STOLEN RMN GAMES ON STEAM

Posts

Pages: first 123 next last
Hey everyone,

I apologize if this isn't the right board for this, but I wanted to make you all aware of a "publisher" on Steam who is selling some of the games on this site without the permission of the creators. I first saw this when Ocean pointed out that he found his first game, Island Sky, on steam, a game that he of course had no intention of ever selling. We then found another three RMN games being sold by this publisher; based on what happened with Island Sky I'm fairly certain these aren't legit either.

Here are the steam links to the games we found so far:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/955730/Island_sky_RPG/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/952530/Prison_Break_RPG/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/955230/Shadows_Light_RPG/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/955720/Sunshine_RPG/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/959940/Inside/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/955850/Three_Treason_Theories_RPG/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/954900/The_Blight/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/955820/Stationary/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/954930/Slimes_RPG/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/955770/Lost_and_Found_RPG/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/959960/Orpheus/

For convenience, here are the corresponding RMN pages:

https://rpgmaker.net/games/110/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/3686/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/6524/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/3876/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/4333/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/6740/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/4788/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/6977/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/6670/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/6551/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/4890/

EDIT: Some non-RMN games courtesy of Seeric

Infinite Road/Branches:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/929840/Infinite_road/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.batata.branches

Energy Nodes:
Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/935030/Energy_nodes/
App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/US/app/id871041093?mt=8


This is of course extremely scummy; stealing aside, it's even worse when someone tries to make money off of a free game you made for fun as was the case with Island Sky. My friends and I have flagged Island Sky on Steam but I'm not sure how long any kind of action will take, as it's still up after a week. Nonetheless I wanted to make everyone aware of this as this seems like exactly the kind of thing that might fly under the radar on Steam. I'll be sending PMs to the creators of these games to let them know as well.

EDIT: Updated with the additional games Seeric found below
funny that he picked an unfinished game to put on steam so he didnt even play the games himself

looking at his itinerary hes pulling from other sites as well, what a swell guy
We're aware of it and dealt with it as much as we could, however due to the fact that most of these devs have been gone for years and that Steam doesn't accept proof unless it's given by the devs themselves we can't exactly do much more than we already have.

I've talked to the Steam staff and they are not willing to bend on this, so there's really nothing that we can do except keep an eye on your own games and jump up if any others are taken. I've emailed the devs in question but alas, I doubt we'll see this guy taken down.

Pisses me off to no end.
author=Liberty
We're aware of it and dealt with it as much as we could, however due to the fact that most of these devs have been gone for years and that Steam doesn't accept proof unless it's given by the devs themselves we can't exactly do much more than we already have.

I've talked to the Steam staff and they are not willing to bend on this, so there's really nothing that we can do except keep an eye on your own games and jump up if any others are taken. I've emailed the devs in question but alas, I doubt we'll see this guy taken down.

Pisses me off to no end.

Based on how it's going for Ocean it sounds like it's a pain in the ass even if the actual developer tries to make a case, since an individual like him can't make the sort of legal threat that would get the attention of someone higher up. I've known for a while now that Steam is pretty awful at managing and taking action on shady games but it's something else when you see it happening so close to home.

Makes me wonder if slapping a negative review on it would help, at least potentially warding off anyone not as well informed of rpgmaker games as we are from buying it. I hardly interact with steam communities and have never written a review so I'm not sure.
author=JIHAUS
Makes me wonder if slapping a negative review on it would help, at least potentially warding off anyone not as well informed of rpgmaker games as we are from buying it. I hardly interact with steam communities and have never written a review so I'm not sure.

You have to buy the game first and THEN leave a review and refund. It's shitty.
I talked to steam too just like liberty (except this time asking for community on how to report a developer) and they just don't give a shit :/
I would put a message at the start of the game saying:
"If you've bought this game, you've been ripped off. This game is free".
To inform the buyer straight away and get a refund.
author=Nakoruru
I would put a message at the start of the game saying:
"If you've bought this game, you've been ripped off. This game is free".
To inform the buyer straight away and get a refund.


If they edit the game project to work on steam they can easily remove that disclaimer.
I'm not sure if it will matter but, just in case it ends up helping somehow, at least 6 other games also look to be stolen from here by Garnudo Games. Here are the ones I've noticed in addition to the ones already listed.

Garnudo Games Steam Version:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/959940/Inside/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/955850/Three_Treason_Theories_RPG/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/954900/The_Blight/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/955820/Stationary/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/954930/Slimes_RPG/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/955770/Lost_and_Found_RPG/

RMN Pages:
https://rpgmaker.net/games/4333/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/6740/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/4788/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/6977/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/6670/
https://rpgmaker.net/games/6551/

It seems like they strictly stuck to games with a "Date Added" of 2014 or earlier. It's bizarre that they were seemingly careful about picking old games, yet they didn't even bother to change the names beyond sometimes sticking "RPG" at the end. Perhaps they figured nobody would notice for a while as long as they stuck with older stuff mostly made by inactive developers. I doubt they were betting on Valve being so apparently apathetic about the situation at any rate.
author=Archeia_Nessiah
author=Nakoruru
I would put a message at the start of the game saying:
"If you've bought this game, you've been ripped off. This game is free".
To inform the buyer straight away and get a refund.
If they edit the game project to work on steam they can easily remove that disclaimer.

seeing how lazy the tactics are, it's worth a try at least.

Still. Meh : /

EDIT:

author=Seeric
I'm not sure if it will matter but, just in case it ends up helping somehow, at least 6 other games also look to be stolen from here by Garnudo Games. Here are the ones I've noticed in addition to the ones already listed.
(...)

It seems like they strictly stuck to games with a "Date Added" of 2014 or earlier. It's bizarre that they were seemingly careful about picking old games, yet they didn't even bother to change the names beyond sometimes sticking "RPG" at the end. Perhaps they figured nobody would notice for a while as long as they stuck with older stuff mostly made by inactive developers. I doubt they were betting on Valve being so apparently apathetic about the situation at any rate.

Good job looking them up! That's a nice sizeable list.

Sadly.. I am certain they can bet on the apetheticness of valve. It's been an issue since the inauguration of greenlight that quality control does not exist. Copyright infringement, plagiarism, reuploads, downright scams, games that cannot even start because they don't function? They all exist. There have been a number of developers relying on that, too (there's been reuploads of the same game ALLLL over the place even.

The only time Valve has to get involved is when a really morally questionable title gains attention (read: gains attention, not: comes onto steam). Yes, I just remember Jim Sterling's coverage lol (credit where credit is due). They've been following it, saying it's coming for years *shrugs* So. Meh.

It does appear those "devs" tried to be careful as to not get current devs involved.. and it's really sad for any of the games, the devs, and the people buying it.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
This is all kinds of pathetic, and I'm furious that Steam refuses to do anything. I'm so sorry for all the devs that were affected by this.

God dammit.
https://steamcommunity.com/dmca/create/

if anyone is affected please start by filing a takedown, and please keep us appraised of the situation
Really shitty to hear and sucks to know more about how this ecosystem gets abused.
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
Damn, this is a big shame. On the people doing it and on Steam for letting it happen. :[
In all honesty, I would be surprised if Steam did anything about this. Heck, I'd be surprised if Steam did anything about this even if the developers did come forward.

Though, I'm not sure who is more apathetic in this situation. The person that stole the games in the first place. Especially when one factors in that several of them aren't even finished. Or Steam for not giving a shit about what goes on with Greenlight.
unity
You're magical to me.
12540
Ugh, this is awful, and my heart goes out to Ocean and everyone else having to deadl with this.

I almost wonder if I should start putting my games on Steam, probably for free, just so I have a way to challenge it if anyone else tries to upload them.
The sad part, is that probably isn't a bad idea.
Frogge
I wanna marry ALL the boys!! And Donna is a meanc
18536
Sacred, Greenlight is no longer how steam handles games that get on there. There's been this thing called Steam Direct. I believe you fill out some paperwork and some algorithm decides if your game can get on there. It's shitty none the less with no humans overlooking the games to say if they're even legit.
Also involving a fixed entry fee, I think. (which makes it a bad idea for free games, probably?)

Anyway, I wrote Jim Sterling a quick mail, and hope others do too. I think someone already mentioned the developer on his subreddit. If nothing else, people bitching about it is what gets attention and helps others to stay away from this at least a bit. : D Here's hoping he takes it up. It's really the best bet for the situation with Steam.

https://www.reddit.com/r/JimSterling/comments/9rlvov/garnudo_games_stealing_games_and_uploading_them/
@Frogge - Thanks for the clarification.

@Kylaila - It depends. In all honesty, I imagine the stolen games are probably being sold for dirt cheap, which may result in a few people picking them up. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they make their money back.

I suppose it will boil down to how quickly word gets out there about Garnudo Games selling games that are available for free.

In all honesty, this reminds me of people selling copies of Double Jump Books strategy guide for Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. A strategy guide that they had made free after it was revealed that it contained several mistakes if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, this led to people selling copies of the .pdf as well as making people pay for a copy of the web address where you could download the guide. In fact, this happened so many times that Double Jump Books eventually pulled the .pdf file in order to stop people from selling the download link on Amazon.
@sacredlobo I was more thinking of unity's idea of offering the real games for free. I don't know if the fee applies there as well. Do they?

For those developers, you are most likely very right on that. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many cheap offers..

And wow. That's a sad story. Though I can see it. (reminds me of all kinds of fake pages for getting a certain kind of document in my country. before i found the official link google got me a fake one, but I am glad I spotted it)
Pages: first 123 next last