This is an idea that I *think* has been bouncing around for a while, but has never really went anywhere.
We try to do what we do relatively legally (although this means we probably should avoid using BRR samples from other games as well as ExGFX rips...), and I found something interesting regarding the legality of game modding a while back.
The Harvard Law Review is the most heavily cited journal of law in the world. The people who get their articles published in it do not mess around, and some of them, apparently, like video game mods.
This article argues that there is a very strong case for total conversion mods - all original assets, but the same code as before - to be either classified as nonderivative works or to be protected under fair use laws. As a result, I propose the following project.
OPENPLATFORMER is a theoretical patch that overwrites every Super Mario World asset with new ones. This would mean the following things, at the very least:
1: Entirely new graphics
2: A new player character + enemies, etc*
3: New instrument samples**
4: Everything the Super Scratch ROM patch does (no original levels, of course)
And possibly some other things that I would have to look into.
I've been worried about this for years and figured that now would be a good time to speak up about it. I suspect that I'm not the only one who's wondering when the hammer will fall, so hopefully this generates some interest.
If people are interested, I can create a Discord server for this where we can discuss more details of the project.
Cheers,
-Darkbloom
*I have someone who would likely be interested in doing this, and who is very good at pixel art.
**I'm enough of a masochist to give this a shot. Single cycle waveforms are pretty easy, and I would be able to create custom percussion samples as well.
We try to do what we do relatively legally (although this means we probably should avoid using BRR samples from other games as well as ExGFX rips...), and I found something interesting regarding the legality of game modding a while back.
The Harvard Law Review is the most heavily cited journal of law in the world. The people who get their articles published in it do not mess around, and some of them, apparently, like video game mods.
This article argues that there is a very strong case for total conversion mods - all original assets, but the same code as before - to be either classified as nonderivative works or to be protected under fair use laws. As a result, I propose the following project.
OPENPLATFORMER is a theoretical patch that overwrites every Super Mario World asset with new ones. This would mean the following things, at the very least:
1: Entirely new graphics
2: A new player character + enemies, etc*
3: New instrument samples**
4: Everything the Super Scratch ROM patch does (no original levels, of course)
And possibly some other things that I would have to look into.
I've been worried about this for years and figured that now would be a good time to speak up about it. I suspect that I'm not the only one who's wondering when the hammer will fall, so hopefully this generates some interest.
If people are interested, I can create a Discord server for this where we can discuss more details of the project.
Cheers,
-Darkbloom
*I have someone who would likely be interested in doing this, and who is very good at pixel art.
**I'm enough of a masochist to give this a shot. Single cycle waveforms are pretty easy, and I would be able to create custom percussion samples as well.