This article will briefly discuss what plagiarism and inspiration are, as well as how they differ from each other. The ability to distinguish between the two and why it is important to be able to do so will also be touched upon.

Why is it important to differentiate between Plagiarism and Inspiration?
In game development it is very common to see aspects of other games, as well as similar art or stage development. This does not mean that games are plagiarizing the work of other games, it simply means that one game was inspired by another and implemented an aspect of the other game, into their own. This dulls the fine line between plagiarism and inspiration, making the ability to differentiate even more vital, as that difference is the deciding factor between a lawsuit and an embarrassment for a game company.

What is the difference between the two?
The difference between plagiarism and inspiration is quite simple, while a plagiarized work is just a copy and paste of another’s work, an inspired work is taking the base idea of someone else and developing something from it. An example of an inspired work is the game Rune Fencer Illyia. This game took inspiration from the hit game Hollow Knight. There are various aspects of the game that are similar to Hollow Knight, but at the same time they have all been tweaked and changed, made to be their own unique game. An example of plagiarized work is the Westworld Game, which was shut down by the Bethesda game company only a month after its release because the game stole and used the program for Bethesda’s game Fallout Shelter.

Conclusion
While defining the line between plagiarism and inspiration is important for various reasons, like respect and fairness to the game companies, dwelling in that task is grueling and exhausting for both the game developers and customers waiting for games. Taking inspiration from games and developing on them is what drives games to become better. The importance of distinguishing the two and accepting how any game can take aspects from various sources, and still make them their own, is how the game industry is where it is today.