Update: Mega Man Creator Kickstarts Mighty No. 9

[MrPhyntch]

What you're saying is that any RPG with a world map and a turn based battle system owes money to FF (or whoever came up with that shit).

Seriously, nobody is getting sued.

No, I'm saying that the RPG I'm making featuring the 4 heroes of righteousness, one being a knight in red armor, one a magician with a black robe and straw hat so big you can't see his face, the priest with a white hooded robe with red trim, and the thief who becomes a ninja later on, where you start by rescuing a kidnapped princess and end up saving the world from a complex time paradox by defeating 4 elemental guardians and then their master who was really the first boss is going to get more than a letter of inquiry from Squeenix.

It's not that it'll get shut down because it's a shooter/platformer featuring robots. I (and everyone else here) are saying that there's cause for concern due to it appearing from the surface to be little more than a reskin. A blue robot who adapts his powers from his defeated enemies, assisted (in some undescribed way) by a pink female robot, who travels around fighting his 8 brothers who went berserk, by traversing their minion-filled headquarters to finish in a one-on-one battle with said brother. The concepts are eerily similar.

And I don't know if you're a lawyer yourself, but let me explain something about those of us who aren't: we see stuff like this happen all the time. And it's not as easy for us to distiguish between cases. Let's look at Dead rising again, with the disclaimers all over it about its relation to Dawn of the Dead. How about the first Final Fantasy itself, which was almost sued by the Dungeons and Dragons people until some enemies got redesigned. How about Scrolls, which WAS sued because it used a word in its name that was the same word as used elsewhere. No similar concept, nothing of the sort, Mojang actually had to see a judge over a single word title and nothing else. Those of us who aren't lawyers don't see how Scrolls can get sued over a single word, yet this game that rips the entire bloody concept can go untouched.

And finally, no one is saying it's getting sued. All we're saying is there's mild nervousness about the similarity of the concept. And that we're hoping/praying that Capcom doesn't decide to send out the lawyers.

Captcha: Sneezing baby panda

Aaaaaaannnd.... all bitterness is gone. Awwwwww.....

 

[MrPhyntch]

And such a position is 100% understandable. I know jack shit about engines, and you will never see me engage someone in argument about engines of any kind, make sweeping comments about engines of any kind, and stick my heels in the ground about a point made about engines of any kind.

If you don't understand why "Scrolls" would catch heat from a company who owns a series called "The Elder Scrolls", and don't understand the subtelties between concepts and specifics in terms of ownership, that's completely fine and I'm not having a go or insulting anybody.

But you probably shouldn't spend your time talking about things you acknowledge you don't understand and realise that clicking away and moving on is probably a more reasonable course of action than getting into conversations about stuff you know nothing about.

And if you took your car in for an oil change and get charged for a power window fluid replacement would you accept it? I mean, obviously power steering needs fluid, as well as several other things you might not realize, so is it beyond the realm of possibility that power windows need fluid? So either you take the charge and are obviously taken advantage of, or you would, in fact, argue in an area in which you have already claimed to have no knowledge in.

No, we all have to have basic knowledge of things in our lives, as you would with your car. I am big into politics, and was on my way to law school until money issues happened. So I do have more than a passing interest in law. Maybe I don't have the "understanding" of a proper lawyer, but that doesn't mean it's beyond my means to debate an area of which I have great interest. That would be like saying that I shouldn't debate about video games. I don't understand their workings or what goes into designing them, but I have enough interest in them that it is, in fact, relevant.

So let me ask, how do you have such a great knowledge of law? As you asked the other poster above, where did you study it? Because here's the thing; you have not said one lick about why it doesn't work. All you've said is no one is gonna get sued, and that us little people wouldn't understand. Don't just stand there and "tut tut" at us, help us understand. Tell us the difference in Final Fantasy almost getting sued by D&D and this. Tell us how patent trolls that are otherwise worth 10 grand a year can get hundreds of thousands off big companies for patents they don't even own, and then this isn't a cause for concern to those of us who want to get excited over a Megaman reskin.

And none of that "no hurt feels bro" either. To quote a particular soldier, "Every time you say 'with all due respect' it sounds like 'kiss my ass'".

And finally, because it seems relevant.

 

[New Frontiersman]

This looks pretty interesting, I gave $40; so I get a copy of the game, a soundtrack and an artbook. I thought about giving more, but I wasn't sure if gamebox, manual, and character re-skin was worth 20 extra dollars to me. I might consider increasing my pledge if I change my mind later but for now $40 is enough for me.

Either way I like Mega Man and think Inafune is a pretty good designer so I have high hopes for this.

 

[DJShire]

If Capcom does sue, it'll do it after its funded (well, when the time ends on funding window, this thing is probably going to easily hit 2 to 2.5 mil by the time its done), which means that both will there not be a game, but also everyone KSing it will lose out on their investment....I've already KS'd it, but if Capcom does that, then well, they're going to have a lot of angry people that may just start a class-action lawsuit against them....we shall see.

 

[Tanis]

This is so beautiful.

I hope this is a great success, then maybe we can get a Viewtiful Joe 3 and/or a God Hand 2.


captcha: time lord

 

[sid]

updates galore is not The Escapist's usual M.O., is this a Capcom slapfest special?

 

[WanderingFool]

Holy shit... this seems to be needed now...


Wait... maybe that wasnt the right one...

Also, to all the talk about a possible lawsuit from Capcom (which I do feel could very well happen), if they do sue, and Inafune is forced to stop production, Inafune will most likely be seen as an videogame martyr, and Capcom as the ones who sentanced him to "die"...

Spoiler: Hold on... that may have went somewhere it shouldnt have...

 

[GeneralFungi]

While I feel confident that Capcom wouldn't attempt to take down Might No. 9 due to the fact that they have shaky legal ground to stand on, I do believe that if they ever attempted it it would be a catastrophic pr disaster. If the possibility of loosing out on the lawsuit isn't enough to stop Capcom from going through with it, it would be the incredible backlash they'd get for even attempting it. It would be a P.R. disaster the likes of which is rarely seen in gaming.

 

[lacktheknack]

To be honest, looks like shit. I will not support this in any way shape or form.

Sorry. I felt the need to ask, why??? What makes you so angry about this Kickstarter? I'm just so curious as to how a game can make someone so mad.

It is the same issue I have when these creative individuals are not reigned in. The result is something I do not like (See Psyconauaghts and Brutal Legends).

Counterpoint: Project Eternity/Tides of Numenara/Wasteland 2.

Also, if your problem is with Psychonauts and Brutal Legend, it's probably more of a Tim Schaeffer problem you have. What do you not like, the design?

 

[Oskuro]

It is the same issue I have when these creative individuals are not reigned in. The result is something I do not like (See Psyconauaghts and Brutal Legends).

Funny that you mention Psychonauts, a game widely considered to be pure genius.


It's fine that you don't like this or other projects, but claiming that creative individuals not being controlled is a bad thing... In a market where the exact opposite (business concerns being in charge) is the reason for most of the stagnation and abusive practices we see, really rubs me the wrong way.


Really, these "this project shouldn't be made" attitudes are disgusting. If you don't like it, don't support it. But try to show some respect for people who are trying to build new things (in this case Inafune's dream project), even if they don't cater specifically to your tastes. (Hint: Trying not to be outright dismissive is a valid way of showing some basic human respect and decency)

I'd personally prefer to have hundreds of mediocre Kickstarters I'm not interested in, than a single exploitative-DLC ridden consumer hostile AAA title I might have liked a lot.

In fact, there are many AAA titles I'd like to play, but won't due to the crap they attempt to pull on the consumer. That's what you get with unrestrained corporate control, I'll take unrestrained creativity every single time, thank you very much.

 

[Scrythe]

I know I'm late to the party, and I know I'm shooting myself in the foot by saying this (especially since I'm genuinely interested in this project), but I just love the idea that Keiji Inafune made such a big deal about leaving Capcom over their "80% sequels" rule, and so he responds by starting his own company so he can develop his own Mega Man sequel spiritual successor.

If this becomes I trend, then I look forward to Cliff Bleszinski's This Ain't Gears of War and Peter Molyneux's I Can't Believe It's Not Fable!

 

[Ukomba]

No worries there, you're attitude has put me off this whole thread.

Don't be like that man, I didn't mean any hurt feels, but for some reason on some topics people feel at complete liberty to throw around a few words and actually argue for things from positions of total ignorance. Which, in the fullest respect, I assume sums up your knowledge of IP law?

First off, the wheelchair mohawk thing was a joke from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

Second, it's a concern that even game journalists have brought up to Inafune. He can say it's built from the ground up, and similarities are just due to him being the artist for both, but lawsuits have come up over this kind of thing in the past. The Great Giana Sisters for example. I never said he would get sued. I don't know the law, and am no expert in the area and didn't claim to be, I was just expressing the hope he had gotten legal advice to ensure it doesn't become an issue. Your response seemed excessive.

A big company like Capcom can make a lot of trouble for him over it even if it's different enough that he should be safe. A legal battle would be expensive and toxic even if he wins.

No offense, but you keep coming off like an arrogant know it all in response you do to people who brings the subject up. I doubt anyone commenting on here has gone to law school, but they do have eyes. No need to browbeat them over the lack of knowledge. It's obviously similar to megaman, and done so by design. People are just wondering if he's really in the safe zone like he says, or of Capcom will make trouble. If the Kickstarter goes well (and it looks like it will be huge) Capcom may finally get the message people want Megaman, see this game as infringing on their territory, and seek to eliminate or slow it's release while they work to get a true Megaman sequel on the market first. I don't know if that's likely or possible, but I've seen companies be dicks before, seemingly just for the lolz. Can you say with %100 legal certainty that they won't?

 

[Nimzar]

If this becomes I trend, then I look forward to Cliff Bleszinski's This Ain't Gears of War and Peter Molyneux's I Can't Believe It's Not Fable!

Cliffy hasn't done it yet[footnote]As far as I'm aware. A quick google search doesn't get any hits for projects Cliffy has kickstarted[/footnote], but I think the Molyneux product you are looking for is Godus [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/22cans/project-godus]. Or maybe War for the Overworld [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/subterraneangames/war-for-the-overworld][footnote]Molyneux's not making this one, but he gave it his endorsement[/footnote].

 

[EstrogenicMuscle]

This truly is everything that needs to happen to the game industry.
Japan is confirmed to truly be using Kickstarter now. You can't get a much more important person on board with Kickstarter than Keiji Inafune.

I'm only saddened this didn't get even more than than it has so far. For all I'm concerned, this deserves to be the top funded project on Kickstarter.

 

[GeneralFungi]

This truly is everything that needs to happen to the game industry.
Japan is confirmed to truly be using Kickstarter now. You can't get a much more important person on board with Kickstarter than Keiji Inafune.

I'm only saddened this didn't get even more than than it has so far. For all I'm concerned, this deserves to be the top funded project on Kickstarter.

While it is great to see kickstarters do well and to see all of the interest behind it, it actually worries me a little bit when a kickstarter goes a little bit too much other it's intended goal. Let me explain.

If the kickstarter earns a project all of it's stretch goals then they have a pretty reasonable idea of how much it would cost in order to reach those goals. But if they go off into unknown territory it forces the developer to come up with more stretch goals. Stretch goals that they need to create before the game is released, and these stretch goals need to be made on the spot and be better then ever. I just feel it puts a little bit of unneeded pressure on developers.

Of course Inafune and his team may be prepared with their 'mystery' stretch goal but it's a thought I've had about these kickstarters.

 

[newwiseman]

The really sad thing is that all this success on the mere idea of a classic style Megaman game still won't get capcom to do anything meaningful with the property. I guess they're just to busy grinding every cent they can con people out of with resident evil games...

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

As a semi-update, I want to inform everyone that the kickstarter is now officially past the $2 million mark. Almost to the console ports!

 

[Mydnyght]

Well, they've appended some more stretch goals...

$2,400,000: Challenge mode
$2,550,000: Extra end stage + boss
$2,750,000: Beck + Call online co-op challenge mode
$3,300,000: PS4 and Xbox One versions

There are also stretch goals of $2,900,000 and $3,100,000, but the rewards for those are not announced yet.

So anyway, as thebobmaster said, it's over $2,000,000, and still 19 days left to rack up another $1,300,000.
This is getting more and more interesting...

 

[EstrogenicMuscle]

$2,750,000: Beck + Call online co-op challenge mode

This is literally the most amazing thing. They're even considering playable single player Call, too.

I don't care at all about console versions because I'm the stereotypical Escapist PC gamer. But playable Call? Yes, please. And even though I'd prefer single player Call, this is going to add huge replay value to the game and I'm going to be playing this mode with my Steam friends all the time.