Do you prefer games made of Japanese-style folding fans or modern electric?  If the latter, does it matter if they don't have the option to rotate?

Okay, okay, that's not my topic.

I'm not sure that this truly belongs under "The Hot Spot", but I'm placing it here for safety's sake.

How do you feel about games made by fans and based on or re-creating games created by others?

For myself, I find myself at times uncertain (which I think is what prompted me to consider posting about this here).  On the one hand, if the IP is owned by someone else, is it okay to make use of it without permission?  On the other, I have seen (and indeed very much enjoyed) some wonderful creations - AGDI's remakes, that of Quest for Glory 2 perhaps especially, for example, or the still-in-progress episodic Silver Lining, for example.  I'll confess that I'm following with some hope at least two other fan-games in the making (which I'm hesitant to name or link to for fear of either attracting official ire by discovery - although I daresay that both have been around long enough that they've likely been noticed (and perhaps even been given permission by) the IP owners).

Of course, those cases in which permission is given by the IP owner remove the concern above - but then my impression is that most of these things start off without asking.

So, fellow members here on Adventure Lantern, what do you think?

On a perhaps relatively minor note, is anyone here bothered by considerations of what is or is not "canon"?  (I'm generally not, I thnk, as you may gather from my enjoyment of such things as The Silver Lining, mentioned above.)

Overall, I supsect that they are actually helpful to the IP-holders. Fan games will make sure that people don't forget about the old games that they are based on, and will (probably) generate interest for the game series. So if the company that holds the IP ever decides to release a new part of the series, or just re-release their older games, people are more likely to take notice. 

As long as the creators of the fan games don't sell the games that they have made, and don't get any claims to the IP itself (which can be an issue in some countries, for an example if a fan game was to be made in Germany, German law might force the IP holders to take action), then I don't think they are bad for anyone. 

I strongly suspect that you might be right - but even so, should we presume the right to do so?  And what of cases in which the result is poor, and potentially reduces the general opinion of the series?

Further, what of competition?  If, for example, Activision had decided to put out a new King's Quest at around the same as The Silver Lining came out, might the latter not have drawn away players from the former, either simply by virtue of taking up time that they might otherwise have given over to playing the Activision King's Quest, or by seeming to be a better game and thus drawing people to choose it as their preferred successor and not the "official" game?

Originally Posted By Thaumaturge (22 JUN 2012 11:42am)

I strongly suspect that you might be right - but even so, should we presume the right to do so?  And what of cases in which the result is poor, and potentially reduces the general opinion of the series?

 

Further, what of competition?  If, for example, Activision had decided to put out a new King's Quest at around the same as The Silver Lining came out, might the latter not have drawn away players from the former, either simply by virtue of taking up time that they might otherwise have given over to playing the Activision King's Quest, or by seeming to be a better game and thus drawing people to choose it as their preferred successor and not the "official" game?

I don't think people who are not already fans of a series are particularly likely to download a fan-game based on it, so if a game turns out to be bad, then it should at least not be a major concenr for the IP holder.

And yes, competition might be an issue, but a fan of a series is likely to buy both the new game and download the fan-game. 

Hmm...  Perhaps, but I also see potential (albeit perhaps unlikely to be common) cases in which non-fans might be drawn in.

For example, fans of the series might produce word-of-mouth - told by a fan that the fan-game is good and the official game is not (and bear in mind that fan reactions to games perceived as poor or not "true" to the series can arguably be somewhat intense), a non-fan might take the fan-game and never touch the official game.

Additionally, a fan-game that picks up a bit of press or other increase of awareness might also pull in non-fans (including those who have had little opportunity to pick up the series before that point).

Finally, in cases in which the fan-game creator has produced more than one game, and in particular has covered multiple franchises (such as AGDI), a player may be a fan of the creator's fan-games and thus try a fan-game of a series new to them.

I do think, however, that fan games likely do overall aid their parent series.

Originally Posted By Thaumaturge (24 JUN 2012 7:17pm)

Hmm...  Perhaps, but I also see potential (albeit perhaps unlikely to be common) cases in which non-fans might be drawn in.

Indeed, though this most likely only happens with the best/most exposed fan games. There are plenty of fan games out there, most of which are doomed to obscurity, but a handful have been good enough & had enough going for them as to be of interest to people new to the series.