Feedback Intellectual property and DevLogs

Hi! I am currently working on a prototype of a game I am extremely passionate about and I wanted to start making a devlog about my progress to showcase the game, grow an audience, and ideally create a supportive network. Something I am wondering a lot about though with posting public devlogs on platforms like YouTube is the possibility of my game idea getting stolen. As an indie developer, this game will probably take me a while to finish on my own and I wonder what is stopping anyone from watching a devlog, gathering a team, and then making a game faster and potentially better than me assuming they have more resources. Do developers often register their game ideas in any formal way or use trademarks or copyrighting before posting devlogs to the public? Does anyone have any insight or recommendations on these situations and how to approach them? Thank you!

 

You cannot copyright an idea. A unique implementation, yes, but an idea, no. If you have a unique, game changing way of coding something then it's best to keep it off the airwaves.

One example: Shadows are used in practically every 3D engine that supports them. There was a way of implementing certain shadow techniques in a game engine that John Carmack patented. Yes, shadows are used everywhere but Carmacks way of implementing a shadow technique was enough to allow him to patent that technique.

This is all from memory though, so don't take it for granted. Things could have changed drastically in the patent game. As far as I know though, an idea is not copyrightable nor can it be patented.

 

Just about every game developer out there has one or more ideas that they view as extremely valuable, but the reality is unless you are a famous game designer like Shigeru Miyamoto or Takashi Tezuka your idea is only worth the medium that it was written on.

That's not to say that there aren't companies out there that are known for copying games. Ketchapp is a very well known example of a company that copies mobile games. It's just that these companies don't copy an idea until it has already been released and proven to be somewhat successful.

Continue uploading content for your game and discussing it where you currently discuss it. Marketing the game is very important to the point that someone stopping because they're afraid their idea will be stolen will only result in their inability to make any money off of said idea.

 

Hi, rest assured something bigger than indie is unlikely to invest in something that is unproven. It is a highly risky move to start a project with new ideas that is niche, undeveloped market, unaware audiences, etc.

If your idea is new, you have to introduce them to the market, find your niche audiences, and develop a fanbase from it. Developing a new fanbase from your new ideas is not a cheap nor easy task. I'd say you will gain more than you lose if a big studio decides to pick your idea up. Because they'd build the audience and fanbase for your new niche genre for you.

There have been tons of devlogs, but I've never seen any single one stolen unless they have a proven size of fanbase.