What do you want to achieve? I thought it would be a fun programming challenge to try and create an emulator of an existing, retro gaming system within Roblox.
What is the issue? I’m not really sure if that’s allowed or not?
What solutions have you tried so far? I’ve searched around, and I can only seem to find half-answers that don’t really definitively answer this question. There does appear to be a Gameboy emulator on Roblox (so cool!), and a forum topic discussing creating ‘fictional’ emulators of ‘fictional’ games, but I didn’t really find that enough to go off of here.
So, would creating an actual emulator of existing hardware / old gaming platforms on Roblox, without any copyrighted or otherwise infringing material, be permitted? Could I publish it? What would make it a safer endeavor? If something like this just isn’t allowed, I figured I’d like to know ahead of time before blundering my account. Thanks!
You should check in with the TOS of the currently existing emulators in the first place. It’d offer you every possible answer you’re looking towards if it includes the statements on extraction and manipulation of their code and build.
Generally, it’s not allowed. Gameboys (being owned by Nintendo) and their codes are protected under copyright laws and restricted to certain uses only.
You may consider emulators that are open-source and allow anyone to modify it / commercial use. If the emulator is obscure and the details are nowhere to be found, you can try to emulate it and hope to God the individual or company is chill with or uninformed about it.
Not a lawyer, but it’d best to use some critical thinking naturally given to you.
However, some assets under Gameboy and other emulators may be public domain. Consider that.
Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind if I use an existing emulator for the code (if that’s what you’re referring to).
Well, what I was trying to say before was that there alreadyis a Gameboy emulator publishedon Roblox. Since this one is still up-and-running, I was wondering if emulators were generally allowed here, or if this is still a legal gray area, as I couldn’t really find many other examples of emulators on Roblox, or anywhere online directly stating if they were actually permitted or not. But considering the legal hot water present with emulators in general, I guess it may not be the best of ideas!
I was planning on attempting to make my own (specifically programmed for Roblox), but I may consider porting an existing emulator as well (which is likely the much more realistic thing to do). Also, I am aware that game platforms made by specific companies could pose a major problem, however I made this topic so that I at least wouldn’t have to hope as much regarding whether emulators are allowed on Roblox in the first place. (Although the actual company/individual probably is a big thing to consider here too.)
I appreciate this advice.
…But should I try to publish it, or just… not? Would this be really bad to attempt (ban), or just taken down? If this is a thing without any specific clarity from Roblox, I suppose I’ll have to think about it a little harder, or just try it and see what happens. I guess I was in the hopes that I could simply ask, and a concrete answer would magically appear…
Thanks, this will be very good to know if I try emulating some older consoles. I’ll mark this as the solution for now if no better answers present themselves. Thanks again!
