The Value Of Videogame “Clones”

Well, I thought that I’d talk about why videogame “clones” are so important. For clarification, a “clone” refers to an original game which is… heavily… inspired by another game, but just different enough to not legally be considered plagiarism. Like an “off-brand” version of another game.

Anyway, these sorts of games are important for so many reasons. The first is openness and access to games. Technically, I own four different “Zelda” game cartridges from the 1990s/early-mid 2000s- but the one I’m most nostalgic about – “The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past” (1991) – is an old SNES game from my childhood. I’ve still got the console and the cartridge somewhere.

But I have no idea what condition this disused hardware is in – whether it needs opening and dusting or whatever. Or how much of a hassle it is to connect a SNES to a modern TV. Other options for playing the game – everything from official ports to cartridge-dumping – have their own problems, hassles and/or added expenses as well. It’s all a bit much for a game I occasionally get mildly nostalgic about. So, realistically, I’m probably not going to be playing this old game from my youth anytime soon. Even though I technically own a copy of it.

However, I recently found an amazing indie game by Max Mraz called “Ocean’s Heart” (2021), which is like an “off-brand” version of this classic game 🙂 Yes, the characters, locations, music and story are totally different but it genuinely feels like playing this amazing early 1990s game again, but it’s slightly more “PG”, the puzzles are less frustrating, there’s better world-building, more exploration, a better saving system and a ton of side-quests (which also make it feel a bit like an “Elder Scrolls” game). It’s a different game in some ways – perhaps even a better one – but it still fulfilled my nostalgia for the other game 🙂

This is a screenshot from Max Mraz’s “Ocean’s Heart” (2021). And, before anyone says anything, it uses the “Solarus” engine rather than RPG Maker. It also plays a lot like an old-school “Zelda” game, but with hints of an “Elder Scrolls” game too 🙂

Another reason – hinted at earlier – why videogame “clones” are so important is because they innovate. Copyright, quite rightly, gets a bad rep because – in practice – it is used by greedy corporations to crush creativity and to suppress the natural ways that humanity interacts with creative works. However – in theory at least – copyright is supposed to promote innovation by pushing people to do different things with the underlying ideas behind something else.

And nowhere is this more evident than in the world of videogame “clones” 🙂 Because the basic ideas are well known, the developers have a lot more time to innovate and try new stuff. Even if they have to use different characters, different locations and stuff like that, this can eventually result in a game which is actually better than the one that inspired it.

A great example of this is “Saints Row: The Third” (2011). Whilst the very first “Saints Row” game – which I haven’t played – was apparently very much a “clone” of the more famous “Grand Theft Auto” series of open-world crime games, the third game eclipses it’s inspiration in almost every way. Not only is there extensive character customisation, but the game also has its own unique personality, a ton of humour and a level of FUN which puts my memories of playing older GTA games to shame.

This is a screenshot from “Saints Row: The Third” (2011), an open-world crime game which takes the template established by the “Grand Theft Auto” games and improves on it in so many ways 🙂 By this point, the “Saints Row” series had very much become its own thing… and it is GLORIOUS 🙂

Finally, videogame “clones” are important because they are how videogame genres start. A classic example is how, whilst “Doom” (1993) wasn’t the very first first-person shooter game ever made, it was the game that popularised the genre enough to spawn a slew of imitators.

These imitators were literally called “Doom clones”, until there were enough of them that people actually started thinking more about “first-person shooter” games as a genre. Again, “Doom” (1993) wasn’t the first FPS game ever made – but the sheer number of people who tried to “clone” it eventually resulted in the birth of what was the world’s most popular videogame genre for quite a few years.

A more recent example is probably the “Souls-like” genre. These are ultra-difficult third-person perspective action role-playing games – often with a dark fantasy setting and an emphasis on melee combat. And this whole genre seems to have stemmed from a game from 2011 called “Dark Souls”. A game which has also become a byword for “ultra-challenging difficulty” in gaming circles too. And I have to wonder if “Souls-like” will eventually be replaced with a less referential genre name.

But, yes, don’t look down on videogame “clones”. Not only do they give more opportunities to people who can’t play the original game for whatever reason, but they will often improve upon their inspiration and they are a crucial part of the formation of new videogame genres too.

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Anyway, I hope that this was interesting 🙂