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The Silver Lining - Cease and Desist

Started by Yonkey, February 27, 2010, 08:59:56 PM

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Enchantermon

#540
I think that before making the statement that you'll never buy games from Activision ever again, you should realize that radical statements like that won't get the company to change its mind. This has been stated before, but a much better stance is to declare (formally, to the company, through a letter) that you won't purchase their games unless they enter negotiations with the TSL team and give them a chance to finish their work. Losing a customer for good is a one-way street, but losing a customer and having a way to gain their business back creates an opportunity to reverse damage.

Of course, as has also been stated here, if you stop buying games from Activision, you're also hurting the businesses that sell these games and everyone in-between who had nothing to do with the C&D.
So what if I am, huh? Anyways, I work better when I'm drunk. It makes me fearless! If I see a bad guy, I'll just point my sword at him and saaaaaaaaaay, "Hey! Bad guy! You're not s'posed to be here! Go home or I'll stick you with my sword 'til you go, 'Ouch! I'm dead!' Ah-ha-ha!" Ha-ha. *hic* See? Ain't no one gonna be messin' wit' ol', Benny!

TigerClaw1

 :'( If Vivendi wasn't so stuck up when they were, TSL might have been released before activition took over.  So it basically are still Vivendi thats to blame. I just can't believe it. Thousands of hopeful fans over years of waiting, and now I'm just like a kid that is told he can't have that candy :(

I'm sorry if I'm stepping on Vivendi's toes, but it's a bloody big blow they gave THEIR fans!

Erpy

What exactly did Vivendi do? At least they offered a fan license to the team.


TigerClaw1

They were the first company who had stopped the making of the game.  Eventually they came around with a fan license, but that took for ages and they still had to be big brother over the developers.  If they hadn't stopped it in the first place, the game would maybe be finished in time and maybe a few years back already.

Enchantermon

#544
According to Wikipedia, development was only shut down for two months after Vivendi's C&D. I doubt those two extra months would have been enough to release the game before Activision could step in.
So what if I am, huh? Anyways, I work better when I'm drunk. It makes me fearless! If I see a bad guy, I'll just point my sword at him and saaaaaaaaaay, "Hey! Bad guy! You're not s'posed to be here! Go home or I'll stick you with my sword 'til you go, 'Ouch! I'm dead!' Ah-ha-ha!" Ha-ha. *hic* See? Ain't no one gonna be messin' wit' ol', Benny!

Erpy

First of all, VU's C&D only threw things out of whack for a month or two...the rest of the delays was simply the team itself underestimating the workload. Without VU's intervention the game might have been done near the end of last year, which was still over a year after VU Games merged with Activision.

Second of all, you can't expect a company not to step in at some point when a fangame takes such a high public profile. The terms of the fan license offered may not have been the most altruistic, but in the end VU is still a business who does not hand unrestricted use of their IP out as some form of charity.


threej_lc

So, yeah, uhm, are you guys talking to Activision at all, or are you waiting for the fan action to inspire them to contact you?  Just curious.

Yonkey

We are doing everything we can to get them to talk to us.  They haven't responded yet.
"A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."

threej_lc

 :-[

Well, we'll keep knocking down their door for you!

theroachyjay

#549
Here's the video I said I'd make - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7toneX-r0UY

Hopefully this gets a few more signatures on the petition.  I tried to gear it to both King's Quest fans as well as people who might never have heard of it before.

If you have a YouTube account, you can have it autoplay on your page by following these steps:

1. Go to your page
2. Click "Videos and Playlists"
3. Select "Other" from the Featured video drop-down list
4. Paste the video URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7toneX-r0UY
5. Check the "autoplay" box under it.
6. Click "Save change"
Jules Ismail

Yonkey

"A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."

alawi

Hi everyone,

Boycotts and petitions are good ideas, but have you folks considered speaking to the Free Software Foundation?  This is exactly the kind of thing that they are equipped to help with.  It's true that Activision has a legal right to protect its IP, there are certain things (as others on the forum have pointed out) that they can't prevent you from using or imitating; you could feasibly release the game and protect yourselves legally by making certain changes and these changes probably would not significantly hinder development.  Please contact the FSF if you haven't done so already, or I would be happy to contact them on your behalf.

This kind of shut-down is bad for game developers and it's bad for gamers.

waltzdancing

That was BEAUTIFUL theroachjay!!! I couldn't tell if it made me cry or my allergies from the dust storm outside. I got chills when I watched it. We need to get Activision to watch this, you spoke for the whole forum!!   :D :D :D

oberonqa

Quote from: alawi on March 26, 2010, 04:33:40 PM
Hi everyone,

Boycotts and petitions are good ideas, but have you folks considered speaking to the Free Software Foundation?  This is exactly the kind of thing that they are equipped to help with.  It's true that Activision has a legal right to protect its IP, there are certain things (as others on the forum have pointed out) that they can't prevent you from using or imitating; you could feasibly release the game and protect yourselves legally by making certain changes and these changes probably would not significantly hinder development.  Please contact the FSF if you haven't done so already, or I would be happy to contact them on your behalf.

This kind of shut-down is bad for game developers and it's bad for gamers.

The kind of changs you are suggesting would be in terms of changing the game content so as to no longer have any relationship to King's Quest outside of parody (i.e. change King Graham to King Cracker and the Land of the Green Isles to the Land of the Yellow Islands and Daventry to Pagentry).

It's certainly something that the development team is considering (as per the assorted interviews), but I imagine it's something as a last resort.  I don't think anyone really wants a parody of King's Quest unless there really is no other alternative, even if parody is covered under fair use and as such would be exempt from IP/copyright law.
 
Chronicling the history of Sierra through the conversion of it's premiere magazine into an easy-to-use, searchable wiki format.

Erpy

Also, merely calling a game a parody isn't enough to automatically make it so. I'd argue that converting the current game into an actual parody that stands up to the definition is more work than simply taking the KQ content out of it.

Also, parodying is a risky road. The fair use clause doesn't protect one from being sued, it's merely there as a possible defense in court. With Activision, you want to avoid the courts.


alawi

The truth is, Activision (or anyone with a lawyer) could sue you for anything.  It would take a lawyer to tell you what to do to prevent them from winning a suit. I'm suggesting contacting a lawyer and getting that advice.  The FSF has lawyers; let's talk to them and find out what can be done.

SurfnSwells80

David Johnson
Quality Assurance Tester

RollingStone

Quote from: SurfnSwells80 on March 27, 2010, 12:49:55 PM
I would be ecstatic if this really happened:

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/27/silver-lining-devs-want-to-purchase-kings-quest-license-from-ac/

Is this information even true?

Whether it is or not, I can't believe how rude and ignorant the comments are. "Admit that you've wasted ten years of your lives"?!  :no:

And people are still asking why we can't just take out all the KQ-related stuff?  :wall:   We get this question so much, I think we need to compose some kind of official standard answer. Maybe it could begin "Most people who suggest this haven't actually seen the game..."

Yonkey

I can confirm that the information is, in fact, true. 8)

Whether it actually happens or not, we'll just have to wait and see.
"A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."

Joscasta

Yonkey,

I would love donate funds to help you acquire this license... once we find out if this is something Activision is willing to work out...

Perhaps set up a paypal account for those who want to donate?

~Joscasta

P.S. I was really upset when I heard about the C&D especially so close to releasing it after SO long!