# Your thoughts on people "taking inspriation" from others?



## HungryForCereal (Jul 16, 2020)

Your thoughts? Imo, its kinda like stealing to put it bluntly. Agree with me or not. Irks me even more when players say they're gonna steal the idea explicitly. But thats just me.

edit: seems like some people may be upset that i used the word steal? lets just use the word copy then. To make it clearer, the point is not whether you tweak it or not by placing different furniture or terraform a it a lil bit different. once you see an idea that you like and you take that idea from someone and whether or not you tweak it, its already copying. you copy the idea, not the whole way of how the original landscape is constructed. you see it, you like, you copy it, you tweak it.  this is just my opinion anyway.


----------



## Underneath The Stars (Jul 16, 2020)

let’s ask bluebear


----------



## JSS (Jul 16, 2020)

I've incorporated a couple of others' ideas already and intend to incorporate a gorgeous tulip field I saw online next. I always do at least a few tweaks to reflect my style better and if I don't outright say so and someone asks, I'm not afraid to say it wasn't originally my idea.


----------



## Sgt.Groove (Jul 16, 2020)

If I see a neat idea with waterfalls or some unique terrain I look at how I can change it to fit my island, but I don't think things like themes or concepts can really be "stolen" unless they do an exact copy. But it is funny how after that one castle island popped up and got popular a ton of others popped up like a month later o-o


----------



## xTech (Jul 16, 2020)

Honestly, I think taking inspiration from other player's builds is perfectly fine. It also depends on what you mean by 'taking inspiration', do you mean just the idea itself? Like just because someone else built a outdoor library that I think looked cool, am I suddenly not allowed to build any outdoor library area on my own island? Like yeah completely copying an area isn't exactly the best way to go, but just using some unique ideas is, again, perfectly fine by my and i'm sure a lot of other people's standards. I mean even if people do completely copy other's builds, as long as they get permission from the person who built it, I can see nothing wrong with that.

Island tours are a great example of people 'taking inspiration' from other's builds. These tours are literally made so that people can get inspiration from some really cool islands, and the fact that the person who designed the island is literally inviting people to do so, just shows that I think most people really are not bothered if you copy some aspects of their island. In terms of myself, i've only really closely imitated one person's idea, and that was just to put the shops both together on a cliff next to the airport because I thought it was a great idea. I even asked for permission from the person and they were very happy for me to do just that, so if you are unsure whether you should take inspiration from another person, maybe just do like I did and ask them for clear consent.


----------



## Rowlet28 (Jul 16, 2020)

At the end of the day it's their island and they can do anything they want with it as long as it makes them happy I guess.


----------



## *The Oakboro Mayor* (Jul 16, 2020)

I think ‘taking inspiration’ isn’t the same as stealing. Yes, some people do blatantly copy someone’s idea and that kinda bugs me as well. But I think that if you see a cute cafe that you think would look nice but you want to make it fit your island and make it a more round design, then I wouldn’t call that stealing. You are simply taking one person’s idea and molding it into something for yourself. If you took all their parts and recreated it exactly, then I would see how that would be considered stealing. And plus, adding something you like to your town makes it more enjoyable for you! So I’d say do what makes you happy, weather it’s copying or tweaking or creating. Animal crossing designs are probably meant to share, so make use of it.

Edit: Claiming a design that is someone else’s as yours is just plain rude.


----------



## Rosch (Jul 16, 2020)

It's fine to take inspiration. Some people even admit that they are not creative that's why they try to recreate and/or copy what they've seen. It's totally fine with me.

Unless they claim it as their own idea. Now that's where we have a problem.


----------



## Chris (Jul 16, 2020)

Depends on the execution.

Making an identical copy of what another person has done is dishonest; but taking an idea and putting your own spin on it is perfectly fine. Remember that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.


----------



## Imbri (Jul 16, 2020)

I've borrowed ideas from other people. I tweak and change elements to fit my style, but seeing how others put colors or styles together is a help. If asked about it, I give credit, and if someone sees something on my island they like, I'm not offended if they use it.


----------



## niko@kamogawa (Jul 16, 2020)

I don't think there's anything wrong about getting ideas from other players.

I guess the concern here is how *they say it*.

As we all know, "stealing" is a negative connotation that may give other players the wrong idea even if they are saying it as a joke.


----------



## Mikaiah (Jul 16, 2020)

Like personally, I use a tile layout around my water fountain, and it's hard to type in-game but when someone asks about it either here or on discord, I say I stole it from a reddit post and usually link it to them.

I guess because design options in this game are limited to a certain extent, there's a finite number of ideas that someone can decorate their island with. 

For me, it just becomes a problem of claiming the design is yours if you took heavy inspiration from someone else and show it off on social media, I suppose. But a lot of people are going for similarly-themed towns so there's going to be overlap regardless.


----------



## daringred_ (Jul 16, 2020)

as someone with aphantasia -- meaning i can't visualize anything, including island ideas/layouts -- my island would be plain and ugly as hell without ""stealing"" or inspiration. i'm yet to take someone's idea and copy it _exactly _(and probably never will) but i suppose, according to you, i have "stolen" someone's idea with my little outdoor gardening area since i only swapped out 60% of the items but kept the overall look the same. (since it's much harder to make more compact areas look different, especially if what you liked was the initial look to begin with.) and i suppose i'm also "stealing" this cute butterfly garden i saw since i'll probably only use different butterfly models and/or flowers. 

at the end of the day, however, it's *my *island and the only person who's (really) going to see it is me. so i want it to look pretty, and if that means ""stealing"" other people's ideas because i think they're gorgeous then so be it. it's not something i can profit off of, and i'm sure as hell not going around claiming that i came up with x, y or z area on my own. (because i didn't.) i can't copy/paste the area onto my own island in five seconds either, i still have to put the work in -- collect all the items, do the landscaping, take the time. if someone made an exact replica of my little playground area, i'd be flattered more than anything that someone liked my design enough to want to incorporate it on their island and that it made them happy but perhaps that's just me. 

probably an unpopular opinion but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


----------



## Sharksheep (Jul 16, 2020)

Similar theme island are going to look similar. Unless it's carbon copy, it's not stealing.

I watched this video on how to build a dock. And it adapted it fit my island because I didn't have the same riverends as they did so I made it smaller. I used a lot of the same items like the rope fencing, barrels, streetlamps, floor lights, and fishing rod stands and the patterns. But I also made my villagers' house lot smaller, didn't use the potted plants or the corral fencing. Is it stealing?

The build video 





My villager's houses on the docks.

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1278830528116846592


----------



## Bugs (Jul 16, 2020)

My art tutor told me in college, "Good artists create, great artists steal"

There is nothing truly original in the world, even if you create something, somebody else can come up with the same idea independently, so how would you even know if something was "stolen"?

Inspiration is not stealing, it's communicating an idea that you like, and every person who is inspired by that thing adds their own originality to it cause that's what we do as humans.


----------



## Underneath The Stars (Jul 16, 2020)

Vrisnem said:


> Depends on the execution.
> 
> Making an identical copy of what another person has done is dishonest; but taking an idea and putting your own spin on it is perfectly fine. Remember that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.





JSS said:


> I always do at least a few tweaks to reflect my style better and if I don't outright say so and someone asks, I'm not afraid to say it wasn't originally my idea.



right. i think so too. most of the time, if i'm inspired i bring my own twist because i 100% have to tweak it to reflect my style better or what can my island space accommodate. other factors hinders something too, like the lack of QR slots.

--

to go further, here's the situation. ideas in this community spread like fire, and most of the time we'll never know who actually started it (unless it's a path creator, obv they made that to share it). this is nothing new and been happening since new leaf. a single screenshot could inspire someone, but i don't think they'd be able to copy an entire island unless they have visited or seen a youtube tour. if you copy an entire island, that's when you're being dishonest i feel like. it's not being inspired, it's flat-out copying and that's that. but from certain screenshots you see, you can't even be sure if that person thought of it, or if it was inspired by someone else too.

just look at the cottagecore craze, everyone is almost using the similar paths or cliff terraforming style/concepts! it just becomes a problem if you pass it on claiming it's your idea, when it's also a rip off. if someone directly copied a certain area of my island without crediting me, i'd feel cheated tbh.

quite honestly, themes are repetitive because there's only so much we can do even with the outdoor design or furniture. we have like, less than 5 types of outdoor benches for example. and in terms of typical "aesthetic" items that you'd know would be popular in ac culture, i can only think of a few several items on top of my head like the moon set from celeste, the garden wagon, the silo, etc. it's just up to someone if they'd apply their own twist to it or downright copy someone else's layout.

right now, like @Darius-The-Fox has said, that castle idea became the latest fad. but do we ever know who is responsible for starting something? at the end of the day, everyone gets inspired by someone and that's that.


----------



## sarosephie (Jul 16, 2020)

Vrisnem said:


> Depends on the execution.
> 
> Making an identical copy of what another person has done is dishonest; but taking an idea and putting your own spin on it is perfectly fine. Remember that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.


Honestly agree so much with this. I mean, no one's going to give you a penalty for an idea. It's anyone's idea!


----------



## seliph (Jul 16, 2020)

eh i think identical copies of things are fine so long as you aren't claiming it was your own idea, i also don't think you should submit your island to any sort of island reviews if parts of your island are direct copies of someone else's.

otherwise i don't really care, it's not like it's gaining you anything of worth. it's just a design game with no real life consequences.


----------



## icecreamcheese (Jul 16, 2020)

i think its healthy if u give the person credit,
thats the point about design - u take inspiration from others.
if u copy 1 to 1 its fine also if u give credit when asked.

But lets just say this is a video game and u cant really own any idea.. its not like u steal someones logo or something with copy right.
the person that had the original idea should feel Flattered.


----------



## UglyMonsterFace (Jul 16, 2020)

I hate stealing ideas tbh. So much so I even go out of my way to not do something I saw someone else do, even when I thought of it on my own  But it's just because I hate feeling like my ideas weren't special or unique. However if someone literally puts photos of their town online for the express purpose of inspiring others, then there is nothing actually wrong with people copying their ideas, since that is the whole purpose of some people even posting online. If someone does take a design/idea and then pretends it's their own, then that is the issue. But it's also hard to prove because many people can have the exact same idea, especially with the limited amount of furniture in the game.


----------



## rubyrubert (Jul 16, 2020)

I mean, with the limited number of things in the game, people are bound to be influenced by each other. Taking inspiration is inevitable and happens with all forms of creative design


----------



## pocky (Jul 16, 2020)

I try to be as original as I can with my island. But it's whatever if people take inspiration from others or not. It happens all the time with music, art, fashion, architecture, etc. It's how genres, styles, fads, art movements, etc. are created. 

I do think people are selling themselves short when they see a screenshot and try to re-create it 100% instead of putting some creativity into it themselves. But I don't think it's wrong or that it's "stealing."


----------



## Underneath The Stars (Jul 16, 2020)

Spear said:


> you see it, you like, you copy it, you tweak it.



you like my island? gee thanks just terraformed it


----------



## Barney (Jul 16, 2020)

It's hard to be 100% original when there are only so many items in the game and so many of them obviously lend themselves to a particular locale.

Most people will have a beach area with a hammocks / loungers / palm trees / BBQs / a lifeguard chair / surfboards...because that's what the game gives us to work with.

It's not 'stealing' or 'copying' to use the items the game gives you.

If people post images of particular scenes from their island an someone recreates that _exact_ layout, then I could see that being an issue, but even then I imagine most people see something they like and then create their own version of it that fits into their own island.

I saw an image from someone on here who'd created an area with each of the four train sets that they'd decorated with the little containers that look like trains and a custom railway pattern...it looked great!

I hadn't even realised we could get all four seasons yet, so set about collecting them and made my own area with them, omitting the other features as they didn't fit into the space I had or the the look I was going for.

I'm happy to say I took inspiration from someone else's design, but I don't see it as stealing or copying.


----------



## Pintuition (Jul 16, 2020)

I feel sometimes if people post pictures online of their beautiful islands online, I'm not sure why/how they could turn around and be mad that people create similar areas. Outright stealing designs/ideas might not be cool, but I've seen my fair share of things that have inspired me! Unfortunately the game gives us limited options to work with, it's very hard to be unique!

Personally, I love to share my island, the codes I use, and how I did certain things. As long as it helps someone else and they want to do something similar, I'm cool with it. I feel it's a very different thing than stealing art and stuff. It's almost like all being given the same coloring book page to start with and having all the resulting pictures be variants of the same. It's bound to happen!


----------



## Your Local Wild Child (Jul 16, 2020)

I have no problem with people taking inspiration from my layout: I let people tour sometimes and I have my patterns displayed in the gallery (you have to use the ID to view them all tho). I’m not fond of plagiarism in original content, but it’s not too much of a big deal in a video game (at least to me). Plus, my favorite part of my island is too disorganized to copy perfectly lol.


----------



## DeltaLoraine (Jul 16, 2020)

I don't see a problem with it as long as they say it wasn't their original idea when prompted by someone else. 
All of my island is original except for one spot. I have a little Brewster Cafe stand on my island because I miss him, and whenever someone praises it, I always say I got the QR codes/idea online. It'll be replaced when Brewster actually joins officially. But for now, it makes me happy to see it and I'm in love with the outdoor cafe extension I added myself.
But of course, to each their own!   This is really just a moral discussion, which is a grey area, so everyone's opinion is valid in their own sense.


----------



## satine (Jul 16, 2020)

I don't mind it. I'd take it as a compliment. It's not like it's the sort of thing that I will profit off of or something. Artists imitate each other, and that's sort of one of the most known and obvious facts of life. I don't see why gate-keeping a certain organization of pixels on a screen is a productive mentality to have. It's not going to be exactly the same. I hardly see anyone mimicking a town block by block. And if people are posting their pictures online to show off their design, I hardly think that they will care all too deeply if someone were to derive inspiration from the design they're clearly proud of. That doesn't make much sense.


----------



## axo (Jul 16, 2020)

I do take a lot of inspiration from stuff I see on twitter and instagram, but I'm not just copy-and-pasting stuff I see online onto my island. I'm literally taking inspiration and I don't really see a problem with that, I guess? Honestly, even if someone were to make a carbon copy of someone else's island from photos online I think that would be perfectly fine as long as they don't try to pass it off as their own work online. What people do with their island is their own business only, some people are very creative and have no problem making beautiful things from scratch, others (like myself) need some help, and that's ok too.


----------



## patchworkbunny (Jul 16, 2020)

Without seeing what the possibilities are within the game I probably wouldn't have bothered decorating much beyond getting to 5 stars. I don't see how any island can be unique considering we are all working with the same items. This isn't anyone's personal artwork, it's all assets owned by Nintendo (and custom designs shared for the actual reason of being used by others). I think all my areas are pretty common things that it's a bit harsh to say everyone who has done them is stealing (cafe, garden centre, beach area, bamboo garden, etc).


----------



## Believe (Jul 16, 2020)

I don't really care. I just take it as a compliment tbh. At the end of the day, it's a game with a (very) limited predefined set of furniture so there's going to always be a natural overlap in a lot of work.  Frankly, there are way more serious cases of art plagiarism and theft that should be getting the attention of your anger than this


----------



## DinoTown (Jul 16, 2020)

There is no such thing as an Original Thought. Everything takes inspiration from something else. Harry Potter includes monsters that already existed. Lord of the Rings is based on Tolkien's experience in the army. Heck, evolution is literally just taking what already was there and making it a little better over and over.

Now if you consider these concepts - of which are unique, interesting, well-loved (at least the franchises are... but the third point is an entirely different conversation) and how they can't escape the "stealing ideas" or inspiration... imagine how hard it is for AC players, who have the same rules for designing an island, and spend a lot of time on social media where they see other people's islands.

There's nothing wrong with taking an idea - even a perfect copy. It's a game, there's no real way to copyright or anything. It's a complete and total butt move to claim the idea is your original idea when it isn't, sure, but taking it and using it is fine. Just... don't claim it as your own idea if it's not.

And the credit thing only applies to exact copied ideas, by the way. If you see someone who made a cute rainbow plank pattern on their ocean dock and decide to do something similar, maybe you only want pink and blue planks instead of a whole rainbow, you are under absolutely no obligation to go around saying "I got the idea from x person on Twitter" because you didn't take their whole idea, you made it your own, which makes it _your _idea. Unless you literally use something they created and build upon it to make it your own (using their QR codes for example), inspiration is fine and you don't need to created a paper trail of everything you've ever looked at and thought was cool.


----------



## thegunpowderincident (Jul 16, 2020)

It doesn't really matter to me.. It's just decorating Animal Crossing islands. Not like someone's copying someone else's work and selling it for profit in any way.

Personally I don't seek out pictures of other people's islands, because I don't want to subconsciously copy it. But that's only because I want my island to be 100% 'mine', not because I think it's morally wrong.


----------



## Reginald Fairfield (Jul 16, 2020)

Didn't someone on twitter get super pissed when someone else used the ironwood set? There are limited furniture choices.


----------



## DinoTown (Jul 16, 2020)

Reginald Fairfield said:


> Didn't someone on twitter get super pissed when someone else used the ironwood set? There are limited furniture choices.


I would _love _to see this Twitter post. There's something so funny to me about people who just do not understand how things work and this is a prime example.


----------



## Your Local Wild Child (Jul 16, 2020)

DinoTown said:


> I would _love _to see this Twitter post. There's something so funny to me about people who just do not understand how things work and this is a prime example.


I don’t have it but yea, these Twitter posts getting unreasonably upset about AC are kinda funny. The “Raymond is my comfort character” post sticks out in my mind.


----------



## jazzygoat (Jul 16, 2020)

I don't think copying and plagiarism are the same; plagiarism is trying to pass off someone else's work as your own, whereas copying is more of a reverse engineering. I would venture to say that in the process of taking inspiration from other islands, the original design is not what matters; the thinking behind the design does. For example, I tend to get stuck in ruts when I'm trying to be creative with my island, overthinking some things and under-thinking others. Sometimes looking at inspiration helps in that it reminds me of all the different assets I can use design an area and make it my own.

At the end of the day, every artist copies the artists they admire, and that's a good start to the creative process - even better if you can see the essence of the design and transform it to make it your own. I think if you are worried about your designs being "stolen", you might not want to share them, and you should also question if the designs are truly original to you or if you too have been inspired by others.


----------



## cocoacat (Jul 16, 2020)

I don't go out my way to "steal" ideas and I try to come up with my own, but if I see something I like I may do it my own way. It's almost impossible to not be influenced by the things you see and experience.... and that goes for everything. 

I don't think it's bad. The only thing bad about it maybe is everyone doing the exact same thing, but if it's done in person's style, I don't see the harm. Often you see someone has an idea, someone else improves upon it, and someone else improves upon it even more or incorporates it into something else (like the forced perspective ideas.) The sharing of ideas is a good thing. Otherwise even using custom patterns is "stealing" and we'd all be limited by our own creativity. Building upon the creativity of others is okay. 

If you don't want your work copied, don't post it.


----------



## Bluebellie (Jul 16, 2020)

I don’t consider using pictures for inspiration especially not if you tweak it, a form of stealing. 
Everyone has different island map designs  no one has the same exact one, so it’s never an exact match. Also everyone has the same pool of items to choose from, so we are so very limited. If someone sees a nice playground area, and they want to incorporate the same idea, and they build a playground, I wouldn’t call that stealing.

That being said, there are other things I do consider stealing. I consider it stealing if someone specifically made the certain creation (for example a qr, pattern, etc) and someone says it was made by them (when it was not). Or when someone hacks someone else’s whole island design and doesn’t alter it at all and tries to play it off as theirs when it is not  (this is really bothersome since this happened to me...it was sad).


----------



## GEEBRASS (Jul 16, 2020)

Since this is preeeeetty much how all creativity works, I don't mind it at all (I've worked in a creative industry my entire adult life). Some people struggle a lot with their own creative expression. Maybe it's just hard for them, maybe they've never had the confidence, maybe they've never had a proper outlet to practice. Should they be negatively reinforced for creatively emulating something they admire or appreciate? Absolutely not. They should be encouraged to embrace that, to build upon it and try to find ways to make it their own. That attempt at creative expression should be fostered, not derided. All that said, it's also very important to give credit where credit is due.

This game is about building your own utopia. If you see something that fits into your vision for that, you should use it!


----------



## Loriii (Jul 16, 2020)

This is the reason why I'm never gonna be a fan of these ACNH fads such as Redd's Market, the castle, and forced-perspective to name a few. I mean, I admire and credit those people who initially thought about the ideas. They're great, but to copy the concept is just me pushing it to gain likes/recognition even if they don't really fit my island aesthetic. I'm not saying that this also applies to other people. They may have their own reason. Let people do what they wanna do. It's just not my style and it is just how I view it if I try to put these stuff and do it in my own island,. Oh, speaking of your own work. Have you ever been in a situation when you are proud of your work then you post it,  but felt like you did not get enough credit and see other people taking credit for something much more simpler in comparison? It makes you feel like your work isn't good enough or probably worse,  but then a few days/weeks later, you will see something from other's work that kind of look like they copied yours?  Not entirely copied, but like TC said "tweak it, put a different furniture, you tweak it (lol). But hey, you know your style,  right? It is only you or most likely the first person to notice it.  What's worse is these people are taking credit for that idea lol. It sucks, right?  How about seeing your friend joining the bandwagon while trying to criticize your work? Envy much? That's honestly childish and messed up. Anyway, what I want to say is that, if you admire someone's work and want to take inspiration from it then go ahead, let them know. I'm sure they will take that as a compliment and appreciate you being honest. Don't just sneak in and steal or rather, copy their work because you can't think of something. You're awesome and I'm sure your island looks amazing, so don't do it. And oh, one more thing. I'd probably feel jealous myself if it looks better than the original source, but well, I'm sorry I'm not impressed.


----------



## Crash (Jul 16, 2020)

to me, "stealing" and "taking inspiration" are two entirely different things. stealing would be an exact copy of someone else's island with either no changes or very slight ones, and that kinda sucks. taking inspiration would be using a similar idea, but tweaked to their own preferences, and i think that's totally fine.

i try to be as original and unique as i can in my island design, but that doesn't mean i'm not going to incorporate any cool ideas i might've seen somewhere else into my island as well.


----------



## AlyssaAC (Jul 16, 2020)

I always try my best to come up with my own ideas, and not copy anyone else. Sometimes it's more fun creating your own things rather than taking ideas off from others. I don't have too much creativity, but according to my mom, I do.


----------



## Hobowire (Jul 16, 2020)

i dont mind.  i mean if they can create a better setting then kudos.  If the idea stems from me then I'll look at it and state its a great idea and work to improve mine.   I like to grow with ppl.  just my take.


----------



## LilBabyDelirium (Jul 16, 2020)

The phrase is, "steal from the best _and make it your own_".

I've gotten some wonderful ideas from touring other people's islands, but a couple of things happened-- one, no one that I toured had the same theme as mine so most of what inspired me wouldn't fit with the aesthetic. If I really WANTED something like theirs, I was going to have to make it totally different; two, I did find ways to terraform that would fit better with areas of my map without copying anyone's ideas verbatim.

I guess I wonder what prompted this post? Did someone "steal" your idea? Were you yourself accused of "stealing"? Whatever it was,  I'm sorry. 

We have limited resources and access to items in this game so you're probably going to see repeating themes,  but I would only be bothered if someone straight up copied my work. That said,  how would I ever know? Unless they toured my island and then I went to theirs and saw it... I would probably be blissfully unaware.


----------



## xara (Jul 16, 2020)

i think getting inspiration from others is great as long as the design isn’t blatantly being copied. inspiration should not look like an exact replica of what inspired you - it should only give you ideas and a general design goal that you want to accomplish. i personally don’t seek inspiration from other people’s islands as i don’t like feeling as if i’ve stolen someone else’s idea. my island has a few areas that are on other people’s islands such as the carnival, fruit orchard and garden but i haven’t looked up any inspiration for those ideas - i just did what i thought would look nice as i wouldn’t want those areas to look like somebody else’s, y’know? ;;


----------



## Toasties (Jul 16, 2020)

It depends on the idea I think? There are lots of ideas that are pretty common that players are going to use, whether it is setting up a small market or cafe area. So it's hard to have an island 100% original because so many people will have the same ideas as you. As for taking inspiration I think it's completely fine? At the end of the day it is your island and you decide what you want to do with it. I prefer to wing it and just do my own thing, but I have seen designs and really like the aesthetic which I'll sometimes use. I think calling it stealing is a little harsh unless they are copying it down to every single detail, that isn't what taking inspiration is. Plus players that struggle to come up with their own ideas may need that inspiration to help with ideas of their own.

I think it is the same with new artists taking inspiration from other artists. Inspiration might be the reason they started to draw in the first place. I prefer to think taking inspiration as a starting point rather than copying someone unless you actually are.


----------



## Lavulin98 (Jul 16, 2020)

I did have some areas ideas being stolen by friends and it honestly irked me but I never told them. I think animal crossing its one of those games that if it makes you happy, just go ahead and copy. its your own island, your time you invest to copy it and whatever.

It did happen to me to visit a completely copied island tho. I am sure there is a popular horror island where there is a wheelchair and gate at the entrance. Well, I stumbled upon a discord island while trading that looked identical. And I was just getting giddy that I was trading with that original island lol. I asked the person if they had a horror island *hint hint* and they said nah, they just thought some youtube island was neat and copied it.


----------



## LilBabyDelirium (Jul 16, 2020)

I guess my fear is that someone will visit my island and say "oh that looks just like so-and-so's (insert spot here)" because I have done a lot to make it original. It's funny because I didn't know "cottagecore" or "fairycore" was a thing until pretty recently. I saw the words on the forum and then Googled it. I do see a lot of similarities between mine and those themes, but not because I'd researched beforehand. 

I don't think it's impossible to believe that someone could have already liked an aesthetic without having seen it online. I didn't need someone else to tell me that star frags look great as decoration when dropped on the ground... but I see it on other islands and I don't flatter myself that I could have been the only person to think of it. 

I love seeing all the ways people get creative with this game,  even if some of those themes are repeated. I've yet to see exact copies of anything myself, though.


----------



## Serabee (Jul 16, 2020)

I mean... imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. No one's making money or profiting from copying someone else's idea, they're just using it to enjoy their island more. 

So, I personally don't see any problem. While I've never copied something exactly from someone's island, I've taken inspiration- when I said I was having trouble figuring out what to do with my rocky beach parts, someone mentioned they put a telescope and some star-themed stuff on theirs, I decided to do that with one of mine. Now, I still decided exactly what items to use, and how to place them, but the idea itself wasn't mine. But, again, why does that matter? Even if some copied my island exactly, I'd just be flattered. I worked hard on my island and I'd LOVE for people to be inspired by it!

I mean, the whole game has a sense of community to it. I don't know why we would want to limit that sense of community by getting possessive over ideas. Unless someone's claiming credit for having the idea when they didn't, why does it matter?


----------



## AstralFirework (Jul 16, 2020)

If you wanted to keep your ideas your own, then in a game like this you kinda have to keep those ideas private. There's no other way you can keep a setup or a grouping of items uniquely your own. If you share them, they will likely disseminate across the internet.


----------



## mayortiffany (Jul 16, 2020)

It's totally fair. There are only so many ideas out there in the world, after all; so long as someone is not outright copying another person's town and taking credit for that design as their own.

It's also tough to say who 'owns' a particular concept or idea for very broad themes like cottage core or yards for villagers.

I agree that there aren't that many distinct furniture types in the game, so most styles are going to start looking very similar as a result - we only have so much to work with, after all. Of course cottagecore/island themed islands are going to be popular vs. regal/sci-fi/horror... because we don't really have the items to make those kinds of islands feasibly work.


----------



## cinch (Jul 16, 2020)

Literally noone except my boyfriend sees my island (and even he doesn't see it now that he's stopped playing), and i wouldn't charge anyone to come see my island (if people even do that). Why would it matter if i copied someone's island, or if they copied mine?  It might bug me if someone came to my island, copied everything exactly, then uploaded a video of it on Youtube, claimed it as their own idea, and was making revenue off of it, but that's the only situation that's iffy to me. Still kinda a grey area though (i need a shrug emoji)


----------



## Jhine7 (Jul 16, 2020)

I don't have a problem with it at all. They can do whatever they want in my opinion, they paid for the game just like everyone else. And in 99% of cases, you'll probably never see their islands in full anyway.


----------



## Hirisa (Jul 16, 2020)

Human beings literally learn through imitation at all stages of their lives and none of us here have probably done a truly original thing in our lives. As long as folks are explicitly giving credit to those they imitate, I don't see a problem, especially since it is the process of observing and emulating others that leads us to develop our own artistic voice. With effort, we don't only take inspiration, we offer it, as part of the creative cycle.


----------



## Pyoopi (Jul 16, 2020)

Well, no one can own an idea. You can't claim the idea as your own, not until it's tangible. Ideas can't be protected.

Then, you're creating this idea through terraforming, decorating, etc within a game. Technically you don't own anything. You own the game physically, but the digital property is owned by Nintendo. That goes for any custom designs made, your flag, paths, and clothing is not your property.

So Nintendo could see your island and be like, I'm going to copy it exactly and claim it as Isabelle's official island. Nintendo can start selling plushies of your flag and claim full credit. There's nothing you can do.

The feeling of annoyance is understandable. I'm not trying to take away those feelings. You feel protective over your brainstorming. I'm the same way where I have a hard time looking at it as flattery. I don't think it's stealing though, I'm just a greedy turd.


----------



## ThomasNLD (Jul 16, 2020)

I don't see any problem with it. It is the highest form of flattery even maybe. If it makes someone happier with how their town looks and makes you more enthusiastic for sinking more time in it to play, than thats a great thing.


----------



## loveclove (Jul 16, 2020)

Spear said:


> Your thoughts? Imo, its kinda like stealing to put it bluntly.


I'll disagree here. This is a game with extremely limited furniture options. So if they give everyone a bunch of playground items for example, everybody will think of doing those. Same thing with the Diner set and many others. So I would say it's hard to acuse people of stealing when the game pushes all of us in the same direction. How can you prove who started a trend?

That being said, that are things that can be copied, yes, but I believe like someone said above, that if the person posted the picture online to inspire others, there's not much to be done in that matter. Not everyone that plays the game is an extremely creative artist and is still allowed to have fun. The problem for me would only be presenting something like it's your idea when you know it's not


----------



## sleepydreepy (Jul 16, 2020)

I think that "taking inspiration" from others is completely natural. If you look at art history, you will see that basically humans have been building ideas off each other for a long time, and this is how different art styles have evolved over the years. It is impossible to have a 100% "original" idea, because we as humans absorb information around us consciously or subconsciously and use this information to express ourselves. It's just how the brain works, and you can see an example of this in childhood when children are highly impressionable during the first few years of their life. 

However I understand that stealing or copying ideas is hurtful to some people, but I feel like unfortunately its kind of unavoidable.  Especially since there isn't a lot of furniture variety in this game, things start to look the same.


----------



## Lurrdoc (Jul 16, 2020)

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I stick to that and believe it through and through.


----------



## michealsmells (Jul 16, 2020)

Its difficult to be 100% original with literally anything. Sometimes people get stuck and need ideas. Taking inspiration from things is important. "Copying" things, only to tweak them for yourself is part of human nature.

In art, for example: art styles are rarely ever purely original. Artists look at another's work and get inspired. They take bits and bobs from that artist; I like the way they do lineart, oh they colors they use are exquisite, they convey motion really well, etcetera. They do this with a few artists, whether consciously or not, and then finally create their own art style.
This art style will have things that remind them or others of other artists. But it will still be theirs. They still will do something that they arent doing, and that new thing is special and should be appreciated. I ALMOST FORGOT I was gonna say something abt how this is how art movements happened yadda yadda, got distracted. But ye.

As long as its not a 100% copy of the same exact ideas, and there's clear effort to make it your own thing, there isn't an issue with it.

On my island, fo' example, I just made a sort of forest-like, magical area for Judy's new house. I wouldve probably never, ever tried something like that if I didnt see others do similar. I'm much more of a "field of flowers" kinda player, if that makes sense. And hey! What I built looks beautiful and I'm genuinely proud of it!!


----------



## AmyK (Jul 16, 2020)

You cannot “not copy” in a game that only offers you so many different options for everything, plain and simple.

Everything else was already said. I’m not gonna... Copy that.


----------



## Etown20 (Jul 16, 2020)

With creator codes being shareable, I think part of the spirit of the game is making something and allowing the community to use it.

If a person copies someone else's exact design and presents it as their own, then that would be problematic. If the person copying is not profiting or claiming ownership, I don't personally have an issue with it in this scenario.


----------



## buny (Jul 16, 2020)

i personally don't care that much about it, if people want to copy what i've done on my island then that's fine? i mean, what part of it really is "original creation" when there's only a few items for each style and you just...place them in one way or another? It's not really our creations, it's Nintendo's designs.  If someone copies something *exactly* then yeah they should probably not claim it as their own idea, but for taking inspiration..? i think people are being ridiculous with claiming ""aesthetics"" and stuff. Maybe i've just seen too much drama on twitter about it 

but Animal Crossing is a video game, not the art industry, and at the end of the day everyone should play in whatever way makes them happy. I personally find joy in doing things my way, but if little Katie or little James want to copy something they thought was cute, then let little Katie and little James do what makes them happy, it's a game  i think getting upset about this is kind of silly to me


----------



## sleepydreepy (Jul 16, 2020)

Loriii said:


> Oh, speaking of your own work. Have you ever been in a situation when you are proud of your work then you post it,  but felt like you did not get enough credit and see other people taking credit for something much more simpler in comparison? It makes you feel like your work isn't good enough or probably worse


I encourage you have more confidence in yourself and your creations. Social media has caused people to have this need to feel validated via likes and reblogs and if you don't get that validation, you automatically assume there must be something wrong with you/people don't like you, when this is rarely the case. 
I would also encourage others to create your island for yourself to enjoy first, and not to become "famous" online, because you will get addicted to pleasing other people and never feel satisfied with your own self. Who cares if no one else "likes" your island??? If you like it that is all that matters, because ultimately its _your_ island that _you_ play in everyday on your own game that you paid money for.


----------



## Loriii (Jul 16, 2020)

sleepydreepy said:


> I encourage you have more confidence in yourself and your creations. Social media has caused people to have this need to feel validated via likes and reblogs and if you don't get that validation, you automatically assume there must be something wrong with you/people don't like you, when this is rarely the case.
> I would also encourage others to create your island for yourself to enjoy first, and not to become "famous" online, because you will get addicted to pleasing other people and never feel satisfied with your own self. Who cares if no one else "likes" your island??? If you like it that is all that matters, because ultimately its _your_ island that _you_ play in everyday on your own game that you paid money for.


Nah. I'm confident of my work and I don't need reassurance of others. I also have the backing/support of my girlfriend and my daughter who both plays ACNH and they are the ones who always criticize me so I could improve what I need to improve. I posted it to share not to be popular. It's just so happen that I could probably make stuff faster than others then post it continually or I'm just proud of them, I guess. I don't think you get it. I'm not saying that every creation I posted were original in nature, like literally, okay I made a cafe. No one will think of making a cafe. Of course not, everyone will think of making a cafe in their island. What I wanted to say is the style how you make it and how you put and arrange the furniture in a such a way that makes the thing unique. I'm talking specifically about rooms. I don't want to mention names but for example, several days ago, I posted this laundry room using the Misty garden wall as wallpaper and Flowing-river as flooring and put stuff/clothes on walls..Then later on,  I see someone posting a bathroom with the same combination of wallpaper and flooring then a clothing hanging on the wall. Also, the wall items they have used gives a feel that you see in my under the water bedroom? The poster said it took a while for her to design that. How about saying they must have come across one of my rooms in the other thread. The use of wallpaper and flooring gave that away (they're not a set). That's too much of a coincidence. I've never seen like that having the exact same combination as mine plus I have seen a lot of posts of different rooms created by people and one thing I have noticed is that they aren't that fond of putting stuff on walls so why this particular person did that, apart from the similarities I said earlier?

It's actually not just one person. I saw one earlier that really looks like one of my rooms but I felt like the person has been trying to give me credit so I should probably not mind that.  The funny thing is, it seems like most people does not want me posting or showing off/sharing my rooms but then I see a few trying to imitate it lol how ironic. At this point,  I don't care what people will think of me. I came here to share my creations as well as share my knowledge about how to get this stuff, villager, etc. but seems like I'm either getting hated or doubted for it. Again, I don't need reassurance. Just saying that if you want to copy the placement and stuff in my rooms, how about letting me know?  I would take that as a big compliment.


----------



## tajikey (Jul 16, 2020)

Imitation is the highest form of flattery.


----------



## Ananas Dragon (Jul 16, 2020)

Nobody owns  ideas in a virtual game?


----------



## paleogamer11 (Jul 16, 2020)

When it comes to taking inspiration, as long as the person doesn’t copy the original, then it is not considered stealing. I came up with the idea of having my island be a maze with different stops for the significant things on it. I saw a video in which a person visited an island that was basically a puzzle before getting to the main part of it, and that’s where I got my idea from. But instead of making it entirely that, I decided to make my land a big maze that would lead to the plaza as the finish line.


----------



## DellaIthilien (Jul 16, 2020)

My creative ability is very low. I created dirt paths and lined them with flowers and thought I had the coolest island in the world. Then, I saw other islands and kind of had a moment of silence for how bad my island actually is. I like to look at other people's gorgeous islands and take some inspiration from them, like I moved my museum onto a raised hill with an incline, and then I saw someone who put two fossils and fountain in front of it, so I'm working on moving it to the back of my island where there's more room and doing something similar, because I would _never _have thought of something so cool on my own


----------



## sleepydreepy (Jul 16, 2020)

Loriii said:


> snip


Ah ok. I suppose in regards to your post original post, I must have misinterpreted what I was reading.

Regarding your example of wallpaper/flooring combo- I stand by what I said in a separate post that "copying" furniture/layouts is unavoidable due to the game's limiting supply of items. Additionally I actually don't think those people you mentioned were copying you specifically, because I have often seen that combination used in people's houses for the past couple months.  Specifically I've seen it used many times on a Japanese ACNH channel (here is a link to their channel - link ). I am not Japanese nor do I speak Japanese so I don't know what they say when they walk into a room with that wall/floor combo (I don't know if they credit someone else), but either way, I don't think that combo is uniquely yours, and it is in fact quite popular online.  This supports the fact that the game is very limited due to a small variety of decor items.

I can't speak about your personal furniture combinations because I don't know what they are, and I am sorry that some people may have directly and intensionally copied you, but like I said, unfortunately I think this is something that cannot be controlled.

edit: Also I am sorry people have been hating on your posts. I think those people are the ones with problems, not you, and I would say keep posting because I'm sure many other people appreciate your content!


----------



## satine (Jul 16, 2020)

Loriii said:


> Nah. I'm confident of my work and I don't need reassurance of others. I also have the backing/support of my girlfriend and my daughter who both plays ACNH and they are the ones who always criticize me so I could improve what I need to improve. I posted it to share not to be popular. It's just so happen that I could probably make stuff faster than others then post it continually or I'm just proud of them, I guess. I don't think you get it. I'm not saying that every creation I posted were original in nature, like literally, okay I made a cafe. No one will think of making a cafe. Of course not, everyone will think of making a cafe in their island. What I wanted to say is the style how you make it and how you put and arrange the furniture in a such a way that makes the thing unique. I'm talking specifically about rooms. I don't want to mention names but for example, several days ago, I posted this laundry room using the Misty garden wall as wallpaper and Flowing-river as flooring and put stuff/clothes on walls..Then later on,  I see someone posting a bathroom with the same combination of wallpaper and flooring then a clothing hanging on the wall. Also, the wall items they have used gives a feel that you see in my under the water bedroom? The poster said it took a while for her to design that. How about saying they must have come across one of my rooms in the other thread. The use of wallpaper and flooring gave that away (they're not a set). That's too much of a coincidence. I've never seen like that having the exact same combination as mine plus I have seen a lot of posts of different rooms created by people and one thing I have noticed is that they aren't that fond of putting stuff on walls so why this particular person did that, apart from the similarities I said earlier?
> 
> It's actually not just one person. I saw one earlier that really looks like one of my rooms but I felt like the person has been trying to give me credit so I should probably not mind that.  The funny thing is, it seems like most people does not want me posting or showing off/sharing my rooms but then I see a few trying to imitate it lol how ironic. At this point,  I don't care what people will think of me. I came here to share my creations as well as share my knowledge about how to get this stuff, villager, etc. but seems like I'm either getting hated or doubted for it. Again, I don't need reassurance. Just saying that if you want to copy the placement and stuff in my rooms, how about letting me know?  I would take that as a big compliment.



I'm sorry that this happened. That would be very unpleasant, assuming that they did mimic you and then claim to have not taken inspiration. I wonder if she just meant it took her forever to gather the materials / etc for that room by saying that, and not necessarily that it was entirely her concept? 

I'm curious why you think that people don't want you posting or showing off your rooms? Do they say things like that to you or something? Or how you're getting hated on/doubted on? It'd be so strange for people on this forum to behave that way as they're usually quite sweet here. So I'm just really curious.


----------



## wanderlust// (Jul 16, 2020)

I don’t care much about people doing exact copies. As long as they’re not saying “yep, I made this alllll by myself” then I don’t really see an issue? I took inspiration from someone on Reddit to make my entrance (just the terraforming) but all the decor was from my head. I personally don’t post any pictures from anywhere on my island, and the only time another person sees my island is when I’m doing a trade. I think even if I were to outright copy something it wouldn’t be a big deal. I’m not profiting off of it nor am I gaining any sort of clout for having something pretty on my island. Pretty much everything on my island has been influenced by something I found on the internet (I have a really hard time planning things and making my ideas into reality). The parts of my island that have been the most heavily referenced is my outdoor library and my greenhouse. (I’m going to be completely scrapping my library and trying to make it completely my own.) So basically the only thing I’ve “copied” the most was my greenhouse. (I think I’ve kept 90% of what I saw in the picture. Items and a bit of custom design pathing. Other than that I’ve changed the flowers and placing of a lot of things. Whenever anyone asks me about it I say something like “lol thanks but I didn’t make it myself” and send them a link to the og post/creator.) If someone were to copy something from my island I wouldn’t mind, even if they made money from it or gained internet fame. I think animal crossing is a game where everyone is inspired by others. Nothing wrong with that.


----------



## meela (Jul 16, 2020)

I think it's a difficult situation. I think getting inspiration from other people is not a bad idea, and it's actually a good thing. If something I made inspires other people then I would be happy to hear that. But I think if you copy the entire room, or island area, or whatever, space for space, item for item, exactly 100% it's understandable for the "original" creator to be upset. 

At the end of the day it's a video game. I don't take it super seriously, and if people copy my exact designs then whatever, it's really not a big deal to me. I'm happy to share my designs and see others compliment it, and see them talk about how they like it and are inspired by it.


----------



## supernerd (Jul 16, 2020)

Mark Twain once said, " *There* is *no* such thing as a *new idea*. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old *ideas* and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make *new* and curious combinations."


----------



## Mo Notony (Jul 16, 2020)

So? Taking ideas from someone else is fine. Not like they're going to know anyway. Some people need inspiration from others.


----------



## naranjita (Jul 16, 2020)

I don't even mind people copying an entire layout, tbh, as long as they don't try to pretend that they came up with it for clout or anything. I just don't see any harm in it. I don't think anything in my island is good enough to copy, but if anyone did I think I'd feel flattered and happy that I helped someone with an area of their island that they were maybe struggling with. 

I do think coming up with your own ideas, even if it's just small tweaks to a preexisting layout, is a lot of fun, and I'd encourage everyone to try it, even if you think you'll be bad at it. I've honestly surprised myself with some of the stuff I've come up with!


----------



## LuchaSloth (Jul 16, 2020)

I mean...I see it both ways.

Inspiration (not only in Animal Crossing...but, in general life) is simply unavoidable. Even on a subconscious level...you will always be influenced by the things around you. When it comes to Animal Crossing...I also think there is a very clear line between "inspired" and "stolen". If you take key ideas and do them in your own way...that's great. That's just genuinely nice to see. People brainstorming and taking the best bits of things to make a new thing. That's awesome. But, there is also "copying something exactly". Which...I don't really see as a problem. It doesn't affect me on a personal level. I don't mind if people want to copy the exact layout of someone else's town. It's not something that I would want to do...but, I'm not going to get angry at them for it. It's perfectly within their rights to do that...especially if they asked the original creator and got the blessing to do so.

All that said, I think it only becomes an obvious problem if people copy an idea and then claim it was their own idea.


----------



## nintendoanna (Jul 16, 2020)

my opinion is: anybody can do whatever they want (as long as they don’t claim it’s their idea, when it clearly isn’t). i don’t see it as stealing or copying, rather taking inspo. if i didn’t have inspo to look at i would be so stuck as to what to do on my island


----------



## Imbri (Jul 16, 2020)

I've been thinking about this, seeing all the comments, and I was reminded of the numerous decorating shows, magazines, and showrooms that are so popular. People recreate those looks in their houses that they actually live in, not a video game.

Give credit and move on.


----------



## Loriii (Jul 16, 2020)

sleepydreepy said:


> Ah ok. I suppose in regards to your post original post, I must have misinterpreted what I was reading.
> 
> Regarding your example of wallpaper/flooring combo- I stand by what I said in a separate post that "copying" furniture/layouts is unavoidable due to the game's limiting supply of items. Additionally I actually don't think those people you mentioned were copying you specifically, because I have often seen that combination used in people's houses for the past couple months.  Specifically I've seen it used many times on a Japanese ACNH channel (here is a link to their channel - link ). I am not Japanese nor do I speak Japanese so I don't know what they say when they walk into a room with that wall/floor combo (I don't know if they credit someone else), but either way, I don't think that combo is uniquely yours, and it is in fact quite popular online.  This supports the fact that the game is very limited due to a small variety of decor items.
> 
> I can't speak about your personal furniture combinations because I don't know what they are, and I am sorry that some people may have directly and intensionally copied you, but like I said, unfortunately I think this is something that cannot be controlled.






sleepydreepy said:


> Ah ok. I suppose in regards to your post original post, I must have misinterpreted what I was reading.
> 
> Regarding your example of wallpaper/flooring combo- I stand by what I said in a separate post that "copying" furniture/layouts is unavoidable due to the game's limiting supply of items. Additionally I actually don't think those people you mentioned were copying you specifically, because I have often seen that combination used in people's houses for the past couple months.  Specifically I've seen it used many times on a Japanese ACNH channel (here is a link to their channel - link ). I am not Japanese nor do I speak Japanese so I don't know what they say when they walk into a room with that wall/floor combo (I don't know if they credit someone else), but either way, I don't think that combo is uniquely yours, and it is in fact quite popular online.  This supports the fact that the game is very limited due to a small variety of decor items.
> 
> ...


It's easy to say that you or every person have seen that thing used in the other rooms, more so the Japanese-created ones,  but the link you posted used a Misty garden wall and Daisy Meadow as theme for their garden, I mean garden. It's easy to think of that and it's not the combination I posted above and obviously not my style. It was a Flowing-river floor. I used it on an unusual theme and the one who took inspiration from it used in an unusual way as well so they must have taken notes from it. It's the first time I saw the video. I don't look at videos to take inspiration or anything but nevertheless, even if someone would visit my island, specifically the rooms now, I can confidently say that they look different, the furniture placement, how detailed they are, from the ones you see. Like it or not. I'm not trying to sound boastful here and I'm usually not, but okay. As I said,  like them or not, it is not a copy of someone else.

I've also seen one here that almost looks exactly like one of my rooms but I feel like I don't need to mention names at this point.



satine said:


> I'm sorry that this happened. That would be very unpleasant, assuming that they did mimic you and then claim to have not taken inspiration. I wonder if she just meant it took her forever to gather the materials / etc for that room by saying that, and not necessarily that it was entirely her concept?
> 
> I'm curious why you think that people don't want you posting or showing off your rooms? Do they say things like that to you or something? Or how you're getting hated on/doubted on? It'd be so strange for people on this forum to behave that way as they're usually quite sweet here. So I'm just really curious.



Thank you. I'm sorry but it's probably hard to believe that they thought of it initially based from the overall aura of their room. Comparing the video from the link sleepydreely have posted, I would say the "garden" does not look like anything I've posted. I'm not going to assume someone took inspiration from my work just because they used the Misty Garden wall. I don't own that wall and the Japanese from the video used it differently in combination with different flooring.

I might have been annoying them posting my rooms. I'm not sure but every time I post,  it gets ignored then the topic gets derailed a lot of times. Not entirely though, since I appreciate the those sweet people who makes me feel that they appreciate them. It's really hard to explain why, but maybe they don't like my personality. I mean,  I'm trying to be nice here, just sharing and replying to posts but you feel that something's not right, but that's okay. That is not entirely my issue. I'm not trying to be loved.


----------



## Cosmic-chan (Jul 16, 2020)

Isn't acnh all about being inspired by others and share creative ideas? I'm confused by this post.


----------



## sleepydreepy (Jul 16, 2020)

Loriii said:


> It's easy to say that you or every person have seen that thing used in the other rooms, more so the Japanese-created ones,  but the link you posted used a Misty garden wall and Daisy Meadow as theme for their garden, I mean garden. It's easy to think of that and it's not the combination I posted above and obviously not my style. It was a Flowing-river floor. I used it on an unusual theme and the one who took inspiration from it used in an unusual way as well so they must have taken notes from it. It's the first time I saw the video. I don't look at videos to take inspiration or anything but nevertheless, even if someone would visit my island, specifically the rooms now, I can confidently say that they look different, the furniture placement, how detailed they are, from the ones you see. Like it or not. I'm not trying to sound boastful here and I'm usually not, but okay. As I said,  like them or not, it is not a copy of someone else.
> 
> I've also seen one here that almost looks exactly like one of my rooms but I feel like I don't need to mention names at this point.


Oh sorry, I meant to link the channel, not a specific video! I have seen it in a few of their videos like I said, and wasn't talking about that one in particular. Sorry for the confusion. And yes, I specifically mean I have seen the flowing river + misty garden wall together many times from different sources (YouTube, Tumblr, this website).

No worries about sounding boastful, I understand where you are coming from!


----------



## HuggableHusky (Jul 16, 2020)

Nothing is original and this concept is why the art community is such a toxic place. I'm sorry but your adorable cat cafe concept has been done before, your creative outdoor museum has in fact been done before, and you aren't the first person to create a suburban area for your villagers homes. I definitely think its toxic to assume you're the most original person in the world and that inspiration is a bad thing, because at the end of the day you probably did something similar to someone else without realizing it. 

With that out of the way though, I'm not saying blatantly copying an exact layout and claiming it as your own is not stealing. That'd be like tracing something and posting it as your own work of art. Stealing is definitely bad, this alone I agree with.

But if you're trying to tell me if someone sees a cute idea and take inspiration and make something similar in their own style... then again, you are perpetuating an awful mindset that plagues creative places. NOTHING is original, its how you stylize it that makes it unique to you.


----------



## sleepydreepy (Jul 16, 2020)

sleepydreepy said:


> Oh sorry, I meant to link the channel, not a specific video! I have seen it in a few of their videos like I said, and wasn't talking about that one in particular. Sorry for the confusion. And yes, I specifically mean I have seen the flowing river + misty garden wall together many times from different sources (YouTube, Tumblr, this website).
> 
> No worries about sounding boastful, I understand where you are coming from!





Loriii said:


> snip


@Loriii  found a screen shot I took on my phone from June 29th.  had to resize the image because the original was too large. sorry I don't have the link to this video!


Spoiler: picture


----------



## Loriii (Jul 16, 2020)

sleepydreepy said:


> Oh sorry, I meant to link the channel, not a specific video! I have seen it in a few of their videos like I said, and wasn't talking about that one in particular. Sorry for the confusion. And yes, I specifically mean I have seen the flowing river + misty garden wall together many times from different sources (YouTube, Tumblr, this website).
> 
> No worries about sounding boastful, I understand where you are coming from!


Oh, I wish I've seen or been looking at them to compare if we both have similar styles.That's be great. This particular room I've mentioned have the same aura and like I said before, it's not just wall/floor but how they conveniently placed the furniture and stuff on walls made it into a different room. I'm not trying to convince you though. Thank you!

I wanted to link the posts and probably mention the poster to get my point across but that's be awkward and probably against the rules so I would rather not.

Well, based from the picture,  they used both the same floor and wallpaper but it looks different from my room or any rooms that I've decorated.  They don't have anything on walls apart from the starry garland and the placement of items especially the terrariums (a bit too much) and hyacinth lamps are sloppy, at least in my opinion. Also, it feels like they just put the zodiac furniture in random places. Again, just my opinion.


----------



## batter.butter.bitter (Jul 16, 2020)

Taking Inspiration is not a bad idea as long as you give credits to the owner.

I've seen a lot of works here and kinda suprised that others claiming it as if they are the ones originally created or designed it. Why did i say so? because I know someone here who originally has a unique and creative work and resourceful enough to pull it off.

I feel bad for those people who really make a lot of efforts and thinking so hard to create a Unique work but has not been appreciated and not given a credit. Its like can't you see? Its way better than those other works! Am I blind?! Can you guys show me what you see that i can't see?

I don't believe that its just a coincidence, where in a game that you'll find the same or kinda same design that you did. If you guys don't like it then don't copy it. It's time for you guys to do the thinking and work hard for your own design. It's like haters gonna hate! And be non-chalant about it.

I know you guys can do much more awesome work its time to appreciate and give each others credit.. Just Love not Hate


----------



## meela (Jul 16, 2020)

Loriii said:


> Oh, I wish I've seen or been looking at them to compare if we both have similar styles.That's be great. This particular room I've mentioned have the same aura and like I said before, it's not just wall/floor but how they conveniently placed the furniture and stuff on walls made it into a different room. I'm not trying to convince you though. Thank you!
> 
> I wanted to link the posts and probably mention the poster to get my point across but that's be awkward and probably against the rules so I would rather not.
> 
> Well, based from the picture,  they used both the same floor and wallpaper but it looks different from my room or any rooms that I've decorated.  They don't have anything on walls apart from the starry garland and the placement of items especially the terrariums (a bit too much) and *hyacinth lamps are sloppy, at least in my opinion. Also, it feels like they just put the zodiac furniture in random places. Again, just my opinion*.



i get your upset about someone else stealing your work but i don't think this is really necessary? its mean to say.


----------



## Chris (Jul 16, 2020)

Loriii said:


> I wanted to link the posts and probably mention the poster to get my point across but that's be awkward and probably against the rules so I would rather not.



You're right that calling someone out like that is something we would not condone. 

It's better to take these things as a compliment rather than to fixate on them. Someone liked your idea so much they wanted something like it in their own game, that's great! They aren't obligated to say where their inspiration came from.


----------



## Loriii (Jul 16, 2020)

chanelbear said:


> i get your upset about someone else stealing your work but i don't think this is really necessary? its mean to say.


I also feel like it isn't necessary to make me feel like my work isn't original or looks like it was probably inspired or "copied" from someone else, in a sense on how I've decorated the rooms, not literally just because we have the same wallpaper/floor. I haven't even seen this screenshot before. Okay, I would say it is nice but obviously is not my style.


----------



## The Pennifer (Jul 16, 2020)

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery


----------



## Loriii (Jul 16, 2020)

Vrisnem said:


> You're right that calling someone out like that is something we would not condone.
> 
> It's better to take these things as a compliment rather than to fixate on them. Someone liked your idea so much they wanted something like it in their own game, that's great! They aren't obligated to say where their inspiration came from.


I would take them as a compliment if I'm getting credited, more so by these people. They aren't obligated, yes, but they probably should learn the word courtesy or respect before taking credit on someone else work as if they didn't take inspiration from it.


----------



## Barney (Jul 16, 2020)

This thread is really opening my eyes to how needy and emotionally immature some of the community for this game are.


----------



## meela (Jul 16, 2020)

Loriii said:


> I also feel like it isn't necessary to make me feel like my work isn't original or looks like it was probably inspired or "copied" from someone else, in a sense on how I've decorated the rooms, not literally just because we have the same wallpaper/floor. I haven't even seen this screenshot before. Okay, I would say it is nice but obviously is not my style.



YOU started this thread, you asked for people's opinions. Some people agreed with you, some didn't. That's just how asking a question works, not everyone will agree. Honestly you have just been vaguebooking about this person the whole thread, passive aggressive the entire time. It's just a video game. Literally just pixels put in certain positions that are upsetting you so much.


----------



## Loriii (Jul 16, 2020)

chanelbear said:


> YOU started this thread, you asked for people's opinions. Some people agreed with you, some didn't. That's just how asking a question works, not everyone will agree. Honestly you have just been vaguebooking about this person the whole thread, passive aggressive the entire time. It's just a video game. Literally just pixels put in certain positions that are upsetting you so much.


I'm not the topic creator and someone or some people just quoted my post so I would react. It's against the rules to mention the name or link the posts. They are actually multiple posts. If you want to know, feel free to go to my island. It was upsetting because people are trying to gang up on me. I posted something that's it. I would not react if it wasn't quoted.


----------



## sleepydreepy (Jul 16, 2020)

Loriii said:


> I also feel like it isn't necessary to make me feel like my work isn't original or looks like it was probably inspired or "copied" from someone else, in a sense on how I've decorated the rooms, not literally just because we have the same wallpaper/floor. I haven't even seen this screenshot before. Okay, I would say it is nice but obviously is not my style.


I didn't mean you to take my comment in that way (saying _you_ were the one that copied their style)- just to clarify to you/others! I am simply restating my personal opinion that since the game has limiting items, a lot of people probably "come up" with the same _general_ ideas or combinations (such as wall/floor, not talking about coping full on rooms!)


----------



## batter.butter.bitter (Jul 16, 2020)

This thread make me realize how insensitive, disrespectful and jealous people can be... Trying to bring down one's work. And you are saying that people here are nice and considerate?!  People look up to this forum and you'll see these negative comments. 
Just Love not Hate.. Just saying..


----------



## Chris (Jul 16, 2020)

This conversation is likely only going to go downhill from this point, so I'll close this here. 

I'd encourage people to consider that if you see a nod toward your layouts in someone else's designs then to take it as a compliment. Knowing in your mind that you might have influenced them should be satisfaction enough.


----------

