3 ms·

Do you have any examples? There are a ton of platformers which are very mario-like and I don't think got into any trouble. Of course if you reproduce a mario ga

by jiggy2011 13y ago

Do you have any examples? There are a ton of platformers which are very mario-like and I don't think got into any trouble. Of course if you reproduce a mario game with a mario character even if you redrew him you would be in trouble.

girvo 13y ago
That latter sentence of yours is entirely the point! Wouldn't it be cool to get a "mechanical license" to allow you to recreate (I'm your own way) Super Mario Bros with the original characters (even if you make the graphics yourself)? Quite literally a "cover", in a way that's more recognisable than just sheer mechanics? You can argue that you almost can now, and in some cases yes, but I'd love to pay royalties to someone to "cover" my favourite RPG from the Megadrive, beyond just making a "spiritual successor"!
- jiggy2011 13y ago
  I wonder if this could work for games in the same way it does for music. With music there is a significant "brand" around the artist to the point where the success of some artists seems to be more down to their image and persona than their actual music. This means that a cover version of a song performed by some tribute band is not really a substitute in any way for a performance by the real artist even if the cover band can reproduce the original with very high accuracy. Game developers don't really have the same halo and fame surrounding them, so perhaps customers would be happy with a cheaper clone of a game provided that the assets etc were of at least a similar quality to the original even if not identical.
  - aestra 13y ago
    Plenty of covers are just as good as the original some more famous. http://www.businessinsider.com/17-cover-songs-better-than-the-original-2013-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/17-cover-songs-better-than-th... http://mentalfloss.com/article/53336/20-songs-you-might-not-know-were-covers?bypass=1 http://mentalfloss.com/article/53336/20-songs-you-might-not-...
- saraid216 13y ago
  Worth noting: Game mechanics aren't copyrightable. They're patentable. And the "mechanical license" you talk about is exactly what licensing a patent is. The graphics, the text, etc. are copyrightable/trademarkable.

girvo 13y ago

That latter sentence of yours is entirely the point! Wouldn't it be cool to get a "mechanical license" to allow you to recreate (I'm your own way) Super Mario Bros with the original characters (even if you make the graphics yourself)? Quite literally a "cover", in a way that's more recognisable than just sheer mechanics? You can argue that you almost can now, and in some cases yes, but I'd love to pay royalties to someone to "cover" my favourite RPG from the Megadrive, beyond just making a "spiritual successor"!

jiggy2011 13y ago
I wonder if this could work for games in the same way it does for music. With music there is a significant "brand" around the artist to the point where the success of some artists seems to be more down to their image and persona than their actual music. This means that a cover version of a song performed by some tribute band is not really a substitute in any way for a performance by the real artist even if the cover band can reproduce the original with very high accuracy. Game developers don't really have the same halo and fame surrounding them, so perhaps customers would be happy with a cheaper clone of a game provided that the assets etc were of at least a similar quality to the original even if not identical.
- aestra 13y ago
  Plenty of covers are just as good as the original some more famous. http://www.businessinsider.com/17-cover-songs-better-than-the-original-2013-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/17-cover-songs-better-than-th... http://mentalfloss.com/article/53336/20-songs-you-might-not-know-were-covers?bypass=1 http://mentalfloss.com/article/53336/20-songs-you-might-not-...
saraid216 13y ago
Worth noting: Game mechanics aren't copyrightable. They're patentable. And the "mechanical license" you talk about is exactly what licensing a patent is. The graphics, the text, etc. are copyrightable/trademarkable.