FortressCraft creator decides to be an arrogant dick

[Zefar]

At first I really didn't care that much about that guy. But I still thought it was rather bad to make a copy of Minecraft and release it on 360 like months after Minecraft got insanely popular.

Now though that he has shown his opinions and acting like an asshole I'll change my mind. He is an asshole. It's a fact.

 

[CountChopula]

hate to break it to you guys but making money off of ripping off games has been a staple of the game industry since it's conception. Not only is it a thing that has been practiced time and time again, it has actually been beneficial to the market as a whole. By providing an alternative game play style, artwork, or a specific niche that another game that is similar enough it creates variety. It also allows for the developer to further develop their game to a different direction, because the actual player-base may be much different. As games are ever more persistent worlds, that is there are constantly new updates, - and more so than ever in Mine craft and mine craft like games - they start further and further diverging in similarity.

I mean, no better example of this is the MMO genre and it's history. One can see where a game rips off another game, such as how WoW is being ripped off frequently, and it itself ripped off a lot of stuff from previous MMO games. However each and everyone of those games, whether a success or not also provides an alternative style of gameplay or artwork, or world and adventure to enjoy. Is WoW still the massive MMO giant that it is? Yes. Have other MMOs ripped off WoW and succeeded? Oh absolutely!

Furthermore, think of it also in terms like this, WoW unleashed a floodgate of the MMO genre unto the common masses. Prior to it only a handful of MMORPGs ever exceeded even 500,000 subscribers. Prior to it the MMO genre was a small niche that was slowly growing. WoW blew that out of the water by introducing them to the MMO genre as a whole. This has been absolutely beneficial for other MMOs as it increases the potential player base.


And if you really want to start talking about rip offs, I recall in my childhood playing with something that started with an L and ended with Ego that composed of nothing but blocks and pieces that I can craft my own world with. But now I get to relive this experience on a digital level.

 

[Takuanuva]

hate to break it to you guys but making money off of ripping off games has been a staple of the game industry since it's conception.

We don't hate him for rippping Minecraft off. I didn't hated him [sub]too much[/sub] after I've heard about FortressCraft's existence.
No, we hate him, because despite the fact, that he clearly ripped Minecraft off, he says it's 'nothing like it'. He not only stole pretty much all of Notch's ideas, but he also claims that he didn't. Sure, Notch ripped Infiniminer off...

Spoiler: ...except not...

People use the argument of 'well minecraft was a rip off of another game', but that just makes them look silly. Sometimes it feels as if i'm part of some secret society, "people who actually learn about what they're talking about before opening our big mouth".

In this case:
http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Infiniminer

For a little more detail, I found a good blog entry talking about it:
http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/2010/10/all-matter-is-made-up-of-large-cubes.html

As you can see, minecraft is quite different to the game it 'ripped off'.

-infiniminer was about gathering ores for your team, in a competative multiplayer game. You mine out blocks and return them to give your team points. Highest score at the end wins the round. (You can go singleplayer, but it's just multiplayer with no people so there's really no point)

-minecraft is about building stuff in a sandbox game, with the option for resource gathering and crafting, with enemies that appear in the darkness to antagonise your efforts. Creative mode removes the threat posed by enemies, and the resource gathering requirements leaving it as a pure sandbox building game. Both multiplayer and singleplayer modes.

-both minecraft and infiniminer used blocks
-both minecraft and infiniminer had proceedurally generated levels

and here's a good clincher:
-minecraft was made after infiniminer's discontinuation.
(meaning it wasn't trying to leech off a current successful game like certain others...)

see how minecrafted compared to infiniminer is different from what fortresscraft did when compared to minecraft?

-all three: block based, with procedurally generated worlds.

-infinimier: team and class based competative resource mining game
-minecraft: sandbox freebuild game / sandbox survival resource gathering and construction game
-fortresscraft: sandbox freebuild game

...but he at least was honest about it.
More, he not only fails to admit, that he ripped Minecraft off, he also boasts about FortressCraft being better. Even better, the main reason why it's better are better graphics.
Also:
"We've rewritten the rules of how Indie games sell. Indie games are usually about being the new game on the market, being the new sequel, but we've broken that system."
...makes him an arrogant douche no matter the context. He not only ripped Minecraft off (and failed to admit it), but he also considers himsef a messiah of indie game market because of that.
TLDR: It's not about it being a rippoff, it's about him being a douche.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

I can see his point Fortress Craft is intended to head in a far different direction than Minecraft, with build you own fort PVP and such.

However, it's an indie game were you create stuff with blocks... It's like the whole Coke/Pepsi thing.

(For the record I prefer Minecraft )

if you're going to say block based graphics

I never mentioned block based graphics, I said you create stuff with blocks. Comprende?

[sub]Fortress Craft doesn't even have pixel graphics...[/sub]

must we seriously argue semantics?

If you call me out for something I didn't say, yes.

 

[Uncle_Brainhorn]

Yeah, because a game about navigating a randomly generated, cube-based open world where you move blocks, mine for ores, and build things isn't even close to what Minecraft is about.

Haha, when do you move blocks or mine for ore in Fortresscraft?

 

[Mr Companion]

Well what else is he gonna say?

"Yeah, it's basically the same game, but who cares? Give me money!"

He probably has to say this to maintain the pretense that he's not a shameless ripoff artist. Or something. I don't know, it just seems like a bad idea to admit that your product is, in fact, someone else's product.

Its not about admitting his product is a clear ripoff, its about not insulting other developers because he happens to be massively insecure about his own creativity and viability as a respectable games programmer. Its about not declaring the most popular game in the world is nothing compared to your uninventive xbox alternative. Its mostly about not acting like a total assbag to your primary demographic.

 

[The Funslinger]

Spoiler: This feels appropriate:)

He sounds like an ass.

Spoiler: fair play that he sounds like an ass, but I have one question...

OT: Apparently the chap's never heard of the phrase "digging yourself even deeper."

 

[the.gill123]

I genuinly can't see the point in Fortress Craft, you don't mine anything, there is nothing rewarding about it, and the game makes me feel sick when I play it, I think it's a low frame rate.

Now I know Total miner is just as big of a rip off, but at least the guy developing it is trying to do something diffrent, even if it is only skin deep, like having to looking for blueprints.

 

[the spud]

Spoiler: This feels appropriate:)

He sounds like an ass.

Spoiler: fair play that he sounds like an ass, but I have one question...

OT: Apparently the chap's never heard of the phrase "digging yourself even deeper."

Hahaha, thanks for the laugh.

Spoiler: For some reason it reminded me of this.

 

[cookyy2k]

I can see his point Fortress Craft is intended to head in a far different direction than Minecraft, with build you own fort PVP and such.

However, it's an indie game were you create stuff with blocks... It's like the whole Coke/Pepsi thing.

(For the record I prefer Minecraft )

if you're going to say block based graphics

I never mentioned block based graphics, I said you create stuff with blocks. Comprende?

[sub]Fortress Craft doesn't even have pixel graphics...[/sub]

must we seriously argue semantics?

It's not really semantics when you completely change the meaning of what someone was saying.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

Woah, i'm truly in shock! Someone used an interview to try and big up their game...in this day and age it's totally astounding!!!

Come on, who cares if the guy admits it or not? You think you know that he did and nothing he will say will change that, even if it's not true! Fanboys *rolls his eyes* can never see the wood for the trees.

If this is a straight rip off then minecraft should be pleased they created a new genre of shitty looking non-games where the only challenge is the one you set yourself ha! That's coming from a fan of the genre aswell.

I play total miner: forge on xbla and i think it's a good game. Who cares where the idea came from? Certainly not me, i just like making shit look like i want it to. I'll save my whining for when someone actually steals the code and slaps a new name on it rather than being inspired by another game and making something similar

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Ah, it seems Adam Sawkins is dead set on joining The Great Triumvirate of Game Designer Douchebags, alongside Peter Molineux and John Romero (the former for not making good on his overhyped promises one too many times and the latter ... does it even need an explanation?).

Anyways, maybe it's not that bad a thing if Minecraft has some competition. It doesn't seem like Notch needs to feel threatened by them, but if it results in a better quality game ... everybody wins.

 

[Caligulust]

Mojang clearly needs to sue for the use of the word "craft" in the game's title.

This guy will never get a break, because much unlike Notch, he's a douche.

I am unaware as to whether FortressCraft has a community or not. If it does, it is not as pronounce as the Minecraft community. It's unlikely anyone will be buying FortressCraft to play with their friends on PC. For that reason, it will never be as successful. They have the Xbox niche for now, but in comparison with Minecraft, the PC has been a great advantage.

Well, and Notch isn't a douche. He just enjoys vacations.

 

[Eventidal]

Really who gives a fuck. The article linked is horribly misleading since it just takes a bunch of quotes out of context to bash the guy. That article is a perfect example of shock journalism, something that is extremely unprofessional and idiotic. Even a fool would be able to tell that and I find it funny how worked up so many people are getting over it.

"intended to head in a far different direction"
and that's my problem. It's already out. People are paying for it as they would a full game, and it's just a beta of the creative mode. It's the foundation upon which a game shall be built, and it's one Notch makes FREE online, and the developer expects people to PAY FOR it. He's earned plenty of money putting down a copy of Minecraft with better graphics and far slower chunk loading, with only the PROMISE of LATER making something MAYBE worthwhile out of it.
Mobile game devs do the same thing and I hate it. Release an entirely unfinished game and rake in the cash while you contemplate how to fix your broken and unfinished mess of a game. Yeah, just release actual gameplay in an update later... at your discretion of course. Maybe make it a paid addon, who knows.

This is fine in the occasional PC game. Minecraft and Terraria are doing it. But those are exploratory games, trying to find their place. They already offer a good amount of content and gameplay so what happens from here on out is icing on the cake, adding more to something already worth paying for.

Oh of course its ok when your beloved minecraft does it but when somebody else apparently tries the same strategy its not allowed. Guess what buddy Notch was charging more for Minecraft when it was in a hell of a lot worse state then fortress craft is in. I dont really care if you ***** about it but I find it funny how hypocritcal you are being.

How much has Fortresscraft changed in the time it's been out? It has over 500k purchases and it's still not even at the level of Minecraft's free Classic mode. I haven't heard a word about anything they've added or changed since its release, which was HOW many months ago? Minecraft was updating on a weekly basis back when it was at the point in development that Fortresscraft is now. And AFAIK, Classic was never a paid-for game. It was and still is playable in-browser for free.

What I'm saying is, I'm fine with a developer doing this tactic, if they actually update the game and deliver an experience worth the money. As it stands, this game is a ripoff of Minecraft Classic with less features and slower chunk loading.

 

[Takuanuva]

As it stands, this game is a ripoff of Minecraft Classic with less features and slower chunk loading.

Well, he had to sacrifice SOMETHING to make it run with the 'sexy graphics and shaders' on...