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Geek Culture / Retro Games Copyright?

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old_School
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Posted: 7th Jul 2011 09:52
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I was working on a Retro space invaders game and someone said somethign about copyrights and permission. I did all the art and coding my self so were does the copyright issue some in? Is the name a registered trademark or something? Not sure how retro games copyright works. This is the first one Ive accually started working on.
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Quik
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Posted: 7th Jul 2011 16:00
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unless the copyright holder is dead since 80 years ago then it works the same as with up to date games, however the real question is wether they are enforced or not, however ive seen quite a lot of space invaders games: i would say stay away from commercial use to be on the safe side: do not make the artwork identical and maybe change the enemies around a bit.

just in case you wanrt to be 100% on the safe side that is

and for the record, I am a man.

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Van B
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Posted: 7th Jul 2011 16:24
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Really, the only thing you should be concerned about is the Space Invaders name, call it something else, and the chances of getting in trouble are nil. There must be thousands of clones of Space Invaders, in fact there are tons of arcade machine clones of Space Invaders, back when it was only making money through arcade machines.

So as long as you don't use the Space Invaders name, you won't upset the copyright holders. There are official games which are linked to the original, so the copyright is still in effect - but the actual gameplay is impossible to copyright - otherwise we wouldn't have any shooters.

The more recent retro games might be worth avoiding though, like making a Mario game is a major no-no.

Health, Ammo, and bacon and eggs!
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Ocho Geek
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Posted: 7th Jul 2011 16:36
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because mario should be dead...

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old_School
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Posted: 7th Jul 2011 19:35
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Thanks guys, i thought about changing the name up many times. Here is some images of the version i was working on.







Ill explain the concept. I wanted to make the game different then the hundreds of remakes ou tthere so I was going to add in a fuel system, weapon upgrade system, hidden levels and ability to buy new ships/unlock special ships. The ships above in the mock ups our fairly famous and noticeable ships.

I mean I did the art work my self but it might raise the copyright question even with a name change. But I wanted your guys thoughts on it if you thought it would raise a eye toward it.since the arts of my own, is it different enough to be considered its own game and free of copyrights?
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Ocho Geek
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Posted: 8th Jul 2011 00:13
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I see the fuel system being more of a hindrance, I doubt It would catch on

The Problem is, you either make a game faithful to the old game, or make a completely different one, anywhere in between seems to blend into the grey area of other adapted remakes


Not Spanish, Not Eight, Just Ocho

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Non Sequitur M
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Posted: 8th Jul 2011 01:25
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@Second pic above: Hmm... I don't remember that episode of Star Trek.

@Ocho: I don't think that it's really a working fuel gauge. I thinks it's just decor, right old school?

Also, a lot of the really old games, like pong, asteroids, Space Invaders(you know, Atari games from the 70s?), seem to get... Hmm... What's a polite way to say pimped? Ah! 'Passed' around by beginners to learn from. They're simple, crude, yet anyone can sit and play them for at least an hour.

Now, if you are looking to sell, remakes are not the way to go, for many reasons.
1) They've been done a hundred times over.
2) They might still have a copyright owner who'll go after a suit.
3) People will only play it a few times for nostalgia, then move to something shiny, and new.
4) Just don't make a remake!
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old_School
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Posted: 8th Jul 2011 01:40
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Well the techincal break down on the project was fuel system to "run out of gas", score system to use toward weapon upgrades or ship upgrades, repair the ship, repair the city, use score points to unlock secret level codes and i think we had some more idea on paper. Id have to look. Anyway in a nutshell the idea was to "update" the game a little but keep its classic look and feel. the project was more just for fun and enjoyment. But as I begin to write the game down on paper, it clicked that the game could be worth some kind of value once finished.

i mean most retro remakes an't worth crap no offense to those who made one. Like you said their more for just learning. This version I planned on making it fairly complex and worth playing. But the copyright issue pops out at me when I think about selling it.
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tha_rami
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Posted: 12th Jul 2011 15:17
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The assets, trademarks and code are copyrighted, the design, however, can not be protected by law. Basically, you can't patent or protect game ideas, so nor can they.

Business guy and developer at [url]www.vlambeer.com[/url] - bringing back arcade since 1956.
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MrValentine
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Posted: 31st Jul 2011 18:06
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I miss that city element where you had as many lives as you had buildings that was one heck of an intense game...

Copyright wise... its a heystack with many needles but your looking for just the one... however none of them are colour coded...

I think if you change the characters outlooks as I believe mentioned before... and change the specific style of gameplay like allow for y-axis movement as well as x-axis you might be fine

why dont you try googling 'space invadors copyrights'

just a thought

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