how can i keep my game safe?

[OffeNDer]

Hello,

happy new years ...

well, i am planing to make my first original game..

i will be using the normal maps from the RPG maker vx ace + normal character ( because i am not good at designing )

but i will modify the maps... to make them look more better..

anyway

the most important part i want to ask about is my original story that i am planing to write...

to be honest, i write my stories as manga (anime) style which mean i use Japanese name... and i can write almost 100 ~ 200 Chapter if i say that each chapter have 35 pages.... well, i don't draw manga, i just write the story... (i love to write a lot)

and if i convert the story into the game... well, i guess 100 ~ 150 hour or more of gameplay  including multiple side story, which mean it will be really long game...?

also i am afraid that people will steal my original story.... because in-game it will be completed....

so, to conclude,

how i can keep my story safe from stealing by other people and pretend that they wrote the story ?

is it good to have more than 70 hour of gameplay ? 

what is your advice to me about writing the story?

should i go with sequel and prequel  or divide the game into parts ( Part 1, 2 ,3 ,4 )

Thanks.

Note: that i am planing for commercial game,

 

[Xortberg]

To keep people from stealing your story, don't post it.

Really, that's the only way to be 100% sure. And even then, someone might still get a similar idea, so it's not 100% foolproof.

From what I gather, you're saying that you're thinking about converting a story you've already written/posted online, yeah? If you have posted it, you really don't need to worry because pretty much everything on the Internet is timestamped and if you see someone claiming your stuff as your own, you can easily prove you had it up first.

Amount of gameplay depends, really. Some really short games are great, and so are some that you can sink over 100 hours into. It all depends on how well you can keep your audience engaged in what's going on. For what it's worth, I prefer shorter RPGs because I tend to lose interest in them after the 50 hour mark, but some do manage to keep me going after 80-100 hours (Persona 4 comes to mind). It's just something you'll have to play by ear.

 

[Monkeysnow55 The Cookie]

Well you already wrote it here it said when it was posted and what time so if anyone would steal your game people can see you made it first.

 

[OffeNDer]

 

To keep people from stealing your story, don't post it.

Really, that's the only way to be 100% sure. And even then, someone might still get a similar idea, so it's not 100% foolproof.

From what I gather, you're saying that you're thinking about converting a story you've already written/posted online, yeah? If you have posted it, you really don't need to worry because pretty much everything on the Internet is timestamped and if you see someone claiming your stuff as your own, you can easily prove you had it up first.

Amount of gameplay depends, really. Some really short games are great, and so are some that you can sink over 100 hours into. It all depends on how well you can keep your audience engaged in what's going on. For what it's worth, I prefer shorter RPGs because I tend to lose interest in them after the 50 hour mark, but some do manage to keep me going after 80-100 hours (Persona 4 comes to mind). It's just something you'll have to play by ear.

actually,  i never shared my stories... i keep them secret, because people may copy it, that's why i planned for making them into RPG Game.

over 100 hours also can take too long to be completed, because i will work in the game by myself.... but still confused between divide them into parts 

for example release the first game with 50 hour gameplay and when it end i start a new Arc (chapter) with 50 hour of gameplay

also i think that i can release the first game ( let me use persona as an example and 5$ as the price of the game )..

first game - Persona The beginning ( 50H gameplay ) cost 5$

Second game - will only be Patch to upgrade the game later to Persona Return ( 50H gameplay ) cost 5$

Third Game - will also be patch to upgrade the game to Persona Final ( 50H gameplay ) cost 5$ 

the reason why i release patch and not making a new one is to keep the player level... well, this just an example of dividing the game into parts and people who come later after releasing all parts, they can buy the game all parts at once which mean the 150H gameplay will cost 15$ ( 3 x 5 ), or play the demo to play 10 hour of the gameplay. and decide if they wanna play it or not.

well, also i can release each game by its own, because it will contain another Arc or long story which may not be related to the first one ( Sequel, Prequel  or spin-off )

Well you already wrote it here it said when it was posted and what time so if anyone would steal your game people can see you made it first.

 

well, your right =)

 

[Andar]

also i am afraid that people will steal my original story.... because in-game it will be completed....

This has been asked several times before (search in the commercial part of the forum), and you can read previous answers there.
But basically it comes down to the following:


If someone needs to steal your story (due to lack of his/her own ideas), he or she can't use it due to missing imagination/creativity, because the most important part of the story is the implementation, not the idea.


If someone has his/her own ideas, then they don't need to steal your story and might at maximum be inspired by it to change their own implementation of their own idea a bit - and the result will be a different game.


And if someone just copies your game (especially if you go commercial with that), then that's piracy/copyright infringment and you can sue them for paying whatever they made of it, with additional damage fees for free internet distribution if they did that.


So basically that is not a problem to fear as long as you don't put your own work for free somewhere years bevor trying to sell your game.

 

[Ksi]

Also, I'd like to add that there are a lot of people out there who try to give their stories away - and some of them are really neat ideas - but no-one will take them. Why? Because most of the people who pick up a game engine have their own stories that they want to tell. The chances of someone deciding to take your story is practically nil. I think there's been less than ten cases of story theft (graphics and music are more likely. Even straight-out stealing maps is more common!) that I know of since I've been in the community... and I've been around since 98, so...

Also, I give the number 10 just in case there's more because frankly, I know of maybe 3. And each of them were from well-known games like Yume Nikki, Corpse Party and the like. So, chances of someone stealing your story are phenominally low. That said, if you find someone has stolen your story, PM a mod. Don't confront the person - that just causes fights.

More than likely you'll find that if a story sounds familiar it's either due to drawing from the same inspiration or thinking of the same idea at the same time - which does happen. An example of this is Donald Duck comics. At the same time as DD came out, another comic based on a duck, with a lot of similarities, came out half the world away. At that time (late 19th/early 20th Century) there was no fast way to exchange information world-wide so it wasn't noticed until many years later. Coincidences can happen.

 

[OffeNDer]

Thanks for everyone =)

after reading your posts, i started to make a website and still editing the website,

than i will start mapping in-game, after i make all maps ready i will start with adding the story,

also i am waiting for someone to draw the characters for me...

well,  thanks again, and i hope my game be interesting =).