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Dev says "false DMCA" from Microsoft got their sandbox game removed from Steam over apparent Minecraft copyright, all because of a screenshot of birch trees (www.gamesradar.com)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/games@sh.itjust.works
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Unomelon, the developer of Minecraft-inspired sandbox game Allumeria, says a DMCA from Microsoft, evidently related to Minecraft, got the game removed from Steam.

"The Allumeria Steam page is currently down because Microsoft has filed a false DMCA claim on it," Unomelon said on Bluesky on Tuesday. "They sent an email earlier today claiming that this screenshot infringes on their copyright. I am taking a moment to figure out what my path is going forward, will update soon."

The screenshot in question (above) is a simple wide shot of a forest filled with birch trees, what look to be oak trees with green and autumnal leaves, and a few pumpkins and weeds checkering the grassy dirt. There are definitely some similarities to Minecraft; if you told me this was a screenshot of a Minecraft mod, I'd probably believe you, but that's true of many voxel-based games, including Hytale.

Direct link to the Bluesky post (Skylib)

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[–] 1 point 9 months ago* (4 children)

I get your point, but there are some pretty specific similarities, notably:

  • Grass texture sides having exposed dirt
  • Clumps of pumpkin blocks as a forest-generating feature
  • Single-block tree trunks with a clump of leaves on top
  • Minecraft-like terrain generation and texturing

All of which are featured prominently in the screenshot. There are differences-- taller trees, more small vegetation, different grass block color variation, colored and differently-modeled leaves-- but it's more similar than other voxel-based games I'm familiar with. Maybe I don't play many mc-likes, but other voxel games like Fractal Block World, Teardown, that foresty one with the tiny voxels (forgot the name), Lucid Blocks (the other voxel game by this same creator(!!) about a liminal world), and even Hypixel have more notable differences than this screenshot does. Maybe there's more to the game that's different, but this particular screenshot looks like lightly modded MC.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    You do realize every specific similarity you brought up also applies to Hytale and Vintage story (except for the pumpkin part because in Vintage story they don't grow in the wild). Could it be that there's a completely different reason those similarities exists?

    Perhaps grass texture with the side showing dirt just looks visually more appealing than an entirely grassy block? Pretty much every minecraft-like game does this. Even Terraria does the same thing in a 2D space.

    As for pumpkins and trees. Pumpkins in the real world also grow in groups. If we consider the fact that the pumpkin has to be a cube there's nothing specific about it growing in the forest in clumps, that's just imitating the real world. Similar thing with trees. Most trees also grow from a single trunk that's sprawls wide at the top. That's just how trees are.

    And what even is "minecraft-like" terrain generation? I'm pretty sure Minecraft has gone through at least 3 different variations of world generation. The latest version of Minecraft world gen looks nothing like what is generated in Allumeria, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the opposite because Minecraft latest world gen is very refined and Allumeria simply doesn't have that level of refinement in its world gen. Allumeria world gen is closer to the alpha/beta version of Minecraft world gen.

    What I'm getting at is that the specifics in that single image can be what make it look like it's Minecraft, but there's a reasonable explanation for all of those things and any resemblance ends up coincidental. It looking like Minecraft is just as coincidental as my picture looking like KCD.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (2 children)

    Well, yeah. I'm not arguing that they actually copied Minecraft. I'm arguing that they ended up in a visually similar place. Which it doesn't seem you disagree with?

    My point is that it can be true that the screenshot looks like Minecraft without the game actually being an MC ripoff.

    And as an aside, Terraria being a 2d game has different considerations for their visuals. You're basically getting xray vision into each block. The sides of terraria blocks do have grass, but unlike in MC or Allumeria you can also see the dirt inside the block.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    I do agree with that, but if you also agree with that then I have no idea why you commented in the first place. You should understand where the other person was coming from because the art style, while similar, is not the same as Minecraft. And since that person was talking about specifically in the context of a DMCA claim he is right that there is literally nothing in that claim that has any grounds (which is why MS withdrew it pretty fast) because if you get into the details nothing shown looks exactly like Minecraft. It looks similar to Minecraft but is still distinct from it.

    Even in that image that looks exactly like Minecraft if you get into the details:

    • The birch texture is actually different
    • The birch model is actually thinner than the Minecraft equivalent
    • The pumpkin texture is so different you can clearly see the difference in the image
    • The pumpkin model is actually smaller than the Minecraft equivalent
    • The "grass" length is different, Minecraft is 1-4 pixels with very jagged jumps while Allumeria is 2-5 pixels with a very consistent 3 pixel length.
    • The oak texture is different, the oak model is different
    • There's red leaves which I don't believe Minecraft has
    • The leaf texture is completely different
    • The clouds are different (multiple colors and flat compared to a single color and the latest version of Minecraft are not flat)
    • And of course then there are the things that are not in Minecraft but that's beyond what is relevant for DMCA

    It's simply a coincidence that the singular image in broad strokes ends up looking like Minecraft. If you understand that I really do not understand why you commented in the first place. Just to make an argument that at a glance that single image looks like Minecraft?

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    Just to make an argument that at a glance that single image looks like Minecraft?

    Yup, that's the reason. OP had said that the textures weren't even similar iirc. Arguing against that doesn't mean I was arguing against their overall conclusion about the DMCA being invalid. Probably should have phrased it less confrontationally.

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