So I was bored one day, and I decided to make Genius Square in Roblox. For does who do not know what Genius Square is, it’s a cool little puzzle game where you place pegs down on a board, and try to arrange pieces on said board to fill the board up. My version of Genius Square took my 2 days to produce, and it works fine, but am I allowed to make it public? Right now, it’s friends only, but if I change some of the assets, the names, and the grid system, would I be able to release it? Or, because my close friends and I are playing the game at the moment, can I only place it through a place file on my machine, and give the file to them to play it? I’ve never made any game that was copyrighted, I don’t know what to do.
#1 Rule of making games on Roblox that are based on games that are outside Roblox:
Always get a license before you publish the game or you’re in the risk of your game getting taken down.
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How would I get a license, since I’ve never done anything like this before?
Just make it unique. Copying is the foundation of basically everything (innovation). Change the name, some assets, and maybe a little bit of the gameplay.
Registering copyright has absolutely nothing to do with your question.
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If you live in the US, go to the Official Copy Right Office to register a copyright license. I don’t know the exact process, but I’m sure the website explains it all.
NOTE: If the company that owns Genius Square allows you to get a license, you’re going to have to pay for it.
The entire process is extremely complicated.
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I can’t really change the gameplay of a simple game like this, nor the models for the blocks, since one of the core features of the game is the dice, which give you 7 positions to place you pegs on, which all of then are solvable, if I change the shape of one piece, I have to calculate all of the positions that are solvable.
If the gameplay is really simple, it might be outside the scope of originality (cannot confirm). It sounds a bit like Tetris, which is a very old game, with some innovation. I understand it’s difficult to change the assets; however, I personally believe that changing the names and maybe the overall feel of some of the assets might be enough to make it original.
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While you can officially register your copyright, anything that anyone makes is automatically copyrighted, unless otherwise specified by the license.
I would just make your own variation of the game, and not use any content/trademarks of the game that inspired you to make it. In most industries, the laws in most countries require other people/companies to be allowed to compete fairly amongst each other. So, if you make your own version of the game, you should be fine.
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Another option that I am considering doing, is just giving everyone I want to play the game the place file. I don’t really like this option, since it overcomplicates everything when I have to distribute newer versions of the game, and since you have to open the file in studio, then play it, which makes the actual window you play it in a lot smaller. You also still need a Roblox account and internet, so it seems like a worse option just to avoid the possibility of my game being taken down.
What counts as a “version of the game”? My game has the same piece / peg colors, the same board colors, the same grid system, and the same positions on the dice, even “Genius Square” is in the name of my game, it sounds like it’s a copy. But, if I change the name, to for example, “Pegs & blocks”, and change the colors of the pieces, the game will keep the same feel, but would look different, would that count as being different enough to avoid copyright?
And since there is NO way to remove to remove premium payouts (which is pretty dumb), I can’t not make money on my game, so the people behind the official Genius Square game would loose out money on a game very similar to theirs.
You can remove Premium Payouts buy making players pay robux to play the game. Like how you have to pay 25 robux to play Bloxburg
But the entire point of the game is to put my programming skills into good use by making a game my close friends who have no robux can play whenever they want. Would just making the game friends only, like it is already, make the game safe from being copyrighted?
If only your friends can play it, then I think you’re safe from copyright.
I’ll change the name just to make sure that 100% I should be safe from copyright. Making a friends only game is practically the same as making a private of your game, which eliminates just sending my friends the place file.
I want mark anything as a solution yet, since the game has only been up for a few days, so nothings set in stone at the moment.
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I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule for this unfortunately. But, if you change the colors, themes, shapes meshes, board size, and the gameplay itself a little bit, you should be OK. This is a somewhat subjective matter, so just use common sense since there is no hard and fast rule. (If there is one, and someone knows what it is, please post it here!)
People can come up with similar game ideas independently, and it’s fine for those things to co-exist. I would ultimately just make sure no one aspect of the game is an exact copy of another game. (The appearances, logo, title, board size, etc.)
You can’t copyright a concept. If you designed your own assets, and maybe even added a little twist, than it should be fine. Also, Piggy and most RP games either are or have rip-offs. (Piggy isn’t a ripoff, but it has a lot of rip-offs. Most RP games aren’t super original either)
I don’t think I can change the board size, piece shapes, and other stuff all because of the dice mechanic. The coordinates the dice gives you might not be solvable with a new board size, new piece shapes, etc. etc. The entire point of the dice is to give you random positions that you can place pegs on, that will always be solvable.
Hmm I see. Unfortunately I don’t have the knowledge or expertise to say if that is OK or not. I’m not sure if anyone except a lawyer or someone very familiar with copyright law would know the answer, but I would encourage you to do your own independent research into the matter.
On the one hand, an exact copy of game mechanics could be suspect, but on the other hand, you cannot copyright mathematics, naturally occurring patterns, etc.
One more thing to consider: as a player, have you ever played a game and thought about always you could improve it? Perhaps there is more you could add to make it unique than you initially realize.
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