Daniel Cook, CCO of mobile developer Spry Fox, is currently engaged in a legal battle with 6waves Lolapps over the similarity between their Triple Town and 6L’s Yeti Town. However, he thinks copying in general is common in the industry and that around 80 percent of game developers copy the success of others.
“There’s a lot more to life than cloning the work of others and merely adding your own 10 percent innovation,” he said. “I want designers to stand up and say: ‘I am an inventor!’ That way we have a chance to not only make a mark upon the world, but even change it.”
“Innovation pays off as it allows you to be first, fastest and to dominate,” he added. “You have to invent and execute, of course. If you fail to execute then it leaves the door open for someone to come in an take your innovation and establish their game around it as market leader. But there is a magic spot where innovation tied with execution pays off in this industry.”
Cook also took practices like design documents and milestones to task. “I hate design documents. Anyone writing design documents right now: You are wasting your life. Written designs are theories and they become locked in too early. Instead try to use design logs – more like a diary of the design. They look ahead at the next few steps, but mainly chart reactions to the theories and builds,” he said. “Iterate with the willingness to change direction. Milestones are the enemy of innovation. In real invention the goals change. Be open to changing goal posts as you go. That way we have more of a chance to claim that we are inventors.”
Source: Gamasutra
