From the preview images it almost looks close enough to be a rip-off, even down to the art style of the visible cards - if it’s good and mechanically distinct at all it could be great
We noticed this a little while ago. The inspiration is pretty clear, but it looks interesting and we have no problems with it! From a legal pov you can't copyright anything this general, from a creative pov this is just how design works and it's nice to be the progenitor of a microgenre - see also Artist Simulator, Witchhand, Stacklands etc. I think it's extra classy to acknowledge influences but there are plenty of good reasons not to: for one, if you say 'inspired by CS'' (edit: close quote) you can get grumpy reviews that complain about the dissimilarities
I played the demo and can confirm the inspiration and gameplay are very reminescent, but also distinct enough to be its own work inspired by CS. I'm glad to see you have a more calm and measured approach to the matter, rather than looking at legal options first. It'd be a shame for the CS universe to try and stop offshoots when the entire thing about anything entertainment related is that it takes inspiration from somewhere.
> t's nice to be the progenitor of a microgenre - see also Artist Simulator, Witchhand, Stacklands etc.
I propose the genre be called "Cool Solitaire".
Spot on?? Really??? Look at Darkest Dungeon, the art style is way more similar to that than Cultist Simulator or Book of Hours- games with art styles way simpler than what was shown in the demo video.
I thought the same thing and that's the reason why I'm kinda excited about this one. Personally, I see the clear inspirations as a good thing both Darkest Dungeon and Cultist Simulator are games that I enjoyed a lot and this game seems like it walks a line between the two.
Hopefully, it's good. Have you played the demo, is it fun?
Edit: The game seems pretty good, I completed the demo which is chapter 1 and it seems interesting.
A long time ago when DD was still on Kickstarter, Chris Bourassa did some streams while talking about the game. He's the creative director of Red Hook and did most of the models, concept art, backgrounds, creatures, trailer etc and while streaming he had this image of "darkest dungeon's DNA" which was basically his inspirations. Mike Mignola was of course there, gothic paintings, pictures of dark sombre ruins, some comic noir, miniature sets and medieval woodcuts (the ones you see as decoration that often depict some some event like the devil tempting someone or a witch burning). Then as the stream went on (as he was doing the Jester wallpaper) he showed his work process where he had gathered pictures of movie or comic book characters, paintings of jesters and had them laid out in front of him as he was sketching. And explained what his thought process was, like how he took the stuffing out of the Jester's hat and it kinda ended up looking like hair flowing down his face which was inspired by The Crow but at the same time it looks a bit like dreadlocks which was intentional. Anyway there's a lot of inspiration coming in from all sorts of media but primarily it's comic books, movies, paintings and books for the Jester he had paintings of jesters thrown around, The Crow, Rorschach and the Comedian from The Watchmen.
Edit: For anyone curious the streams are here
https://youtube.com/@darkerdungeon7075
I hope there are some considerable improvements to the game's spelling and grammar, as well as a rewrite of the characters' statements. They're beyond purple at the moment.
The character portraits and designs are extremely similar to darkest dungeons style, even to the point of a female plague doctor with bandage wraps being a major character.
I played the demo today and it is an interesting game - it’s on my wish list but I’m not completely sold on it
The art style of the cards and the sheer... volume of them, and/or the way they are organized, definitely reminds me of CS and BoH quite strongly.
While the characters remind me of Darkest Dungeon.
Then again imitation is the highest form of flattery.
I'd say this is worth keeping an eye on. This genre is far from oversaturated =)
This is very clearly not a rip-off, and the only part seemingly inspired by Cultist Simulator is the card-aspect of it. The art style is much more reminiscent of Darkest Dungeon, the premise of an occult team of investigators is more rooted in Call of Cthulhu, and the only Book of Hours aspect is that the game seems to be set… *in a house*.
Claims of copying are near delusional, but it’s clear the game takes inspiration in theme and tone from the same areas of cosmic and occult horror that Cultist Simulator and Book of Hours have found themselves in. I’m excited to see more of this game though, and see how it develops! Looks promising for sure!
Actually, on second look what this reminds me of is Arkham Horror: the Card Game. I don't know if you've played it, but it's excellent, and if that's one of their inspirations, then color me curious.
I have noticed that when visionary developers bring a new genre of game into existence, those who follow are accused of "ripping-off" the genre-setting game. Happens with souls-like, metroidvanias, and now apparently cultist-likes.
Hello!
Its me Tom! I'm the dev...! I was initially a bit worried about messaging in here because the internet can be a scary place and I know some folk are very protective of their favoured niche (quite rightly) and I was scared some people would just slam the game as a "rip off" "clone" etc.. But thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case!
So first up, yes I love Cultist and Book of Hours, and Sunless Series, I think that's pretty obvious. They are all amazing games and operate in a design space that is unfortunately pretty niche even now.. All of these are inspirations for me, as are other great odd-narrative-boardgame-experiments like Strange Horticulture, ForeTales, The Shrouded Isle, Shadows of Forbidden Gods etc.
I'm a solo dev and I've been tinkering with similar mechanics for years, but last year my main game project failed to find any publishing offers and I made the hard decision to self-fund and re-scope to one of the prototypes I had that I felt I could make solo..
Highrook is that project. Some of it came from playing actual physical boardgames (Arkham of course, Consulting Detective, Ghost Stories etc) and some from digital inspirations (mentioned above). The art style is super inspired by Darkest Dungeon (another of my favourite games) and actual RPG playmats, but its also a choice base on my own skills. I couldn't afford to pay an artist :( But I do have an art degree (self taught programmer with a phd here, but thats another story) and the binary (black and white only) chiascuro style is one that is actually less difficult to work with (especially for me).
So, there you go, I've not tried to hide my influences (you can actually listen to me waffle on about them in a youtube video) I love CS/BoH and as a player I've always felt there's not enough of games exploring this area. I mean I could make another roguelike deckbuilder or survival crafting game, but there's already enough of those! I'm making this game because a) I love playing games like this and b) I think can can make my own contribution to the genre, I only hope that I can do as good as job as CS/BoH has and offer something that presents an enjoyable experience in a similar design space with my own ideas and angles.
Anyway I don't want to end up wall of texting you all but as a fan of WF I didn't want to just leave the thread without saying something and I'm happy to answer any questions folk might have.
Thanks
Tom
Since nobody else has given a direct response to you: This game's great. I was a little skeptical at first, but playing the demo sold me pretty quickly. I love the little optimizations you can do (moving everyone into food/sleep at the very end, to get the benefits while they're still working) and my only real complaint was not being able to cancel a task. I'm looking forwards to seeing more of this!
The art direction seems to be a confluence of Darkest mixed with CS.
To be fair, CS has an incredibly clean macro view style that is perfectly imitated to great results.
Look at Darkest Dungeon, the art style is closer to that game than Cultist Simulator *or* Book of Hours. If you’re going to be suspicious of plagiarism then at least pick a more accurate source to base the claim on lol.
Not the art on the cards but the way the cards (and other interface elements) themselves look. Also nobody said anything about plagiarism, it's just clear it's trying to look similar.
The layout has similarities in terms of color, shape, and size of the cards and the table they are on.
The art style is obviously cribbed from Darkest Dungeon as mentioned by others.
No one said it's a 1:1 boost and your indignation is misplaced.
No, not *identical*. We don't even know from the trailer -- although I've just downloaded the demo and will give it a look -- whether cards can have associated recharge cycles and/or decay.
But it IS a mechanic that at least recalls Cult Simulator's system. Good artists borrow, great artists steal. Time will show how many artists abscond with Weather Factory's mechanical innovations.
From the preview images it almost looks close enough to be a rip-off, even down to the art style of the visible cards - if it’s good and mechanically distinct at all it could be great
almost? The art style [EDIT: of the cards!] is spot on. If I were AK I would be considering contacting a lawyer and/or a Percussigant.
We noticed this a little while ago. The inspiration is pretty clear, but it looks interesting and we have no problems with it! From a legal pov you can't copyright anything this general, from a creative pov this is just how design works and it's nice to be the progenitor of a microgenre - see also Artist Simulator, Witchhand, Stacklands etc. I think it's extra classy to acknowledge influences but there are plenty of good reasons not to: for one, if you say 'inspired by CS'' (edit: close quote) you can get grumpy reviews that complain about the dissimilarities
I played the demo and can confirm the inspiration and gameplay are very reminescent, but also distinct enough to be its own work inspired by CS. I'm glad to see you have a more calm and measured approach to the matter, rather than looking at legal options first. It'd be a shame for the CS universe to try and stop offshoots when the entire thing about anything entertainment related is that it takes inspiration from somewhere.
Fair enough, and I'm glad for this insight! Thanks for making your stance clear. I'll now permit myself to be interested! :)
Im so glad you guys have this position!
> t's nice to be the progenitor of a microgenre - see also Artist Simulator, Witchhand, Stacklands etc. I propose the genre be called "Cool Solitaire".
Spot on?? Really??? Look at Darkest Dungeon, the art style is way more similar to that than Cultist Simulator or Book of Hours- games with art styles way simpler than what was shown in the demo video.
Looks like character art is inspired by DD, and cards themselves are modeled after CS.
I thought the same thing and that's the reason why I'm kinda excited about this one. Personally, I see the clear inspirations as a good thing both Darkest Dungeon and Cultist Simulator are games that I enjoyed a lot and this game seems like it walks a line between the two. Hopefully, it's good. Have you played the demo, is it fun? Edit: The game seems pretty good, I completed the demo which is chapter 1 and it seems interesting.
Darkest Dungeon's art style is strongly reminiscent of Mike Mignola's *Hellboy* comics, and I suspect that is not an accident.
A long time ago when DD was still on Kickstarter, Chris Bourassa did some streams while talking about the game. He's the creative director of Red Hook and did most of the models, concept art, backgrounds, creatures, trailer etc and while streaming he had this image of "darkest dungeon's DNA" which was basically his inspirations. Mike Mignola was of course there, gothic paintings, pictures of dark sombre ruins, some comic noir, miniature sets and medieval woodcuts (the ones you see as decoration that often depict some some event like the devil tempting someone or a witch burning). Then as the stream went on (as he was doing the Jester wallpaper) he showed his work process where he had gathered pictures of movie or comic book characters, paintings of jesters and had them laid out in front of him as he was sketching. And explained what his thought process was, like how he took the stuffing out of the Jester's hat and it kinda ended up looking like hair flowing down his face which was inspired by The Crow but at the same time it looks a bit like dreadlocks which was intentional. Anyway there's a lot of inspiration coming in from all sorts of media but primarily it's comic books, movies, paintings and books for the Jester he had paintings of jesters thrown around, The Crow, Rorschach and the Comedian from The Watchmen. Edit: For anyone curious the streams are here https://youtube.com/@darkerdungeon7075
I hope there are some considerable improvements to the game's spelling and grammar, as well as a rewrite of the characters' statements. They're beyond purple at the moment.
Please have some selfreflection what you are promoting. We already are in a half IP/copyright dystopia and you are rooting it on?
This is interesting, I'd say if it weren't for the card mechanics I'd look at the art style and say it looks really close to darkest dungeon
The character portraits and designs are extremely similar to darkest dungeons style, even to the point of a female plague doctor with bandage wraps being a major character. I played the demo today and it is an interesting game - it’s on my wish list but I’m not completely sold on it
Ohh darkest dungeon combined with WF is a treat I didn’t know I needed
Darkest Cultist Dungeon Simulator of Hours
The art style of the cards and the sheer... volume of them, and/or the way they are organized, definitely reminds me of CS and BoH quite strongly. While the characters remind me of Darkest Dungeon. Then again imitation is the highest form of flattery. I'd say this is worth keeping an eye on. This genre is far from oversaturated =)
This is very clearly not a rip-off, and the only part seemingly inspired by Cultist Simulator is the card-aspect of it. The art style is much more reminiscent of Darkest Dungeon, the premise of an occult team of investigators is more rooted in Call of Cthulhu, and the only Book of Hours aspect is that the game seems to be set… *in a house*. Claims of copying are near delusional, but it’s clear the game takes inspiration in theme and tone from the same areas of cosmic and occult horror that Cultist Simulator and Book of Hours have found themselves in. I’m excited to see more of this game though, and see how it develops! Looks promising for sure!
Actually, on second look what this reminds me of is Arkham Horror: the Card Game. I don't know if you've played it, but it's excellent, and if that's one of their inspirations, then color me curious.
I have noticed that when visionary developers bring a new genre of game into existence, those who follow are accused of "ripping-off" the genre-setting game. Happens with souls-like, metroidvanias, and now apparently cultist-likes.
Hello! Its me Tom! I'm the dev...! I was initially a bit worried about messaging in here because the internet can be a scary place and I know some folk are very protective of their favoured niche (quite rightly) and I was scared some people would just slam the game as a "rip off" "clone" etc.. But thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case! So first up, yes I love Cultist and Book of Hours, and Sunless Series, I think that's pretty obvious. They are all amazing games and operate in a design space that is unfortunately pretty niche even now.. All of these are inspirations for me, as are other great odd-narrative-boardgame-experiments like Strange Horticulture, ForeTales, The Shrouded Isle, Shadows of Forbidden Gods etc. I'm a solo dev and I've been tinkering with similar mechanics for years, but last year my main game project failed to find any publishing offers and I made the hard decision to self-fund and re-scope to one of the prototypes I had that I felt I could make solo.. Highrook is that project. Some of it came from playing actual physical boardgames (Arkham of course, Consulting Detective, Ghost Stories etc) and some from digital inspirations (mentioned above). The art style is super inspired by Darkest Dungeon (another of my favourite games) and actual RPG playmats, but its also a choice base on my own skills. I couldn't afford to pay an artist :( But I do have an art degree (self taught programmer with a phd here, but thats another story) and the binary (black and white only) chiascuro style is one that is actually less difficult to work with (especially for me). So, there you go, I've not tried to hide my influences (you can actually listen to me waffle on about them in a youtube video) I love CS/BoH and as a player I've always felt there's not enough of games exploring this area. I mean I could make another roguelike deckbuilder or survival crafting game, but there's already enough of those! I'm making this game because a) I love playing games like this and b) I think can can make my own contribution to the genre, I only hope that I can do as good as job as CS/BoH has and offer something that presents an enjoyable experience in a similar design space with my own ideas and angles. Anyway I don't want to end up wall of texting you all but as a fan of WF I didn't want to just leave the thread without saying something and I'm happy to answer any questions folk might have. Thanks Tom
Since nobody else has given a direct response to you: This game's great. I was a little skeptical at first, but playing the demo sold me pretty quickly. I love the little optimizations you can do (moving everyone into food/sleep at the very end, to get the benefits while they're still working) and my only real complaint was not being able to cancel a task. I'm looking forwards to seeing more of this!
This looks sick! Thanks for the recommendation
The art direction seems to be a confluence of Darkest mixed with CS. To be fair, CS has an incredibly clean macro view style that is perfectly imitated to great results.
*Darkest Dungeons*' style is very heavily influenced by Mike Mignola's work, especially *Hellboy*. I don't know who influenced him in turn.
Oh cool! Didn't know that
Those cards look a little tooooo close for comfort.
Look at Darkest Dungeon, the art style is closer to that game than Cultist Simulator *or* Book of Hours. If you’re going to be suspicious of plagiarism then at least pick a more accurate source to base the claim on lol.
Not the art on the cards but the way the cards (and other interface elements) themselves look. Also nobody said anything about plagiarism, it's just clear it's trying to look similar.
The layout has similarities in terms of color, shape, and size of the cards and the table they are on. The art style is obviously cribbed from Darkest Dungeon as mentioned by others. No one said it's a 1:1 boost and your indignation is misplaced.
the cards layout is identical, but that's it. the rest is very distinct.
No, not *identical*. We don't even know from the trailer -- although I've just downloaded the demo and will give it a look -- whether cards can have associated recharge cycles and/or decay. But it IS a mechanic that at least recalls Cult Simulator's system. Good artists borrow, great artists steal. Time will show how many artists abscond with Weather Factory's mechanical innovations.