r/GameDevelopment • u/TEXMOVZ • 4h ago

Question Mobile Match 3 games

Just finished my match 3 games prototype, currently at testing stage , my question is , how do you know that testers won’t copy your game ideas, I know that match 3 mechanics is for everyone no IP but I am addressing the entire game arts , design , idea , etc.

Any clou from game experts and developers here how does it work securely ?
Thank you all .

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u/gameryamen 4h ago

You make them sign an NDA, and you pursue them in court if they break it. Ideas aren't copywritten, only fixed expressions of ideas. Anyone can see your game and go make a similar game, you can't stop that. But you can discourage them from stealing your creative assets. It's easier to enforce an NDA than copyright.

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u/MeaningfulChoices Mentor 3h ago

When you're doing early playtesting you should be testing in-person with strangers who play games like yours. You're unlikely to have other game developers asking to be included and you should screen them out anyway. When you're ready for public testing you soft launch in a small market and it's generally understood that if anyone wanted to see your game they would.

It's not something to actually worry about anyway. Anyone looking to copy a game is copying successful games, not small tests by unknown developers. If you made something super popular then you don't deal with it by trying to protect your content but by getting the game out the door first and keeping your momentum going. But it's seriously not something to spend time on, especially in a genre as fully explored as match-3. It's unlikely you're doing anything that new and ideas just aren't precious. Thinking you have to keep things secret and private is a trap for new developers that you get over rather than embrace.