I have a lot of ideas for games and have had them backed up for some time. Recently three (count 'em) games, woefully similar - even almost identical - to three of these concepts I was keen to work on next have come out or been rumoured to be in the works.

1. Barbarians of Lemuria - While the system style and focus is different, I have had a barbarian game taking cues from violent video gaming and Wolfskin as well as the 'lost continent' motif brewing for a while.

2. GMS' Far West is almost identical to an idea I had and have part developed called Wild East (the concepts and tone are that close). I think he's giving it a more 'straight' tone than what I'd be going for, which would be more showy and concentrate more on a Japanese aesthetic but the ideas seem to be practically identical.

3. 7th Circle are going to be producing a mythic India game of some sort. Something I've wanted to do for aaaaages. I think they're less likely to take such an OTT style cue as me, I was probably going to use an existing superheroic rules set for my game and was going to create more of a fantasy world for the game to exist in, but still...

This is a very aggravating situation and enough to make one don a tin foil hat so the international gaming conspiracy can't 'steal' any more of my ideas, but it presents something of an ethical problem. What do you think I should do? Pursue these ideas anyway and weather the storm of accusations of plagiarism, the competition with other companies and the bad blood resulting from misunderstandings, abandon these ideas or bump them to the bottom of the queue to be replaced by other project ideas I have that I'm less keen on?

Do it anyway. Going by John Kim's lists, there are over 1,000 rpgs in print counting only first editions, and over 500 free rpgs, with something like another 500 rpgs he's npt been able to count, or 2nd editions that are perhaps entirely new games, or homebrews which got played for years but never published, etc.

With over 2,000 rpgs out there, you're not going to do anything startingly original whatever happens. You can't have entirely new ideas, all you can try for is the best expression of that particular idea there is.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;304292With over 2,000 rpgs out there, you're not going to do anything startingly original whatever happens. You can't have entirely new ideas, all you can try for is the best expression of that particular idea there is.

It's a touch more delicate when talking about recent releases/pending releases though.

I don't think so. I mean, how recent or impending does it have to be? Six months? A year? Two years? Ten years but still popular?

It's like saying, "I was going to start up a burger joint, but then McDonalds was invented, won't people think I was copying? Is that unethical?"

No. Free market competition, mate. May the best Indian-themed (or whatever) rpg win.

*Sigh* Westerners are such communists, deep down.

Ideas... those are a dime a dozen. Its in the execution that you earn your bread.

No one gets paid to have good ideas.  

Man... if only they did, I'd be set fer life.  No, those rat bastards actually expect me to... you know... work.


In other words: What Jimbo said.

There can never be too many Indian themed rpgs.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: David R;304718There can never be too many Indian themed rpgs.

Regards,
David R

Cowboy-themed RPGs, on the other hand...

-clash

(Who once wrote a piece for sitar and harmonica called Cowboys and Indians)

Quote from: flyingmice;304722Cowboy-themed RPGs, on the other hand...

-clash

(Who once wrote a piece for sitar and harmonica called Cowboys and Indians)

I dunno', SixGuns & Sitars sounds pretty cool to me....

Regards,
David R

Quote from: GRIM;304289What do you think I should do?

1) Stop worrying.

2) Write whatever you are most excited to write.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;304296"I was going to start up a burger joint, but then McDonalds was invented, won't people think I was copying? Is that unethical?"

Bingo.

Grim, start flipping some damn RPG burgers!

Quote from: Spike;304695Ideas... those are a dime a dozen. Its in the execution that you earn your bread.

No one gets paid to have good ideas.  

Man... if only they did, I'd be set fer life.

A-MEN!

OP, write them out.  The ideas will likely change during the process anyway.  Good luck!

Pete

Well, I've got freelancing to get out the way first anyway!