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[4e5]Discuss: Europe

Started by
115 comments, last by superpig 17 years, 11 months ago
Quote: Original post by Agony
I'm an uneducated/uncultured American barbarian. I'll have to come up with a way to integrate Europe into a game without proving to the world just how culturally ignorant I am. [smile] Maybe it'll be in the future in a hypothetical scenario where the US has taken over Europe, and forced them to all act like us! [wink]


Some help for people who have no idea what Europe is and maby some info on what you can use:

-If you put the eiffel tower (from paris) somewhere we can't mis it.
-The pope lives here somewhere.
-In the Netherlands weed is legal.
-We got one big union with an logo (emblem?)
-There once lived an guy with an strange mustace in Germany.
-The world champoins are going to be played in Germany (We will win anyway, but Germany may try if they want).

Edit:
I hope my fellow Europians won't make me die in the most worst kind of way becouse of this betrial.
if (*pYou == ASSHOLE) { pYou->Die(); delete pYou; };
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Quote: Original post by d000hg
Quote: Original post by JohnnyCasil
For example, I was thinking of making my entry take place in the future in some sort of floating Arcologies...
Have you read 'Spares'?
Recognising ruined cities suggests that landmarks (like Eiffel tower or Millenium Dome) will be in the game. It's precisely these aspects which make me question the legal side of things.


Someone who is smarter than me correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure it is legal to use images of landmarks, as they appear countless times in Television, Photos, Magazines, Advertisments, etc...
What I've heard is this:

For buildings and landmarks that are older than the copyright age (typically, 50 years past the author's death, or 50 years past publication if copyright by a corporation), it's OK to include them, as the copyright has expired.

For buildings and landmarks that are younger, someone (typically the architect) actually owns the copyright, and you can't use that design without permission.

Now, there's an exclusion for photography and television where the landmark is part of the "scenery" and not obviously the main story. This is because otherwise, you just couldn't photograph anything, anywhere. However in a computer game, you have to actually make specific effort to put a specific likeness of something into the game -- thus, that exclusion may not apply.

Thus, using the Eiffel tower would probably be fine.

However, I'm not a lawyer, so I can't talk about how the law would apply to a specific case, nor purport to give legal advice. If you really want to cover yourself, talk to an IP lawyer licensed to practice in your locale.
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Quote: Original post by hplus0603
For buildings and landmarks that are younger, someone (typically the architect) actually owns the copyright, and you can't use that design without permission.


I can't believe landmarks and buildings are copyrighted. Insane. So you can't, for example, make a painting of some copyrighted building and sell it???

In regards to the geographical bounderies of Europe, these have and will change a bit. Turkey will be part of the EU within 10 or 20 years for example. Maybe it's possible to be a little flexible with it?
I'd like to think of 'Europe' as a theme that can refer to the idea of Europe as much as the continent does, as America is also an idea, or ideal. You can have it stand for anything I'd say, as long as you will be able to convey that meaning in a plausible manner.
Because Europe is such a vague idea, it will also be interesting to see what people will do with it, how they see it.

I like the 4 themes, if only I had better programming and artistic abilities...




Quote: Original post by Trapper Zoid
Quote: Original post by d000hg
That would work - new countries getting set up as a result of wars etc.

It's not so much a new country, as a totally made up one that was somehow left off the maps (like Syldavia). I'd prefer to leave the option open for inventing the history and culture of a small country or town somewhere, but obviously set it in Europe. I'm almost postively sure that this would be allowable.


I assume that if you put it in the future, or the past, you could say it will exsist/exsisted, and it doesn't exsist anymore for geological reasons. If you make it the future, you can even say that the whole world is Europe, since all the continents might have connected in passing time (please correct me if I'm wrong).

good luck!
How about just having The Final Countdown as the theme music?

j/k
Quote: Original post by gregs
How about just having The Final Countdown as the theme music?

j/k


You are a unbelievably brilliant person.

Anyway, one of our current projects is a TBS set between two space empires in a sci-fi enviroment, and when I made the backround story-thingy(way before this), I made the various star groups roughly analogous to various European nations.
For example, Spain and Portugal become Iberia, England becomes Albion, with each new location having similar cultural bases (like the guys from Iberia speaking with a spanish accent and the Albion guys having a british accent). I wonder if in the unlikely event that we finish a version to submit, if that'll be acceptable...

It just seemed interesting that I made up something vaguely fitting the criteria way before this, even including the other elements to various extents- hmmm... time to work!

-Mark the Artist

Digital Art and Technical Design
Developer Journal

Superpig:
Can we have either a defining boundary for Europe (i.e. a map you've scribbled on) or a statement to the effect that we may be vague and change the European boundary for different times / universes?
I think you mentioned elsewhere that Russia may not be included - does that mean we can't change the borders?
Is Iceland in Europe?
Quote: Original post by DeadXorAlive
Quote: Original post by hplus0603
For buildings and landmarks that are younger, someone (typically the architect) actually owns the copyright, and you can't use that design without permission.


I can't believe landmarks and buildings are copyrighted. Insane. So you can't, for example, make a painting of some copyrighted building and sell it???


as it is a photo or painting of a landmark would be covered by copyright, the landmark itself isn't. since im not a lawyer i don't know for sure about buildings (but since taking pictures of them seems to be legal i don't see why there should be any problem with including them in a game)

but basically you should be fine as long as you don't steal a picture or model of the eiffel tower.
if you take your own photograph (or get the permission to use a specific photograph) or simply make your own model or drawing you should be fine.

if you include a newer building where the architect still owns the copyright (i think it currently lasts 75 years after the authors death in sweden, not sure about the rest of europe) you should be fine as long as it isn't too detailed. (a computer model that looks like buildingX should be ok, a model that is a copy of buildingX probably isn't).

trademarks are a more touchy subject however, you can't for example include names and logos of european companies without permission etc.
Quote: Original post by d000hg
Is Iceland in Europe?


Yes! It is.
My blog about personal development for studying people - www.tricktolearn.com

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