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Public domain IPs that never got a game adaptation
- Thread starter Shizuka
- Start date
Cymbal Head
Banned
Uh, pretty sure that's not public domain.
Has there ever been a Wizard of Oz game based on the books?
Editing to add:
Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn? Not sure how you'd get a game out of them, but that's some very famous public domain material.
chesspieceface
Member
A Princess of Mars would be awesome
John Kowalski
Banned
Mein Kampf
None of Arthur Machen's work has been delved into; not in games, at least. His stuff is horror gold. Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth took a lot from Machen's work. So yeah, that is a damn good place to start.
Cymbal Head
Banned
If it's not movie-licensed, it probably counts.
Fucking lol -- for real. Just for perspective: no new works have entered the public domain in the US since 1998, and none will enter until 2019. Thanks, Sonny Bono.
balladofwindfishes
Member
There's a surprising lack of Shakespeare in video games.
Not like "Hamlet: The Video Game" but games that use story elements from Shakespeare plays (like Lion King for example), or even games that flow kind of like a play.
Not like "Hamlet: The Video Game" but games that use story elements from Shakespeare plays (like Lion King for example), or even games that flow kind of like a play.
Not his own game but he is part of the Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace that's led by Abraham Lincoln.
Telltale Presents: Tom Sawyer.
Volume is also based on Robin Hood.
Cymbal Head
Banned
I'd play it.
I'll be damned. Man, what a bummer for the distributor. I wonder what we'd have access to now if the copyright notice requirement never went away.
Airola
Member
Yes it is.
"Night of the Living Dead entered the public domain in the United States because the original theatrical distributor, the Walter Reade Organization, neglected to place a copyright indication on the prints. In 1968, United States copyright law required a proper notice for a work to maintain a copyright."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Living_Dead#Copyright_status
However, I don't really know if that only allows free copying of the movie and freedom to create remakes and new movies based on the original film, or if it's also allowed to be used on different mediums such as video games too.
I'd kickstart it.
There is a lot of classic literature that probably could be used. When I was in highschool I thought it would be funny if Kh crossed with Oedipus Rex... something about the way disney adapted other greek mythology in a kid friendly way felt really strange to me.
When's my To Kill a Mockingbird Ace Attorney cross over?
When's my To Kill a Mockingbird Ace Attorney cross over?
James Scott
Banned
Tom Sawyer is in code name Steam. Wizard of Oz too
Woah, I'd never heard of this. Looks neat!
To Kill a Mockingbird isn't in public domain.
well this is kinda off topic and I haven't really looked but is there any kind of internet archive for public domain books? because I am not even sure of what books are public domain and what are still under some kind of copyright
I also thought it was, so it would be really nice if someone could point me in the right direction
I also thought it was, so it would be really nice if someone could point me in the right direction
Castef
Banned
The one on Amiga was wonderful. One of the first real free-roaming sandbox games.
Well, there's Square's Tom Sawyer for the Famicom. Some important people were involved, but it was incredibly racist. I guess if someone took out all the racist parts and translated it they could port it to Steam or something.
I raise you one Tom Sawyer game developed by Square with music by Nobous Uematsu, directed by Hiroyuki Ito, who would later direct Final Fantasy VI, IX, and XII. As well as deign the battle system for most of the games after 4, including Tactics.There is a game based on Tom Sawyer by Winkysoft for the NES.
Complete with one horribly offensive African stereotype.
Zorro was another C64 game I absolutely loved! The music was amazing too (no way I'm going to listen to it now and ruin my rose tinted memories of it though!)
Edit: I caved. It totally holds up, heh https://youtu.be/mnwaLJBsg_8
DiipuSurotu
Banned
Homer's Odyssey
MatrixMan.EXE
Member
I raise you one Tom Sawyer game developed by Square with music by Nobous Uematsu, directed by Hiroyuki Ito, who would later direct Final Fantasy VI, IX, and XII. As well as deign the battle system for most of the games after 4, including Tactics.
Complete with one horribly offensive African stereotype.
Wow.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
I asked a similar question about RPGs earlier this week and got a lot of interesting responses - https://twitter.com/werezompire/status/684487436676677633
I don't know if it's based on the book, but:
Anybody ever play this? I thought it looked interesting at the time, and I think I remember favorable reviews. It's a 68 on Metacritic.
Wow.
Itooooooo.....
But Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z did the same thing. Japan didn't really catch up to Western sensibilities until recently.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
I thought it was a pretty boring rpg and gave up on it after a couple of hours personally.
There is a ton of classic literature that is just plainly ignored and could make amazing games:
- Three Musketeers, and pretty much anything from A. Dumas
- Don Quixote could make a GREAT open world, mind bending game.
- Cavalry novels, in general - there are a ton of great tales there.
- Treasure Island and anything Robert Louis Stephenson.
- William fucking Shakespeare. Either use the characters, or rift on them.
- Picaresque novels - open world, rogue sims galore.
- Jules Verne. 80 days is awesome, and is a text based adventure!
- HG Wells novels
- Dracula, Frankestein and pretty much all Victorian horror novels are in public domain now.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot of good stuff out there. We don't even have a true, great Cthulhu Mythos game. Come on,
- Three Musketeers, and pretty much anything from A. Dumas
- Don Quixote could make a GREAT open world, mind bending game.
- Cavalry novels, in general - there are a ton of great tales there.
- Treasure Island and anything Robert Louis Stephenson.
- William fucking Shakespeare. Either use the characters, or rift on them.
- Picaresque novels - open world, rogue sims galore.
- Jules Verne. 80 days is awesome, and is a text based adventure!
- HG Wells novels
- Dracula, Frankestein and pretty much all Victorian horror novels are in public domain now.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot of good stuff out there. We don't even have a true, great Cthulhu Mythos game. Come on,
Lupin the Third
Member
It's pretty gorgeous for a DS game, though. So that might keep you going at least initially.
JonnyDBrit
Member
Arthurian legends are very influential, but I don't remember any (major ?) game taking place in those times and events.
(well there was that hilarious Monty Pythons Holy Grail game on PC, but that's not a direct reference).
Wikipedia has a whole category. Admittedly many are tie-ins, or just used as material for an established franchises, but others are original.
Actually struggling a little to think of things, but I don't think the Epic of Gilgamesh has ever really gotten true usage in a video game. The closest I've ever seen is the Fate franchise, but really for the most part it just attaches the name to an anime pretty boy with ridiculous powers - the actual journey of the character goes untapped.
Cymbal Head
Banned
Project Gutenberg is a long-term effort to digitize out-of-copyright books. I think they carefully vet everything that goes up.