[Discussion] Consolidation sites

[Radical Raptr]

No way would I want my own work to be re-uploaded anywhere without my say-so. Nor would I even want it to be created in a thread on another website under a different user, even if it's just to show it off but has all the correct links and credits.

I mean if there was a thread somewhere on a site, and people posted a link to My DA or even my thread here I wouldn't mind. But I'm totally against uploading another's work unless the author has given permission, or completed the game and allows it to be posted on other sites.

However, I like the idea of having a single location with a list of available fan-games to play. It's a great way to show off a lot of talented work and get potential players to become interested. As long as the creator is okay with it and has proper links to it, there's no problem.

 

[Lusus]

Only if i given permission(which i probably won't, excluding sites that list fangames), and if the person is making 0 profit off it.

 

[Pharetra]

I've found various websites that uploaded my work without notifying me and without mentioning me, and I can't say I liked it. The Pokémon Essentials Wikia page for Essentials games is enough for me.

 

[TBM_Christopher]

Honestly? I don't care much whether or not I'm credited when it comes to free projects. If someone is genuinely interested in it and has any sort of question, they'll seek me out. Otherwise, most players don't tend to care who made a game(most game companies' names aren't recognizable unless you mention a game they made)

 

[FL]

I don't like because the creator can't update these links with new versions with bug fixes and can't have a control about the download count. However, if the link is off and you contact the creator and he doesn't replied you after a good time (more than two weeks), so it's okay to reupload at another site.

I prefer a link to the creator thread whenever possible.

 

[☆Rei☆]

Honestly? Fan Made Pokemon Games are already illegal (but Nintendo doesn't care too much) and since the majority of this site that's making games is making a fan made pokemon game, I see no point in worrying about if someone is going to re-upload it without your permission. It's not like you could do much about it since what you're doing is already illegal.

However, if we are talking about legal products; I'm more along Java's Missingno.'s opinion. It shouldn't be much of a bother if it's a free project.

 

[DarkShadow21]

Honestly? Fan Made Pokemon Games are already illegal (but Nintendo doesn't care too much) and since the majority of this site that's making games is making a fan made pokemon game, I see no point in worrying about if someone is going to re-upload it without your permission. It's not like you could do much about it since what you're doing is already illegal.

However, if we are talking about legal products; I'm more along Java's Missingno.'s opinion. It shouldn't be much of a bother if it's a free project.

It isn't really the fact that it's free that is a bother. It's the fact of the work put into it and not being recognized for the hard work put into it. Not all fan game developers use premade things. A good bit make their own sprites, graphics, and storylines as a start by themselves. If you put months or even years of work into something, would you like for someone to just give it away without crediting and letting people believe that they made it and they get credit for your work?

 

[Pharetra]

It isn't really the fact that it's free that is a bother. It's the fact of the work put into it and not being recognized for the hard work put into it. Not all fan game developers use premade things. A good bit make their own sprites, graphics, and storylines as a start by themselves. If you put months or even years of work into something, would you like for someone to just give it away without crediting and letting people believe that they made it and they get credit for your work?

^ Nailed it.

Of course, many developers here want their game to be enjoyed by as many people as possible and those sites are helping achieving that goal. It is really sour to see that some people get praised for all your hard work though, and that happens a lot, sadly :(

 

[Derxwna Kapsyla]

I think the real problem comes into play when someone not only redistributes your work - be it legal or illegal - but attempts to make money off it via passing it off as their own or using advertisements to generate a revenue off of it.

I know exactly what the OP's post is referring to, since my friend is part of the Rom Hacking community and he told me about exactly what happened. Apparently, someone decided to take like, a large portion of the Rom Hacks on the Rom Hacking board and redistribute them on their website. If that was just it, I could probably let it go - they didn't link the forum thread, but they attributed the creator. However, they included two download links - both of them behind adfly short url generators. The thing about Adfly is, you have to sit through an advertisement to actually access the link, and that advertisement grants a small small small revenue of income to the person who made the links. There are well over 20 rom hacks on that site, each with two download links - and some of them a big-name hacks, too. If you were to do a google search for it, that website would be among the first to pop up. So going back over the points, this is whats going on:

• Someone decided to make a website to redistribute Pre-Patched GBA Rom Hacks, which is already even more illegal than distributing the .ips files.
• Someone decided to not link to the forum thread for the Rom Hack at all, only giving credit by the developers name.
• Someone decided to put the download links to the pre-patched roms, which is illegal by most standards because it constitutes and promotes piracy, behind adfly links which allow them to profit off someone else's work, illegal work I might restate again.

All in all, this is a textbook case of art thief and making money off work that isn't your own, and I have very very little tolerance for it. When i learned of the website, I sent in an immediate DCMA Claim to Adfly to try and have the links pulled down. I'm waiting a few more days, to see if the moderators of the Rom Hacking thread can manage to convince the individual to pull the links themselves, before I send in a second DCMA Claim to the website host to have the entire site pulled.

And if you think it doesn't affect you all, you're wrong - there's Pokemon Essentials fangames there, too. Only two right now, Blaze Red and Raptor EX, but what's to say one of your own projects wont go up there?

To properly answer the question of the thread: Do I think a website, or a thread, or even a simple pastebin, that serves as a collective of all Fangames/Rom Hacks would be a good idea? Yes, I do. So long as it credits the developer and links back to the original development thread, I see no issue with an idea at all. However, the works should not be reuploaded. This prevents them from getting updated when the developer releases a newer build, and people are left playing much older builds of a game than what is currently released.

 

[☆Rei☆]

Apparently, someone decided to take like, a large portion of the Rom Hacks on the Rom Hacking board and redistribute them on their website. If that was just it, I could probably let it go - they didn't link the forum thread, but they attributed the creator. However, they included two download links - both of them behind adfly short url generators. The thing about Adfly is, you have to sit through an advertisement to actually access the link, and that advertisement grants a small small small revenue of income to the person who made the links.

So basically; you're complaining because someone took something that was ALREADY illegal and re-uploaded it without permission? So what if the original thread or website isn't linked ESPECIALLY since many people have more than one location they display their hack on, at least he gave credit to everyone.

I am on your side about making the money and the redistribution of the actual .gba files since this just makes things more illegal, but then again; it's not a lot of money and you're not going to be the one to get into trouble (by the law) for it. So why care in the first place?

 

[Derxwna Kapsyla]

I'm complaining because they have the audacity to make money off someone else's work. Mostly because it falls under the territory of video games - I am rather passionate when it comes to the subject of Video Games in general.
The people who have their game on other websites likely uploaded it to the website themselves, or the uploader got permission to host it. It's still an issue because if it does't link the thread, unless the host is constantly hounding the thread, the download links don't get updated with the latest version. Basically, you're making someone sit through probably 5 seconds of advertisement to download a potentially outdated game with no way (beyond additional searching) to know for certain if it's updated with the latest version, and making money off of it at the same time.
A few fragments of a cents may not be a lot of money, but consider that some of the well known hacks are up there, and how often they'd get downloaded. a few fragments of a cents slowly turns into a penny here and there, a dollar, and soon you've made roughly 10 dollars off someone else's work. Even if it wasn't a whole lot of money period, it's still money to begin with, which is what makes it wrong. And that's what really has me annoyed.

 

[Gexeys]

So basically; you're complaining because someone took something that was ALREADY illegal and re-uploaded it without permission? So what if the original thread or website isn't linked ESPECIALLY since many people have more than one location they display their hack on, at least he gave credit to everyone.

I am on your side about making the money and the redistribution of the actual .gba files since this just makes things more illegal, but then again; it's not a lot of money and you're not going to be the one to get into trouble (by the law) for it. So why care in the first place?

You shouldn't talk if you don't know what on earth you're talking about.

Making fan games isn't illegal, making a fan game is a copyright infringement, and copyright infringement is illegal. Fan games aren't illegal, some game companies actively encourage them such as Capcom.

Mainly the thing is you're totally wrong, the majority of fan games use publicly sourced tiles, sprites and even private ones. These themselves often, although aimed and the pokemon fan game, that work is still in effect copyrighted depending on where it has been uploading, deviantart for example automatically protects its users. Many public tiles that haven't been ripped from the games and are not listed in a Pokemon setting are equally protected by copyright than Nintendo is. In that respect you then CAN NOT upload the work without permission, so yeah there is a big deal.

The thing is it's not about making money, most if not all developers aren't in it to illegally sell the games, mostly they are 100% against it. Time and effort is the biggest factor is the biggest problem because there is a line you can cross between ethical reasons and physically illegal lines. For example, custom scripts can be protected, custom maps can be protected. They can't mostly as they are labeled inside a pokemon game but you get the point,

If someone puts in massive ammounts of time creating a pokemon fan game, then they have no protection and it's ethically wrong for someone to reupload the work, but if that same someone has redistributed copyrighted work that doesn't belong to nintendo, EG public tiles, then it is equally as wrong.

It's wrong, either ethically or lawfully.

 

[☆Rei☆]

You shouldn't talk if you don't know what on earth you're talking about.

You should follow your own advice, I was talking about hacks in specific which are in fact illegal. (Unless everything about hacks that everyone has been telling me was a lie)

 

[Atomic Reactor]

Umbreon, the fact that it's illegal is almost irrelevant. We all know it's technically illegal, but hackers and fan game makers are still putting a lot of their personal time into a project, just to have it redistributed by some dip♥♥♥♥ who doesn't have the audacity to even credit the creator. So set aside the fact that it may be breaking laws (as if that even matters, there's plenty of laws out there that don't logically make any sense to keep in place) We're talking about taking someone's hard work and sweat (metaphorically) creativity, and passion, and giving it out for monetary gain without any recognition to the creator. That in itself is despicable in my opinion. Doesn't matter if it's illegal or not.

EDIT: Pokecommunity replaces swear words with hearts, which I wasn't aware of, but I love that they do that haha.

 

[Yuoaman]

Alright, Umbreon, how about I propose a hypothetical situation here? If I were to take the Pokemon Level Balance script that you wrote and started charging money, let's say $2 per person, to use it in their own fan games. You're saying that would be fair and right since fan game development is a legal grey area? You wouldn't feel cheated in some way?

 

[☆Rei☆]

Alright, Umbreon, how about I propose a hypothetical situation here? If I were to take the Pokemon Level Balance script that you wrote and started charging money, let's say $2 per person, to use it in their own fan games. You're saying that would be fair and right since fan game development is a legal grey area? You wouldn't feel cheated in some way?

Not at all. All my resources/scripts are free for commercial and noncommercial usages. All you have to do is credit me. (even if you don't I don't really care at all)

 

[Yuoaman]

Nah, I'm just going to distribute them under the name "PastaBowl", since it's not like you own the script in any meaningful way that should be respected.

 

[☆Rei☆]

Nah, I'm just going to distribute them under the name "PastaBowl", since it's not like you own the script in any meaningful way that should be respected.

Be my guest. If I actually cared if someone did something like that I wouldn't have released it to the public.