InXile Entertainment's steampunk-themed first-person shooter Clockwork Revolution was unveiled at last week's Xbox Games showcase. The game employs several familiar styles and mechanics, including steampunk aesthetics, time travel hijinks, and revolt against a ruthless dictator who rules the city with a hammer. Yes, everyone will think of "BioShock Infinite".

But some, notably Butmac on Twitter, take issue with how faithful it is to its inspiration: as a producer, Butmac has produced not only "Bioshock Infinite," but also trailers for "MultiVersus," among others, He is responsible for a number of impressive trailers. I've never seen a game taken directly from another game like [Clockwork Revolution] was taken from [Bioshock Infinite]. I mean, that was IP infringement-level borrowing," Buttomack said."

Butmac then started a separate thread comparing the screenshots (only "about half" of which were from the trailer they worked on) to Clockwork Revolution.

The IP infringement jab was no doubt just an exaggeration to make a point, but since then a Microsoft spokesperson has told IGN that the similarities are not intentional and that players will be able to customize their characters in the upcoming RPG. This seems like a response to Butmac's comment that Daisy Fitzroy's character is full of scarves - Daisy Fitzroy is the leader of the Vox Populi, the rebel army in BioShock Infinite.

I am always wary when any game is accused of "copying" another game. Developers borrow a lot from each other, which is not inherently a bad thing. I would argue that repetition is the heart, the bolt, the heartbeat of a medium like games. Art is to be shared, constructed, changed, and adjusted.

The developers of inXile clearly drew inspiration from "Bioshock Infinite," but the trailer shows a steampunk aesthetic and genuine creativity that Irrational's game did not invent. I especially like the chic gentleman at 0:36 and his movable mechanized airport conveyor belt.

If you take what InXile's Brian Fargo and others are saying about the game, Clockwork Revolution draws from a much wider range of mechanics than the trailer would suggest. For example, Bioshock Infinite used time travel as a plot device in a linear triple-A style campaign. The player never interacts with time travel, but experiences it for set dressing changes; the time travel system in "Clockwork Revolution" is not like that seen in "Columbia," but rather in "Majora's Clock Town" in "Mask".

[16] Would "Clockwork Revolution" have existed without "Bioshock Infinite"? I am especially sorry to give readers a sense of age, but "Bioshock Infinite" is 10 years old. There is no chance that developers who grew up playing "BioShock Infinite" are making games now.

In that light, "Dead Space" wears its influences from "System Shock" and "Resident Evil 4" proudly. Is borrowing direct influence only bad if it is from one game? Even if "BioShock Infinite" was a direct inspiration, it's about time other studios toyed with the same aesthetics, ideas, and themes.