The developers behind the viral sensation "Needle In A Haystack Simulator" have accused another studio of cloning their work. NoGlyph, the studio behind "Needle In A Haystack," released on September 29, alleges that Little Field Studios' "A Game About Needle In A Haystack," which launched on October 16, has copied a significant portion of its code.
According to a post on Steam by NoGlyph, "A Game About Needle In A Haystack" contains 13 of their classes with the exact same names. Furthermore, over half of the functions in that section match theirs precisely, and some of their original error messages are present verbatim. One error message even points to a shader that exists in NoGlyph's project but is absent in the alleged clone.
Jahvin, lead developer at Little Field Studios, confirmed on Discord that their game features 39 "same-named methods" that are "byte-for-byte identical." This practice, often referred to as "vibe-coding," involves using AI to decompile a closed-source game, rendering its code readable for subsequent copying. This situation echoes broader concerns within the indie game development community regarding the proliferation of AI-assisted game cloning.
Steam users have largely expressed a lack of sympathy for NoGlyph, viewing the situation as karmic retribution for attempting to capitalize on the success of Studio Bitdot's original "Needle In A Haystack Simulator." This incident highlights a growing trend where original indie games face rapid replication, sometimes within hours of their reveal, as seen with a "Roblox" creator cloning the upcoming "Escape the Walls" based on a single video and the aid of AI.
In response to fears of similar AI-driven imitation, developers of "Drunken Goddess Reflux" recently canceled the release of their upcoming demo on Steam, citing concerns that their game's presentation and gameplay could be quickly replicated. Unlike larger AAA studios, independent developers often lack the financial resources to pursue legal action against such clones, potentially leading to a future with fewer game demos and early access titles as creators seek to protect their work.