So can I make these games? Thread

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So can I make these games? (Forums : Ideas & Concepts : So can I make these games?)	Locked
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OwlBrotherStudio	Jan 31 2017 Anchor
I'm brand new to this site, and am really interested in making small scale, non-profit, indie games. The only big problem is, some of my ideas are what people would consider fan-made stuff. I don't think you should blame me, growing up with so many characters causes my brain to think up new stories about them. Everybody goes through that. What I'm not sure is whether this site could legally host these kind of games. I do remember reading somewhere that a good practice is to try and contact the original copyright holders via a letter or an email, so that if the holder does take some action, you can present the letter or email as evidence that you tried to contact them for permission. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, could this site let me showcase these games I plan to make? - Mass Effect: Normandy - it is based on characters and settings from the Mass Effect games currently owned by Bioware and EA. I don't plan this to be as big as the original games, just an extra adventure for fans of the original stories. I'm also aiming to try and use my own gameplay and not just copy Bioware's gameplay system. The obvious problem would be that I'm using characters from a very big game franchise. - Anonymous Rex - it is based on the novel of the same name by Eric Garcia. This is slightly easier because I just have to contact the author of the book for permission. It's not even a really big name book. - That First Season - it is based on a book detailing the true story of the Packers first victory with Couch Vincent Lombardi. As far as I'm aware, true stories aren't technically protected by copyrights, so I would just have to contact the author of the book. The only problem that I can think of is that I'm essentially using 1950 variations of current football teams, so I don't know if I need to ask NFL for permission to use historic team names or anything.
Draakhex	Jan 31 2017 Anchor
I do not know about those other two but Mass Effect's fan game should be fine, in fact, it has already been done (Mass effect Chronicles) which was even posted in Bioware's forums in "Fan Creations" (As far as I remember, they sought permission from them beforehand though). As for this site, it already hosts many fan games from various franchises, just try to look for "Pokémon" (but keep in mind that even if they are allowed here, it doesn't mean you won't get in troubles with the ones holding the copyright). As long as you do not profit from it, fan games have always been made and the worst you an expect (before or later) is a take down notice but in most cases you learn stuff (and have fun as well) by making fan games and code can always be reused... So not everything is wasted. --

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OwlBrotherStudio

Jan 31 2017 Anchor

I'm brand new to this site, and am really interested in making small scale, non-profit, indie games. The only big problem is, some of my ideas are what people would consider fan-made stuff. I don't think you should blame me, growing up with so many characters causes my brain to think up new stories about them. Everybody goes through that. What I'm not sure is whether this site could legally host these kind of games. I do remember reading somewhere that a good practice is to try and contact the original copyright holders via a letter or an email, so that if the holder does take some action, you can present the letter or email as evidence that you tried to contact them for permission.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, could this site let me showcase these games I plan to make?

- Mass Effect: Normandy - it is based on characters and settings from the Mass Effect games currently owned by Bioware and EA. I don't plan this to be as big as the original games, just an extra adventure for fans of the original stories. I'm also aiming to try and use my own gameplay and not just copy Bioware's gameplay system. The obvious problem would be that I'm using characters from a very big game franchise.

- Anonymous Rex - it is based on the novel of the same name by Eric Garcia. This is slightly easier because I just have to contact the author of the book for permission. It's not even a really big name book.

- That First Season - it is based on a book detailing the true story of the Packers first victory with Couch Vincent Lombardi. As far as I'm aware, true stories aren't technically protected by copyrights, so I would just have to contact the author of the book. The only problem that I can think of is that I'm essentially using 1950 variations of current football teams, so I don't know if I need to ask NFL for permission to use historic team names or anything.

Draakhex

Jan 31 2017 Anchor

I do not know about those other two but Mass Effect's fan game should be fine, in fact, it has already been done (Mass effect Chronicles) which was even posted in Bioware's forums in "Fan Creations" (As far as I remember, they sought permission from them beforehand though).

As for this site, it already hosts many fan games from various franchises, just try to look for "Pokémon" (but keep in mind that even if they are allowed here, it doesn't mean you won't get in troubles with the ones holding the copyright).

As long as you do not profit from it, fan games have always been made and the worst you an expect (before or later) is a take down notice but in most cases you learn stuff (and have fun as well) by making fan games and code can always be reused... So not everything is wasted.

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