Is it wrong to use graphics from other games?

I assume this was discussed before, so I hope it won't bore anyone. And to clarify, I'm only talking about graphics used with permission, not sprites ripped without the author's consent. Anyway, here is my concern:

Ever since I've been into game making, I aimed at making high quality games. Although I can do a lot when I understand a code / editor, I'm a very bad artist. In most of my works, I use license compatible assets from various websites... such as opengameart.org. I plan to do the same in OHR, since the graphics in Wandering Hamster are GPL and the ones in Vikings of Midgard are Public Domain. Still, I'm concerned with a rumor that the OHR community frowns upon not using original graphics. So I decided to ask here and clear things up:

Do you consider it wrong to use graphics from other games in your own project? Even if they're license compatible, the author states they're ok with it, and the author is credited? Or is a game only considered a true game when its graphics are also new? Note that character / item sprites might be subject to recoloring.

Looking at the game list, every game I seen uses original graphics, even when they're not of great quality. Only exception are short games or parodies which keep the original art. This further makes me question how ok the community is with this, and if any professional projects with reused graphics exist in OHRRPGCE. Even if license and the authors allow it, I'd rather not do something that people dislike or consider wrong.

Answers you'll get will range from "no it's not wrong as long as you have permission and you can make them work well" or "if you do rip make sure the graphics work well" etc etc.

It'd still be much better if you can create your own graphics though, for creativity reasons. It's just that it's not wrong otherwise.

It's not wrong, it just makes your games less interesting.

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My website, the home of Motrya:
http://www.jshgaming.com

I would have to answer yes, and no. Yes, if the graphics are simply used without adding anything new to the mix, no otherwise. Personally, I plan on releasing all of my tilemaps under Creative Commons, and I'd love to see them worked on and used in other games or other projects in the future.

But if I create Game X, and another person creates Game Y using the same graphics without any innovations to it (e.g. updated/built-on tilemaps, new sprites, etc...) then Game Y simply becomes the same as Game X with a different story line. On the other hand, if Game Y went and improved on what Game X had, then I'm all for it.

I have a great deal of faith in the community, what one person can do very well, another can't. Each person brings something new to the table making a great buffet of talent. If someone simply takes from the table though (i.e. simply getting graphics, sounds, music, and slapping them together without any innovations) then that's just freeloading.

I'm a decent artist and a passable writer, but my programming usually winds up in non-commented spaghetti code and the entirety of my musical skills can be summed up with "do, a deer, a female deer." On the other hand, there could be other people out there with amazing scripting skills, who can manage an entirely new battle system using only four lines of code (technically impossible, I know, but roll with it). Another person could be so amazing with music, that hearing anything composed by that person will make your ears bleed honey with the beauty of the sound.

Alone, the works of those people aren't much, but if brought together (not exactly collaborating) by another person who can build on each and weave it all into an amazing story, then the entirety is far greater than the sum of the individual parts to beat a clichéd horse into the ground. If someone simply says, "I r gunna meyk a ep!c geym, hurhurhur!" and grabs something from a CC site and makes a flimsy, beatable-in-one-hour, flat-charactered FF clone, then slap that person silly. If someone carefully picks and chooses different art, blends everything together, and actually creates something new, then pat that person on the back.

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Being from the third world, I reserve the right to speak in the third person.

Using Editor version wip 20170527 gfx_sdl+fb music_sdl

If you use someone else's graphics, always always always give credit, preferably as soon as possible. (EDIT: It'd be nice if you contacted the person you're borrowing graphics from and got their permission first! but I understand this isn't always possible) Not just at the end of your game. If you can't be bothered to list your credits near the beginning of the game, at least put them on the game's info page or in the readme document. Failing to provide this information is about equal to straight up claiming that you did all the graphics yourself, and as we should all be aware, plagiarism is about the worst crime on creativity that has ever existed.

Once that's out of the way, I accept it as an inevitable phase in the process of developing a newbie game. It can't be avoided. I think everyone has done this at some point or another. Just promise me you'll work on a better game with your own graphics later, even if it's years and years down the road.

As far as non-original graphics go, the only real problem will be if you rip graphics from commercial games... or, even worse, if you rip graphics from other OHR games without the author's permission (the ones that don't make their graphics freely available for anyone to use, anyway.)

Basically, if the graphics are free for anyone to use or if you got permission from the original game's author, you should be okay. You're not going to get driven off of the forums with torches and pitchforks just for using non-original graphics or anything like that.

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FYS:AHS -- Swapping out some step-on NPCs for zones + each step script
Puckamon -- Not until the reserve party is expanded.[/size]

The wiki, didn't it have a page for free-to-use graphics and stuff? Like tile-maps, sprites, etc... From what I can remember though, there was nothing on the page yet.

Are there any existing PD or CC tiles/sprites that a newbie can use to make a basic game, just to get familiar with the engine without having to make their own or go into another game to get them?

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Being from the third world, I reserve the right to speak in the third person.

Using Editor version wip 20170527 gfx_sdl+fb music_sdl

There are quite a few packs linked there now and most have never been used in a game. I'm sure their artists would enjoy seeing them put to use!

http://hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgce/Where_can_I_find_graphics_.html

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

I voted yes on the poll up here but I didn't really read the question fully before clicking. If the graphics creator personally says you can use their graphics in their game, of course it's not wrong. Basically, your question is asking if it's ok to use the same graphics in more than 1 game at that point. Of course it is.

As far as a really good game with reused graphics, I'd say the wizard's bomb would be the best example. However those graphics were reused but the developer did make them himself. There are also really good games with graphic artists that aren't made but the main developer though. I'd say Motrya would be the best example of this. Remember, most games these days aren't made by only 1 person.

As far as a rumor about OHR users looking down on reused graphics, I think I can explain that. ( I'd love to know where you hear rumors about the OHR community though ) See, normally when a game uses "reused" graphics, it's what we call a newbie game. There's a noticeable lack of effort in the gameplay, plot, and basically everything and the reused graphics are almost a slap in the face because they make the game look like it's got some effort put into it. Therefore, people make comments about the fact that the game uses "reused" graphics so that people unaware of the fact that those graphics are "reused" won't make the mistake of thinking the developer has actually put effort into his/her game. This is also due to the fact that the developer reusing graphics tends not to give credit.

So feel free to reuse graphics. We won't judge based solely on that alone, I assure you.

I've never done it and don't plan on doing it, but I don't think it's WRONG. Also, a few comments on earlier comments:

Hahaha, that Re, what a slimebag.


I couldn't disagree more with this, though. Game Y does not become the same as Game X with a different story line. Up to this point, Game Y is the same as Game X except with a different story, different music, different game-world, and most importantly different gameplay. So basically, Game Y is different from Game X except with the same graphics.

While I do believe that using someone else's graphics can be less interesting, I find it surprising that so many people are considering it WRONG. I will go on record and claim that if using someone else's graphics (with permission) is wrong, then so is using someone else's music, and yet somehow very few people complain about this. (I've said all of these things before, but I don't remember what the general consensus was back then)

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I am Srime

I see, hmm... A lot of sprites, I do believe I shall share some of my tilemaps, more the merrier I suppose.



Indeedy, I do suppose I phrased that rather sloppily. What I meant to say was that if Game Y adds absolutely nothing, and simply slaps together the graphics of Game X with nothing new (same sprites, same tiles, same music) with very minimal effort to it (cookie-cutter plot, nothing new play-wise), then it becomes hard to distinguish it as a separate entity, and not a derivative. Perhaps not the same game with a different storyline, but the lack of innovation makes it seem too derivative of Game X. Whereas building on what Game X had (adding more graphics, changing some sprites, new music, etc...) then it becomes distinct in its own right, not simply "That game that uses Game X's graphics"

For example, I'm pretty sure that everyone here knows Order of the Stick, if I were to copy the style of drawing (it's relatively simple I suppose), but I use the same five man band (fighter, rogue, cleric, wizard, barbarian) that most D&D storylines use, then I what I have is a webcomic that's drawn the same way as OOTS in the eyes of the community. Because OOTS was so distinct (one of my favorite webcomics), using its style in another project almost absolutely requires that the new project bring a lot of new things to the table in order for it to not be considered just-that-webcomic-with-OOTS-art.

Gah! BMR writes too much, BMR get back to studying for test! Gah!!

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Being from the third world, I reserve the right to speak in the third person.

Using Editor version wip 20170527 gfx_sdl+fb music_sdl

I think that it is okay. The community tends to review games that use non-orginal graphics more harshly, but I think that since the community is all made up of creative people who make games, we tend to judge all non-originality harshly.

Don't let that deter you. I think if you have permission to use graphics, and they fit the mood and theme of your game, go for it.

I also think that modifying borrowed graphics is a fantastic way to learn better pixel-art skills.

The current votes are 4 YES and 5 NO, which is I guess what you're referring to, since the the almost unanimous comments in the replies is that no, it's not. Spoonweaver said that he voted wrong, and some other people also seem to be going off the thread title rather than than the opening post or voting "yes/no", so I don't believe many actually believe it's wrong.

In my opinion, there is almost no difference between using graphics with permission, and reusing your own graphics in more than one game. I suggest modifying graphics and making some significant fraction of totally original graphics, so that it's less noticeable. Because the only real problem is that of people recognising the graphics, and having it affect their enjoyment.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Yes, I forgot to mention I plan to modify some of the character / item graphics, but likely by a few pixels apart from recoloring. Tilesets I might recolor in Photoshop as well. As for crediting, I always do that in a text file, but OHR should also allow a credits screen before / after the game.

As for Motrya, I played it a few days ago and loved it. But I thought it uses original graphics too (or made by the same developer). If the graphics were taken from other projects, that's a great example of a nice game with reused graphics.

The rumors themselves I heard from various places. I remember reading it on the wiki first, then seeing hints about reused graphics being disliked in some forum posts. But I understand and actually agree that reusing graphics without modifying them isn't very creative, and it would qualify as a newbie game even if it's not wrong to do.

Motrya is a bad example. All of the graphics were made specifically for it and were not taken or reused from another game.