Likelihood my game will be plagiarized if released with just a EULA?

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Likelihood my game will be plagiarized if released with just a EULA?

I am planning on releasing a small vector based pc platformer on steam greenlight or some other distribution platform. What is the likelihood someone will steal by game if only protected by a eula?
 
Exactly the same likelihood if you make it user-unfriendly with copy protection and DRM. That is to say, everything on PC gets pirated.
 
If it's fun, and/or successful, it's going to get plagiarized. (Look at Flappy Bird for example.) Watch for similarly or identically named games popping up on android marketplaces in particular.

The same could be said about piracy as well, but Brit had that pretty much covered, so... :)
 
if released with just a EULA?

As opposed to an eula and copy protection ?
If you need copy protection I've come up with my own and unlike other copy protection schemes (securom, starforce ect) I actually guarantee that it will just as effective at reducing piracy as all the other schemes, Unlike the other copy protection softwares if your software is not pirated within the first 12months I will refund your money.
 
If what you are worrying about is plagiarization instead of pirating, then I'm afraid that there's very little you can do. You can't patent game mechanics. Rule books can be copyrighted, but the idea behind a rule book can't. You may try writing something like "any one played this game agrees to not make a similar game" but even if that's enforceable (which I doubt), people with enough money can easily hire something to do a clean room implementation.

So, I think the best (and probably the only) way to deal with this is to make your game good enough, then you don't have to worry about plagiarization at all. If your game is good enough, people will come to play and those copycats might even help bringing more players (e.g. see how the popularity of 2048 helped the similar original game Three).
 
Thats a thought if you are worried about plagiarism, are you sure you wont be committing it yourself.
The idea that you have come up with a completely new, never been done before idea seems remote.
 
i try to be as original as possible...which is extremely hard and mostly overrated

I just don't want "developer X" to totally rip my game off before I even get out of beta.

Being totally original is a mistake. Joe casual is not going to know or care either way. All they care about is if it is "fun" or not. Some old ideas are good ideas some are cliche and overdone. The idea is to have an experience that feels new and plays new with old(and not intimidating to the casuals)mechanics/challenges that are reinvented and are perceived to be new.

Its mario bros and rocket knight with a 2014 effects/eye candy and other gimmicks baked in( achievements are a gimmick. A good gimmick though).
 
There is nothing you can do about it, apart from not letting it be in open beta for too long.
 
Of course, you could take legal action on copyright grounds if you believe the "look and feel" of your game has been copied. You'd need a lawyer though, and they tend to be expensive.

You might want to try to appeal to whatever distribution channel the plagiarizer uses instead. Apple has blocked obvious copycat apps in the past without the need for any lawsuits, for example.
 
I just don't want "developer X" to totally rip my game off before I even get out of beta.

Being totally original is a mistake. Joe casual is not going to know or care either way. All they care about is if it is "fun" or not. Some old ideas are good ideas some are cliche and overdone. The idea is to have an experience that feels new and plays new with old(and not intimidating to the casuals)mechanics/challenges that are reinvented and are perceived to be new.

Its mario bros and rocket knight with a 2014 effects/eye candy and other gimmicks baked in( achievements are a gimmick. A good gimmick though).
Does Greenlight beta allow you to let only a few selected people play your game? Say... Valve filters the access to your beta only to a fortunate few or people you think you can trust from your friends list, forums, etc...

Creating a forum exclusively for your game might not be a bad idea. Problem is that in order for it to have some activity, the people there have to try your game, if not they won't know much on what they are talking about.

If you think your idea is good, what about trying to find a publisher?
 
If your game inspires someone else to build on it's mechanics and adds some twists to the formula, it would simply be a continuation of the last 45 years of video game history. That's not plagiarism, it's evolution.

Outright clones are rare these days, and usually only happen after you've reached mega-success levels.

And like most things, it's not really the idea that matters, it's the execution.
 
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