Register, Others Call Plagiarism in "Limbo of the Lost" Game

Fallen Andy writes "'The Register' has an article describing 'Limbo of the Lost' (developed by Majestic and sold in the U.S by Tri Synergy) which seems to have 'borrowed' copiously graphics assets from other games. Over at the GamesRadar forum there is a thread with some screenshots. Finally, this game has its own Wikipedia entry. Warning to all — move the soft drink away from the keyboard and monitor before you look at those screenshots. Blatant this is, very blatant indeed."

I don't see what the big deal is

[k_187]

The original creators of that stuff didn't lose anything, its all bits man.

Re:I don't see what the big deal is

[wattrlz]

They might loose someone's game purchasing dollars since we can get most of the game experience from just playing LotL.

Re:Oblivion

[Cathoderoytube]

I'm guessing the company that made this game will be sued into oblivion

Oblivion

[strength_of_10_men]

Looks just like Oblivion

Except much shittier... Oh... and YES, I quoted myself!

If you steal from one or two it's plagiarism

[symbolset]

Three or more, it's research.

The worst part is ...

[wylderide]

... The scene where the protagonist is leaping over barrels thrown by a large orangutan. It's a dead giveaway.

Re:I don't see what the big deal is

[Anonymous Coward]

The original creators of that stuff didn't lose anything, it's all bits man.

The next step

[Kingston]

What they need to do now is spend all the money they saved on the artwork on a really good lawyer. One that can stand up in court and say "A layman might think he sees a superficial resemblance" while keeping a straight face.

Re:It isn't "borrowing"...

[AioKits]

I dunno... It would require listening to Vanilla Ice... Is it okay if I just take your word for it?

Re:If you steal from one or two it's plagiarism

[morgan_greywolf]

Does anybody have this game? Maybe they have a "References" screen!

Re:I don't see what the big deal is

[Farmer Tim]

Except one's breath.

Hey, as long as you were getting philosphical...

Limbo of the Lost Graphics

[thewils]

It's about an adventurer who wanders from game to game to solve the mystery of the plagiarised graphics.

Re:... and I call redundancy on that title.

[Yvanhoe]

Insult to injury to parody, which is flattery. Or isn't ?

Interview with the designers

[Xelios]

"Our hope, if everything goes well with the sales, is that within a year we will all be stopping the day jobs and doing this full time." [kentmessenger.co.uk]

Epic

Satirically speaking...

[Rei]

But, based on my understanding of several recent different but similar situations involving movies and music, we can all safely assume that those people would not have bought the game to begin with.

We can also take comfort in knowing that the companies from whom the graphics were lifted probably keep the lion's share of the profit from game sales and the graphic artists make almost nothing, by comparison.

Also, if the guy at 'Limbo of the Lost' bought the game it is his to do with what he wishes because he didn't agree to any stupid 'don't lift graphics' clause and shrinkwrap licenses have never been proven in court anyway so no one has any legal standing to complain about anything. This includes if he wants to make a mashup of the game's graphics and his own cool gaming idea and call it 'Limbo of the Lost'.

And furthermore copyright law has been subverted by corporate interests and is just a shadow of what the found fathers wanted it to be. Copyright is OUR rights not theirs it makes sure WE get the copyrightable content but it has been changed around to give CORPORATIONS all the control. Do I want DRM on my hard drive so I can play a game but keep me from taking screenshots? No! I'll never install Vista. If this was available in WINE I would play it but it isn't. I don't even run NDISWRAPPER!

So, in conclusion, no. I don't think anyone has stolen anything. Information wants to be free.

As in I don't pay anything for it.

(P.S. -- I'm adding some skulls to this comment)

Re:I don't see what the big deal is

[Broken scope]

That wasn't thunder you just heard, that was something breaking the sound barrier as it went over your head.

So I guess...

[thewils]

...it's OK to pirate this one then??

Lol, nice games to lift from

[jayhawk88]

Oblivion? D-Eye-Ah-Blo? Man, how the hell did anyone remember these incredibly obscure games?

Re:Oblivion

[darkhitman]

But it's already got Oblivion in it... that's going to be a nasty feedback loop.

Re:Instant legend

[MightyMartian]

Antiques Road Show - 2085 AD

Expert: I say, that's a jolly good thing, a shrink-wrapped copy of the infamous "Limbo of the Lost" game!

Owner: Why? Is it famous?

Expert: Well, you see, the creators of the game (and I use the term "creator" generously here) basically stolen static screen shots from a number of other games, and using a crappy adventure game generator, produced this wonder, which they actually managed to get published and distributed.

Owner: So how much is it worth?

Expert: A top-notch undamaged shrink wrapped copy like this would go at auction for at least three million dollars!

Owner: Wow! I mean wow wow wow!

Expert: Indeed...

Owner: So what about this shrink-wrapped copy of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion?

Expert: I'll give you twelve bucks.

Limbo of the Lost Contest

[Anonymous Coward]

Contest to create "screenshots" from Limbo of the Lost: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?page_id=1909

Contest is over, but the entries are hilarious.

Re:product placement

[Dare nMc]

man, all those games got prime product placement in a new game, and haven't paid for it? Damn right the studios need to pull this game until those old games pay Tri Synergy for the right to have that product placement in their new game.

seriously, I wonder how much they would have had to pay for the rights to these scenes? Obviously it made at least 2 reporters dust off their old games, and put a few games back in the highlight for another 5 minutes (this time for free.)
This was too well handled for a budget marketing dept to have pulled off, otherwise I'd be reaching for the tinfoil hat.

Re:What about the engine?

[Fozzyuw]

Hehe, I find it amusing that these people are hoping to "quit their day jobs" off this game but couldn't afford $3,000 for a decent computer to render the games they took screen shots of!

-1 Man Terrorizing Crows

[Eco-Mono]

You seem to be implying that those who justify their music and software piracy but condemn this company are hypocrites. But even your straw-hat parody of that viewpoint would not be hypocritical in condemning the folks behind Limbo of the Lost. The reason: it was made by a corporation, and the piracy was used to make that corporation money. Thence the puppet considers vilification for anything (including copyright violation) to be quite justifiable! That said, nobody I know holds the bizarre grab-bag of views you present here anyway, not the two-recompensed-profits-make-a-recompensed-profit argument in paragraph 2, not the conflation of copyright and EULA in paragraph 3, and certainly not the increasingly incoherent and self-contradictory rant at the end. Your attempt to hoist the Slashdot groupthink zeitgeist on its own petard have failed. Go home and eat a sandwich.

Re:I can see how this could happen...

[daremonai]

I'm fairly confident in this case the developers did look at what else was on the market.

Re:It isn't "borrowing"...

[Eil]

And just like that, you've gotten that insipid song stuck in the heads of thousands of slashdotters.

I hope you're happy.

Re:The next step

[Alsee]

while keeping a straight face.

Excuse me, why does this itemized legal bill include a $600 listing for a cosmetic surgery clinic?

It's a legitimate business expense. Your case required a double dose of Botox.

-

Re:I don't see what the big deal is

[Tehrasha]

If they dont get sued for lifting the content, someone should at least sue them for false advertising... How can they call the game 'Limbo of the Lost' when the players are going to recognize all the rooms and know where they are? Should be called 'Limbo of the Strikingly Familiar' or maybe just 'Deja vu'

Re:I don't see what the big deal is

[paulmac84]

It's not deja vu, it's just a glitch in the matrix!

Who knew anyone would notice?

[jscalbny]

I mean, it's not as if any gamers would know such obscure titles as Diablo II or Oblivion or Unreal Tournament or anything...

I can just hear the designers now...

"We'd have gotten away with it, too... if it weren't for those darn kids!"

Re:Screenshots

[DrVomact]

Man your spellchecker did a number on that one! Hackneyed.

Really? I'd assumed he meant the game involved hacking people off at the knees. "We are the knights who say 'Nih'"...

All they need to do..

[brkello]

...is call it a parody and its all legal! Brilliant!

The key word is "lost"

[springbox]

I get it now. The characters can't decide which game they're supposed to be in.

Re:If you steal from one or two it's plagiarism

[Anonymous Coward]

Man1: Why did the chicken cross the road? Man2: I don't know, why? Man1: To get to the other side. Man2: They should have kept them in some kind of isolated environment. Chickens are known to wonder in search of food and it is entirely likely that, assuming there was a road nearby, the chicken might be motivated to cross the road, unaware of the inherent dangers, in search of sustenance. Such situations can be easily prevented. Man1: ...