A recent incident in the indie game development community has sparked controversy after a developer allegedly cloned another developer’s game. The situation unfolded when indie game developer kindanice revealed that a fellow developer, Terry Brash, had cloned his game, Dire Decks, and released it as Wildcard.

According to reports from PC Gamer, the two developers had previously exchanged tips and advice in 2023. However, a year later, Brash surprised kindanice with Wildcard, which bore a striking resemblance to Dire Decks. In private messages shared with PC Gamer, Brash even referred to Wildcard as a ‘clone’ of kindanice’s game.

kindanice expressed confusion and shock at the situation, questioning Brash about the ethics of borrowing art and concepts from another game. In response, Brash claimed that Wildcard featured new artwork and original code, offering kindanice an ‘inspiration’ credit.

The conversation between the two developers delved into copyright laws and the implications of cloning games. Despite the legal aspects, kindanice emphasized to Brash that copying someone’s game without permission was unethical. Brash, however, defended his actions by stating that creating clones with additional content was a common practice in the industry.

The incident has raised concerns within the indie game development community about the boundaries of inspiration and originality. While some may argue that drawing inspiration from existing games is a common practice, the line between inspiration and blatant copying remains a contentious issue.

As the dialogue between kindanice and Brash continues, the indie game development community is left to ponder the implications of cloning games and the importance of respecting original creations in the industry.