ATTN Artists: What are your individual stances on how your content is used?

Creative
21

The originality problem, if you can even call it that, doesn’t stem from people using community resources. It has way more to do with the community’s unnecessarily restrictive stance on the series (not even just talking about hackers here) and an increasingly balkanized scene where people differentiate themselves on which pile of very bulky and very disorganized materials they choose to devote their limited time to. (And obviously many other complex reasons that I likewise don’t have time to get into.)

The type of sprite theft you’re talking about has been going on since way before this forum ever existed, and it’s part of why I find the scene’s concessions to permission culture to be not only silly but basically useless. I’ve seen so many portraits, icons and so on that are most definitely spliced from a different source without any credit given. Like others have been saying in this topic, it’s something that people tend to get antsy about in the abstract sense, but when it actually happens, most of the time people don’t even notice.

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22

Sorry, I don’t understand what you are referring to:

What restrictive stance?

What fragmentation? If anything the modern sorting of source material is what makes it easier for people to end up with similar content.

As for the splice thing? People do notice and there were more vocal objections in the past.
Now it’s been toned down and let it slide but people still do notice.

23

File me under F2E. Along with my creations so far being just simple ones, I also want to help out the community by providing more resources and assets for general use.

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24

Not to put words in Beepo’s mouth, but I interpret what they’re saying as people see “Fire Emblem” as a hardline “it must be this” type of game - they’re too rigid in their views and mindset about the series and aren’t as open as they probably should be to new ideas or trying different concepts.

Having pitched ideas in some places (notably Reddit), if that is what Beepo is meaning, I can verify that it’s definitely a common mindset. People will always complain that changes make things too complex compared to FE’s normal simplicity or that you need to have a noble in the lead because they were the only ones that could reasonably command the armies of the series or that you have to have the same types of plots and story structures because that’s the way it’s always been done, etc.

The problem with the stagnation over originality isn’t because there are so many free-to-use assets*, it’s that the people behind the majority of the projects are making things in what amounts to an unoriginal way. I mean, it is somewhat understandable - if you liked a game, you would want more of what you liked, so it makes sense that people would want to make their projects emulate how the actual games do things, but it ultimately leads to stagnation when people don’t try to do new things or don’t try to buck the status quo with different mechanics, different story concepts, etc.

(*That said, making your own assets (when possible) can certainly be an added boon, especially if you put thought into them. It makes carrying your vision through a little easier when you can take your ideas and use things built directly from them. Plus, it does help make your project stand out more from the rest, though it’s not the only way.)

To actually stay on topic some, though I already had voted, I’ll just clarify my vote - everything in the first post of my thread is F2U. There are other things later in my thread that are not in the first post that are not to be used in any fashion (or are super outdated WIPs that I would be baffled if someone actually wanted to use).

If you want to edit something that isn’t a map or a tileset (go ham on those), I ask that you at least let me know about it first. If it’s something that needs edited because of an actual flaw, I may want to fix it myself, but if it’s just edits for your own tastes (palettes, etc.), then I’ll probably just say to go ahead.

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25

I agree with Klok in that it’s really neat seeing what the community is saying here. I felt like most people had it where they wanted permission before asking for stuff, and seeing over half say that a majority of their stuff is F2E, sometimes with restrictions, is incredibly neat to me. Same kinda goes for how neat it is that there’s so few people who don’t let many to use their stuff, was expecting that boat to be higher.

bless u obs for being f2e a lot of the time

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26

I’d like to remind people that this isn’t a topic for discussing IP. It’s a topic meant to assist the Repo submitters so we know, in general, what people’s stances are on their own individual works. The topic is not meant for discussion of… whatever people have been discussing lol.

On top of assisting the Repo, this topic will be useful as a tool for the future when people need to ask, “Hey, what is so and so’s position on the usage of their work?”

Rather than hunting down that person’s topic, we will be able to look here, where most of, if not hopefully ALL of the community’s opinions will be recorded.

If anything, I was hoping people would get a bit more detailed about their IP in the comments. Even a few clarifying sentences would help a lot!

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27

Anything and everything I make is, and will always be, F2E and F2U. If it was made specifically for someone, then it’s up to their discretion whether it’s F2E or F2U instead (though I haven’t done that for a while).

I totally respect those who want limited use of their art, as for many it’s how they make their living. Artists who work professionally don’t really get enough love or credit as it is.

However, for anything I make in my limited spare-time, it seems silly to keep in the museum of me where no one will see it or use it. In fact, I love it when other people use my stuff - whether I get full credit or not (credit is nice of course). It makes you feel like Father Christmas :christmas_tree:

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28

Basically everything i post on FeUniverse is F2E and F2U. When it’s something i posted on discord please ask me before.

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29

The main poll’s been stuck at 99 for almost two days! Come on, people, lend me your energy!

And also I know for a fact there are a lot of people who’ve submitted to the repo or posted content on FEU who aren’t represented in the poll. Don’t you all want to make it clear how you prefer your content being used?

Let’s get this poll to at least 250! That’s the bare minimum number of people I estimate who contribute fairly regularly to the hacking scene.

30

eyy #100.

I went with ‘In general, I do not permit people to use my content without permission’. Although they aren’t necessarily good, the tunes I make for specific projects aren’t to be be used anywhere else.

On the other hand, the midis I got from the interwebs and made insertable are fair game. I don’t really interpret them as my content (for obvious reasons) even if a bunch of them needed to get doctored to whatever degree, that’s one of the reasons why I started up the music repo way back.

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31

EDIT: Since this post my stance has changed. Anything I’ve made after 2021 I would prefer to have an “ask first”. Likely it will be “no”, or “okay to use in (described request), no redistribution/alteration of license, credit attached with link back to original source.”

Outdated stance (I'll hold it to works before 2021 but not after)

For me, my FE GBA content is F2E with specific restrictions.

Portraits: Portraits based on big production commercialized game characters (fanart but not OC/cottage fanart) and things I submit to the repo are completely free to edit, part out for splicing, make perlers, whatever, no credit necessary. Portraits made for projects and collaborative works are an ask first.

Battle sprites: F2E/F2U/F2Redistribute, no credit necessary.

Complete/WIP projects: Outside assets within the projects I’ve made (GV/ScoE/MAFC:WitB) I’ve tried to link back to their source, so please use whatever license the creator had outlined for them. My credits section should outline most parts (if not, ask). While it’d feel strange for another person to pick up / pick apart one of my dead projects I don’t particularly mind that thought.

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32

Whenever I get around to actually contributing something, I personally don’t mind someone editing or using my stuff. It would really make me happy if someone actually think my stuff was so good that they want to use it. Also I’d feel pretty guilty hoarding stuff like that.

I would like to see what would it used for though, but I understand if that wouldn’t be possible, so as long as I’m credited, I’m personally fine with someone editing/using my work!

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33

Most of my stuff is F2E with credits. The only exception is mugs made specifically for hackroms: for them, you should ask the creator of the project. Since I’m not getting paid I reserve myself the right to make whatever I want F2E on a whim but I don’t think I will do that for anything else than a dead project.

I saw some “updated” version of my mugs in hacks in the past and even if that’s not an obligation I personally think it would be neat if people allowed those to also be F2E. Levin did that with one of my mugs (the one usually associated with the character Honeydew from Vision Quest) and I liked it a lot. Seeing popular F2U/F2E assets being improved over time is nice, especially if the old ones are still available for people who prefer them.

I disagree wholehearthedly with the “saturation in originality” statement made by Seal. Having easier tools to use and a lot of F2U assets allow people to make the content they want even if they don’t have the abilities (or the time) to do everything themselves. Hacks with a lot of F2U stuff in them would have probably never seen the light of day without these ressources. There’s a reason why there were so few hacks 10 years ago, and why most of them used Vanilla Mugs/Animations/Musics. The Last Promise was impressive at the time (it still kinda is now) but it was the exception rather than the rule. Not everyone can do something like that and shouldn’t be expected to. This is a hobby, not a job.

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34

As per my thread:

Please ask for permission to use anything you see here! Chances are I’ll give you the go-ahead, but there’s some stuff in here I’d rather you not use (plus, that gives me the chance to check out hacks that use my stuff).

With the notable exception of everything I’ve put in mugging blitzes/gfe1r/splice comps/the part of my thread with old bad stuff I don’t care about.

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35

For me, everything I own is F2U/F2E with practically no restrictions, only thing that i’d want people to ask permission before using is…
image
this mug, solely for the reason that it’s closely associated with me (for now), i’ll most likely say yes to letting people use it as well so feel free to ask whenever

For the things I don’t own (stuff I make for commissions) it’ll all depend on the individual who owns the mug, generally they aren’t F2U so just sending me a quick dm would be the easiest solution

o7

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36

I didn’t make a lot of stuff, as I don’t possess great graphics skills to do so…

But if I should think about it, they would be free to edit as long as credits are given. And with the conditions of having enough changes to be considered your personal work at the end ; with only credits given for the base & inspiration.

It’s always an honor when you see your works inspired peoples :slight_smile:

I can understand those who don’t like to see their works used by others… Though I think it’s a bit sad as sometimes, they just vanish from the community.

I feel like using or editing works are like a way to preserve their existences.

But I totally understand the opposite. As a writer, I feared many times that my texts would have been stolen by any guys ; but I would have been glad if they inspired other peoples as well.

So yeah ; I’ll finish it by saying free to edit as long as the final work could be considered a personal work and not just a small edit of my work ; and with credits given for the base & inspiration. :slight_smile:

I feel like this way is really rewarding for both sides ^^

2 Likes
37

I voted for F2E without any restrictions. While all I’ve posted are mugs for Mugging Blitzes (I submitted my splicing competition entries to the latest Mugging Blitz so those too are F2E) and my weapon/item icons, they’re all free to use and edit. Should I post anything else, those assets too will be free to use and edit. However, if for whatever reason serious problems arise, I reserve the right to rethink my stance.

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38

All my stuff is f2u/f2e, provided it’s credited and they just send me a courtesy notification

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39

My content is generally F2U and F2E, with specific restrictions (comms and project specific stuff like lord anims)
So you can use and edit pretty much all my stuff that I submited to the Graphics Repo and the mugging blitz.

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40

It really depends on what specific work is used.

For example, if it’s simple fixes or palette changes, such as these:
lomm_sp1_000
lorf_sw1_000
I’m fine with people using them without credit.
I am NOT fine with people using them without crediting the original creator(s), or crediting only me and not the original artist(s). Literally anyone can change some colors around, but not everyone can make a new custom animation.

However, for works that have more drastic changes, such as these:
lomf_sw1
emp_sp1
lomf_sw1
I prefer being credited alongside the original artist(s).

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