Quote: ...the part that worries me and makes me think I can't do it, is the fact that I can't draw :P If I could draw decently, I'd be making something on my own in a heartbeat.

SkiFree

Quote: Original post by Game Developer 1
im currently developing a full stand alone game based on Star Gate SG-1.

as far as i know licenses are not required as long as:

you do not profit in anyway from the idea you are using.

you do not claim to be affiliated with the company the piece of property came from.

and you give the appropriate copyright information of the company on any ad, website, packaging, etc.

I am afraid you are wrong. None of the above make any difference at all. What you are doing is breach of copyright and the owner of the copyright can take legal action against you for that breach.

If your game is unsuccessful and no one hears about it then it is unlikely that they will bother you. However, if word of your title spreads there is a good chance they will for two reasons.

i. By giving the game away for free (most media companies believe) you devalue their IP. As the most valuable assets of such companies are their IP rights they will seek to protect them.

ii. In the specific case of Stargate SG1 a company has bought an exclusive license from MGM to make games based on the IP (to be published by JoWood). If you are giving away a game for free (and they find out) they would almost certainly be able to force MGM to come after you. If MGM didn't take action against you the developer in question could sue them for breach of contract.

To the OP:

Google "Bid for Power"

Its basicly, exactly, what you'd like to make.

-- you base it off something

"Based on" : you have to pay royalties.
"Inspired by" : free

Building a game that borrows on the ideas of a set of portals left behind by some alien civilization would no longer need IP rights from MGM, as long as it's not 'StarGate SG1' nor use its characters and 'look & feel'. You can twist the character names, design new portal visuals, involve the British SAS or the French Foreign Legion instead of the US Marines, use the Maya instead of the Egyptians, use a cel cartoony look; all of those are fine to avoid IP litigation.

then how come so many other people are doing this with StarGate SG-1 and not getting in trouble.

e.g. the FarGate mod for FarCry
the StarGate SG-1 mod for Half-Life 2
the hundreds of StarGate mods for Half-Life and Star Trek
Elite Force

Quote: Original post by Game Developer 1
then how come so many other people are doing this with StarGate SG-1 and not getting in trouble.

e.g. the FarGate mod for FarCry
the StarGate SG-1 mod for Half-Life 2
the hundreds of StarGate mods for Half-Life and Star Trek
Elite Force

Because they have not been successful enough (yet) to be noticed. There are lots and lots of similar mods that have been closed down. Lucasarts are hot on it, as are Nintendo and Fox. In fact Fox do it so often that killing a fan game is known in the industry as "doing a Fox". A developer over at The Chaos Engine just posted a message about working on a fan project entitled Chrono Resurrection, based on the Chrono Trigger IP. They just got a cease and desist letter.

thanks for the heads up guys.

ive stepped down from the project, but it's not my place to say whether its cancelled or not, after all its not my game.

Quote: Original post by Obscure
Employers in the game industry are looking for creative staff. I would never hire someone whose art portfolio was full of copies of other pictures. Same goes for programmers. Originality is a prized asset.

Really? for programmers?
So if i'm a programmer and i'm making an original title for my CV, then i have a better chance of getting employed in the industry if i have created my own original content for the game? (asking in terms of the artwork more than the coding..)

If you programme clones of pac-man and space invaders all you show is that you can copy someone else's work. If you identify a problem in a popular topic such as AI or pathfinding and create a piece of code that solves the problem then you have shown that you can identify and solve problems. That is much more useful to an employer.

Having a Pac-man game in the portfolio as well shows you can make a fun game but isn't as valuable as good problem solving abilities.