I am not a musician, and I am not much of an artist. But how can you make games without graphics and sound? So far I have been using ms paint to produce "programmer" art but I hant to move on to bigger projects soon, so I wonder if I take sounds or music from other projects and modify them how legal is it? I recall hearing that NeHe Zelda was removed because Nintendo didnt like the idea. I am wondering what kind of trouble I can runinto from using other games graphic and music in my own work and secondly, modifing other peoples work and placing it in my own games. oglpong Online (47% complete)
gdipong If you got any requests or suggestions post here

It ain''t that simple.

Copyright is implicit in most countries; you don''t have to explicitly say "Copyright (C) Blah" anywhere as long as you have some means of proving your rights in some way.

Now, you _can_ lift graphics out of _some_ sources, but only -- and I do mean ONLY -- if there is explicit permission stated in the license somewhere for you to do so. In other words: "assume the answer is ''no'', unless otherwise stated."

That said, there are sources of the videogame equivalent of clip-art. There are sites that offer sprites, music, sound effects, etc. for download if you look around. Alternatively, you could post in the "Help Wanted" forum, asking for artists and musicians. Make sure you make it clear that there is little or no pay involved, but that full credit will be given and that they can use your game to show off their skills to potential employers.

Be warned: there are those who will suggest that stealing is okay as long as you don''t get caught. This is very bad advice. Not everyone who spots the theft will necessarily report it, but if you should make the mistake of approaching a pro gamedev team or publisher with your game, they _will_ find out. And remember: the gamedev community is not all that big and industry pros do talk to each other. You may suddenly find it very hard to get taken seriously.

The risks are not worth it. Get in the habit of doing it right. Take the same attitude towards your professionalism as you would towards your coding.


--
Sean Timarco Baggaley

Exactly: don't steal.

You can always ask artists for permission to use existing art.

The more rewarding thing is improving the own artistic abilities though.
Imagine how "not-rewarding" it would be if people complimented the borrowed art of your great game only.
And that happens to be what most people comment on ... or not?

---
If nothing works the way it should ... maybe you need a break!?
Get cracking and double-check the switch statements!!
Tolop|Andyart.de

[edited by - Clueless on June 1, 2004 8:50:52 AM]

How legal is it to modyfy content to the point where it is nolonger comparable to the orignal?

How legal is it for you to take extracts from other content and combine them in such a way that they are nolonger comparable to the orignal?

I very much doubt that even modifying original content (no matter how much) is legal, because where did you get that content in the first place? And you''re still using someone else''s work.

Red Sodium
Build a man a fire, and he''ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he''ll be warm for the rest of his life. - Terry Pratchett

If it is no longer comparable to the original ...
you could just as well create it from scratch :-p

Or what do you have in mind?

Textures and models are easy to get, there are plenty of places where you can download them legally and free. Artists like to have their work out there, just give credit where it''s due and you''re usually ok.

Music is tricky. There is plenty of stuff you can use that''s public domain (I''m fairly certain you can use any of the classics, at least in the U.S., but I''m not 100% on that), but other than that, it gets a bit hairy.

Personally, I just make my own crap music using something like ACID or something, but *shrug*

When I was in high school I used rage against the machine songs in all my demos. It was for educational purposes, so I doubt I would have come into any real issues, but I''m sure it was illegal.

WHat is this acid you speak of?

By the way is anyone reading this thread knows of a freeware program or website that you can use to create content let me know.

So far I use MS paint and sound recorder!

So far I know of audacity and av music morpher. And gimp and pixia.(I am in the process of learning to use these)

I would especially like to find a good tile and sound efect libary.

thanks.