Limbo of the Lost caught with stolen assets

[bicilotti]

And even, if the developers have nothing wrong in their mind, which I do believe is true actually, the publishers is a different story! And the publishers should've known better. Oblivion is not some obscure little game, downloadable from... Zimbaboue, it's one of the most mainstream games, that sold millions probably...

I'm not a lawyer, but I think they'll get in troubles too; serious troubles, the kind of troubles that make you file for bankruptcy.

So obviously they'd have to repay any earnings, the game would have to be revoked... but geez what harm has been done to the brands in question? None. So I hope that the lawyers stay out of it, the three guys are given a slap on the wrist and a wake up call, and then that's it.

Mhhhh, I don't know if Britain allows personal bankruptcy (edit: I remember there is, and it's what happened to David Irving after losing a big lawsuit), but they'll get to something similar too. I admire your attitude and words, but you can't just let a man steal something and then just get away with returning only the profits.

[evenwolf]

Heh yeah, I can't decide about this. On the one hand, they're three middle-aged men who may simply have not understood that using screenshots from other games as their backgrounds was illegal; but on the other hand, being middle-aged, they should have had enough common sense to realise that it was likely to get them into trouble.

I read that article and it seemed a bit naive.    I think these guys do enjoy video games but that this project was more about making money.    So someone probably *tried* to draw all the graphics and quickly realized how hard it was.    So stealing one image quickly led to stealing all the images...   with the intent being to release the game as quickly as possible and pray that noone notices.

Just a theory, but these guys seriously underestimated their audience.

[GarageGothic]

Gotta love how he posted this at the Wintermute forums just over a week ago. Apparently they ran out of games to rip:

Hi, I am on the look out for a 2D/3D background artist for the sequel to LIMBO OF THE LOST. This is a % of royalty position for the right person. [...] if you can construct in 3D using an editor like Unreal 3 etc all the better.

Now people are actually joining the Wintermute forums just to poke fun at the guy. Quick, someone get themselves into an embarassing legal mess so AGS will not be forgotten!

[Pumaman]

Quick, someone get themselves into an embarassing legal mess so AGS will not be forgotten!

Where's Disco when you need him?

[GarageGothic]

If Steve Bovis is the guy in the middle of this picture, which seems likely as he looks a lot like this guy who shares his names and also resides in Kent. Could they both be identical to THIS Steve Bovis give or take a few pounds? If so, I guess we know where the art budget went.

Oh my, isn't google-stalking fun?

Edit: Oh, and apparently he kicked ass at the Martial Arts Summer Camp. Maybe that's how he lost weight?

[radiowaves]

And some blokes do a whole quality game from scratch and make it freeware....

They were naive.. maybe, but clearly they wanted to make money with that game, easy money I'd say to that. And it took them 10 years to make such game, wtf??? Sounds like plain stupidity.

[Radiant]

Odd that so many people here frown upon using non-original resources.
Or is it that AND selling the product too.

The issue (at least to me) isn't that they're using non-original resources, but that they're claiming that they are original. There is a lot to be said for fair use, parody and so forth in several circumstances, but all of it starts with being honest about it.

Also, selling other people's stuff for money is a big no-no.

[LimpingFish]

This story really is awesome. It boggles the mind.

I'm so glad people like this exist.

[evenwolf]

And it took them 10 years to make such game, wtf???

It sounds like they imagined doing it a long time ago for the Amiga but lacked the resources and time.   (They each have day jobs right?)    Now fast forward a few years where there are programs like Photoshop and AGS (and whatever engine they used)   and making a video game was just a matter of programming and creating graphics.      All the hardest challenges they faced 10 years ago were gone.

Problem is they were still pretty lazy about making graphics.

[earlwood]

I don't think there's any way someone could be in the game making business and be so incredibly oblivious to copyright laws, so I'm chalking this up to pure coincidence.

A bunch of dudes in their 30's hitting keys at random for an infinite amount of time will almost surely produce a game that looks suspiciously like Thief 3.

[Babar]

It's not that it looks suspiciously like Thief 3, but that it looks exactly like Thief 3 (and Oblivion and some other games). If you notice (in the screenshots ildu provided), the window-grill design is exactly the same. The staircase railing is exactly the same. The number of books, and the angle is exactly the same. As if someone took a screenshot, and painted a few things over it.


...Unless you were kidding about your last comment.

[ildu]

...Unless you were kidding about your last comment.

He was .

Btw, more like in their 50's than their 30's.

[evenwolf]

What's the latest?

I hope these guys lose some big time bucks.  Since they basically set out to exploit amateur videogame making.

[LimpingFish]

I'm in two minds about this.

On the one hand, it's obvious they knew what they were doing. But on the other, I don't really see the need to drag them across hot coals. They've been caught, their game has been withdrawn, and if the parties involved decide to take legal action then so be it. They'll never make another game, and we can all get on with our lives.

I don't think the indie game scene's reputation has been hurt by this; anymore than it's been hurt by the myriad of crap games people sell every day.

I've read threads around the net where people are basically calling for these guys to be pulled apart by wild horses.

People need to calm down.

And publishers like G2 Games and Tri-Synergy (both hardly stalwarts of quality in general) obviously need to stop blind-buying their releases.

[GarageGothic]

I'm just sticking with this story until I hear Steve Bovis' explanation. Judging by his lame excuse for the multiple-identity postings at GameBoomers and Just Adventure when the game came out, it's going to be pretty pathic - but probably also quite entertaining.

Edit: Oh, now the folks over at NeoGaf discovered that even the abandoned version of LoL on the Amiga used ripped graphics. At least back then they made the effort of a paintover, but the similarity between the lines in the brickwork can't be a coincidence:

[LGM]

Pathetic and entertaining are almost never mutually exclusive... Unless you're one of the parties involved.

[ManicMatt]

Ah thanks for finding an old Amiga screenshot, saved me going through Amiga Action magazines in the attic to find them to show you guys!

I think I actually prefer the main character's Amiga style to the new one! Apart from that arse, what happened there?

[Paper Carnival]

...but is the game itself, assuming it's made of 100% original art, any good? Just Adventure gave it a B before they realized what was going on (and changed it to F)

I wouldn't be surprised if they remade the graphics and attempted to re-release the game. I guess I can expect everything from these guys. It would definitely not be a wise idea, because of all the negativity now associated with the game.

I feel sorry for them. I can imagine them three, going together to an expensive restaurant with their wives to celebrate their "success" when the game finally went into sale. It was a brilliant plan and they would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling reviewers!

[ManicMatt]

I haven't played it, but that "B" sounded like a very generous score, given how crap and boring it looks in footage I've seen. I'd like to see PC Gamer review it, or some other published magazine!

[LimpingFish]

Going slightly off topic, I'm not surprised at Just Adventure's rating. I find Just Adventure, and to a lesser extent Adventure Gamers, are usually generous in their ratings, as opposed  to the "mainstream" gaming media.

AGON: The Lost Sword of Toledo gains an "A" rating from Just Adventure, whereas PC Gamer, PC Zone, and PC Format all rated it below 40%, even going as far as to call it "painful" and "tedious".

As for Limbo of the Lost, it really did look incredibly boring.