Platypus Poo

By: Derek Yu

On: February 12th, 2007

You might recall that Anthony Flack made Platypus. But he definitely didn’t make Platypus 2. I’m not sure who made Platypus 2. Probably Cambodian children in a sweatshop. And yes, in case you were wondering, it’s perfectly legal for Cambodian children to make video games in sweatshops. So quit whining.

Check out this great Indiegamer thread where the ever-awesome Nick Tipping rails on big business, portals, and “The Man” in general… he’s like the crazy drunken uncle at a family get-together who is the only one who has the balls to say that the meatloaf is rotten and smelly and is ruining the rest of the dinner. Everyone else just kind of sits there awkwardly, nibbling at the horrendous meatloaf and trying to calm him down (even though they know he’s right, by God).

“It’s not that bad, uncle Nick! Look!” (nibble nibble)

Also, an appearance by the D-Mac!

(Thanks, Crabbles, for the heads-up!)

Update: Fost says “”http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?t=9875">thanks for all the fish" to Indiegamer forums, confusing people because no fish was ever given out. Also, some guy named Andy says “bullshit” about a hundred times for no apparent reason. Tourette’s syndrome a possibility?

Posted in Community, Shoot-em-ups, Windows

http://www.moonpod.com/diary Fost

Platypus is what I am now terming a ‘blood product’. Taken from game development conflict zones like New Zealand, these games somehow find their way into the retail chain. It’s up to us as consumers to demand from portals that all our games are sourced from reputable locations.

I sooo wish Anthony would just rebadge Platypus and sell it off his site. It’s worked for others, although I have to salute his integrity. Mind you, I genuinely want to see another plasticine shmup roll out of the squashy software production line, even if it was just Platypus Redux.
haowan

Great thread. Go Fost!

I agree with Leper in that thread, we’ve been over this before, Anthony sold his rights, there’s always gonna be a scumbag waiting to take a shit job working for assholes making rehashed games out of corpsified assets bought in exchange for souls.

If you don’t like it then make sure people you know don’t buy it, but (as Derek says above) whining about it isn’t going to instantaneously spirit away all those evil, morally bankrupt developers and publishers.
http://www.moonpod.com/diary Fost

Yeah – BUT: If I was a portal, here’s a way I could earn some crazy kudos right now: DROP Platypus. Why not? It would earn my respect.

Here’s how not to earn my respect: fund the development of a sequel that shamelessly cashes in on the name and essentially does a bad remix job on the product. You know, I admit, I’m a bit bonkers here and there’s legitimate legalities behind it all, which, whilst I personally couldn’t give a fuck about, I understand that many others would. But the fact that all this goes on and Anthony doesn’t get credit is bloody shameless. Even worse – Grey Alien Games mentions in that thread that they were asked to remove his name after giving him credit via affiliation. So, even though Grey Alien tried to do the right thing, they were told not to by someone who is on a campaign to eradicate Anthony’s name from this product.

I have to admit that the whole reason this gets under my skin is that together, we could push a company out if we wanted, but nobody is prepared to do that are they? and that’s why the exploitative scum still exist.

As for your recommendation, I wholeheartedly agree; on our [top indie games list] (http://www.moonpod.com/board/viewtopic.php?p=10286#10286)
we give Platypus some respect, but suggest people sign up to the squashy software mailing list instead if they like the look of it.
BenH

The fact that they are constantly trying to erase any indication that Anthony had anything to do with Platypus is what really pisses me off. People can argue that its all legal and stuff until their bollocks drop off, I don’t give a fuck, this just proves how messed up and cold-hearted these companies and their representatives really are.
I’m with Fost, I’d love to see Anthony make a redux of Platypus in some shape or form. He’d have to be careful about infringing on stuff (seems so strange to say that seeing as he made it originally!), but I think it would be a huge success, and could probably be even better than the original!
http://www.arsecast.com DrDerekDoctors

I was too late to join the fun. It’d just look like bandwagon jumping if I joined now. :(
http://www.tscreative.net BMcC

D-Mac, you say?! I’m there!
haowan

@Fost: Quite right, if I were running a portal I’d drop that shit like a hot potato. I never said people shouldn’t try to force Idigicon out – just that *taking* action is the *right* course of action; I suppose on consideration ranting about it on the net is worthy campaigning. Yeah, it boils the blood that they are distancing themselves from Anthony, it’s shameless and disgusting, and you just know it’s the lawyers behind it all. No souls! The lawyers have no souls!

Of course all this publicity should be good for sales of Cletus Clay. Everyone buy that, not this Platypus 2 nonsense.
FostFan

Nice to see someone taking a stand for once. Go Fost!
KNau

You could “rise up” against Real Arcade but they wouldn’t notice because the name-brand developers they rely on care about the “indie” scene as much they do. They aren’t going to stop selling through the big portals just to make a point on behalf of some one-game-wonder who got screwed on a deal EIGHT years ago.

You can at least be happy that we have yet another very public example of exactly where the game developer stands in the scheme of things, in case there was ever any question about portals being your friend and “just wanting what’s good for everyone”.

Now you know. You the developer are a source of raw material, like a rainforest. You have no inherent value except for the resources they can extract from you and if they could get away with giving you nothing in return they would (and occasionally do). If you’re going to get whored out you might as well do it yourself and on your own terms.

Unfortunately the lesson will fall on deaf ears since every other post on Indiegamer is “How do I get a portal to notice me?”
http://www.the2bears.com the2bears

I’m with Fost on this. The internet’s the best distribution channel around, and indie devs shouldn’t need the stupid portals.

Bill
http://kwickfix.org Rz.

sources tell me the new Cortex Command build will be released today, i’d say it will merit an entry when it comes out
moi

I think these kinds of threads are more embarassing than anything for Anthony Flack. I’m not sure he must feel comfortable seing people citing his name while criticizing an established company.
Probably the people owning the platypus IP now are different from those who initially bought it from Mr Flak, and we all know they aren’t in the business to make charity. It’s over, it’s over. Let’s consider Platypus a piece of crap and move along. And let it be a warning for all indie devs.
I like how we are using TIGS to comment about indiegamer’s threads :)
Dan Macdonald

“Fost tells IndieGamer.com ‘Thanks for all the fish‘

News at 11…
nullerator

This is just how the industry works. Is Crytek involved with Far Cry these days? No. Ubisoft got the licence, and they have allready made a bunch of Far Cry products that Crytek has had nothing to do with (and probably no income from at all). That’s just a high-profile example. There’s tons of them – to get your stuff published by a major publisher, you need to give them the IP and the rights to make sequels.

Sure, you can boycot Idigiwhatever for what they did, but if so you should also boycot Ubisoft, EA, Activision, … for doing exactly the same thing. If you’re not prepared to do that, then you should just shut up.
FostFan

Keep up the great work Fost! Woo!
http://www.moonpod.com/diary Fost

“This is how the industry works” is an interesting argument and one I keep going both ways on to be honest. Right now though, I’m thinking – we are indies, we don’t actually have to make any sense…

I suggest we boycott everywhere that carries Idigicon products until the portals drop them or Idigicon send Anthony his IP back. :)
THISISHOWTHEINDUSTRYWORKS

Don’t try to change it, or make it better. Just shut up. “SUCK IT DOWN.”

God, I loved Daikatana. They should make a Daikatana Match3!!
http://rav.realitybytes.tk ravuya

I think Fost is right here. The IndieGamer push towards portals, etc, is not conducive to developer rights.

I feel bad for Anthony, it can’t be good having this dredged up eight years later.

I have to read up more on Idigicon, I hadn’t heard of them prior to this event.
moi

Hey don’t badmouth Andy.
He’s just a Russian guy, he learnt english by looking at american movies (just like me). “bullshit” is maybe half of his vocabulary.

He might be a bit inebriated too, since he’s russian.
Dan Macdonald

I think you have it right Fost, I think its F’d up that people can take something that had so much passion and personality poured into it and treat it like some anonymous SKU in a catalog to try to milk a market for money. It’s not right. It just happens to be legal.
Dan Macdonald

….that should have read something like “I think it’s effed up that…” but the blog comments hate me.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wfSgGt7OYmY Andy

Bob Saget!
http://www.tigsource.com/articles/2006/12/06/anthony-flack-made-platypus Anthony Flack made Platypus

Indiegamer represents independent game developers as much as Gametunnel represents the indie game scene. I only read indiegamer for the posts of a few people such as Fost, Hamumu, princec, cliffski, Anthony Flack, Amaranth, Papillion and any other of the actually independant people who are there. Sad part is, they’re only a miniscule fraction. Everyone else is busy being independent by being dependent on portals. You gotta have a special kind of stupid to not see the ironic in it. Lets all depend on someone else for our income! Send in our demos and have them tell us what we need to change to make them happy! Place their logos on our games and if were lucky keep our names in the credits! Maybe then well get some smoke’n deals, some of which if we’re super lucky we might even get 50%!
Dan MacDonald

It helps to describe the developers who are looking to start a business making games as “independent” developers. It fits with the classical definition of “independent”. For example Mythic was considered an independent developer before EA bought them. Id Software and 3D Realms are also known to be independent developers.

Indie developers (on the other hand) are punks, they decry soul-less casual games and the money grubbing developers who make them. Indie developers like to make cool games that gamers actually want to play. Indie developers make games for the sake of making cool games, that hopefully will be cool enough that people will buy them.

You can contrast that with independent developers who try to make money by making games.

To your point, I agree. The Indie gamer forums have a higher percentage of “independents” then they do “indies”.

I don’t think indie gamer is really about supporting independents or indies anymore. I think it is what it is, a neutral community where most people have an account. It’s a good place to announce an upcoming game and get feedback, it’s also a good place to pick fights. But even if it’s just that it sill serves a purpose.
Sergio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus_(game)

We need to update this page with actual events.
Sergio

You know, this game isn’t actually that bad. But the sad thing is, its creator will probably make more out of it than Anthony Flack ever will. Or perhaps not…
http://www.TScreative.net BMcC

Hahaha, Andy. Seems like a… great guy.

@Fost: Props for keepin’ it SO very real, my man! It’s heartwarming to see indie developers standing up for indie developers. And you’ll always be welcome here.

But you’d better put out tomorrow!

@D-Mac: I got yo back, D-Mac. (In regards to typos, at least.)

Question, though. Where does this leave us indies? _Should_ a “hardcore” forum be created? Will the casual developers overrun us like so many Zerglings? HOW DO I BEAT THE END GUY?!

Whoa, sorry. Lost it there for a sec.
http://www.moonpod.com/diary Fost

Arghhh: Kill me.

I just got sent a document from South Yorkshire Investment fund (who we couldn’t get any money off when we started).

They will apparently now help fund the acquisition of IP, and mention their aid to Idigicon to help them acquire the Garfield license.

Where are those blood pressure tablets?

GUZZLE GUZZLE GUZZLE
moi

GREAT OPPORTUNITIES AWAIT