Visual similarities betweenWorld of Warcraftand Tencent’s newly announced MMOTarislandare raising questions regarding IP infringement. Over the past decade, the Chinese government’s lax approach to IP protections and the complications of international legal efforts have led to infringements ranging from outright copies of games being released to more subtle design influences.Tarisland, which was announced this past week, taking influence fromWorld of Warcraftseems to fall somewhere in the middle.
While it’s unclear how much has been announced regardingTarislandthat was lost in translation, it’s clear that it’s amultiplayer fantasy MMORPGwith massive environments and an action-based combat system. Players are shown flying through diver fantasy environments, delving into dungeons with large groups of players, and experiencing an epic story with larger-than-life heroes and villains. It’s the visual design and the finer details ofTarislandwhere concerns are being raised.
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It should be immediately clear where these concerns are coming from once watching theTarislandannouncement trailer.World of Warcraftfans will see Sylvanas in the first figure shown on-screen, with her purplish skin and burgundy cape. The pronounced aspects of her gear, including its shoulder pieces and gloves, also stand out as clearly influenced byWorld of Warcraft, as well. This not-Sylvanas then walks through a portal that hearkens toWorld of Warcraft’s Dark Portal, and that’s just the first 15 seconds of the trailer.
Tarisland’s announcement trailer reveals a very clear influence fromWorld of Warcraftall the way through. Its elves, night elves and blood elves alike, look directly taken from Azeroth, as do its humans. There’s even a Tauren-like character briefly shown. Character classes are alsoWorld of Warcraft-inspired, with recognizable rogue, mage, hunter, warrior, and priest visual queues spread throughout. Environments from across Azeroth, heroic characters likeAnduin and Jaina, and so much more all appear to have been taken fromWorld of Warcraftand placed intoTarisland.
Perhaps the most egregious examples of Tencent’sWorld of Warcraftinspiration forTarislandstem from Blizzard’s own cinematics. In one scene, a dragon similar but not identical to Deathwing, lands atop a castle parapet and bellows. This is a near one-to-one recreation of a sequence taken fromWorld of Warcraft: Cataclysm’s cinematic trailerreleased 12 years ago. Similar sequences from otherWorld of Warcraftcinematics are also recognizable inTarisland’s trailer.
To giveTarislandsome credit, the gameplay for the MMO looks entirely distinct fromWorld of Warcraft. It’s more a combination ofGenshin Impactand defunct MMOWildstarthanWorld of Warcraft, with third-person action combat and active dodging. And while there’s clear visual influence fromWorld of Warcraft,Tarisland’s polished modern 3D graphics are well beyond the aging visuals of Blizzard’s MMO to a near-incomparable degree. The legalities of the comparison are a subject for the courts, but public opinion at the minimum is going to ask whyTarisland’s developers had to useWorld of Warcraftas a crutch.
