Re-making a game

If there was a game i would like to re-make based on the games old concept arts, but different from how the game is now,(making the game based on same concepts but the game will be detailed,improved version) would it be legal to share my version for free with others who want to play it?

 

It's a dirty trick, but it sounds legal to me. Unless they have a trademark or patent on the ideas the concept art introduces (copyright is irrelevant here, as it is in most conversations about clones or remakes), they really have no legal basis to cause problems for you. Make sure you don't call the game the same thing, either.

That said, for legal matters, you should be talking to a lawyer, not forumgoers. And if you can't afford a lawyer, then it's best to stay far away from such things. In short, any time you ask "is it legal", you should ask first "is it ethical", and the answer is usually no.

You can pivot your strategy just a little bit, though, to make it both legal and ethical: make a game that's your own, that is just inspired by what you hoped the Game That Must Not Be Named would be. Games inspire other games, that's how the industry moves forward, and you shouldn't be ashamed of your sources. If you do this, you can not only share your game for free, but you can sell it.

Finally, a word of caution. Reading between the lines, it sounds like your plan is to make a game that is just like another professionally produced game except that the graphics are better and more closely match the concept art. Do you really think you can do that? Are you such a talented game developer that you can create, in your spare time, a world that's more detailed than several artists who worked full time for months? There's a reason the graphics of the Game That Must Not Be Named are as simple as they are, and I doubt it's because they just felt like throwing their concept art in the trash. Were there performance implications? Gameplay/experience problems? Try to think it through.

 

depends how closely you are ripping them off i guess. if you can make it your own original version that stands apart and gives them no reason to believe you copied them exactly you might be ok...

 

Yes. Game mechanics are not protected by copyright law, but IP elements are (e.g. characters, art, sound, etc.) If you copy the mechanics of an existing game, but change the fundamental IP overlaying those mechanics to be something original that you've created, you could even go so far as to sell your game with impunity.

I'm doing this with my project The Hero's Journey (it's based of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link's mechanics, but in an original world of my creation, with original characters, etc.) Angry Birds did this with a much older game. These are both good examples.

A bad example is the Slenderman ripoffs. Those are using not only the same gameplay mechanics, but the same IP. Those games could be legally challenged.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. Legal questions like this really should be directed to your own legal counsel.

 

I copied the hell out of marble madness just made it way prettier. No trouble, heartwarming reviews, it was nice.

 

Think in terms of homage, not remake.

 

Thats probably a nice way to put it, i did credit the game to Mark Cerny, my own credit was way underneath