Bouncing Birds! was rejected!!!

RodrigoPerez · July 2011

Apparently the game bears a resemblance to a well-known third-party mark, Rovio!!

Yes they both have birds in them, but Bouncing Birds! has rich 3d environments and gameplay that's completely different than Angry Birds.

How do I fight this!!

RedlerTech · July 2011

Appeal

DreamLab · July 2011

the guy that probably reviewed this game is probably having a bad day or something. nothing like angry birds imo.good job with the game though!

RodrigoPerez · July 2011

Thank you! I thought I was just crazy or something. They asked me to provide documentary evidence that I have the rights to use this content to ensure compliance with the iOS Developer Program License Agreement. But I don't know what to provide. The PSD files? lol..

megamoo · July 2011

The game is not simular at all, but the characterization is reasonable simular. Is there any particular reason your main character is an angry looking bird? If there is a good reason I would imagine this is what apple wants to know about.

RodrigoPerez · July 2011

Well he's angry because the coconuts are invading his lands. It says so in the description, so Apple already knows that...

Has anybody ever appealed to Apple before?

UtopianGames · July 2011

This is crazy!!! the ONLY thing that resembles AB imo is the main character....what about a change of art and resubmit?

Darren.

RodrigoPerez · July 2011

Yeah I guess that's what I'm going to have to do..I was so excited for today too...well just another week then..

Any suggestions for the main character?

Mammoth · July 2011

What ever you do, don't go to the press right away. Bashing apple is never a good idea because they hold the keys to the kingdom. What you should do is appeal and see what their response is.

You should feel VERY proud that you have "ruffled some feathers" (pardon the pun). This game would probably do very well and eat into the sales of angry birds. Apple has a reputation for treating developers poorly especially the little guys.

So give yourself a pat on the back and keep on appealing until you get a good answer. If the answer is BS then go to the press

butterbean · July 2011

Wow, Apple has stooped to a whole new level, how absurd is this?! I would personally fight them on this, but if you want to make it easy, changing the art would suffice, it's just REALLY unfair.

What I would suggest is maybe keep the theme the same, but change the main character up a bit, keep it a bird though.

RodrigoPerez · July 2011

Thanks for that, maybe I should use this leverage and sell exclusive rights to android lol jk..

I definitely won't be bashing Apple to anyone, because like you said they're the gatekeepers. I didn't realize though that the indie guys have been burned before..I mean aren't we the majority of devs?

RodrigoPerez · July 2011

@butterbean Yeah I'm only going to change the main character because I've had about all I can take for now on the 3d backgrounds, rendering, shading, lighting, etc lol..

I really do feel better though that the community here has pretty much agreed that the rejection was uncalled for, because when you work on a game for so long you start to see it through rose colored glasses.

quantumsheep · July 2011

I think it might have nothing to do with Angry Birds, and more to do with a game using the same name as you maybe?

QS

RodrigoPerez · July 2011

I didn't know that existed lol..but the letter said specifically from Rovio,

This is crazy though because now I don't how to redesign my bird without it being deemed to much like an Angry Bird..

ultima · July 2011

i told you man. to drop the bird... it wasn't uncalled for cuz i called it days ago and you disagree lol... if you are using circular bird you'll be called copy cat regardless of situation.. it's like, if you make any glossy black phone with only 1 button you'll be called iphone copycat.. that's the way it rolls...

use monkey or dianosour or robot... why birds?

RodrigoPerez · July 2011

ultima said:
i told you man. to drop the bird... it wasn't uncalled for cuz i called it days ago and you disagree lol... if you are using circular bird you'll be called copy cat regardless of situation.. it's like, if you make any glossy black phone with only 1 button you'll be called iphone copycat.. that's the way it rolls...

use monkey or dianosour or robot... why birds?

So let's dissect this here...
Your telling me that because another game is using a round bird that means I can't?
Did I understand that correctly?

Last time I checked there are other games with monkeys, dinosaurs, and robots..So I guess I can't make any of those either huh?

What games have you made?

Mammoth · July 2011

The whole industry is set up for the big players to win. I don't want be discouraging to people but for indies it will always be an uphill battle. You can make a modest amount but making the same kind of money as big players make is hard without a huge stroke of luck (and a great game).

I will highlight why your idea is so brilliant:
People buy what they know they like. So why not take the theme from the most popular game and make a similar game.

By doing this you have read between the lines on how to really make it in entertainment. So again your idea is brilliant. But it takes money away from the big players.

ultima · July 2011

hey i'm not the ones to decide what you can use or what you can't. and i don't need to prove a thing to you. all we are here to do is to help.... i'm just said it looks and feels like angry bird, (and i agree that it is a different game after seeing the video last time) but that's the initial feeling you're going to get from people... just stating the fact, and if you don't agree then you don't agree..

if you can't get any critical comment why you even bother asking? most business fail because they fail to listen to opposite opinion. And if i don't care if you succeed or not why do i even bother to comment? people have better things to do.

you can ignore my comment if you think i'm full of crap.

again, i'm not telling you a thing, and you are not understanding me correctly. and last i checked i pulled those things from the bottom of this page just as an example, if i say make a robot and you make a robot what makes you stand out from any other game? the reason most game is so successful is because they have done months of research and verified by people who spend their latter life researching. i don't see any of the successful game designers here asking why they can't use bird... you are just asking the wrong question..

focus on what character will make the most sense for your game, why you pick that character and how it relates to the game play.. instead of asking what's in and why i can't use what's in.

I hope you take my comment positively and i truely hope you make it big.

cheers.

Roderic · July 2011

Rodrigo, Nice job on this game. I agree this is nothing like angry birds. Great graphics and a good use of TSB's controls, also.

I say just change the look of the bird's eyes and you should be good on that issue. I'm surprised they didn't flag your app earlier to say the name was taken. That seems strange but then again maybe you both submitted that name on the same day.

Good luck with getting it resolved, I think you have a really well done game there.

ultima · July 2011

to further elaborate, there are a few games that is loosely based on doodle destroy.. but they don't take the doodle approach instead they create a new story and new experience.. and they are doing fairly well. you got to understand that we are all friends and yet we are all enemies, so pick and choose what you listen and what you don't.

cowdar · July 2011

Im abit scared now the game ive been working on doodle birdy has a round bird and you shoot it but its a puzzle game and the whole theme really only makes sence if it stays a bird!
Good luck with the appel

ultima · July 2011

puzzle games is are fine... i recommend that you guys google how to pick business name. it's the same concept... same category big NO NO, similiar art work a big NO as well. There's a percentage of how much you need to detract from the artwork in question for it to clear of any legal issue. it's no science.. just plain legal mumbo jumble that will help you in the long run.

tenrdrmer · July 2011

I will admit the first time I saw your video the other day The first thing that popped into my head was that bird looks like Angry Birds. You cannot Deny its close. and thats why they are protecting it. Sure Rovio most likely gets special treatment and anything that comes through with a bird in it prob gets forwarded to them and asked if they would like to object. But why wouldn't apple do that. Rovio's game has made them millions.

Look at the bird in you shooter. and then look at the bird in this image. Theres no arguing the similarity. Sorry man. Flip the roles. You would be pissed if you owned angry birds and someone published this game.

calvin9403 · July 2011

how about just change your bird image to something else?

___________

my email: calvin9403@hotmail.com

ultima · July 2011

ya your game is really fun looking.. all you got to do is to change the bird character how difficult is that.. when you do and when you sell a lot of copies you'll come back and thank those of us who give u the bitter pills.

if you really can't think of any... here's one for you... coconut crab... u mentioned something about coconut.. about a coconut crab that you launch to collect the coconuts.. just throwing it out there... can't blame me if you don't like crabs.

and like tenrdrmer said... if you reverse the roles... if someone attempts to make a coconut crab look a like game you can stop them from publishing.... for aliens and their eggs for that matter... again... ur game is already there... all you need to do is to complete it with a story even if it's superficial.

mshannon · July 2011

FYI - The english version of my game 'The Adventures of Senor Gato' was rejected for being offensive. Yet, the spanish version of the game was acceptable. Nothing different.

It really matters about who is reviewing the game, not the content.

Sorry for your luck, I feel ya.

sdsmith64 · July 2011

So ...Bouncing Birds is rejected but "Angry Zombie Birds" is ok...???!!!! WTF!

tenrdrmer · July 2011

sdsmith64 said:
So ...Bouncing Birds is rejected but "Angry Zombie Birds" is ok...???!!!! WTF!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/angry-zombie-birds/id437806613?mt=8

Looks Like a GameSalad Game too…

Also has a game that is obviously Darren's platformer Template. LOL

Yeah that is Complete Crap that they let stuff that that thing through.

jamesmunro2 · July 2011

How about changing the main character to an apple with a bite out of it and calling it "Angry Apple".

butterbean · July 2011

The thing that makes it so crappy is how inconsistent they are with rejections. They can have a game on the app store called "Angry Sperms" or "Angry Zombie Birds" which are blatant rip-offs of Angry Birds, but they can't accept this?

It's pretty laughable how the system works, it just seems like a lottery if anything, and you never know what will happen!

tenrdrmer · July 2011

butterbean said:
The thing that makes it so crappy is how inconsistent they are with rejections. They can have a game on the app store called "Angry Sperms" or "Angry Zombie Birds" which are blatant rip-offs of Angry Birds, but they can't accept this?

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/angry-sperms/id402686602?mt=8

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/angry-zombie-birds/id437806613?mt=8

It's pretty laughable how the system works, it just seems like a lottery if anything, and you never know what will happen!

I fully Agree with you there. I still stand by they had grounds to reject it but they should have a way to report that type of crap and fire the freaking person who allowed it in. Because those are obviously blatant ripoffs

Bouncing Birds! was rejected!!!

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