Blips: Infinity x Threes!

Source: Meet the Clones
Author: Patrick Klepek
Site: Giant Bomb

The Threes! cloning story has been pretty well documented at this point, but I found Patrick Klepek's report on the issue particularly enlightening. For a quick update on the issue, the super-popular free mobile game 2048 is a clone of another popular mobile game 1024, which itself is a clone of the popular-but-somewhat-less-so mobile game Threes!, which retails for $1.99. All of these games are tile-sliding puzzlers where each tile has a particular number and certain tiles can be combined to create a new tile that is the sum of the two numbers being combined. While some of these games use different number combinations and color pallets from Threes!, the game mechanics are pretty identical, right down to the size of the game board.

What's great about Klepek's piece is how he tracks through the cloning narrative and actually gets the points of view of the accused cloners, where possible. This is an enlightening approach to the subject where it's all to easy to talk about offending parties without them present (note: depending on the issue, sometimes offenders should not be brought to the table, but this is one where there's potential for good to come out of it and minimal chance of increased harm). It's not really a surprise that none of the clone developers see themselves as doing anything wrong as they each have their own explanations for why they made their version of Threes! the way they did, sometimes ignorant that Threes! even exists. Gabriele Cirulli made the web version of 2048 as a copy of 1024, unbeknownst to that games direct lineage to Threes! It's not really a surprise that the creator of the mobile, ad-enabled version of 2048, which is #1 on the App Store declined comment, since his game is the most unabashed clone of the bunch (a carbon copy of Cirulli's take, plus ads), but since Cirulli released 2048 as open source, there's no legal precedent to prevent this from happening.

Hearing these sides of the story serves to inform the public as to how a situation like this could arise in the first place. You can point to the creator of the ad-filled 2048 as the "bad guy" in this situation, but it's a string of events that made his clone possible. The App Store is a place where opportunists can thrive, and in doing so, they'll throw whatever informal inter-developer honor code may exist under the bus to do so. Where "open source" might mean a constructive, creative environment for experimentation for some, it's just free code to others. Whatever ends up happening on the "clone wars" front will be interesting, but I don't expect much in the way of action from Apple or Google. Instead, I think the fallout of this could potentially have a negative effect on open source game development, with studios deciding to be more protective of their source code than before or striving for more complex, less copyable designs. Or at least these were the views expressed by Threes! dev Greg Wolhwend in Klepek's follow-up interview.

Blips: A Little Break

Hey there, you may have noticed that Low Cutoff is on a brief hiatus. Don't worry, we'll be back to normal posting midweek next week, but for now, I'm out of state working on a collaborative art installation that is taking up all of my time. I'll be back home on Wednesday next week, so look for things to return to normal on Thursday at the latest. Sorry for the interruption, but in the meantime, you might want to check out the latest Marginalia post on Electron Dance, which has a collection of posts that I was likely to highlight this week anyway. If that's not enough, check out Patrick Klepek's Worth Reading post on Giant Bomb. Have a good weekend!

Blips: No Escape

Source: Horror and the Oculus Rift Are No Joke
Author: Patrick Klepek
Site: Giant Bomb

I'm not really into the swath of Let's Play-ers out there who record themselves playing horror games and freaking out at the jump scares, but I do like Giant Bomb's Patrick Klepek, and find that he tries to put more emphasis on the games he plays, than himself. On a recent Spookin' with Scoops stream, a semi-regular live horror game showcase, Klepek strapped on the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset and played a series of titles formatted for the device. The results were, of course, wonderful to watch, like those flashbulb photos from haunted houses that are taken right when a big jump scare happens, capturing the contorted faces of the recently terrified. On the other hand, the VR nature of the Oculus Rift seemed to amplify what would normally be decent enough scares into truly terrifying scenarios that, according to Klepek, may be too intense for some players.

I'm working on an interactive horror feature for another site right now, and played Amnesia: The Dark Descent to get some perspective. While the game was certainly scary at times, I definitely took comfort in specific coping tactics that would not be so readily available in a VR setting. First, the Oculus screen is right in your face, meaning you can't turn away and even if you close your eyes, the glow of the screen will still resonate. Even worse, with head-tracking, surround sound changes dynamically as you twist and shy away, which makes the game world feel even more like a real, constant place instead of an easily pausable rectangle. Speaking of pausing and keyboard controls in general, you can't see your hands or anything outside of the Oculus headset, meaning you would have to actively take off the contraption to look around you in real life, something typically done to reassure yourself that it's "just a game." Lastly, you also leave yourself very open to being messed with by anyone else around you.

All that said, I really want an Oculus Rift when they hit the market in their final form, and will certainly give games like Dreadhalls a shot. I might just need to lock myself in a secure, isolated room first.

Blips: Papers, Please

Source: Crowdfunding's Secret Enemy Is PayPal
Author: Patrick Klepek
Site: Giant Bomb

In case you hadn't noticed, there's a lot of money being thrown around in crowdfunding campaigns these days. PayPal, the online payment processing company has noticed as well, since they're handling a significant portion of the funds being contributed to these campaigns. More than a handful of times, PayPal has withheld funds and frozen accounts of some high-earning projects as a means of making sure the companies' intentions are legitimate and defending PayPal from getting stuck footing massive chargeback bills. The problem is that these game developers aren't properly informed of this procedure, and have had to resort to public complaints to reverse PayPal's actions. In a new article by Patrick Klepek, he details the frustration that crowdfunded game developers are facing when they're raised a bunch of money, and then aren't given it without having to spend time and energy making a fuss.

From PayPal's side, the desire to protect themselves from the repercussions of scammers and money laundering schemes is legitimate. The problem is how they're going about it. If it was stated up front that there would be a set timetable for the release of funds from PayPal, that would be one thing, but is the instances that Klepek notes in his piece, PayPal typically doesn't make their move until after a campaign has come to a close. Even a word from the crowdfunding platforms would be a helpful forewarning about the series of events to follow. Perhaps PayPal could offer a verification system upfront, the same way they do after the fact for establishing legitimacy, so that these game developers can clear up any confusion before it becomes an issue.

That said, Kickstarter and IndieGoGo are services that allow users to raise money on nothing but promises, and don't necessarily require any prior experience or background in what's being projected (though it certainly helps). Still, it's hard to see these recent kerfuffles as anything but poor communication and customer policy on the part of PayPal, which is already just about the least human, most faceless company I can think of. I'm glad to hear that so many of these cases did see resolution in the end, and hope PayPal has learned their lesson here. If they're not working on changes to keep unnecessary funds withholding regarding crowdfunding campaigns from occurring on a regular basis, then their reputation will see further damage and the doorway for competition will crack open a little further. Ultimately, that might not be such a bad thing either.

Blips: A Dwarf Fortress Surprise

Source: The Minds Behind Dwarf Fortress
Author: Patrick Klepek
Site: Giant Bomb

I've only watched videos of ASCII fantasy-sim Dwarf Fortress in action; I've never played it myself. It's one of those games that I greatly admire, and am glad exists, but have very little interest in playing. That said, I was eager to hear what the minds behind the game, Tarn and Zach Adams, had to say about their interminable development process (10+ years and counting) and what it's like to have Dwarf Fortress acquired and on exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Giant Bomb's Patrick Klepek caught up with the brothers at EVE Fanfest a couple weeks ago in Iceland where they proceeded to shed some light on Dwarf Fortresses dark corners. It's cool to hear opinions on contemporary game design from developers that have been so dedicated to one game for so long.

If you like that video, you'll probably also enjoy some other videos and write-ups on Giant Bomb from this year's EVE Fanfest. I particularly got a kick out of their travelogue video where they document their week in Iceland, highlighting some very unique local cuisine. Iceland wasn't on my must-visit list, but it is now.