Im a rather new aspiring developer
im a one man team (getting help occassionally)
so i really dont have anyone to ask
i have no idea about the law or legal stuff surrounding the different assets of game creation
like
if you developed music for you game... do you get licenses for that? are you suppose to register it somewhere?
how about the game art? and other stuff? o.o
if anyone had found a guide for a total noob to the game developing scene like me that be really great and helpful xD
Music, Art and writing are auto copyright anything you make is yours to do as please, the only thing you need to understand is that you can not steal from someone, also credit them if they asked or else its stolen.
registration is a way to protect yourself from theft, it gives the court of law easier understanding of the owner and more.
there is no guide yet since certain laws are only good for certain things. major factors in the gaming industry law include where you live, updates to old laws, and general "everyone ignores the law because no one is enforcing it".
special thanks to nantoka.main.jp and iichan_lolbot
firecat wrote:Music, Art and writing are auto copyright anything you make is yours to do as please, the only thing you need to understand is that you can not steal from someone, also credit them if they asked or else its stolen.
registration is a way to protect yourself from theft, it gives the court of law easier understanding of the owner and more.
there is no guide yet since certain laws are only good for certain things. major factors in the gaming industry law include where you live, updates to old laws, and general "everyone ignores the law because no one is enforcing it".
oh its a relief that i dont have to worry about those much xD
thanks for the info man
Something to watch out for is that if you get free "help" make sure the person is okay with you using the character designs or ideas if you ever plan to sell something using them later.
If you use creative commons materials, make sure you keep track of the license and attribution material. It's very easy for materials to disappear from the web and not be retrievable via wayback machine and you don't want to find out later something you got that you thought was commercial use was actually noncommercial only late into a commercial project.
Also, on the topic of using other people's work or 'help', make sure you get the agreement in writing (something like email works too). This is so you have a record, just in case.
Sleepy wrote:If you use creative commons materials, make sure you keep track of the license and attribution material. It's very easy for materials to disappear from the web and not be retrievable via wayback machine and you don't want to find out later something you got that you thought was commercial use was actually noncommercial only late into a commercial project.
Also, on the topic of using other people's work or 'help', make sure you get the agreement in writing (something like email works too). This is so you have a record, just in case.
wrong email ever works, its only a small detail that has disadvantage written all over. you are better off hiring writters in freelancer.com then by email.
special thanks to nantoka.main.jp and iichan_lolbot
Sleepy wrote:If you use creative commons materials, make sure you keep track of the license and attribution material. It's very easy for materials to disappear from the web and not be retrievable via wayback machine and you don't want to find out later something you got that you thought was commercial use was actually noncommercial only late into a commercial project.
Also, on the topic of using other people's work or 'help', make sure you get the agreement in writing (something like email works too). This is so you have a record, just in case.
wrong email ever works, its only a small detail that has disadvantage written all over. you are better off hiring writters in freelancer.com then by email.
I'm not saying hire a writer by email (or do you mean hire a writer to do the agreement for you?), I'm saying get an agreement by email (if you can't do a written one) if you want to make sure details of 'help' are clear.
So like, when I know I'm getting help or need permission for something, I always clearly put down in email what we agreed, even if we talked out details in person. This establishes a written email chain and agreement between both parties what the conditions are. For example, with character art in my project, it was commissioned. However, I also made sure to get down in writing what the art would be used for and whether he wanted anything else out of it beyond name credit.
It's not perfect but it helps a lot to have something ahead of time, if only to prompt conversation about it rather than find out about issues/complaints later.
Sleepy wrote:If you use creative commons materials, make sure you keep track of the license and attribution material. It's very easy for materials to disappear from the web and not be retrievable via wayback machine and you don't want to find out later something you got that you thought was commercial use was actually noncommercial only late into a commercial project.
Also, on the topic of using other people's work or 'help', make sure you get the agreement in writing (something like email works too). This is so you have a record, just in case.
wrong email ever works, its only a small detail that has disadvantage written all over. you are better off hiring writters in freelancer.com then by email.
I'm not saying hire a writer by email (or do you mean hire a writer to do the agreement for you?), I'm saying get an agreement by email (if you can't do a written one) if you want to make sure details of 'help' are clear.
So like, when I know I'm getting help or need permission for something, I always clearly put down in email what we agreed, even if we talked out details in person. This establishes a written email chain and agreement between both parties what the conditions are. For example, with character art in my project, it was commissioned. However, I also made sure to get down in writing what the art would be used for and whether he wanted anything else out of it beyond name credit.
It's not perfect but it helps a lot to have something ahead of time, if only to prompt conversation about it rather than find out about issues/complaints later.
yes its true but people did have problems with email being the only agreement. one of the bestest fail in email was that you can never proof if the person you talking to is really that person. since many scammers will make it impossible to track down you will be left with nothing from that person. art can be stolen it happens, scammers use emails to trick people and emails can always be deleted.
using something like freelancer.com will give you protection from scammers, also it makes things easyer for both you and the commsioner.
special thanks to nantoka.main.jp and iichan_lolbot
There is so much it's hard to give a generic, "This is What You Do" answer. Do you plan to have a free game or commercial? How "legal" do you want to be. A lot of devs on here just go with the bare bones, which is fine. I tend to go the extra step, but that's just how my brain works.
It will depend on your country, but it's always good to have a couple basic contracts around. Transfer of Rights, and Freelance agreements are the most important. Partnership Agreements if you plan to do a commercial game with revenue share. KEEP COPIES OF EVERYTHING! Contracts, emails, receipts. Get yourself a binder and print everything out. This will save you much heartache in the long run.
If you need help with certain details you can always drop me a note. I'm willing to help out with whatever I can. I'm no lawyer, but I've been researching this stuff for a couple years now and have a pretty decent understanding of it. =)
