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- Jul 3, 2014
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It's really really simple: Is this being used as part of an RPG Maker game? If yes, then you are good. If you are using the RPG Maker game as an excuse to do something else, it is no longer an RPG Maker game.
Except the question here is "what constitutes an RPGMaker game"? At what point does the game become just "a game" and not specifically "an RPGMaker game"? What is the test used to determine this?
If all it takes to be considered an RPGMaker game is that the product is a playable, interactive game and that the RPGMaker engine was used for some part of the making process, then all you really need to do is deploy it with the editor and/or use some small portion of the default files and database in it - which, of course, people will argue was done "only to stay within the rule" even though by doing so, you technically satisfy the EULA portion that requires you to have used the "software" and programs/code included in the software.
The question is whether Enterbrain/Kadokawa will accept that and won't try to sue you - while the "official statement" Shaz provided is obviously not a legal contract, it does imply they might attempt to do so if they don't accept that you have used "enough" of the software to fulfill the terms.
Or does the term "RPGMaker game" have a stricter meaning than the broad assumption of being a game made using the engine? Does it have to be recognizably made with the engine? Identifiably so without looking at the code? Identifiably so by looking at the code? What is the threshold for recognizability? Does 50% of the code or more have to be unaltered RPGMaker defaults? 25%? Does the unaltered code have to be structurally integral to the game such that it would fail to run if removed? Does the unaltered code have to be consequential so that it could not easily be replaced by code from another source (in which case ease of replacement and consequential degree are also up for debate)?
Or is it some combination of distinctiveness, software dependence and ease of replacement that, as mentioned before, will likely need to be brought before an authority on case-to-case basis to determine?
Considering that RMMV is sold and marketed on the promise of allowing you to modify the engine (not the editor, but game code) using any text editor of choice, those are questions that really should be answered - otherwise you are being sold a product that appears to invite you to a buffet only to throw you out for eating too much food.
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