being a copy of HK is really such a bad thing?

[kionashi]

I mean, I just simply don't see why is inherently a bad thing to take heavy inspiration from amazing games, all artists start copying things they enjoy, and sometimes you release a couple of "heavily inspired" games and as you get used to your tools you begin to develop your own unique style.

Also aren't you guys are tired of just waiting for silksong? I know you can't rush perfection and Im willing to wait as long as they need, but having this kind of games inspired by HK out there help people to scratch that Hollow Knight itch while waiting for silksong, seriously do you guys prefer to have nothing at all?

[Imloonely]

well you have a point but it doesn't even look like they are even trying to build upon the foundation of hollow knight and make something new. for example check the story on the store page, it's fundamentally the exact same. nor does it look like they attempting to add new game mechanics to make it differ from Hollow Knight.

[KittyCatRules]

Can't agree more with the person above.I'd rather play HK a few more times instead of waiting for this game to come out.Also if you want some real stuff similar to Silksong go check a game called Crowsworn,it's way more awesome than this HK copy

[Leopanther]

I think its funny how people are judging it just based on an early trailer. Who knows, maybe we'll never find out how alike or how different it would be. I'm not very mentally strong, so seeing these negative discussions and opinions here would likely kill any motivation I had to keep going on the project if I was the dev.

Personally I think they should just keep going, whether it will be some nice new game or a 'cheap' clone. It's not hurting anyone to release a game that is similar to another (except in the very unlikely case that it gets so popular that it hurts sales of the other game). Maybe it turns out nice, maybe it doesn't. But that shouldn't stop the game devs from finishing it, gaining experience in making a game from start to finish and releasing it. Clone or not, it's another game that someone may end up enjoying.

[Cacoastrum]

1) Copying is often a step in the learning process, but that doesn’t mean you release the copy as your own piece.

2) There is a difference between “drawing inspiration from a thing” and “blatantly cloning a thing and attempting to make money/gain notoriety from your plagiarism”.

[kashkadavr]

Yes, this is a bad thing. This is a pale disgusting copy, which is made by lazy people without a drop of their own creative talent, wanting to profit from the work of really talented people. If it was just inspired by the Hollow Knight, it wouldn't sound like a bad thing. But this is only a pale copy

[NikoPlayer]

It looks very simural to the HK and it isn't that good thing. I played hollow knight by my own. Its good game learning patents and experimenting with the world you create. For example If you leave Zote. He dies. (Nothing special). Style isn't bad but mechanics and idea is. Not very creative. Im letting they do what they want. But just I have just only one thing. Don't let it be a literally soulless copy. Pls

[Zincoshine]

Originally posted by 蔚蓝星海:

Can't agree more with the person above.I'd rather play HK a few more times instead of waiting for this game to come out.Also if you want some real stuff similar to Silksong go check a game called Crowsworn,it's way more awesome than this HK copy

I remember when people were saying crowsworn is a ripoff of hollow knight. lol
I am buying lotus knight on day one. It may be a ripoff but its a hollow knight ripoff, and god I really want more hollow knight.

[Wild]

I mean look at the models for the enemies. They reused the same one enemy three times in a 40 second trailer and the hitboxes look jank. And ik its not out yet but at least polish a trailer. If you are playing this game for the point of getting the same experience as hollow knight, replay the game on steel soul. Or make like the rest of us and wait for silk song. There is a max of 11 more months now. I can't see how this game will be good if the devs can't take the time to make a polished trailer (at one point the knight blatantly clipped through the horn of a rhino thing). Call me a pessimistic hater, I guess I am. I just don't want the devs to be rewarded for spending time on a knock off. I would much rather them be spending their time and energy making their own game with its own style and they'll learn that the hard way.

[<:)]

>heavy inspiration

lol. they straight up ripped assets from HK

[MossyHollow]

Plenty of games are inspired by others, Crowsworn is a game inspired by Hollow Knight, it raised tons of money on Kickstarter and got the blessing from Team Cherry.

Even Hollow Knight itself was inspired by other games, like Shovel Knight and Castlevania.

But, being inspired is totally different from copying, which is what this game did.

[Buck Stedman]

If it isn't a buggy mess... and is cheap... it'll probably be better than waiting for Silksong lol

[MONO]

I didn’t read what other users wrote under this post, so I don’t know if what I’m going to say has already been said. I think it’s okay to be inspired by other people’s work, sometimes even copying certain elements from the original work. But, looking at the trailer of this "miracle," I can say this, it’s not even plagiarism, it’s just a mod for HK with custom graphics and level structure. All mechanics are directly removed from the HK, and the trailer has a conspicuous location that looks suspiciously like the "Green Way" from the HK. In general, I can not say that this, something that I think is better to play, waiting for Silksong, which will definitely come out this year or next year, so it is better to play normal games of the genre, such as Blasphemous or Hyper Light Drifter.

[FudgeMeM8]

As most people have agreed, there's nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from a piece of work you really admire. Furthermore, I'd argue that there's nothing wrong with copying those works when you're starting out (provided you clearly state as much, and either don't release the product or only release it for free with heavy emphasis on where you can support the original work that inspired you). I think what most people here are mad about is the combination of the obvious inspiration, little (if any) evidence of transformative gameplay features, and the complete lack credit to Team Cherry.

Additionally, while others may defend some of those points by talking about it being an early trailer from people likely new to programming games, I think there's enough evidence to show that this game isn't very concerned with created a polished and cohesive final product. For example, the differences between the animations of the Knight and the enemies, the former which appears to be sprite animation vs the latter which seems to be pivot animation. To me at least, these vastly differing styles and approaches show a willingness to undermine the product for the sake of faster production. Couple this with the fact this game is being released on Steam (a platform that charges USD$100 to publish on) means that this is likely an attempt to create profit from a small turn around time and large interest in a franchise that's been dying for new content (even unofficial) for a while.

With these opinions and speculations in mind, I believe that while being a Hollow Knight copy isn't inherently bad, there are reasons why this game in particular is; as such, inviting a large amount of public backlash.

[Aleitheo]

Taking inspiration from something is good, you're using that as a jumping off point to go in your own direction, making for something unique. It's exploring an idea further than before.

Straight up copying is bad, it's a crutch to piggyback off the work of someone else and reveals that you don't actually have any real ideas of your own, nothing of note to provide yourself. So the only thing left over is a subpar copy of a far better idea. Copies generally have no passion to them, they feel like a soulless clone.

The Surge and Nioh are both games clearly inspired by Dark Souls, however they present their own ideas that set them apart from their inspiration. The Surge uses directional attacks with a targeting system coupled with segmented armour and an energy charging system. Nioh uses a stance change system, merges stamina with the mechanics of ki as well as a skill tree and loot system. The former is sci-fi industrial and the latter is historical/mythical Japan. This is what you get when you have a game inspired by something. New ideas branching off from the old and quality that stands apart from the inspiration.

Lotus Knight copies Hollow Knight and doesn't appear to present any of its own unique takes beyond setting it in a historical Chinese setting. If you look at the main character it's clear they copied without understanding why HK's main character looked like that to begin with. The art quality difference between the main character and the enemies is very clear. They made original enemies but the line and animation quality is clearly based on a rushed puppet rig. With the main character they could simply trace over existing frames from the identical main character in HK.

The difference between something that is inspired and something that copies is generally how much is the same and how much is new. The difference is whether there is one source that is copied from or multiple sources that provide inspiration. The difference is the quality of what is new vs the quality of what is the same. The difference is one is different while the other isn't.

When this game comes out, if you do end up buying it, look at the enemy variety. Look at the consistence of art quality, the level design, the boss design, the amount of new mechanics not found in Hollow Knight. Look at everything the devs came up with themselves and see how well it stands up. Because so far their first impression is not a good one.

[TheEndGiver]

there is a difference between heavy influence and straight up copy paste