We recently had this really amazing discussion with one of the game developers who follow us on Twitter over the difference between a clone of another game and a rip-off…
I’m going to warn you beforehand, both our opinion and the developer’s opinion differed greatly, and there’s a chance your opinion will be different yet again. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts as well! 😉
Let’s go!
In a sense, Astro is absolutely right
The thing is, everything Astro points out here has a valid point. Hyperball does not feature rocket-propelled cars and Rocket League likely wasn’t the first game to combine cars and soccer.
So why do we disagree?
“When a game mimics the overall feel or experience a given game delivers to its players, that game is, in fact, a rip-off.”
Although Hyperball does not feature rocket-propelled cars, it does feature cars that can flip and boost forward (like in Rocket League) in order to bunt a massive soccer ball into a goal (like in Rocket League) in order to score points – like in… wait a second, this one is just soccer in general…😂
This is where we kind of had to agree to disagree with Astro because as journalists, one of the things we don’t get to talk so much about is “paid-originality”.
I’m sorry sir, but we do not sell originality…
Our media is often approached by studios who offer us some form of payment in exchange for an article showcasing their games as original content. A majority of the studios who offer us these types of “deals” are those who publish clones of popular existing games.
Needless to say, we do not accept these offers, but it is best to be open about the fact that they do happen. People will often go out of their way to try and purchase originality.
As journalists, we believe that originality can be defined by these 2 elements.
- “If a game is totally new, featuring new gameplay mechanics that have never been used or seen in any other game on the market, the game must be original.”
This hardly ever happens 👆😅
- “If a game features similar elements to an existing game, yet manages to build or improve on those elements by delivering a new gaming experience, then the game must be original.”
In our opinion, Hyperball is a game that essentially delivers the same gaming experience as Rocket League only on mobile devices. Yes, the game does feature some original elements, but the experience it delivers is by no means new or original.
So what do you think?
Do you agree with us? Do you disagree with us? We are keen to hear your thoughts either in the comments below or directly on Twitter.