Oh, Dear

So ..Becky ..Does that mean there will be no more games from them

Well, I would be VERY surprised if there were more games from the developers (Majestic Studios) after this.

I don't know how this will affect Tri Synergy (US publisher) or G2 Games (UK publisher). I think we're just going to have to wait and see what happens.

There are some screen shot comparisons in this thread over at JA.

Thread

It seems there are some issues with written dialog as well.

Looks like both the G2 Games version and the Tri Synergy version of this game are going to become collectors' items.

Shhhh!

That was my thought too Jenny...

I would think this would make the game more fun to play for gamers who enjoy action and RPG games as well as adventures. They could have contests with each other picking out where the different parts of the game came from. Someone should make a website about it. This is a great candidate for JA's Dungeon of Shame.

It's also noteworthy that this same Limbo of the Lost game was the source of so much controversy in this forum several months ago (December or so?) when a seemingly immature individual connected with the game's development criticized a reviewer at GB. The plot thickens considerably now.

I well remember when the designer(s) posted on this board, prior to the game's release, due to the fracas that ensued. That was memorable right there, but I never could have imagined this particular denouement.

And, yes, perversely, I am glad that I own a copy of this game;it's definitely destined for a grotesque notoriety (!).

You got that right -

InlandAZ have not seen you around in awhile. How are you?

Been just fine oldmariner - how's by you?

This is sad day for us independent developers out there. Not wanting to repeat myself, I've commented on the news:

http://forum.dead-code.org/index.php?topic=2746.msg18387#msg18387

WME community is deeply saddened that we helped to create this act of plagiatorism by providing tons of ready-to-use code, advices etc. We hope publishers out there won't take this as a precedense and use it against us who honestly invest tons of hours into creating our own games.

I wish to SBOVIS/FABLE and all other his aliases to look in the mirror and ponder if this is the life he wants to live.

iF this is true, then it is indeed a sad day for independent developers.

However, I remeber someone claiming that STALKER (I think it was Stalker) also had stole textures from either Oblivion or Doom 3. It was later revealed that both the devs. behind STALKER and the devs. from Oblivion or DOOM 3 had licensed the exact same assets from a third party (russian?) webiste/firm where they could get them for free, I think?

My guess is that this at least in part could be an explanation here.

The bigger discussion it this one:

Do Bethesda or any other game developer have copy right to a staircase used in a mansion in a game? If they have, then the whole gaming community could well be in trouble asd this would mean that noone ever could make a traditional mansion with a long winding staircase...

I'm not advocating theft or IP or copy right infringement here,
and I think it is sad when Majestic Studio indeed took a shortcut by imitating (or copying) some or all of Oblivion's content or rooms in Oblivion.

The story in Limbo of the Lost seems nowhere to be ripped off from Oblivion which is what I hear when I hear the word 'level design'.

Many games today use the Unreal 3 engine (like Oblivion) and many games today also use Speedtree, and Havoc for physics effects. That's why they apparently all look the same today s compared to the game of yesteryear where handcolored backgrounds were much more prevalent.

Again, I'm not saying that Majestic Studios didn't do anything wrong, (it certainly looks that way right now, though), but let's say you where to make a game and you needed an old victorian mansion. Wouldn't you think of an old house in sort of gothic style with a long winded staircase, possibly starting in the middle and a rug in the hallway + maybe a varm and cosy fireplace? I know I would...

Please do not take this an excuse for any copyright stealing or infringement, mere a question on where to draw the line between inspiration and stealing...

Unfortunately, this is no "inspiration". If you looked at comparison shots, they are direct rips from the respective games.

So it's not a question about texture or sound but of pressing a print screen and pasting it into photoshop. So while we all agree that many games inspire from each other, in this case it's a direct screen grab from tons of existing games including Oblivion, Bloodlines, Silent Hill 4, Fable etc.

More information is now available on Wikipedia. Click here and scroll down to the "Controversy," "External links" and "References" sections.

I understand people's concerns regarding how this may affect other independent developers, but I can assure you that as far as my company is concerned I'm not worried at all. If your conscience is clear, it's very easy to prove that all the work included in your game is yours: I have all the necessary paperwork and in fact I spent quite a lot of money to insure that everything is not only proved to be mine, but also copyrighted. I can't imagine why a publisher would not want to do business with me.

How in the name of ______ did they think they could get away with this? Their names are in the media, pictures were taken, they were published in NA and Europe.

I mean, sure, they made this game, got it published, got some money for it (that will soon be sued off of them wholesale) but the only way this could've gone unnoticed is if we're still getting games on floppy disks and the internet doesn't exist.

I just can't understand the mentality of the person who thinks that he can slap his name as "game designer" and use major commercial game screenshots.

I just looked at the comparison screenshots Of limbo & oblivion..

They are the same..

I guess there work wasn't there own..

Darleen, that's what all this is about. It goes far beyond Oblivion.

It would appear at this point that they have ripped off so many different games (and movies as well), that the challenge now is to find something in the way of graphics that IS indeed theirs, and original.

After all the abuse that Inferno got & the subsequent posts by other members of the team defending S Bovis & themselves I just can't see them as anything but a bunch of p********s.

Here are the 'young & hotheaded' culprits: (I hope it's okay to post this link from JA)

http://www.kentmessenger.co.uk/paper/default.asp?article_id=9644&slide_id=1& amp;newspage=2&searchkeyword=&searchpage=1

It seems now that their 'fate & destiny' is that their arrogance will cost them a lot more financially than they've made from the game as it looks like they are going to be sued bigtime.

It depends, if the intent was to steal from other games to profit by it, I suspect they knew it would blow up at some point. If that is / was their thinking, it is likely they took their initial payday and are long gone.

On the other hand if they were so foolish to believe nobody would notice well they deserve the flak.

Based upon the reviews, reception and overall end product of the game the former is more likely. If so they have new names, a new location and perhaps even another game under production.

Time will tell.

My other thought was that the notoriety attached to the game along with a publisher pulling out would push up the value of any copies put into circulation but not necessarily by people who have bought the game.... (tell me off if I'm being too wicked here.)