So I just played the demo to this little indie game called Freedom Planet. The thing is, it’s so Sonic the Hedgehog that it hurts just. The character designs, the level designs, and the mechanics are all pretty much lifted straight from the genesis days of Sonic. Heck, I think Planet Freedom was the name of the planet in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
So I’ll say this about the demo that you can check out right here, it’s fun. I had a blast and they really have shown that they understand old-school game design. I guess that’s where the problem lies to. This game isn’t very original. It makes some tweaks here and there but it otherwise strictly follows a “How to make a Sonic the Hedghehog” book. The playable character in the demo does have a unique ability that is charged up by running, and it’s kind of like Sonic’s homing attack on steroids since it propels you through the air and lets you ricochet off surfaces. So if there is one tweak that is noticeably different.
I wouldn’t have problem with this game ethically if their FAQ didn’t have this:
“Q: Isn’t this just Sonic the Hedgehog with different graphics?
A: Because Freedom Planet is a high-speed platformer, it will inevitably have many things in common with Sonic the Hedgehog, but they are not the same thing. While both games share similar physics and character designs, we take it in a completely new direction.
As a matter of fact, Freedom Planet is not the first commercial game to be inspired by Sonic! During the 1990′s, many other games tried to put their own spin on the concept, such as Bubsy, Aero the Acrobat, Socket: Time Dominator, Jazz Jackrabbit, and more.If you are still skeptical about the game being little more than a Sonic clone, then I encourage you to play the demo for yourself and see how the differences outshine the similarities.”
Sorry, you can’t hide this kind of plagiarism from me. Even if the game mechanics pass the “inspired by” test, the character designs do not. They are pretty much Sonic fan art and after playing the demo, yeah, I was pretty much saying that this is a Sonic clone that has such minor, minor differences (like how health is dealt with) that they don’t make a difference.
But don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a cheap-knock off. This is professional level plagiarism, the kind where as long as they don’t sell it you could still have a blast.
4 comments
Skip to comment form ↓
galaxytrail
August 18, 2012 at 5:31 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
First of all, we’re glad you enjoyed the game in spite of your distaste of the striking similarities to Sonic. At least we know that we’re on the right track with regards to making something that’s fun to play!
I included that bit of information in the FAQ because it was, well, a frequently asked question, and I figured it would be better if I was as forthcoming as possible about the resembles to Sonic instead of pretending that they didn’t exist or trying to hide the issue under the rug. That being said, is it still a bad idea to point it out on the game’s website? If not, how can be it be worded more tastefully?
If we do end up selling the game, then there are several options we are actively pursuing, one of which involves acquiring expressed written consent from Sonic Team so we can put fears of copyright/patent infringement to rest. So we’re definitely not ignoring the issue, especially since we believe that its resolution will make the final game more successful than it would otherwise have been.
Anyway, thanks for the feature, and again, glad you had fun playing!
Erik G
August 18, 2012 at 7:01 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
To be honest, I don’t think there is a tasteful way to explain the similarities between this game and Sonic. It’s a speed-based action platformer that features characters that would could be mistaken as Sonic the Hedgehog characters. I’m not exactly a legal expert, but I’m fairly certain that when one product resembles another product enough to cause confusion, copyright issues and plagiarism accusations come into play.
But if the game must be like the way it is, don’t say this when addressing the subject: “Because Freedom Planet is a high-speed platformer, it will inevitably have many things in common with Sonic the Hedgehog, but they are not the same thing.”
Don’t say they aren’t the same thing. I know they aren’t exactly the same thing, but enough of it seems similar that one might casually suggest that they are. Instead, I would have said something like “Yes, we are all long time Sonic fans and drew inspiration from those classic games.” It wouldn’t make a difference if you were planning on selling the game because the legal ramifications would still be there, but in the eyes of jerks like me, it comes off less like you’re stealing. Also, I wouldn’t recommend emailing Sonic Team or Sega or anyone saying “Hey, see our game? Well it’s similar to your and we want to sell it, so to avoid copyright infringement would you grant us permission?” if on you’re website you’re saying that they aren’t the same. I know it would suck to work really hard on this game on not being able to make a profit on it, but a game like this pretty much assures all of you jobs in the game industry/ is excellent practice for your next independent title, and never forget that by simply changing the art so that it couldn’t be recognized as Sonic characters, you could probably sell the game no problem.
Another similarity that may confuse more people. In Sonic the Movie, the name of the world is called Planet Freedom. When I first saw Freedom Planet, I thought it was a Sonic fan game taking place in the movie universe or something.
galaxytrail
August 18, 2012 at 8:11 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Alright, I’ll be sure to tweak the wording on the FAQ to reflect that. Thanks!
While the feedback from the game so far has been mostly positive, those that do express issues with the game tend to point out the character designs as the most troubling aspect. Personally, I don’t think the gameplay is the main issue; afterall, Freedom Planet isn’t doing anything differently with Sonic than what Banjo-Kazooie did with Mario 64′s scavenger hunt mechanics, or what dozens of kart racers have done with Mario Kart, or what Sony is doing with that new Super Smash Bros-styled brawler. While they probably did receive a lot of flak for ripping off their predecessors, they didn’t experience any legal trouble from it. So, I think that if something is to be changed, then it’s most definitely with the character designs and art style. The resolution of the game makes it a bit difficult, but I’ll try and figure something out if I can.
As for the origin of the game’s title, I ran an internet search for “Freedom Planet,” both on Google and on the US trademark database, and received no definitive results, so I guess it just kinda stuck with me. I’m surprised that nobody’s used it yet, actually, because they’re two fairly common words. If it turns out to be a big source of confusion in the future, though, I could add a subtitle, or give it a new name and make Freedom Planet the subtitle… as long as Google searches still pull up the old title as a relevant result.
Erik G
August 18, 2012 at 11:47 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I just want to say, I’m very VERY relieved that you’re taking criticism like this. It definitely makes this whole conversation easier.
So first off, you can’t be sued for mechanics. This is because ideas cannot be copyrighted, in the sense that if someone thinks of the idea to make a game where you rescue a princess, that person cannot own the idea of a game where you rescue a princess. This is how older Sonic knock-offs could exist.
You can however, get into legal trouble if the expression of that idea is too similar to the original product. This is how The Simpsons Road Rage goes sued by Sega, because it’s really hard to say “game where taxi service races against the clock to get passengers to their destination while recklessly abandoning road safety” without thinking Crazy Taxi. So in that sense, it’s really hard for anyone to justify “high speed, physics based, action platformer featuring a hedgehog character” without immediately thinking Sonic. This is why the art is so troubling, because it is not visually distinctive from Sonic games. Imagine if Banjo was a short, mustached guy with a red hat. That’s probably get Rare into some trouble.
And this last bit just might be personal, but I would take a serious look at the website and the game and try and find anything that could have been inspired by Sonic. Think about it’s particular function. One thing I noticed while playing was that an act ended with a spinning sign that ends with the character’s face on it. That seemed less like an homage and more like you guys were just going to take that idea. And this related to all the little things and how they fit together. I don’t doubt that Freedom Planet isn’t a copyrighted or trademarked name, but it certainly doesn’t help the “this is not a Sonic rip-off” case when Planet Freedom is a Sonic thing. Other small things are probably unintentional, but are just things I noticed when I went looking for answers: for what appears to be the main heroes of the story, everyone gets a species mentioned except Sash, who looks like a Hedgehog. Again, not saying it was intentional, but definitely leaves a lot of room for misinterpretations.
My final piece of advise, if you’re afraid that something can get you into trouble, don’t do it. Companies will find the most ludicrous reasons to sue someone, like Bethesda and the world Scrolls or recently Rebellion studios over the word “Rebellion”. You should probably assign someone to check legal matters when making these kinds of decisions because I believe, that as of right now, Sega could send you a cease and desist if they feel their company or their IP is threatened by your game.