Making references to other existing works?

[mahoshojo03]

Hello folks!

The demo for my free-to-play game is already about 70% complete, and now that I'm close to releasing a playable demo, I just want some opinions regarding certain design choices that I used in my game.

Let's just say that my game was inspired by many RPG Maker anime horror games, and I'm planning to make my game a "by fans, for fans" type of game. With that said, I made some small references to various existing RPG Maker horror games in my own game as a homage to all the games that gave me inspiration, and they are simply subtle references such as NPCs and in-game texts briefly mentioning characters, places, or events from other anime horror games.

I know that many manga and light novels do these all the time, where characters in those stories talk about characters, events, and/or places from other existing works without explicitly mentioning the titles of the origins of said references. As long as I keep the references subtle, would it be acceptable and/or ethical to make homage/references to existing games in a free-to-play game?

 

[Shaz]

If it is a free-to-play game, there is no issue. The only time you MIGHT run into trouble is if you're making a commercial game, and even then it would probably be rare for anyone to kick up a fuss.


If you're really concerned, you could just contact the developers of those games and ask them if they're okay with you doing that. Since you didn't name names, I don't know if you're talking about big titles or other small devs. I think as long as it's done in good taste, the latter group would see it as a bit of a promotional boost.

 

[Reynard Frost]

Legal issues aside, all that matters is:

Do

NOT

BREAK

IMMERSION.
 

 

[Andar]

As Shaz said, references or homage to other games should be no problem - as long as you don't violate their licences by using their artwork/music as well. The references you're using have to be made of either free or your own or your commissioned art and music, they cannot be rips from the other games.

Some big game companies might make a fuss if you're using their game's name as they have that trademarked, but they can't do anything as long as you aren't using trademarked or copyrtighted material from them.

Small developers however might even offer their pictures for free or for a link in your credits if you ask them nicely before using that material...

 

[Shaz]

Oh, I did not even consider things like art or music. I was only thinking about mentioning them in dialogue. Yes, using materials would certainly require prior approval.

 

[mahoshojo03]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I guess to be more specific, the games that gave me inspiration are Corpse Party, Yume Nikki, Ib, Misao, and Witch's House.

Yeah, I don't plan to rip nor use any kinds of materials from the games I'm referencing since I wanna avoid all legal troubles. I'm only willing to go as far as mentioning the references within in-game text, and that's it. Heck, I'm not even gonna mention those games' titles in my game at all since I'm too scared to do that... >.<

Although, what exactly does it mean to "not break immersion?" This is my very first time creating a game that I plan to release online, so I'm not really familiar with the do's-and-don'ts of game-making.

 

[kerbonklin]

Although, what exactly does it mean to "not break immersion?" This is my very first time creating a game that I plan to release online, so I'm not really familiar with the do's-and-don'ts of game-making.

You know that feeling when you're sucked into a really good moment in a movie, TV show or book? And then in that moment, something happens that either ruins the moment, or something is said/done and you stop being sucked in? That's breaking immersion.

Basically, make sure these reference moments fit into your actual dialogue and aren't random.

Another example is like, pretend a couple in a soap opera went to kiss, and right before that it just cuts off into another scene that has a completely different mood. Yeah....that.... 

 

[Andar]

Immersion basically means to allow the player to go into the story and forget everything else.

Breaking immersion and keeping immersion are both elements of storytelling - some story use them some way, other stories in a different way. Cliffhangers (stopping the story/ending the TV episode at the moment of greatest suspense) is one form of breaking the immersion that is often used to bring the viewer/reader/gamer back to the point later.

Arbitrary declaring a break in immersion wrong is not correct - but you need to decide if that style element fits into your form of storytelling. If it fits to your game, then do it (for example switching between actors during cliffhangers or similiar things) - only if you force such a break without needing it you get into dangerous waters (dangerous as the danger of frustrating the player)

Edit:

In this special case the "break" might appear if the reference to the other story comes at such a moment of suspence, when forcing the player to think of something else would break his chain of thought. On the other hand, many parodies do this with this exact intention - so it depends if your homage looks at itself in that way or not.

 

[Reynard Frost]

Essentially, breaking immersion is making the player suddenly realize they're viewing a story, instead of being IN that story.

Make sure your references fit within the game, and don't feel jarring. Like if you're watching an episode of your favorite show, say Game of Thrones, and suddenly a character goes, NOW LET US DINE ON MCDONALDS! you'd be all lolwat?

Or when you watch X-Men 2... or 3? Whichever one had the Juggernaut. When he said, "Don't you know who I am? I'm the Juggernaut, *****!" It was a huge break in immersion because suddenly you realize that he just referenced a youtube video. I wasn't drawn into the story anymore, I realized I was watching a movie that resorted to quoting youtube videos.

 

[mahoshojo03]

Thank you very much for everyone's replies!

I'll be sure to keep these in mind when working on my game.