Copyright laws question please help:) its better if everybody looks and helps

pitsopitso Member Posts: 53
edited April 2012 in Miscellaneous
Hello all, I just have 1 question? Im making a game. but it is similar to other game. that I saw and I don't know if I can make it. Would it be copy righted because my game is like it and over the many years i been playing games i see games similar to others. like the same just a little different like mw3 and black ops. They were 2 different companies but the game was similar to each other. I want to make a game like mine craft. i got different designs different everything but couple things the same like you can mine and you pick up the block and you can place it and you click different items and you can place them instead and you can craft your own items out of others but I added a lot more things to it then what the game has.

Is this copy right and I have look at wiki and it just does not help me. I didn't know where to post this but this seems like a good place to put it correct me if im wrong.

ya Terraia, mine craft, castle miner, castle Minerz, forge ya i seen lots sense i play games i got friends to tell me this

if i make a crafting place but its much different then minecraft crafting is that fine i still can add items to crate more items

Best Answers

  • crazyfishdevcrazyfishdev Posts: 283
    Accepted Answer
    you should be fine as long as its not just like minecraft and you use your own art... there are many mine craft like games...
  • OmenaboOmenabo Posts: 121
    Accepted Answer
    You can copy a game style, as long as it isn't a carbon copy. Your product will have to differentiate itself from the original enough. Basically, the whole industry is based on copying and bettering old inventions.

    Naturally, if you have to ask yourself if something is "ok", it most likely isn't. You'll have to have something that makes the game yours, and I don't just mean the coding.

    Plus there are a lot of people who attack products that are not "originals". Even if the later product would be a better one...
  • ZoytZoyt Posts: 374
    Accepted Answer
    As long as you don't do something like these real examples, your fine: Plants v. Zombies (opposed to Plants vs. Zombies), Clear Window (opposed to Clear), Very Angry Birds (opposed to angry birds), etc. You get the point. Don't worry about it too much...
  • SAZ_1SAZ_1 Posts: 397
    Accepted Answer
    yea just make sure its your own artwork and you haven't directly taken anything that doesn't belong to you without permission, you'll be fine.
  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Posts: 9,934
    Accepted Answer
    FYI modern warfare 3 and black ops where developed by different companies but under license for activist on who holds the copyrights to the modern warfare series.

    Basically inspiration from another gameis fine. What you cannot copy is story lines, game names, artwork, and music.

    Just make sure you make whatever style or concept your own and unique in some way.

    Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
  • bloomerbloomer Posts: 53
    Accepted Answer
    'Energy cells' is too vague a term to copyright, and has probably appeared in 1000+ games by now, but I still recommend that whenever you can give your take on something an original name, do it.

    Look at it this way - if every element of your game is familiar from other games, but you don't give ANY of the elements original names, it starts to look like laziness and/or plain old copying. And even on stuff that isn't actionable (EG 'Energy Cell'!), the sum effect of the appearance of copying can be negative to players and reviewers.

    Just invent your own mythology. Call the 'Energy Cell' the 'Energon' or something. Or invent an energy source called Xynium and call your energy cells 'Xynium'... stuff like that. Anytime you make your game more specific to yourself, it tends to be a better game.

Answers

  • pitsopitso Member Posts: 53
    thanks crazyfishdev but i still want everybody to look and see what they think. just to make sure but thanks a lot i guest i might make it:)
  • pitsopitso Member Posts: 53
    edited April 2012
    carbon copy? and zoyt have you played mine craft before because you oblivion makes a telporter some other game did the same thing just instead of 4 by 5 its 1 block and theres a telporter wouldn't that be copy right
  • pitsopitso Member Posts: 53
    Hi there just two more question? I have and ill be fine. I just found this out today but I do thank you all that who has helped me out:) I seen games out there that have handguns and they look the same and have the same name I don't think anybody can own this. I was playing a game called fallout and they got energy cells this might be a stupid question but I want to make sure can I put this on my game with different designs on the energy cells and different ability of the energy cells I am confused because the last guy said angry birds super angry birds thats copy right so if I put energy cells on my game with different deign is that copy right?

    thanks for reading I should be good after this last one
  • bazookaBenbazookaBen Member Posts: 318
    edited April 2012
    all games are clones of others ( they call it innovation ). As long as you stick to self-invented names and graphics, you should be fine.
  • UnicornInvasionUnicornInvasion Member Posts: 301
    What if you wanted to use a character (e.g spongebob)? That would be copyright, right?
  • JohnPapiomitisJohnPapiomitis Member Posts: 6,256
    What if you wanted to use a character (e.g spongebob)? That would be copyright, right?
    Of course.


  • pitsopitso Member Posts: 53
    edited April 2012
    would these be good names EXS or SXE or XES
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