This will probably be seen by no one, and I am writing this in a passionate mood but I am going to write what is flying through my head at the moment.
Earlier today Patrick tweeted about an article in the LA Times where they talked to 2048 creator and how he said he whipped it out in a weekend of work. In tweet he said the game "which couldn't exist with Threes" a direct quote from a blog by Threes creator and his displeasure with clones. While the game is heavily influenced by the Threes concept, can we say for certain than no other game has had a similar concept and that without Threes, 2048 would of never existed or that is just most likely that it may not have been made. This is more of an academic wording problem but should be brought up for we can not say things are for sure when they are not. It's not how things should be written, reported, documented in any professional or academic media. No twitter is not academic nor is the blog, but it came from a journalist, who yes I like very much. My other gripe is calling Salvador of LA Times lazy for not researching other games like 2048, what do we know of his game credentials and his role with the LA Times. He talked to a creator of a popular phone game. And now rereading the LA article just now, other games like 2048 have now been added that Cirulli said to have been inspired by, and it also says so at the bottom of the webpage for the 2048 game. My thoughts is we cannot call another journalist lazy for not being the researcher that we might be, especially if we have no in-depth knowledge of their past writing and credentials.They could just be reporting on something they liked, or were asked to. Shallow does not equate to lazy.
My experience with 2048. I came across 2048 while browsing Reddit and followed a link to a webpage where I could play for free and it kept up with my score. I loved it, it was fun and simple and kept me entertained for a few hours and I tweeted each time I got a higher score. At the time I knew that Threes was a popular game, but did not download it. I usually do not pay for games on my phone, the things I play or free little games with the few occasions where something I am told about strikes me to buy it. So I was unaware the whole time I was enjoying 2048 for free on the web was anything like Threes. Yet through my time with it I grew to have an affinity for it. I do have a gripe about them trivializing 2048 for being a bastard version of their game by saying they beat if first timeout, of course it was easier for them they spent 14 months crafting those type of mechanics that were used to a more simple degree. That just seemed like anger being expressed.
After reading the tweet from Patrick I got defensive because my relationship with 2048 was established and it is something I like and enjoy. It then went on to read the blog on Asher's website. It was dripping with disdain for the clone market while having self awareness that this is how mobile is, and directly attacks 2048 while understanding why people like it yet still the salt is in the wound.
To me the mobile game market is the wild west. The law can be bought, is shallow at times or can be non existent. With games like this I think of Sudoku, it's a game made by someone at one time and now it's published by thousands of different people and they may or not make money from this. So when Ash and his team took so long to craft a game that they poured their hearts and souls into, they have a stance to be salty when an Italian man half a world away sees the concept and goes I have a take on that, puts it out for the world and then waits. He can't help that people like it, that it got picked up so quickly. There are factors though that lead to this.
2048 is free, that is a big deal. Like I stated earlier I usually only play games that are free because hell why not. The fact that he can make it free is he didn't have to do the research and development, he was able to take an idea and program the game in a weekend, no real costs needed to be recouped. Unlike Ash and his team who spent fourteen months developing their product, they need to see a return on their investment. To the consumer thought I hear hey Threes is super fun it's two bucks! And some will go I don't pay for games, but I hear 2048 is fun and a lot like it, let me play that. Word gets around, the rating system in the Apple and Android app stores are screwed up and next thing you know the little thing you did on the weekend it popular, even more popular than the thing you liked that came out before it. What are you to do? He says any money he is getting is going to charity, is he truthful? Who knows. Things are going to get popular through random events, and competition is always going to exist in the market, it's just how open free markets work and sometimes people get hidden and shadows or pushed out due to various circumstances and that is life. This is why corporations are so hardcore in their label and copyright protection, if you squash everything you can that may compete against you then you get to stay on top and protect your research and development costs. Risk and reward.
I have gone on to play Threes, and on my first round I scored over 1000 points, I give that up to my time with 2048. Threes is fun, it has way more mechanics going on and looks and sounds really great, you can tell a lot of time went into the game and I think it looks fantastic and like how it was implemented, it is well worth the two dollars for the puzzle game. That being said I also downloaded 2048 on my phone and it is still fun, I like that it is super simple and I just swipe knowing what's coming and got my personal I score of over 5000. There is definitely room for these two game to coincide. They are two different flavors of the same ice cream, one has more texture and flavor the other is simple but still great to consume.
While I feel bad for the developers who put lots of time and hard work into research and development of games and ideas, the reality is that someone is always going to be able to come along and pick pockets or get inspired to do similar things, and those end products just may strike a cord with the people it reaches. There is no fair is business of the wild west, it is love and war rules. Sometimes our heroes get shot.
-Some Guy
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