Should developers profit from a port? Minicraft players in up roar over current in-game ad Attempts

Occasionally while cruising through the market you find an application or game that is port of something popular. They are not always ported by the original author of said application and it usually doesn’t really matter in the log run to the creators. Saves them the time and hassle of porting said app or game and they are happy to let it be placed on another OS. To loyal followers of the original though, there are lines that get drawn on a sandy beach and often washed away and re drawn. The most recent out cry came from the most recent update to Minicraft.

Folstad Consulting Inc took and created a port of Markus Persson’s game that he created for the Lundum Dare Competition back in December 2011, called Minicraft. The creator of the port isn’t taking any credit for the game by any means. It clearly states who made it in the market description and on the game itself. All Folstad Consulting Inc isn’t taking credit for is the port to Android. The most recent update to the port included a new permission and some ads. Immediately the comments were lit up with 1 star ratings for implementing the ads and attempting to profit from the work of another. A vast majority of people were not pleased. The port developer is already removing the adds in the next update after being bombarded with requests. It wasn’t so much the implementation of ads to the game that upset people, it was the lack of permission from Markus to profit from the port. Which is fair enough really and permission to profit from someone else’s work should be common practice. How can we as a community though, support the work that is still taking place?

It isn’t really a matter of just getting permission from the original creator. Sometimes that can take forever to achieve, especially if it is a larger company and slow response times. Not everyone is looking to make a quick buck either, but with us all being broke, is it too much to ask for some sort of compensation for work provided on something that so many people enjoy? What I am more curious about is how people would react if the same developer added a donation link in-game or on the market description. After all, he did port the game and that took time and effort. He is still working on it to improve the controls and fix issues. Would a donation link still set the community a blaze? Alternatively would it become a legal issue for asking?

We aren’t condoning profiting from someone else’s work in the slightest, just profiting from your own time and efforts. What are your thoughts and feelings about it? Would a donation link for services rendered be something that is acceptable, or would that be another major no, no? All ports that are offered at a price or that want ads in them should always have the original developers permission to profit directly, but what about indirect profits? Any suggestions on how we could thank a developer for their time with out just star ratings and comments? Leave them below.