A new website called Candy Jam wants independent developers to troll British developer King.
King, the developer behind Candy Crush Saga, Farm Heroes Saga and other apps, recently trademarked the word "candy" in Europe and is waiting approval in the US. King is even going after the word "saga". As a result, Candy Jam has launched with one goal in mind: rally indie developers to release apps or games with "candy" featured both in the title and gameplay.
When King successfully trademarked "candy", Apple began filing notices on behalf of King. The Cupertino company informed several developers that their apps contained "candy" in their titles and therefore infringed upon King's trademark, according to PhoneArena. This subsequently angered many in the dev community and inspired the birth of Candy Jam.
Candy Jam specifically encourages indie developers to "make a game involving candies", and it recommends they use the word "candy" several times throughout the game. Other words - such as scroll, memory, saga, apple and edge - could even score bonus points.
More than 100 games have already launched in protest. A few of the titles include The "Saga" Saga, Shew it Down: Candy Crap Saga, CanDieCanDieCanDie, ThisGameIsNotAboutCandy, CANDY on the EDGE, Candy Escape Goat Saga, Candy Crush SEGA, and Don't Let the Candies Crush You.
READ: Not content with trademarking 'Candy', Candy Crush Saga developer goes after 'Saga'
Although it is obvious, Candy Jam's website explains all the reasons why it is asking developers to troll King: "Trademarking common words is ridiculous. King clones games while making millions over it. King bullies smaller game devs. King uses curious monetisation tactics," it says.
"King is disingenuous enough to say that 'The Banner Saga,' a game about vikings and well... sagas, is a 'deceptive' name. All of this screams unethical behaviour. The Candy Jam is a protest against both the system and those abusing it: King."