When someone copies your toon

[MHertz]

Someone on my shard has, I am told, created a character whose look draws 95% from mine, has a similar name that could be confused for mine; and they are RPing as if they are part of the lore behind mine, with at least one person that I also RP with. And I don’t just have one character like this; it’s the basic uniform for a SG full of alts along the same lines.

 

I don’t want to get into specifics about who, which character, which shard, or to what degree they are similar. It isn’t about this particular case, and I’m not asking in order to know how to deal with this one individual. I want to know: what would you do?

 

Would you be flattered and pleased that your character was noticed? Would you be annoyed that they didn’t ask permission? Or would you worry that other players will mistake them for an affiliated and authorized character who could damage your lore or your reputation?

[Yomo Kimyata]

This is exactly like an advice column.  

 

 

[MHertz]

I know exactly how I feel about it, and what I plan to do. I’m curious what other people think, because it’s an interesting area to discuss.

[kito]

I would be flattered. Even if they are trying to be mean spirited about it. They still learned about your lore and in some way are mimicking it. 

 

For what I would do. Nothing it's a game there is no "brand" to DMG and everything is "owned" by coh anyway. (I think) 

[Greycat]

I've heard of one person who has a habit of doing something similar. Think I've seen them once and just had someone mention it was something they did, often for ... non family friendly purposes.

 

In all the time I've been playing, I've run into someone who had an almost-exact replica of a costume I had (obviously ignoring intentional copies and things like "Jeans and a T-shirt") ... once? And that was pre-COV release.  In that case, it was 100% happenstance, we laughed it off and I don't think I ever saw them again.

 

Regardless, I'd go with the intent.

 

If it seems like they really liked it... talk to them, who knows, they might have something interesting you can incorporate into your setup, you might have someone worth adding to the SG or the RP storyline. If it really bothers you, ask them to not make that copy.

 

If it seems malicious, make sure you've screenshotted it (and you can grab bio info, open it up, /screenshotui 1 to grab what's on screen,) and ask them to *not* due to the issues you've mentioned. I'd screenshot and/or get date/time of when you asked, too, to back it up.

 

If they don't, get a GM involved.

[Paragon Vanguard]

If they didn't create the toon, and background, chances are they will stop at some point, with no real investment in the toon itself. If its someone mad at your or dislikes you and did it to be malicious, then people will see that. Either way, it really doesn't matter. I have seen toons very similar to my own, but I guess I don't think about it that much, and never in the sense that they are maliciously copying me.

Just play, and don't let others get in the way of it.

[tidge]

The if the copycat toon wasn't a Stalker, the copycat wasn't really trying.

[Ceejer]

RO did something similar to this once with the Damn Dirty Apes SG on live so, I'd probably befriend them and get them to make an SG with me. I'd be super outgoing to convince others to join and then at some point have an entire SG of different dimensional versions of me fighting an alien invasion from another dimension/time or something. 

[FDR's Think Tank]

You have one of the great pleasures of playing a Super Hero themed game.

 

A Rival, An Admirer, or perhaps an Enemy.

 

Being Copied is just flattering. You found something that works enough that someone else has made space in their hearts and minds for your ideas.

 

I really don't see how he can do anything serious, since it's pretty obvious when you're dealing with a copycat.

[honoroit]

I even publish my .costume files, I've won so many AP competitions.

 

You must be good at RP, if people are playing understudy.

 

Is it a drop creepy? 🤔 ya. In that it's obsessional.

 

But they're just a person playing a game, and that might include to them gaming you - so try not to give anything negative fuel. Because it grows in your head if you do.  That'd be the worst this person could be doing, and I hope it isn't the case, and that it doesn't get all up in your thoughts space.

 

-- big rep fit check ✅ Figs

[MHertz]

On 8/17/2024 at 7:04 PM, kito said:

For what I would do. Nothing it's a game there is no "brand" to DMG and everything is "owned" by coh anyway. (I think) 

As far as I understand, COH owns the costume designs, but I don’t recall their ever saying they own the writing in the bios or the text that players type in RP.

 

As far as what could be damaged, it’s possible for an impostor to damage friendships, trust, and a SG’s reputation. I think players are entitled to own those.

 

9 hours ago, FDR's Think Tank said:

Being Copied is just flattering. You found something that works enough that someone else has made space in their hearts and minds for your ideas.

There’s definitely room for being flattered. I can totally see that. I think it depends on the approach, but sure.

 

9 hours ago, honoroit said:

You must be good at RP, if people are playing understudy.

That’s also a good way to look at it.

 

I haven’t wanted to make this about me, because a) I’ve already spoken to the person in question and I don’t need advice; and b) the situation I faced is more about the way the player chose to go about it, rather than the copying in and of itself. I wanted to see how people felt about just the imitation part, not my specific circumstances.

[lemming]

If they go about and say that they are you and try to sabotage any relationships you have set up, then that could be labeled harassment.  (I could see a RP way to do that, but I think consent may be needed)

 

If all they're doing is similar costumes, etc... not sure what I would think.

 

I once ran a game at a convention with three characters that had the same name, two of whom were in supergroups of the same name.   And two others were in overlapping super groups.    So of course the game turned into a parallel universe story.

[MHertz]

On 8/19/2024 at 10:59 AM, lemming said:

If all they're doing is similar costumes, etc... not sure what I would think.

If it were just a similar costume, along a very simple theme, I wouldn’t give a fig about it, personally. People can use the same designs. The first few months on Live had a gaggle of female toons in the jagged metallic bodysuit thing, only varying in color and skin tone. It happens.

 

The more distinct and unique your choices and colors are — you didn’t just pick “robot” or “zombie” from the costume drop-down menu and went with the defaults, and not copying some specific thing like a naval uniform or a business suit — the harder it is to justify as creative overlap, and the more I would give it some side-eye looks.

Edited 10 hours ago by MHertz

[caradoc1979]

If I saw someone had copied my looks and naming convention, my thinking would be in this order:

 

Whoa, how are there two of me??? 

Hey, nice outfit! I DO look good!

Wow, they're only like level 5. That was me at level 5. Gosh, that was a long time ago...

I am probably never going to see this person again. I should take a screenshot!

Oh hey, it's dinnertime!

 

- and then promptly forget the whole thing until I go back through my screenshots on a random rainy Tuesday afternoon and laugh about it again

 

I really doubt anyone who copies a *non-trademarked* character concept will feel as invested as a player who creates their own and continue to play it long. 

[twozerofoxtrot]

On 8/18/2024 at 10:48 AM, MHertz said:

Would you be flattered and pleased that your character was noticed?

 

Sure. But people notice my character all the time and send nice tells about her design or bio or art. They don't need to copy the character to show they've noticed.

 

On 8/18/2024 at 10:48 AM, MHertz said:

Would you be annoyed that they didn’t ask permission?

 

You bet.

 

On 8/18/2024 at 10:48 AM, MHertz said:

Or would you worry that other players will mistake them for an affiliated and authorized character who could damage your lore or your reputation?

 

I'm not totally sure I would have that concern. But if I were to go out on a limb and guess where this question is coming from, having a character whose design is to be one of many magical clones may cause confusion to take root if other players start planting their own versions in a common RP space. I suppose it all really hinges on how wild and willowy said copycat player was being with their homage (or straight lift) of my concept.

[MHertz]

On 9/11/2024 at 8:55 PM, twozerofoxtrot said:

I'm not totally sure I would have that concern. But if I were to go out on a limb and guess where this question is coming from, having a character whose design is to be one of many magical clones may cause confusion to take root if other players start planting their own versions in a common RP space. I suppose it all really hinges on how wild and willowy said copycat player was being with their homage (or straight lift) of my concept.

You guess correctly; that was what prompted me to make this post. Someone created a character along a similar style and naming convention, with a costume inspired from the clones’ collective look, and was meant to be the bad/evil/broken version.

 

I don’t have a problem with someone creating said character, even if the person didn’t ask, even if the person knew me but was deliberately hiding it from me. (Both true in this case.) I have no control over what characters people play or what they’re called, and I can’t be bothered to worry about it. It’s a bit flattering that they would want to be part of the group, and I can appreciate that some people want to join in on something unique or popular or thought-provoking or infamous. (I flatter myself that the clones I made are at least one of these.) I encourage people to do so, when I find interested people that I think have the chops and the personal chemistry for it.

 

What particularly annoyed me was when the player with the bad/broken version started interacting with my friends and pretending to be part of the same lore without telling me. That’s just outright lying to people on purpose in order to cause (or having the effect of causing) confusion. Worse, they got the lore wrong. Luckily, one person they chose knew me on Discord and sent a message to the effect of “I don’t know if you know this but…” so I was able to notify other players and SGs that this was not authorized.

 

The player perpetrating the copy claims that he told my friend up front that they weren’t authorized. The friend verified this. However, I have no idea if that’s the only time this bad/twisted version was set free to interact with others. I doubt the perpetrator would tell the truth.

 

That is because this behavior was in line with that player’s MO. Twice before they had entered my base (a park where Nature is allowed to take its course) with storylines where they would mess up something. Once was “I’m a city official and this location must be registered with the city” and the other was “I cause mutations in plants wherever I go, deal with it!” Both times the player was told to run these ideas past me first, and that I’m not going to give latitude for them to break my stories or my RP space just because the player likes to throw chaos bombs. Of course the player pouted that I wouldn’t just let them run rampant in my base with storylines designed to break things, even deliberately misunderstanding what the problem was, like I was trying to control who their characters can be. No, I’m not; I’m saying “if this is who your character is, they’re not welcome here.”

 

That was the only the thing that was within my power. I said “I won’t stop you from playing your character. You have the nugget of a good idea, why wouldn’t you make it your own? Still, playing that character here will never be welcome, and if you come back here to break things again I will contact a GM.”

 

And that, boys and girls and everyone who identifies as both or neither or in between, is why I didn’t want to make this thread about someone who copied my character — because it wasn’t the copying that was the problem.

Edited 10 hours ago by MHertz

[Without_Pause]

Yeah, that's an easy report. 

[Krimson]

If they didn't ask for permission, I would ignore the player and pretend their toons don't exist.