My answer is b, d, and e. BTW, I entered two manga-based game ideas on the INTEL Adrenaline contest. I'm probably not going to get far enough to require a executable of the game, but it doesn't hurt to be prepaired.

I'd say the best thing you could do would be to create a game that has the same feel as reading the manga. One of the "classic" shonen mangas (Bleach, Naruto, One Piece) have characters that interact with their environment a lot. Each of the protagonists destroy everything around them (sword slices go through buildings, blocked punches shatter the earth beneath their enemy.) Having an environment that feels "manga-y" is essential. Beyond that, art style is important, as is genre. Don't make a sports manga into a fighting game.

Thank you doomhascome for bringing this tread back on topic. Now, to all of the people who kept talking about licenses, skip all of the copyright BS, and let's move on to the main topic of this tread, which is GAME DESIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't design a game when you have to think about getting sued all day.

What Mr. Hascome has said. Start by considering:

- The IP characters. What kinds of things they do. What kinds of situations they get into.
- The audience. What kinds of things do they expect to see the characters do and get into.
- The audience. What kinds (genres) of games they play.
- The audience. What platform do they use?
- Put the above together. Does that genre work on that platform with those characters?

Tom Sloper, thank you for the suggestions. pothb, What is on my mind all day is the design of the game. I'll worry about the copyright after the designs are done.

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Original post by Portugaz D Ace 1. Tom Sloper, thank you for the suggestions. 3. I'll worry about the copyright after the designs are done.

1. You're welcome, but...
3. That's wrong.
3a. You don't need to worry about "copyright" if you're just making a portfolio piece as you said, and
3b. you don't get to worry about "copyright" if you are going to pitch your design to the IP owner as you said.
3c. The term is not copyright -- it's trademark. Read up on the difference (you need to, given the path you're taking).
3d. And what do you mean "designs"? How many games are you designing about this IP?

1. I am only designing one game
2. By design, I mean what is it going to look like, how is it going to sound, who are the characters, and how are the characters going to move.

any more questions?

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Original post by Tom Sloper What Mr. Hascome has said.

It's just Mr. Doom.

I think the real key to making any game based on an already existing medium is feel. There is a fine line between an homage and a rip-off. Having the game be stand alone is very important, but you need, more than anything else, to make the player feel like they are a character from the manga, living out a life. If you want more in depth comments on design, I would recommend either naming a specific manga, or at least a more specific genre of manga (manga is just a medium. Shonen and Shoju are totally different.)

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Original post by Portugaz D Ace 1. I am only designing one game 2. By design, I mean what is it going to look like, how is it going to sound, who are the characters, and how are the characters going to move. any more questions?

I'm failing to understand the dilemma... Shouldn't the game look like the manga and use characters from the manga? Why is this something that you're having a difficult time figuring out? Does the manga have a lot of different looks? Is there a hundred characters to choose from?

As for sound and movements... Well you can get a general idea of how things move based off of the poses in the manga panels. Manga and comics often rely on extreme poses to give you a better visual idea of the movements taking place in only a couple of frames. Also most characters/creatures are based off some real world reference, so even if you have a squid like humanoid, you can figure out it would move somewhat like a human and somewhat like a squid...

For the sound, it's entirely up to you. For anime, most characters end up having voices that fit stereotypes for that character. If the character looks nerdy, then they most likely sound nerdy. If the character looks big and tough, they probably sound big and tough. There are exceptions to this rule of course. Your best bet is to look at the character and see how they talk and act in the manga... You can usually imagine a voice for that character in your head which I guess would be a decent enough approach.