dr. kwack Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 I've lately been playing Milton Bradley's Dark Tower board game. Can't help but wonder if this would be possible on the 2600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybingo Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 I've lately been playing Milton Bradley's Dark Tower board game. Can't help but wonder if this would be possible on the 2600. I loved that game as a kid! I wish mine wasn't thrown away when it broke back then. I tried to buy one recently and was blown away by the price for a complete set up. It would make for a cool atari game, but wouldn't it need a game board (similar to quest for the rings on the Odyssey)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Don't Bother. I already asked Hasbro for permission to make Dark Tower for the 7800 (making a 30 year old game for a 30 year old system). I asked if it could be licensed on a 'per cartridge' basis, or a set amount, etc, anything. They immediately answered 'no', without any kind of compromise or even a suggestion. It just annoys me... What is the harm? It just gets the name out the for that many more people. Idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangest Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 It would make for a cool atari game, but wouldn't it need a game board (similar to quest for the rings on the Odyssey)? As far as I know, the Vectrex version of Dark Tower had gameplay that made a board unnecessary, though mapping things out yourself probably would be mighty helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundGammon Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 ...how about doing something similar with a different name? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Black Tower sounds good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricDeLee Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Don't Bother. I already asked Hasbro for permission to make Dark Tower for the 7800 (making a 30 year old game for a 30 year old system). I asked if it could be licensed on a 'per cartridge' basis, or a set amount, etc, anything. The assholes immediately answered 'no', without any kind of compromise or even a suggestion. It just annoys me... What is the harm? It just gets the name out the for that many more people. Idiots. Damn... there went my whole idea of eventually wanting to recreate it for the Atari Lynx. What happens amongst the collectors... stays amongst the collectors. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raindog Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Why on earth would someone try to make an officially licensed 2600 game in 2011? How would Sega's blessing have made Turbo 2600 better, or would Thrust+ have been improved by a little "Approved by Superior Software's Successors And/Or Assigns" sticker on the box? You're essentially asking lawyers to give you something for no significant benefit to their company. It's their job to say no to things like that. The answer is never going to be anything other than "no" unless there's some unusual situation where the rights reverted to the programmer and he isn't looking to monetize them, as with Randy Glover and Jumpman. The best you can hope for is that they won't bother wasting any time on you, since there are no real damages to be collected (even the most successful Atari homebrews haven't sold enough to have the royalties pay for one hour of a competent IP lawyer's time). Even Halo 2600 is likely a "look the other way" situation with no lawyers involved; certainly Microsoft didn't make any announcements about it and Fries left there over seven years ago. If he "ran it by legal", he hasn't mentioned it and neither has Microsoft. Better to just work on your game, put it out there with source code and if they slap you down, adapt (or let others adapt) the game into something more original. I say that after having been approached, fradulently, by someone who was once a member of this community (his account still exists, I just looked) and claimed to own the home console rights to Pac-Man. It put a bad taste in my mouth about doing Atari stuff for a decade, but at least my code and notes (for my hacks and the Boing and Ballblazer demos) were out there for other people to make use of them, and in at least two cases I know of, people did. Thanks to the DPC+, there are all these new possibilities for 2600 adaptations that weren't possible 2 or 3 years ago while still having been within the realm of possibility during the 2600's original lifetime. The ones we actually get to play are going to be the ones whose authors release early and often and wait to be told they're wrong rather than seeking denial up front. Be smart. Try to pick inactive trademarks, and realize that most lawyers are not gamers and don't know the difference between an Atari game that might make you 50 bucks and an iPhone game that'll make you a million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Big license holders are arse masters. Don't punish yourself for a bad move on their part. Make the game YOU want to play and avoid the superficial things that would make it a trademark infringement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastRobPlus Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Wait - does Milton Bradley/Hasbro hold the rights to license or even make Dark Tower?? I though the crux of the Dark Tower debacle was that they made the game without full rights, and had to stop making it and stop making derivatives from it. I'd think that asking Hasbro for permission to make a derivative of the game would be like asking a Chinese counterfeiter if you could get rights to make Nike shoes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybearg Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 No surprises. Hasbro hasn't shown much lenience when it comes to making games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raindog Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 (edited) No surprises. Hasbro hasn't shown much lenience when it comes to making games. Maybe so, but TESS shows that Hasbro (then Milton Bradley) relinquished their Dark Tower trademark on August 17, 2002. (Edit: I'm actually surprised Stephen King or his publisher didn't trademark the term when he did the series of books by that name. Nope, just Hasbro and some brewery.) Edited May 7, 2013 by raindog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovethevectrex Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 well there was a finished vectrex prototype for a dark tower game, you can find the rom on the internet. mabey if you made it, you could model it after that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mitchell Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Recently I've been playing my own complete working Dark Tower game with friends. There's an app for iPad iPhone which emulates the tower and peg cards. All one needs is a photocopy of the game board and some game pieces and the game can be played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 There is a nice Android version with all the bells and whistles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhomaios Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Black Tower sounds good. Still too close to the original name. You have to get rid of the tower part. Black Keep? Misty Keep? Murky Castle? Misty Castle? Black Spire? Dim Spire? Even Halo 2600 is likely a "look the other way" situation with no lawyers involved; certainly Microsoft didn't make any announcements about it and Fries left there over seven years ago. If he "ran it by legal", he hasn't mentioned it and neither has Microsoft. I thought he did mention legal concerns, and said there weren't any. Am I misremembering? Edit: Dammit, missed the fact that this thread and these comments are 3 years old. My bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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