Fan games are technically illegal but companies don’t care that much because it’s not cost effective and because it’s also “kind of” free marketing. But you have for example Nintendo, Sega, Konami and many others abusing the Content ID system on Youtube because is very efficient and if they wanted they could take your entire channel down with Copyright Strikes, it has happened in the past.
I don’t understand why anyone would need to use some IP for a fan game when you can create random stuff from thin air, make it look awesome and serve as a great homage to any game, as I said earlier there are Mario, Megaman and Sonic fan games that have original content but they’re great because the gameplay and overall design is close to their respective honorees.
Have you seen the earliest Braid prototypes?
You don’t need AAA quality assets to create a game.
Let’s play a quick round of “Can you see the difference?”
We have two developers. Bob and Alice.
Bob puts a sonic model into Gary’s Mod and its funny to watch silly things happen to sonic in Gary’s Mod. It is obvious the game is Gary’s Mod and that Sonic itself is not part of the game, but user submitted content that isn’t intended to mesh well with the sold game.
Alice makes a sonic game very clearly using the likeness of the Sonic team, the likeness of the sonic game mechanics, and has references to the word and/or idea of a “hedgehog” that’s gotta go fast.
In JAPAN: Nothing is created, everything is copied:)
you do not need to do something like the Sonic. You can do something similar, mixing with Sonic the hedgehog: Donkey Kong, Pokemon and Dragon Ball.
It’s not a joke. This is how the industry works.
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I do not really intend to do some sort of a mix of things. A fan-game is unlike normal games, in that it is often an unofficial sequel to a game.
I do have ideas that are completely new, but these are often inspired by others. Blue, for example, started out with someone’s Scratch engine containing the character. I came up with ideas for who this character is and the storyline.
Want to know more? Look /there/. It’s the first link, after I say, “Like this!”
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First, thanks!
There’s a tiny correction I would like to make on the thing from my other post.
There was still stuff to talk about. Note I needed help figuring out why the billboard was transparent when I asked it to show. I can’t figure it out. Perhaps it’s just because the billboard of that sort is intended to just be seen in the editor (I had to enable it to show)?
I was also feeling a little judged very quickly; note the first thing I got from you guys is something about gluing wings on your back and therefore being able to fly. And from there people just gave me these legal warnings and told me it would be really hard and involve a lot of C++. I’m sorry if it seems I’m just running back to my hole. I don’t mean to and I’m hopefully not really doing that now, because I’m replying to you guys.
It’d probably be better to use a flipbook for your 2D Characters, or at least a sprite.
The Unreal community tends away from sugarcoating things. Yes you can learn animation, however you shouldn’t count on being your project’s sole animator- nor could it be said that you have animation. Well then again, you are making a game which is sure to attract legal attention should it ever get noticed. Only true die-hard fans will be joining you. You don’t necessarily need C++, but it’d run smoother and be more efficient than BP.
You’re making a Sonic game with Sonic characters, Sonic mechanics, and Sonic assets. If it’s not a Sonic clone (most literally ), then what is it? Do keep in mind [GameName]-clone generally means a game with the same/similar mechanics as [GameName]. For a while, any FPS game would have been called a ‘Doom clone’. , at least according to what’s been said, you’re making a game not only with the same/similar mechanics but with the entire IP of the original game. Calling it a clone is not necessarily an attack.
I answered your question, I do not need to check above posts for any matter. Anyhow, it is obvious you are going to be quite the vigilante on this. Do whatever you want really. After 3 years of working on the game and finally finishing it, you might feel hearth broken when a lawyer contacts you to get rid of the game.
People are trying to tell you this, and you don’t want to get it.
Also you can do multiquotes in one post, you don’t need to post many just to respond many.
Note I want objects that always face the camera. Does an average sprite do this? Is there a simple boolean, or do I have to program it to point towards the camera?
I kinda wish I could simply set the X, Y, and Z. This feels it would make programming in UE4 so much better… And such a thing may also be considered easy to code and more efficient. This is one of the reasons I like Scratch. Straightforward X and Y. In 3D there would be the third axis, Z. Then I would find Pitch, Yaw, and Roll. And scaling. That’s about it for positions! I know that C++ is a confusing language, but maybe I should check it out!
Let me make another “Bob & Alice” comparison. We have three developers, Joe, Tim, and Ted, no relations to Bob and Alice.
Ted made a Sonic engine for UE4. The other two developers will use these in different ways.
Joe adds the story, complete game-play, and levels of Sonic Adventure.
Tim has new ideas and wants to make a game with new story, levels, features, enemies, objects, and all-around content. He makes something that feels like a completely new game.
Can you spot the difference?
P.S. Joe made a CLONE. He copied everything from Sonic Adventure.
Tim made a FAN-GAME. He used the characters and main story of the games’ history and made something completely new. Some fan-games don’t go this far, but they should add new content.
EDIT: I have decided I will try to make the models myself. I’ve decided that I want to take no assets from the original games. That is what I believe I will do.
If the camera is attached to the pawn, and the relative positions and rotations of the camera and sprite do not change, then yes. If the sprite or the camera move independently of each other, then you’ll have to write it yourself. It’s about 6 BP nodes.
Not sure what you mean- you can set all of these things. Maybe not with the character class, but you can write everything from a Pawn class. You’ll have to come to grips with the Unreal API either way, best stick to BP until you run into a major obstacle. You’ll know when it’s C++ time.
“A video game clone is either a video game (or series) which is very similar to or heavily inspired by a previous popular game or series.”
[HR][/HR]
“Typically, a remake of such game software shares essentially the same title, fundamental gameplay concepts, and core story elements of the original game.”
“A remake typically shares very little of the original assets and code with the original game, distinguishing it from an “enhanced port”, partial remake, or remastering.”
“A remake offers a newer interpretation of an older work, characterized by updated or changed assets. A remake typically maintains the same story, genre, and fundamental gameplay ideas of the original work. The intent of a remake is usually to take an older game that has become outdated and update it for a new platform and audience.”
“Games that use an existing brand but are conceptually very different from the original, such as Battlezone (1998) and Defender (2002) are usually regarded as reboots rather than remakes”
[HR][/HR]
So in your example, Joe made a fan remake of Sonic Adventure, assuming he did not just rip game assets and code- in which case it’d be called a rip or fan port, or something else.
A fan developing the game doesn’t exclude the game from being labeled as anything. If anything, just put ‘fan-made’ before the appropriate label. (FAN-MADE clone, FAN-MADE remake, FAN-MADE reboot, FAN-MADE spiritual successor)
I’m still calling this project a Sonic clone. Possibly a fan reboot- but that’d only apply if it was sufficiently different.
If you weren’t using the Sonic IP (not even the gameplay, just the characters and background), this would be inspired by, or a spiritual successor of, [insert Sonic game].
Ted made a thing and cancelled it and took down the public assets. Perhaps because it was not a good idea ™, or he just had a change of heart.
Years later, Joe was known to collect call Tim from a Wisconsin State Penitentiary, but sadly Tim couldn’t pay for the collect call because he was too broke after the lawsuit.
Rip Tim and Joe.
P.S.
I’m still 100% behind the idea of “Tim and Joe the Faster-than-sound Platypus DUO: The Game: 1” and give you full rights to take my platypus idea and make it into a game.
The main antagonist could be “Ted The TakeDowner”, you know, because Ted took down the UE4 FTS Platypus Engine Mk1.
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Real talk: you can make anything you want. If you make a Sonic game, you can’t sell it or put it on any public market for free because you do not own or have rights to the IP or the Sonic trademark. Go hog wild - we’re all excited to see what you make, just as with any other indie.
Eh. I guess you can call it what you want. But when I hear “clone”, I think, “practically a copy with nothing new”.
Hmm… We could try this… We could make this a bit cooler than an odd clone of a Sonic game. You know how Platypuses can “see” underwater? The… Sensors they have? What if we involved those? BTW They can swim too! Heheheh.
We could use the “sensors” as some sort of a super-power. There are some that hide themselves, making themselves invisible to the eye.
(Perhaps Joe could be a bat? You know, their echolocation could be used similarly.)
Eh. I won’t go with Phonic if we make this a real game…
EDIT: This is because it’s too close to Sonic.
