Do you ever make something you're really proud of only to realize that something almost identical already exists?

[Mocha]

I've had this happen to me a few times in my life, and honestly every time it's happened it really took a toll on my self esteem and motivation even though I know it's a stupid thing to get upset about.

I think the first time this happened was when I was around 10 and just started taking drawing more seriously and working hard to improve. I had just made my first two OCs and they were magical girls or something, I was really proud of them at the time. Anyways a few months after drawing the characters and starting to write a story for them, I came across a magical girl anime on tv with two main characters who looked almost identical to my characters, right down to the colour scheme, outfits and even the mascot characters. I kinda felt like unoriginal trash after that and completely abandoned the characters.

The other time this happened to me actually happened yesterday. Occasionally I write songs, and for the past year and a half I've made a tune for a song that I've memorized mostly in my head and written a little bit of the rest on paper. Just a few days ago I actually got off my ass and got on my computer to start making it. I made about 30 seconds of the song and I was really excited to get it finished. Then yesterday whilst browsing the youtubes I came across a vocaloid song called mosaic role that has a guitar rift between 0:15-0:22 that sounds exactly like the beginning of the song I was writing, with only slight differences in pitch and tempo and maybe two different notes?
I was really happy about starting to make that song and now I'm completely void of motivation, and if I ever did finish it and post it online someone would probably think I was plagiarizing Mozaic Role. Ugghhh....

I'm not the only one this happens to, right?

[Sanz]

it's happened to me before. when I first started drawing, but at the same time I try to remember that deadpool was a rip off of death stroke and rob liefeld even admits it and deadpool is super popular now, so in contrast to design if it happens so that I have a character now a days that resembles another I change up a few things and give them a story completely different from what they look like. there is another thread about this exact thing regarding character designs. it happens to the best of us. please don't give up! cheers!

[shazzbaa]

First, please remember The Two Cakes Rule!

Just because something similar exists doesn't mean that your version isn't needed, or even that your version won't bring something new and different. Two characters looking the same doesn't mean that your story will have the same themes, that the characters will have the same arcs throughout your story, or that your stories would even be able to resonate with the same people.

I've definitely had this happen -- it was a rough feeling to get really really excited about this new story idea about glitches in a video game the literal day before I saw Wreck-It Ralph in theatres. But even though that was a huge blow at the time, a couple days after I saw the movie I realised two things: 1) that by the time my story is all put together, Wreck-It Ralph will not be The New Popular Thing anymore and I don't have to compete with it anyway, and 2) that glitches and video game stories aren't a new concept anyway -- so this movie's existence doesn't mean I can't do my own take on it.

I can definitely see wanting to push away from an established character design if they just feel too close -- if you suddenly realise that you've literally made Sailor Moon and you're worried the similarity'll be distracting, I could see myself changing a colour scheme or tweaking her hair -- I've done similar things myself. But I don't think Looking Different From Everything is what makes a character or a story original. What makes it original isn't that surface level stuff -- it's what you want to say about this character, and the story you want to tell, and what it means to you.

There's this video game that has weird cult following called Deadly Premonition. It's not very well-made, and it mostly gets described as a Twin Peaks rip-off. It isn't even subtle -- the characters have very exact, obvious parallels with that show. Yet the game gets a strange amount of praise -- those who love it really, really love it. The creator is well-known enough for this work that he was able to start his own gaming studio. Why? Because he put his heart and soul into this game and it shows -- it's weird, and unashamed of how weird it is, and that makes it feel special, even when the parallels and inspirations are super obvious.

Being "original" isn't about being different from everything else -- it's about being true to your own self, and what you really want your story and songs to be!! I totally get that it feels rough to see someone hitting the same notes you wanted to hit, but I promise you, that doesn't make you unoriginal!!

[blackopsracing321]

Yo I totally feel your pain. I found out recently my series is INCREDIBLY similar to the anime Mob Psycho 100. Now I heard about this anime while working on the 4th chapter of comic and only watched the first 2 episodes just to check it out. And yeah a few similarities were apparent, (like both MC's are timid middle school boys with telekinesis, both best friends are older con men) but I felt the differences were enough to separate the two (mine takes place in space, while Mob japan. Mine the MC fights aliens, while Mob ghosts). So I left it at that and continued my story.
Flash forward to a few weeks ago, I'm working on chapter 7 and a friend of mine who knows my story and plots, tells me I NEED to watch the rest of that anime. So I watch it and to my dismay, the anime introduced other characters with telekinesis and the MC starts fighting them. This in and of itself isn't a problem, the problem was that the combat system these fighters were using was the EXACT same as what I was planning (using telekinesis to augment speed and strength) only much MUCH prettier than anything I can produce at this time. Seeing that legit almost made me scrap the entire comic. I was so upset. Then that same friend who told me to watch the series put things in perspective for me. He told me "don't look at it as them beating you to the punch with these ideas, but as them PROVING that your concepts and ideas are GOOD and WORK." That bit of advice really helped me get pass that and continue working. Although it's still a bit depressing lol.

[J.Lovelace]

When that happens to me I think of this:
"There's over 7 billion people in the world - it's natural that ideas and concepts will repeat/overlap" and it just happens that somebody was just faster than you to get their take on the similar concept out there.

"Great minds think alike" and if that concept got positive ratings and made the creator popular, that PROBABLY means mine would have the potential to be "the new great thing" too if I was faster than them to publish my similar work.

So I just shrug it off and continue what I'm doing.

(I actually become great friends with the people who have similar OCs to mine, because it often happens that we share the same interests, and that's a cool thing)

[XzynderVexymous]

Yes, I have. You see, that's the thing about creation: If you don't put it out there quickly, It'll be taken.

[FleurRene]

This was such a heartfelt post. Thank you for bringing clarity to the discussion. I truly relate to that feeling of being unoriginal but as you've shared. It's what's inside that counts. Motivation and goal make everything.

[FleurRene]

I'd like to share something I've learned about writing: we don't need to hurry. Taking our time in the crafting process makes all the difference in quality. Adding a loving touch to our work will create the originality we seek.

It adds a subtle sense of delicateness that only sheer passion can create.

[tayo_rafferty]

I can't give you a better reply than @shazzbaa so I'll try to be more concise. It's okay to have an idea similar to another one, even if the 'other' is more popular or well established. You will never avoid comparison between the two so let go of that hope right now. Ultimately, the function of an idea or concept is to incentivize the audience into trying your content rather then someone else's but the only thing that will keep them coming back is good execution of an idea. So don't worry if you have a similar idea to someone else, just worry about executing it in the right way. The kind of execution that shows what a skilled creative you are and whether you succeed or not, try to learn something in the trying.

[FleurRene]

I highly agree. Execution is what matters most in writing. Ideas are there but the level of execution defines our work.

[Cera_OMalley]

It's happened for my entire career. Was just never able to find that one person in a position or power or authority that could make things happen when that next big idea hit me.

The one that happened with Battlelords (Where my comic What The Fott is set) ...
We tried to create a sci-fi video game version of the traditional tabletop RPG Battlelords that had been in print since 1990... and had incorporated our indie video game company in 2006. There was no big sci-fi RPG video game yet at the time except KotOR. I so wanted Battlelords to fill that nitche.
When Bioware started working on Mass Effect that's what everyone compared us to.. "Oh so your Matrix Powers are like biotics in Mass Effect." Me: "Sigh, Well except we created it in 1990." is one of numerous examples I could go into.
And yeah- the amazing psychic powers some of the alien races have being called "Matrix Powers" was 8 years before the Wachowskis as well.

To add insult to injury I saw an interview one time with Drew Karpyshyn (lead writer on KotOR and Mass Effect) and sure enough on the bookshelf behind him there were some of the Battlelords RPG books. Edmonton was right along our distribution corridor ... so there probably is not so much of a coincidence that Mass Effect bares a striking resemblance to our setting and Matrix powers and the way Armor works as a game dynamic and such. Also keep in mind Syd Mead's lawyer sued and won a case against Mass Effect/Bioware lifting his designs and not paying compensation or giving credit. Guess what other books were on that shelf in that interview? Syd Mead's Sentury and some of his other published sketchbooks.

What can you do though? Copyright has changed a great deal since 1973... all in ways that only crush creativity and new original ideas.

Truthfully, I wouldn't care one iota if we were at least able to bring enough attention to our stuff so that we could continue to do what we love. But it's irksome when you see someone else making millions off your ideas while you languish in obscurity and people just think you're a crackpot when you say "Yeah. I created that."

[Shanny8]

Most likely your subconscious at work- you saw something, totally forgot about it, but it stayed embedded in your subconscious and you recalled it into a drawing. It happens with artists all the time.

Also, there is such a thing as artists coming up with a similar concept at the same time- just depends on whoever gets their idea out there first. Doesnt mean you copied or swiped someone...

[Cera_OMalley]

Our brains DO file away everything we see, hear, smell, etc. It's our conscious recall that is flawed.

[Mari]

There's been a ton of big scifi rpg titles before bioware's mass effect though? Some Might and Magic games can be considered a sci-fi rpg (and they were big games). Not to mention Mass Effect can't be even considered a traditional rpg (it's more like a dating game/social simulation with rpg elements). I honestly don't think there was anything more to the conception of Mass Effect than "You know baldur's gate? Lets make that....IN SPACE". Since all BioWare games follow classic D&D rules for the most part.

Anyway, two cake rule applies to everything. There are so many movies with the same exact plotline & setting, but the good ones pull away from the rest because that's not all that there is.

[Cera_OMalley]

You can also check out the manga comic "Mai, the Psychic Girl" (1986)

[Mari]

Putting all that irrelevant information aside, my point still is that you feeling victimized because ME "took your market" is silly, since there's always a market for good games regardless of the genre. The game wasn't going to be the same, so what's the point in complaining about it? Sci-fi settings have existed in D&D since it's conceptions, so even if you disagree with me that a game like that existed before ME, those sort of scenarios have existed in table-top rpgs for ages. They didn't rip you off either. Like I don't understand why you're feeling so crushed about it, so far the only similarity you pull is that they would be in the same genre? And by ME:s success (and further unsuccess) & the games that came after that, it's clear that the market exists for this genre regardless?

[Mari]

What did they specifically stole? If you went into that, it'd be easier to see where you're coming from (and since ME is out there already it shouldn't be an issue to go into the specifics of that)

[Mari]

I am not confusing anything, I mean campaigns made by the players, sci-fi settings have been in them since D&D was established. I wasn't referring to anything published, if I was, I would've named it.

[Mari]

I mean specific things, I'm not going to look through your entire thing just to find the similarities. Since you're the one accusing them of theft the burden of proof does fall onto you.

[Mari]

Fine, but "oh woe is me, no one believes me because no one reads our books because of this more popular thing " followed by "PLEBIAN IF YOU DON'T READ MY BOOK YOU DON'T DESERVE TO KNOW also I don't care that no one believes me, that's why I still gripe about it 10 years after it happened" is not a way to get people on your side about this.