What should I know about copyright? in Design Philosophy

ID:151331
 
Jul 28 2011, 12:17 pm
Sadly, many good projects over the years, BYOND and elsewhere, have been shut down because they run afoul of copyrights. Large game developers have the right and the need to protect their intellectual property, but one must wonder whether a small fan project is really a threat. But that is an entirely separate discussion...

I intend to develop a game that is its own game (i.e. not a sequel or directly related to any other game), but I would like to know just how much material and what material, e.g. graphics, sounds, music, story elements, etc., I could incorporate from a commercial game before I run the risk of a nasty letter from the legal department. If anyone knows a good guide to this issue, I would greatly appreciate it.
#1 Jul 28 2011, 12:44 pm
0%

Technically, copyright (at least in the US) covers any kind of art medium, so that includes music/sound, graphics, storyline. This even includes 'likeness', so theoretically you could make a 32x32 pixel version of some Anime Mechanoid and it'd still be copyright infringement.

Storyline wise, any use of characters, places, objects of interest that is the same also falls under copyright, so for example you couldn't take all the places characters and objects from Lord of the Rings and put it in your game. That means no Frodo Hobbit, no ring of power, no Mordor.

There is obviously a line, any copyright material is almost always taken from something pre-existing, and either bought a licence for the material or are using non-copyrighted material.

You can make a game about Dwarfs, one might be called Frodo, they might forge magical rings there and that will be completely legit. Almost all games use folklore for example, even games based in space. For example, Golems come from Jewish folklore, fairies come from European folklore, wolf/lunar/etc spirits come from American folklore, 'Shinigami' (Death Gods) come from Japanese folklore. Just because something like Bleach has Shinigami, doesn't mean that concept is copyrighted.

My strong advice to you would be to invent something new, you'll have more fun with it and it'll be a greater personal achievement.
#2 Jul 28 2011, 12:51 pm
If you don't have permission and are taking any assets or direct storyline elements from another game, you are violating copyrights and therefor run the risk of them taking legal action.
#3 Jul 29 2011, 7:06 pm
In response to Acebloke (#1)
Thanks. I think your advice is good; it is best to take directly nothing at all, and it's more fun that way. I would like all the graphics, characters, and sounds (if any) in my game to be original (although I intend to borrow heavily from folklore, mythology, etc.). One question particularly on my mind relates to gameplay mechanics. I was under the impression that gameplay mechanics cannot be copyrighted, and so in theory I could make a game in which the gameplay is almost identical to that of Dragon Warrior and be safe. Otherwise, all the Doom clones from the 1990s would be in trouble. Am I right in that?
#4 Jul 29 2011, 8:20 pm
In response to Pepper2000 (#3)
Yeah, the gameplay can not be copyrighted.
#5 Jul 29 2011, 9:07 pm
In response to Xyphon101 (#4)
To expand on this, concepts can not be copyrighted. The issue is primarily figured out where concepts end and stuff that is actually copyrightable begins. You can find more about that here.
#6 Jul 30 2011, 5:50 am
In response to Pepper2000 (#3)
As the other guys have said, gameplay mechanics technically don't fall into copyright, as copyright in media like TV, films and games tend to focus on artistic copyright.

What sometimes happens is that a company might 'license' their game so that their code can be used and modified to create a new game. This technically saves time and potentially money as programmers don't have to reinvent the wheel. Obviously this doesn't really apply to BYOND, but examples would be the Unreal Tournament Engine (used for Mass Effect and Alpha Protocol) and Paradox Interactive games (which allows moders to buy the rights to modify a game to release as a standalone alternative).
#7 Jul 30 2011, 3:42 pm
In response to Acebloke (#6)
Thanks a lot; that clarifies things. I now feel that I have a good sense of what is and is not safe to do.
#8 Jul 30 2011, 4:01 pm
In response to Pepper2000 (#7)
This is good to know, thanks Acebloke! : )