How much of Battlezone can be 'borrowed'?

[bigbadbogie]

How much of Battlezone (1 and/or 2) can be copied or 'borrowed' before it's considered plagiarism or copyright violation?

For instance, character names, storylines, mechanics, settings...?

[Zero Angel]

I assume the names (e.g. John Cooke, Yalena Shabayev, Scions, ISDF, Biometal) in a 'space war video game' type context are protected by copyrights, but also fair-use laws (ie: so you can't sue someone for writing a saucy fanfic), the names of some of the planets, as planet names, are probably also protected by copyrights, although the settings they're based on (e.g. fiery lava planet, snow planet, etc) wouldn't be unless someone made a game with a jungle planet named 'Mire' or a fire planet named 'Rend'. The ship designs, probably also protected by both copyright and fair-use (so you can make a BZ1 mod that brings BZ2 units, so long as it's not commercially sold).

The storyline is probably not protected, as long as you don't violate any of the other things like using the names.

[bigbadbogie]

Interesting. So theoretically, if somebody wanted to remake the Battlezone series and keep it fairly similar to the original...

The ASAF vs the USSRCA.
Bear 1
General Curley

You can't really copyright the solar-system or the Cold War.

Organic-Alloy

Blade Scout
Bear Tank
Meercat Light Tank
Skunk Turret Tank
Mobile Assembly Factory
Restructurer
Building Platform
Supply Catapult

...

They'd all need to be a fairly different shape to the originals...

"space war video game" would be difficult to copyright, considering how many games have such a theme. Pretty much.... a lot of them.

[General BlackDragon]

Too many different people making separate "remakes".

Need to all work together. (BBB, TehJamsh, Psyringe)

[bigbadbogie]

I'm just thinking about it. I'd use Unreal Engine 4. I'm finishing my degree now and I'll be doing my Masters starting next year but only part-time. I've always wanted to remake this series properly. I could never afford to buy the copyright so I'd need a way around it.

[General BlackDragon]

TJ is also using UE4. I suggest working together. Doubles chances of success

AFAIK TJ isn't doing it to make money, he's planning on making the game free. As such, he is able to re-create BZ entirely, with no real legal overhead to worry about.

If you're looking to make money off a BZ sequel, well, Don't get your hopes up.

[bigbadbogie]

I've been watching what he's been doing. He's way ahead of me.

I'm just tinkering in that engine right now.

[General BlackDragon]

Still, you could learn from him, and from working together. Never pass up good oppertunity

[bigbadbogie]

AFAIK TJ isn't doing it to make money, he's planning on making the game free. As such, he is able to re-create BZ entirely, with no real legal overhead to worry about.

If you're looking to make money off a BZ sequel, well, Don't get your hopes up.

That's fair. Still, a little bit of money couldn't hurt. Emphasise "little".

This wouldn't be a sequel. It'd be more like Bionite - a spin off/reboot/remake/whatever...

[bigbadbogie]

Still, you could learn from him, and from working together. Never pass up good oppertunity

True that.

[Zero Angel]

"space war video game" would be difficult to copyright, considering how many games have such a theme. Pretty much.... a lot of them.

I mean specifically using those names in a space war video game (so, context is important). I don't think the British Royal Navy would get sued if it named a ship the "HMS John Cooke", and likewise it's safe for Toyota to name one of their automobile lines the "Scion". However if, say, the developers of E.V.E. introduced an official faction named the "International Space Defense Force", and a character named Major Manson. Then they might get in hot water with whomever owns the BZ2 IP as E.V.E. is a video game that uses a space war setting.

[bigbadbogie]

Ok.

Major Manson can be 'Colonel Mandrake' then.

[MrTwosheds]

I cannot see why you would want to borrow stuff like characters or story lines, it would only limit the scope of your own creativity. Its not like 1 and 2 really had much of a coherent plot linking them to start with, much of what people think is the story is fan created anyway. Do yourself a favour and be original, it might save you from years of pointless argument with obsessives over something that never really had much of an existence to start with. Activison could only claim over things they actually produced, Like the content of the original cd and its Field Manual (I have one for bz2) The plot background consists of 3 or 4 pages and some character descriptions. The rest is primarily contained in the games .wav files and dll.
It would be a much better idea to expend your effort in creating your own equally brief plot and then making it a believable game experience... this is the hard bit.

[Ded10c]

I cannot see why you would want to borrow stuff like characters or story lines, it would only limit the scope of your own creativity. Its not like 1 and 2 really had much of a coherent plot linking them to start with, much of what people think is the story is fan created anyway.

First sentence is entirely true. Second is right in that people mistake a lot of fan-made stuff for official.

[bigbadbogie]

Second is right in that people mistake a lot of fan-made stuff for official.

That could be due to the fact that fan-made stuff constitutes the vast majority of BZ's content these days.

@MTS: You're right. I wouldn't want to directly borrow too much from the original games. I'd like to re-imagine a lot of it from the ground up. That said, there is something very enigmatic about Battlezone which I'd want to recapture. Therefore, I'd like to re-use a bit of the original plot-line - particularly about the US vs USSR war across the solar system. Perhaps taking BZ's setting and dramatically expanding it. It could resemble BZ1 in the way that QF2 resembles BZ2. Similar yet totally new and different.