Fan game
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A fan game is a
Development
Fan games are either developed as standalone games with their own engines, or as
Standalone games
Fan games are often developed using pre-existing tools and
Fan game developers often select and use
It is also possible for fans to develop original game engines from scratch using a programming language such as C++, although doing so takes much more time and technical ability than modifying an existing game; an example is the Spring Engine which started as fan-made Total Annihilation game.[3]
Modifications to existing games
Fan games are sometimes developed as a
Because of the complexity of developing an entirely new game, fan games are often made using pre-existing tools that either came with the original game, or are readily available elsewhere. Certain games, such as
Another form of modding comes from editing the
Famous fan mods (for example, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, and Pirates, Vikings and Knights II) may even be adopted by the game developer (in all the mentioned cases, Valve) and made into an official addition to the existing game (Half-Life).
Legal issues
Console releases
Because fan games are developed with a relatively low budget, a fan game is rarely available on a console system; licensing fees are too prohibitive. However, unlicensed fan games have occasionally made it onto consoles with a significant homebrew scene, such as the Atari 2600, the NES, SNES, the Game Boy line, Sony's PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, and many others.
Suppression and cease and desist
Some companies shut down fan games as copyright infringements. Original copyright holders can order a cease and desist upon fan game projects, as by definition fan games are unauthorized uses of copyrighted property. Many fan games go as far as taking music and graphics directly from the original games.
A notable case in late 2005 involved
A Spyro the Dragon fan game, Spyro: Myths Awaken, was shut down by Activision (the current owners of the Spyro IP) in September 2018[20] and later became Zera: Myths Awaken with all Activision-owned content being replaced by original content. After this legal action, other fan-made games like Spyro 2: Spring Savanna stopped the development. Previously in 2007, legal action was also taken by Activision against an open source software named Piano Hero by sending a cease and desist letter, which resulted in a name change to Synthesia.
In 2021, a lawsuit was filed by Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive against the authors of re3 and reVC, which were reverse engineering projects for the games Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that allowed the games to be played on contemporary platforms such as the Nintendo Switch. Take-Two asserted that they "are well aware that they do not possess the right to copy, adapt, or distribute derivative GTA source code, or the audiovisual elements of the games, and that doing so constitutes copyright infringement", and also alleging that the project has caused "irreparable harm" to the company.[21][22] Take-Two dismissed the lawsuits in April 2023.[23]
Also in 2021, Osmany Gomez developed a game called "I Am Batman" using the
Endorsement and turning a blind eye
Other times, companies have endorsed fan games. For example, Capcom has featured Peter Sjöstrand's Mega Man 2.5D fan game in their community site more than once.[29][30] However, Capcom Senior Vice President Christian Svennson has stated that, while they legally can't sanction fan games, they won't proactively go after them either.[31] In 2012, Capcom took Seo Zong Hui's Street Fighter X Mega Man and funded it, promoting it from a simple fan game to an officially licensed freeware Mega Man game.[32]
In 2008,
In April 2017, Mig Perez and Jeffrey Montoya released Castlevania: The Lecarde Chronicles 2. The game features all new assets and a new soundtrack, as well as new voice acting from actors who appeared in the official Castlevania series, such as Douglas Rye who played Dracula in Curse of Darkness and Robert Belgrade who played Alucard in Symphony of the Night. Konami allowed the game to be released with the contingency that the game remains non-profit.[37][38]
See also
- Fan labor
- Homebrew (video games)
- Dōjin soft
- Game development
- Game Maker
- Microsoft XNA
- M.U.G.E.N
- XGameStation
- Enterbrain's game suites
References
- ISBN 978-88-902991-2-4.
- S2CID 143727901.
- ^ "Spring review in Linux Pratique n51". Linux Pratique. 1 February 2009. pp. 10–12. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- UGO.com. 9 January 2007.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke. LttP Remade As Zelda: Parallel Worlds Archived 23 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Kotaku. 10 January 2007.
- ^ a b Hacking is Cool: Shame They Don't Teach It at School. Retro Gamer. Issue 35. p. 99. March 2007.
- ^ Altered States: The Best ROM Hacks. Retro Gamer. Issue 13. p. 72. January 2005.
- ^ "Phoenix Online - The Silver Lining". www.postudios.com.
- ^ "Singin' the Brews: The History and Philosophy of Homebrew Game Development from 1UP.com". Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
- ^ Orland, Kyle (2 September 2016). "Nintendo's DMCA-backed quest against online fan games". Ars Technica. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- ^ Crecente, Brian (31 March 2015). "Fan-made Super Mario 64 HD replaced with Nintendo-made takedown notice (update)". Polygon. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- kotaku.com. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ Otero, Jose (8 August 2016). "Nintendo Shuts Down Metroid 2 Fan Remake AM2R". IGN. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ Donnelly, Joe (5 September 2016). "No Mario's Sky parody game blocked by Nintendo lawyers, DMCA's Sky takes its place". Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- kotaku.com. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- ^ Watt, Meghan (2 April 2010). "Nintendo puts stop to fan-made Pokémon MMO, Pokénet". @geekdotcom. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ^ Fletcher, JC (2 April 2010). "Nintendo shuts down fan-made Pokemon MMO". Engadget. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ^ Hernandez, Patricia (15 August 2016). "Despite Takedown, Pokémon Uranium Creators Say It's 'More Alive Than Ever'". Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- pcmag.com. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ^ Kent, Emma (25 September 2018). "Activision lawyers send Spyro fan game cease and desist". Eurogamer. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ Clayton, Natalie (3 September 2021). "Take-Two is once again trying to kill reverse-engineered versions of GTA III and Vice City". PC Gamer. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Scullion, Chris (3 September 2021). "Take-Two is suing the creators of GTA 3 and Vice City reverse engineering projects". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ Andy Chalk (7 April 2023). "Take-Two dismisses lawsuit against Grand Theft Auto modders". PC Gamer. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "Batman (Tim Burton Universe) Tech Demo Game "Non-commercial project. Fan game demo".
- ^ "Batman 1989 inspires Arkham-style fan game complete with Nicholson's Joker". gamerevolution. 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Capcom shuts down Resident Evil 1 & Code Veronica fan remakes". 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Resident Evil 1 and Code Veronica Fan Remakes Canceled Due to Cease & Desist". 26 December 2022.
- ^ "Capcom Reportedly Shuts Down Resident Evil Code Veronica Fan Remake". 28 December 2022.
- ^ "Capcom-Unity". Capcom-Unity.
- ^ "Capcom-Unity". Capcom-Unity.
- ^ Svensson, Christian (5 August 2011). "What is Capcom's stand on fangames?". Capcom-Unity. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012.
- ^ Brelston. "Street Fighter X Mega Man coming 17 December". Capcom-Unity.
- ^ Rainer Sigl (1 February 2015). "Lieblingsspiele 2.0: Die bewundernswerte Kunst der Fan-Remakes". Der Standard.
- ^ Parkin, Simon (22 December 2011). "Sonic CD Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
However, after a few weeks, Whitehead's website was taken offline, as was the YouTube video he released to show off his work. It seemed as though Sega's lawyers had issued a cease-and-desist and ordered his work to be scrapped. Two years later and an official Sonic CD release surfaces bearing Whitehead's name. Sega had done what few multinational companies of its size, age and resultant inflexibility could have: made a fan a creative asset.
- ^ Seppala, Timothy (22 July 2016). "'Sonic Mania' looks like the 2D sequel fans deserve". Engadget. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ Owen S. Good (10 January 2015). "Fans remastering Morrowind give another glimpse of its landscape". Polygon.
- ^ "Castlevania Fan Game Gets Official Voice Actors on Board - Rice Digital". 18 November 2016.
- ^ "Lecarde Chronicles 2 Brings Gothic Castlevania Action to 18th Century France". 26 April 2017.