Talk about blantant idea stealing
- Thread starter JacktheRabbit
- Start date
jester47
First Post
It all comes from the pygmies of west africa. They are short stealthy hunters that use blowguns and ranged weapons in their hunting.
I think there is a conan story with little men in the jungle. But I am not sure.
But yeah the idea seems like it came from The Mummy Returns. However, the mummy returns isworking off a lot of fantasy tropes. One being the airship, another being the scepter, etc etc. I think that some movies and books capture an idea so well that it becomes a normal element of fantasy.
And could you think of any other way to use undead halflings in a jungle? I mean can you think of any other way to use orcs in a former dwarven city than as they are portrayed in LotR?
I see the use of the undead halflings as "if the shoe fits, wear it." I think people put too much emphasis on originality these days. Originality is good, but so is borrowing (a nice way to say rip off). The Mummy returns did not have a Lich beind everything at the end so I figure that the rip off is ok.
Another point about originality is that much of this game is not original. The whole thing is derivative in some way or another. If you read enough swords and sorcery along with enough classical and medieval history, you realise that there are few things in the game that are not derivative, borrowed or just straight "rip offs."]
Aaron.
I think there is a conan story with little men in the jungle. But I am not sure.
But yeah the idea seems like it came from The Mummy Returns. However, the mummy returns isworking off a lot of fantasy tropes. One being the airship, another being the scepter, etc etc. I think that some movies and books capture an idea so well that it becomes a normal element of fantasy.
And could you think of any other way to use undead halflings in a jungle? I mean can you think of any other way to use orcs in a former dwarven city than as they are portrayed in LotR?
I see the use of the undead halflings as "if the shoe fits, wear it." I think people put too much emphasis on originality these days. Originality is good, but so is borrowing (a nice way to say rip off). The Mummy returns did not have a Lich beind everything at the end so I figure that the rip off is ok.
Another point about originality is that much of this game is not original. The whole thing is derivative in some way or another. If you read enough swords and sorcery along with enough classical and medieval history, you realise that there are few things in the game that are not derivative, borrowed or just straight "rip offs."]
Aaron.
JacktheRabbit
Explorer
A little bit of Occams Razor here.
1. I can take a similar idea and with a little work create these undead zombie halflings. I would have to add the undead part and the part about them protecting a particular temple in the jungle. Possible Sources are:
Diablo 2
Conan
African Mythology
or.
2. I can steal the idea 100% from "The Mummy Returns". This way I have to do zero work since every single idea I am using about the zombie halflings is exactly they way they appear and act in the movie.
Gee which one takes less work and is the easier solution.
This reminds me of all the arguements people make about Gary Gygax spending dozens of hours going through ancient mythology to create Treants and just happening to come up with something 100% identical to Ents from LOTR.
1. I can take a similar idea and with a little work create these undead zombie halflings. I would have to add the undead part and the part about them protecting a particular temple in the jungle. Possible Sources are:
Diablo 2
Conan
African Mythology
or.
2. I can steal the idea 100% from "The Mummy Returns". This way I have to do zero work since every single idea I am using about the zombie halflings is exactly they way they appear and act in the movie.
Gee which one takes less work and is the easier solution.
This reminds me of all the arguements people make about Gary Gygax spending dozens of hours going through ancient mythology to create Treants and just happening to come up with something 100% identical to Ents from LOTR.
JacktheRabbit
Explorer
I do too. I do not though post my material on the web on the official WOTC website as an advertisement for DnD 3E (which is what WOTC's DnD website is in the end).
Balgus said:
Henry
Autoexreginated
Occam, shmockam! I want my undead pygmy halflings!
Seriously, no one here disputes where the idea was most likely stolen from. My sentiment, for instance, was that the idea as portrayed in the movie was not wholly original, but I personally doubt this instance of "flattery" is lawsuit-worthy.
Seriously, no one here disputes where the idea was most likely stolen from. My sentiment, for instance, was that the idea as portrayed in the movie was not wholly original, but I personally doubt this instance of "flattery" is lawsuit-worthy.
IceBear
Explorer
I *SERIOUSLY* doubt WotC is going to get into trouble for this. I'd say most of the stuff posted on their site is a rip off of something.
I don't know why it bothers you so much, unless you were the writer for "The Mummy Returns" and it offends you to see your work copied for a popular roleplaying game because that person enjoyed your work.
BTW - I do not condone copyright infringement or anything like that.
IceBear
I don't know why it bothers you so much, unless you were the writer for "The Mummy Returns" and it offends you to see your work copied for a popular roleplaying game because that person enjoyed your work.
BTW - I do not condone copyright infringement or anything like that.
IceBear
Part of my point, DocMoriarty, is that Diablo II has undead little buggers with blowguns as guardians of old temples/burial places. If you got Diablo II when it first came out, you'd swear that The Mummy Returns stole the whole idea from the game. Right down to the graphics and sound effects when the little buggers die...
How hard is it to imagine that the folks that designed the gaming scenario saw both the game and the movie? Yah, real hard to imagine a RPG player who plays popular computer games and watches action-adventure movies. Quite a stretch there.
How hard is it to imagine that the folks that designed the gaming scenario saw both the game and the movie? Yah, real hard to imagine a RPG player who plays popular computer games and watches action-adventure movies. Quite a stretch there.
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JacktheRabbit
Explorer
I have never played Diablo 2 so I cannot comment on it.
I am not suggesting that anyone is or should get sued over this. I am just saying that I would like to see a little less blatant in the idea stealing arena from items put up my WOTC staff on the official website.
I am not suggesting that anyone is or should get sued over this. I am just saying that I would like to see a little less blatant in the idea stealing arena from items put up my WOTC staff on the official website.
herald
First Post
Who cares if they cribbed it from "The Mummy Returns". No one sued Gary Gygax for cribbing "King Kong" for "Isle of the Ape".
And I seriously doubt that you could sue anyone for this anyways. If perhaps you ran the encounter so it exactly matched the characters in the film, and did it shot for shot interpritation of said scene.
As for me, More scene stealin', the more the merrier. Can't get enough. There really isn't anything new under the sun so we might as well get used to the idea that movies trigger of some very good ideas for role playing.
I myself have been very amused by some ideas thrown at me by some DMs take from movie plots.
And I seriously doubt that you could sue anyone for this anyways. If perhaps you ran the encounter so it exactly matched the characters in the film, and did it shot for shot interpritation of said scene.
As for me, More scene stealin', the more the merrier. Can't get enough. There really isn't anything new under the sun so we might as well get used to the idea that movies trigger of some very good ideas for role playing.
I myself have been very amused by some ideas thrown at me by some DMs take from movie plots.
Henry
Autoexreginated
DocMoriarty - reading back, I realized I had attributed part of Hand of Evil's comments about lawsuits to you instead. My apologies. I can certainly understand the call for more divergent material, that ran with the idea a little farther.
Umbran did make a good point - the undead pygmy creatures from Diablo II were made in early 2000. In fact, the creatures strike me as looking VERY similar (minus the totem masks that the Diablo II creatures wore).
What would be a real laugh is if the writers of "Mummy Returns" cribbed their idea from that!
Umbran did make a good point - the undead pygmy creatures from Diablo II were made in early 2000. In fact, the creatures strike me as looking VERY similar (minus the totem masks that the Diablo II creatures wore).
What would be a real laugh is if the writers of "Mummy Returns" cribbed their idea from that!
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