Messages

Thanks for that link, I bookmarked it!

I double-checked Terms and Conditions for a few of the sites I used for edits. Tekito was fine with 'painting over' their graphics. Division Heaven seemed fine with edits, too. Kagome I couldn't really make heads or tails of, honestly. They had some humor interspersed within the T&C which I thought was kind of odd. I'm still gun-shy about it. My planned distribution channels would be bulletin boards' "Completed Games" sections and among friends. I wouldn't post it in Steam or turn it into an MMO or anything like that. Knowing what I know, I will continue working on it. Well, until I put it down and work on something else for a while. That's usually what happens when I game-make; hit it hard for 3 or 4 weeks and put it down for 6, to come back to it again all fired up.

Question: What are the copyright limitations and considerations towards Frankenedits used in non-commercial games?

Context: Hello, I am new to the community. You guys seem really cool and knowledgeable about stuff. I have a strange question, one that I never thought I would run into game making. This could be a common problem and nothing to worry about, but this could be a big problem, too. Maybe I'm a worry-wart. Let me explain.

I ran into a problem on another forum, which forum is not important. I was asking for graphics editing help. I like the Japanese site tkool for making some really neat looking portraits. I had made a school boy and school girl for my game from there, with various expressions that were available. I wanted them to be able to use a cell phone in the game, and I wanted a portrait cutscene to reflect this. So I asked for help there, but I also worked on the problem myself. So, I Frankenedited a passable forearm and hand from other images and went down to the pixel to incorporate it uniquely. I added a simple black box in the hand for the phone. It looked good, I thought. As I made progress, I posted the edits in the same thread that I had asked the question in. I had answered my own question. Pretty proud of myself. The tread was closed abruptly by an admin, telling me I had violated and broke copyright laws by posting Frankenedits.

This concerns me. I don't want to break the law with a hobby, no one does. I have seen many Frankenedits around the 'net, Deviantart and Google Images. The copyright notice, from what I could glean from Google Translate, was that tkool's images could be edited, but I couldn't be sure. And to be sure, any game I make will be 100% Free to download and play. I have a nice list built up for credits to go along with the game when it's done. I will not share any more resources after this incident, on any site. I guess the biggest question for me is this: Is it legal to use Frankenedits in games? I don't wish to infringe on anyone's copyright, but if I can't edit the images to suit my tastes for the game, what's the point? It restricts my artistic liberties. This would extend from portraits and busts, backgrounds, tilesets, charasets, to even OGGs I've edited through Audacity (to make them louder/shorter/loopable).

I've felt really bad about this over the last several days. I can see it from the other side, somewhat. I'd appreciate any input you could provide and thanks for reading! Oh, and if I've broken a rule by discussing taboo, I sincerely apologize!!

So, what's up?

I am DrunkenSamurai, but I'm not drunk, nor am I a samurai. It's actually a reference to a scene in The Seven Samurai. I guess we don't have to have a reason for a login name... Anyway, I'm not great with writing on forums, I'm not used to it. I remember in my bullish youth writing diatribes on Usenet, those days are long past. I am thankful for your concise Newbie Guide and Rules right up front, and I hope for my sake I don't mess anything up. You guys seem like a fun group!  For years, I've loved your forum! You have the best collection of scripts! I just wanted to say thanks for that!

My RPG making experience goes back to RPG Maker 2000. I completed a game that had a big bug in it that I never found, it kept my players from finishing the game, and I got discouraged. I picked game making back up during the RP Maker 2003 days with the idea that I would make a new and improved version of that game, but life gets in the way, as it tends to do. This brings me to today, with RPG Maker XP, my main game making tool, and VXAce over on Steam that I don't do too much with.

There is a question that I have about game making, and I will post it in the 'Ask a Question' thread, for my current project. Until then, it's nice meet you all, and happy October!