Quote:Original post by Obscure One important point to note - If you email them and they don't respond you can not assume that it is OK to proceed.
Do people actually think that way?
"I sent an email to ask for permission, but since my email was deleted by their spam filter, I figure it must be okay to proceed."
I have been trying, but cannot fathom any thought process that would assume no response equates to granting permission. Oh well, there are all kinds of people out there, so it must happen occasionally.
Thanks for the answers guys! For now, I'm going to continiue my project, and then I'm going to approach Nintendo for a developer position later on (kind of problematic now since there's no actual legal business element in what I'm doing). Anyway, here's the response I got:
Quote:
Message(#6851-000499-8259\4998259)
Hello,
On behalf of Nintendo, I appreciate your interest in developing software for Nintendo systems. To sign up as an authorized developer, please visit the Software Development Support Group at the following web address:
http://www.warioworld.com/apply/
To learn the requirements to develop for Nintendo systems, select any system on this webpage to read through the conditions and complete an application. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.
Sincerely,
Nintendo of America Inc. Andi Anderson
Nintendo's home page: http://www.nintendo.com/ Power Line (Automated Product Info): (425) 885-7529
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ORIGINAL MESSAGE: -----------------
From: Posted At: Posted To: Nintendo <nintendo@noa.nintendo.com> Subject: Webform: Pokemon > None Selected
Hi! Im currently looking into creating a remake (or fan-based game, if you will) of the game Pokemon Gold released in 2000 by one of the companies that you act as a publisher for, Gamefreak. Would I be breaking any trademarks or commiting any copyright infringements by doing so? Would it be ok if I changed the names of all the characters and creatures in the game? I ask that anyone who reads this mail please get me in contact with the appropriate departments of Nintendo Inc. if neccessary. Thank you! Mats Vederhus, Independent Game Developer and Pokemon fan
Using trademarked names or distributing files from the original isn't allowed without permission, and as others have said it's going to be hard to get the permission.
But writing a direct clone seems to be more of a grey area. I've heard some people claim you can copyright things like "rules of a game", but I don't know of any definite cases. Projects like FreeCiv seem to do fine, for example. I can see that games with storylines, or having to copy things such as character dialogues, is going to be harder. With things like strategy games, it's mainly the "rules" of the game that are going to be copied.
