Okay. I Think I make an original game with inspiration from anime but everything will be different.

Or just consult a lawyer..? Many will talk to you for free, even if only the phone, in hopes that it'll get you through the door with them handling your case.

I'm really not sure what the deal is with the fad of making Bleach/Naruto/DBZ/etc. games on BYOND. I simply do not understand why thousands of these projects have been created. Why are there so many of them? What is the matter with making completely original material? Do people just lack the talent to think of something?

There's a few exceptions in my book that would make for good fangames. For example I'd like to see a competent Megaman game. I happened across a small handful of cool demos that feel much like a Megaman game.

Personally I think the mass recreation of the dbz/bleach/naruto/etc... ideas is a fantastic step forward for the people who are making that type of game.

The reason I think this is because I see it as those franchises are motivating someone so much that they are trying to make it into a game.

I understand this could be considered "copyright" or trademark infringement if you could actually copyright or trademark ideas/concepts, but that is a rant for another time.

Basically, these animes are causing people to make something which in my eyes is fantastic. When I was in middle school someone I knew traced DBZ characters almost 24/7, by the time we graduated high school he was able to make his own characters up and draw them in 10 minutes with pristine hand movements and I think that mimicking in this fashion is a good thing as it allows the person to learn the techniques rather then learning and creating at the same time.

As the creator of a DBZ fangame, I can at least say that in my case, I did it for love of the series.

The idea for the game was in my head long before I first discovered BYOND, and creating it was my sole reason for joining BYOND when I came across it (and in fact, I owe my discovery of this site directly to my DBZ fandom and a fellow DBZ fan who brought the news of BYOND's existence to my attention; in the form of "Hey, there's this cool game-making site that has all kinds of DBZ games on it!")

I think that for the majority of the original fangame creators, this in fact, was their main driving force. A love of a series, and a desire to be able to play a multiplayer game set in that universe. More precisely, to be someone in that universe (which is why the predominant genre for fangames is RPG; the designers and players want to pretend to be a part of the series they love; not just control one of the characters, like they could in a platformer or fighting game or such; they want to be that character (or their own character that gets to interact with the series characters) and certainly not just play in a game that resembles the series.

That's the worst advice I've ever heard around here regarding anime games. "Just make an original game that uses some of your favorite anime's elements, or just make a game that pays tribute to anime in general!" The sentiment is well-intentioned, but it misses the entire point. Fangame creators and players don't want a game that just borrows some elements from their chosen series. They want that exact universe. They want to be (or at least interact with) Goku or Naruto. They want to travel through well-known locations. Removing the copyrighted material from a fangame completely removes its reason for existence (which is why I never, and will never, turn DBTC into something that isn't a DBZ fangame, even though the battle system could easily be adapted and original content created)

But again, the above is only speaking for the creators of the original games. Then, came the rippers. These kids have a similar desire, but it is tainted by a form of ego. "Game [X] is awesome! But someone else's name is on it, and I have no admin powers! I'll just find the source and "make" my own!"

SuperSaiyanGokuX makes some good points. I think a similar thing can be caused just from getting attached to a game on BYOND, too. The first game you really play a lot, for example. That's what happened to me, I started off like many, where I just loved the series. Then the game I played that was loosely based off it started dying from bugs, lack of updating, etc so I moved to trying to preserve my memories in a similar project.

I guess maybe a good way for people to shift would be to find something more general they love and work with that? For example, if they love fantasy RPG games, then make one in that genre, and use some of the common features they love but maybe add their own twists.

That's what I had to move to, and it's gradually making it easier to just go with whatever type of game I feel like playing and/or working on, instead of something based off a series or another game.

I guess that's a bit off topic though. I think the point here is that copyright makes things really difficult, so you have to either deal with the limitations it applies now, or try to find your own path to working on things that won't present those kind of issues.

If you're just a huge fan of a series, it'll probably be really hard, but if you can strip it down to something more general like genres or features you may be able to avoid copyrights and still find a way to make the game that leaves you feeling satisfied.

People left because BYOND games went out of style ten years ago. And when I say "BYOND games," I specifically mean poorly designed action RPG's with repetitive combat systems.

The community may have been hanging on by a thread on the backs of screaming 12 year old Naruto fans. But as the majority of BYOND's decent designers made a mass exodus, that was a bubble which was bound to burst sooner or later.

BYOND is currently capable of creating the type of quirky game that indie players could enjoy, it's just that nobody does it. Hopefully that will change since we seem to have some good developers again. Time will tell.

Eyy! Thanks for the mention. But, not only did I offer free hosting for original games. I also offered money for users willing to create interesting content from scratch. If they were to spark my interest, I'd pay them to continue doing so. Pretty much, I'm paying you to do something good with your damn skills. But I have yet to see anyone show me an entrance.

All you have to do is come around and say, "Hey, this is the 'Hello World!' part of my game. I'll be showing you updates as I make them." It's not hard. Just show me the very base part of your game and then let me view the progression on my own. I'll stop by and check on your game. ._. But nobody has done it -_-

BYOND really does need some original content. I haven't really played a BYOND game in a long time. Primarily because they're all boring me now. It's the same thing everyday. Either rips or the same game concept every other game has.

I think it's excellent that you are doing this, and I'm a bit disappointed to hear no one has taken you up on it. I actually considered doing so not long ago, but I'm already working without that incentive, and I have no idea what kind of time frame things will go through, so I decided to leave it for other people who NEED it for motivation and such.

It really is a great idea, and a great thing to do, it's just hard to find people with the skills who want to make something that isn't anime, and some of your own personal lack of interests may or may not be an issue in finding people.

I'm not sure if you apply much of your own, so that's really just there in case you do because, for example, I know BYOND has a lot more RPG's than any other genre so you might rule most RPG projects out, but most people who aren't making a fan game seem to favor RPG's.

I can't say I blame them, but I have a few things on my future to do list that aren't RPG, and I wish more people would do the same and mix it up a little.