[Apparently continues this topic]
By now every single one of you should know that I'm crazy about the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games for the Mega Drive / Genesis (S1 to S&K) and a few ones on the Master System (don't really care for anything made from '98 onwards). In fact I learned to program back in '97 because I wanted to make my own Sonic game (something that sadly hasn't happened yet).
Anyway, I'm currently building a platform engine for the NES capable of doing everything one would expect from a classic Sonic game, a kind of mix between the Master System and Mega Drive titles. The problem is that I don't own Sonic, so I can't just use him as if he was mine.
I know there are tons of fangames featuring Sonic and his friends, but I want to make something I can call "mine" without fearing that the owners of Sonic will someday give me a hard time about my game. I also want to have the option of selling the game (I'd still provide a ROM somehow), something I most certainly can't if I use someone else's character.
Since the gaming industry is full of clones of other games, I guess it should be safe for me to draw inspiration from the Sonic universe while making an original game. If several companies can make games about strong guys walking down the street kicking and punching people without anyone saying they are ripping off each other, I guess I can make a game about an anthropomorphic animal that runs and spins really fast as long as that animal isn't Sonic, right?
So I came up with my own character, and he's a cat. I love cats, so that was the most logical choice. Yes, there are cats in Sonic's universe, but I don't care about them because they belong to the new games. Here's a picture of my character (haven't decided on the name yet):
So, let me know what you guys think about this. Is there anyone else facing a dilemma because they want to pay homage to their favorite games? How much do you think we have to change an idea so that it's not considered stealing anymore?
By now every single one of you should know that I'm crazy about the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games for the Mega Drive / Genesis (S1 to S&K) and a few ones on the Master System (don't really care for anything made from '98 onwards). In fact I learned to program back in '97 because I wanted to make my own Sonic game (something that sadly hasn't happened yet).
Anyway, I'm currently building a platform engine for the NES capable of doing everything one would expect from a classic Sonic game, a kind of mix between the Master System and Mega Drive titles. The problem is that I don't own Sonic, so I can't just use him as if he was mine.
I know there are tons of fangames featuring Sonic and his friends, but I want to make something I can call "mine" without fearing that the owners of Sonic will someday give me a hard time about my game. I also want to have the option of selling the game (I'd still provide a ROM somehow), something I most certainly can't if I use someone else's character.
Since the gaming industry is full of clones of other games, I guess it should be safe for me to draw inspiration from the Sonic universe while making an original game. If several companies can make games about strong guys walking down the street kicking and punching people without anyone saying they are ripping off each other, I guess I can make a game about an anthropomorphic animal that runs and spins really fast as long as that animal isn't Sonic, right?
So I came up with my own character, and he's a cat. I love cats, so that was the most logical choice. Yes, there are cats in Sonic's universe, but I don't care about them because they belong to the new games. Here's a picture of my character (haven't decided on the name yet):
So, let me know what you guys think about this. Is there anyone else facing a dilemma because they want to pay homage to their favorite games? How much do you think we have to change an idea so that it's not considered stealing anymore?