
                Leisure time helps me be more productive when working?
• kevinh 15y ago
  Perhaps not SimTower, but Tiny Tower shares a lot in common with flash game Corporation Inc[1] by well known flash developer jmtb02, which came along before it. Nimblebit was called out by drumcowski for doing so[2]. Tiny Tower isn't really all that original itself (it took the Sim Tower/Corporation Inc. framework and added social gaming/Skinner's Box type reward to keep people playing). What does this mean? People steal/borrow/improve upon game ideas all the time. Is this bad? That depends on your point of view. For the record, jmtb02 disagreed with some of drumcowski's comments in his response to drumcowski's response to Nimblebit's message[3]. [1] http://armorgames.com/play/7348/corporation-inc http://armorgames.com/play/7348/corporation-inc [2] http://i.imgur.com/ajaYt.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ajaYt.jpg [3] http://i.imgur.com/eSEt7.jpg http://i.imgur.com/eSEt7.jpg
  • joshu 15y ago
    Thanks for reminding me about jmbt02, his stuff is great.
  • deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]