4 ms·

Helicopter? This is the problem with the App store - too many clones of old flash games that have been around for ages. I'm sorry but cloning a game that alread

by thechut 14y ago

Helicopter? This is the problem with the App store - too many clones of old flash games that have been around for ages. I'm sorry but cloning a game that already exists certainly shows good timing and business sense but is not the same as a call to arms to make things.

jaipilot747 14y ago
Because one game they released was a flash game clone, does not mean the other 40 games their interns release will also be the same. Hell, even if they came out with 40 clones that are non-existent on the iPhone, I would still consider it worthwhile. I look at it as a call to get started with game/app development than to start producing state-of-the-art games.
jankins 14y ago
I think you've missed the point: 1. cloning an existing product is probably a very good way to learn about the platform and learn about game programming, and that learning process seems to be the post's main drive. 2. your subjective response to the game's originality is irrelevant to the "call to arms," all that is required for the call is a set of facts, which may provide inspiration for other young programmers: A young programmer completed a game; Creating the game taught him a set of very valuable skills; The game was deemed publishable by Apple on their store; The game generated social and monetary profit.
adriand 14y ago
He wrote the Helicopter game when he was 16 years old and went through YC when he was 19 and you're criticizing him for making a clone of some other game? That's a hell of an achievement for anyone, let alone a teenager. And let's not forget that the best known game in the App Store, Angry Birds, is just an artillery game, which date back to the 70's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artillery_game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artillery_game
- ekianjo 14y ago
  Huh... you are deeply wrong about Angry birds. You forget that they included physics in the game and that makes it a lot more elaborate that any of the artillery games or scorched tanks ever made before. It's not just about the angle and power, this time.
  - talloaktrees 14y ago
    Crush the castle came first: http://armorgames.com/play/3614/crush-the-castle http://armorgames.com/play/3614/crush-the-castle
  - praxulus 14y ago
    The physics, while not dating back as far, were also present in flash games pre-Angry Birds, the most popular being Crush the Castle. Angry birds brought a slightly simpler aiming mechanism and (probably most importantly) a much more polished feel to the genre.
    - ekianjo 14y ago
      Thanks for the reference, I was not aware of that one.

by thechut 14y ago

jaipilot747 14y ago

Because one game they released was a flash game clone, does not mean the other 40 games their interns release will also be the same. Hell, even if they came out with 40 clones that are non-existent on the iPhone, I would still consider it worthwhile. I look at it as a call to get started with game/app development than to start producing state-of-the-art games.

jankins 14y ago

I think you've missed the point: 1. cloning an existing product is probably a very good way to learn about the platform and learn about game programming, and that learning process seems to be the post's main drive. 2. your subjective response to the game's originality is irrelevant to the "call to arms," all that is required for the call is a set of facts, which may provide inspiration for other young programmers: A young programmer completed a game; Creating the game taught him a set of very valuable skills; The game was deemed publishable by Apple on their store; The game generated social and monetary profit.

adriand 14y ago

He wrote the Helicopter game when he was 16 years old and went through YC when he was 19 and you're criticizing him for making a clone of some other game? That's a hell of an achievement for anyone, let alone a teenager. And let's not forget that the best known game in the App Store, Angry Birds, is just an artillery game, which date back to the 70's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artillery_game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artillery_game

ekianjo 14y ago
Huh... you are deeply wrong about Angry birds. You forget that they included physics in the game and that makes it a lot more elaborate that any of the artillery games or scorched tanks ever made before. It's not just about the angle and power, this time.
- talloaktrees 14y ago
  Crush the castle came first: http://armorgames.com/play/3614/crush-the-castle http://armorgames.com/play/3614/crush-the-castle
- praxulus 14y ago
  The physics, while not dating back as far, were also present in flash games pre-Angry Birds, the most popular being Crush the Castle. Angry birds brought a slightly simpler aiming mechanism and (probably most importantly) a much more polished feel to the genre.
  - ekianjo 14y ago
    Thanks for the reference, I was not aware of that one.