I want to know how I should go about designing a game that is based off of a manga. Can anyone give me some help on this matter?

You don't, unless you:

a)Own the rights to the manga yourself

or

b)Have enough money and credentials to obtain the license from the IP owner.

or

c) Want to spend lots of time working on something that will inevitably get C&Ded the moment it gets anywhere.

Or:

d) Want to make a parody (protected under free speech).

Addendum to d: get sufficent amounts of lawyers to defend your "parody".

Alternatively, are intelligent enough to understand that you can base something on the concepts in a manga without blatantly ripping off characters, story, and name like a jackass.

Past that, please please please don't make a fighting game. I don't understand why the Game Industry thinks they have to take every Shonen Jump manga and make a half baked fighting game out of it.

Actually fan-based games are better received by Manga studios than - say - Nintendo. Especially if it's free and/or open source. Fan games crop up all the time, and are not C&D'ed because they're not viewed as competitive. Just be absolutely sure that the Manga in question is not (and is not ever likely to be) licensed in America, else you'll be dealing with a C&D (we're effing greedy). Mainstream Manga might be tolerated a little less, but as long as you aren't doing a Bleach ripoff (which violates the no-American license and is popular enough to make many games based on it) or something similar, there's a chance you'll be okay.

Personally, I'd suggest getting a friend who (really) knows Japanese and writing an honest, personal request to the artist/writer/director for the Manga in question. You never know, you might be able to get a free license if you just ask nicely and confess honest interest in their Manga. Don't babelfish this, though - you wont get any of the cultural norms from an automatic translator!

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Original post by Zouflain Actually fan-based games are better received by Manga studios than - say - Nintendo. Especially if it's free and/or open source. Fan games crop up all the time, and are not C&D'ed because they're not viewed as competitive. Just be absolutely sure that the Manga in question is not (and is not ever likely to be) licensed in America, else you'll be dealing with a C&D (we're effing greedy). Mainstream Manga might be tolerated a little less, but as long as you aren't doing a Bleach ripoff (which violates the no-American license and is popular enough to make many games based on it) or something similar, there's a chance you'll be okay. Personally, I'd suggest getting a friend who (really) knows Japanese and writing an honest, personal request to the artist/writer/director for the Manga in question. You never know, you might be able to get a free license if you just ask nicely and confess honest interest in their Manga. Don't babelfish this, though - you wont get any of the cultural norms from an automatic translator!

Actually I would say that if someone really really wants to make a game based off IP owned by another party, then they should put a few weeks work into doing up a nice base design document and actually contact the owner in question and ask for some basic licensing for said game. (And not one that can be pulled at the drop of a hat.)

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Original post by Portugaz D Ace I want to know how I should go about designing a game that is based off of a manga. Can anyone give me some help on this matter?

Port, have the answers thus far been on-target? Or rather than a business question, were you asking a design question instead?

Thank you for all the tips on how to get a license to do it. But what I want to know is how to DESIGN IT!!!!! (Please forgive the all caps.)

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Portugaz D Ace wrote: Thank you for all the tips on how to get a license to (design a game based on a manga). But what I want to know is how to DESIGN IT!!!!!

This is a problem that faces professional game designers all the time (like when they're assigned to design games based on upcoming movies or some other existing IP), and there's no easy/simple answer. Nevertheless, I'm prepared to give some general principles to you -- but I want to know: Why do you ask?
I assume you ask because you haven't designed games before. What I'm asking is, what do you plan to do with the design?
a. Use it to get the game made despite the advice you've already gotten;
b. Take it to the IP owner to try to impress them enough to give you a license;
c. Nothing, it's just for the fun of doing it (and you'll never try to actually make the game);
d. Use it as a portfolio piece;
e. Other

Once we understand the reason for the question, we can determine what answer you need, and what answer should be given.