Zynga founder says developers have to park their egos and ‘be comfortable copying’ other games

Mark Pincus says game makers should be more open about copying proven features, then improve them with a small, testable twist.

He calls the approach “Proven Better New” in his new book, Life at the Speed of Play.

Pincus points to Zynga Poker, FarmVille, CityVille, and Supercell’s Hay Day as examples of successful reuse of familiar ideas.

The comments reignite the long-running debate over copying versus innovation in game design.