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Rudy wrote:

Tawmis wrote:Activision would have to go after EVERY single GK video.

Please don't

Well that's my point. I don't think Activision cares about videos being made. I think they only care if a game is being made and gets A LOT of attention; then they need to swoop in and protect their copyrights (as we saw with The Silver Lining). A (less than) 30 second video is not going to be high on their priority; especially when it is coming from Jane. I think even Activision knows if they gunned for Jane over this video, they'd come across in a poor light (and very petty).

(Not that most see Activision in any form of good light...)

Tawmis wrote:Ithe GK rights have just been sat upon. I'd hope that if Jane is interested, and her side company takes off, that she might be able to go into talks with Sierra about getting the rights to GK. But I'd wager, that would have to wait.

Jane joined Adventure Gamers to make the following post:

Jane Jensen wrote:Hi, all -- I posted this on my fb page and I'm sure it will show up here quickly, but wanted to post it myself:

I'm sorry if the teaser campaign got hopes up about GK4. But the good news is that we will pursue it, of course, and the studio will allow us to have more control over whether that happens or not. Gabe is not forgotten!

There IS a good chance for it, probably better than ever before. It will just take some time to work it out.

I hope you enjoy the video we made and our announcement and I'm looking forward to getting your feedback on the game concepts! Hopefully there will be a LOT of games coming from this new studio.

Cheers,
Jane

(the emphasis is mine)

There's a difference between a playthrough and a commercial. It was made with the purpose of making money.

YouTube's profits and costs are kept secret by YouTube and are up for debate, but in April 2009 Credit Suisse estimated a loss of $450 million. RampRate estimated more conservatively at a $174 million loss. These are the last known figures and it would be in Google's interest to keep losing figures a secret.

They DID use Tim Curry's voice for the first few bits nicked from the game, they're identical to the game ones, and the ambience difference between the original and the later lines is obvious.. Like I said I'm not sure about his arrangements, who owns those voice files. I do know he likes to get royalties (he still gets a percentage off Rocky Horror).

BBP wrote:There's a difference between a playthrough and a commercial. It was made with the purpose of making money.
YouTube's profits and costs are kept secret by YouTube and are up for debate, but in April 2009 Credit Suisse estimated a loss of $450 million. RampRate estimated more conservatively at a $174 million loss. These are the last known figures and it would be in Google's interest to keep losing figures a secret.
They DID use Tim Curry's voice for the first few bits nicked from the game, they're identical to the game ones, and the ambience difference between the original and the later lines is obvious.. Like I said I'm not sure about his arrangements, who owns those voice files. I do know he likes to get royalties (he still gets a percentage off Rocky Horror).

EDIT: To be clear, I am NOT trying to say you're wrong or change your mind. Just explaining more.

You say that walk thrus are different; and this was made for the purpose to "make money."

I disagree with both accounts. The walk thrus are not different. For example, for my Neverending Nights youtube channel - Youtube offered me the ability to make money by placing ads at the beginning of my videos. I'd get "X" amount of money for every ad clicked. I had to decline, myself, because in the end, while the story, voices, and music are all original content - the filming is done within a game I do not have copyrights to. (Being in good standing with Bioware and Atari, who let us get away with this, I didn't want to upset that balance). So technically, someone who makes a GK walk thru, and gets that email from Youtube and agrees to it; can begin making money off material they clearly don't own the rights to.

As for that video being made with the purpose of making money; I also disagree with that. The video was made with the purpose to create a buzz. That's it. And it's with content that she originally worked on and created. It's not like she used content from Space Quest to promote it (or Curse of Monkey Island) or something else. She used her own work. Yes, it belongs to Sierra (we assume). But her own work, none the less. I am pretty sure the intention was to show work that SHE is personally responsible for, being used. Something people would clearly recognize as Jane Jensen. For example, the GK promo is nowhere on her "fully released" site now. It was used to create buzz and interest, and that's it. It's not being used to help sell Gray Matter 2, or any other game that Jane is currently working on. It could easily be a "thin" line, but on this one, I see it as creating a buzz, not as a money maker.

And according to Collector's post; it's pretty much sounding like what I suspected. If her company does well, she will bargain for the rights to create future GK games.

The use of other's IP material in such a brief would fall under the Fair Use clause. It is why impersonators are allowed to do what they do and why excerpts of copyrighted material is allowed in a whole range of third party usage, from reviews to commercial Ads and comedy skits. And don't forget, it is his interpretation of GK that is being used, not Curry's natural voice. As for the clips, I would say that it is almost certainly Activision's IP, not Curry's.

First off: I'm zleepy. Cluedo last night (Green, dagger, dining room) ran late.
Let me state here and now: when I made walkthroughs of any of my games from Moordspel to Frankenstein, my idea was never to gain any money, I just wanted to share something that wasn't there yet. Whether anyone else creates a walkthrough for the express purpose of creating money or not, I don't know. Considering the amount of time I've put in compared to the few dimes I could make from an ad, it seems like it's one of the worst paying jobs ever.

I've looked a little better into it, and since it may count as portfolio I'm not certain about any potential court case outcome.

I sincerely hope that she is able to produce a great game through this studio. I really enjoy her stories.

One good thing I got from the GameSpot interview was that she felt the quality of Gray Matter wasn't up to par, due to her having less involvement in it than she would have liked. Although the story was good, I tend to agree with that, so I'm glad she feels that way and will be addressing it in future games.

It was also interesting that they asked her take on the Mass Effect 3 ending fiasco.

Update:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/100 ... sts/203885

Jane and Gabriel Knight on Forbes.

Collector wrote:Jane and Gabriel Knight on Forbes.

I saw this on my Facebook page. It's interesting that she's in talks with Activision about a fourth GK.

I'm not quite sure how she'd make it accessible to newcomers, though. Granted, a new GK would be primarily for old fans, but it's good business strategy to include new potential purchasers as well.

I disagree about 2D or 2.5D being all that's needed for Adventure games. A good 3D engine could work wonders. Unfortunately, most Adventure games haven't received the necessary funding to make use of a fully modern 3D engine.

DeadPoolX wrote:Unfortunately, most Adventure games haven't received the necessary funding to make use of a fully modern 3D engine.

And that is the catch 22.

Unfortunately true.

I still hold that GK3 had the best AG interface ever (so far, at least). It had so much it could offer, and personally it was the most immersifying interface I know! It's too bad it never got utilized again.

UPtimist wrote:Unfortunately true.

I still hold that GK3 had the best AG interface ever (so far, at least). It had so much it could offer, and personally it was the most immersifying interface I know! It's too bad it never got utilized again.

Agreed! It was the most involved I would say.

Apparently, best news ever!

Can't wait to hear what it is

From what I've read it isn't GK4 related, but it might help in eventually getting the rights to it? Maybe.

Whatever it is, it could be what Jane and Robert need to jumpstart their company