Beaten to release - whinge

[Hernald]

I downloaded NickyNyce's 'The Visitor' last night. I was enjoying playing it; good graphics, good story...
Then I realised ...

Spoiler

The player's pet dog is locked behind a door barking, and he must find the key!

[close]

... which is a major part of the game I've been working on for seven months.
Now fair play to Nicky; he's turned out a fine game and obviously he couldn't have read my mind.
What I was wondering is has this sort of thing happened to anyone else, and how did you deal with it?
Scrap your game? Release anyway and hope nobody notices? I'm open to suggestions.

[LRH]

I wouldn't scrap it, no! I know a number of games have an "unlock this door with a sense of urgency" puzzle. It could be the dog barking, the phone ringing, someone screaming, or even silence... as long as the character knows why it's important that the door be unlocked. Maybe the person on the other side has just had a heart attack and it's crucial for our hero to unlock the door in time to help.

Plus, a number of games have very similar puzzles. It's when games start to appear exactly like other games that people start to have issues.

In any event, I don't think anyone will play the game and think "WHAT THE HELL, THIS IS THE SAME PUZZLE I SAW IN THE VISITOR." and then ALT+F4 it.

[Tabata]

... how did you deal with it?
Scrap your game?

Noooo, please don't!  :o

We wouldn't have much games, if every problem to be solved has to be unique. 

I don't think, that I can get the door open in your game by knowing, how it is to be done in The Visitor, but even if â€" there are lot's of other puzzles, that are used more often.  :

That's my reason to say: "Don't bother about it!" 

[m0ds]

Sure, it's not worth scrapping nor worth worrying about. I doubt anyone in this scene is going to have a hard time playing a similar puzzle. Any game with a 'key' involved (and there are many) I think we generally assume are going to go along the same lines as many before. If it really bothers you just re-jig the way you get the key. 

[Snarky]

There can be only one!

I know how you feel. When I played Gemini Rue, I realized that many parts of the story and puzzles had a lot of similarities with a game idea I'd had lying around for years (and never actually tried to implement as an adventure game, though I did DM it as a pen-and-paper RPG once). I was just happy to see that Joshua had done such a good job with it (having come up with it separately), and in a roundabout way proved that it was a good idea in the first place.

(Not that the design I had was identical to Gemini Rue; there were a lot of differences, too. But it was similar enough that I probably couldn't go ahead and make it now without seeming like a GR-clone. Not that I would ever have actually produced this game on my own anyway... probably.)

But in your case, it doesn't really sound like a big deal. And not every player will have played The Visitor, either, so you're giving them another chance to experience this no doubt excellent puzzle.

[NickyNyce]

No need to worry Hernald!

Getting Mighty out of the basement is a very 'minor' and easy part to The Visitor. In fact, once done, people will long have forgotten about it. You can get him out pretty quickly, just find the key and open the door....eh eh eh.

I would imagine that these things happen more than we realize though. You're thinking about it more because your involved with making your own game. The Visitor also can be related to other games too I'm sure. I almost imagine that all these adventure games in some way, shape or form have many things in common.

But anyway, like I said, it's a very minor part if you take the proper steps. Now continue with your game because I would like to try an release the hound!

Oh...and yeah...I CAN read your mind, stop thinking so loud

[Hernald]

Thanks for the reassuring comments! I feel less neurotic about it now.

[paolo]

Don't worry about it, Hernald. This happens all the time. I see games that feature ideas and puzzles in This City at Night (still in production!) all the time, but I'm not planning on changing anything. The only thing you should worry about is if a huge chunk of your game is identical to someone else's - then you might want either to make changes to avoid charges of plagiarism, or to call your lawyer

I have a book that gives advice to creative people, and one piece of advice is that if someone else does something that you are doing or planning to do, then you should still do it and do it better than them! And remember, there is nothing new under the sun.

[Ghost]

Happened to me a couple of times, yeah, but why worry? A game is not just one puzzle. And even the exact same game made by two people WILL turn out different. If we were to worry out that, we would also have to worry about using the word "Scrolls" in our games... Bethesda could be upset... 

[poc301]

You need a good 80s montage to motivate you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8xHjC27YvM

Get on it!  Release the game!  You can do it!!

-Bill