“You know, I’m a little discouraged from sharing progress when there are demons around every corner, AI or not,” Holmér wrote in response to the spread of those preventative clones. “Fortunately, these people are incapable of original thought and do not know how to elevate this concept beyond what they have already seen.”
McPixel Developer Sos Sosowski has been documenting numerous examples of fellow indie developers complaining about AI-generated clones making wholesale copies of their efforts. Sosowski says the situation puts indie developers in a desperate bind when trying to promote their work: “Don’t share your game, there will be no sales. Share your game, it will be stolen,” he wrote. “How can you survive as an independent in the current landscape? This is crazy.”
Charlie Greenman, who published one such AI-powered clone of Holmér’s rotational Tetris game earlier this year, he told 404 Media that he didn’t see anything wrong with what he did. “I feel like I have this new creation,” Greenman said. “When it comes to that point, does one song copy another? Does one game copy another? Whoever created Blox, Jenga, is it a copy of Tetris?”
Some think that adding complexity and originality is the best true protection against blatant clones in this type of environment. “If AI can copy your game overnight, it wasn’t a real game. It was just a quick cash grab based on a single mechanic, with no soul or vision,” Howltide Games’ Ivan Lago wrote on social media. “AI isn’t cloning real games. It’s just making cheap imitations of things that were already an asset to begin with.”
But even if your game idea is cloned by AI marketers, that doesn’t mean you can’t create the best version you always imagined. “In the beginning, that first week, every day there was a new AI clone. [of the rotational Tetris prototype]. “I thought, well, fuck me, I guess,” Holmér told 404 Media this summer. “But there is much less commitment.” 1792431409and I feel more confident in taking my time to do something right, something good that I can be proud of, and not just publishing it as soon as possible.”
