SCEA and God of War designer David Jaffe are reportedly being sued over claims that the PlayStation franchise stole its plot and themes from work that was sent to Sony Pictures.
Jonathan Bissoon-Dath and Jennifer Barrette-Herzog filed the suit in February, claiming that Sony thieved elements of "plot, character relationships, themes, settings, mood, pace and dialog," from works they had previously sent to the company's movie division.
The work includes the screenplay Olympiad and a map called Island at the Edge of the Living World. They were created for Bissoon-Dath's The Adventures of Owen: Owen's Olympic Adventure. The material was sent to Sony in 2002, while God of War came out in 2005 and took three years to make -- INTRIGUE!
Naturally, Sony and Jaffe have denied the allegations, noting that much of the disputed work lies in the public domain. Both the game and Bissoon-Dath's work are based on Greek Mythology, so there is bound to be similar themes regardless of whether or not Sony committed any shenanigans. If you look at the plaintiff's claims, some of the "links" between God of War and the "original" work are pretty weak at best. It's probable that this one can be chalked up to money-grubbing on the part of a desperate writer.
A list of some of the "similarities" between God of War and Owen's Olympic Adventure:
- Plaintiff's works tell the original story of how a champion saves Athens from destruction by the invading Spartan army that has been sent by Ares... [GoW]... is the story of how a champion chosen by Zeus and Athens saves Athen from destruction by an invading army sent by Ares...
- In plaintiff's original work and God of War, the Champion's family is hacked to death in a one-room building in a small peaceful village. In both stories the Champion feels partially responsible even though he is not really to blame...
- In exchange for Kratos' pledge, Ares gives him... the Blades of Chaos... two massive, glowing, sword-like blades fastened to chains fused to Kratos's wrists... These Blade of Chaos are taken directly from a scene in Bissoon-Dath's work... "As Zeus strides forward... his hands MORPH into two massive swords that glow like light sabers..."
- ...Owen must cross the Bottomless Valley over a long, sagging suspension bridge, shown on Barrette-Herzog's map... in God of War Kratos must cross the Bottomless Chasm on a long, sagging suspension bridge...
Contest:
10:28 AM on 09.18.2008
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Wonder if Mr. Lucas will be sueing them for plagarisim too then...
Also, wonder if it was an actual pitch or unsolicited "Hey Sony here is an idea, me want to make it with you!" If it was unsolicited then tough cabbodles...
Bissoon-Dath tried to sell an Idea based on "Light Sabers".
See, it's easy to steal ideas, isn't it?
There's more than one specific coincidence here, and they aren't things that happen in every Greek Mythology story. On top of that, they just so happened to start making GOW around the same time as plaintiff's material was sent to Sony.
I know everyone's going to jump to GOW's defence just because they're fans of GOW, but don't think that it's not possible that it was plagiarized.
This is just like what happens with Carlos Mencia when he steals jokes. Everytime someone accuses him of joke stealing a bunch of people jump to his defence because they're fans of his and they don't want to believe that he's a plagiarist. But if you actually look at the evidence, there's no question that he steals jokes from lesser known comedians, and even a few of the more famous ones.
I'm not saying that GOW definately stole this guy's material. I'm saying that it's a little stupid for everyone to just start taking sides when no one really knows. Not every person who sues for plagiarism is some asshole looking for a hand out. It actually does happen.
I think this guy has a case, even if it is coincidence. I bet Sony settles this out of court.
"What're you drawing, son?"
"Zeus!"
"Ooh, he's the thunder god. Cool. So is that lightning coming out of his hands?"
"Da-ad! It's swords! His hands morphed into swords!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha. Kids, I tell you."
Freakin totally. Im sure this guys *KNOWS* he came up with the idea of unstable bridges over a dark pit of nothingness doom...
And come on... hands morphing into glowing swords? Sounds like a Warhammer Chaos mutation. Get on that GW!
Also, for those of you who commented about agents playing a role in this... It's pretty unlikely someone this terrible and unaccredited would have representation. They likely just mailed in a script to Sony.
Their is a massive difference between something being set in Greece and being an epic based on Greek mythology. The comparison of stealing from Ghost Busters and saying that all movies based in New York are the same is flawed beyond any measure of usefulness. Basing something on Greek mythology leaves a lot of room for innovation but it sets almost all of the locations, the technology, the type of people, the way things are supposed to look. Not to mention that it comes with a preset cadre of gods and heroes that, while they can be reinterpreted, pretty much are who they are.
I agree that the coincidences are specific beyond Greek mythology but like I said in my first comment, they match up because they're completely generic happenings that are visible in 90% of action movies.
And do you honestly think Sony is so amazingly stupid as to make a AAA game franchise on a script that literally just arrived on their doorstep? When people in positions to not only be called on stealing but suffer massive financial damage for it they put a bit more effort into it than just harvesting scripts that roll in to them. Granted, incompetence and stupidity are usually the simplest explanations for odd things management does but in this situation I think Occam's razor would leave you with Sony actually inventing a cliche story more plausible than them stealing in an incredibly blatant way.
1. Read the Iliad. Armies sent by Ares? Champion chosen by Zeus? Hell, read any collection of Greek myths and you'll see these themes resurface.
2. This is part of the traditional hero's journey. For another example, watch Star Wars: A New Hope.
3. Another part of the traditional hero's journey wherein the hero receives his weapon. Again, see Star Wars: A New Hope. Or The Matrix and he learned Kung-Fu. The only thing this lawsuit has going for it is the fact that both weapons mentioned glow.
4. Are you serious? A bottomless ravine with a suspension bridge? Yes. That's NEVER been done before.
I wrote a story in 2004 about a serbian immigrant who came to america to try hot dogs and get hit by cars. GTA IV came out four years later. COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!
Bull, Kratos is totally to blame for killing his family. "But he didn't know who they were when he killed them!" Wrong, he didn't CARE who they were, at least at first, because as far as he knew they were just more helpless victims. Of course, AFTER he recognizes them he gets all emo. Yes, Ares played him for a sucker, but the fact is that Kratos willingly played along with him when he really should've known better. He failed to see what a monster he had become until the people he cared about were dead.