Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Randy Pitchford can't believe you haven't copied Borderlands yet, game industry]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/24/randy-pitchford-cant-believe-you-havent-copied-borderlands-yet/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/24/randy-pitchford-cant-believe-you-havent-copied-borderlands-yet/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/24/randy-pitchford-cant-believe-you-havent-copied-borderlands-yet/#comments Pitchford can't believe you haven't copied Borderlands yet, game industryWe can't tell if this is a sign of the times or an indicator of Randy Pitchford's own psyche as it enters the primary stages of acute paranoia. Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox Software, is surprised that Borderlands hasn't been cloned yet, even though "the formula's right there."

"I'm actually astonished that we're about to launch a sequel and no one's stole it from us," Pitchford tells Gamasutra. "The formula's right there. No one's stolen it yet. That's weird. We're in an industry where people do nothing but steal from each other."

The formula, for those who haven't picked it up yet, is [(first-person + shooter y) x (console) / (PC)], where y = a rotating variation of loot, guns and XP. Even though that super-secret formula is now public, Pitchford isn't inviting people to steal it from Gearbox.

"Not that I want anyone to steal it, or I'm challenging people to steal it," he says. "When talking about Borderlands 1, it was really confusing, because on one hand we gotta scream from the highest mountain to get attention because it's a new IP. On the other hand, it's like, 'Shit, we don't want to tell people our secret because then they're all gonna copy it because it's so good.'"

Ah, we see the root of Pitchford's perspective now. If Gearbox worried people would copy Borderlands because "it's so good," and no one has copied it, Pitchford might take that as an insult. Don't worry, Gearbox - the right people know that Borderlands is a great game, and it's entirely possible that no one at Zynga has played it yet.

JoystiqRandy Pitchford can't believe you haven't copied Borderlands yet, game industry originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>BorderlandsBorderlands Game of the Year Editionclonecopycopycatmicrosoftpcplaystationps3Randy-PitchfordxboxTue, 24 Jul 2012 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA['What's it like to have your indie game stolen?']]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/16/whats-it-like-to-have-your-indie-game-stolen/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/16/whats-it-like-to-have-your-indie-game-stolen/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/16/whats-it-like-to-have-your-indie-game-stolen/#comments

No journalist, friend or decent human being wants to ask that question, especially not to an 18-year-old first-time developer who recently saw success as a student finalist in IGF 2012. Unfortunately, today we asked Mattia Traverso that very thing about his game One and One Story, after the events unfolded live on his Twitter feed: Traverso alerted the community that One and One Story had been counterfieted with "THEY STOLE MY GAME" and a succession of five tweets that included seven capitalized f-bombs.

One and One Story hadn't been cloned or copied, but it was completely stolen -- code, graphics and all. The group that stole it implemented a few unused assets that were hidden in the game file, Traverso told Joystiq, and its version has completely broken animations and stretched graphics.

"It's kind of hilarious," Traverso said hours after his initial discovery. But when he first got the Google Alert and tracked down the stolen game to the App Store this morning, Traverso didn't find anything about the situation amusing.

"I panicked. I didn't know what to do, so I screamed on Twitter," he said.

His screaming didn't go unnoticed and it drew the attention of other indies, including Canabalt's Adam Saltsman. Saltsman instructed Traverso to fill out a DMCA takedown, and two hours after his discovery Traverso was able to breathe a little easier.

Continue reading 'What's it like to have your indie game stolen?'

Joystiq'What's it like to have your indie game stolen?' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>app-storeclonecopycopyrightcopyright-infringementDMCAigfigf-student-showcase-2012iosipadiphoneMattia-TraversoMaTXmobileOne-and-One-StorypcFri, 16 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EBayer reselling free GameFAQs guides [update 1]]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/18/ebayer-reselling-free-gamefaqs-guides/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/18/ebayer-reselling-free-gamefaqs-guides/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/18/ebayer-reselling-free-gamefaqs-guides/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Via the SomethingAwful forums comes the story of a GameFAQs guide writer who found digital copies of his Kingdom Hearts guides being resold on by a third party eBay seller without permission. The seller, who also sells guides for dozens of other games, claims to hold the copyright for the guides, which are apparently exact duplicates of the GameFAQs versions, only with the true author's information removed.

The seller has reportedly brushed off requests by the author to stop selling the guide, leading many SA forum-goers to recommend legal action. We couldn't agree more -- this guy deserves to pay for profiting off of the work of others -- but we can't help but be impressed by his ability to fool gullible buyers into spending almost $10 for the type of digital guide that is freely available online. Caveat emptor!

[Update: Fixed typo.]

[Thanks Sanchez]

JoystiqEBayer reselling free GameFAQs guides [update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>copyeBaygameFAQsguideplagiarizestealMon, 18 Dec 2006 11:25:00 EST<![CDATA[Copy HD-DVDs using Xbox 360, high-end PC]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/05/copy-hd-dvds-using-xbox-360-high-end-pc/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/05/copy-hd-dvds-using-xbox-360-high-end-pc/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/05/copy-hd-dvds-using-xbox-360-high-end-pc/#commentsFiled under: ,


Want to make a digital copy of that new HD-DVD for "backup" purposes? No problem: all you need is an Xbox 360, the HD-DVD drive add-on, and a computer powerful enough to kill a small yak.

Apparently, the Xbox 360's HD-DVD drive is one of the only ones on the market that outputs 720p and 1080i signals through component cables, as opposed to HDMI. This analog hole lets you hook the output up a computer through an HD capture card and record the resulting stream to a hard drive.

Before you go running out to burn a high-def copy of King Kong for all your friends, though, you should be aware that you need a pretty pimped out system to make the process work. Besides the HD capture card, your computer needs to be fast enough to process an HD video signal in real time and record it to a redundant hard drive array to the tune of 6GB per minute -- no small task. Still, if you have the equipment and the will, you can copy your HD-DVDs to your hearts content. For archival purposes only, of course.

[Via Engadget]

JoystiqCopy HD-DVDs using Xbox 360, high-end PC originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Dec 2006 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>360backupcopyhd-dvdmoviespiracyXbox-360Tue, 05 Dec 2006 13:55:00 EST<![CDATA[PSP cache uncovered at 123 Fake Street]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/12/psp-cache-uncovered-at-123-fake-street/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/12/psp-cache-uncovered-at-123-fake-street/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/12/psp-cache-uncovered-at-123-fake-street/#commentsFiled under:

Disingenuous doppelgangers. Knock-offs. Duplicates, facsimiles and copies. All pretty good labels to describe this assortment of completely fake (but fully functional) portable players that all look like the PSP, feel like the PSP but have the unifying characteristic of not actually being, you know, the PSP. As the sheer number of incomprehensible on-screen characters should indicate, the site responsible for the rip-off roundup is Engadget Chinese. Though similar designs and button layouts are hardly worth crying foul over, some of these models drunkenly walk the fine line between inspiration and derivation.

Look through the images and marvel at how effectively others can butcher (or improve!) Sony's designs. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then this is nothing short of an infinitely disturbing gadget orgy. You may approve.

[Via Netscape]

JoystiqPSP cache uncovered at 123 Fake Street originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Chinachinese PSPChinesePspcopyEngadget chineseEngadgetChineseFake PSPFakePspknock-offPSPTue, 12 Sep 2006 16:25:00 EST