If I make a game demo and post it on here, will other people steal my idea?

[hypershadic11]

I'm hoping not, because I've got a great idea for a game... So what will happen if I post an alpha demo to hear people's opinions?

 

[Shaz]

If other people can't put forth the effort to come up with their own ideas, they will not put forth the effort to copy someone else's game.

 

[hypershadic11]

If other people can't put forth the effort to come up with their own ideas, they will not put forth the effort to copy someone else's game.

True lol, where would I even go in the forums to post it though?

 

[phamtruong1992]

- If it's a very detailed and delicate plot, and you have planned everything out then you should be worried.
Else, honestly I don't think people'd care much. Demos, in general are short, and mostly are short enough to not unveil everything out of the water.
- And even if your demo has an opening narrative that tells player the whole plot, you should be ok cuz as I said, it's not detailed enough, and ideas like that people have posted tons on here. The point is to ask: are people willing to do it and are they capaple to make it a good game from your idea as a reference.

 

[hypershadic11]

- If it's a very detailed and delicate plot, and you have planned everything out then you should be worried.
Else, honestly I don't think people'd care much. Demos, in general are short, and mostly are short enough to not unveil everything out of the water.
- And even if your demo has an opening narrative that tells player the whole plot, you should be ok cuz as I said, it's not detailed enough, and ideas like that people have posted tons on here. The point is to ask: are people willing to do it and are they capaple to make it a good game from your idea as a reference.

Well said lol, luckily my demo isn't long enough or detailed enough to really give anything away... So I guess I'll upload it
Ugh I just hope people think it's not trash lol

 

[Silenity]

Even then people are so caught up in their own grand design that they couldn't really bother stealing other people's story (most of the time).
However, I have borrowed fun mechanics from games I've played. But I mean, who hasn't.

 

[hypershadic11]

Even then people are so caught up in their own grand design that they couldn't really bother stealing other people's story (most of the time).
However, I have borrowed fun mechanics from games I've played. But I mean, who hasn't.

Lol funny you say that, this is EVER so slightly borrowed from another fun mechanic of another game... Like... It's a small amount of borrowing... Like the root of the idea, if that... More like the water that goes into the roots, with a TOTALLY different concept...
And actually... Now that I think about it, I scrapped an idea just a while ago where I actually gave away the entire freaking plot just in the single alpha demo XD PHEW! Glad I scrapped that. Thanks, past hyper... You weren't a complete failure

 

[Andar]

Ideas are cheap, the problem is the workload for implementing them.
And that is not only a lot of work, it also needs creativity for the details.

Anyone who has that creativity also has enough own ideas not to need to steal other people's ideas. And anyone who doesn't have that creativity and needs to steal ideas has no real Chance of ever implementing a stolen idea at anything remotely looking like quality.

So don't bother about it...

 

[bgillisp]

Just look at what history says. Usually when a successful game is released, everyone tries to mimic it, and fails miserably. Look at all the Wizardry clones we got at one point in time. Or the Dungeon Master Clones. Or the Diablo Clones. Or the Warcraft Clones. In all cases, many tried to use the same idea, but had no idea how to make it work, and we got grade A garbage as a result.

And actually, a story on that. When I was 12 I got a game making engine in DOS and for my first game I made a clone of the game I had just played. Except...mine stunk. See, I had no idea what they had done to make it work well, so mine felt like I took all their ideas, put them in a blender, hit blend, and saw what came out and went with it. So, yes, I agree with the others that it is not worth worrying about.

 

[Kyuukon]

Yes. I will personally steal it from you!

 

[hypershadic11]

Yes. I will personally steal it from you!

Good luck stealing something I'm not gonna release the plot to lol

 

[hypershadic11]

Just look at what history says. Usually when a successful game is released, everyone tries to mimic it, and fails miserably. Look at all the Wizardry clones we got at one point in time. Or the Dungeon Master Clones. Or the Diablo Clones. Or the Warcraft Clones. In all cases, many tried to use the same idea, but had no idea how to make it work, and we got grade A garbage as a result.

And actually, a story on that. When I was 12 I got a game making engine in DOS and for my first game I made a clone of the game I had just played. Except...mine stunk. See, I had no idea what they had done to make it work well, so mine felt like I took all their ideas, put them in a blender, hit blend, and saw what came out and went with it. So, yes, I agree with the others that it is not worth worrying about.

Well I'm glad everyone was able to put my mind at ease about this... I'll post the demo at some point, hopefully it's well received...

 

[CleanWater]

Yes, they will.

I released a "Ninja game" on Steam, and a few months later I saw a flood of "Ninja games" there (Actually, this happened even before, during Desura release time, but I saw only two copies of my idea at that time).
Even major AAA companies decided to re-release and remake their Ninja games after that.

The same happened with my Metroidvania game, and you can be sure the same will happen with my Fantasya Final Definitiva too.

The point is: Who cares? They might have stolen my idea, but not my creative mind. Besides that, the fans I gathered for my games won't stop purchasing my games because someone else tried to copy me.

Just keep doing your work and forget the competitors. Leave then competing alone.

 

[hypershadic11]

Yes, they will.

I released a "Ninja game" on Steam, and a few months later I saw a flood of "Ninja games" there (Actually, this happened even before, during Desura release time, but I saw only two copies of my idea at that time).
Even major AAA companies decided to re-release and remake their Ninja games after that.

The same happened with my Metroidvania game, and you can be sure the same will happen with my Fantasya Final Definitiva too.

The point is: Who cares? They might have stolen my idea, but not my creative mind. Besides that, the fans I gathered for my games won't stop purchasing my games because someone else tried to copy me.

Just keep doing your work and forget the competitors. Leave then competing alone.

That's slightly unsettling... but not too much. It's good to hear I've got nothing to worry about... I'm currently waiting for the post I made posting the game to be moderated... Honestly, I feel like the only thing I have to worry about now is... If I released the demo at the right time. I got most of the bugs and kinks but... Idk... We'll see lol

 

[MMMm]

If you gave 10 people the plot to your story and they all actually released a game, you'd have 10 games that are mostly unrecognizable except for the plot outline.

Each game maker would put their own spin on the concept and it would come out totally different. Likely completely different from what you would make.

Even a simple plot like:

Princess gets kidnapped by Evil Knight and Hero has to slay a Dragon and the Evil Knight to rescue her

has potentially dozens of variations on it.

You could make a game where you only play as the hero and you go directly to the Dragon and the Evil Knight boss fights.

You can make a game where you recruit party members and challenge the Evil Knight's henchmen and obstacles and work your way through dungeons.

You can flip the script and play as the Prince and your lover, a Dragon was kidnapped by the Heroine because you rejected her advances and she's recruited the Evil Knight as an ally.

So you should worry less about people ripping off your ideas and focus more on making a good game. If feedback from players helps make a better game or gets you new people helping on the project, then putting out a demo is a good idea.

 

[hypershadic11]

If you gave 10 people the plot to your story and they all actually released a game, you'd have 10 games that are mostly unrecognizable except for the plot outline.

Each game maker would put their own spin on the concept and it would come out totally different. Likely completely different from what you would make.

Even a simple plot like:

Princess gets kidnapped by Evil Knight and Hero has to slay a Dragon and the Evil Knight to rescue her

has potentially dozens of variations on it.

You could make a game where you only play as the hero and you go directly to the Dragon and the Evil Knight boss fights.

You can make a game where you recruit party members and challenge the Evil Knight's henchmen and obstacles and work your way through dungeons.

You can flip the script and play as the Prince and your lover, a Dragon was kidnapped by the Heroine because you rejected her advances and she's recruited the Evil Knight as an ally.

So you should worry less about people ripping off your ideas and focus more on making a good game. If feedback from players helps make a better game or gets you new people helping on the project, then putting out a demo is a good idea.

Well noted, got a good point there. I'm just waiting for my demo to be able to be released... It's currently under moderation.

 

[cabfe]

Even if it happens, the copy will most probably be bad and forgotten.
Because if someone can't start with an idea of their own, chances are they're not going to make something good with it.