Could I get sued?

[Rolling Thunder]

Unless it's a direct copy of material, you're fine to make, distribute and profit from this work. Problem solved.

And if they try and take you to court with no basis, I'm pretty sure you can ask they be fined.

 

[Asehujiko]

Ive been thinking about doing this for a while. Me and my friend want to make a spoof of all the classic JRPGs using RPG Maker XP. We were thinking about calling it something along the lines of "Super Chrono Dragon Final Life". It will spoof the following, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, and maybe more if I think of any. I was wondering if any of these right holders could sue me if I ever released the game even if I posted a disclaimer. I mean if I really had to I guess I could just change the names and appearances of the characters a bit. But I remember a group that wanted to remake a few scenes of Chrono Trigger in 3D and Square Enix forced them to stop. Also since I'm posting this topic, would anyone actually play this game if it were ever released? We want to spoof all the cliches of JRPGs, like being able to walk into anybodies house. We might make it so that when you walk into someones house they yell at you or call the police. Plus we don't want to do a lot of censorship so when you walk into someones house they could even be in the middle of using the bathroom or having sex. All the characters are in 8-bit so its not like you could actually see anything, if you've seen anyone naked in code monkeys then you probably have a pretty good idea of a naked 8-bit person.

If they realy wanted, they could sue you for using trademarked names in this post. It has been done before.

 

[PlasticPorter]

I would play it as long as the writing is good otherwise it would be like most "funny" games, once you hear all the prerecorded catchphrases its over.

 

[God's Clown]

"this is totally not cloud nudge nudge wink wink" kind of thing.

You could call him Clod. He could have spiky black hair and have a ridiculously huge HAMMER.
Called a smasher hammer.

Bustor Hammer IMHO

 

[Ridley200]

Dude, if you're not selling it, you won't get sued, and just make sure to add a little thing saying you own the concept, not the materials or scenario within. that's all you need. Now hurry up and make it!

 

[Ionami]

Yeah I just graduated from a film school, and I was taught about things like this. As far as I know, as long as you don't make a profit, and you credit the correct sources for your content, you're good to go.

Just don't expect to get a single cent from this.

 

[ROFLross]

I think the game is already called Earthbound?

 

[duckfi8]

i dont think u would get sued, well by people like me that is, ur game will be rated AO, but i would play that game in an instant

 

[Jeronus]

It's a good idea and I don't think you will get lawyer slapped by corporate suits, but I don't see why everyone is down on this guy before the game has been finished yet. I mean everyone thought Kingdom Hearts was going to be a bowl of suck soup so let's give this guy a chance.

 

[Fightgarr]

Most people who've played Final Fantasy and have used an RPG Maker have tried this. I'm going to say a couple things on the matter, as a previous user of the toolset. A: You better be really good with RPG Maker, because if its prefectly standard and you don't know how to rescript the program then you're going to have a dull JRPG that few people are going to want to play. B: If you're going to do this, you better have a really clever writer. Sex jokes and going into people's houses will only take you so far, you're going to need a writer who knows what they're doing and knows how to be funny.

Its the whole ZP: Webcomic thing over again, lots of people like to make their RMXP stuff, but there are very few shining gems in that scummy, and landfilled pond.

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

No.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Use

 

[beddo]

Ive been thinking about doing this for a while. Me and my friend want to make a spoof of all the classic JRPGs using RPG Maker XP. We were thinking about calling it something along the lines of "Super Chrono Dragon Final Life". It will spoof the following, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, and maybe more if I think of any. I was wondering if any of these right holders could sue me if I ever released the game even if I posted a disclaimer. I mean if I really had to I guess I could just change the names and appearances of the characters a bit. But I remember a group that wanted to remake a few scenes of Chrono Trigger in 3D and Square Enix forced them to stop. Also since I'm posting this topic, would anyone actually play this game if it were ever released? We want to spoof all the cliches of JRPGs, like being able to walk into anybodies house. We might make it so that when you walk into someones house they yell at you or call the police. Plus we don't want to do a lot of censorship so when you walk into someones house they could even be in the middle of using the bathroom or having sex. All the characters are in 8-bit so its not like you could actually see anything, if you've seen anyone naked in code monkeys then you probably have a pretty good idea of a naked 8-bit person.

It is unlikely that you would be sued for creating this content as you could easily argue that it is fair use as a parody. Though if you are serious you may receive some cease and disist letters. If this is the case you should forward the to the Electronic Frontier Foundation who may argue with the companies on your behalf.

If it is a fair use piece where you create your own versions of the characters you would not be able to sell it. You may even be restricted from distributing it.

You should consider the following; do not use any of the titles or character's names directly. Ensure the characters are similar but not the same as the ones you are parodying. You should not under any circumstances use any direct assets from the games or the creators of the game.

As far as content is concerned. You should ensure your content is within legal restrictions. You might want to consider have your character's under covers. You should also have a disclaimer explaining the material that is in the game and stating that players agree that they are over 18 or 21 and accept that they are willing to see the content within the game, or something to that effect.

 

[DrunkenKitty]

Even if you did violate their copyright, they wouldn't sue you until after the asked you to remove it.

Do it!

 

[AntiAntagonist]

Just don't spoof Disney. It doesn't matter how safe you should be with Fair Use. Disney will sue your balls off.

 

[elricik]

So it looks like I have more do's than don'ts. So I guess that means I should get working. For those of you concerned with my scripting skills, don't be since I won't be doing it. My friend who has spent the last four years in school studying things like this will be. So he's gonna build his own script for the game. We haven't decided whether or not to do real time or turn based battles yet, or how long the game will be. But it should come out sometime this year considering nothing happens. So watch out for more posts from me on updates.