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Afan game is avideo game that iscreated by fans of a certain topic orIP. They are usually based on one, or in some cases several, video game entries or franchises.[1] Many fan games attempt toclone orremake the original game's design, gameplay, and characters, but it is equally common for fans to develop a unique game using another as a template. Though the quality of fan games has always varied, recent advances in computer technology and in available tools, e.g. throughopen source software, have made creating high-quality games easier. Fan games can be seen asuser-generated content, as part of theretrogaming phenomena, and as expression of theremix culture.
Fan games are either developed as standalone games with their own engines, or asmodifications to existing games that piggyback on the other's engines.[2] Each approach has different advantages, as standalone games are generally accessible to larger audiences but may often be more difficult or time-consuming to develop.
Fan games are often developed using pre-existing tools andgame engines. TheUnity engine andAdobe Flash allow fans to develop standalone games, as with other programs such asGameMaker,Construct,RPG Maker, or any of theClickteam products (such asThe Games Factory andMultimedia Fusion 2).
Fan game developers often select and usefree and open source game engines (such asOGRE,Crystal Space, DarkPlaces, andSpring) to help fans create games without the cost of licensing a commercial alternative. These engines may be altered and redesigned within the terms of their open source license and often cost significantly less than commercial options, but do not always allow developers to easily create high-end visual effects without additional effort.
It is also possible for fans to develop original game engines from scratch using a programming language such asC++, although doing so takes much more time and technical ability than modifying an existing game; an example is theSpring Engine which started as fan-madeTotal Annihilation game.[3]
Fan games are sometimes developed as amodification to an existing game, using features and software provided by many game engines. Mods usually are not allowed to modify the original story and game graphics, but rather extend the current content that was provided by the original developer. Modding an existing game is often cheaper than developing a fan game from scratch.
Because of the complexity of developing an entirely new game, fan games are often made using pre-existing tools that either came with the original game, or are readily available elsewhere. Certain games, such asUnreal Tournament 2004 andNeverwinter Nights, come with map-editing and scripting tools to allow fans to developmods using the engine provided with the original game. Games such asDoom are old enough (end-of-life) that theirsource code has been released, allowing radical changes to take place; more examples in theList of commercial video games with available source code.
Another form of modding comes from editing theROM images of older games, such as SNES games. Programs such asLunar Magic enable a user to modify the existing data in the ROM image and change levels, character graphics, or any other aspect the program allows. While normally played onemulators, these newly edited ROM images could theoretically be used in conjunction with a flash drive to actually create cartridges for the older system, allowing the modified ROM images to run on the original hardware. A notable recent example of such a fan game isThe Legend of Zelda: Parallel Worlds which was hailed by reviewers as a remarkable unofficial sequel toA Link to the Past.[4][5][6] Other notable examples includeLegend of Zelda: Curse from the Outskirts,[7]Blaster Master: Pimp Your Ride, andSuper Mario World - The Second Reality Project 2.[6]
Famous fan mods (for example,Counter-Strike,Day of Defeat, andPirates, Vikings and Knights II) may even be adopted by the game developer (in all the mentioned cases,Valve) and made into an official addition to the existing game (Half-Life).
Because fan games are developed with a relatively low budget, a fan game is rarely available on a console system; licensing fees are too prohibitive. However, unlicensed fan games have occasionally made it onto consoles with a significanthomebrew scene, such as theAtari 2600, theNES,SNES, theGame Boy line, Sony'sPlayStation,PlayStation 2 andPlayStation Portable, and many others.
Some companies shut down fan games ascopyright infringements. Original copyright holders can order acease and desist upon fan game projects, as by definition fan games are unauthorized uses of copyrighted property. Many fan games go as far as taking music and graphics directly from the original games.
A notable case in late 2005 involvedVivendi Universal shutting down aKing's Quest fan project,King's Quest IX: Every Cloak Has a Silver Lining. It was to be an unofficial sequel granting closure to the series, which had its last release in 1998. After a letter-writing campaign and fan protests, Vivendi reversed its decision and gave permission for the game to be made.[citation needed] As part of the negotiations, the developers were required to remove "King's Quest" from the title.[8] Conversely, fan protests for the shutting down ofChrono Resurrection (a remake demo ofChrono Trigger) in 2004 have yielded no result onSquare Enix's action to block the project.[9]
Nintendo is notorious for its strict protection of its intellectual property (IP)[10] and has shut down many notable fan games, including an HD remake ofSuper Mario 64,[11]AM2R,[12][13] andNo Mario's Sky.[14][15] Nintendo has also taken down variousPokémon fan games such as "Pokenet"[16][17] and "Pokémon Uranium".[18][19]
ASpyro the Dragon fan game,Spyro: Myths Awaken, was shut down byActivision (the current owners of theSpyro IP) in September 2018[20] and later becameZera: Myths Awaken with all Activision-owned content being replaced by original content. After this legal action, other fan-made games likeSpyro 2: Spring Savanna stopped the development. Previously in 2007, legal action was also taken by Activision against an open source software named Piano Hero by sending a cease and desist letter, which resulted in a name change toSynthesia.
In 2021, a lawsuit was filed byRockstar Games' parent companyTake-Two Interactive against the authors of re3 and reVC, which werereverse engineering projects for the gamesGrand Theft Auto III andGrand Theft Auto: Vice City that allowed the games to be played on contemporary platforms such as theNintendo Switch. Take-Two asserted that they "are well aware that they do not possess the right to copy, adapt, or distribute derivative GTA source code, or the audiovisual elements of the games, and that doing so constitutes copyright infringement", and also alleging that the project has caused "irreparable harm" to the company.[21][22] Take-Two dismissed the lawsuits in April 2023.[23]
Also in 2021, Osmany Gomez developed a game called "I Am Batman" using theUnreal Engine 5 engine, using the charactersBatman,Joker andPenguin fromTim Burton's duology.[24] In May 2021, the developer posted a video of a demo version of the game on his YouTube channel, but two days later Warner Brothers blocked his video. Gomez does not want to sue the film studio and therefore the project was closed.[25]
Capcom suspended a fan's remake ofCode Veronica and the originalResident Evil on copyright grounds.[26][27][28]
Other times, companies have endorsed fan games. For example,Capcom has featured Peter Sjöstrand'sMega Man 2.5D fan game in their community site more than once.[29][30] However, Capcom Senior Vice President Christian Svennson has stated that, while they legally can't sanction fan games, they won't proactively go after them either.[31] In 2012, Capcom took Seo Zong Hui'sStreet Fighter X Mega Man and funded it, promoting it from a simple fan game to an officially licensed freewareMega Man game.[32]
In 2008,Christian Whitehead created his owngame engine, known as theRetro Engine, for use in theSonic the Hedgehog fan gameRetro Sonic. Whitehead developed a proof-of-concept prototype ofSonic the Hedgehog CD running on the Retro Engine and pitched it toSega.[33] Sega gave their approval, and a full remake running on Whitehead's engine was released two years later.[34] Whitehead later worked with fellow fan-programmer Simon Thomley to develop mobile remakes ofSonic the Hedgehog andSonic the Hedgehog 2, and ultimately directed an all-newSonic the Hedgehog title,Sonic Mania, with a development team made up of individuals noted for their work in theSonic the Hedgehog fan community.[35] Mania would also be used as the basis forSonic Superstars.
Skywind is a fan remastering ofThe Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002) in the game engine ofThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The original game developers,Bethesda Softworks, have given project volunteers their approval.[36] The remastering team involves over 70 volunteers in artist, composer, designer, developer, and voice acting roles. In November 2014, the team reported to have finished half of the remaster's environment, over 10,000 new dialogue lines, and three hours of series-inspired soundtrack.
In April 2017, Mig Perez and Jeffrey Montoya releasedCastlevania: The Lecarde Chronicles 2. The game features all new assets and a new soundtrack, as well as new voice acting from actors who appeared in the officialCastlevania series, such as Douglas Rye who playedDracula inCurse of Darkness andRobert Belgrade who playedAlucard inSymphony of the Night.Konami allowed the game to be released with the contingency that the game remains non-profit.[37][38]
However, after a few weeks, Whitehead's website was taken offline, as was the YouTube video he released to show off his work. It seemed as though Sega's lawyers had issued a cease-and-desist and ordered his work to be scrapped. Two years later and an official Sonic CD release surfaces bearing Whitehead's name. Sega had done what few multinational companies of its size, age and resultant inflexibility could have: made a fan a creative asset.
