Aren't you afraid of someone stealing your ideas?

[SlaveOfThaMind]

Aren't you afraid of releasing any info on your games before the game is complete?


Like for instance, Screen shots, Trailers, The Game's Name, Character Names, Plots, etc.


Does anybody worry about some simpleton coming along and snagging your ideas?


Im eager to release some samples from my game but I am worried about somebody possibly stealing the name of the game, logo, etc.


How do you handle this situtation?

 

[Jef299]

You just gotta take that chance and hope for the best.

No one is forcing you to post your work either.

 

[West Mains]

Nope. I make it as terrible as I can so I can be completely confident no one in their right mind would steal it.

Spoiler

But actually I simply don't bother, I really only post screens/demos/info on small forums of indie game devs and places where I can trust people a bit more. Ultimately you know your story better than they do, so you will always tell it better than they can.

 

[Galenmereth]

Sure, I think of it as I share a lot about my game which is still in early development. But then again, I am the source of my ideas; they'll grow fuller and stronger moving forward than for someone who steals them along the way. I'm confident that my execution will be better than theirs

 

[Sindaine]

The chance is always there unfortunately. Most members here on the forum are respectful and integral, but there will always be that one person. If you feel strongly about your ideas, logos and the such, you could always Trademark or Copyright © them. It can be an expensive process though.

Sindaine

 

[Shaz]

There are so many ideas out there that never make it to a game, and as much as everyone thinks they've got a great game, chances are only a few actually do have a game idea worth stealing. Most people who are actually capable of making one already have their own ideas. So yes, there's a chance, but it's not as great as a lot of people worry about.


Besides, releasing info about the game before it's finished is a great way to develop interest - absolutely necessary if it's a commercial game. The benefits of getting people looking forward to playing your game when it finally arrives, far outweigh the chance that someone is going to steal your idea and make a game of their own before you can get yours finished (unless you're incredibly slow).


I changed your thread title to something more meaningful. Please do this when posting, in future.

 

[Galenmereth]

What Shaz says. People vastly underestimate the time and energy it requires to make a game - even a simple one! If there's one thing I've learned over the last ten years of working as a designer, it's that words are wind; ideas are nothing until they're fulfilled. Stealing ideas is like stealing the whispers of the first chapter of a great book.

 

[SlaveOfThaMind]

I suppose you are all right!

Im not trying to say my game is going to be amazing or anything but I like the direction its going. Took a few redo's but it is on it's way.

I mainly worry about the title because its not something you see all of the time ( i.e. it doesn't  inclue "fantasy" or "chronicles" or "saga", or anything like that you usually see in rpg's).

I think it's catchy, out of the norm, and easy to remember! so its possible it could become a classic hit.. or a classic failure. Who know's but, i guess ill just have to throw caution into the wind and go with it. It's not coing to be commercial because it will be the first game of mine produced. I don't want to charge people for something that might not interst them/be worth it, and soil my reputation before it even begins.

Thanks everyone for your feedback so far!

 

[Shaz]

So is it the name you're more concerned about then, rather than the story itself? Yes, there may be more of a chance that someone will like your title and take it. But unless it's a big company (which we don't have around here) and they get theirs out before you get yours out, then it's still only a small worry. If you planned to have a site for it, you should register your domain (and maybe the facebook page if you plan to have one) as soon as you're definite about the title, but other than that there's not much you can do.


If you're REALLY worried, you could refer to it using a different name, and just call it the working title. So you can talk about the story and show screenshots, but not actually reveal the name of the game until right at the end.

 

[Celianna]

I'm not afraid, more like annoyed. I know at least 3 projects which have copied mine directly, all of which really pale in comparison with the original. I just want people to expand their own ideas, instead of copying it word for word and feature for feature.


So no, not afraid, and I won't stop putting my project out there in fear of someone stealing it yet again, that's silly. If anyone wants to steal your idea (or actually does), it's likely they're not very good at executing it anyway.

 

[West Mains]

So no, not afraid, and I won't stop putting my project out there in fear of someone stealing it yet again, that's silly. If anyone wants to steal your idea (or actually does), it's likely they're not very good at executing it anyway.

My nightmare is someone stealing my game and doing it so well that everyone thinks I'm ripping the other guys idea.

 

[SlaveOfThaMind]

Yeah. I am more worried about the game name and character names being looted.

the story i'm not too worried about any stealing it because as it was mentioned above,

it would be like stealing the first chapter of a book and from there producing total garbage to make up for the other 68 chapters.

players would be absolutely lost if a game started one way and then did a complete 180 and went to wtfworld.

I guess I shouldn't stress it much, hell, if I don't build any anticipation for my game, it's going to be just another fledgling game on the full games thread with 7 or 8 downloads, 1-2 of which actually might play the entire game.

Its all for fun so I guess I need not worry, I mean I can produce original image layers for my titles and such as proof if needed. Not to mention when I create a thread for my game's information and trailers and stuff, it will be timestamped/datestamped, so that will serve as further proof

 

[Andar]

My nightmare is someone stealing my game and doing it so well that everyone thinks I'm ripping the other guys idea.

An idea for a game is more than a single sentence, and the implementation of that idea requires creativity as well (for writing NPC conversations, for making sprites and more).

Anyone who has the creativity to make a good game also usually has more ideas than time to implement them (especially if they aren't paid professional game developers, the work for food on the table comes first).

So it comes down to a simple fact: If someone needs your idea to make a good game, then he doesn't have the skills and creativity to implement that idea into a good game.

And if he has the needed creativity, then he has enough ideas of his own not to bother with your game idea, because he wants to implement his own ideas first.

 

[West Mains]

An idea for a game is more than a single sentence, and the implementation of that idea requires creativity as well (for writing NPC conversations, for making sprites and more).

Anyone who has the creativity to make a good game also usually has more ideas than time to implement them (especially if they aren't paid professional game developers, the work for food on the table comes first).

So it comes down to a simple fact: If someone needs your idea to make a good game, then he doesn't have the skills and creativity to implement that idea into a good game.

And if he has the needed creativity, then he has enough ideas of his own not to bother with your game idea, because he wants to implement his own ideas first.

What I mean is, if someone sees my completed game, and copies it exactly, but then just improves upon it graphically, musically, etc, and then that one becomes the more known version and then people think I'm the one doing the plagiarising. That's my biggest irrational fear about RPGMaker. 

And their level of creativity doesnt come into it. Never underestimate how selfish and lazy people can be. Especially on the internet!

 

[Zeriab]

I am not at all worried. Ideas are dime a dusin.

The difficult part is the execution of ideas.

 

[Mihel]

In this RPG making context, I think ideas that we steal* are more than the ideas that are stolen from us.

Seriously, how many of our ideas are worth stealing anyway? And are those ideas really ours?

*By "steal" I mean heavily referenced, not copied verbatim.

 

[Milennin]

Not at all.


My game with 150 total downloads over a period of several months being a target of a thief? That's quite the funny thought. You'd think an idea thief would steal their ideas from one of the major RPG Maker titles, not some obscure game that no one's ever heard of (it's obscure for a reason). And it's not like my game's original anyway... there isn't much unique to steal from.

 

[West Mains]

Not at all.

My game with 150 total downloads over a period of several months being a target of a thief? That's quite the funny thought. You'd think an idea thief would steal their ideas from one of the major RPG Maker titles, not some obscure game that no one's ever heard of (it's obscure for a reason). And it's not like my game's original anyway... there isn't much unique to steal from.

They could take the pixels!!! Think of the pixellllsssssszzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!11111!1!!!

 

[PixelLuchi]

No, because there is no such thing as an original idea anymore. Just rehashes of old ideas with interesting plot twists thrown in. And if someone has to sink so low as to steal someone else's ideas, chances are, that person isn't a very good developer. Since; like several posters said already, they will fail in the execution of it, which is extremely important.

 

[West Mains]

No, because there is no such thing as an original idea anymore. 

What about a guy made of felt tip pens who bleeds crayola and a brown, wavy tapestry known as "the stildge."

That's sounds pretty original to me.