Future remake? (archived)

[The Knight]

I say remake KQ3 first. Then do TBC or whatever. Colonel's bequest is already taken, and KQ3 won the poll anyway. Unless all of a sudden a flood of votes come in and send another game to the top.

The Knight

[Fender178]

I agree. I dont think a flood of votes will come in to put another game on the top of the list but anything is possible.

[Vildern]

You are missing the point, guys. If Disney agrees upon letting Tierra making a TBC remake (and that depends if Tierra wants to make a remake), TBC is to be the next goal! Cause you never know what future will bring. Maybe 4 years from now, the new chairman of Disney will say: "Stop the making of this game". So, we must be quick about it.

[nzgoat213]

I think you should remake kq3 next because that game would be the best game to remake and the majority of people agree

[Erpy]

I wouldn't bother trying to contact Disney though. Even IF you get to speak to the trademark administrator there (who usually don't do PR, so you won't find their contact info on any website whatsoever), he won't even talk to you if you're not the project leader or his lawyer. (yeah, hiring an attorney to file the request for you would be a smart thing to do when pulling off stunts like that)

There's no way any legal rep is going to give official permission to fans.

[Vildern]

You disbeliever. Maybe he's drunk that day.
Or maybe he had his best day ever so he wouldn't mind doing a favor. Or maybe, they don't care about TBC (the point I'd like to take advantage of). It's a free game. You're making a big story out of nada.

[Erpy]

Well, I have the impression that requests like those aren't handled in a single day or so. If they consider it worthy of paying attention to, it'll still take up multiple months. But if you'd walk up to them and ask "may I use your copyrights to make a non-profit game?", they'd say no and that's the end of it. It's not just about the game, it's about their TBC-rights in general.

Anyway, you won't find an email adress just like that. It requires a lot of digging. Here's the most appropriate question from Disney's FAQ:

Q: I reside outside of the United States and I would like to submit a business proposal. How can I find a list of the Disney offices in my country?

A: We have offices all over the world. We do not have a central listing of these offices and it is beyond the scope of this FAQ to provide a mailing address for every subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company worldwide.
We suggest that you consult the local business directories in your home country for assistance.



Edited by: Erpy at: 4/23/03 9:13:48 am

[Vildern]

Erpy:

may I use your copyrights to make a non-profit game?",

Do you think my persuasion skills can't atop that? I shouldn't say this, I shouldn't brag, but you made me. There is an academy near our city. Now, I worked for it, but finally I set an appointment with the principle there (don't know how to say his title in English.... principle... chairman.. whatever). Anyway, in a short meeting I convinced him to donate money for a project KIDS were making. So there. If I make them listen, and they have common sense, they WILL say "YES" after reading my email. I hope. They might say no, but one thing is for sure, the email they will read won't look amateur in any way. And as I said, reaching them is the hardest part.

[Erpy]

Ah, but I'm certain that big corporate giants like Disney wouldn't mind donating money for something. Asking a legal department rep for permission on copyright issues is something completely different.

I believe the SQ7.org-team started negotiations with VU a year ago or so. I don't know how it worked out. If they succeeded, they might have announced it. Even if their negotiations are still going, it means the whole thing has been taking over a year. (possibly with lawyers helping them out and the right contact info)

[Vildern]

Well, Sierra doesn't mind letting others to re-invent its games. And there are no lawyers involved. So, why should Disney involve some lawyers? They could simply say: "Fine with us, do it. We will over look it."

[Erpy]

Ummm...VU (Vivendi Universal) is Sierra's mother-company and that's where you need to go for official permission on copyright issues. My previous remark showed that, despite Sierra turning a blind eye to these kinds of things, getting official permission for anything of the sort is a long, hard and painful process, even with Sierra/VU and help of professionals. In other words: not as easy as you make it sound.

[Vildern]

The ball is in our courtyard. This gives us a bonus. As you said, it may take months for us to reach the guys we need. But all they have to say is: "Yes". What do you need a lawyer for?

[Erpy]

What do you need a lawyer for?

Analogy: Why would I need a boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean? I know how to swim.

I meant the actual negotiations, if they even take place, can take months/a year. Getting contact info is easy compared to that.

You'd need lawyers for such an undertaking, because they'd be the most suitable people to contact the legal department and help you with the negotiations that would take place if they wouldn't reject the whole thing right away.

Because when asking a company about an issue they consider touchy (and the very company that lobbied to get policeware built into each and every electronic device in the USA IS touchy about copyright issues), a simple puppy-eye look and a gentle "please" won't cut it. Decisions like that aren't made in a split-second anyway.



Edited by: Erpy at: 4/23/03 10:21:15 am

[Erpy]

The only email adresses that are ever published on the net are the adresses of customer support. Like mentioned in a previous post of mine, you'd do better to try and "consult the local business directories" to get an adress or phone number from a local representative.

Or better yet, reconsider the whole thing. There may be companies in this world who would grant fans unconditional access to their intellectual property, but corporate giants don't belong in that category. If I had any persuation skills whatsoever, I'd start out with something easier. Like convincing Osama to turn himself in to the US.



Edited by: Erpy at: 4/23/03 11:49:11 am

[Vildern]

Ha ha. Nice.

{a joke with bad grammar}
You know, if you were to live in medieval times, the Spanish inquisition would have sent people to your city and imprisoned you, cause you are a disbeliever.
{end of the bad grammar joke}

I'm not superman. If they say 'No', I will give up. If they say 'Yes' or 'In 999 conditions...' or 'maybe', then there is a chance to get them listen carefully. Now, I'm going to find out whether such a chance exists or not.


Edited by: Vildern at: 4/23/03 11:58:52 am

[Daeyr]

Though I still believe Erpy to be correct in this, I will say this Vildern: if nothing else, you'll be damn persistent!
~Katie
King's Quest 9: Co-Writer

Odyssey Weyr:
WS Daeyr and blue Montath
Candidate/Apprn Seacraft Wylie

[Vildern]

I have this idea. If I can't get the guys I want from Disney, then I shall try first at their studios here in Israel. Maybe here I could talk to someone that could point me as to where I should go.

[DeLamon Interactive]

I say remake KQ3 first. Then do TBC or whatever. Colonel's bequest is already taken, and KQ3 won the poll anyway. Unless all of a sudden a flood of votes come in and send another game to the top.

Whos doing a Colonel's BeQuest project? Do they have a site?
DeLamon DeLamon Interactive: Exploring The World One Game At A Time.

Current Project: Masters In Quest I: The Treasure of Gealmia and Laura Bow III

[Erpy]

Personally, I'm not really sure if this is true or not. "Charlie and Moe" sound pretty cliche'd and all and despite the fact that I browse quite a few adventure-forums, I've never heard of these two.

Until I see a website with info, a screenshot or two and all the typical project-stuff, I'm not going to be convinced of this project's existence. Not that it matters, it'll take some time before we get to decide on our next project.

[Vildern]

HAHAHAHA You fall for it!!!!!!!! These are two people I invented. NO! I didn't invent them. They are taken from 'The 3 Stooges'. Maybe it's Karlie and not Charlie, but never mind. Just a joke, to tell you that only two clowns like Charlie and Moe will remake succha boring game Of course there isn't succha project.

[Erpy]

I fell for it? I believe I wasn't convinced of the existence of such a project. Anyway, that one didn't hit the correct spot. Because it's "Larry, Curly and Moe".

I actually thought somebody pranked you with it, since you reported it on april the 2nd. (raising the assumption you heard it on april the 1st) I do wonder why you waited so long before mentioning it was a hoax. It's been three weeks.

Anyway, when looking at the results of this poll, I have the impression that a lot of people don't share your LB-view. So a LB-remake may not be such a bad idea after all, no matter how many hoax-projects are gonna pop up in an attempt to prevent us from it.

[Vildern]

Erpy:

Because it's "Larry, Curly and Moe".

Hmpf. Well, I was close enough

And, it's not like I've been waiting for this minute to come so I could tell it's a joke. I forgot about this. And, thought that you had thought it was a joke too.

In any case, KQIII is still number one. Once it's released, there will be a competition between TBC and LB (yeh, yeh, till then I will have their permission. You heard right).

[Erpy]

I'm not gonna continue my rant about why the most copyright-obsessed company in the world is not going to give permission to people to use their copyrights. Better spend the time on brainstorming about LB.

[Vildern]

OK, but one point to keep in mind: When I do get their permission, you will see that I was right all along. And then you will go to your local church every Sunday praying for forgiveness. Oh, forget about the church. You will come here everyday begging for my forgiveness. Huh, why on Sundays, I'm not a Christian; you will do it everyday. And I shall laugh grimly

But, in case they won't give me permission, we shall forget this ever happened. Oki?

[Erpy]

Sure. If you can get official permission (not something they would send across mail, they'd send a document or something like that signed by a Disney official), I won't just beg you for forgiveness. I'll call you a god and make you a mod. (hey, that rhymed ) And you'd become pretty famous too. (plenty of news and gaming sites would find such a statement from the big D interesting news)

If they say no, on the other hand, well...I couldn't ask you to do the same. Seeing the odds you'd be facing, that wouldn't be fair.

If you attract "the wrong attention" though, I'll have my lynch mob ready and waiting.