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A centerpiece in the debate over the cloning of of games, developer Vlambeer shares the story of its award-winning Ridiculous Fishing -- a game that found success through sheer force of will.

September 4, 2013

2 Min Read

"Creativity is a fragile thing."

Speaking at GDC Europe 2013, Vlambeer's Rami Ismail reflects on how the studio nearly crumbled after their Flash game Radical Fishing was cloned. The studio eventually pushed through to create the follow-up Ridiculous Fishing, which went on to win an Apple Design Award and amass almost 300,000 sales. In this free session from GDC Vault, Ismail and partner Jan Willem Nijman discuss finding their motivation, cutting extraneous design elements, setting an ultimatum for failure, and having co-developrs Greg Wohlwend (Hundreds) and Zach Gage (SpellTower) move in together to complete the game. For more from Vlambeer, those with paid GDC Vault subscriptions can enjoy 'Sensible Nonsense: On Fiction in Games,' where they describe using a game's fiction as a way to create a great game, along with the referenced 'Clones: Advancing the Discussion' session from GDC 2012.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent GDC events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC China already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscriptions via a GDC Vault inquiry form. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can find out more here. In addition, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault admins. Be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more new content, as GDC organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from other events like GDC China and GDC 2013. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the official GDC website, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.

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