Where is the line drawn between spiritual successors and copyright

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>>378734804
Use all your own assets and then just change the name a bit. If you made a mario fangame that doesn't steal any assets and then just named it Super Mary-O you could literally get away with it.

>>378734804
Remember: if you recycle graphic assets, music and story, that's a problem.
If you recycle gameplay, nobody will care. You can't copyright gameplay mechanics (yet).
That's why there are so many mobile games copying each other.

So as long you change the graphics, music and story, go for it.

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>>378734804
Copyright is retarded.
http://questioncopyright.org/what_we_lose_when_we_embrace_copyright

>>378735447
>"But how X will make money?"
>Doesn't answer to the question
Pfff

>>378735216
What if the original game was so simple that it wasn't much beyond a game mechanic and the vague outline of a backstory?

Specifically I'm referring to Sodium One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T48kyaS9lLQ

>>378735829
Just change (or erase completely) the plot and you are ok.

>>378736069
There is no plot.

What I mean is, the original is so simple that you would either have to make a carbon copy or it would be an entirety different game.

>>378736172
It's a similar case to Brick Breaker. Remember Arkanoid? It got endless copies or "spiritual successors". They simply changed the art style and literally copypasted the gameplay.
And nothing happened.

>>378735216
>You can't copyright gameplay mechanics

I think the sanity system in Eternal Darkness is copyrighted.

>>378736840
Just copy it and call it Insanity Input.

>>378737038
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=6,935,954

>>378737348
The patent clearly speaks about a "Sanity level". If I use in my game an "Insanity gauge", which is a full bar that lowers when something happens, that's a totally legit thing.
If you think about it, Amnesia uses the same system pretty much and nobody sued the developers.

Let's say you make, in its entirety, a one-off game set between two games in an established game series that has been abandoned.

You make ALL the art, characters, game engine, etc; but it highly resembles the game series it is based on. Are you fucked? How about if you go further and put in explicit references but not the actual franchise name in the game text?

>>378737641
>but it highly resembles the game series it is based on
High risks of being fucked.
You must be 100% sure the series has been really abandoned and nobody owns the IP.
Even then, you might risk something if you sell the game for money. You'd better do a free fan game at that point.

My suggestion is to do something similar to Freedom Planet, which is literally Sonic with different art. Vaguely similar but not exactly the same.

>>378737982
I see. That makes me wonder why Mighty No. 9 was fine. Is it just because it was Inafune? If someone else had made the same game, would they have gotten fucked?

How about if you make it like Freedom Planet, but it has the same powerups/abilities from the game it's based on?

>>378738305
>That makes me wonder why Mighty No. 9 was fine
Because the gameplay is the same but they sensibly changed the backstory and art design.
>How about if you make it like Freedom Planet, but it has the same powerups/abilities from the game it's based on?
As long those power ups have the same effects but different names and icon it should be fine.