Design Intellectual property AKA plagiarism "eek" that's a touchy subject

[YoKoNo]

So...

I cant remember if this has been discussed before, but intellectual property of a game.

I want to release a game on google play.

However its similar to another game on google play.

The reason is that the game mechanics are the same. Eg a beat em up'.

I've got lots of ideas I am going to add to this but I don't want to go crazy just to make it so different it becomes abstract.

I feel like I'm building a house and because someone else has already built a house I have to change it so its different from the first house....I don't want to copy the game per say, and I'm not looking to rip of from the first game. eg Double Dragon -> Triple Dragon.

...and after doing some research to me there are some games that look exactly like the game (Most seem to be Chinese clones), which seem to be all over the market.

I want to create a "homage" to the Amiga / 80's games I played as a child.

Altered Beast - etc etc.

Should I just plough ahead and do it or has this been addressed by others? Essentially like hollywood movies there is a finite number of unique genre's. What is the situation out there for things like this?

 

[QatariGameDev]

I don't think a beat em up genre is protected, As long as you don't use any ripped media ... like images/sprites/audios or protected IP names, It should be fine.

Also, you can contact Google for a piece of advice, They do review before releasing your app, And communication is the key to surpass any rejection or issue with Google Play.

 

[Tsa05]

https://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.pdf

Copyright does not protect the idea for a game, its name or title, or the method or methods for playing it. Nor does copyright protect any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in developing, merchandising, or playing a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles. Copyright protects only the particular manner of an author’s expression in literary, artistic, or musical form. Material prepared in connection with a game may be subject to copyright if it contains a sufficient amount of literary or pictorial expression. For example, the text matter describing the rules of the game or the pictorial matter appearing on the gameboard or container may be registrable. If your game includes any written element, such as instructions or directions, the Copyright Office recommends that you apply to register it as a literary work. Doing so will allow you to register all copyrightable parts of the game, including any pictorial elements. When the copyrightable elements of the game consist predominantly of pictorial matter, you should apply to register it as a work of the visual arts.

 

[YoKoNo]

Good advice from both of you. Thanks

 

[NeonBits]

Fatal Fury, Street Fighters, Mortal Kombat, etc; they're all the same but with different characters and background. It's their style that makes it "original", "different" and interesting.

 

[Taddio]

The reason is that the game mechanics are the same. Eg a beat em up'.

Hmmm, Geez, I don't know, dude...
Do you think I can write/record and perform a rock 'n roll song with my band without fear of Led Zepplin putting on a lawsuit on me?
Nobody will ever care unless you totally rip off something (possible) and have a hit with it (WAYYY less likely, trust me).