GDC: Spry Fox claims 80 per cent of devs work at copycat studios

Daniel Cook, CCO of mobile developer Spry Fox, addressed a crowd at GDC about the pitfalls of imitation and copycatting in game design.

According to a report on Gamsutra, Cook told the crowd that the creation of "shady, derivative crap" is a choice on the part of each designer.

"There's a lot more to life than cloning the work of others and merely adding your own 10 per cent innovation. I want designers to stand up and say: 'I am an inventor!' That way we have a chance to not only make a mark upon the world, but even change it."

Despite the recent accusations of plagiarism aimed at companies like Zynga and 6waves Lolapps, Cook's argument was not limited to social and mobile studios.

He put the proportion of developers working for studios that engage in copying the success of others at around 80 per cent, and claimed that those that do are giving up their chance for a higher level of success.

There's a lot more to life than cloning the work of others and adding your own 10 per cent innovation. I want designers to stand up and say: 'I am an inventor!'

Daniel Cook, CCO, Spry Fox

"Innovation pays off as it allows you to be first, fastest and to dominate," he said. "You have to invent and execute, of course. If you fail to execute then it leaves the door open for someone to come in an take your innovation and establish their game around it as market leader. But there is a magic spot where innovation tied with execution pays off in this industry."

Cook warned that even standard industry practices like design documents and milestones can encourage imitation by preventing designers from following up on new ideas.

"I hate design documents," he said. "Anyone writing design documents right now: You are wasting your life. Written designs are theories and they become locked in too early. Instead try to use design logs - more like a diary of the design. They look ahead at the next few steps, but mainly chart reactions to the theories and builds."

"Iterate with the willingness to change direction. Milestones are the enemy of innovation. In real invention the goals change. Be open to changing goal posts as you go. That way we have more of a chance to claim that we are inventors."

Spry Fox is currently engaged in a legal dispute over similarities between its popular iOS and Android title Triple Town and 6waves Lolapps' Yeti Town - one of a number of other claims to have emerged this year.