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Worst of the Retro Rip-Offs
1up has a piece looking at some of the worst blatant rip-offs of classic games. By retooling old ideas and putting new labels on them, a developer can make a pretty penny at the cost of our childhood memories. From the article: "Space Invaders, right? Nope -- it's actually Space Fever, one of the first arcade games produced by Nintendo. Lest certain internet forums break out into a rash of OMG TAITO COPIED NINTENDO threads, I'll be very clear: it was Space Fever that was the ripoff. Much like how America was taken over by Pong and clones in the 1970s, a few years later, you couldn't swing a dead neko in Japan without hitting a Space Invaders machine. The fad was so prevalent that all sorts of imitation machines sprouted up."
If someone was to copy/redo that, I'd just die!
E.
Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
(This is actually a bad rip off of the now famous "First Post!')
First of all, EVERYTHING is based on EVERYTHING ELSE. Each of us creates new things by assimilating and processing all the old things that surround us. Our culture is a huge collaborative thing, and anyone who tries to tell you they've come up with something entirely new with no basis in anything that exists already is lying to you (or to themselves).
Second, THIS IS A GOOD THING. I don't want every new first person shooter that comes out to have some new and unusual control scheme. I don't want grenades to work totally differently in every game. I don't want to have to read a fucking book before I can start playing. I WANT and EXPECT my games to follow some sort of reasonable conventions. This goes for storyline elements, too. I want a plot with a beginning, middle, and end. I want a game that places me in the middle of some sort of interesting situation and allows me to be, for at least a little while, right in the middle of things. In other words, I want game companies to figure out what is fun, and what works well, and produce it dependably. This means studying what already works, which means duplicating to some extent the gameplay of other games. AND THIS IS GOOD.
Third, since when did everything have to be brand new and different to be valid? We don't suddenly decide that cars are "so last century" and begin driving 10 foot hamster wheels, do we? NO. We stick with the tried and true, with old reliable. Cars haven't been new and different for a hundred years; every car is totally derivative, a "ripoff" of the very first car. SO WHAT? It drives, it's nice, I like it.
Anyway, that's my piece. People who use the term "ripoff" as though it's some kind of sin need to get over themselves.
Paul Grosfield - the quicker picker upper.
...This is a joke, right? Is there another Angband game that I'm not aware of, because the only Angband I know is a bit different from Diablo. That's the joke, right? Right?
Gamertag: WyleType
Third, since when did everything have to be brand new and different to be valid? We don't suddenly decide that cars are "so last century" and begin driving 10 foot hamster wheels, do we?
Clearly you've never travelled in the comfort, style, and security that only a giant hamster wheel can provide. I'd be happy to give you a ride some time in my 9-foot wheel. It's not quite as large as the 10-foot model, but I think that's just a little too 'flashy'. I drive one for the gas mileage, not to make a spectacle of myself.
Good thing you don't care, 'cause that TechieHermit guy totally ripped you off.
± 29 dB
Sorry...no relationship between Gaiden and Castlevania. Very lame. Everything else in the article was Ok.
C'mon now, this is /. - that falls squarely in the 'homage' category here.