Hugo

Dreadus · Mon 31/07/2006 08:22:38

I saw someone had made a remake of the first hugo game, and the original creator shut it down D:
I thought it'd be cool to remake the second in the series, i even made some graphics for it... But can someone tell me what the story is here?

Gilbert · Mon 31/07/2006 08:44:06

By story did you mean the story of Hugo 2, or the story of the removal of the Hugo 1 remake?
If it's the former, what I expect is, if you're interested in remaking a game you must play it yourself first, "remaking" a game that you don't even know is quite... er... unexpected. However, since there're copyright issue with part 1 I don't see it would be a good idea to remake the remaining parts, unless you have permissions from the creator.
If it's the latter, as far as I remember, since the original games were sharewares and they're still being charged for $$$ at that time, so the original creator asked Spyros politely (it's not really "shutting down") to remove the download.

Dreadus · Mon 31/07/2006 08:55:13

I meant what was the story with the removal of the game.
So i would run into troubles if i remade hugo 2? i might just do it for my personal enjoyment then...

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Mon 31/07/2006 15:01:01

Since the original author claims to be still making money from Hugo (something I rather doubt) then no, remaking the second one is probably not a good idea.

m0ds · Mon 31/07/2006 21:37:22

Correct, David Gray wouldn't be happy if you remade his game. However, that doesn't necessarily include a fan sequel. Hugo 2.5, anyone? .^^

Dreadus · Tue 01/08/2006 06:37:19

Disappointing, i had some good stuff going.
I wonder if he would give me permission?

jetxl · Tue 01/08/2006 09:12:14

There are risks involved in making a remake. This is what you could do.
1: Don't talk about it to anyone and release it out of the blue. LSL2.
2: What m0ds said. KQ remakes.
3: What m0ds did. FOY.
4: Make a parody. War Stars.
5: Write the owner of the rights a letter. Garfield (that didn't went smooth, though).
I'll also mention the Star Gate game just for fun.

So there are many games that broke copyright law but were still released.

m0ds · Tue 01/08/2006 09:49:16

Dreadus, the problem with the Hugo series is that the creator has explicitly said he does not want people remaking the games - even though he appreciates the effort. Sure you can make it, but put it online and he could sue you if he felt it necessary. You could write to him, but I can gaurantee you he'll say no.

Ali · Wed 02/08/2006 13:24:53

From what I've read, in addition to requesting that the Hugo remake be taken off the internet, David P. Gray made the observation that people with sufficient talent to improve his graphics would be better off making an original project of their own.

I'm sure there are plenty of on-going projects that need an artist around the boards. That work in progress shows a great deal of potential, check out the recruit a team thread:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=27293.0

Dreadus · Thu 03/08/2006 02:26:46

ah well, disappointing. If anyone wants the room/sprite graphics, theyre welcome. i got walkcycles for penelope and quite a few of the hugo scenes (altered a little of course)

MrColossal · Thu 03/08/2006 04:14:06

why not just make your own game with these graphics?

Dreadus · Thu 03/08/2006 05:01:11

cause im already making a couple and the theme of hugo isnt what i am really into for personal projects

Radiant · Thu 03/08/2006 11:40:06

It's always nice for designers to have graphics available. Maybe you should put them on the Instagame site or some other resource site.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Thu 03/08/2006 16:23:38

why would you want to remake a game with a theme you really wouldn't want to make as a game of your own? That doesn't make sense.

GarageGothic · Thu 03/08/2006 17:09:37

That's a lovely art style you've got going there, I'd love to see a game with that look.

The main thing here isn't in my opinion the legal issue - David Gray isn't a big corporation, and I'm quite sure he wouldn't go through the hassle of suing you. Rather, it's a matter of respect for a person whose work you obviously admire. If the guy has specificly asked someone else to remove their remake of his game, why even consider making another?
If you are really dedicated to finishing this project, and have done quite a bit of work already, how about asking David Gray if you can do it - on the condition that you, rather than distribute it yourself, allow him to sell it packaged along with his original games? There are reasons why he'd say no - he'd have to offer support on a game which he didn't make himself, and may dislike a remake with better graphics overshadowing his own work. But if he agrees, you'll get your game out there and at the same time be repaying the guy who made games that you enjoyed.

Dreadus · Thu 03/08/2006 17:56:23

Quote from: ProgZmax on Thu 03/08/2006 16:23:38
why would you want to remake a game with a theme you really wouldn't want to make as a game of your own? That doesn't make sense.

this is HUGO we're talking about here... HU-GO.

Helm · Fri 04/08/2006 08:16:40

I am interpreting this to mean 'I'd be intererested in making a Hugo game, but not a game like Hugo'.

Dreadus · Fri 04/08/2006 11:18:52

i mean, it isnt the same if it isnt hugo...

Ali · Fri 04/08/2006 11:36:15

I suspect that, if you were to remake Hugo with a SCUMM interface rather than a text parser, you wouldn't end up with a hugo-like game anyway.

Much of the charm of the Hugo series was in the parser and in the interactions. If you got rid of the parser you'd be left with a lot of irritating deaths and fewer rewards. I think you're better of working on your own un-hugo projects.

Edit: Thanks Helm!

Helm · Fri 04/08/2006 11:39:53

Quote from: Ali on Fri 04/08/2006 11:36:15
I suspect that, if you were to remake Hugo with a SCUMM interface rather than a text parser, you [n]wouldn't[/b] end up with a hugo-like game anyway.

fixed