Star Wars game for programming portfolio - legal?

Hello,
I am looking to begin in the game insdustry soon, and I'm putting together a portfolio. I am currently working on a project which will test a lot of my skills, including ai programming. I chose to create a Star Wars game, because it keeps me motivated (being a huge star wars fan during childhood).

After researching online, I found that even creating games (based on movies) and sharing them for free requires obtaining licenses. But I would like to keep my game for myself, and my potential future employer. The game would be located on a website far, far away... my portfolio. I would not share it with anyone else.

Am I allowed to do this? Should I continue my project?

Or should I abandon it?

 

If you can rebrand your game and your game models to something original than you are save.
I would not recommend using a intellectual property that you do not have the license for.
That could lead from, they contacting you to take it down, to they sue you for a substantial amount of money.

There is probably no problem making a fun game and playing it with friends and family but putting it on a website is not such a smart idea.

(I'm not a lawyer and so this is not a binding legal advice)

 

No, Disney is very protective over their IP, and unless you have written express permission, don't even go there.

 

I would recommend against it. It is unlikely you get in much trouble, especially if you don't share it publicly. However, if you are applying to work professionally, companies that rely on ip are going frown on applicants that don't demonstrate a respect for other's ip. It won't do you any favors. Also, if you use very recognizable art, and it isn't executed perfectly, it will come off as not well done, even if the art isn't the point. If you use clearly placeholder art, it helps keep the focus on the gameplay.

For artists, it is different, but for programing, I would suggest using place holder or prototype assets.

 

As far as you just show it in interview to show what you are capable of, you have the right to do everything you want. Just be honest with the idea that it's not your ip, if you apply for a developer job, they generally don't care if you clearly shows that you KNOW that's not your ip, they look at what you can do by yourself and how you did it, period.

I made a stepmania clone (not the graphs, for sure, but still a clone) for my jobs interview when I started my career and it does the work if it shows your skill

If you want to go more than just show it in private or make a youtube video that only few of your friends will watch, then stop right here because you'll be disappoint at the end.

Disney or every major company completly doesn't care of fan made games/art/movie/songs if you don't make a penny from it or doesn't reach a certain amount of popularity. They have other things to do

 

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Thank you for your time. I agree with your views.

Indeed.

Thanks for the tip. I will keep this in mind for next time, well... until my modelling skills don't suck as much as they do

I read about this somewhere, but I'm afraid that they might take a fan-made game a little too serious. After all, they threatened to sue someone for taking a picture of an action figure and uploading it to social media.

I will however continue to work on this project, just to develop my skills. I most likely won't put it on my portfolio.

 

"Fan" game doesn't actually mean anything from a legal standpoint. Fan-art (on sites like da and ect, is somewhat different. They are very clearly personal use and do not lead to any confusion, and someone posting a drawing of vader on da isn't competing.

How ever a "fan-made" game is different, it is published in the same market places, and wether or not the creator makes any money, doesn't matter, the portal and publisher do. More importantly, it causes brand confusion, is banking directly on the brand. (searching for SW would include your game next to the real ones) By putting a game on the web, or steam or play or app store, you are putting in the same marketplace as actual SW games. So yea, that is something that is taken seriously.

And yes, as @BenouKat said, you can put anything in portfolio (that you are legally allowed to) you want. But like a interview, you want to make the best impression as possible. Using assets that aren't yours to use, doesn't convey professionalism. When we interview an engineer, we want to see functionality, colored primitives are more effective than well-known content. It helps focus your point.

 

I am working on a personal project and I plan on backing it up on a flash drive, I do not give a crap what the company thinks and they are known for being very (stingy) protective of their product. just continue your work as long as it is a personal project they will probably not care, not sure how bad Disney is (Do not get me started on that new "star wars") but Warner Brothers is notorious for closing projects like mine.

Its all up to how worried you are really, If I want to explore middle earth I want to explore middle earth, Its on my computer and nobody else will get my game so I don't care, copyrigth laws are too easily exploited for profit anyway.

 

Again, as portfolio piece, it isn't a legal issue at all. It just may have leave a negative impression with the company you interview with.

 

Yeah protip guys, look at zombie's signature.