There is only one series of games about an Italian plumber jumping on turtles and eating mushrooms that make him grow twice his normal height. Likewise, there is only one game series about a hedgehog that can run tremendously fast and transform machines in the cute little bunnies by body slamming them. Aspects of these games have been borrowed by hundreds of different titles over the past 20 years, but on the surface, they remain unique.
I thought that would also be the case when it came to Super Meat Boy, the latest 2D platformer to hit icon status in the world of gaming. It's inevitable that other developers borrow ideas from this critically acclaimed title, but I never expected the game's core concept of "little defenseless square-man runs, jumps, and wall jumps through a treacherous field of giant, instant-death dealing buzzsaws" would be so shamelessly ripped and pilfered. Yet, here we are with Tobar, the upcoming iOS game seen above. This is something I should probably come to expect from iOS gaming by now, but it still makes me frown.
I asked Super Meat Boy co-creator Edmund McMillen about the situation, and he was actually pretty cool with it. Check out the full quote from Edmund below.
On one side, I feel really flattered. On the other, I dont really care.
He (Tobar's creator) admits he was inspired by SMB, but doesn't feel he's copying it, so at the very least I take that as someone was inspired to get into game dev because of SMB, and that's awesome. We all start out emulating things we love, so I take it as a big complement.
Super Meat Boy is "a serious clone of Super Mario Brothers" in many people's eyes. Granted I believe it goes the extra mile to make itself what it is... this game (Tobar) seems simple enough to feel harmless to me. I mean, if I found out these guys were my age and had done tons of apps before then I might care a bit more, but probably not much.
Either way, ripping games off seems to be the App Store's thing these days, anyway. It would be hard to put the blame on the product of Apple's lack of control over its own service. If Angry Birds can totally rip off Crush the Castle and make millions, and then be ripped off by countless clones, without Apple blinking an eye, then why should anyone out there feel like it's wrong to rip off any game ideas? I actually believe there is a clone of everything on that service...
Sobering words from a man in the know. But what do you think? Where do you draw the line between tribute and rip off?
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I think Edmund noticed that Tobar looks like utter shite and shrugged it off. When a game is essentially a reskinned version of an existing game with no added features, that's where I draw the rip off line. If there's more, better gameplay features (and it looks different) than the game it is emulating, then I see that as more of an improved expansion.
"This is something I should probably come to expect from iOS gaming by now, but it still makes me frown."
I don't know why you assume that the ios store is all about ripping off other franchises, but don't mention the massive game of ripping others off everywhere else. Have you seen what the Xbox Live Indie Games look like? Almost every single game is ripping off something else. Much more so than the App Store.
Not to mention all the Indie games on PC. The App Store is filled to the brim with original content. Funny how you deny it that fact, while failing to mention that massive copyright piracy that goes on in Xbox Live every single day.
@llort het
He's not giving a shit. He didn't give a shit when PETA started petitioning SMG, he didn't give a shit when Ogma was made (he even went as far as putting Ogmo in the game and labeling him as a "ripoff!") He's chill about it, which more iOS devs should be more like,..unless they're actually copypasting their games
Looks as much like SMB as Dante's Inferno looked to God of War.. but just about every gaming site spent days writing pieces about how games like those can be similar without being ripoffs.
I guess the outlook is different when the game being ripped off is an indie title.
Yeah it definitely is kind of shitty. I mean it looks different but seemingly plays exactly the same which is a shame. I hope this kid tries for more originality with his next effort but atleast the SMB guys aren't pissed.
Man knows that he's created something special. Man knows that a replication of his 'something special' is merely, indirectly, a tribute to himself. Man should be proud.
my only thoughts on this is that i feel feel like the SMB acronym should be reserved for Super Mario Bros. And also in the trailer they called it the iStore... that is all
Meat Boy is easily a tribute to Mario, where as this Tobar shit is just plain stealing the idea of Meat Boy. Nothing differentiates it, other than levels I suppose.
I can't tell if the game is good or bad, I just know that iPhone control is not ideal for a hard platformer. I'm sure I'll hate the controls. The developer made sure to design all of his own levels and use non-Meatboy sprites, so he really only took the idea, not the game. Derivative games have been out since computer games were invented, as derivative games of other board games were around long before that.
Except that everybody knows that Super Meat Boy is a rip-off of another game called Jumper, which Edmund thought he could get away with by putting Jumper's main character Ogmo into the game as a bonus. So before you start pointing the finger and screaming "Rip-off", you should probably wait to see if any of these other developers support their games better than Team Meat does.
Fun fact: When I first played the original meat boy, one of my friends thought it was just a Jumper 2 clone. For you Meat Boy fans, Jumper 2 is the game Ogmo is from.
Super Meat Boy looks different, but the original Meat Boy flash game has a fair resemblance.
dude, if you mean "ogmo" from jumper, then there would be no reason for concern as that game predates meat boy, as do "i wanna be the guy" and "N+" and a multitude of other difficult platformers.
i can see exactly where the developer is coming from. there's no point getting upset about being ripped off, when your own game could easily be accused of having done the same thing.
Tobor is a very fun game, sure it is similar to SMB, which I also played, but super adventure island was similar to super mario brothers. Both were sweet. Why does everyone do this bullshit argument. If the game is good, its good. Tobor is filling a void on IOS that SMB was not. So get over it friends.
Tobor is a great game that emulates hardcore gaming on the IOS. Although the game has been out for three days i have been addicted to the to the challenges TOBOR brings to the table.. for a game that costs 99 cents i see it as money well spent.
What a shameless rip off. It's good that Ed is cool about it and all, but if I was him I'd be raging. Both Apple and Android need someone doing some quality control on their aming services to screen out blatant rip offs like this.
Lets leave emotions out of this. Comment about shit game play if you have played it, otherwise your opinion is null and void. What's the same and what's different?
Similarities: jumper platform, block shaped character, avoid blades
Differences: Console, motion controls instead of arrow keys/keyboard (which demands a whole different coding element.) game play is intuitive in it's own right with the motion controls. The reward system is different and bronze through diamond according to performance.
Graphics are unique and reminiscent of 50's retro design. For 99c this game is worth it and fulfills a gap in the market. Every platformer appropriates ideas. Choice and variety is what makes life interesting.
He was also a bit acid, stating what we all know (and the reason why I hate Angry Birds): it's a similar game, with different art style... yet it made millions.
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Contest:
11:30 AM on 07.12.2011 | 
I don't know why you assume that the ios store is all about ripping off other franchises, but don't mention the massive game of ripping others off everywhere else. Have you seen what the Xbox Live Indie Games look like? Almost every single game is ripping off something else. Much more so than the App Store.
Not to mention all the Indie games on PC. The App Store is filled to the brim with original content. Funny how you deny it that fact, while failing to mention that massive copyright piracy that goes on in Xbox Live every single day.
He's not giving a shit. He didn't give a shit when PETA started petitioning SMG, he didn't give a shit when Ogma was made (he even went as far as putting Ogmo in the game and labeling him as a "ripoff!") He's chill about it, which more iOS devs should be more like,..unless they're actually copypasting their games
I guess the outlook is different when the game being ripped off is an indie title.
SMG? Really, Epic? Its SMB, retard.
@Epic
Fuck you, man. I got paid, I'm drinking a large slurpee, IDGAF.
.
smart move by Tobar to disable commenting on that video.
Except this article isn't about Xbox Live Indie Games, it's about iOS games. Lolumad
Super Meat Boy looks different, but the original Meat Boy flash game has a fair resemblance.
dude, if you mean "ogmo" from jumper, then there would be no reason for concern as that game predates meat boy, as do "i wanna be the guy" and "N+" and a multitude of other difficult platformers.
i can see exactly where the developer is coming from. there's no point getting upset about being ripped off, when your own game could easily be accused of having done the same thing.
I have no doubt that it will play like shit though.
Similarities: jumper platform, block shaped character, avoid blades
Differences: Console, motion controls instead of arrow keys/keyboard (which demands a whole different coding element.) game play is intuitive in it's own right with the motion controls. The reward system is different and bronze through diamond according to performance.
Graphics are unique and reminiscent of 50's retro design. For 99c this game is worth it and fulfills a gap in the market. Every platformer appropriates ideas. Choice and variety is what makes life interesting.
ChocoRun
http://itunes.apple.com/app/chocorun/id435292025?mt=8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=ES&v=S3wsJJD1-8w
Don't Die
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dont-Die/212102442146352?sk=wall
League of Evil
http://itunes.apple.com/app/league-of-evil/id405552598?mt=8
Mos Speedrun
http://itunes.apple.com/app/mos-speedrun/id419215811?mt=8
He was also a bit acid, stating what we all know (and the reason why I hate Angry Birds): it's a similar game, with different art style... yet it made millions.