Sonic X-treme update

[aetherfox]

I disagree. I think it is...shallow to make a game that is a clone, in most cases. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but in general, the fact that you have made a game a clone just to be popular shows leaps and bounds about confidence in your own creative prowess.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I disagree, I think its good to make clones of games it helps to build your skills.

But what IS shallow is copying a game, like this one.

Has anyone here made a tetris game or a snakes game? That's not "shallow". But if I were to go make a Lemmings game...well that is.

That's just my opinion.

However, This game WAS really done well, and the programmer has talent.

[SBM Productions]

What use is art if there's no one to appreciate it?

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Yep. But not when you copy someone elses.

[SBM Productions]

I'm not too sure, but I think I can safely make the assumption that sonicx would have been downloaded more than mux has. You can make videogames for the sake of videogames. Of course unless people don't sit up and notice, the game would drift into oblivion. Which isn't really what we want to happen to the qmunity

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

*sigh* this is getting to contraversial for me and I don't have a distinct side so I'm out. Plus its off topic too. :wink:

[SBM Productions]

I know. Sorry

[Pete]

I disagree. I think it is...shallow to make a game that is a clone, in most cases. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but in general, the fact that you have made a game a clone just to be popular shows leaps and bounds about confidence in your own creative prowess.

It may be shallow, but there's something to be said for getting some recognition for your work. You and Na_th_an made The Quest for Opa Opa, which is a great game... but nobody but a handful of QBers are ever gonna play it. Now if you made "Spider-Man vs. Harry Potter: The Text Adventure" instead, you'd get a lot more players -- even if the game is crappy.

It's a toss up. Personally, I prefer to play *good* games, whether they're original or not. I'd choose to play SonicX (with custom levels) over most original QB games, since it's a lot more fun to play. It's just so much more polished, even if the graphics and music are the same ones I've seen for the last 15 years.

[aetherfox]

Ahh but you have all taken the word clone to be something else...if I make tetris, it won't be a "clone", it will be a remake. And anyway, you obviously didn't read my post, I said in most cases.

As far as I know, SonicX is a copy, and I think that is wrong.

And Pete, I know that only a handful of people are going to play it, but I can still create publicity for the game quite easily...http://www.gamehippo.com.

Even if the game is 5/10, many people will play it. With a unique hitcount of something like 10000 unique hits a day, that's publicity. Take into account that a game stays on the front page for ~14 days, thats 140,000 unique people that see the game.

It's just that people jump to conclusions that the game will be unheard of simply because it isn't a copy. Obviously, that's bollocks, otherwise everyone would be playing only pong and nothing else.

[jb]

Aetherfox wrote:

Ahh but you have all taken the word clone to be something else...if I make tetris, it won't be a "clone", it will be a remake. And anyway, you obviously didn't read my post, I said in most cases.

As far as I know, SonicX is a copy, and I think that is wrong.

Aetherfox. You have just claimed that if you remake tetris, then it is not a clone. But, If I remake sonic , then it is a clone or a copy. I find this incredibly amusing for a number of reasons.

Some hallmarks of clones:
1- No innovation. -Tetris is very difficult to innovate. The best you can do is to add different kinds of blocks.

2-.The graphics are almost always the same. - Even with different blocks, various Tetris games look damn familiar.

3- The game mechanics don't change. - The mechanics of tetris are so simple that if they were changed, the game would not be tetris.

So I believe that due to the three factors described, all tetris remakes are clones. I shall now return to addressing your point about sonicX being a copy. You can not argue that SonicX is a carbon-copy clone if you contend that your putative remake of tetris does not deserve this classification.

But aside from the logic flaw your argument presents, I can also show that sonicX is not affected by the three hallmarks of clones described above.

(1) Innovation in sonicX comes through user interaction. Sonic fans use the level editor to send levels they make to qbasic central.

(2) Different levels can have different graphics, as users are not restricted to particular tilesets. If you visit the qbasic central website, and have a look at the levels that are there, you will find that 23 out of the 25 levels available use almost 100% original graphics. Aside from objects like rings, Levels like "Change", "cooltest", "pitfall", "lennon" and "egg doom haven" use no level graphics from any commercial sonic series whatsoever.

(3) The game mechanics in each level can differ wildly from each other, as any the level designer can manipulate collision detection in novel ways. Users of SonicX are not restricted to the same game mechanics as the commercial sonic games.

To reiterate, SonicX is not a copy. If anything, SonicX is a variation on the theme of the commercial sonic games. Also, for a person who didn't want me to start a quote war, you seem to be trying awfully hard to start one...

Aetherfox, Please stop all this crap about original qb games being better. People decide what they like, and what they don't like. Usually they don't give a rat's arse about whether the concept is original, or not. I don't want to get into semantics or anything, but I really do not think that any game made in qbasic can be classed as truly original. Some games that I would define as original would be like Doom, Zork or Panzer dragoon. No one in the qbasic community has ever had a novel, original idea. All games are copies in some respects, and there is nothing wrong with this. It's just that Qbasic is a 20 year old technology. It is not cutting edge. So aetherfox, get off your high horse.

Pete, you are the voice of reason, and rationality. I totally agree with what you said about the instant fan base. There is a cartoon called SonicX, and it is a popular google keyword. Qbasic central is third on the google list. But I hope you understand that when I started this project, the fan base wasn't my sole motivation. Frankly, seven years ago, I wasn't that smart.