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I want to make a "Fire Emblem" inspired game, but how?


Mr. EnVy
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Hello everyone,

If I were to make a fire emblem copycat game but with different characters, story and dialogue and but only keep the gameplay mechanics. 
Specifically of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia,  would I get into trouble with Nintendo over copyright disputes? because from what I can gather they can copyright the game, characters even aesthetics. but not gameplay. 

The reason I'm asking this here is does anyone have any experience with making their own FE inspired turn-based strategy game? and if so what would be the do's and don'ts? to ensure the project, myself and the team do not fall under any lawsuits by Nintendo. 

I know it may seem shallow to want to copy the mechanics of a game, but I'd rather make a really good copycat than a really bad original game.
My other (more personal) objective with the project is to promote cultural awareness of my father country, it's language, dialects, scripture history and culture. there is a lot of media out there in surrounding it like books, movies, and music. But no video games.

So that's my motivation for this project, I even found the perfect historic event to take inspiration from, one that would really fit the "FE" archetype I think. So, any thoughts or tips? 

tumblr_inline_oozps5hD1A1uftrnv_1280.jpg

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No, because the game mechanics aren't protected by creative license (there is no copyright law for it). You can imitate it as much as you want, and the only trouble you'd get is maybe from people who'll complain it's a Fire Emblem clone without much originality.

As for "what makes a Fire Emblem game", you'd have to learn more about game designing to know, and I can't really help you here. You could base it off from your experiences playing Fire Emblem and try to replicate some characters. All FEs hold onto class and character archetypes (the Jeigan, the Navarre, the cleric who joins you early, the budding leader who's the Main Character etc.) in a very formulaic way, but it's not like you need to follow it 100%. It's just a guideline, because reinventing the wheel is unnecessarily tasking.

Edited by Rapier
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I’d say go for it but tge last time someone attempted this(kaga with tear ring saga) they got sued for copyright.  I believe Nintendo won that one as well.

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Game mechanics are NOT protected by copyright. That being said:

Names, dialogue, bodies of written text, art, images, sprites, animations, cut scenes, music, sound effects--that's all protected.

If you're going to do it, you have to make all your own art and write all your own script and do all your own sound-mixing.  Copying any of that from an actual fire emblem title and representing it as your own game will expose you to potential liability for IP infringement. 

Edited by Shoblongoo
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5 hours ago, Otts486 said:

I’d say go for it but tge last time someone attempted this(kaga with tear ring saga) they got sued for copyright.  I believe Nintendo won that one as well.

this is different because nintendo had a real case here, kaga broke the law specifically japan's unfair competition act which began being enforced in 1993, looks like article 2 section i seems to be what he is breaking (I admit that I skimmed it). section x seems more correct also section xiv, kaga's name being on his company could be seen as misleading to consumers.

I doubt that if kaga wanted to make a new fire emblem with blackjack and hookers today he would see any issues now because there would be little confusion for the consumer. 

edit: article 2 section xiii, emblem saga was a very open and shut case and article 3 section 1 is where nintendo got him.

I would also like to note, I am not a lawyer, my point is that kaga was sued because he was negligent and was guilty of unfair business practices, tearring saga was still on shelves and kaga and enterbrain were never found guilty of copyright infringement.

to the original poster don't let that scare you kaga was not in trouble for copyright, there were about 3 rulings total in the case.

Edited by thecrimsonflash
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7 hours ago, Von Ithipathachai said:

If you don't know jack about hacking (haha), I would pick up SRPG Studio and tinker around with it some.

Yo, I just checked it on steam! didn't know it existed! I was considering working on the game In Unreal Engine 4 but this looks more appropriate.
does it have the ability to have 3d models fight or it is just 2s? also, can it have animated portraits? like the facial expression changing and what not?
P.S. I just noticed you're also working on your own game! best of luck! :D

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10 hours ago, Rapier said:

No, because the game mechanics aren't protected by creative license (there is no copyright law for it). You can imitate it as much as you want, and the only trouble you'd get is maybe from people who'll complain it's a Fire Emblem clone without much originality.

As for "what makes a Fire Emblem game", you'd have to learn more about game designing to know, and I can't really help you here. You could base it off from your experiences playing Fire Emblem and try to replicate some characters. All FEs hold onto class and character archetypes (the Jeigan, the Navarre, the cleric who joins you early, the budding leader who's the Main Character etc.) in a very formulaic way, but it's not like you need to follow it 100%. It's just a guideline, because reinventing the wheel is unnecessarily tasking.

Yeap, that's how I intend to do it!
 

 

9 hours ago, Shoblongoo said:

Game mechanics are NOT protected by copyright. That being said:

Names, dialogue, bodies of written text, art, images, sprites, animations, cut scenes, music, sound effects--that's all protected.

If you're going to do it, you have to make all your own art and write all your own script and do all your own sound-mixing.  Copying any of that from an actual fire emblem title and representing it as your own game will expose you to potential liability for IP infringement. 

Good to know!

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5 hours ago, thecrimsonflash said:

this is different because nintendo had a real case here, kaga broke the law specifically japan's unfair competition act which began being enforced in 1993, looks like article 2 section i seems to be what he is breaking (I admit that I skimmed it). section x seems more correct also section xiv, kaga's name being on his company could be seen as misleading to consumers.

I doubt that if kaga wanted to make a new fire emblem with blackjack and hookers today he would see any issues now because there would be little confusion for the consumer. 

edit: article 2 section xiii, emblem saga was a very open and shut case and article 3 section 1 is where nintendo got him.

I would also like to note, I am not a lawyer, my point is that kaga was sued because he was negligent and was guilty of unfair business practices, tearring saga was still on shelves and kaga and enterbrain were never found guilty of copyright infringement.

to the original poster don't let that scare you kaga was not in trouble for copyright, there were about 3 rulings total in the case.

Aw yeah, I heard something about that lawsuit Kaga went through, that's why I wanted to ask here before I started working on anything seriously, thanks so much for the info!

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17 minutes ago, Mr. EnVy said:

Yo, I just checked it on steam! didn't know it existed! I was considering working on the game In Unreal Engine 4 but this looks more appropriate.
does it have the ability to have 3d models fight or it is just 2s? also, can it have animated portraits? like the facial expression changing and what not?
P.S. I just noticed you're also working on your own game! best of luck! :D

Unfortunately, SRPG Studio does not support 3D models.  I don't know about animated portraits, but you can have different character expressions (though no SRPG Studio games I've seen use this feature).

Do check out mine and some other fangames being worked on right now if you're looking for ideas of what you want to do and what you want to avoid when making your game.

P.S.: Try to address everyone in a single reply next time, not over multiple posts.  This is a common courtesy I assume you weren't aware of as a new user.

Edited by Von Ithipathachai
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8 hours ago, Von Ithipathachai said:

Unfortunately, SRPG Studio does not support 3D models.  I don't know about animated portraits, but you can have different character expressions (though no SRPG Studio games I've seen use this feature).

Do check out mine and some other fangames being worked on right now if you're looking for ideas of what you want to do and what you want to avoid when making your game.

P.S.: Try to address everyone in a single reply next time, not over multiple posts.  This is a common courtesy I assume you weren't aware of as a new user.

Will check some stuff up in that case and that's a shame that it doesn't support 3d.

And sure I'll check other people's works!

P.S. hehe sorry... ^^" Noted!

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