Fan game
A fan game is a video game that is created by fans of a certain topic or IP. They are usually based on one, or in some cases several, video game entries or franchises.[1] Many fan games attempt to clone or remake the original game's design, gameplay, and characters, but it is equally common for fans to develop a unique game using another as a template. Though the quality of fan games has always varied, recent advances in computer technology and in available tools, e.g. through open source software, have made creating high-quality games easier. Fan games can be seen as user-generated content, as part of the retrogaming phenomena, and as expression of the remix culture.
Legal issues[edit]
Console releases[edit]
Because fan games are developed with a relatively low budget, a fan game is rarely available on a console system; licensing fees are too prohibitive. However, unlicensed fan games have occasionally made it onto consoles with a significant homebrew scene, such as the Atari 2600, the NES, SNES, the Game Boy line, Sony's PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, and many others.
Suppression and cease and desist[edit]
Some companies shut down fan games as copyright infringements. Original copyright holders can order a cease and desist upon fan game projects, as by definition fan games are unauthorized uses of copyrighted property. Many fan games go as far as taking music and graphics directly from the original games.
A notable case in late 2005 involved Vivendi Universal shutting down a King's Quest fan project, King's Quest IX: Every Cloak Has a Silver Lining. It was to be an unofficial sequel granting closure to the series, which had its last release in 1998. After a letter-writing campaign and fan protests, Vivendi reversed its decision and gave permission for the game to be made. As part of the negotiations, the developers were required to remove "King's Quest" from the title.[8] Conversely, fan protests for the shutting down of Chrono Resurrection (a remake demo of Chrono Trigger) in 2004 have yielded no result on Square Enix's action to block the project.[9]
Nintendo is notorious for its strict protection of its intellectual property (IP)[10] and has shut down many notable fan games, including an HD remake of Super Mario 64,[11] AM2R,[12][13] and No Mario's Sky.[14][15] Nintendo has also taken down various Pokémon fan games such as "Pokenet"[16][17] and "Pokémon Uranium".[18][19]
A Spyro the Dragon fan game, Spyro: Myths Awaken, was shut down by Activision (the current owners of the Spyro IP) in September 2018[20] and later became Zera: Myths Awaken with all Activision-owned content being replaced by original content. After this legal action, other fan-made games like Spyro 2: Spring Savanna stopped the development. Previously in 2007, legal action was also taken by Activision against an open source software named Piano Hero by sending a cease and desist letter, which resulted in a name change to Synthesia.
In 2021, a lawsuit was filed by Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive against the authors of re3 and reVC, which were reverse engineering projects for the games Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that allowed the games to be played on contemporary platforms such as the Nintendo Switch. Take-Two asserted that they "are well aware that they do not possess the right to copy, adapt, or distribute derivative GTA source code, or the audiovisual elements of the games, and that doing so constitutes copyright infringement", and also alleging that the project has caused "irreparable harm" to the company.[21][22] Take-Two dismissed the lawsuits in April 2023.[23]
Also in 2021, Osmany Gomez developed a game called "I Am Batman" using the Unreal Engine 5 engine, using the characters Batman, Joker and Penguin from Tim Burton's duology.[24] In May 2021, the developer posted a video of a demo version of the game on his YouTube channel, but two days later Warner Brothers blocked his video. Gomez does not want to sue the film studio and therefore the project was closed.[25]
Capcom suspended a fan's remake of Code Veronica and the original Resident Evil on copyright grounds.[26][27][28]
Endorsement and turning a blind eye[edit]
Other times, companies have endorsed fan games. For example, Capcom has featured Peter Sjöstrand's Mega Man 2.5D fan game in their community site more than once.[29][30] However, Capcom Senior Vice President Christian Svennson has stated that, while they legally can't sanction fan games, they won't proactively go after them either.[31] In 2012, Capcom took Seo Zong Hui's Street Fighter X Mega Man and funded it, promoting it from a simple fan game to an officially licensed freeware Mega Man game.[32]
In 2008, Christian Whitehead created his own game engine, known as the Retro Engine, for use in the Sonic the Hedgehog fan game Retro Sonic. Whitehead developed a proof-of-concept prototype of Sonic the Hedgehog CD running on the Retro Engine and pitched it to Sega.[33] Sega gave their approval, and a full remake running on Whitehead's engine was released two years later.[34] Whitehead later worked with fellow fan-programmer Simon Thomley to develop mobile remakes of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and ultimately directed an all-new Sonic the Hedgehog title, Sonic Mania, with a development team made up of individuals noted for their work in the Sonic the Hedgehog fan community.[35] Mania would also be used as the basis for Sonic Superstars.
Skywind is a fan remastering of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002) in the game engine of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The original game developers, Bethesda Softworks, have given project volunteers their approval.[36] The remastering team involves over 70 volunteers in artist, composer, designer, developer, and voice acting roles. In November 2014, the team reported to have finished half of the remaster's environment, over 10,000 new dialogue lines, and three hours of series-inspired soundtrack.
In April 2017, Mig Perez and Jeffrey Montoya released Castlevania: The Lecarde Chronicles 2. The game features all new assets and a new soundtrack, as well as new voice acting from actors who appeared in the official Castlevania series, such as Douglas Rye who played Dracula in Curse of Darkness and Robert Belgrade who played Alucard in Symphony of the Night. Konami allowed the game to be released with the contingency that the game remains non-profit.[37][38]