What franchise can I liberally steal from without legal consequences?

[Servo]

I want to remake a game like Ultima 4, Might and Magic 1 or possibly Pool of Radiance for a couple reasons:

1. None of my ideas are good enough to stand on their own
2. These games all have things that annoy me that I want to "fix"

If I were to remake U4, I probably wouldn't call it "U4 HD" because I wouldn't want to be forced to stay faithful to every little thing that would piss off the megafans if I changed it, so I'd probably call it "Something Something: A U4 Spiritual Successor" instead. But I have a feeling even that may get the legal axe from EA. The MM franchise is still relevant with the newest title. I'm not sure if anyone cares about PoR anymore except for that rumor about an SSI reincarnation in the works.

If I were to remake one of these games, which one would you like to see the most? And which one am I least likely to get sued or a cease-and-desist over?

 

[Ranselknulf]

If you are trying to sell a game you make then you'd probably be hard pressed to find something worth while.

Now if you are just trying to make a mod of a game that isn't stealing.

 

[Servo]

If you are trying to sell a game you make then you'd probably be hard pressed to find something worth while.

Now if you are just trying to make a mod of a game that isn't stealing.

Not selling anything. I just want to make something that can be played more or less start to finish. I'd rather make something from scratch than have to figure out how someone else's code works though.

 

[Ranselknulf]

You don't necessarily have to figure out how all the code works.. as long as it works after you make the changes you want.

IE mod the shit.

 

[Telengard]

Ultima actually has two remakes in the Dungeon Siege engine, so remakes are doable without getting the EA C&D. As long as you don't look to be snipping any of their sales, that is. The DIY Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures has remakes of the originals, and no legal troubles. M&M is probably the same. Troubles generally only arise if you copy a lot and then try to sell your work, or you impinge on sales. One or the other. Once money is involved, that's when things get dicey.

The game styles aren't owned by them. And even with D&D, hardly any of it is or even can be copyrighted. Just a few monsters and a few terms. Particularly not now, with the OGL. So, nothings stopping you.

 

[Jaesun]

You cannot use ANY of a games art assets (UNLESS you do it the Exult way, you require the user to have the original game installed and you code an engine that uses the games art assets). If you distribute a games art assets you will get a C&D.

If you are not going to make any money from it, using an existing name/setting/IP shouldn't be much of a problem, as long as it is tastefully* done.

*This term is dependent on the company that owns the game.

 

[ghostdog]

Mod the 2001 pool of radiance and remove all the dumbing down of the character system, re-balance combat and rewards and add more interesting encounters. Also improve interface, make more varied locations and remove crippling bugs.


It shouldn't be that hard.

Spoiler

:australia:

 

[J1M]

I want to remake a game like Ultima 4, Might and Magic 1 or possibly Pool of Radiance for a couple reasons:

1. None of my ideas are good enough to stand on their own
2. These games all have things that annoy me that I want to "fix"

If I were to remake U4, I probably wouldn't call it "U4 HD" because I wouldn't want to be forced to stay faithful to every little thing that would piss off the megafans if I changed it, so I'd probably call it "Something Something: A U4 Spiritual Successor" instead. But I have a feeling even that may get the legal axe from EA. The MM franchise is still relevant with the newest title. I'm not sure if anyone cares about PoR anymore except for that rumor about an SSI reincarnation in the works.

If I were to remake one of these games, which one would you like to see the most? And which one am I least likely to get sued or a cease-and-desist over?

Just look at how something like Project Eternity or Fallout was made. You can use existing genres and themes.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Aperion's games including 762mm.
DO EET

 

[ProphetSword]

I'm not sure if anyone cares about PoR anymore except for that rumor about an SSI reincarnation in the works.

I'd be less concerned about a reformed SSI and more concerned with Wizards of the Coast. Everything in "Pool of Radiance" comes from the Forgotten Realms world setting, and not only is it still used by WotC, it has become the standard world in 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. So I wouldn't touch it, UNLESS you do it within Unlimited Adventures...because users of UA have explicit permission to use both assets and properties of the Dungeons & Dragons setting in the creation of their modules...which is why there hasn't been any issues (this also includes other Gold-Box properties like Buck Rogers).

This is why UA authors can get away with using pictures scanned from D&D books and do designs based upon classic modules or previous D&D games.

Unless you're just talking about making a Gold-Box style game...which isn't an issue. Even I'm doing that. As long as you're not stealing someone's code, you can make a game similar to something you like without issue. You can even use the OGL for a real D&D feel if you wanted to.

 

[ghostdog]

I don't think WOTC will c&d a free mod/remake unless it's completely insulting or something. Just look at the Keep on the Borderlands mod for TOEE, it had no problems whatsoever.

Frankly all this discussing is without real merit. The OP should go for what he really wants to do instead for searching for the most popular option. It's much more probable for this endeavor to not even start, than to face any problems from the copyright holders.

 

[Servo]

Frankly all this discussing is without real merit. The OP should go for what he really wants to do instead for searching for the most popular option. It's much more probable for this endeavor to not even start, than to face any problems from the copyright holders.

Don't worry, I have several "games" in the works. And I'm not looking for the most popular option, just wondering what would happen if I remade some of these classics.

 

[ProphetSword]

Read this. It might help:

So You Wanna Clone Somebody's IP

If you ignore the attempts at lame comedy, you might find some information buried in there.