I was thinking it would be fun to do some fan made levels for Metal Gear Solid. Something like trying to model Shadow Moses Island in UE4 to roam around in. Or maybe even modeling a Metal Gear Rex to be piloted by the player. Nothing beyond that. Not that I could do anything beyond that. If I am just doing it for fun, could I get in trouble for any copyright issues?
It’s been done.
Also, you can’t release it as is.
You can make a whole new game out of it, using mechanics similar to other stealth games like the ones from Ubisoft.
Then, it’s original enough to be released.
You can make it, but it’s risky if you decide to release it somewhere, even if it’s free.
If you are not profiting off it in any way, clearly mark that it’s fan art inspired by another game, no intent on sharing/distributing the files, not using their logos, you should be fine. But it’s still a grey area.
Odds are 99% of the time, you’ll be fine (even if you break those guidelines), .9% of the time you may get a request to take down your art, and .1% of the time they may try to pursue it further.
Fan art is a really common subject matter for game art, and I haven’t heard of a single instance of an environment artist getting in trouble for it.
IANAL but anytime you use someone else’s stuff there’s a chance you’ll get in trouble - if it’s just a “fan” thing then most companies don’t care - but there are a few that do - I think in most cases you’d get a cease and desist letter before you got dragged into court or anything - but it’s better to do a little research and see if the company cares to be safe
Hey that looks awesome!, had no idea they were already building it. That is cool. That means less work for me to have fun. Thanks.