What's your moral stance on copying someone's work?

[Croconaw]

I haven't played with this girl in a while and my island is completely all different now but yeah still annoying. He copied your gamer tag? by changing it with similar symbols? That would annoy me so much haha omg

Yep, basically. I was young and oblivious back then, but he admitted it was a child crush on me (we were like 10 and 11 respectively). Even so it was annoying.

 

[azurill]

Yea as others have said it is fine as long as credit is given. I have such a hard time figuring out my island it would be even harder without looking at others for inspiration. I have even been looking at mystery island layouts to try and find inspiration.

 

[VanitasFan26]

Oh boy this is a touchy subject Okay well I'll give my thoughts on it. The game has a feature at Able Sisters that prevents you from using other people's designs. It makes it to where it has to be YOUR design and it was made be ONLY you. Also they prevent you from changing someone's design and not trying to pass it off as your own. This is a thing that some people don't seem to notice but I did.

Also I noticed some people on YouTube do show off their island but they do sometimes fail to mention the custom designs they used on their island not give any links or credit to the original designer who made that the design. I know its not all but still its been a trend I've been seeing that has gone unnoticed.

Finally I think people need to stop telling others how to use custom designs. Its perfectly valid if people are not good at making custom designs which is one of the reasons why they use the Kiosk to look for custom designs that was the whole purpose. If someone were to come to my island and tell me "OMG I can't believe you stole this design" I would tell them "I just downloaded from the Kiosk and I can tell you the original designers ID code so you can get it".

I am not sure if this is happening because new people are joining but they need to understand everyone has the right to use other people's custom designs because just like copyright its "Fair Use". Yes you do have to credit the original designer if you're going to make a video or post sharing island.

 

[Croconaw]

-snip-

Patterns are a whole other thing. If you don’t want people to use your custom designs, don’t put them in the design portal. You’re literally asking people to use your designs. I’ve never witnessed someone getting mad about their custom designs being used, but honestly nothing surprises me at this point.

 

[VanitasFan26]

Patterns are a whole other thing. If you don’t want people to use your custom designs, don’t put them in the design portal. You’re literally asking people to use your designs. I’ve never witnessed someone getting mad about their custom designs being used, but honestly nothing surprises me at this point.

Well apparently someone made a post on the Animal Crossing Subreddit [Opinion] Custom designs talking about a similar topic like this a few weeks ago.

 

[Croconaw]

-snip-

Things seem kind of hectic over there, and I tend to stay away from Reddit, so I wasn’t aware of that particular topic. My opinion on custom designs is if you put your designs in the portal, it’s fair game. As long as you’re not going around telling people you made said designs, I don’t see a problem with it.

 

[VanitasFan26]

Things seem kind of hectic over there, and I tend to stay away from Reddit, so I wasn’t aware of that particular topic. My opinion on custom designs is if you put your designs in the portal, it’s fair game. As long as you’re not going around telling people you made said designs, I don’t see a problem with it.

I agree! I am not sure why people are getting so upset over this but I think its fair to credit people when you use their custom design on your island. Like I mentioned before the Kiosk is the whole reason why people use other custom designs and its okay to showcase them as long as you credit the original designer.

 

[peachycrossing9]

I only have a problem with it if someone directly copies another person's build on their island then posts it on social media claiming it as their own.

Credit should be given where credit is due. Even if it's for a game like Animal Crossing.

I don't copy something I see online exactly. I just take inspo from it. I do have a public DA, but nothing on that island has been directly copied from someone else. All just inspiration.

 

[Croconaw]

-snip-

Things can get heated pretty quickly regardless of the topic, it seems. If someone asks where you got the design from, just send them to the portal or wherever you got it from. No need for heated discussions, lmao. This is a game.

 

[Rosch]

For me, it depends on the circumstance and intent.

Copying with intent to imitate or get inspiration is fine with me. But to outright copy it (and/or alter it in any form to make it look different) AND then claim it as yours is a different thing.

Copying with intent to make profit and/or taking credit for something that isn't yours (usually for clout/popularity) is a big no for me. I already consider it theft and infringement.

 

[Violet Witch]

I'm okay with copying out of inspiration which I've done myself plenty of times, for example I saw someone's peninsular using some of the new 2.0 items and thought it was so gorgeous I wanted something similar on my own island. They had gone for a very natural/botanical vibe using lots of items in darker coloured items whereas I've gone for lighter coloured items but used custom patterns that are more akin to witchy/celestial themes. I'd never copy something from someone else's island square by square across my entire island as I'd just end up feeling guilty whether I was showing my island off publicly online or not.

However the flip side to this issue is I don't like it when I see ACNH 'influencers' come across like they're designs are the best of the best and all the other fans need their inspiring designs in order to keep the ACNH community alive. Believe me some of the comments those social media influencers put out there when it comes to designing and accusing others of copying is really immature. I've even seen some call out smaller accounts for not crediting them, post private information about them and some have even gone as far as alleging that Nintendo ripped off their simple panel design codes now that we have the new 2.0 Castle set.

 

[FlimsyAxe]

what if the copier doesn't post their DA or share pictures of their island online, so it's only theirs to enjoy

With this particular bit, I would say I'm "okay" with it if it was done to me. Since that person would only use it for their own enjoyment, they're not intentionally taking credit for my design. I find that there's no harm in it. I wouldnt even know about it in the first place because they dont share the DA to anyone.

 

[JellyBeans]

like a lot of other people have said, I don't truly see a problem with it unless you're going around posting it to social media claiming it's 100% something you came up with and executed of your own creativity and free will. there's such a huge online community for ac with people sharing things they've designed that inevitably at some point you'll at least get inspiration from them, whether consciously or not. personally i don't think i've ever copied anything item for item, but i have definitely been *heavily* inspired by things, and only changed a few items or the placement of things

 

[Radiant Dreamer]

Regarding custom designs... I google simple pixel art, copy it completely, and then start tweaking it to make it my own. It's something i've always done, since i'm no artist, i can't draw for crap.

Island design... I shared a picture on the discord of my old town center (not the RS plaza), and someone jokingly said they were gonna steal it, and honestly? i was flattered. I don't mind someone copying my designs, as we're all working with the same items. I do get inspiration from others' designs, but it's my personal preference to put my own flair on a design.

 

[your local goomy]

I honestly don't care. It's Animal Crossing, do what you want. It's a mild annoyance, but it's not really hurting anyone. If it was someone's work that they actively profit off of (like clothing, artwork, etc), I'd care a little more, but like I said, it's Animal Crossing. It's a Nintendo game. I don't copy other people's work because I don't care about what other people do, but I'm not against it.

 

[Kalle]

If you’re copying for your own enjoyment and not publicly posting and trying to take credit, I see no issue.

 

[sleepydreepy]

dang i thought this thread was about homework for a second lmao

i have a public dream address and I would say my island is pretty cool and also 100% "original." that being said, I released it fully knowing that it could be copied either in a good or bad way and while the latter would suck I honestly have bigger things to worry about in my life right now, especially since im not a content creator. I am not gaining anything other than views (not money) for my dream address so I don't care that much, I do care a little, but like I said its not the end of the world for me personally. I think if someone thinks my ideas are cool and wants to replicate or just straight up copy them go for it, as long as you are not gaining money from it. But honestly if lets say a big animal crossing streamer replicated my entire island on stream, claimed it was their own, and got super famous, I'd probably be pissed and try to prove it was my idea and that that is a ****ty thing to do but honestly like I said since I am not a content creator I am not looking to make money off of my animal crossing island so it doesn't matter that much to me in the long run.

for others I'd hold a similar view point, if you are an average joe posting your designs online you must be aware that stealing and coping is possible. And like I said I don't think its a problem if someone likes your ideas and wants to copy them on their own island just for themselves, but if someone is trying to sell/gain money from those designs then that becomes an issue.

 

[StarlitGlitch]

I agree with most people here, if you're just doing it because you really like the design and you're not trying to pass it off as your own online I don't see any issue with it.

I'm really bad at coming up with ideas and get frustrated over it, so I like to look on Pinterest for inspiration.

I'd say really anything you do inside of your own island that's contained is up to you, even cheating. It is AC after all.

 

[Romaki]

Imo it's just a vidya game and if you're the creative person you'll change it up again anyway.

 

[cup_of_mocha]

ehh i think its ok to take inspiration and credit the original creator, if otherwise its no no. if its a 100% copy but the player doesn't share their DA or photos of what they copied i think its fine too but the sense of creation or belonging would not be there i suppose. there has been a lot of taking of ideas here and there in the ac community since new leaf tbh