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[Kame]

Kame

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

Well, we could always look at it this way:

How would you feel if another member of ZFGC started making a fan game based on one of your own original games, using your name, characters, sprites et all. Would you not feel like he is stealing your work, and could give your game a bad name?

I personally would be ecstatic. Think of the elevation your game has gotten to even have a fangame considered being made of it. As long as it was stated that it was a fangame, there wouldn't be a problem if it sucked either, people would just check out my original game if they didn't like it.

[King Mob]

King Mob

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

Well, we could always look at it this way:

How would you feel if another member of ZFGC started making a fan game based on one of your own original games, using your name, characters, sprites et all. Would you not feel like he is stealing your work, and could give your game a bad name?

I don't know how I'd feel, but I would like to think I wouldn't screw the poor !@#$% for every penny he's got! That's the difference... 

[EDGE]

EDGE

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

.....even if fangames are not legal I think nobody will find out you are doing it.
If you are making a zelda game, the only way nintendo will find out is if you are stupid enough to go and post it on their forums xD.
But if fangames are not legal then emulation is not legal as well.
And before companies worring about fangames they should worry about emulation, cuz they use the actual game and make them lose money.
In the other hand fangames are made by fans and not the company so they dont lose anything........I think xD

Well, we could always look at it this way:

How would you feel if another member of ZFGC started making a fan game based on one of your own original games, using your name, characters, sprites et all. Would you not feel like he is stealing your work, and could give your game a bad name?

That makes no sense at all, because my game would still be good, the copy the other guy made would be the bad one not mine so I wont mind.

This is an english website, please speak it.

l0l wut? o_0

[Kame]

Kame

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

.....even if fangames are not legal I think nobody will find out you are doing it.
If you are making a zelda game, the only way nintendo will find out is if you are stupid enough to go and post it on their forums xD.
But if fangames are not legal then emulation is not legal as well.
And before companies worring about fangames they should worry about emulation, cuz they use the actual game and make them lose money.
In the other hand fangames are made by fans and not the company so they dont lose anything........I think xD

Actually, emulation is just as minor a problem as fangames. Just as fangames are never able to employ the same technology as current video games, let alone as effectively, swiftly, or innovatively (even if I had the ability to start a TP-rivalling right now game it'd take me like 5 years to build it anyway), emulation isn't a problem. Put it this way: Much information about the Wii is already known, games that will be coming out for it are already known, basically, Wii is coming sometime soon, and emulation of games for it's predecessor (GCN), are next to impossible, if not entirely impossible. DS emulation is also rare, rare, rare, and it's not as good as the GCN even. The emulation community mostly consists of retro gamers emulating games that are no longer sold, thus, Nintendo loses no profits whatsoever on emulation, as the alternative would be buying it from someone secondhand, which wouldn't get them any money in the first place.

Well, we could always look at it this way:

How would you feel if another member of ZFGC started making a fan game based on one of your own original games, using your name, characters, sprites et all. Would you not feel like he is stealing your work, and could give your game a bad name?

That makes no sense at all, because my game would still be good, the copy the other guy made would be the bad one not mine so I wont mind.

Well, there is a difference though. Nintendo makes profits off the original game. Likelihood is, we don't. So it'd be all too easy for people to think they were made by the same person and "give your game a bad name". however, they should credit you in the opening credits, so, not a problem.

[-X-]

-X-

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

I think as long as you put a disclaimer on it saying that 'I don't own the rights to this game and they are copywrited by Nintendo, this is just a fan game and is not meant to infringe on Nintendos right, just for amusement' it should be ok (although I have known fangames that get shut down even with those disclaimers)

It also depends on how big the game gets, if you are making a MMORPG of based off Zelda, then chances are you will get shut down, but you never know (oh how I hope for a MMORPG Zelda )

Nintendo will still make millions whenever a new zelda game comes out regardless of fangames or not, so I don't see why they should care

[Kame]

Kame

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

I think as long as you put a disclaimer on it saying that 'I don't own the rights to this game and they are copywrited by Nintendo, this is just a fan game and is not meant to infringe on Nintendos right, just for amusement' it should be ok (although I have known fangames that get shut down even with those disclaimers)

It also depends on how big the game gets, if you are making a MMORPG of based off Zelda, then chances are you will get shut down, but you never know (oh how I hope for a MMORPG Zelda )

Nintendo will still make millions whenever a new zelda game comes out regardless of fangames or not, so I don't see why they should care

...which is why they don't.

[King Tetiro]

King Tetiro

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

Ok, I am lost here, because I don't now know if Nintendo do this or that.

PLEase can someone tell me what NINTENDO think about fan games!

• 

[King Mob]

King Mob

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

Y'know the more this question is asked - particularly to the companies themselves - the profile of fan games gets raised higher, and with that comes greater likelihood of getting shut down...

All the answers you need are here in this thread, Laigonaz, if I were you I'd read it again, and lock this topic.

But in short, Nintendo, or Games Workshop for that matter, will not care about your fan game. They will never know it exists. Unless you tell them.

[King Tetiro]

King Tetiro

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

But I ain't taking no chances.

• 

[FISSURE]

FISSURE

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

you won't get sued

the worse that will happen they will send you a cease and desist letter

[Vandavil]

Vandavil

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

look! what do you see when you are on this forum? thousands of zelda remakes and fan games... So i would say that there's a 70-30 chance that nintendo has found out. so I reckon there's a member who is like a mod for nintendo... making sure no-one abuses the system
-SK

[linkw204]

linkw204

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

.....even if fangames are not legal I think nobody will find out you are doing it.
If you are making a zelda game, the only way nintendo will find out is if you are stupid enough to go and post it on their forums xD.
But if fangames are not legal then emulation is not legal as well.
And before companies worring about fangames they should worry about emulation, cuz they use the actual game and make them lose money.
In the other hand fangames are made by fans and not the company so they dont lose anything........I think xD

Well, we could always look at it this way:

How would you feel if another member of ZFGC started making a fan game based on one of your own original games, using your name, characters, sprites et all. Would you not feel like he is stealing your work, and could give your game a bad name?

That makes no sense at all, because my game would still be good, the copy the other guy made would be the bad one not mine so I wont mind.

I was thinking of putting an i support banner of my game on my nintendo account.... :jellytime:

[King Mob]

King Mob

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

I was thinking of putting an i support banner of my game on my nintendo account.... :jellytime:

If there's a quicker way of getting your game shut down than letting Nintendo know it exists, let me know. I'm all ears...

Go ahead. Your funeral. Do us all a favour though, and don't leave a trail back here, eh?

look! what do you see when you are on this forum? thousands of zelda remakes and fan games... So i would say that there's a 70-30 chance that nintendo has found out. so I reckon there's a member who is like a mod for nintendo... making sure no-one abuses the system
-SK

Hands up who honestly thinks Nintendo would employ someone to browse this forum and others like it, ensuring none of the projects get too big to threaten their very livelihoods???

Doesn't happen. They???re not interested.

If, on the other hand, you e-mail a Nintendo representative to ask "Can I make a Zelda game?" they will say no, it's their job to say no, cease and desist please.

Edit:
The original question has been answered. On the front page, and on every page thereafter. This is a clearly grey area, and all I see now are posts confusing the issue further. And I'm sorry, but I don't think some of the members here have the maturity to understand the ramifications of approaching Nintendo directly, and I don't think they're equipped to deal with the inevitable answer without causing trouble for the community as a whole. So let's not put any ideas in their heads. Loose lips sink ships and all that malarkey.

So I implore any mods who may be reading this to lock this topic before someone does something stoopid!  ;D

That is all. 

[A Storm in the Desert]

A Storm in the Desert

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

Fan games are quite legal, just as legal as fan art and fan fiction. Well, I say legal. They're legal just as long as you acknowledge the copyright owners of the material you're making use of; and most importantly as long as you don't intend on making any money out of it.

'Course, in Japan copyright laws are much more lax (doujinshi et al.) which is why Jump Superstars was never released outside of Japan. Different companies own the non-Japanese liscences for all the different characters and so the release was simply canned. A true shame. It'd be a shame to lose any great fangames to copyright problems. Remeber, credit and no cash making.

Surely you can do it!
Believe in your strengths...Believe...
        -Happy Mask Salesman

[Kame]

Kame

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

Fan games are quite legal, just as legal as fan art and fan fiction. Well, I say legal.

Most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. People in this topic are always saying "Well, I think they're legal because...", or "In my opinion, they're legal, since..."

Don't be crazy, guys! Law is not defined in any way by "what you say", opinion, or anything. It is written and unchanged and if it were, we'd know.

Fangames are, to be excruciatingly general, "acceptable", but not "legal". A company can not immediately sue you for a a fangame. They first must send you a cease and desist letter so that they have a legal reason for suing you if it happens.

[Phantom Kensai]

Phantom Kensai

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

Erm...they are illegal but no one cares, so go ahead, lol. The most I've ever heard of a company getting all "OmGcEaCeAnDdEsIsTnOoB" was Bungie over Halogen's C&C Generals mod (the one that made it all Halo-ified, ), so you won't be sued or nothing. Good luck with yer game!  ;D

[-X-]

-X-

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

I just saw the Chrono Trigger remake and it looked amazing, too bad the cease and desist order was issued , I really would have thought since SquareEnix isn't making any more money off of Chrono Trigger (unless I'm mistaken) they wouldn't have cared.

[Scooternew]

Scooternew

Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

I was thinking of putting an i support banner of my game on my nintendo account.... :jellytime:

If there's a quicker way of getting your game shut down than letting Nintendo know it exists, let me know. I'm all ears...

Go ahead. Your funeral. Do us all a favour though, and don't leave a trail back here, eh?

look! what do you see when you are on this forum? thousands of zelda remakes and fan games... So i would say that there's a 70-30 chance that nintendo has found out. so I reckon there's a member who is like a mod for nintendo... making sure no-one abuses the system
-SK

Hands up who honestly thinks Nintendo would employ someone to browse this forum and others like it, ensuring none of the projects get too big to threaten their very livelihoods???

Doesn't happen. They???re not interested.

If, on the other hand, you e-mail a Nintendo representative to ask "Can I make a Zelda game?" they will say no, it's their job to say no, cease and desist please.

Edit:
The original question has been answered. On the front page, and on every page thereafter. This is a clearly grey area, and all I see now are posts confusing the issue further. And I'm sorry, but I don't think some of the members here have the maturity to understand the ramifications of approaching Nintendo directly, and I don't think they're equipped to deal with the inevitable answer without causing trouble for the community as a whole. So let's not put any ideas in their heads. Loose lips sink ships and all that malarkey.

So I implore any mods who may be reading this to lock this topic before someone does something stoopid!  ;D

That is all. 

Why yes. Nintendo is completely aware of places like this and how many fan games are made. They don't care. Really. As long as they aren't sold under the Zelda name for money. They will only issue a cease and desist if the game gets too big, like huge - as in featured in magazines, talked about at conventions. In fact, often times fan games can help fuel the original franchise and give it publicity.