Mojang Not Interested In Suing FortressCraft Creator

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When it comes to video game development, there always seems to be fine line between taking inspiration and flat out copying other developers’ ideas. Games borrow aspects of other games all the time, sometimes with the hope of improving on the original idea, other times with the hope of capitalizing upon the success of a popular game.

Since so many games are released each and every year, there are very few new game releases that can be called “truly original.” Most people don’t seem to mind this (after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?), but when a game is created that borrows an absurd amount of features from another, people begin to call foul.

Most Minecraft fans will tell you that XBLIG title FortressCraft is one of these games that borrows just a little too much. Given the original problem of “how much is too much?” I’m hesitant to call FortressCraft a full-on Minecraft clone like so many are willing to do, but it’s obvious that FortressCraft creator Adam Sawkins drew inspiration from Minecraft, whether Sawkins wants to admit it or not.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Mojang’s Daniel Kaplan said that the company isn’t interested in taking Sawkins or any other creator of a perceived Minecraft clone to court, so long as the developers in question didn’t steal anything Mojang actually made. Concerning Sawkins’ assertion that Minecraft had been “squeezed out of its own market,” ahead of its release on XBLA, Kaplan simply replied by saying that he is bored by all of the Minecraft clones out there because they bring nothing new to the table, and that’s “really sad.”

I’ve got to agree with Kaplan on this one. I’m all for developers borrowing from other games – even if they borrow a seemingly ridiculous amount of ideas and features – but only as long as these developers are doing something to improve upon the original. That’s what moves to industry forward, whereas clones that exist purely to cash in on the success of other games do nothing but waste time and bandwidth.

What do you think? Is Mojang making the right decision here, or should it take Sawkins to court over FortressCraft? Jump down to the comments section and give us your take!