Palworld: The Difference Between Inspiration and Imitation

Is the most recent Pokémon-like game, Palworld, actually stealing Pokemon's designs? Or is it just using Pokemon as inspiration? What do you think?
Sources:
www.pcgamesn.com/palworld/poc...
www.videogameschronicle.com/n...
dataconomy.com/2024/01/22/pal...
www.forbes.com/sites/danidipl...
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[@Silly_Rabbit92]

"I don't need my games to be original. I want them to be enjoyable" - Pocket Pair.. basically. And honestly, nothing wrong with that 🤷‍♂️

[@sidclauwers5945]

I don't think that's wrong, if they still out in care for what they make it can still be wonderful. Commercialisering it's also better but if your goal is to have as many people as possible enjoy your game that's just as valid a reason to do so if you believe It'll work out. Making games can be expensive and I was once told "We make games not to get rich. But to continue to make more games for as long as we can." I really liked that comment, don't remember exactly where I got it from but it'd always stuck with me. I try to be positive qhen it comes to these things though, tried palworld as well and even though I usually don't play survival games and especially not alone. The overal vibe and cutenes really get me excited, then the base building sometimes takes away so much focus and time I don't do the things I would normally do in an open world game. The bonus for catching 10 and the slower level progression if I don't incentive me to just catch more, which gives more breeding options, etc. The gameplay loop constantly seems to guide me into doing other things in the game and explore systems which I usually ignore as long as possible so it's fascinating g to me. Sorry my mind still has overthinking mode due to recent events but this was more positive then what it generally goes through and now I'm overthinking so I did my adieu.

[@sidclauwers5945]

I don't think that's wrong, if they still out in care for what they make it can still be wonderful. Commercialisering it's also better but if your goal is to have as many people as possible enjoy your game that's just as valid a reason to do so if you believe It'll work out. Making games can be expensive and I was once told "We make games not to get rich. But to continue to make more games for as long as we can." I really liked that comment, don't remember exactly where I got it from but it'd always stuck with me. I try to be positive qhen it comes to these things though, tried palworld as well and even though I usually don't play survival games and especially not alone. The overal vibe and cutenes really get me excited, then the base building sometimes takes away so much focus and time I don't do the things I would normally do in an open world game. The bonus for catching 10 and the slower level progression if I don't incentive me to just catch more, which gives more breeding options, etc. The gameplay loop constantly seems to guide me into doing other things in the game and explore systems which I usually ignore as long as possible so it's fascinating g to me. Sorry my mind still has overthinking mode due to recent events but this was more positive then what it generally goes through and now I'm overthinking so I did my adieu.

[@juandiegotorres9632]

At the same time the "Palword better" and "play Palword instead" crowd has gotten annoying AF.

[@palkinator]

Whoa, the bones of one 3D rendered snake are eerily similar to a different 3D rendered snake.

[@Kurokami112]

Not to mention, the guy who did the model comparisons eventually came out and admitted to have tinkered with the models to make them more similar that they were originally...

[@sidclauwers5945]

I was looking fir comments about this XD, i hear this a lot so it suprises me when people dont mention it. ​@@Kurokami112

[@unorganizedchaos5503]

Why are you hyperfocusing on the bad comparisons and not talking the many valid ones

[@Kurokami112]

@@unorganizedchaos5503 because none of them are valid

[@unorganizedchaos5503]

@@Kurokami112 verdash,boltmane,azurobe,dinossom,Anubis,lovander,wixen,fengolope,creamis, want me to keep going?

[@marsh_8882]

Even Minecraft, one of the most popular games ever made, originally took a lot of mechanics from Infiniminer along with the style.

[@juandiegotorres9632]

Never heard of Infiniminer

[@zeek6728]

I will be honest most people don’t care if its a rip off, but the same time I think this will be healthy for Pokémon to get a gear and actually produce a better game because they have been lazy

[@juandiegotorres9632]

At the same time the "Palword better" and "play Palword instead" crowd has gotten annoying AF.

[@dracavius]

That Lycanroc looks suspiciously like Tiger from Monster Rancher…..

[@TrixyTrixter]

Better sue the pokemon company for their clear infringement

[@buffalohelix]

There's a difference between shameless imitation and literal copying. While they are definitely guilty of the first only the second is illegal.

[@EmeralBookwise]

Very true, but the thing is they might be guilty of the that second thing too. That's ultimately up for experts to argue in court, but preliminary examination is looking awfully suspicious. It's not just how similar Palworld designs and aesthetics are to Pokémon, it's how closely the proportions line-up, making it seem very likely that even if the assets weren't copied directly, they were probably referenced so heavily as to be the equivalent of tracing.

[@snintendog]

@@EmeralBookwise NOPE The idiot in this vid seriously should stay in his own lane. Especially when he used a liars tweet that after days of being called out for modifying the models to fit as best as possible moving polys and editing meshes. Its about time to Remove this moron.

[@TrixyTrixter]

​@@EmeralBookwise Sorry to say. But you cannot copyright a set proportion for something. Pokemon/Nintendo is not gonna do anything at this point for if they had anything they would have killed the game long ago.

[@braydenleaderofthetirkins1143]

Again, I must use the fighting game genre as an example. Street Fighter created so many clones in KOF, Fatal Fury, Tekken, Virtua Fighter TMNT Tournament Fighters, Eternal Champions, etc. & they all came out near the same time. Is that inspiration or capitalistic imitation? Also, those model proportion videos were faked. Someone altered them.

[@yesandnogamerproductions5733]

Pokemon did the same thing with Dragon Quest, are we gonna go after pokemon for taking inspiration from Dragon Quest? This is honestly so goofy lol

[@unorganizedchaos5503]

He literally spent 12 minutes explaining the difference between inspiration and imitation and you still don’t get it.

[@thestalwartinefromstalwart4126]

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” - Oscar Wilde

[@LordTonzilla]

I've got to say Fengalope is far better designed than Cobalion

[@tapejara1507]

Im old enough to remember pokemon doing the same when Digimon released.

[@bunnyheart9578]

I'd agree with the last part about playing legends arceus...except at least with palworld we have actual multiplayer and can play with other people (Legends arceus only ever had trading)

[@crobatoverlord7378]

Palworld is obviuosly provoking this controversy. It is using the Pokemon(like) Designs to draw Interest, but at the same time, that makes the Pals look familar even those that are not an obvious mashup of several Pokemon. Combine this with a popular Genre that was barely explored for a monster collecting game and it is clear why this game blew up, despite being anything but perfect. And in addition, the Pokemon games are in a state where pretty much all fans agree that they have much unused potential. People were hungry for a game like Palworld and the closest Pokemon delivered, was Legends Arceus. Which I would not describe as an Open World Survival game, as the world isn't really open, the story completely linear and there is no survival aspect at all. And well... it sadly doesn't look that good (though I'd nether desribe Palworld as very aesthetic). Just like the other recent Pokemon games, it would have needeed more time. The Pal designs are probably off far enough Pokemon couldn't claim them as copied, so I kinda doubt there will be action taken. Still, it would'd have been nice to see more original versions of the mashups-designs, so they go the extra mile to really stand on their own. And while the game blew up, I doubt it can do much damage to Pokemon on it's own. It has literally the same problems as Pokemon rn (fun game, but a bunch of issues if you look closer) and if the developers don't put much more effort into it, it will not be seen as an alternative to Pokemon in the long run. They would need to make the game actually good and start building up a whole Franchise around it, add new games in the future and creating an own identity, to keep on living. Based on the quotes, I am not too convinced this will happen. However, on the off chance they pull it off, you might see me get interested in the game.

[@asterthehedgehog6861]

I hate how the Pals don’t really fit the aesthetic of this world. They also don’t really deserve the harsh treatment they get (used as ammo for guns, held up for shields or simply using them to fire more weapons or work on making guns). Given the violent reality, have the “obtainable monsters” look more like Monster Hunter creatures.

[@mard16zze87]

My personal gripe is not with Palworld itself, but the fandom that has congregated due to it. I wish Palworld to be made with love, but the people I mostly hear about singing it’s praises also just say that everything else should burn and die in the same breath. I get it, Pokemon is not in it’s greatest state, but I still managed to enjoy the games, even was “lucky enough” for it to be mostly glitch free, there is a crap ton that can be worked on, but that is fine since nothing is perfect. The ones that I tend to see that overly praise Palworld due to the difference in game genre, maybe they weren’t really much into traditional rpgs in the first place and this is more their style, which is perfectly fine.

[@menagerie7799]

Tip. If you want to be more objective in your videos, start using the word "allegedly".

[@chaanper]

pocket pair just looked at pokemon and said: fine, i'l do it my self

[@proudspark3853]

Love Pokémon and Palworld. I've played Pokémon ever sense I was in kindergarten. I collect and play anything I can get my hands on if its Pokémon. I don't think it's a good idea to argue you shouldn't buy and play a game because morally they did a bad when the company they supposedly harmed in some manner is the Pokémon Company, and by extension Nintendo. If they actually stole from Nintendo the financial hurt they are going to take in a lawsuit is gonna be more then enough to settle the score. I'd argue if morals were to prevent a game from selling then Pokémon shouldn't be as popular as it is. It's a triple A game that's rushed to the shelves bugged, poorly optimized, hollow in terms of content that actually make the game worth playing past catching the new Pokémon. It's rough. Palworld is new and at first I thought it was a cheap imitation. But from what I've seen and played (Currently 38 hours of play time) its not. The art style and the capturing of pals is similar to Pokémon, but that's largely where the likeness ends. It scratches an itch in my head that I think if Nintendo released a game like Palworld just without the guns and other more violent stuff would make for an amazing spin off series. But they are slow to do that because they make plenty of money shipping the same game from last year with a new coat of paint and one or two rule changes. Maybe they see Palworld as potential snowball of things to come and change or far more likely they ignore it as the money they make from one Pokémon game alone dwarfs the tiny drop of money earned from Palworld. Regardless it's your money, your choice. But if you like survival games and love Pokémon I think you'll enjoy the game.

[@NOVFOXXIII]

I think the real motivator is going to be the ability to mod it our lovely furry community seems to already be working on some special...modifications.

[@adonut3955]

Pls, this is something i dont wish to be exterminatus :l

[@MCPunk55]

I'll simply say this: STEAM is strict. Very strict. If the accusations by the fanboys of Pokémon who refuse to acknowledge Pokémon is far from the first monster catching game were remotely true, Palworld would not be on any platform.

[@raptorxd2146]

in adition both the pokemon company and the palworld creators are in japan which doesnt have fair use laws(pokemon can just delete any game that is similar enough without questions). Palworld was known for liek 3 years i think that also means that palworld is safe.

[@honestlywhatever]

this point is way bigger than people would like to admit. if palworld was a copy they would have been nuked a LONG time ago @@raptorxd2146

[@ObrigadaJim]

"STEAM is restrict".. "THE DAY BEFORE"??

[@ObrigadaJim]

"STEAM is restrict".. "THE DAY BEFORE"??

[@EmeralBookwise]

@@raptorxd2146: Palworld has been known about for 3 years, yes, but in all that time the only thing anyone knew for certain is that the game drew heavy stylistic inspiration from Pokémon, which by itself is not something Nintendo could issue a C&D over, not even under Japan's stricter guidelines. It wasn't until it was actually released that anyone could make direct comparisons between the in-game models to see that they don't just heavy resemble certain Pokémon, they have nearly identical proportions. It's uncertain at this point if the models were directly modified from Nintendo assists or where just traced over, but either is something Nintendo could try to take legal action on after doing their own investigation.

[@pinkandblue6141]

I whould aggre with what you say but i feel its not a big issue they make pals look like pokemon i actually think its a good thing at least they are actually different pal world is a fun game mich better than what game freak have done with open world i did think you was just passing on information till you showed you are just a pokemon fan who doesn't like pal world purly on that no one whould play a pokemon open world over pal world they should play pal world and hopefully game freak will give us a game like pal world but with pokemon and i think they can do it even better with the size of the game studio they have

[@fauxstard57]

Idk, currently there has been a wild fire of claims and it's hard to take anything seriously when claims are generally situational. Having spent 55 hours on palworld and a near complete pokedex on Home (960/1025), I find a lot of the claims rather silly. The motive behind the claims sometimes has nothing to do with copying, but rather animal cruelty. It just doesn't make any sense considering what they are using as a catalyst for their claims, Pokemon. You know, the game that consists of capturing wild animals and making them do whatever you want. Currently, I find it unreasonable to care about rumors at the moment. Pocketpair has also said that a majority of their assets, particularly creatures and people, were created by one, singular person. I find that with likely little oversight, they were probably creating the work with bias and little budget. Not defending the artist to any significant degree, but I think it is something to consider. Tbh, I think the game is a bigger rip off of ARK than it is Pokemon. Sure there are a hadful of mons that look like Pokemon, but they absolutely do no act like them and are very distinct when actually used and played mechanically. Also, if you want to see more blatent copying, I would compare Dragon Quest and Pokemon. I think you'll find that rather interesting. EDIT: Just looked into it again, the person that made the original model comparison, they fabricated the models to appear more damning. They did it because they were, "disgusted that Palworld glorifies animal abuse."

[@sebstenson9387]

I don’t see how they are ‘claims’ you can literally see how unoriginal pal designs are they are clearly stolen from Pokémon

[@fauxstard57]

@@sebstenson9387 you didn’t read any of my comment. I did not say that Pocketpair didn’t copy pokemon at all. In fact, I also pointed out a more obvious game they copied. I was mainly pointing out that people are using any reason to slander Palworld for various reasons whether what they are saying is actually true or false. I think it’s important to not just have a bias before simply believing something. It’s a common problem with anything popular these days. Buy the game or not, I found it fun and should be learned from. If they made a second game or simply revamp/retexture the current game with the money they now have, then I think a lot of complaints would vanish. Although, I do not have high expectations.

[@AmandaFessler]

The similarities start making sense when you realise she is literally a Fakemon artist. She was just drawing what she knows. Of course, that they gave her the go-ahead means the look is definitely intentional.

[@quincyking010]

the thing is some of these claims of copying are so bullshit because what they actually created was based on something that if anyone created something like that in cartoonish fashion they all kinda gonna look the same. i mean one these big "damning" pals is literally just a wolf. it doesnt look any different than being just a wolf but no its not just the excuse of animal abuse i think there is also a ton of people who see it as a threat to pokemon and they so far up pokemon's *$$ that any threat to it must be destroyed. and i think that is a more central reason because there are many games that are animal abuse and they never get attacked for it or atleast never attacked the way palworld is

[@NoHandle44]

They definitely made knockoffs of Pokemon. But they also do a whole lot more original stuff to make it its own game.

[@andrewwalker7340]

I'll pass on Arceus. I'm going Palworld.

[@Enderpig124]

I think Pokémon fans are fatigued of Gamefreak's lack of quality and performance. (talking about lag, framerate, glitches, textures & animation) Palworld is quite literally a breath of fresh air. It is the direction that many fans wanted out of Legends. Albeit without the dark humor of Palworld like butchering humans and enslavement camps, Nintendo will never touch those subjects. I for one don't care if this is unoriginal or made by AI, if it is an enjoyable game then it is allowed to succeed. People will compare the next Pokémon game to Palworld. If it is not substantially improved, even the hardcore fans will drop Pokémon in a heartbeat. I say this as a hardcore Pokémon fan since Fire Red. I genuinely feel betrayed by Gen9, it is crazy expensive and looks like literal garbage. But it sold well, because people where starving for content... as they say. Well...., now there is competition. Unoriginal AI driven competition, that somehow manages to preform better then Pokémon's Gen9.

[@moneyboyok]

A game enjoyed by the most people is an ethos I can get behind personally as long as they don't go into p2w microtransaction bloat I'm personally fine with what they are doing. We wanted good Pokémon games for decades and Nintendo hasn't delivered so an indie team has made a much better looking and playing game which is their fault as they've rested on their laurels

[@hakimehamdouchi7468]

The good suck 3000 fully at work

[@GameCritics]

Just Art doesnt create good experience. Art can only be objectively good when overall product is good.

[@sergeantsapient]

Also, Pokemon Arceus isn't a survival game. What the fuck was that at the end?

[@TS17ADS]

7:07 so lying is your forte i guess cause you said nonsense i wouldn't notice he said he didn't mind the AI art but he never said he has used it the only one you can say is AI art imposter.

[@YotesMark]

Glad to see you join the discourse, Guns Blazing 🔥🐮🔥

[@romariogordon]

I like how everyone is throwing around the term “Asset flip” like they didn’t learn it on the release of this game. Also, who goes around looking at games and say “hmm, this looks like basic unreal assets”. Like be fr.

[@romariogordon]

I’d like to also add that for every Pokémon rip off they are 5 pals that are totally unique. For every Cremis (eevee look alike) there’s a Teafant, Sweepa, Daydream, Dazzi and Gorirat

[@Mr.yapper555]

I just want more competitions for pokemon so gamefreak focus on quality for there next game

[@crobatoverlord7378]

I don't really see Palworld being of much help there, as it is not providing a competition in terms of quality. The only thing that could happen is Pokemon trying their own hand on an open world survival game, thus directly challenging Palworld themselves.

[@sergeantsapient]

Yes, Early Access. That's the point of Early Access. The game is transparently released in an unfinished state. The alternative is you buy a "final" game with game breaking bugs and a year subscription of bug fixes including a day one patch. I guess this is a difficult concept to grasp if you're a Nintendo fan.

[@thelastmaleneko1705]

So, just a few points im considering as time goes on. 1) Theres no evidence of AI involvment in this game. None. Does the CEO like Ai, and is trying to find practical uses? Sure, but you know who else is? Every single major ceo of of major company. Im sure Nintendo, Xbox, Sony, Blizzard, Activision, and every single other studio and company is trying out ideas behind the scenes, whether they are as open about it as Takuro Mizobe or not. Now, thats not a defense of AI being abused, or to take peoples jobs, or being trained on stolen data. That is all deplorable, and we need laws to protect artists, writers, and voice actors. Anything less would be a sin against human creativity. But AI as a tool and as a concept is here to stay, and will only get more complex with time. 2) The tweets of Takuro "admitting" to implementing ai. I kept seeing the screencaps of the translated tweets, but never any translations of the actual PICTURES attached to them. I wanted to know what the actaul messages said. And after finding and getting them translated its just....a couple of employees dickin around with a chatgbt-esq text bot, asking it to write little scenes. Scenes that arent even in game. Or in trailers. Or anywhere for that matter. And from what i can tell, they were less "impressed" and more "amused/curios" with the results. Not really anything crazy, just an interesting anecdote. 3)AI Art Imposter. Gonna keep it brief on this one. As far as i can tell, its completely harmless. Its a novel idea for how a game could implement an ethical generative AI. Keyword on ethical, as per steams guidelines on the matter they would have had to PROVE that the Ai was trained legaly and with no stolen data. As far as i can tell, steam is VERY strict on this point, and if foul play was involved it would be known by now. 4) The models. Oh lawd, the models. That is a MESSY conversation right now, with a lot of uniformed people making very confident claims. Im neither smart enough nor well informed enough to speak on it. If you want a very good, very neutral, and very educated video go check ProjectAlpha22 on X, they did a GREAT breakdown on the models. The gist is: The intial video comparting Boltmane and Luxray is bad in a lot of ways, but its isnt fabricated or altered. All the op did was universally scale the models, which is literally just....how you handle a comparison like that? They aren't faked videos, they just aren't great breakdowns. While the models are HEAVILY inspired, and even possibly traced from OG pokemon ones, theres is little evidence that they are straight up model edits. The legality/morality of this is up for debate. I have more thoughts, but these are the ones that are most relevant to this video. For sure enjoyed watching the vid, and hearing your thoughts on it as well! Trying to hear/see as many thoughts as i can to have a more educated opinion on it all.

[@Itsnotpika]

Bro wrote a short essay

[@thelastmaleneko1705]

@@Itsnotpika Yessir, it's the best way to take all the loose thoughts and threads in my head and start weaving them into something more coherent and recognizable.

[@Itsnotpika]

@@thelastmaleneko1705 Agreed

[@Underground3]

"The intial video comparting Boltmane and Luxray is bad in a lot of ways, but its isnt fabricated or altered." The one who did the Direhowl and Luxray comparsion literally admitted that are doing this because they don't like how Palworld glorify animal abuse. Not only that individual don't play the game they are trying to defend, they had an agenda to just hate on Palworld.

[@thelastmaleneko1705]

@Underground3 Correct. They have an agenda and a reason outside of the game itself to hate on it and fling out accusations. And that bais as well as a general lack of understanding is what makes that video and its claims wildly inaccurate. They are guilty of being biased and of not understanding the specifics of 3d model work, but not of altering the model to fit their motive. Just radically misinterpreted the info from the model, and making wild claims from that.

[@britsunvaar9297]

AI was not used. The devs and ceo came out saying it and if it was it would have disclaimers on the steam page. The wire mesh and skeletons, the guy who did that addmitted to lieing and reshaping and resizing them to fit because palworld "encouraged animal abuse" and deserved it.

[@GoddessSyrinaVT]

As a lifelong Pokemon enthusiast and also as a player of Palworld, I agree that Pocket Pair definitely has its flaws and questionable behaviors. Pokemon is what I know and love, so it's natural to me to compare them to begin with. I disapprove of Pocket Pair's cash-cow (sorry) behavior for sure. I think it's *very* possible that they've ripped off assets, and I can definitely look at more than a handful of Pals and think "oh, that is straight up just a mix between x and y pokemon". The Pal designs are more Pokemon-like than any other of the "Pokemon knock-off" games (Temtem, etc.), although it's hard for me to say exactly what element makes me feel that way. I really do like the Pal designs. I can definitely see Pokemon inside them, like maybe a little Dragonite here and a little Houndoom there, but some of them are just awesome and I wish they *were* Pokemon. What Palworld does deliver is something that Pokemon has not, even in Legends: Arceus. Palworld is even more open-world and crafting-based than Arceus, plus with survival aspects, multiplayer features, and base-building, really does make it a unique experience, and to me that makes it worth playing. Well, putting aside any ethical setbacks. For me, ideally Palworld would just be... a Pokemon game. Pokemon: Limitless or some crap, idk, but just base-building with actual Dragonite instead of Great Value Dragonite. But being as that doesn't exist, I will continue to enjoy Palworld for the experience it delivers. But I do also think that eventually Pocket Pair is going to have its comeuppance for its behavior (and possible transgressions), and Game Freak may make that happen sooner than later. But that's just my two cents. Thanks for the video! I enjoyed another video essay from you!

[@vincentebanks3464]

They used "Pokemons art style" it not that they are copying Pokemon but coping how pokemon make Mon. I personally think it's completely fine pokemon games kinda mid. Just look at nexomon extinction.

[@IronDino]

Fun fact, one of the Pal designers for Palworld was a former Fakemon designer which is probably why they give off the Pokemon feel. Palworld has done a VERY good job in towing the line with their designs and assets. Sure, Cremis looks similar to a Shiny Gigantamx Eevee with different eyes and fluffier feet and legs. But that's just it. It's similar. Not the same. What's more, the theme of the base game is entirely different. I think they flew a little too close to the sun with a few models (the Luxray one for example)... but at the same time, Gamefreak does not have a trademark on every single Pokemon surprisingly enough. I think it's the starters (including Pikachu, Eevee, and all their subsequent evolutions), legendariess, and a good amount of the first 151, but not so much the remaining 800 or so. If Luxray isn't trademarked, then GameFreak doesn't have a leg to stand on so long as the Palworld version isn't a perfect copy.

[@TS17ADS]

The problem with this is that art style is not copyright infringement as far as i know and some of them are maybe more similar to others but a lot of them are also based similar animals/mythology or the most stupid one they just have similar color scheme as models nonsense like the luxray one doesn't exist anymore and the some similarities are stupid like wow a snake has a body similar to another snake and wolf is similar to another wolf.

[@souporcat]

It's an embarrassing time for gamefreak stans when 4 dudes in their basement make a better game than the billion dollar company with decades of experience

[@AlbaderBohamad]

The game is awesome. I'm pretty sure Nintendo is incomparably wealthy and is more than capable of creating an "original" game that would take over. Only if they'd cared about their fan-base. think of Pocketpair as a Nintendo fan who made an amazing Pokemon game and that Nintendo didn't even care about one to begin with.

[@venomousbook]

yeah this vid is already outdated before you even posted it, the Ai thing was disproven days ago and the guy who posted the models of the pals said that he rescaled them so they'd fit within the pokemon meshes. look put it this way, if a game dev can take different aspects of other games put it together to create a satisfying gameplay loop that resinates with the masses in a way they've been asking for years and it works, who are we to say who is allowed to do it, copy or not.

[@EmeralBookwise]

Rescaling is only a matter of zooming in or zooming out. It's basically the same thing as changing the pixel resolution of two images to match before overlaying. The guy who made the comparisons didn't otherwise adjust the models and other independent channels have confirmed the same findings.

[@venomousbook]

@@EmeralBookwise pixel resolution is only the amount of dots in the picture, it is not what the picture looks like, you saying that means you believe all pictures with say a 1440p res is the exact same picture. am i wrong?

[@EmeralBookwise]

@@venomousbook: No, I'm saying that if you have one picture which is 720p and another which is 1440p, you have to make them both the same resolution before you could load both into an art program and layer them over each other to make any direct comparison between a similar looking image to determine if it was just inspired or was actually traced.

[@venomousbook]

@@EmeralBookwise ok so if you were to take that idea and use it in the case of Palworld what would you say about the argument, is palworld a inspiered game or a dirty copy cat?

[@EmeralBookwise]

@@venomousbook: I think there's enough suspicious similarities that Nintendo could argue the case in court, but it would be up to the specifics of Japanese copyright law whether any actual infringement occurred.

[@CalduraFausteron]

Those models were doctored, the person was already caught in their lie by people who check out the claim.

[@rpggaming1976]

id say who care the games fun

[@RyanShaw-lb4ie]

The developers are not hiding the fact that they borrow heavily from other games. They openly admit it. They have successfully created the game that PokeMon fans have asked for and waited for for years and Gamefreak has not made. The last decade of PokeMon games have been lazy, unfinished and uninspired largely because Gamefreak have had no competition. Now they do. With that said, holy crap Pocket Pair at least use a different font than BOTW

[@GregRJohnson736]

4:10 in the video you say the difference between inspiration and imitation is intention. How do you know what their intentions are/were? The game is similar to Pokemon yes, but it's also very different from Pokemon also. They took tons of chances/liberties with these genres doing stuff no other company has done before to make a game that has appealed to a mass audience world wide. Then after you complain about hiding behind early access when their game is buggy and unfinished which is laughable when you remember that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet ran/run like crap on the hardware they were designed for including memory leaks and one of the main solutions being to drop your game to 720p just to resolve some of the horrible frame rates of the game. This is a billion dollar company that has been making this genre of games for 30+ years and they can't even make a game that runs perfectly. Palworld is said to have started with 10 people working on the game and eventually hiring around 40 more. So a 50ish person team. Pokemon SV had a 500 person team working on it with 30+ years of story/lore/characters already behind it. Palworld is still the vastly superior game which is just completely baffling. I'm 5 minutes into the video but I can't watch anymore of a video this clearly biased. Goodluck in future videos.

[@davidweaver4436]

Seriously. The #1 biggest IP in the world releases a laggy jank-fest (though I'll admit I never personally got hit by any of the nasty glitches), meanwhile a small team releases Pal world which, for me, generally runs smoothly considering everything that happens on screen at times. Still janky in places, but... it's a smaller team, in early access, and at a *lower price* . Also have to keep in mind Pokémon is a longstanding IP that's stagnated and begun to foster resentment. Palworld is new and deserves the chance to prove itself. Pokemon had its chance and has been blowing it lately.

[@ConfidentCow]

I know what the devs intentions are because I quite literally quote the CEO in the video. “On the other hand, I have a deep-rooted desire for my work to be enjoyed by as many people as possible, and to that end, if there are good ideas in the world, I pick them up, and I don’t necessarily have to be particular about originality." It's clear the devs just want to cash in "on what is trendy," originality be damned.

[@GregRJohnson736]

My bad I should have kept watching a little longer. That being said, if the bar is so low that making a game that mirrors some of the most popular genres is imitation, then 99% of games made today are imitation. @@ConfidentCow

[@queen_zoestra]

you quote the dev saying "i want my work to be enjoyed by as many people as possible" and then immediately claim that they're just in it for the money@@ConfidentCow . wanting people to enjoy your work is not the same as just wanting money.

[@kurigaru]

Ugh Can we stop acting like Digimon was directly copying Pokémon when they’re both rich in their own lore and game mechanics

[@Sith90lord]

I knew all this before playing palworld, and still enjoy the game and don't really care that it's similar to pokemon. I'm fine with the thought that they may have used AI to generate pokemon-like models. Also, pokemon games don't appeal to me. I only play PokemonGO, but that's because there really isn't any good non-cash-grab mobile games. And No! I will not be playing Pokemon Arceus, looks like shit.

[@itsharrell]

Wouldn’t be a problem if Pokémon hadn’t become and uninspired cash grab itself. The Pokémon Games are worse than mid at this point they are literally thrown out to in fact just make money. That said This developers may be all about the money difference is they made a good game and that’s what matters to the player base at the end of the day.

[@aliceyagami8260]

I don't understand your point. What a terrible thing for a CEO to do something just because he cares about money....like every other CEO on the planet. It's better to be buggy in early access than to be complete on the console like Scarlet was. What's the problem with a product being a product?

[@TheKirbylore]

As a big pokemon fan, I hope pal world succeeds because gamefreak needs to stop dragging their asses and scraping by and using genwunner fan service to sell games that people gobble up just because it says "Pokemon" on it. Like I love pokemon with a passion but I can't help but roll my eyes when I see the millionth Charizard form or any merc outside of Gen 1 being rare

[@ConfidentCow]

I really do hope Pokemon can improve in future releases. Arceus and Scarlett & Violet were the step in the right direction, but they have a long way to go. I always approve of healthy competition to help push Pokemon further, but I think directly imitating Pokemon's designs is the wrong way to go about it.

[@joemoyer7739]

just another vid of some guy trying to brainwash you coming off as "woke" comparing an open cutscene that just looks over the world thats is so generic and 100 games have done lmao. the amount of cope you have to inhale to truly believe this shit is insane XD.

[@PlaguedByEarth]

Imagine unironically going on a Luddite rant about AI technology. What a joke. The only thing that matters is if the game is fun and if people like it. You can cry boycott all you want, but you'll lose. The future is here, and if you don't like it, go live with the Amish.

[@revmaillet]

You do know that steam has regulations on AI in games right? AI has to be declared and how it is used as well as what guardrails are in place. The guy who did the wire frame meshes actually admitted to lying and scaling the models to make them match.

[@goldenfoxguild6]

This ^

[@Nichrysalis]

Scaling the models in size is not lying, that's how you get them to roughly the same size so you can make an accurate comparison. That's what the Pokemon model's silhouettes being directly proportional to the pal's models means. If I had to guess it looks like different pokemon models were used as a base and then they started making their own models on top of them. But the nail in the coffin for me that screams rip off is how many iconic Pokemon designs were used. If it just looked like a handful of pals might be similar it'd be one thing, but the pals in question are pretty iconic or fan favorite monsters on the Pokemon side: Lucario, Eevee, Charizard, Lycanroc, Pikachu, Dragonite, Gyarados, Garchomp, Decidueye, almost all starter pokemon, and multiple legendaries. The amount of brand recognition pokemon is too precise to be coincidental.

[@vincentebanks3464]

​@@Nichrysalisyou literally just listened off a puppy, a generic mouse, and bunch of dragons.

[@IronDino]

​@@Nichrysalis The thing is, Anubis (the Pal) doesn't actually look that much like Lucario. Ironically, it looks more like Anubis (the deity) than Lucario (a Pokemon based off of the deity). Eevee is a tricky one, especially as it's one of the Pokemon trademarked by GameFreak/Nintendo, but as Cremis isn't a perfect copy we'll likely have to see how it shakes down. Direhowl and Lycanroc is going to a borderline case (similar to Boltmane and Luxray) as I don't believe that either is trademarked (especially as they can both be seen as 'a mildly stylized wolf/lion' respectively). Orserk and Robinquill take inspiration from Garchomp and Decidueye, but they have as many differences as they do similarities. Which Pal's are supposed to look like Charizard, Pikachu, Dragonite, and Gyarados?

[@goldenfoxguild6]

@@Nichrysalis I now learned, that byo ( the modder in question) actually never said they lied about it, that was a fake edited image. They did however admit that the main reason they were digging into palworld was because they found it's "glorification of animal abuse disgusting" so that was true at least. After reading through most of Byo's findings on twitter, he basically says though similarities they don't appear to be stolen assets or ai generated. The "luxray" one Boltmane is the biggest one people freaked out about and that one is not even in the game. It was only ever seen in an image from an earlier build. Also many of Byos posts other than the boltmane one show that even when the models are scaled inside each other they are clearly sculpted differently though they do have similarities.

[@Zombiesamg]

Woo!! New Cow vid!!

[@benjaminmeusburger4254]

If they infringe on copyright, then a lawsuit will settle this. Gemeplay is different, models are different, colours are different, different animals etc. There are more than 1000 pokemon - it is almost impossible to create 50 new models in the same artstyle without creating similarities. If the Pokemon company wants to sell games on PC, then they should start to do that.

[@Refinedstories]

Taking a single look at a 2d metroidvania and then saying “behold a hollow knight clone” isn’t that great of an argument. It does raise some eyebrows but it isn’t enough. As for craftopia “they have a cutscene which looks like a cutscene from another game” is not a good critique of the game but rather an excuse to write it off as a clone. If your intention was to showcase it as a clone you could have at least given a few more examples from the game to show this. Aside from all that this video at least helped inform me more of the situation. While I do think some of your judgments were unfair, I have to respect your opinions. Though I’m still not completely against palworld this video has made me want to look more behind the scenes. I don’t have enough information to make a proper judgement for or against palworld as of writing this.

[@LeoS.B.Rosevillte]

W Palworld ✨

[@ashemabahumat4173]

Parody/Satire. They clearly know what the fuck they're doing, and these guys are hyper aware they're treading a line and are making the most batshit insane jab at the big dog at the park. And its great, lol. Also, yo, nexomon recognition lol

[@unironicallydel7527]

Counter argument, 3D artists/modelers on say vrchat for example, often use baseline 3D models they did not, themselves create, and rather just customize them. Templates, if you will. Im not saying the devs ripped the pokemon riggs, however if they did it would not matter. You cant copywrite.. proportions? Thats an absurd argument. You also cant copywrite an artstyle, so thats out. People will go to absurd lengths to protect their favorite game from a company who doesnt give two shits about them. The Lucario/Anubis shit is so much of a stretch i cant even. You are a very, very salty pokefan if i do rightfully say so, even if you say you're not.

[@liordj2307]

I think there is an argument to be told about AI making better games for us all and should therefore be legal or at least just have a tax type and not a ban type solution, this game is great.

[@OffTarget]

I enjoy the hell out of Palworld. I spend a hell alot of time on it. I had also streamed Palworld to my viewers. The game is a lot of fun, but if I be honest here... I only played it because it was included with my Xbox Game Pass 😂 If Pokemon had a game like it on Game Pass I would play it instead. The game is great, but I keep falling through the walls and rocks so much its annoying. I be grinding a hell lot of levels. Next level, I can make factory assembly lines, which is cool, I guess... I play on PC but I got Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft said they got a tight connection with their friends over there at Nintendo and if so... Why don't we got an exploring cross-play Pokemon game? I mean it could just be 1 game that just gets regular updates. The truth is, Palworld is just providing consumers what they had been asking of Pokemon for years literally decades, and Nintendo still hasn't given us that. So unless Nintendo give us something like what Palworld is giving... Then I do not see Palworld dying anytime soon. It is a very unfinished game. But at least those Microsoft fans get to catch Pals together with their friends. Feel me? I stream to an Xbox audience as a PC gamer. Palworld is crossplay with Xbox and PC so its an easy W. But my favorite monster taming game is Pokemon Fire Red. Infact I love PokeMMO because its like 5 old classical Pokemon games in 1 with Allowing You to play with other players, crossplayed. Nintendo is their own thorn in their own side for not acting sooner.

[@RikuEts]

So far this is what ive seen. A sheep ball that is suspiciously similar to wooloo... its based on a sheep news flash sheep look like SHEEP. Foxes will look lije foxes and elemental animals suck as foxes will look like foxes with elements. Anything based on an old diety or folk legend is going to be similar. You cant copywrite an animal or any old legend. You cant copywright elementals. You cant copywrite an art style, And IF what I'veheard is true Nintindo just learned you cant sue because a cow looks like a cow. More specifically i heard nintindo tried to sue because Mozzarina looked like moo moo meadows cow and lost. That is just hearsay though i never bothered to look it up. It just sounds very nintindo to do lol

[@micahroubideaux6588]

Most new country or rap artists do the exact thing that Palworld is accused of. Palworld developers imitated the genre and art style pokemon proliferated and innovated the genre in a manner that pokemon refused to do.

[@tonyromero8219]

Poorly researched takes. Half of your examples you listed were debunked likely before you started the script the other half are just your feelings. Your probably knew that and this is a poor attempt at rage bait. So please take your Pokemon XD model and bait in some other fandom.

[@DarthLeo1000YT]

Who the hell cares? Its a game and its fun

[@Jikuri]

This didn't age well

[@johnwickonspeed7701]

Bro called Palworld a cash grab meanwhile Nintendo released an objectively worse game in Scarlet and Violet then slapped a 59.99 price tag on it. With two DLC's they've released along with it. You could buy palworld for your entire family AND play it with them for the same price. Probably have more fun as well. Scarlet and Violet also had waaaay more bugs day 1 and still suffer performance issues to this day. Technology has been replacing jobs for all of human history and will continue to do so.

[@croakcrash]

I want palworld to succeed so it and the developers can be better. I hope this situation makes them understand to be more diligent and creative with what they make. Most of what they have made seems unique in terms of monster designs, but there are definitely some that are concerning. I love pokémon and have been having loads of fun with palworld, and just hope it resolves peacefully.

[@asterthehedgehog6861]

If anyone says that Game Freak needs to step up their game, direct that kind of emotion at Nintendo. They’re not as “small” as GF and most likely call the bigger shots around the PKMN Company. They’ve been kind of sketchy towards their fans and with their ideas since the Switch era began. They needed to give this game more time but it felt like they wanted to rush out a new generation since Ash was leaving the anime. If this is how they chose to start a new era of Pokémon (Generation 9), I would leave the franchise because the past 8 regions have, at least, shown more love and care and creativity. I mean, you cannot even enter hardly ANY building in Paldea or Kitakami and there’s nothing to grab your attention while traveling. With Indigo Disk finished (for me), I’ll go back to Galar for my Pokémon fun. Or maybe I’ll go buy LG Pikachu or even BDSP

[@mpo48]

That 3d model thing was confirmed false. Shut up

[@darkmoonhowl]

Inspiration is one thing. Imitation is another. But there is something greater, which is Inovation!!!

[@davidweaver4436]

Game is fun. No definitive proof of any wrongdoing. Does stuff Pokemon doesn't. Let's me bullseye fools with a musket while my giant cat in a witch hat watches my back. It's too late for me to ever refund it, but if later on it comes out they did something actually really bad (and no, tracing a little too close to the sun with the Pal designs isn't bad enough) then sure I'll admit I jumped the gun when it comes to getting the game. Now if you don't mind I need my Pal factory to crank me out a few hundred more bullets.

[@ConfidentCow]

That's a good take. And the game really looks like a lot of fun! Like I said, if it weren't for the shady business practices from the company (3 games in EA, shameless rip-offs, etc.), I'd be all for this game!

[@snintendog]

@@ConfidentCowToo bad all you have are bad and quite racist takes .

[@Jenna-hu7mp]

That 3D model thing was already debunked, smh. The person who did that admited to changing and resizing the models to make them appear more similar for political reasons. Also pokemon stole designs from Dragon quest. No uproar over that.

[@armpitsalad]

... Here's the BIG POINT all these videos forget to mention. POKÉMON LEECHED OFF/STOLE CREATIVE DESIGNS FROM DRAGON QUEST. But immediately the Pokémon fans complaining will deny it and act like it's all nonsense. Over 8 million people already spoke on this matter. THEY LOVE PALWORLD. Or just like it. But either way they are playing for a reason. What does AI generated art even matter? So a human didn't think up the art concept. WHO CARES!!! AS LONG AS THE GAME IS WORTH THE MONEY! Just don't play it. Stop focusing on it. People are so over Pokémon games that they are making videos telling others to play the boring games they are NOT PLAYING so they can make these videos. That says it all. They want this game to be a Pokémon and it isn't. Pokémon could have made this long ago when fans asked for it.

[@shortfusd]

AI or not these devs are definitely creatively bankrupt. Not sure why people are going through insane mental gymnastics to argue this. There is no creativity, originality, or passion in any of these designs. I think we should be supporting games that actually hired artists who are passionate about their game and make original designs.

[@magotheguy173]

It’s actually really scary how much people’s moral will sway based on how they feel about the parties involved

[@Underground3]

​@@magotheguy173 It from intent/motivation from the other party. To say they didn't hired artists who aren't passionate show he didn't look into the history on how Palworld came to be. Same thing from the person who made this video.

[@armpitsalad]

Over 8million people don't care about that. They want a fun game that is worth the money and they got it. Look at how you're hating on Palworld. If it sucked or people cared about the allegations, it wouldn't have sold that many copies. THIS shows game devs that all this WE ARE THE ORIGINAL doesn't matter because in the end it is our hard earned money being spent. If you get $15 an hour, you are working about 5 hours to buy that $60+ tax game. And that's after being taxed by the state and fed too. I don't care if AI makes a whole game. If it is fun, I'll play it.

[@r99azm80]

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@vincentebanks3464]

Then when what the fuck was and is game freak a dragon quest rip-off

[@KingFuriousFire]

I just want to say pokemon copied there designs off of another game as well and they looked so similar to the previous game, there was no issue with that but now people are saying that this game is bad for doing so because pokemon is so popular if you are gonna get mad at one game for doing it, it is only fair to do the same for the other too, so I honestly don't see any issue with what they have done despite how similar they look

[@paxvaxen]

Yeah I stopped watching after the hate on Palworld, I get that it's close to pokemon and everything, but I am pretty sure everyone has fun playing it over complaining about GameFreaks/Nintendos way since their games have been... Well... Complete trash recently

[@koiiblitz]

I download Palworld on my Xbox from Gamepass, not having high expectations but was curious enough to give it an honest shot, but then all the "X" Drama stured up surrounding this game and I learned about the CEO's stance on.. everything, I cannot in good conscience play a game from Pocket Pair. And oh my god the drama was about something else entirely, I commend you for talking about this and handling it as well as you did cuz I don't want to touch it with a 10 foot pole.

[@Lilitha11]

People jump to defend Palworld, but it is pretty clear Palworld ripped the stuff off intentionally. They marketed the game as 'pokemon with guns' to increase sales. They want people to complain about their game, because it is free advertisement. They were trying to make the visuals as similar as possible to pokemon as they thought they could legally get away with.

[@benjaminmeusburger4254]

"ripped the stuff off intentionally" artstyle? sure, the artstyle is the least amount of lines drawn so they ripped off 4 games at the same time (Pokemon, Arc, EldenRing, Breath of the Wild) - Sounds like a new gome tbh I describe almost all new games to my friend like "it is like a combination of x+z ...

[@michaeladams7979]

Play pal world ugh Pokémon is a company that would never have you back so why do all this smh

[@Twiggystix4470]

And that’s why I pirated Palworld

[@BigSlimyBlob]

I wouldn't exactly call myself a Pokémon fan. I loved the first games, and played one of the 2nd gen games once. That's it. And I think it should be legal to make games very similar to other games. I have Slay the Spire and I have Tamer Vale. It's all good. But this? Not "inspired by". Blatant ripoff. Shameless too, they barely made any effort to hide it. I hope Nintendo sues and wins.

[@AuraWizard]

Me personally I see digimon as the ripoff not palworld and have you considered the fact that nintendo also has some shady business practices just like everyother game companies there corporations of course they have shady business practices and nintendo says that that they aren't making games for the money but there actions say otherwise you have done nothing to even consider inspection sure he said he does what ever is trending PEWDYPIE DOES THAT AND I DON'T SEE HIM GETTING HATE FOR FOLLOWING TRENDS plus would a person you quoted saying " i allways liked nintendo games" really ripoff nintendo no when you ripoff something you half ass everything and is and you said it looks fun in on of the comments key word looks meaning you haven't even played the danm game and your calling it a ripoff so actually play the danm game before you judge it

[@ColossalSwordFormAndTechnique]

Finally. Someone who isn’t a shill and a npc 👍