Daily Briefing: Thursday 4th February

Activision Sued Over 'Copied Character'

According to photographer Clayton Haugen, the Call of Duty Modern Warfare Operator named Mara is infringing on his copyright. He developed a character named Cade Janus for a short story and hired model Alex Zedra to play her for a photo shoot. Allegedly, Infinity Ward hired the same model and same make-up professional and instructed them to prepare Zedra exactly like Cade, using Haugen's photographs as reference.

• Copyright infringement like this can be messy - Haugen doesn't own the model's likeness or anything, but a few of the comparison photos make it seem like Infinity Ward used design elements from his photography directly - the hairstyle, clothing and makeup are all pretty much identical. It's hard to say if any legal action will come of this, but Infinity Ward may have copied Haugen's homework a bit too closely here.

Steam Game Festival Has Begun

Steam's at it again, with lots of games deeply discounted, and a metric ton of games to try out - almost 500 entirely new game demos, by Steam's own count. It's a perfect time to play a few upcoming indies and see if anything tickles your fancy.

• This constant focus on playable demos seems to be working out for everybody. Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator is one I would recommend - making potions and running an alchemy workshop is a lot of fun and a relaxing experience. The captivating art style and unique take on crafting really make it stand out.

Ori's Director Takes Aim At 'Snake Oil Salesmen'

The director of Moon Studio's Ori and the Blind Forest took to ResetEra to attack 'Snake Oil Salesmen'. He says it all started with God sim and Fable creator Peter Molyneux: "Instead of telling you what my product is, let me just go wild with what I think it could be and get you all excited!". He highlights No Man's Sky and Cyberpunk 2077 specifically, attacking the developers and PR strategies of both games, claiming they copied the Molyneux strategy. He specifically takes issue with their willingness to lie about their game to their fans, and that industry 'journalists' happily played along with the deception. He also admits that he has a personal bias since Ori was slated to be on the cover of a large gaming magazine in 2014 but they ran with No Man's Sky, instead, as it was 'bigger' at the time.

• He absolutely has a point. Tarring Molyneux and CDPR with the same brush as NMS' Sean Murray isn't going down well given No Man's Sky's indie origins and difficult position under Sony pressure, but fundamentally, he's right - lying about what your game will be as a product is unacceptable behaviour, and it hurts developers that make more modest and realistic promises by comparison. Airing his grievances on a public forum will likely do him and Moon Studios no favours in the industry, however.