Atari Adam Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) No offense, but do you know how much revenue the average homebrew generates in terms of cost vs. sales? If you count labor as billable hours, as theloon is saying, homebrews never even reach the break-even point. These are things that are done out of passion and out of love for the hobby by guys that we respect above and beyond anyone else in the Atari community. This, in itself, is great, but do you really think New Line Cinema is going to see "passion" and "love" as substitutes for dollar bills? Definitely not. There has been one homebrew to date that got licensing rights -- Boulder Dash -- and that was an incredibly expensive process, easily the most expensive portion of the development of the game. That was a small studio with a (relatively) obscure game, something as large as Freddy is not going to be something that the licensing rights will be taken lightly. Devaluation of the brand will be very close to the chest for New Line Cinema, and they will want some serious numbers as to production runs, sales, etc. before they will even consider allowing rights. For a console released in the late 70s, that's just not going to happen. A run of even 250 carts/boxes (which is a VERY generous estimate of sales) isn't even remotely scratching the tip of the iceberg in terms of what they'd be willing to do. Thus, even if they were to allow licensing to occur, it's going to be incredibly expensive, likely easily five times more expensive than the number required to make a project like this feasible. If you are an erstwhile millionaire and want to do this as a philanthropic gesture to the Atari community, then great, I'd love to see it, but unless you have at least 5 figures to sink into something with absolutely ZERO return on investment, this project will be going nowhere fast. I understand that. But it is not entirely true. I worked at Diamond Comics for some time, they had the rights to use the name on select toys etc... There where times maybe once a year they would do a limited run of a Freddy statue at 100 a piece and a total run of 100 statues. Just throwing that out there. what if, for the sake of the game and to cut cost on IP, I change the name slightly. The rights to the name "A Nightmare On Elm Street" are in fact owned by New Line Cinema. What if I just simply called it "Nightmares On Elm Street" (no rights needed) and changed the character name to Freddie instead of Freddy (also licensed by New Line Cinema) and just changed the colors a little bit on the sweater? Edited October 11, 2012 by Atari Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) Again, I know it sounds pretty negative but please take the advice here as solid gold. As a developer I've learned that any feedback is wonderful. Not just for debugging but also things that would normally blindside me. Take the name "Splatterhouse Video Games" Did you know Splatterhouse is already trademarked? http://www.trademark...e-76674141.html Even big names like the Minecraft boys got in hot water over one word: Scrolls The thing about slightly varying the name is brand confusion. Does your IP confuse or dilute their brand? If so, you lose the lawsuit. Even worse, you had a lawsuit in the first place. He who has the most money for litigation wins. You'd think you could argue the parody angle, but that sucks too. For instance, did you see the Freddy Care-Bear logo on that cart for my game? If I tried to sell it commercially I'd be scrizzooed. One cannot use another brand as a lens to parody something else. Edited October 11, 2012 by theloon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevEng Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I understand that. But it is not entirely true. I worked at Diamond Comics for some time, they had the rights to use the name on select toys etc... There where times maybe once a year they would do a limited run of a Freddy statue at 100 a piece and a total run of 100 statues. Just throwing that out there. It could be that they're used to dealing with smaller run items for sale at conventions and such. You should follow-up on it. Maybe you'll have something valuable to teach the community here. Were the 100 run statues reasonably priced? what if, for the sake of the game and to cut cost on IP, I change the name slightly. The rights to the name "A Nightmare On Elm Street" are in fact owned by New Line Cinema. What if I just simply called it "Nightmares On Elm Street" (no rights needed) and changed the character name to Freddie instead of Freddy (also licensed by New Line Cinema) and just changed the colors a little bit on the sweater? That won't fly. Infringement cases are launched based on confusing-similarity all the time, rather than direct infringement. Check out Apple suing an online grocer that uses a green apple logo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adam Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 It could be that they're used to dealing with smaller run items for sale at conventions and such. You should follow-up on it. Maybe you'll have something valuable to teach the community here. Were the 100 run statues reasonably priced? That won't fly. Infringement cases are launched based on confusing-similarity all the time, rather than direct infringement. Check out Apple suing an online grocer that uses a green apple logo. They where $100.00 per statue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adam Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 So I guess the main question is to everyone watching and reading this post, should I go forth with the effort in doing this game or just move on to something more viable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) I'd say soak in the advice. My gut says no. Secure a license first or find something horror related that has entered the public domain. Maybe partner with an indie film or comic artist and use that IP. Also, ask yourself if an Atari 2600 is the appropriate system for your game. It has some major constraints. I would consider trying Game Maker and making a prototype you can show people - especially potential developers. You may end up just sticking with Game Maker and cranking out a PC, Mac, iOS or Android version from it! http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/studio Edited October 11, 2012 by theloon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Sorry to double post but I have to emphasize something. When I say "do it yourself" I'm not being snide. BatariBASIC and Game Maker are made for creative, big idea types. I'd seriously consider making a game in either at least to get the feel for game making. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adam Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 ok, so after a lot of thought, and wanting to present myself properly on AtariAge, I think I will call it stop on this project (for no anyways). After reading everyones input (and thank you all for that) i will start small, and build up to IP's like A Nightmare On Elm Street. I think everyone is right. Start small, build the trust and fan base and work from there. I appreciate everyones feed back. I have an idea for an indie horror game, a title that isn't in any copyright or trademarked. I will keep messing with batari, its tough though. Thanks again everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Come visit the batari Basic section when it gets tough. I'll confuse you with answers you wont understand to questions I never bothered to consider. Many other people are helpful though 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adam Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 10/14/2012: I am excited to say that we have a programmer and another contributor making the sprites for A Nightmare On Elm Street Atari 2600 video game. Things are back on track so KEEP POSTED! PAC-MAN-RED has agreed to do the sprite work for this game along with upcoming programmer game hack maker Rabbit 2600 working on the programming of the game itself! We will be posting the pictures of the sprites as soon as they are done. Once programming begins be sure to keep posted for screen shots of this upcoming release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adam Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 10/14/2012: The first look at the very first sprite for the game is now available for view. Designed and made by Illya Wilson (A.K.A. PAC-MAN-RED) this will give you all a first look at what Freddy will look like in the game. I hope you all enjoy and keep posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cvga Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 There has been one homebrew to date that got licensing rights -- Boulder Dash Stacker was licensed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cebus Capucinis Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Stacker was licensed. Really? I stand corrected then, there were two! I didn't realize that. Thanks for the heads-up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Halo2600? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adam Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Halo 2600 was an easy license considering it was made by the maker of Halo. For individuals to get the license rights it doesn't happen often on here. For every 1 licensed game on Atari Age there probably 3-5 games not being licensed and still put out to the community whom buy them and snatch them right up. This is what I can tell anyway from being on Atari Age for a little while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Incidentally, I picked up the 2 NOES series 4-pack DVDs at Target for $5 each. The covers of both state that the discs are dual-layer flippies which have 2 movies per side...but actually contained 4 individual-release discs in each set O/T...but a nice surprise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adam Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 I would just like to take a moment to let everyone know that this game is still in the works and that we have sprite work up and available for view for the "Freddy" Character, Nancy and Glen Characters as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killersquirel Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Awesome news. Thanks for the update. -mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Any news on getting the rights to make this game? You did hear what happened to another popular title, right? Halo 2600 was an easy license considering it was made by the maker of Halo. For individuals to get the license rights it doesn't happen often on here. For every 1 licensed game on Atari Age there probably 3-5 games not being licensed and still put out to the community whom buy them and snatch them right up. This is what I can tell anyway from being on Atari Age for a little while. Without respecting copyright and trademark holders I fear another project with personal investment will have a short life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 How about "Bad Dream on Oak Avenue". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adam Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 Any news on getting the rights to make this game? You did hear what happened to another popular title, right? Without respecting copyright and trademark holders I fear another project with personal investment will have a short life. I have contacted all proper people at New Line Cinema including head of public relations and now it is just a wait game really. I explained the game in full, what it is and what it will be and gave them all proper links and information regarding the game. As for now, that is all I can do until I hear back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Iacovelli Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 good you can the rights for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakasama Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 So I guess this project just moved up from the "Hard Work" tier into something that might be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adam Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 good you can the rights for it Well, I have contacted the proper people. I am unsure of the rights as of yet. Like I said. Right now it is a waiting game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Iacovelli Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Well, I have contacted the proper people. I am unsure of the rights as of yet. Like I said. Right now it is a waiting game. my bad, good luck, love that more homebrews are being done for the 2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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