Long before the App Store was released, a guy named r4m0n released a game called iPhysics for the jailbroken community. This game was simple, yet so much fun. You had to get a shape from Point A to Point B by drawing various shapes and lines. And best of all, it was absolutely free.
But of course, whenever something good comes along like this there is always someone else out there that is looking to take advantage of it. And that’s exactly what happened. Since Apple released their App Store in July, there’s now three or four different copycat applications that go from $0.99 to $4.99. Amongst them, Touch Physics and Crayon Physics (iTunes links).
This isn’t fair at all to r4m0n, but there’s truly little that he can do about it. r4m0n also has his iPhysics application on the App Store, called iPhysics Lite, and coming soon is the full version. They both cost money, but his sales won’t be as high as they could be because of the copycat developers. That’s Hudson Entertainment and Gamez 4 Touch, to be specific.
Hack the iPod touch has managed to get our hands on all three applications – iPhysics, Touch Physics and Crayon Physics – and we’ll be reviewing them in a head-to-head comparison coming soon. We’ll also post it on our App Store reviews page, so keep checking back.
i hate it when people do this, can’t they come up with their own ideas, rather than gaining from someone elses.
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:53 am
well actually i think iPhysics was done off of the original Crayon Physics, which was released way before r4m0n wrote his.
same art, same levels, same music.
r4m0n stole it first
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:18 am
I know, but r4m0n was the first person to bring the game to the iPhone and iPod touch – and then other companies went out and copied his idea.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:45 am
Not really, the original was Crayon Physics, targeted at tablet devices. I believe they have been planning to release it on the app store ever since the app store was announced, they most likely don’t even know that r4m0n stole their entire game and released it on the iPhone.
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Possibly – but this was still the first Crayon Physics-type game for the iPhone.
January 3rd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
So what, if Id software ports Doom to the iPhone are we going to accuse them of ripping the game off of Cube? Face it, r4m0n did the ripping off and is just lucky he didn’t get a cease and desist like the line rider guy.
January 3rd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
That’s a good point Marc. I guess r4m0n was the original copycat by bringing it to the iPhone, but the other developers likely took that idea of having Crayon Physics on the iPhone and iPod touch and made their own applications.
January 4th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Crayon Physics wasn’t the first in this genre either, Petri Purho copied the idea too. Interactive Physics on Mac OS9 pre-dated Crayon Physics.
Personally I like having some choice, and ironically Crayon Physics Deluxe on the iPhone is the worst implementation of them all ! It won’t let me draw objects most of the time without rebooting, and the frame rate is about 2-3 fps. It’s a poor port from the PC version.
There are many copycat games out there, some better than the original, how many doom lookalikes, connect 4, etc. are there?
January 4th, 2009 at 2:04 am
I’m not impressed with Crayon Physics Deluxe either. And you do make a good point Andy, there are many different copycats out there for Connect 4 and all that – so I guess it’s bound to happen.
It was copied from Mac OS9, to PC, to iPhone and iPod touch – it’s been all over the place. So I guess I’m wrong to say that r4m0n had the original idea, but I still think that he deserves some recognition for being the first to bring it to the iPhone and iPod touch back in Firmware 1.1.x when there was no App Store. He put a lot of time into it and developed a good application as well as a level maker.
Kudos to you r4m0n, and looking forward to your full version of iPhysics on the App Store soon.
January 4th, 2009 at 2:21 am
You have to have known this would happen right? That’s what happens when something above average is released. People check it out, looks for ways to improve it, and then copy it. On top of that, they charge people $1.99 or more for it. It’s just the way the world works.
January 9th, 2009 at 4:17 am