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pacman
Author
Hey everyone, I have a question:
I just started working on a little pacman clone (which really looks like pacman the original) today to test out my newly-found DirectX skills. Well, the nagging question has been there since I started: CAN I get into any kind of trouble with Hasbro? Of course this game will be freeware, and when complete I''ll post it on this site for download (maybe even source code included) in the new GDW section. Any comments?
Thanks,
Martin
One thing
These guy are true ba#$&*@
If you want to put it on the web to gets comments, i would recomend to simply pass it to your friends!
These guy are true ba#$&*@
If you want to put it on the web to gets comments, i would recomend to simply pass it to your friends!
First of all, Hasbro doesn''t own the copyright to PacMan. Namco does. But Hasbro probably owns the computer rights to the original pacman via its Atari buy-out. I''m not sure what the deal is, but the fact is that they are suing some people because they made pacman clones.
But I don''t think you are going to get any trouble. First of all, you aren''t selling it. You aren''t making Hasbro, or whoever, lose any money. At the most, they could ask you to remove it, but they won''t sue you. It wouldn''t be worth the expense, or the time. Second, you aren''t selling it in Walmart and CompUSA, or any other large scale retailers. This means that Hasbro will probably not even know that the game even exists. If you don''t wave the product right under their noses and go "nyeh nyeh", I doubt they''d even care.
If you are really worried, make the game different than pacman. It has been historically proven that games with different mazes, no ghosts, not "PacMan", and lack of other identifying elements (cherries that bounce through the maze, power pellets) won''t get sued. I''m sure there is probably a counter example to this, so I''m not 100% sure. But, it wouldn''t hurt. And for jebus sake, don''t make it look like the original game. If anything will get you in trouble, that will. Make the character a square that eats things, and give it some facial expressions or something.
So, um, the short answer is, no, you probably won''t get in trouble. Since you are writing it as a programming exercise, I personally don''t have a problem with it either. Just don''t try to sell it, or Hasbro won''t be the one you need to worry about, if you catch my drift...
But I don''t think you are going to get any trouble. First of all, you aren''t selling it. You aren''t making Hasbro, or whoever, lose any money. At the most, they could ask you to remove it, but they won''t sue you. It wouldn''t be worth the expense, or the time. Second, you aren''t selling it in Walmart and CompUSA, or any other large scale retailers. This means that Hasbro will probably not even know that the game even exists. If you don''t wave the product right under their noses and go "nyeh nyeh", I doubt they''d even care.
If you are really worried, make the game different than pacman. It has been historically proven that games with different mazes, no ghosts, not "PacMan", and lack of other identifying elements (cherries that bounce through the maze, power pellets) won''t get sued. I''m sure there is probably a counter example to this, so I''m not 100% sure. But, it wouldn''t hurt. And for jebus sake, don''t make it look like the original game. If anything will get you in trouble, that will. Make the character a square that eats things, and give it some facial expressions or something.
So, um, the short answer is, no, you probably won''t get in trouble. Since you are writing it as a programming exercise, I personally don''t have a problem with it either. Just don''t try to sell it, or Hasbro won''t be the one you need to worry about, if you catch my drift...
Author
Squidi: Thanks for the info. BTW, I''m probably going to use an old idea for a game I was going to make in my DOS days: a pacman clone with you playing Tux the Penguin, running away from little Bill Gates baddies 
What do you think? Probably anything but the original Pacman game.
Again, Thanks.
Martin
What do you think? Probably anything but the original Pacman game.Again, Thanks.
Martin
Hehehehe. Silly Billy! Basically, I have to agree with Squidi. If it''s freeware, and you''re not really advertising it, they won''t notice it. Besides, if you have different elements in the game to make it different (based on PacMan, but completely different), then from what I understand about copyright law, they can''t touch you (legally, anyway ).
If you code it, they will come...
Commander M
http://commanderm.8m.com
cmndrm@commanderm.8m.com
Basically, I have to agree with Squidi. If it''s freeware, and you''re not really advertising it, they won''t notice it. Besides, if you have different elements in the game to make it different (based on PacMan, but completely different), then from what I understand about copyright law, they can''t touch you (legally, anyway ). If you code it, they will come...
Commander M
http://commanderm.8m.com
cmndrm@commanderm.8m.com
You can make a game that, in every way is a direct imitation of the original and not get in trouble. How you might ask? Don''t sell. Don''t tell people it was your ideas. Don''t use any of their original material.
What do you think they are going to sue you for?
What do you think they are going to sue you for?
Author
Gromit, just a question about what you just said:
"Don''t use any of their original material. "
I''m going to go out on a limb here, but, what if I make MY OWN art, which is supposed to be a very close imitation of the original game? It wouldn''t be original, but it wouldn''t be theirs. Or am I just being stupid?
Thanks,
Martin
"Don''t use any of their original material. "
I''m going to go out on a limb here, but, what if I make MY OWN art, which is supposed to be a very close imitation of the original game? It wouldn''t be original, but it wouldn''t be theirs. Or am I just being stupid?
Thanks,
Martin
I''m not sure about the laws here, but the fact that you''re planning on releasing it as a freeware game doesn''t protect you. They can still sue you, especially if it gets popular. I also don''t think that you are safe just by drawing the graphics yourself, you are still using the image of pacman.
I cannot see that you will get in any trouble if you were to do your Linux/Billy game though. Unless Bill Gates gets offended and sues you for that.
I cannot see that you will get in any trouble if you were to do your Linux/Billy game though. Unless Bill Gates gets offended and sues you for that.
This topic is closed to new replies.
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