@Spectra_Twilight both the cat and the duck sprites are ours. I admit they've had a horrendous color shift applied to them, but they're still ours. From the video that was up I believe they are the only sprites in the entire game
@Discipledoctor when you deal with a lot of take-downs the first port of call is always the store / publisher. You cut it off at the source (or try to). We've wasted time in the past trying to contact developers directly, to the point that we don't even try to do so any more. It's our time we're spending, so it's up to us who we choose to contact first.
I also disagree that a "big fuss" was made by us. We sent out a single tweet (and email) to NOA. That was it. Everything else that happened was snowball effect - quite frankly I find the attention all a bit puzzling. I also feel it stems from a bigger issue here (being reflected in the comments), one not limited to a couple of purple sprites. It feels like this was just the straw that broke the camels back.
@shinycube I don't feel there is anything that I need to add that I didn't say already. This stuff happens. It's happened to our work before, and it will happen again. And each time we'll call out those responsible - sometimes they may learn from it, other times they may ignore it. Life goes on.
@ninjapigstudios obviously enjoy creating games, and that's something that should be encouraged, as long as it's done the right way. I read lots of comments here branding their games as shovelware, which is a shame, but at least they are creating something. If it should be allowed on the Wii U is up to Nintendo only - having said that I'm pretty sure Nintendo will listen to one thing more than any other: money. If we buy it, they'll keep allowing it. If we don't, they won't. And who knows, one day they may release something that surprises everyone (with fully legal art
I stand by what I said above - if devs want to use some of our graphics in their games then just ask - we nearly always say yes!
@ninjapigstudios - The "jerk" comment is purely in reference to your responses on twitter when presented with clear proof the art was ours. Instead of apologising you debated the fact, claiming to have found it on OGA (yet failing to provide any link to it when pushed) and saying that it doesn't matter anyway because you changed the "coloring and style" (your words).
These are not rational actions of a 'professional' who failed to carry out due diligence on a game they sought to earn revenue from. Nowhere in that thread of conversation were we ever lead to believe it was a "mistake" - had that been the case I would have gladly resolved it by PM. Instead we were left feeling like it was our fault.
As it happens I'm glad this did come out publicly - it can serve as a pertinent reminder to all developers to carefully check their assets and legality of their game before preparing it for release. Because sadly the cause of this mistake is irrelevant. It doesn't matter if a student did it, or a magical unicorn flew into your room one night and spewed pixels all over your monitor in purple cat shape. The net result is the same. The onus is always on you, the developer, to emphatically prove the game is entirely yours - and if you can't do that then you need to be prepared for any potential fallout, public or not.
Due to the speed at which the page was removed I believe it was Ninja Pig who pulled it, and not Nintendo. After they lied to us on twitter about where they "found" the art of course.
The saddest thing of all is that had they bothered to ask, we would probably have let them use the art anyway! (had full credit been given). But it's always the same.. they take and act like jerks when challenged over it, rather than apologise. Just sad to see this happen on a console I love so much.
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Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
@Statusphere ok gotcha - and no, that's not our responsibility: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/01/ninja_pig_studios_accused_of_stealing_pixel_art_for_forthcoming_wii_u_release_jumpy_cat#comment2829004
Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
@Statusphere we did approach NOA first.
Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
No worries.
Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
@Spectra_Twilight they were in the screen shot in the article I linked. Here's a direct link to the pngs on our site:
http://www.photonstorm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Image-Player-Sprite-Sheet.png
http://www.photonstorm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Pink-Cat-640x319.png
Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
@Spectra_Twilight both the cat and the duck sprites are ours. I admit they've had a horrendous color shift applied to them, but they're still ours. From the video that was up I believe they are the only sprites in the entire game
The images in this article show it best: http://www.pixeldynamo.com/news/gaming/2015/01/21/48606/jumpy-cat-removed-wii-u-eshop-due-stolen-art-assets/
Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
If it's not Smooth Caramel, Pepper and Chilli it ain't worth eating
Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
@Discipledoctor when you deal with a lot of take-downs the first port of call is always the store / publisher. You cut it off at the source (or try to). We've wasted time in the past trying to contact developers directly, to the point that we don't even try to do so any more. It's our time we're spending, so it's up to us who we choose to contact first.
I also disagree that a "big fuss" was made by us. We sent out a single tweet (and email) to NOA. That was it. Everything else that happened was snowball effect - quite frankly I find the attention all a bit puzzling. I also feel it stems from a bigger issue here (being reflected in the comments), one not limited to a couple of purple sprites. It feels like this was just the straw that broke the camels back.
Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
@shinycube I don't feel there is anything that I need to add that I didn't say already. This stuff happens. It's happened to our work before, and it will happen again. And each time we'll call out those responsible - sometimes they may learn from it, other times they may ignore it. Life goes on.
@ninjapigstudios obviously enjoy creating games, and that's something that should be encouraged, as long as it's done the right way. I read lots of comments here branding their games as shovelware, which is a shame, but at least they are creating something. If it should be allowed on the Wii U is up to Nintendo only - having said that I'm pretty sure Nintendo will listen to one thing more than any other: money. If we buy it, they'll keep allowing it. If we don't, they won't. And who knows, one day they may release something that surprises everyone (with fully legal art
I stand by what I said above - if devs want to use some of our graphics in their games then just ask - we nearly always say yes!
Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
@ninjapigstudios - The "jerk" comment is purely in reference to your responses on twitter when presented with clear proof the art was ours. Instead of apologising you debated the fact, claiming to have found it on OGA (yet failing to provide any link to it when pushed) and saying that it doesn't matter anyway because you changed the "coloring and style" (your words).
These are not rational actions of a 'professional' who failed to carry out due diligence on a game they sought to earn revenue from. Nowhere in that thread of conversation were we ever lead to believe it was a "mistake" - had that been the case I would have gladly resolved it by PM. Instead we were left feeling like it was our fault.
As it happens I'm glad this did come out publicly - it can serve as a pertinent reminder to all developers to carefully check their assets and legality of their game before preparing it for release. Because sadly the cause of this mistake is irrelevant. It doesn't matter if a student did it, or a magical unicorn flew into your room one night and spewed pixels all over your monitor in purple cat shape. The net result is the same. The onus is always on you, the developer, to emphatically prove the game is entirely yours - and if you can't do that then you need to be prepared for any potential fallout, public or not.
Re: Ninja Pig Studios Accused Of Stealing Pixel Art For Forthcoming Wii U Release Jumpy Cat
Due to the speed at which the page was removed I believe it was Ninja Pig who pulled it, and not Nintendo. After they lied to us on twitter about where they "found" the art of course.
The saddest thing of all is that had they bothered to ask, we would probably have let them use the art anyway! (had full credit been given). But it's always the same.. they take and act like jerks when challenged over it, rather than apologise. Just sad to see this happen on a console I love so much.