[Question] Can I use the others's fakemons on my pokémon fan game?

Canal_do_Lontra said:

Can I use the others's fakemons on my pokémon fan game? What happens to me if I use, and if it is bad Why I can't use them? they are copy from the franchise Pokémon.

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StCooler said:

In general, resources are free to use if you give proper credit, so you don't have to ask. Generally creators of resources make a credit sections with all the details. But if you want to use some features that are in a game but were not released elsewhere (typically, custom fakemons), then the good practice is:

always ask before you use anything that wasn't made by yourself.​

If you use someone's work without their permission, chances are they won't be aware of it, but if they are, they will inevitably ask the moderators to take down your game and/or they will harass you via social media.

Now, about the law. Internet legislation is a mess, so you'd rather stick to the good practice instead of thinking you'll get away with it. Just know that copyright is automatic whenever your create something; if you use anyone's graphics/music/code without their consent, they will have every right to sue you. I believe algorithms are not copyrighted, but their implementation is (translation: the idea of a new functionality is not copyrighted, but the Ruby code to implement it is copyrighted).

Spoiler:

If you allow me to give a bit of a discussion here, there seems to be a double standard in the fangame community. Nobody ever asked the permission to Nintendo to use their sprites, mechanics, music, logo or whatever. The law is clear, fangames should not exist at all, and the most successful fangames + Essentials were taken down by Nintendo. So fangames are illegal by nature, and yet creators who publish illegal fangames want to be asked the permission for their content because they put soooooo much energy in it, as if Nintendo/Game Freak didn't in their own games.
So clearly, the main concern is not the law, but rather, respect to creators.

In short, always ask the creators of a resource you didn't make, and if they say "no", then it's a "no" (if they don't reply, they don't give their consent, so it's also a "no").

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Canal_do_Lontra said:

thanks, so I have to create new fakemons and don't give up in realize my dream to make a very good fan game that the people can play online the game one with each other

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StCooler said:

I don't want to discourage you, but a fangame will take you between 3 and 6 years if you're alone on an ambitious project (or one week if you're participating in a game jam lol).
If you really have great ambitions for your game, you shouldn't make it alone, unless you're one of the few that can be good in anything (like Schwarzenegger lol).

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Canal_do_Lontra said:

yeah, I am making with other people, but they don't do so much, I am making my part for my game, and what's game jam?

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StCooler said:

Yeah, working with a bad team, I can relate... (IRL I mean)

A game jam is a contest where people make a game in a limited time (like a week or one day). So of course you cannot make a 40+ hours game ^^

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Canal_do_Lontra said:

what I have to do with my team to they help more than normal?

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MewTheMega said:

Well, you have to remember that your team members are real people. They have personal lives, and things to do as well. They aren't superhumans or robots. Some general tips are motivation, complimenting what they do for you. Become friends with your team members (to an extent), so it feels like they aren't working for someone, but working with someone they're friends with.

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