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

[Akeath]

Honestly, I copy all the time and it didn't even occur to me that people would mind.

I saw someone with a horse barn using simple panels as stalls and I totally took that idea and ran with it, and I've expanded to include a rabbit hutch and a chicken coop. And I'm using other people's designs from the portal for all the animals involved because I can't even draw a stick figure in motion. I saw someone with a little art section on their beach rocks using some art and scattered papers and I copied that too, except I made it into a stained glass workshop with custom designs for stained glass that I again, got off the design portal, and I did the stained glass because my Mom makes it a lot, so I didn't even use my own hobby for it.

Actually, my whole island is about copying stuff. My island is called Fantasia and my character is called Falcor, and those are both taken from the Neverending Story. Fantasia is the realm of imagination and my theme is fairy tales. One of my rooms is based on the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp. I have an idea from the Narnia series I'm going to do that involves a wardrobe, lion, witch, stone statues, a sled, and turkish delight, all things taken from the books. Even things I've built entirely from scratch like my Jack in the Beanstalk area are still taken from stories other people have written.

I've now realized I am thoroughly a copycat and am now going to make posts on my bulletin board with MA codes for where I got the art. Which is both giving credit and allowing people to copy it further....but okay. Is it really bad to copy things like this? Should I not post pictures of my barns because I didn't come up with the simple panel idea or draw the designs of the animals involved? Is the rabbit hutch and chicken coop okay because I came up with most of the items for that on my own? When does copying become bad?

 

[nightglow]

Honestly, I copy all the time and it didn't even occur to me that people would mind.

I saw someone with a horse barn using simple panels as stalls and I totally took that idea and ran with it, and I've expanded to include a rabbit hutch and a chicken coop. And I'm using other people's designs from the portal for all the animals involved because I can't even draw a stick figure in motion. I saw someone with a little art section on their beach rocks using some art and scattered papers and I copied that too, except I made it into a stained glass workshop with custom designs for stained glass that I again, got off the design portal, and I did the stained glass because my Mom makes it a lot, so I didn't even use my own hobby for it.

Actually, my whole island is about copying stuff. My island is called Fantasia and my character is called Falcor, and those are both taken from the Neverending Story. Fantasia is the realm of imagination and my theme is fairy tales. One of my rooms is based on the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp. I have an idea from the Narnia series I'm going to do that involves a wardrobe, lion, witch, stone statues, a sled, and turkish delight, all things taken from the books. Even things I've built entirely from scratch like my Jack in the Beanstalk area are still taken from stories other people have written.

I've now realized I am thoroughly a copycat and am now going to make posts on my bulletin board with MA codes for where I got the art. Which is both giving credit and allowing people to copy it further....but okay. Is it really bad to copy things like this? Should I not post pictures of my barns because I didn't come up with the simple panel idea or draw the designs of the animals involved? Is the rabbit hutch and chicken coop okay because I came up with most of the items for that on my own? When does copying become bad?

Although everyone has thier own opinions, I think you are fine. It is Animal crossing. A game.

As far as I am concerned Nintendo owns it all because it is thier software and servers. Creators choose to put their creation on the kiosk, to get choose to create it on their game.
However I also think people shouldn't be able to make money off of animal crossing anyway. It isn't thier game. They are only playing the game. Doing things in the game that the game allows.

 

[Rosiechan]

I never knowingly copied anyone but I've definitely been inspired by others' work. But I don't think it's really a big deal it's just a game so I don't think it's really a big deal.

 

[Blueskyy]

It’s not wrong at all to copy someone’s work for your own island. Boring and uninspired? Maybe. But I don’t see it as wrong.

It would be wrong if you took a picture of that design, posted it online, and credited it as your own creation.

 

[maria110]

If you are doing it to earn money or social media glory, then it's wrong. But if you are just a hobby player, I don't think copying bits here and there is bad. Copying someone's entire island would be weird. I mean, what's the point of playing if you are just going to copy someone's entire thing.

 

[Tri-Cell]

As long as you don't take credit for it I don't really see the problem. I've definitely seen things of other peoples islands and then added my own twist to it on my own.

 

[Lavamaize]

I personally like to be original in my designs and take inspiration from others, but as long as no one is taking credit for the design that is not theirs, I see no problem with it. After all, imitation is often the most sincere form of flattery.

 

[Manah]

I wonder in how many cases of furniture areagements those people are really the "original" users or just the first who happened to put pictures of it online. AC has thousands of players and I'm sure there are plenty who came up with the same or similar stuff before someone with an Instagram account did.
How are they going to prove they didn't just "steal" it from some random dream address?

 

[ellienoise]

My island is an amalgam of different dream addresses and youtube videos I saw online. I took everything I liked and put it together exactly how I wanted it to be. I love it and it makes me super happy whenever I load up the game. I don't feel guilty because I don't post the pictures of these areas online and I don't share my dream address anywhere. My previous island was pretty much all my own creation but it wasn't as cohesive and pretty as this one. I did share pictures of this one online. I agree with most people, as long as you don't go around boasting and claiming it's your own, there is really no harm being done.

 

[Shiny Shiny Engine]

I have tons of copied stolen borrowed original? totally not copied layouts for my islands.
so it's alright

 

[skarmoury]

Honestly, it’s fine as long as you don’t take full credit or aren’t a content creator. If you think something is neat and want that exact thing on your island for your own happiness, then I say go ahead. But once you put it out there for everyone to see and call it yours... kinda weird. It’s nothing to be proud of. I was an old “content creator” but on twitter and instagram, so everything I post had to be my own work. Inspired, yes, but not an exact copy of anyone’s style (because that would make really lame content).

I feel I view this exactly like hacking the game. Sure, do it because it makes you happy, you’re not harming anyone. But once you start involving the public, you have to be really careful or else the backlash won’t be good.

 

[xhyloh]

even if you copy someone else's idea item for item, you still went through the work in-game to recreate whatever you're copying so i honestly don't think it's bad. but obviously give credit where credit is due, yadda yadda

 

[Skyfall]

As long as you don't publicly take credit as yours, I don't see a problem with copying. I used to copy designer clothes when younger, and you know what, it never turns out as well! But that's ok, because you can only do what you can when you are poor. I've copied hair styles, make up styles, living room color schemes I like. It never turns out like original and I never claim it was my idea, so I think this is ok.

 

[Stikki]

Hahaha I've seen people being such babies about this and it's ridiculous. Actually here, I located something I said a couple of weeks back. Saves me typing it all out again:

Not a fan of social media at all anyway. I do have an instagram just to see acnh designs and ideas etc, but never engaged in the communities or even posted anything myself. But from the outside looking in...boy is it nasty. Grown adults doxxing each other and starting witch hunts based on one side or other's version of events. Grown adults doxxing CHILDREN.

Always seems to boil down to someone with decentish size following gets a bit of an inflated ego when people like their designs. But when that ego goes full Bloaty Head Syndrome and they start sharpening their pitchforks ready to sling at any who dare to use their path designs and upload a pic to their instagram without "crediting" them...or crediting them "disrespectfully" (meaning their credit was at the end of their post and not at the start).

Full on flame wars over "art theft" ffs hahahaha. Sorry to disappoint but you lost any right to it the moment you used Nintendo's software to draw a pic to be used in Nintendo's game and uploaded to Nintendo's server, which you know is for public use. Also "art". No mate, that's some cleverly placed pixels that you made the best of with what materials you had. It's not gonna be in a gallery. It's not even gonna be on a t shirt. It probably won't even make it to a novelty cushion that your aunt gives you at Christmas, looking all proud of herself. Get over yourselves, gosh.

Who the hell made these people "influencers"? I despair of the world sometimes, I really do. If anyone came for my child the way some of these behave, over using one of their custom designs, they better hope they can afford it.

So yeah. If someone came at me demanding credit for a path, not only would I refuse, I would deliberately post a million uncredited pics hehehe.

 

[annex]

I tell myself that it's just a game, but I would often feel a bit annoyed when some players used my ideas from my New Leaf towns. Some would give me the credit when players told them how cute or unique something was, but some did not.

I felt a bit annoyed when my sister recently showed me her town and laughed and said she copied my space themed fifties diner and how she decorated her beach with fish models. Once again, I tell myself it's just a game, and I know it's silly and unimportant. My sister can copy all she wants.

I try not to copy, but do use a lot of other players patterns. Sometimes I come up with something I think is unique and find out that other players are doing it too.

Long story short. I don't think it really matters, it's just a game. However, I remember a couple of players asking me to visit and review their New Leaf towns, and one had copied Aika village almost exact, and another player copied the famous Irish pub from the town of Shamrock. Both players took credit for it. Kind of funny that they both used well known dream towns and still wouldn't admit to it when I mentioned how they were exact replicas. Even the custom patterns were the same.