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Reader Discussion: Homage Or Rip-Off?
Games borrow from one other as much as any other medium of entertainment, but for some reason, video games seem to fall under much more scrutiny.
Darksiders II released last week, and it’s a game that wears its influences proudly on its sleeve. It’s a mixture of God of War, with a dash of Diablo, a sprinkling of Prince of Persia, and it’s all baked inside a delicious Zelda pie crust. Some consider Darksiders’ pie to taste too similar to the pies it’s made of, accusing it of not attempting to develop its own flavor.
What do you think? Is Darksiders paying homage to the video games that influenced its creators (the camp I tend hang to out it in), or is it a collection of stolen ideas mashed together to create something familiar?
Of course, this doesn’t apply just to Darksiders. It’s more of a general question of paying homage. In movies, a filmmaker calling out their influences is seen as smart film making that recognizes the movies that came before their own, but in video games, the word homage is rarely used. When people recognize a mechanic or idea that originated elsewhere, they tend to cry foul and words like “rip-off” get thrown around.
What do you think? Should developers be allowed to pay homage to their favorite games? Or are they just ripping something off? While you guys discuss this, I am going to go play some more Darksiders II.
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