Licensing Question

[Aireek]

This is a odd question.

I purchased RPG Maker MV bundle on steam a year or so ago. I was curious to how the licensing worked with the character generator within the engine. The reason I ask is I have recently picked up C# and using Unity. If I wanted to use the Character Generator in RPG Maker MV for a few characters and used those assets in my game with Unity, would that cause licensing issues? I know RPG Maker can be a stickler with using their stuff with other engines (duh), but I wasn't sure if the character generator was held under the same standards because its in the grey area of being "original".

 

[Starbird_Resources]

my understanding is that chars generated in MV can only be used in the MV engine. maybe someone can correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Aireek]

That is what I thought too. I just wanted to make sure for future reference. I figured it wouldn't matter either way as long as it was a free game. But when I'm more experienced i'd eventually like to add a price tag to some of my work and wouldn't wanna make a dumb licensing mistake lol

*Edited for typo

 

[Starbird_Resources]

another option would be the Universal LPC Spritesheet Character Generator. it will require a bit more manual manipulation, but if you're programming the game from scratch, that won't be a big deal.

 

[MushroomCake28]

You can't use assets you created with the generator because the resources in the generator are part of the RTP. Anything that is part of the RTP of MV can only be used if you legally own MV and if you use them in another RPG Maker engine. The EULA is quite clear on that issue.

Article 5: LicensingThe Company shall license use of the Software as follows limited to cases where the User is a Licensed User.
1. Creation of original games (henceforth, “User Games”) using the Software (including the computer programs comprising the Software) and the materials (referring to text, music, images, etc., henceforth, “Company Materials”) recorded in the Software. Furthermore, the User cannot record or use, etc. Company Materials in the original games they create using creation tools, etc. they created or provided by third parties without obtaining the Company’s advance written consent.

 

[Andar]

its in the grey area of being "original".

no, there is no grey area.
you have the copyright on the composition/combination of the parts, but the parts themselve are still under copyright from the original artist, and as such are not allowed to be used outside the RM's.

So basically all characters generated have a combined copyright from several people. The parts don't lose their original copyright just because you used them to combine a specific character that is based on your ideas. You only add your own copyright to the combination.

 

[Shaz]

There are some Character Generator resource packs available in the store.

As an example, this one

Heroine Character Generator 3

Grab Heroine Character Generator 3 today!

www.rpgmakerweb.com

allows use in any tool (so you could use it in Unity) if your game is free, but only in MV if your game is commercial. You would either need to use it outside of the generator, or remove ALL the default assets from the generator and only put in the assets from generator part packs that allowed use in "any tool".

It might be worth taking a look at all of them to see how many there are that have similar terms.

 

[Aireek]

another option would be the Universal LPC Spritesheet Character Generator. it will require a bit more manual manipulation, but if you're programming the game from scratch, that won't be a big deal.

I will check this out, I haven't heard of that. thank you!

 

[Aireek]

There are some Character Generator resource packs available in the store.

As an example, this one

Heroine Character Generator 3

Grab Heroine Character Generator 3 today!

www.rpgmakerweb.com

allows use in any tool (so you could use it in Unity) if your game is free, but only in MV if your game is commercial. You would either need to use it outside of the generator, or remove ALL the default assets from the generator and only put in the assets from generator part packs that allowed use in "any tool".

It might be worth taking a look at all of them to see how many there are that have similar terms.

I will do that, I appreciate it, I'm just trying to make my life a little easier because I am not artistic what so ever and despite being able to learn, having something to help supplement that would be amazing.

 

[Aireek]

no, there is no grey area.
you have the copyright on the composition/combination of the parts, but the parts themselve are still under copyright from the original artist, and as such are not allowed to be used outside the RM's.

So basically all characters generated have a combined copyright from several people. The parts don't lose their original copyright just because you used them to combine a specific character that is based on your ideas. You only add your own copyright to the combination.

That is what I figured, I'll look for something different when I decide to attempt a commercial game and use RPGM MV for my smaller personal projects. I honestly just need something as a filler to make sure my code and mechanics work correctly and would like something nicer than stick figures

 

[Aireek]

Thanks everyone for answering, you answered my question perfectly and even gave me alternate solutions! !

 

[Shaz]

Even though I did offer the suggestion, I would say to be wary about using the generator to do this. It's very easy to mess things up with it, and if you do, you would have to reinstall MV to get it back in its original state. A lot of people have had to come here for help (and have had to reinstall) because they messed things up when just adding a single new resource.

So if you can find packs that allow "other engine" use, it might take more effort to combine the resources manually to create your characters, but at least you wouldn't risk messing up the generator.

 

[Aireek]

Even though I did offer the suggestion, I would say to be wary about using the generator to do this. It's very easy to mess things up with it, and if you do, you would have to reinstall MV to get it back in its original state. A lot of people have had to come here for help (and have had to reinstall) because they messed things up when just adding a single new resource.

So if you can find packs that allow "other engine" use, it might take more effort to combine the resources manually to create your characters, but at least you wouldn't risk messing up the generator.

I will keep that in mind, I was wondering if there would be a chance of messing it up lol

 

[Shaz]

Yes, quite a few can attest to the fact that there is a very good chance of messing it up

Copy away your entire generator folder before you make any changes. Then make sure you delete all the image files that are in there already, as it's very hard after the fact to determine what images were used to make up a character.