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Game Editing => General Content Creation => Topic started by: ratty redemption on April 18, 2013, 03:36:15 AM

Title: How do TOS/TOU Affect us Content Creators?
Post by: ratty redemption on April 18, 2013, 03:36:15 AM
Yeah, it's an interesting one. I think UDK has similar terms which would, if interpreted in a literal sense, prevent most 18+ games - pretty much all combat games based on modern theatres of war could be argued on the ground of xenophobia (intolerance of Arab stereotypes) for example.

I think it's supposed to be interpreted in a similar way to current anti-inflammatory and anti-incitement laws, i.e. you can't/shouldn't be making/distributing games which make deliberate calls to some form of action, violence or other call to cause harm (think 'neo-nationalists', islamophobes, terrorist groups and so forth). And yes, you certainly couldn't make an 18+/M rated 'Adult' game with it (or anything that would allow that type of interaction between users).

Generally speaking these types of terms are aimed at protecting the company from being sued because "such-and-such used their engine so they support that kind of philosophy/action" etc. So yes, on one hand is it a de facto restriction on use, but on the other it protects the company from liabilities.

thanks kat, and that's what i was hoping this meant.

so to clarify (and correct me if you think i'm wrong on any of this?) we can design and make games that depict acts of violence/war against fictional types of people, or even real groups of people (as long as we're not suggesting that the end users should reenact these in real life)

i'm assuming strong language would be ok used against fictional characters, but we couldn't swear/curse at say a real life person who was in some way depicted in our games.

as for nudity/****, i assume if it's deemed "artistic" and "soft core" like the witcher games, god of war, heavy rain etc. and not depicting [inter-personal interaction].

[EDIT]see my note below
Title: Re: how do tos/tou affect us content creators?
Post by: kat on April 18, 2013, 05:55:31 AM
Anything considered 18+/adult/mature (or whatever noun you can think of to mean "games for grown-ups" covering all genres), it would likely be time to consult a lawyer to check whether the content broke any laws with respect to 'real world' obscenity/violence/incitement/etc., probably more so with anything considered 'adult' in nature (anything that allowed inter-personal interactions) because that type of content is generally policed much more vigorously then others.

However, and in some senses, doing the above would be moot (and potentially expensive) because using a game engine like Unity, UDK et-al means content producers would be bound by the terms of use they 'agree' to when using the available tools; this basically equates to the system provider having final say on the material, and done in such a way as not to create any liability associations from their point of view - they would want to be careful not to give permission of use to content that could bite them in the butt at some later point (adult material is notorious for this, so too anything that has the merest hint of 'terrorist' associations). So whilst as a hobbyist it's possible to be quite blase to all this, the moment you go commercial it's something that has to be considered because the liabilities and potential for being sued increases exponentially.

[NOTE]just a friendly reminder about the words and language we use when discussing certain subject matter. Although it's certainly appreciated that it's tricky to talk about 'adult' material and content without the use of explicit wording (implied or indirect), we do need to keep in mind the forums don't have any access restrictions in place so can be viewed by a broad range of visitors.
Title: Re: how do tos/tou affect us content creators?
Post by: ratty redemption on April 18, 2013, 06:39:37 AM
thanks kat, and i definitely understand your edit. sorry if my original wording had been a little too descriptive. i tried to keep it suitable for under 18's, but honestly at the time i couldn't think of another way to phase it, but yes "inter-personal interactions" will do.

back on topic, since i do intend my main game project, the one i've been concept writing on off for a few years, is intended to be commercial, and does include some adult content. i wonder if it would be wise to ask the unity devs what they thought?

Title: Re: how do tos/tou affect us content creators?
Post by: kat on April 18, 2013, 01:22:11 PM
It may be worth running the concept past them in a general sense, but one shouldn't interpret that as their giving 'permission' for the project, it would simply mean it being checked against their content policies to see if it complies (and even then you still have the same fundamental problem of that being considered project "approval").
Title: Re: how do tos/tou affect us content creators?
Post by: ratty redemption on April 19, 2013, 07:32:02 AM
thanks kat, although i'm not sure i understand. are you saying that the unity devs couldn't give permission based on the concept stage of a game, and that they would have to see it after it's been built?
Title: Re: how do tos/tou affect us content creators?
Post by: kat on April 21, 2013, 05:03:01 AM
From the developers point of view it's more practical to make inquiries before putting in any amount of work (beyond perhaps technology tests) - you wouldn't want to do an entire project only for Unity et-al to say it wasn't appropriate for their platform and block it from use. I've not looked at the GPL'd idTech licenses recently but by comparison they don't have such terms of use in place (don't quote me on that though).
Title: Re: how do tos/tou affect us content creators?
Post by: ratty redemption on April 21, 2013, 06:31:01 AM
understood, thanks kat. and i'll try to contact the unity devs later today and ask them. i'll then report back here.