SFX copyright

[WHAM]

Hullo!

Does anybody know whether or not sound effects (footsteps, gunshots, etc, etc...) are copyrighted material in games (for example: Half Life 2)? These sound files can be easily accessed and used, and I am veeery much intrigued by them, but I'm not sure if its illegal, as they are a part of a copyrighted game.

I already sent Valve an Email about the matter, but for some strange reason I've got no reply (perhaps the combine caught my messages and destroyed them!).

Any ideas about this? Should I try to find free sound files somewhere, or make my own, which will be a pain in the ass and lower my game's quality quite a bit? Has anyone else thought of this?

[Jesus Juice]

Sound effects are definitely protected by copyright. However, it's very unlikely that in the real world you would actually get in trouble if you lift sounds from a commercial game. So it's up to you.
There are many large sound libraries available that you can purchase if you have a search around.

[space boy]

I wouldn't risk taking copyrighted material. If you don't want to spend money there are lots of free sound effects on the net which you can use with no restrictions. Personally I prefer to record them myself and use the free ones for sounds I cannot produce myself.

I already sent Valve an Email about the matter, but for some strange reason I've got no reply (perhaps the combine caught my messages and destroyed them!).

I once sent John Williams an email asking if he would compose some music for my first game. For some strange reason he hasn't replied yet.

[Radiant]

I once sent John Williams an email asking if he would compose some music for my first game. For some strange reason he hasn't replied yet.

I once sent Richard Pini an email asking if I could create an ElfQuest game and he actually responded that he'd appreciate seeing the first drafts. Unfortunately our team never got off the groud, since it was one of those "one programmer, one artist, ten plotwriters" deals.

Oh and yeah, sound effects are copyrighted just like anything else. Companies are unlikely to notice if you use them, but if you were to ask them specifically they'd either not respond period, or tell you not to. That's because you'd be talking to their legal team, and lawyers aren't known for their friendliness.

[Nikolas]

SFX are copyrighted, difficult to be tracked down really, except for the creators. There are simply too many around...

still to be on the legal side, you CAN buy sfx, which should always be royalty free.

Also there is this freesound project: http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/

Databank with lots of ammateur mostly sfx. Free, but you do need to contact the creator. Protected under the Creative Commons idea(L)...

But really, why go to all the trouble and record some footsteps when you can certqainly get free ones on the net? Just do a google search...

[WHAM]

Damn...

The trick is that the commercial game sound effect lever is far higher quality than the free stuff, in my opinion.

I've been looking through the archives at http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com for now, and they have some good sounds for other purposes, but nothing that really suits me.

If Valve doesn't answer my mails before July (I'll bombard them a bit to see if I get an answer out of them ^^ ) I'll probably give up and use the free sounds anyway. I want to keep things legal...

Damn them lawyers! DAMN THEM ALL!

[Nikolas]

You know...

THere is always the option of buying some sfx... You can either browse a site with tons, or maybe head over the amazon and order 1-2 CDs (or a collection of more) with 100s of sfx. Can't go wrong there and the quality IS better than the free ones...

[space boy]

Yeah, it's hard to find good free sound effects or ones that suit your needs(that's why they are just second choice for me). But what do you expect for no money? If you want quality stuff in your game you either have to pay or be inventive.

I'll bombard them a bit

That sounds like a good way to make them block you. If they didn't already.  (jk)

[radiowaves]

Hmm, usually stuff like this is copyrighted indeed. I doubt that you get any response from VALVE because its very obvious.. Did you read EULA, usually every copiright material is mentioned there, and if it isn't you are free to use  those files
Ofcourse, there are lots of soundbanks and samplepacks, like AKAIs for example. You could buy some or just be a pirate like me. However, it depends what exactly you need, maybe it is better to record whole stuff by yourself. For example, footsteps doesn't have to be actual footsteps, it could aswell be just a finger tapping against the table etc. Just be creative, you wouldn't believe which kind of realistic soundeffects can be created by using usual homefound materials!

[WHAM]

But the gunshots! I need GUNSHOTS! RATTATATTATATTATATTA!!!

[Eigen]

I don't have much to add but ..

From the "You know your game is in trouble when.."
*...when the sound for a robot getting hit by laser blasts sounds like someone spitting tobacco into a tin can on their front porch...
*...when all your sound FX are made by 1 person banging a microphone on various kinds of surfaces...

[WHAM]

Hahahahahaha! Eigen, thats pretty good... I mean bad! Shit! I need to avoid that at all costs.

[Radiant]

From the "You know your game is in trouble when.."

LOL! We need a thread ilke that

[space boy]

Why avoid? You'd be surprised what kind of stuff profesional sound designers do to create sounds. I mean, if banging your mic against stuff sounds just what you want to have, then what's the problem? And why not try record yourself shouting "pow pow!" into the mic and running it through some filters in audacity? You might end up with an original and convincing raygun sound. Just experiment a bit.

[radiowaves]

Also: http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/index.php
and: http://www.findsounds.com/types.html - which has some very crappy quality ofcourse...

And if you don't have a mic nor samplepacks, don't want to steal the sounds from games and previous sites don't provide you with neccesary samples, you could record and edit them from some movies. Add some noise filter and a small reverb and I bet no-one recognizes where these are from.

[SinSin]

My advice is to make your own   the benefits are
Freeeeeeee
Cheap  n easy
get just the sound you want

The down side to all this is
The quality CAN be a bit rubbish

Failing that get the sounds you want from different games (ensure you reference them) then talk to the publishers and ask for permission. If they say no ((50-50)) then edit the sounds so that they sound a little bit different.

This does sound like cheating but it is an option...

PS Space boy has the right idea   and try beat boxing on your own this helps you figure out how to make different sounds with your mouth
example download  All of these were done with vocals only

[space boy]

"My name is Michael Winslow. I make noises."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4PqylD5tJY

[Jesus Juice]

Damn them lawyers! DAMN THEM ALL!

Yeah and damn those damn sound designers working for Valve who would have spent years recording, collecting, organizing, mixing, etc, etc the sounds just to perfection. Why shouldn't it just be freely available public domain works that anyone can just grab and use as they choose. Getting sound effects just right is as much work as any other part of the game production process. Would you write to Valve expecting to be able to freely use Half Life 2's music soundtrack? I don't mean to be having a go at you, but I think you should have a little more respect for the people who do sound effects work.

[WHAM]

Oh I respect Valve, and especially the sound crew! Goodness, their games have one of the greatest soundscapes ever! And I'm not talking about stealing all their sounds, but one specific gunshot soud, two footstep sounds, and two or three other sound effects. (Now that I  specified the list, I feel stupid... darn...)

Anyways: I'm not using their sounds if they don't reply and thats that. I'll just have to start tapping my microphone on stuff... ^^

On a second note: I just dont like lawyers anyway... Nothing personal...

[LimpingFish]

Yeah, as has been said, copyright exists on sfx recordings. Though, If I was going to use sounds from a commercial game, I would pick something a little less recognizable than HL2.

I presume you're talking about using them in a freeware game, so I wouldn't worry about any legal difficulties, per se. It's just a judgement call, really.