I Dub Thee "Clone"

“W0w c10NEz!” These comments are everywhere. Is there a game NOT susceptible to a “clone” accusation? Not really --why? Because of the way we think. These are my common equips; labeling is my sword, and the masses of sheep who agree with me are my shield.

      Before getting to the main point, let’s quickly address our favorite statement that was mentioned in the introduction: the “WoW clone.” If we let go of our plethora of extreme anger and the need to flame whoever wrote the eye-sore words, we will see that these comments are meant to piss us off --though there may be some sad people out there, who honestly believe that 99% of all MMOs in existence are replicas of WoW, with the exception of WoW itself. But nowadays, those comments posted at the end of a review on Hello Kitty Online are just trying to annoy us. It just happens to be worse since it works, all too often.
   
      But what about those comments that are not meant as jokes? And when was the last time someone saw a game review that does not have a two-word remark saying, “-insert game- clone” or something of the like?

     “2D Side-Scroller? MS clone!”  We‘re in an endless sea of copies! Oh. em. gee…Ohmeelord… The horror. -gasp- Excuse me… People? If common single characteristics, such as dimensions, really determine a game’s entirety, Mario or Donkey Kong would be thinking, “Shit, I was here before MS!”

      But it is amazing --this ability to make such quick connections. We think because of one similarity or two, we are able associate a complete individual identity with another. It‘s the same as stereotyping. We just have to draw a line between A and Z for a connection.  It’s so simple right?! No. It’s not simple; plus, common sense isn’t so common anymore. Perhaps it seems easy, but there really is a difference between thinking and critical thinking.  Looking at an object, whether a game or person, for 2 seconds and determining it’s character and worth is not thinking at all; that’s just a mere personal judgment of the surface, and anyone can do it. 
 
      Sometimes, I wonder do  people subconsciously find it exciting --sort of like a small race or contest? It’s as if, the moment a person sees a new game, there were a natural instinct --perhaps even a desire for some, to try to find the similarities between games as quickly as possible. To ultimately post the findings, as if it were some accomplishment. And the process is so quick, it’s a reflex! There even seems to be a pattern as to how they do it. There are two dimensions games can be in, 2D and 3D. Pick one of the other. If it's 2D, it's either an MS clone [side-scrolling], or an RO/Trickster clone [sort of 3D with 2D-looking graphics]. And if  it's 3D, well, it can be a clone of any other 3D MMO out there; just pick a game that came out before. If you’re playing a 3D oriental-style game, it’s a clone of all previous oriental games. Shooting games are clones of other shooting games; GunZ’ offspring is S4 League, or so I’ve read. And if you want to stand out from the crowd, you may choose a game that isn’t so well-known and make the connections to show your range of knowledge, as if other people could not judge the game for themselves. If all else fails, just say it’s a WoW clone…. Yet, most of the people who say these comments haven’t even played the game, and, surprisingly, some admit it.

      The thing is, people think that similarities are bad. They’re terrible, actually. They’re just copies. Unoriginal and lacking innovation as some like to say. However, this is how life works. The idea of natural selection exists in almost every aspect of human lives, even in gaming. For those of you who don’t know natural selection is, it‘s “the process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, as predators, changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations” (dictionary.com). For example, if being stronger is useful to lions, lions who are more powerful will most likely be able to reproduce more, which will increase chances of later generations being faster lions. We call it supply and demand when it comes to products. If something works, why not make more of it? If Toyota comes out with a new model car that sells well, other companies will create a car with similar desirable traits. If everyone starts liking trucks, more companies will supply trucks to make profit. It’s the same with games. If certain quest systems or cute graphics have proven to draw in gamers in the past, why not make another game with the same things?  But then people are not so easily satisfied and ask, “Why can’t they just come up with their own ideas? It’s the same game! Make something new!” We demand a lot, and ironically, this is most common when we are unable to do anything ourselves; there’s just no limit to the ridiculously high expectations we set for others, when we barely have an inkling of an idea of how difficult the task is.

     Gamers expect new developments that will impress them. Wow us developers, with something we would have never imagined, or something never before seen! But since when has originality really been original? You have to base ideas off of something else, whether only a little or a lot. Think of the light bulb, the telephone, the television, computer… etc. These are crucial parts of our lives now. But were these “innovations” suddenly created without any inspiration or foundations based on previous inventions? The telephone had a predecessor, the telegraph. Would we have been able to go so far as imagining a cell phone, or internet if there were no telegraph? Even now, there are disputes as to who really invented the light bulb or telephone, because all inventors take their ideas from others. You want new ideas, well you have to work with what you’ve got first and build from there.

     For example, some people complain about point and click games, leaving the other option to using keys. Even then, a system with WASD just becomes a characteristic waiting to be used in calling another game a clone. Great, now if point and click is boring, and gamers complain that using WASD is unoriginal, doesn’t that mean they demand something new? Uhh… What’s there to use other than a keyboard and mouse? I’ve read suggestions such as using voice commands… Okay… We have barely perfected voice activation with phones, and now you want to be able to jump and move forward at the same time, while shooting arrows at the enemy from behind, all using just your voice? Not only is it difficult to cater to individual voices and accents, but I imagine it would be highly expensive to develop such a system. As I have mentioned, we build on what we already have. It may be possible some day to create a voice system, complex to the point where we don’t use keyboards or a mouse at all, but that’s not practical at the time. Unless every gamer is prepared to go out and purchase a controller, or you can come up with a feasible way of controlling your character without keys or a mouse, don’t assume developers can easily satisfy such demands.

     In some ways, accusing a game of being a clone is just whining that you’re sick of the same thing but without instigating a conversation in which you wouldn’t be able to contribute to. Most people can’t think of anything themselves, and only point out flaws. They use vague language, in which they merely complain about what they already have and expect something to be created out of the blue for their satisfaction. Of course, it is rare that any of us have our wishes granted. Oh well --that‘s okay. If it doesn’t work out, we have other ways of dealing with our discontentment. We can just berate the game and developers..

    Presumably, new games are all copies, because some supposedly special and well-known system is being taken from another game, but take the MMORPG genre for example. Have you heard of Dungeons and Dragons [I think at least some of us know of it]? This RPG is nothing less than an MMORPG but without the computer. Let’s make a comparison shall we? We all have our own characters, each with it’s own specialties. There’s a story line in which we play, and a DM, who is basically a GM, interprets rules. There are trials and tribulations characters must go through to become more powerful, gaining exp, killing monsters, and they can pretty much form a party together. Oh and don’t forget those NPCs --yep, they can exist without a computer, wow! Okay, so seem familiar? The difference is, with an MMORPG, we can play online with millions of other people [hence, MULT and MASSIVE] and it’s online [uhh I don’t need to explain right?]. The computer merely lets us manifest the old RPGs in actual graphics without requiring our imagination or little figurines. We think that quests, battling monsters, story lines, classes etc.. are all special for certain games, but they’re nothing out of the ordinary; it’s a basic template for all MMORPGs --it’s what defines them. Developers tweak systems or add new features to create some uniqueness. But the general setup is not special, and we should not believe it to be. It’s like saying a pumpkin pie is a clone of an apple pie… Jeez, they’re both called pies, so of course they’ll be similar in basic structure; otherwise, one of them wouldn’t be a pie at all. If we use this sort of thinking, we ought to call all current MMORPGs Dungeons and Dragons clones.

   Those were just some factors of context that could be considered before quickly judging a game. There are many other aspects we could to look at. Have you tried to develop and design your own game before? When was the last time you came up with any idea or suggestion that may be considered as an “innovation,” whether for a game or anything else? Developers are merely human as well; they may spend more time thinking about new ideas, but people can only jump so far without making smaller steps first. They’re also looking to get paid; if they could easily create an awesome original game with a limited budget, I’m positive they would do it right away. We also need to consider the time it takes to develop games. We see Game A released, and call it a clone, of course. Maybe 3 months later, we see Game B released, and call it a clone of Game A. The assumption is now developers of Game B copied Game A. But do you realize that MMOs are not created overnight? They can take years, and even after release, they are still being developed for improvement. As I’ve said before, we can’t only think about the obvious. This is not to say that you can’t deem a game similar to another, but wouldn’t it be better to justify your reasoning and conclusions first? It’s perfectly normal to want better products as consumers, but don’t expect the impossible or simply criticize using two-word phrases. It’s fine if you still think certain games are “clones,” but at least give some more leeway for the devs. Anyone can make judgments, but the people with the strongest arguments understand the opposition’s point of view and are still able to defend their own side. You have an opinion? Great --just know why you’re saying it. Don't give some half-@ssed desultory comment like it's a -"insert game- clone," and end there.

*I’d like to point out that I tend to use sarcasm, along with informal and hyperbolic language, so don‘t be confused if some things seemed contradictory or over-exaggerated. =) I also ramble a lot, too.