Fangame
A fangame is a computer or video game that was developed by fans on the basis of a well-known, established game. These games often try to copy the originals ( remake ) by adopting elements of the game design and characters. It is also common to create mostly older games with the help of modifications of newer games, as the developers often expect better graphics from them. The quality of these games varies widely, but advances in technology have made it easier to create such great games.
development
There are essentially two types of development. These are the stand-alone games that have their own game engine , and games that are created as modifications (also known as mods ) of existing ones.
Independent
Games that are developed with their own engines have the advantage of being able to open up to a broader crowd, as they do not require the possession of a game. For this, the developers also have to invest more time and work, since many core components have to be developed themselves. In order to reduce this effort a little, existing engines are often used. Open source engines (e.g. OGRE , Crystal Space or DarkPlaces ) are particularly popular because there are no costs for the licenses.
IWBTG fangames subculture
This subculture is a video game scene which programs jump 'n' runs that are based on the freeware I Wanna Be the Guy (IWBTG) released in 2007 . The games try to mimic one or more aspects of IWBTG, including:
- the extremely high level of difficulty (even one hit / mistake leads to game over )
- unfair level design
- visual and playful parodies of the games among themselves, as well as of classic games.
Over 5000 fangames have already appeared. Due to the high level of difficulty of the games, the most famous fan games often serve as a test of courage in the streaming scene . Speedruns are a regular part of conventions such as the Games Done Quick .
Further development by the user community
At the end of the commercial marketing and support, some manufacturers of older games release the game engine and its source code under various software licenses , also to prevent unavailability and support as abandonware . Id software and 3D Realms are pioneers here . They were the first manufacturers to approve many of their works accordingly. For more examples, see the list of commercial computer games with published source code . Appropriately released, these engines can be used or even further developed by the user community, e.g. B. for ports or fan patches . Sometimes the engines are improved in such a way that they can keep up with current engines; Sonic Robo Blast 2 , which is based on Doom , can be used as an example .
Modifications
These game modifications are based on an original game and require purchase. Sometimes toolkits and modding APIs provided by the manufacturer can be used for mod creation , which enable simple development, but only limited development compared to source code availability. Often the developers of the mods are not allowed to change the plot and graphics of the original, but extensions can be made, whereby fundamental game mechanics aspects are often also not adaptable due to the limited API.
Well-known modifications (e.g. Counter-Strike or Day of Defeat ) are sometimes also adapted by the original game developers themselves and integrated into existing products. This procedure is often possible through special license clauses that overwrite the rights to the created mods to the game developer.
Legal problems
It happens again and again that game manufacturers take action against such developments because they see their property rights to the ideas or characters being infringed. Unauthorized, but non-commercially motivated fanworks, are in a legal gray area and, in some cases also by rightholders partially ignored (benevolent) to cease and desist covered. This happened, for example, to a Chrono Trigger remake project in 2004 and to a Super Mario 64 remake in 2015.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Overview of Fangames. Retrieved August 1, 2018 .
- ^ John Bell: Opening the Source of Art . Technology Innovation Management Review. October 1, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2012: “ [...] that no further patches to the title would be forthcoming. The community was predictably upset. Instead of giving up on the game, users decided that if Activision wasn't going to fix the bugs, they would. They wanted to save the game by getting Activision to open the source so it could be kept alive beyond the point where Activision lost interest. With some help from members of the development team that were active on fan forums, they were eventually able to convince Activision to release Call to Power II's source code in October of 2003. "
- ^ Andy Largent: Homeworld Source Code Released . insidemacgames.com. October 8, 2003. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
- ↑ may88: Game of the Week # 3 - Homeworld SDL ( English ) pandorapress.net. June 23, 2011. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved on May 8, 2012: “ […] released port of HomeworldSDL. Forum member Edglex enables your Pandora to experience the excellent work done by the guys at HomeworldSDL. "
- ↑ Homeworld (from 1999) on Android on YouTube (June 8, 2014)
- ↑ Homeworld to Android on beloko.com (2014)
- ↑ Sonic Robo Blast 2 on chip.de "With" Sonic Robo Blast "Sega's Super Sonic returns to the PC. [...] 5 stars"
- ↑ Chrono Resurrection project ( Memento of the original dated May 7, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. "It is with our deepest regret that we have to announce the closure of the Chrono Resurrection project. Square Enix Co., Ltd issued a Cease and Desist letter which means the project is publicly closed indefinitely." (September 6th, 2004)
- ↑ Nintendo Pulls the Plug on Fan-Made Super Mario 64 HD Remake Gamnesia, March 31st 2015 by Ben Lamoreux
- ↑ mario64-erik.u85.net/Web.html ( Memento of the original from April 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. "an electronic game that makes unauthorized use of copyright-protected features of Nintendo's Super Mario 64 video game. Nintendo requests that CloudFlare, Inc. immediately disable public access to Archivlink ( Memento of the original from April 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: Der Archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. "
