[quote][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_flip]Warning: Asset Flip![/url][/quote]
Japanese Puzzle is an asset flip, what Valve calls a "fake game". The "developer", Piece of Voxel, took a template from the godawful GameMaker Studio from YoyoGames, slapped a couple of asset flipped sprites on it, and dumped the results onto Steam as a cash grab scam.
Piece of Voxel has shown a repeated pattern of ripping off GameMakerStudio templates and dumping them on Steam.
Don't believe me? Here's some other asset flips from exactly the same template, all shamelessly dumped on Steam as nasty cash grabs:
[list]
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1657960]Anime puzzle[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by wow wow Games
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1240600]Beach Anime Day[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Astero
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1547260]Elder Puzzle[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by HotFoodGames
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1759480]Funny Puzzle[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Neki4 Electronics
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1711160]Jigsaw With Animals[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by Piece of Voxel
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1384460]Puzzle Angry Cat[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by HotFoodGames
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1692590]Puzzles With Cats[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by wow wow Games
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1766660]Rain Puzzle[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by HotFoodGames
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1371600]Star Puzzle[/url]", copy + pasted from the same template by GigantumGames
[/list]
Look for yourself... these are all exactly the same game!
This unethical behaviour should be no surprise, as Piece of Voxel are known asset flippers who've previously taken the work of real developers, changed the name and put their own name on it, so they can sell it on Steam and try to scam gamers and get paid for someone else's work.
Take a look at this:
[list]
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1660460]Hoples[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/2d/characters/pixel-adventure-1-155360]Pixel Adventure 1[/url] "developed" by Pixel Frog
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1547820]Top Truck Driver[/url]" = [url=https://marketplace.yoyogames.com/assets/5820/hill-racing-template-gms1-2]Hill Racing Template[/url] "developed" by Janko Knez
[/list]
The products that result from asset flips aren't "real" games. They lack depth and content, because they're just simplistic copies of demos or tutorials. In this case, "Japanese Puzzle" is just a very basic 2D retro pixel "jigsaw puzzle" that's so lazy it's just square tiles instead of jigsaw pieces, and doesn't have any merit as a proper, fully fledged PC game, so a copy+paste of it can't be recommended.
Asset flips don't involve any professional game development. Sure, sometimes they may change a few cosmetic things, swap out different assets etc, but at heart it's functionally identical to the asset they're ripping off. Asset flips are an insult to both PC gamers and to professional game developers who create genuine, high quality PC games. Asset flips like this are harmful to the gaming industry and to Steam because they reduce the visibility that sincerely made indie games should have. They make it harder for gamers to find genuine games made by honest developers.
To cement the position of this asset flip as nothing but a cash grab, it was dumped onto cheap DailyIndieGame shovelware bundles on launch day. Don't reward this morally bankrupt, unethical behaviour from Piece of Voxel.
