I've been approached lately by some of my fans via twitter, facebook, youtube and the AGS forums about several similarities between the new series Star Trek Discovery and my point and click adventure game Tardigrades. I honestly don't know how to begin this article, so I prepared a few screenshots from both the TV show and my game for comparison. I am doing this to clarify that I haven't stolen ideas from the show at all since all of my posts from the devlog are dated years before the show.
Tardigrades production announcement was on May 8th 2014. The devlog can be found here. The game is about a civilization that lived on Earth 20,000 years ago. They are on the verge of intergalactic travel using giant Tardigrades to travel anywhere in the universe. The main character, Carter, is a botanist whom will discover later in the game the connection between the super tough creature and instantaneous space travel. I've made several promo videos that can be found on my YouTube channel that show my ideas of space travel using giant Tardigrades.
The following two videos are what triggered most of Tardigrades fans to contact me:
My twitter friends also told me about how some of the characters resemble a lot of common traits between the show and the game. For instance, one of the main lead characters of Tardigrades is called Yolanda - a female that comes from an area that is now central Africa (remember the game is set on 20,000 B.C.)
I also have a homosexual couple with each of the men is assigned in different parts of the solar system. They are: bearded "middle eastern" Aziz and his boyfriend Ty who is in some danger situation. Later on the game another character is imprisoned with Aziz, his name is Maciek, a very white blonde dude.
To their defense, I think having a diverse crew is very relevant. It's just the too much coincidental appearances of the characters that may put my project into a weird situation. Not to forget that Paul has a "friend" in another federation ship that gave a hint of a long distant relation just as Aziz (Jupiter orbit) and Ty (Titan base) from Tardigrades.
Dude they ripped your game! They should hire you with the writers xD
ReplyDeleteThey should be paying you
DeleteThat's no coincidence. They definitely milked your game's ideas.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching the show, and there's no question they've nabbed your story. I'd be sharing this everywhere you can mate.
ReplyDeletePlease, please, please sue them.
ReplyDeleteThis looks bad. Haven't played Tardigrades, but I will now!
ReplyDeleteGet a lawyer right away and secure your copyright. Then take legal actions.
ReplyDeleteOMG this can't be right! Are you sure about your dates? This is seriously scandalous and shameful for Star Trek. They could've at least credited you in any way.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I think they are just coincidences.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you're a STD employee, a troll or an idiot.
DeleteHow about someone with an opinion?
DeleteI consider his wrong, you consider mine wrong.
DeleteNow were noth happy.
You can consider his opinion wrong without calling him an idiot or doubting of his intentions/intelligence...
DeleteSue them!
ReplyDeleteGo over to Mundane Matt's YouTube channel and give him a big thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention! You most definitely should take this to court and get some form of compensation; Your IP has been stolen, and it's ironic that CBS was the one who did so!
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ReplyDeleteYes, Please sue their asses off. I've been plagiarized and it really sucks. Sue CBS for millions. Screw them!! THey ruined Star Trek and they stole your idea. Contact this lawyer : http://www.winston.com/en/who-we-are/attorneys/ranahan-erin-r.html
ReplyDeleteCoincidences.
ReplyDeleteCoincidences including a near-identical creature-design and shot that literally looks like a big-budget film adaptation of the original concept animation, using a creature that is called by the exact same name as the one in the game and has the exact same teleporting function?
DeleteUhm... Tardigrades are tardigrades. That's not a made-up name.
DeleteTardigrades are also microscopic and not blue. And don't warp around through space. Two people independently reinventing them the exact same way is dubious.
Delete^This.
DeleteIt's not just tardigrades, it's bear sized tardigrades that allow for FTL travel. If it is a coincidence, it is ine hell of a big one. (My money's on that it isn't one.)
I haven't heard of your game until now. Someone linked to this page in a comment.
ReplyDeleteYou look like you've got a case my friend; get a lawyer.
Yeah bud , certainly don't let this go , it will be a hard expensive road but in the end I think they will settle with you over this in some form or fashion with you as the victor, hell with this page you've set up ,that's half the case right there .
ReplyDeleteAfter the Axanar debacle, it just seems fitting to sue the pants off 'em.
ReplyDeleteFire at will.
Unload your lawyer's wrath on CBS.
ReplyDeletePleasse sue them. They stole your IP.
ReplyDeleteIndependent development has happened before.
ReplyDeleteSo has ripping off.
Deep Space Nine appeared after J. Michael Straczynski shopped his idea to Paramount for a space station that would be the center of a political maelstrom of different empires and humanity interacting. They turned him down and he eventually went to other people to get money to back it and created Babylon 5, which was in every wise a superior program to Deep Space Nine (which was hampered sometimes by having a deep context with the Star Trek universe and having a different format to begin with, and Brendon Braga controlling the 'feel'.) DS9 was eventually a good show, but Bab5 was a good show MUCH sooner and a better show in terms of story. JMS stated in response to fan questions that he had shopped it around and that the practice of filing off serial numbers and re-shopping by unscrupulous people was VERY prevalent in Hollywood, and it wasn't worth murdering his career there by suing for the obvious plagiarism.
As an example of why, Harlan Ellison sued Twilight Zone for a story that they had which shared far, far fewer aspects than are apparent in this case. He won the lawsuit. He didn't sell any stories in Hollywood for many years afterwards. This didn't stop him from becoming a very popular science fiction writer because the man (when he writes) creates some damn good stuff, but it also contributed a bit to his 10-15 years of writer's block.
In this case you have people who seem to have been 'influenced' by your work to the degree that they've taken visual elements and characterization elements and even the unlikely but critical use of a weird little animal and hammered them into a Star Trek franchise. And even if it was unintentional, they need to license that material. So, I recommend you retain a lawyer (with the appropriate specialization) and have them do the appropriate work. It may cost you a bit up-front to get this going.
Good luck.
Sue. Plagirism must have consequences.
ReplyDeleteStop using Discovery as a lame way to advertise your game. Keep doing that and they'll probably have a better case for suing you than you have for suing them.
ReplyDeleteI think you're just being overly sensitive. He's made one post as far as I can tell, and it rather clearly outlines his claim, not to "advertise [his] game."
DeleteFurther, what case do you think CBS/Paramount would bring against him? You sound a good bit angry; you got skin in this game?
He doesn't need to advertise for his game. It has the top views/replies on the adventure games community forums for years AND IT IS USED AS INSPIRATION FOR STAR TREK. If you paid more attention to the post you'd understand his concerns for being accused of plagiarism. I think he has the right to defend himself and his game. I honestly admire his love to his friends and fans. I hope he wins real big.
DeleteIt is NOT used as inspiration for Star Trek. Alice in Wonderland and real science is the inspiration for it. They even named the engineer after the actual scientist that inspired the spore drive.
DeleteYou could use vague statements to say that he stole this idea from Starcraft, due to tardigrade-like creatures that are capable of space travel and can take other units with them. I'm sure he didn't steal that idea, and neither did Star Trek - it's just an obvious choice based on their clear inspirations and actual science.
Wow! This Cube guy is all over the comments making definitive statements about what STD was "inspired" by. I think scaper8 is right--I think we have a bonafide STD exec here!
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ReplyDeleteIn my layman opinion, this looks like copyright infringement to me. You definitely should get your copyright secured and seek professional legal advice. Some firms will go pro bono if they consider the case worthy or will have a no win, no fee policy.
ReplyDeletecopyright infringement on the behalf of CBS*
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ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you and Bryan Fuller were reading the same pop-science articles several years ago, and wrote similar stories. Fuller has been planning this since before his return to Trek was publicized in 2015. I think POC protagonists, and diverse LGBT couples are finally getting their day. Sporogenesis, M-11 and Tardigrades are not new sci-fi elements. Also, is that a Transporter effect, like the ones on Star Trek? I hope no one gets sued.
ReplyDeleteIf I were you, I'd start a go fund me in order to sue CBS. I'd donate.
ReplyDeleteWow. Harlan Ellison successfully sued the makers of Terminator for much less similarity than this. This is some seriously troubling similarity.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it can be dismissed as a coincidence. Maybe, but tardigrades are hardly a widespread TV trope. Note how the defenders of the big guys are de-emphasizing the big element, "both games depict interstellar space travel via a freaking tardigrade" element in favor of the strawman of "hey you didn't invent POC characters."
That's the thing, it's not just some similar characters or the fact that there are tardigrades (which have been mentioned in quite a few works over the last few years), it's interstellar travel using tardigrades. That is a highly similar idea.
Delete*highly similar, highly specific, and highly unusual idea.
DeleteYou can turn this for a benefit. Use Star Trek Discovery as a big advertisement of your game :)
ReplyDeleteEstablish your copyright. Assemble all the evidence that you can that your game preceded ST:D. That's to cover your arse.
ReplyDeleteThen....seriously consider suing for writing credits, and a modest share of royalties.
Sue CBS. If not for the money but to return Star Trek to canon. Maybe require that several writers and creators of STD be fired and never work for CBS again.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Trekkie and really tried to like Discovery, I watched maybe 5 or 6 episodes and had to come to terms that I hate it. It IS NOT Star Trek! I cursed that show for a long time, vocally I said "who made this?!" Its just so off that it makes no sense to call it Star Trek. I got the sense CBS and whomever they hired to make it were desperate, and they were getting more desperate as time wore on because Trekkies hated it. Now it makes complete sense. Your game Tardigrades was ripped off by unimaginative non-trekkie writers that are overpaid and over budget.
ReplyDeleteHey if you need fuel in your court case proving that it was not coincidence and not happenstance that your stories align, bring in a Trekkie expert and have them explain how Discovery is completely departing from the Trek theme. He/she can show that only a plagiarist would do such a thing.
DeleteThanks for share this post
ReplyDeleteIf he is sueing everything using the Tardigrades, funny i didnt see star trek online in the list of people being sued using it since star trek online just came out with the Age Of Discovery stuff and the Tardigrade pet players get in-game.
ReplyDeleteI would say there hasn't been a new idea in Hollywood in ages, especially with Trek. It seems obvious your work was borrowed from, more obvious than mine, but I wrote fan fiction prior to 2008's reboot, and there items in that movie that were in my book published well before 2008. Like blowing up Romulus resulting in a time change, and a parachute fail free fall transporter rescue. What's amazing to me is fans are sued if they use, but if 'they' use it's free game?
ReplyDeleteGood luck Anas. I knew your game from AGS forums quite a while before ST Discovery happened. Keeping my fingers crossed for your case. Hope you will benefit from it, also in a financial way, and the whole affair won't stress you out too much. These big Hollywood execs have to stop their practices, stop ripping off the real creative individuals. Maybe they thought that if they steal from someone living in another country and a single independent guy, not related to the establishment, they would get away with it and no one will notice. I hope this case will show them different and will help to protect the creative individuals from hacks like STD writers and producers in the future.
ReplyDeletePS: ST Discovery is a truly crap show. Never been a Trekkie myself but the original series as well as Generations make the plot and characters of the new one waffer thin
They clearly ripped off this dudes game and he should be fairly compensated for it. Get your own ideas, "writers".
ReplyDelete