All of this got me thinking about all the other games out there that stand on the shoulders of giants: paid-for apps that get traffic due to their implied history and community support:
Some examples:
DOOMSDAY 1,2,3 etc (Doom)
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/doomsda ... 14130?mt=8
Does recognise origins and has online credits page and links.
APOC-X (Alien Breed)
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/apoc-x/id578650066?mt=8
Paid-for ‘homage’ with obvious roots but no credits mentioned. Arguable that this is IP trespass, but to be fair was available before Alien Breed was made to mobile by Team 17 – cynical person would note that in SEO it will pick up on a search for ‘Alien Breed’ and show this title.
Hunters 1+2 (Laser Squad)
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/hunters ... 63556?mt=8
Recognisable as version of Laser Squad, but different enough not to require mention.
Chaos - The Battle of Wizards (Chaos)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... 9zLmFwcCJd
Absolute port, but lovingly done and all credit given to original creator throughout.
DM Clones
Undercroft
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/undercr ... 44935?mt=8
Beautiful little game, with thoughtful design and some great nods to Dungeon Master (says things like ‘ful bro neta’ during loading for example) – and presently free, so worth a look.
Dungeon of the Damned
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dungeon ... 41681?mt=8
This one you know about – nice game, respects its origins too
Dungeon Masters
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dungeon ... 08538?mt=8
A-Boo! Ok, calm down. This app is not free, fails to refer to any resources, delivers a shoddy experience with fiddly controls. In itself it is not doing things that have not been done by other fans before, but there is a question about their perceived mercenary approach and lack of apparent respect to the original and the community.
Ok, so for a casual fan, he will buy it, feel ripped off and not come back. For the die-hard fan, again there is a sense of a missed opportunity, even anger that SUPE, LLC seem to position themselves as originator of this app, taking both credit and money for this creation.
SUPE, LLC will make some money from this short-term and then disappear unless something changes – the business case here just does not stack-up. Even if we did nothing, and let’s be honest there is not much we can do, the apparent disregard for feedback will doom the enterprise.
Personally, would see this app as a historical curiosity and acknowledge that SUPE, LLC are just playing the system to earn a fast buck before disappearing again.
Alternatives like kickstarters, where the original developer get back in the game, are also proving more popular.
Lords of Midnight (Mike Singleton, rip)
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-lor ... 44181?mt=8
Great to see, you don’t mind paying for it, and thanks to this – Midwinter is being planned.
When this was launched, the third-party versions were cleansed from the app-store. This itself does highlight that the original people know when fan-versions are just that, and those that are trading off of their name for personal profit and act accordingly.
Others ‘doing the Stallone’ and reliving the 80s:
Julian Gollop – Chaos is coming back!
http://www.gollopgames.com/
David Braben – Elite!
http://elite.frontier.co.uk/
And others… maybe one day even Doug Bell.
Anyway, for me I am enjoying the app for what it is, but won’t be giving those guys any more money. I would not worry too much about sabotaging them – the app is unstable and the support from the community is divided at best. Those who want more details about the app itself can contact me direct if they like – and for the record, no I’ve nothing to do with these shadowy characters at SUPE.