Geometry Wars "clone" author claims he offered to change game

Mark Incitti, whose Geometry Wars "clone" Grid Wars was shut down this month, has told GamesIndustry.biz that Bizarre Creations ignored his offer to make changes to the game and offer full credit.

Incitti said that "no legal action" has been taken against him so far, and that he had been in discussions with a representative from Bizarre Creations - developer of Xbox Live Arcade poster-child Geometry Wars - since "early April".

Incitti offered to change Grid Wars' name and look and even include in-game disclaimers and links to the Liverpool-based Geometry Wars developer, he claimed.

But his suggestions fell on deaf ears - and were subsequently followed a fortnight ago by an email demanding he stop distributing the game.

"I appreciate their position," he told GI.biz. "I understand that they need to protect their ideas (or their particular amalgam of pre-existing ideas) - is anything new really?" - a reference to the fact that many of Geometry Wars' own gameplay elements are derived from existing shoot-'em-ups.

Incitti also says he doubts the veracity of claims that Grid Wars was impinging on sales of the Xbox 360 version of Geometry Wars.

"I don't know if legally they have the right to shut it down - but I took it down out of respect for their developers and the cool work they do. I don't really think it is affecting their sales on Xbox 360 - but if they do want to move into the PC market then it's better if the confusion is cleared up," he conceded.

"I hope that they are approaching the rest of the 'clone' makers with a [cease and desist] stance," he added.

"My game may have been popular, but there were several others that had gameplay that was closer to Geometry Wars than Grid Wars is."

Microsoft and Bizarre Creations both declined to comment on the situation concerning Grid Wars, although the latter issued a statement earlier this week admitting that it was stepping up its attempts to protect its own copyright.