Chapter 45: Copycat Emerges

In the experience store.

Jessica Thompson, Lily Emerson, Paul Wilder, and another boy were engaged in a multiplayer game.

"Senior, help me place a Wall-nut here!" Lily called out.

"How many zombies have you accumulated? Come on, let's place them here and steal Lily's Corn Cannon first," Paul instructed the other boy.

Lily panicked, "Hey, Paul, you can't do that!"

Jessica remained expressionless, "It's fine; I have two more Corn Cannons waiting."

Lily screamed, "Ah! Paul, why are you not following the plan? You ate my Sunflower instead of stealing my Corn Cannon!"

The store was bustling with activity. Jessica and her friends were deeply engrossed in the latest multiplayer mode, and their competition was fierce.

Meanwhile, Amy Johnson was using the developer tools to design new plants and zombies, mainly focusing on their appearance. Her hand-drawing skills were far superior to Alex Parker's, and she had already created two or three new plants.

These plants had a distinctly Chinese flair, including Wheat Machine Gun, Sweet Potato Bomb, and Bamboo Wall.

The community feature within the "Plants vs. Zombies" game had also started gathering more and more players.

Nearly two months after its release, "Plants vs. Zombies" had over 800,000 users, with over half still active. These players had formed thousands of communities, with many real-life friends and classmates joining, allowing them to keep up with each other's latest activities daily.

Some hardcore "Plants vs. Zombies" fans loved the developer tools, especially those interested in game design who were trying to create new mods.

There were already over a dozen mods, though most were simple value changes, like unlimited sunlight or faster plant shooting speeds. While these mods were famous, they clearly couldn't last long.

Alex wasn't worried, though. With more mods, outstanding ones would naturally emerge, and the players would sort them out themselves.

The multiplayer mode had also sparked a wave of excitement among players. Many were posting and discussing strategies for the battle mode in the "Plants vs. Zombies" community. One three-person team even boasted a 20-game winning streak, drawing considerable attention.

On various forums, the version update of "Plants vs. Zombies" received widespread praise, even sparking another download wave.

"I explored the developer tools today. This tool is so powerful you can modify anything. It's like we're developing our own game! Can't wait for someone to make a mod as good as the original!"

"I thought I had mastered this game, but now I realize I was too naive... If mods keep updating, this game could be played forever..."

"Hats off to the designer. A single-player casual game reaching this level is unheard of!"

"By opening the developer tools, it means everyone can freely study 'Plants vs. Zombies' data. The designer is bold!"

"Unlike other companies that hide their game data and encrypt everything to prevent copying."

"Exactly, just for the open developer tools, I'm now a fan!"

As Alex browsed the player's comments, he felt reassured.

For him, the new version had achieved enough. This update significantly extended the life of "Plants vs. Zombies," likely keeping it at the top of casual game charts for months.

Suddenly, Amy exclaimed, "Manager, we have a problem!"

"Hmm?" Alex looked up, "What's wrong?"

Amy handed him her phone, "Look, this game... it copied us!"

Alex took the phone from Amy.

On the screen was a game from the app market. From the introduction, it was clear the gameplay was very similar to "Plants vs. Zombies." The left side had five lanes, and the right side had enemies.

However, the art assets were utterly different, and the game was called "Moon Defense." Players set up various high-tech weapons on the moon to fend off alien insects.

While visually distinct from plants, these high-tech weapons had strikingly similar functions. For example, the Peashooter was replaced with a Machine Gun Turret, Spikeweed with a Magnetic Trap, Sunflower with a Supply Base, and Corn Cannon with a Nuclear Missile Silo.

The zombies were also replaced with alien creatures, all various ugly bugs with different attack methods, many reminiscent of the zombies in "Plants vs. Zombies."

"What's going on?" Paul joined them.

Amy explained, "Look, this 'Moon Defense' game is copying us!"

"What? How shameless!"

Everyone pulled out their phones and found the game on the app market.

Indeed, it was evident that the game was a rip-off of "Plants vs. Zombies," essentially changing the art assets and UI while keeping the gameplay identical.

"This is unacceptable! I'm going to give it a bad review!" Paul fumed.

"Right, bad reviews! I'll get our community to do the same!" everyone agreed.

Alex remained silent, carefully examining the game's data.

It was released two days ago and is entirely free to download. The rating was meagre, only 2.3 stars, with most reviews being one-star.

Clearly, many players had played "Plants vs. Zombies" and had no respect for this copycat game.

The game is monetized through in-app ads, with a simple banner ad on the level completion screen.

There were also some premium services, allowing players to purchase energy supplies (equivalent to sunlight in "Plants vs. Zombies") and pay for three revival chances after death.

The developer was Fly Entertainment, and the designer was an unknown C-level designer.

Fly Entertainment, based in Shanghai, was barely a second-tier game company. It has produced a few mediocre games in the past, none of which were successful.

This company had a poor reputation online, but it was so obscure that most people didn't know its shady history.

After reviewing a few of their previous games, Alex understood the company's style.