Return of the Tentacle
Moderator: ScummVM Team
I guess the best way to release such a game is to keep it quiet, and spread the word when it's finished. Once it's out there, it's out there, and there's nothing anybody can do to stop it from spreading. Then again, praise that comes from releasing new media and updates is good for morale. Hehe. Tough choice.
thanks for your comments!
there are many people who are informing us about this topic, and of course you're right.
but there are some aspects against that, which encouraged us to continue the project.
at first, as you already mentioned, there are a lot of fanmade MM-games out there, which never were shut down.
there is a german project called "maniac mansion mania", which meanwhile contains about more than 50 episodes.
the guys wrote their completely own story for each episode, but the characters and graphics are mostly taken from the original.
another project out there is called "zak mckracken 2 - between time and space" by "the artificial hair bros.".
this game is already finished, and actually it is one of the bigger projects out there.
thouse guys, especially their leader who is a very honest person, are our colleagues and they already told us for many times that there won't be any problems with LA.
yes, they don't have any effect on that, but one or two members of them had the amusement to meet LA.
surely LA has shut down a few fanadventures, but i think those originals are still present on the videogame market (monkey island, sam&max).
so it is obvious that LA isn't interested in day of the tentacle anymore, same as zak mckracken.
i know this is a daring statement, but anyway.
since seven years our project exists now, and we've already sent two or three requests to LA, without any answer.
of course that's not an acceptance, but we're optimistic enough to think, that LA is not such a big asshole to let us work for over seven years without giving one short answer after reading our letter (and we got a acknowledgment of receipt), to shut down our project right after releasing the first demo.
i think we share the same fate as our buddies from zak2, except the fact that we won't get an invitation.
of course all those points are not an official acceptance, but what shall we do? waiting for whatever and put down roots?
so: she'll be apples.
but:
it's definitely too late to change the character- and backgrounddesign, storyline, dialogues, soundeffects and music to hide the imitation.
@morden:
your tactic seems to be stable, but the fans who are enjoying our project, waiting and posting ideas for improvement are pushing the project forward.
there are many people who are informing us about this topic, and of course you're right.
but there are some aspects against that, which encouraged us to continue the project.
at first, as you already mentioned, there are a lot of fanmade MM-games out there, which never were shut down.
there is a german project called "maniac mansion mania", which meanwhile contains about more than 50 episodes.
the guys wrote their completely own story for each episode, but the characters and graphics are mostly taken from the original.
another project out there is called "zak mckracken 2 - between time and space" by "the artificial hair bros.".
this game is already finished, and actually it is one of the bigger projects out there.
thouse guys, especially their leader who is a very honest person, are our colleagues and they already told us for many times that there won't be any problems with LA.
yes, they don't have any effect on that, but one or two members of them had the amusement to meet LA.
surely LA has shut down a few fanadventures, but i think those originals are still present on the videogame market (monkey island, sam&max).
so it is obvious that LA isn't interested in day of the tentacle anymore, same as zak mckracken.
i know this is a daring statement, but anyway.
since seven years our project exists now, and we've already sent two or three requests to LA, without any answer.
of course that's not an acceptance, but we're optimistic enough to think, that LA is not such a big asshole to let us work for over seven years without giving one short answer after reading our letter (and we got a acknowledgment of receipt), to shut down our project right after releasing the first demo.
i think we share the same fate as our buddies from zak2, except the fact that we won't get an invitation.
of course all those points are not an official acceptance, but what shall we do? waiting for whatever and put down roots?
so: she'll be apples.but:
it's definitely too late to change the character- and backgrounddesign, storyline, dialogues, soundeffects and music to hide the imitation.
@morden:
your tactic seems to be stable, but the fans who are enjoying our project, waiting and posting ideas for improvement are pushing the project forward.
that's the worst you can do, just be open about it and try to contact the original owners of the IP, because even if it's out there, you can still get sued because of that..Morden wrote:I guess the best way to release such a game is to keep it quiet, and spread the word when it's finished. Once it's out there, it's out there, and there's nothing anybody can do to stop it from spreading. Then again, praise that comes from releasing new media and updates is good for morale. Hehe. Tough choice.
But reading purples last comment I think LA would not mind, but still I would certainly try to get an OK from the owners.
But best advice to anyone starting a new project based on someoneelses IP is to just ignore that itch and start your own IP, you clearly have the talent so why not use it on something of your own.
what a compliment, thanks!you clearly have the talent so why not use it on something of your own.
the reason for that is obvious.
1.
there are many brilliant ones out there, but in our opinion, day of the tentacle is the king of adventures, and it deserves a condign sequel, which never came out.
2.
i am a DOTT fan since the first moment i've played it (when i was 3 or 4) right after it's release. it's the first videogame i've ever played in my life, and i finished that game about 20 times until today.
i always kept my eyes open for a potential sequel to that game in the last few years, and suddenly i found this project.
it's an honour for me to work on that project, and it makes so much fun to "watch behind the scenes" of that game, you spent your childhood with.
17 years ago "larry ahern" has drawn and animated bernard and co., now it's my turn - that's cool.
3. the whole team is doing it's job, but no one of us is a real professional one. so i think it would be much harder to create a complete own game. ROTT is hard enough indeed, but there you got a guideline if you don't know how to continue your animation or character design.
of course i wanna work on an own game in the future, but now it's really great to work on this game.
Last edited by purple on Wed Jun 09, 2010 7:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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MeddlingMonk
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 10:06 pm
Beware! Swotty perspective on IP follows. Run away!
Of course, copyright changes a lot of things; but, historically, reworking something someone else has done is really the norm. Take the Trojan war as just one example. We have the Iliad, which is only a telling of a few days near the end of the war and assumes a larger history, followed in antiquity by a lot of other Trojan epics, most of which survive only in fragments except for the Aeneid. More Trojan war stories follow in the Middle Ages, which feed into Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. And, of course more recently, there was the movie Troy starring Orlando Bloom and Mr. Angelina Jolie. And then, of course, there are things like King Arthur and Robin Hood. There are many different paintings on the subject of the Last Supper, and Michelangelo is hardly the only artist to sculpt a statue of David.
What's being done with Return of the Tentacle, and what has been done with Broken Sword, Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. by fans is just a democratized and illicit version of what has been going on for as long as people have been telling stories.
So, in other words, lay off and let 'em do what they have to do, and more power to them.
Of course, copyright changes a lot of things; but, historically, reworking something someone else has done is really the norm. Take the Trojan war as just one example. We have the Iliad, which is only a telling of a few days near the end of the war and assumes a larger history, followed in antiquity by a lot of other Trojan epics, most of which survive only in fragments except for the Aeneid. More Trojan war stories follow in the Middle Ages, which feed into Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. And, of course more recently, there was the movie Troy starring Orlando Bloom and Mr. Angelina Jolie. And then, of course, there are things like King Arthur and Robin Hood. There are many different paintings on the subject of the Last Supper, and Michelangelo is hardly the only artist to sculpt a statue of David.
What's being done with Return of the Tentacle, and what has been done with Broken Sword, Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. by fans is just a democratized and illicit version of what has been going on for as long as people have been telling stories.
So, in other words, lay off and let 'em do what they have to do, and more power to them.
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dreammaster
- ScummVM Developer
- Posts: 557
- Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2005 2:16 am
- Location: San Jose, California, USA
I believe Activision, who inherited the license to Sierra's IP, busted 'The Silver Lining' 5 YEARS after Vivendi, the previous owner, forced them to drop any open connection to King's Quest. They had been working for a total of 8 years.since seven years our project exists now, and we've already sent two or three requests to LA, without any answer.
of course that's not an acceptance, but we're optimistic enough to think, that LA is not such a big asshole to let us work for over seven years without giving one short answer after reading our letter (and we got a acknowledgment of receipt), to shut down our project right after releasing the first demo.
Nevertheless, it looks like LucasArts has truly become one of the Good Guys(tm) again and won't do that to you folks.
I can't speak to the details of every single fan project, but Lucasarts has never really seemed to come down terribly hard on fan-made stuff. I think this might have something to do with George Lucas' own philosophy of embracing fan made materials (short films, stories, etc.) or just 3rd party creations in general.Bluddy wrote:I believe Activision, who inherited the license to Sierra's IP, busted 'The Silver Lining' 5 YEARS after Vivendi, the previous owner, forced them to drop any open connection to King's Quest. They had been working for a total of 8 years.since seven years our project exists now, and we've already sent two or three requests to LA, without any answer.
of course that's not an acceptance, but we're optimistic enough to think, that LA is not such a big asshole to let us work for over seven years without giving one short answer after reading our letter (and we got a acknowledgment of receipt), to shut down our project right after releasing the first demo.
Nevertheless, it looks like LucasArts has truly become one of the Good Guys(tm) again and won't do that to you folks.
I thought they shut down LucasFan Games (http://www.lucasfangames.de/)? Then again LucasFan Games did that Maniac Mansion Deluxe, which was a 100% remake of the original.KuroShiro wrote:I can't speak to the details of every single fan project, but Lucasarts has never really seemed to come down terribly hard on fan-made stuff. I think this might have something to do with George Lucas' own philosophy of embracing fan made materials (short films, stories, etc.) or just 3rd party creations in general.
Yea, but even they relented under fan pressure. The Silver Lining, AKA KQ9, is releasing July 11th.Bluddy wrote: I believe Activision, who inherited the license to Sierra's IP, busted 'The Silver Lining' 5 YEARS after Vivendi, the previous owner, forced them to drop any open connection to King's Quest. They had been working for a total of 8 years.
http://www.tsl-game.com/
And The New Adventures of Zak McKracken.LordHoto wrote:I thought they shut down LucasFan Games (http://www.lucasfangames.de/)? Then again LucasFan Games did that Maniac Mansion Deluxe, which was a 100% remake of the original.