Use of essentials.

[DeadlyForest]

I am thinking of making a game similar to pokemon, but not pokemon. I was wondering if I create all new graphics for the game, will I still be able to make a game using pokemon essentials, and put it on steam as my own game? If not, what else would I need to change? (PS: I plan on making quite a few things different in the game, I would just like to use essentials as a base line for the game.)

 

[Rot8er_ConeX]

I don't think you'd be able to use Essentials as a baseline for a game you wanted to sell, because even if you yourself aren't planning on making a Pokemon game with it, Essentials is very much a Pokemon engine.

However, if you plan on making the game free, then yes, you can use Essentials as a base regardless of your game being Pokemon or not.

 

[DeadlyForest]

I don't think you'd be able to use Essentials as a baseline for a game you wanted to sell, because even if you yourself aren't planning on making a Pokemon game with it, Essentials is very much a Pokemon engine.

However, if you plan on making the game free, then yes, you can use Essentials as a base regardless of your game being Pokemon or not.

I thought that the people that made Pokemon essentials coded it themselves? As long as I change the GameFreak assets and give credit to the people that made Pokemon essentials. And if it isn't a Pokemon game, and has different game mechanics, and looks different, will it not fall under fair use?

 

[Rot8er_ConeX]

I thought that the people that made Pokemon essentials coded it themselves? As long as I change the GameFreak assets and give credit to the people that made Pokemon essentials. And if it isn't a Pokemon game, and has different game mechanics, and looks different, will it not fall under fair use?

Essentials is indeed coded from scratch. But the issue is that they coded it with the express intent of it being as close to the official Pokemon games as possible. I'm not sure crediting them is a good idea, since their creation is literally a rip-off of Pokemon. You can't just "change the GameFreak assets", since even though Piccol and Maruno are coding this off their heads, they are reverse-engineering Pokemon games from the ground up.

But on the other hand, you are using someone else's work, and not crediting them would be wrong. This conflict of interest is why I think, if you intend to sell your game (as is implied by the fact that you want to put it on Steam), using Essentials as a baseline is a bad idea.

 

[DeadlyForest]

Essentials is indeed coded from scratch. But the issue is that they coded it with the express intent of it being as close to the official Pokemon games as possible. I'm not sure crediting them is a good idea, since their creation is literally a rip-off of Pokemon. You can't just "change the GameFreak assets", since even though Piccol and Maruno are coding this off their heads, they are reverse-engineering Pokemon games from the ground up.

But on the other hand, you are using someone else's work, and not crediting them would be wrong. This conflict of interest is why I think, if you intend to sell your game (as is implied by the fact that you want to put it on Steam), using Essentials as a baseline is a bad idea.

I contacted Maruno. Maybe I can say something like "Credits got to "Insert Maruno Piccol's names here." Or find a way to credit them that is okay with them without saying it is pokemon related specifically. I do intend to sell it, because I am going to dedicate hundreds of hours into "coding" it, and I want to give an incentive to the graphic designer that I end up working with. It is a double edged sword, I want to give Maruno and Piccol credit, but I do not want to have problems with GameFreak, hopefully Maruno can shed some light on this. I mean, after all I don't see Mojang going after minecraft ripoffs that are almost the same. But like I said, giving credit to them while also refraining from making it seem like I am making money off of the pokemon IP is the big thing here.

 

[Luka S.J.]

You're forgetting something else. Whatever code Maruno or Poccil wrote is their IP. If you don't get their explicit permission to sell that IP, it's (imo) as bad as trying to sell GameFreak's IP.

Maruno invested years into this kit. I don't know how eager he'd be to see others profit from his work. I know I wouldn't.

 

[DeadlyForest]

You're forgetting something else. Whatever code Maruno or Poccil wrote is their IP. If you don't get their explicit permission to sell that IP, it's (imo) as bad as trying to sell GameFreak's IP.

Maruno invested years into this kit. I don't know how eager he'd be to see others profit from his work. I know I wouldn't.

That is why I am getting his permission for doing it. And imo he put it out there for people to use, if I were in his position, I wouldn't mind it being used to make a fully fledged game, but I am going to talk to him before doing it anyway. I just really want this to happen, and I see this as a way for a young inexperienced coder like to get experience, and some money to make my other projects happen. I will even give him a large cut of the profit if he would like it. (Who wouldn't?)

 

[Maruno]

I refer you to the recent post I made about monetising Essentials here: https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?p=9348864#9348864

Don't.

This applies even if you're intending to take the Pokémon out of it. Essentials cannot be monetised; it was not made for anyone to sell or otherwise make money off it, either in part or in whole. If you want to make a game you can sell, find another engine.

While I do accept donations, I'd rather stay true to the ideals of the Essentials engine than make a bit of money from it. If you wanted to hire me to work on your game, that's a different matter.

I just really want this to happen, and I see this as a way for a young inexperienced coder like to get experience

Other people manage this without selling their practice pieces. "Young inexperienced coders" shouldn't expect to jump straight into selling their work.

 

[DeadlyForest]

This applies even if you're intending to take the Pokémon out of it. Essentials cannot be monetised; it was not made for anyone to sell or otherwise make money off it, either in part or in whole. If you want to make a game you can sell, find another engine.

While I do accept donations, I'd rather stay true to the ideals of the Essentials engine than make a bit of money from it. If you wanted to hire me to work on your game, that's a different matter.


Other people manage this without selling their practice pieces. "Young inexperienced coders" shouldn't expect to jump straight into selling their work.

I would love to hire you to work on the game, but thing is, it would have to be a rev-share deal. And you would be practically rebuilding essentials anyway, but if you don't mind all that, that contact me on skype. Skype Username: DeadlyForestGaming

 

[DeadlyForest]

I would appreciate it if you pm me or respond to my thread please Maruno.

 

[tloriato]

I would appreciate it if you pm me or respond to my thread please Maruno.

Man, the truth is that you have an idea, not a project or a game.
Maduro won't work for you, and the "rev-share" deal didn't help your case.

I myself is debating whether I should stick with Essentials or rewrite my game in JS. You have to wheight the pros/cons.

If you can't make a game without Essentials, it doesn't really matter if you can monetize it, does it?

 

[DeadlyForest]

Man, the truth is that you have an idea, not a project or a game.
Maduro won't work for you, and the "rev-share" deal didn't help your case.

I myself is debating whether I should stick with Essentials or rewrite my game in JS. You have to wheight the pros/cons.

If you can't make a game without Essentials, it doesn't really matter if you can monetize it, does it?

I could rewrite my own thing similar to essentials if I needed to. Do you realize how long that will take? I probably will end up doing that though. I just wanted to shave time off of how long development is going to take, thus making the game cheaper in the end. I already have a manager offering to work for me. Getting a team together should not be too hard. I am about to finish a class on ruby. Things are going well, progress WILL be made, either if I have to code something that already exists or not. So, honestly it would be nice to have Maruno be part of it, but if he doesn't want to, it is just more time I have to put into development.