Heroscape Video Game

[Blatimus]

Originally Posted by BrandonBanks

I love heroscape but nobody i know likes it as much as i do so is there like maybe an online game with other people or the cpu that i can go to to play or anytalks of a video game in the future i am just dying to play.

Welcome to the club...I feel like a fanatic in a town with no Scape! Somebody has bought Heroscape in this town because I used to see it on the shelves. What happened to it nobody knows.

[PikminToo]

thanks Dad Scaper i'll try to make one of those if i can

[bmaczero]

Originally Posted by Robber

We could probably ask AliasQtip to do it... he is epic on a computer.

Games take a ridiculous amount of work to make. I'm amazed at people like zzz who can make a professional-quality program on their own. I'm on a 5-man team that's been working on a pretty simple puzzle platform game for almost three months now, and it might be done this fall.

The other concern is Wizards, who would probably take legal action against anyone who tried to make something based this heavily on their IP.

I would love to be able to play Heroscape online with people whenever I want, but there are a lot of logistics involved.

[The Champion of Weston]

Originally Posted by bmaczero

Games take a ridiculous amount of work to make. I'm amazed at people like zzz who can make a professional-quality program on their own. I'm on a 5-man team that's been working on a pretty simple puzzle platform game for almost three months now, and it might be done this fall.

The other concern is Wizards, who would probably take legal action against anyone who tried to make something based this heavily on their IP.

I would love to be able to play Heroscape online with people whenever I want, but there are a lot of logistics involved.

I thought that Wizards didn't have the rights to HS anymore? They couldn't take legal action if they no longer have the rights to the game.

[bmaczero]

News to me. Are you thinking of Hasbro?

[Lord Dragonix]

Originally Posted by The Champion of Weston

I thought that Wizards didn't have the rights to HS anymore? They couldn't take legal action if they no longer have the rights to the game.

Wizards chose to stop producing Heroscape. Either due directly to profitability or because of their "branding" strategy. This does not constitute a forfeiture of Trademark or Copyright rights on their part.

In a few years you could put a Taelord or Sgt. Drake Alexander in your own minis game if you wanted. Hasbro has lost the rights to certain Transformer names (see how Hot Rod is now called Rodimus) because they stopped producing toys with those names. However, you could not produce an interlocking hex game too similar to Heroscape's interlocking system or a videogame directly copying Heroscape's most uncommon rules and/or mechanics, not until any pending/approved copyrights expire. Companies have also gotten better recently at extending such things past their current legal timeframes through direct law changes or legal whining. (See Disney and Marvel Comics)

Basically, any attempt to independently make any sort of Heroscape software/videogame would be illegal. This will probably be true for the next couple of decades at least. Unless of course, Hasbro/Wizards allows for Heroscape to be a public license; which will probably never happen.

[macktheknife]

Wouldn't that just exclude you from making commercial things?
If you made an open source Heroscape game with not even a creative commons, you'd be entitled to, just as there are lots of Mega Man fangames out there.

I *could* try working on a Heroscape game for the iPhone or iPad or Android or something, even though my native platform is the PC, using cocos3D or something, but I'd need someone to do 3D modeling of the figures.
and/or someone to teach me how to program in THREE DIMENSIONS!!
(Really, though, it'll be half me programming and half me asking various people on IRC what do.)

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by macktheknife

Wouldn't that just exclude you from making commercial things?
If you made an open source Heroscape game with not even a creative commons, you'd be entitled to, just as there are lots of Mega Man fangames out there.

I *could* try working on a Heroscape game for the iPhone or iPad or Android or something, even though my native platform is the PC, using cocos3D or something, but I'd need someone to do 3D modeling of the figures.
and/or someone to teach me how to program in THREE DIMENSIONS!!
(Really, though, it'll be half me programming and half me asking various people on IRC what do.)

No. The IP still belongs to HAS.

[Tornado]

As simple as the game mechanics are in HS I am pretty sure you could get away with using the system as is for the most part. The main thing would be changing all the names, settings, ect. You could use Offensive Might for attack and use a word instead of a number. Glyphs can be Power Circles. The personalities may be a tough cookie, they are important to game play and synergy but would be an obvious rip-off. I guess you could come with alternate names for each type. A 2D game would still be a lot of fun and easier to program. Having the proper game mechanics is what is important. An example of this is the game called Titans of Steel which is basically Battletech. WotC would be smart to make their own game... peace

[Lord Dragonix]

Originally Posted by Tornado

As simple as the game mechanics are in HS I am pretty sure you could get away with using the system as is for the most part. The main thing would be changing all the names, settings, ect. You could use Offensive Might for attack and use a word instead of a number. Glyphs can be Power Circles. The personalities may be a tough cookie, they are important to game play and synergy but would be an obvious rip-off. I guess you could come with alternate names for each type. A 2D game would still be a lot of fun and easier to program. Having the proper game mechanics is what is important. An example of this is the game called Titans of Steel which is basically Battletech. WotC would be smart to make their own game... peace

When thinking about ripping off existing games/intellectual property, you should start from the point of "how will my lawyer defend me when WoTC sues me?" There is nothing to stop WoTC from suing you, so you need to have some rational defense to present.

You can defend having things like attack and defense in your game since those elements are in almost every RPG, minis game, video game. Since everyone uses them, you can too, as they are not original work product of Hasbro or Wizards. However, if you cannot show that the market has Order Markers, Special Attack mechanics, Attack Dice featuring skulls/shields, Bonding, 3-D interlocking hexes, etc. then any of those items have no legal defense to be in your game. Think how unoriginal a talking mouse cartoon seems. But if you make a cartoon called Steamboat Milly featuring a talking cartoon human-shaped mouse, watch out for the Disney-hammer.

So when you find your game can't have half of the cool elements in Heroscape, the game you are producing will be so different as to be unrecognizable to Heroscape enthusiasts. This is what was truly sad about Heroscape's cancellation. No one can make anything truly scapey on their own without first acquiring the rights to do so, which depending on the license you seek could be in the millions of $.

[Tornado]

I have to disagree on most points here. First off there are no interlocking hexes or dice (at least physical ones) in a computer game. You could have hex movement and not even show the hexes on the board. The attack dice can be switched to numbers or % instead of skulls or not even shown (either you hit or miss). The names of the special attacks can be changed to powers or extra attacks ect. and do not have to be written out. For example Nilfheim would be an Ice Dragon with a Strong Attack, Moderate Defense, and Breath Weapon - Frost. It could all work the same but look different. You would have to delete and modify some powers along the way but you could get it close.
Now OMs is a little bit trickier. This is where you might have to make a sacrifice and come up with an alternate turn system. Bonding can be leadership, certain 'groups' get to use a leader first. Like I said you could make a computer game that played very close to HS and change most everything at least in appearance. As long as the game felt the same it would be a hit. I refer back to Titans of Steel, it is not exactly Battletech (movement is way different) but it is close and that makes it fun. Also going by what you have written Titans should have got sued.
Another thing you could do would be to eliminate a good chunk of figures and add in some new ones. Now I would not try to sell such a game but releasing it as freeware would be pretty awesome and with the above modifications should be well beyond grounds for litigation.

Originally Posted by Lord Dragonix
No one can make anything truly scapey on their own without first acquiring the rights to do so, which depending on the license you seek could be in the millions of $.

Anyone can make anything on their own, they just can not profit from it if someone has the rights. Just take a little look around this site, a lot of 'scapey stuff and I doubt anyone spent millions. Would be legendary and a great way to make a name as a game designer... peace

[bmaczero]

Eh, that would get around it, but it just isn't 'scape then.