Wanted to make a new Police Quest type game, would like opinions

[Sim456]

What I'm after, is to create a game, with about the same basic look of the characters, the way the driving worked, using the overhead map view and arrow keys to control a rectangle sized car.  The premise is that it's the very next day after PQ1, except, it's in a different city.  This is just to avoid any copyright infringements such as using the same names.  Like if I used the title Police Quest: The Next Day, that'd be a no no.  So I'm trying to see for using the original PQ character sprites, just slightly modified, if this is something that I could do, or not.

I wanted to get opinions on this, before I really started getting down and dirty and finding out later on that this wouldn't be possible.

Thanks.

[Radiant]

Well, if you're interested you could use the famous AGS city of Reality-On-The-Norm. This would give you over a dozen of animated freely usable characters, and it's an interesting city for a police procedural to boot.

[Ghost]

As far as AGS is concerned, it's more than capable of emulating the mechanics you describe. You will need to use some more advanced scripting, but you won't run into anything "AGS can not do".

Using an existing brand (Police Quest in this case) is always problematic. If you actually want to rip sprites and modify them you enter the beautiful world of copyright infringement. If you create your OWN sprites in a similar style, you're on the safer side. The thing is that even though PQ is no longer an active brand and Sierra as it was back then doesn't exist anymore, the games still may be covered by copyright, and it's often hard to say what counts as "inspired by" or "ripping off". It's the same with King's Quest, LSL, Monkey Island... there have been some beautiful AGS projects in the past that ran into trouble, and at least one that has been givena cease and desist.

In my opinion: You can avoid all this by creating your OWN police story. "Inspiried by" is safe- and creating something that truly is your own is a large part of the fun!

[Sim456]

Thanks for the replies.  I want to make my own character sprites, but, I seem to have problems in the art department   I can make rooms all day, but making a character, yea it's a bit problematic.  I'll have to give it a go though, and see where I end up.  Thanks again.

[KodiakBehr]

With AGS, most things are possible, but down to your question.

It is usually illegal to use the works of an author (in this case, your modified PQ character sprites) without his/her permission, certainly so in your specific case.  This does not stop people from doing it on a personal, non-profit basis because (typically) under tort law a litigant would need to establish some level of loss, either on the integrity of the brand or of actual revenue, as a result of your work.  Considering that the Police Quest brand owner is already attempting a revitalization, it's always good manners to ask first.

If you intend to sell your game using assets you do not own or did not produce, you had best have a plan in place for the possibility of a lawsuit.

Edit: Ghost beat me to most of this.  Well played.

[Ghost]

Sim, if you are just starting out or if you have problems with art, just ask around for C&C, or try to find a team. I imagine your project is a bit larger so a team-up would surely help a lot.

Edit: Ghost beat me to most of this.  Well played.

"It doesn't matter if you are good or bad, dear. The only thing that matters is that you BOUGHT the game!"
- Vampire the Masquerade, Best! Quote! Ever!!

But nice to hear they're revitalizing this. Nice to see an old brand returning.

[Daniel Eakins]

Do it like Heroine's Quest, which is a game inspired by Hero's Quest but NOT a fan sequel or ripoff of Hero's Quest.

The game actually does use a certain number of modified graphics from copyrighted products. For example, the heroine's sprite is modified from the heroine from Legend of Kyrandia 2, and the portraits are traced from photographs of celebrities. But it's always done in a tasteful, NOT lazy way, and the game otherwise has an incredible amount of original content -- most of all, the game is a genuinely good game in itself.

So it all depends on how you present your game. If you simply rip off Police Quest in a lazy way, essentially piggybacking on it, most people will show some disdain toward your project -- including the copyright holders who will send a certain kind of legal letter in your direction. If however you present a serious, interesting game inspired by a classic, then even if you happen to use a few copyrighted content (whether graphics or game mechanics), most people will show admiration toward it -- perhaps even the original game's creators! and hopefully the actual copyright holders will turn a blind eye.

[Volcan]

If I make a police quest game, I'll make my own graphics and sprites.

The problem with Police Quest is police procedures.

I would need to write a story with police procedures in mind.

That would include a guideline about a cop should do, with the game.

[Gribbler]

My advice? Make it a police story driven adventure game not a policeman simulation.