Legal Issues

[Klodin]

What exactly is not allowed if I wanted to make a game similar to wyvern?

[Binyamin]

All of it. See, since we decided you're not allowed to be a Wizard, you can't even end-game us by making your own.

Now shush and go die. <<Throwing more of Arilou's pebbles at a miscreant player>>

[onibone]

If you were going to "make a similar game to wyvern" what programming language would you use? :O


and what's "end-game" bin?

[Salkand]

*rolls eyes*
technically the only things you can't use are copy-righted material. This means any original material by Rhialto or a wizard. You also can't heavily take from any idea or theme (for instance, you couldn't use a Jester event like Arilou's).
You can't use any of wyvern's graphics at all, as they all belong to Rhialto, and the wizard who made them.

But if you are saying, can you make a 2-D game from a birds eye view similar to Wyvern, but still an original game which has stolen nothing from wyvern itself. Then yes, you are allowed to do that.

[Valkon]

Originally Posted by Salkand

*rolls eyes*
You can't use any of wyvern's graphics at all, as they all belong to Rhialto, and the wizard who made them.

It all belongs to cabochon.com, which ofcourse is Rhialto, wizards technically lose all copyrights to everything they make. It's in the wiz-rules

[Klodin]

Wyvern's influence is too heavy on me

[Klodin]

I already have a engine built for a 2-D game with monsters and is square based on real time. I would need to design a GUI to show stats. Then how would i proceed from there?

And I guess I would need to hire some artists to make art.

[onibone]

Uhh shouldn't you program the game? XD

[Salkand]

Originally Posted by Valkon

It all belongs to cabochon.com, which ofcourse is Rhialto, wizards technically lose all copyrights to everything they make. It's in the wiz-rules

Yes well. As There is no chance in this or the next, or any life at all of me becoming a wizard. I thought reading the wiz-rules as a waste of time.

[Klodin]

And the language I'm using is pure java. It was originally intended as a grade 12 assignment.

[onibone]

God I hated programming in java..

[Klodin]

My only problem right now is my walker algorhythm for recrusvie monster AI.

The skeletons take a step towards the player and then a step away. But once this is fixed, then I meet the excruciatingly horrible process of building GUI.

[cerdom]

Well I'll play your game since I can't download the real wyvern

But yeah, pretty much the idea of a top down 2d game where you kill monsters isn't under any kind of legal protection, but I'd say anything else that wyvern does is probably a bad idea to stick in your game. Putting elves in your game won't get you a lawsuit though. Think about what influenced wyvern. It wasn't illegal for them to make nagas in their game, even though they didn't think of them. I'd assume you could put nagas in your game too if you wanted. Just don't take any art or lore or names or anything that is distinctly Wyvern. You might want to ask a lawyer though. :P

[Brolm]

Don't use any images or ideas from Wyvern (Art, special LQs (like the Jester), HoF Pics, Audio, interface, etc.). Generally, don't use copyrighted material. If you really, really were wondering about something, you could probably find an email address to contact Rhialto with, and he might answer. Just don't take stuff from Cabochon and you'll be fine.

You're not going to be sued for making Elves or Nagas in your game, so don't worry about minor details like that. It's the major, more obvious stuff that could land you in trouble.

[Xae]

Alot of stuff from Wyvern is already borrowed - for example, like Brolm said Nagas and Elves. Nothing ever seems to be completely original anyway, even LQs. i've seen "LQs" similar to the ones in Wyvern in other games before - one that was almost exactly like Gore.

Unless you specifically made something like Morgos with the same art and everything - then you're screwed =P

[Salkand]

Well, gore is a giant spider attacking the world. . . How hard is that to come up with?

[ardax]

Originally Posted by Salkand

Well, gore is a giant spider attacking the world. . . How hard is that to come up with?

you can't copyright Cliches like some evil thingy trying to break the world

[Iro]

Coding entirely in java?

HAHAHAHAA

FDGDFHG

[Salkand]

Originally Posted by ardax

you can't copyright Cliches like some evil thingy trying to break the world

A giant evil thing trying to "break" the world has been done in many video games, books, movies, series. It's also an unoriginal idea that is pretty free to be run with.

What you CAN'T do is have a LQ about a giant demi-god spider named gore, etc etc.

[Logwad]

Originally Posted by Salkand

What you CAN'T do is have a LQ about a giant demi-god spider named gore, etc etc.

I'm not sure that this is true. I have my doubt's that such a thing could have legal ramifications. But then again, I'm hardly an expert in copyright law, and I assume the same for the rest of you. Copy-pasting the dialog used during the would probably be a legal no-no though. Copyright is mucky stuff, and the best way to stay clean is be creative. A shocking revelation I know.

Regardless, everyone here can agree that if someone blatantly copied a wizard's hard work, there would be consequences of a different type. The internet can be a wild place.


And if you are in the need for art, check out http://rltiles.sourceforge.net/
those sets can make a tile based game quite happy for all basic needs.