After an accusation by a Dutch filmmaker that Capcom “copied” his monster design for one boss fight in Resident Evil Village, gaming developers are now asking: Where does one draw the line between homage and theft?
Where does one draw the line between inspiration and plagiarism?
That was the question gaming developers are asking after Dutch movie director Richard Raaphorst has accused Capcom of copying his monster design for one boss fight in Resident Evil Village.
Village has been making rounds on the internet for its popular ‘tall vampire lady’ boss fight featured in a trailer back in January.
But since its release last May 7, players are now finding out about other boss monsters.
One monster, in particular, is putting the publisher Capcom in hot water as an interview with Eurogamer reveals that the boss design may have been “stolen” from Raaphorst’s 2013 movie, Frankenstein's Army.
The creature in question has rotating propeller blades as its head and is defeated by engulfing it with flames. Both characteristics are evident in the game.
“It's all the same, really. Even the environments, the whole color palette,” says Raaphorst. “It looks like an animatic for my movie."
He adds that he was not contacted by Capcom prior to the release of Village.
It was after the release that he received messages from fans informing him of the similarities.
However, Capcom credits Frankenstein’s Army as inspiration for the creature, in the concept art files unlocked when the game is completed.
"At first I felt pissed," Raaphorst continued. "Then I felt proud. Now, I see all the reactions and I feel pissed again, and insulted. It's so difficult to come up with a great design.”
The director posted photos of both monsters on a Linkedin post which then received comments from artists and developers asking, “Where does one draw the line?”
“Artists take inspiration all the time,” wrote voiceover and graphics artist Hemmersbach. “It's a fringe case, where homage and theft are difficult to differentiate, I feel.”
Big game franchises taking inspiration from film or print is not new, this is only the latest of them.
Resident Evil Village sold over 3 million copies in its first 4 days. Capcom themselves say that this is one of the best results for a game within the franchise.
The game is available on PlayStation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia.
Tags: #ResidentEvilVillage, #FrankensteinsArmy, #plagiarism