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Hi ken
Ken there are a lot of fan games being made at the moment and i feel that my all time favourite Space quest need a vga look to it we have started doing the backgrounds etc and the look wonderfull if i must say so my selfa few of us have decided to remake the game and i was wondering will there be any legal issue. if there are we will stop the project. could you please advise the way forward.
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“… (by EBeshar786@webmail.co .za) Hi ken
Ken there are a lot of fan games being made at the moment and i feel that my all time favourite Space quest need a vga look to it we have started doing the backgrounds etc and the look wonderfull if i must say so my selfa few of us have decided to remake the game and i was wondering will there be any legal issue. if there are we will stop the project. could you please advise the way forward….”
The only “sure” answer to this question is:
If you do anything that infringes on the copyrights of Vivendi, and try to do anything commercial with it, or perhaps even distribute it freely” you could be sued for damages.
That said, Vivendi has not been aggressive in shutting down fan games. Many have been produced, and I am aware of only one case where a nasty letter was sent. I do not know of anyone who has really been sued. My opinion (and, it’s only an opinion – not fact) is that Vivendi will not sue a game that does not damage their characters, or make money.
In other words:
1) Don’t try to make money on their characters
2) Don’t do anything to ruin the reputation of their characters (a porno version of space quest would get you sued quickly)
3) And, here’s another: don’t succeed. My guess is that if you did something that was really good, and gave it away for free – and, more than one million people download it – you will get sued.Keep in mind that this is my opinion only. Vivendi might have completely different ideas, and these are their copyrights to decide what to do with.
Good luck!
-Ken W
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“… (by Aaron Keller) Hey Ken, so Vivendi actually now owns the rights to ALL of the game franchises you helped create? Does that mean that Vivendi owns the rights to Quest for Glory?
…”Yes. I have ZERO rights. Neither do any of the designers (such as Al Lowe, Jane Jenson, Roberta Williams, etc.)
-Ken W
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That’s quite possibly the most horrible news I’ve ever heard. That’s awful! I can’t imagine how horribly frustrating that must be! That’s like losing your baby! What possible gain would Vivendi have had taking King’s Quest and Quest for Glory? The only thing they’ve resurrected is Leisure Suit Larry and I never played any of those games. Never cared to. It just sucks. Alright, alright, I’ll stop venting.
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That isn’t entirely true is it? I believe you gave the Gold Rush! designers (Doug and Ken MacNeill) the rights to their game before you sold the company. Or did you just give them partial/temporary rights? I did notice that they changed the name of the game before reselling it which makes me curious. Too bad you didn’t pull a few other fast ones and release a bunch of the older IPs back to their designers.
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