If any of you haven't been keeping up with some exciting and fantastic mods that's happening outside of SEN (which would be 100% of all exciting and fantastic mods) you'd probably not seen the World of Starcraft mod. was the big "I" a little too pretentious? ><
So here's a little clip to keep you posted.
the audio is god-awful, I know.. just mute it
It is an "amazing" mod, almost "ingenious", because someone spent months working on a map that would've probably been made by Blizzard in the near future, and WoW is still much better. Now you're probably asking why the fuck would You care, or even why the heck would I, an anti-SC2 advocate, care?
(Note that they are trying to remove the VIDEOS of the map. But, thinking deeper, it is easy to see that B/A is doing this as a lawyer's way of warning the creator not to use this name)
This, again, proves my point. Blizzard has sold its soul, and buying their games will only fuel this evil. Okay, okay, I'll put this into a better context. Blizzard/Activision has arrived to a conclusion that a dedicated player, who spent months working on their own game, under all of their restrictions, should have his heart and soul removed simply because he Ninja'd them on making a mod based on another of their own game. If I were a Blizzard employee, I'd be 100% flattered, hold my head up high with pride, thank the poor bastard, and ask what things he may want for Christmas. In other words, B/A has become absolutely heartless. And I doubt that, from this point on, they will ever realize their poor decisions and start making Games for Gamers as much as they're making games for money.
Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. The creator of the mod has now been given an opportunity to work in RiotGames!! See? Not all Game Industries are dicks.
Alright, so it's not all doom and gloom http://www.next-gen.biz/news/blizzard-allows-world-of-starcraft-mod It seems that Blizzard has made a rebuttal that they have never intended to shut down the procedure and was just doing a "routine procedure" to have the videos shut down.
I don't know about you, but this step still worries me. Tho it is fair from a company sense that they don't want another game to be named World of Starcraft, they are certainly showing no signs of consideration.
Due to some Extraordinary overreacting and misunderstandings, I am going to change the post so it better fits the true story. Please don't hate me
If any of you haven't been keeping up with some exciting and fantastic mods that's happening outside of SEN (which would be 100% of all exciting and fantastic mods) you'd probably not seen the World of Starcraft mod. was the big "I" a little too pretentious? ><
So here's a little clip to keep you posted.
the audio is god-awful, I know.. just mute it
It is a mod that the creator has put tons of time into. Although I have to say that it isn't very innovative, and that the concept of creating a map that just doesn't work in the genre of Starcraft is ridiculous, I still commend the map maker on his efforts.
Unfortunately, Blizzard/Activision has filed a copyright infringement against the name of the map, and has ordered youtube to remove all videos of it.
It is understandable in company terms. World of Starcraft closely resembles Blizzard's works. Moreover, if they really do push the map-market, it is very possible that the creator may make money, technically out of their own intellectual properties.
Nevertheless, I still disagree with Blizzard/Activision's decisions. Take a step back and think for a minute. A dedicated player, who spent months working on their own game, under all of their restrictions, has had his heart and soul removed simply because he Ninja'd them on making a mod based on another of their own game. If I was a Blizzard employee, I'd be 100% flattered, hold my head up high with pride, thank the poor bastard, and ask what things he may want for Christmas.
It is a map that is within the context of the editor. Simply put, a fanboy has created a parody of one of their games. I see the importance of the copyright law, but I also see the wrongly portrayed significance of this map, and of course many other maps.
Rambling on about Map Markets
Again, it makes sense in terms of pushing the map market. If they wish players to actually treat maps as buyable properties, then they need to portray the maps to be important and irreplaceable. Coming from SC1, we know that this movement will only serve to kill the community.
With money involved, maps must be made with a much higher degree of finesse. Moreover, they must be marketed, just like all games. With this, some "famous" mappers will soon arise because of both their mapping and marketing skills/resources. If StarCraft 1 created that much elitism with just a robust clan system, I shudder to think how much elitism will occur in StarCraft 2. Moreover, players who haven't bought the map will be further alienated.
So, finally, the custom map will consists of two sets of players. 1 set of players are the elitists, who has bought many, if not all of the famous, most popular, money required maps. The other set will consist of a group of players who will only play free maps. These two groups will not be able to live in cohesion, and one group will prevail. Either way, it can only act to half the potential custom map community.
In the end, no one cares. B/c the money has already been made, and there's no point in driving the community until the release of HotS, where they will again start to overhype and make fanboys overreact to their next installment.
I want you all to realize that even somewhat understandable decisions such as this can affect the game in the long run. Why couldn't Blizzard/Activision keep this internally? They have the power to simply contact the creator, or even just remove the map and give him the message that way. You can't possibly tell me that showcasing World of Starcraft will harm SC2, or any of Blizzard's games.
Hope this clears it up a bit. ~Unholy
Post has been edited 5 time(s), last time on Jan 22 2011, 6:40 pm by UnholyUrine.
If by "mod" you mean "map" then you would be correct. Technically speaking, mods are illegal in sc2 (both mpq modding and mpqdraft/memory patching), and will likely remain that way.
Otherwise this is nothing unusual. Calling a project "World of Starcraft" is definitely along the lines of what happened to campaigns before back in sc1, where they were requested to rename themselves so they weren't called themselves "expansions" in any shape or form. I'm sure you probably remember the SC2Wc3 conversion, too.
Of course, the staffing in Bluzzard is different now. There are no warnings, there's just removal.
Show them your butt, and when you do, slap it so it creates a sound akin to a chorus of screaming spider monkeys flogging a chime with cacti. Only then can you find your destiny at the tip of the shaft.
"Tho it is fair from a company sense that they don't want another game to be named World of Starcraft, they are certainly showing no signs of consideration."
Not really, as someone said on Slashdot:
Quote from Some dood on slashdot
Trademarks must be vigorously defended in the United States or you risk losing them. Not copyright, copyright you retain regardless of your desire to use it.
In this way, Trademarks are actually a bit more sane as they require the company to invest a little bit of effort and time in order to maintain them. Let it sit on a shelf, or be neglectful and you lose your right to it if someone else starts extracting some value from the item. It is this way because you can Trademark some seemingly generic terms and keeps people from just trademarking everything in the dictionary (for what, $200 registration?) and then suing everyone.
So, back to Activision.
They own trademarks on Starcraft, and World of Warcraft. Someone comes along and makes a game called World of Starcraft. A mashup of two trademarks which is built on products sold by the company that owns the aforementioned trademarks.
It is incredibly easy to imagine that if a person were to come across this mod or its website that someone would consider the connection between the brand Starcraft, and the brand Warcraft. In fact, that WAS the literal intention of the creator of this mod. His goal in choosing the name was to link Starcraft, and World of Warcraft.
So, in this legal system where you have to vigorously defend your trademark or lose it. You have someone which clearly used two trademarked names in the promotion of his product. If the lawyers DIDN'T respond to this they wouldn't be doing their jobs.
Now, perhaps they could have been a bit more clear in their C&D, but that would open them up to liability. How you ask? What if they said:
"Stop using these trademarked terms until you get permission to use them"
A hell of a lot nicer yes? Except that it could imply that they might be granted permission. If they go through the hassle of trying to request permission, only to find that there is some policy in place that prohibits granting permission to use the trademarks to entities such as themselves then they may have grounds, however slim, to suggest that Activision was simply dicking them around and wasting their time/money. Waste someone's time and money like that and you have the potential for a lawsuit.
So, A Cease and Desist letter is a perfectly reasonable thing to expect when using trademarks in an unauthorized fashion.
Had they called their mod "Our New MMO" and they received a Cease and Desist, I'd consider it outrageous, but as it is, they should have expected one.
I knew as soon as I looked at the title that it was going to be UnholyUrine. I have a sixth sense when I hear something bad about Starcraft, it has to be Unholy.
They certainly could have just asked them to change the name (like Valve does) but I'm sure if they changed the name themselves that wouldn't get into any trouble. By using trademarks, you're basically asking for trouble. What did the guy expect? Also, because of all this publicity, the programmer responsible for the map was offered a job (or interview at least) at Riot Games. SO ENOUGH WITH THE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM AND GLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM OOOOOHHHHH NOOOOOOOOO Blizzard is a company that is willing to protect it's copyright and trademarks,
Not that much of an impressive "mod". I see nearly no creativity in his work and I'm still wondering why a gaming company actually offered this guy a job. Mostly anyone knowing his way just above average in the editor could've made this, imho.
SC isn't limited to one planet, so obviously the name should have been Universe of StarCraft. Blizzard was furious at the ignorance and thoughtlessness shown in the name and took action.
Baneling should have been a selectable character, with optional hardcore mode.
Anyway, the video is a great example of how versatile the SC2 editor is. Blizzard should promote it rather than shun it. But I'm no lawyer...
I think its funny how blown out of proportion this all is. People thought this was a real standalone game, not just a map (thanks to everyone using the term "mod" to describe SC2 maps now), so Blizzard had the videos removed. The map maker and Blizzard have both stated that no one is getting sued, the map is still being made, and the whole thing is a misunderstanding thanks to people reporting things based on hearsay rather than fact.
Not that much of an impressive "mod". I see nearly no creativity in his work and I'm still wondering why a gaming company actually offered this guy a job. Mostly anyone knowing his way just above average in the editor could've made this, imho.
Having the technical skills required to do something, and having the vision, drive and dogged patience to actually carry through and implement the vision is quite different.
This should be evident by the number of stalled maps on this site.
Not that much of an impressive "mod". I see nearly no creativity in his work and I'm still wondering why a gaming company actually offered this guy a job. Mostly anyone knowing his way just above average in the editor could've made this, imho.
Having the technical skills required to do something, and having the vision, drive and dogged patience to actually carry through and implement the vision is quite different.
This should be evident by the number of stalled maps on this site.
I am aware of this. What I mostly meant was that it looked like everyone seems to think he is -so- talented while he actually only has will/patience/passion (which I admire from him). I just dislike when persons are rewarded for stuff they shouldn't be rewarded for (I rage when I see people receiving Honor Medals because, seriously, nearly anyone would've done the same thing... a kid saving her mother from drowning isn't impressing me at all >_>). /rage Clarification: I have nothing against the guy, it's more against the popular thoughts.
I see nearly no creativity in his work and I'm still wondering why a gaming company actually offered this guy a job.
So again with slight misinformation. The map creator wasn't offered a job per se, he was contacted by someone at Riot to apply to Riot as anyone else would apply.
Riot Games are one of those guys who made a DotA clone, right? I know one of their staff and he told me to apply as a VA. Doesn't mean I'm going to do it, though, because I'm not going to become commercially involved in anything I do.
This guy should drop sc2 and head to a newer, greener field, or take that job offer and drop out of the Blizzard community entirely.
Show them your butt, and when you do, slap it so it creates a sound akin to a chorus of screaming spider monkeys flogging a chime with cacti. Only then can you find your destiny at the tip of the shaft.
With a youtube video uploaded under the title of World of Starcraft - this was bound to happen. Blizzard were well within their rights to ask him to remove the videos. As far as I can tell, at no stage of this entire episode was he asked to discontinue working or destroy his project. It's just hearsay and rumours, and individuals who are eager to jump at anything to rub Blizzard in the dirt. Yourself included Unholy .
Payne makes a good point also (I know right?!?!)... the fact is not that his map displays great amounts of talent or ingenuity... it is however, the fact that he spent the time to create it. I am pretty damn sure that I could create something 10x better than what was posted in that video - it's just the simple fact that I can't be bothered to do so.
Also, as for his 'offer of work' at RiotGames - so what? League of Legends and RiotGames are hardly on any sort of competitive footing with, well, ANY game developers out there. What would have been impressive is if he created a map so unique and intersting that Blizzard thought 'shit, this guy's actually quite good'. But, the reality of it, proves that he is not that good - and the media whoring/blizzard hating just amplified this whole little story.
Edit: Also, this whole terminology bullshit pisses me off. This is not a 'Mod'. It is a 'Map'. All those linked articles can't seem to get this into their heads. This is just possibly an 8 player custom map with a lot of effort put into it. Maybe even 16 or 12 players - but it is not an MMORPG, and it is not that impressive, and aghh.
I do stuff and thingies... Try widening and reducing the number of small nooks and crannies to correct the problem.
It's hillarious how much overreacting you show to this. This might happened:
Some guy working for Blizzard's management sees the video and/or a poorly written article and thinks something like: "omg. someone uses our trademark titles to make an own product. I need to report that!". Then other people watch it and with the changed GUI and camera angles and the people may didn't identify Starcraft 2 in that anymore. So they download the video (maybe), contact youtube to delete the video and did more research about that. As far as I know the creator had to be contacted to make Blizzard's staff understand that everything was a sc2 map only!
Ashamed by the huge error within Blizzard's rows, some people invited the mapper for their stupidity and the created public focus onto the project. They may also thought about how BIG that project is and may hoped for some detailed review about their editor and what can be improved or is needed or whatever. Maybe they even want to see his plans and he may even get hired, if someone in the management decides that this is a cool idea and that they should start to realize that project in any form by themselves.
Short story: Blizzard fails -> Blizzard invites -> some unpredictable effects in the future
He is just a lucky person. Atm he gathers editor improvement ideas on sc2mapster. Someone might post there to ask Blizzard to add an option to have a unit aquire targets only that the unit itself can "see" which would allow "don't shoot over walls" like in my case. This depends on the implementation of the vision system, so that may be super easy to implement. I'm to lazy to register over there.
This is an obvious response by a company to an obvious problem. If Blizzard wants to make World of StarCraft in 5 years they'll have an issue if this mod gets big. They also don't want their customers misled, the creator was stupid to name it that to begin with. His response to Blizzard is incredibly naive, whether his project is good or not.
Quote
Some guy working for Blizzard's management sees the video and/or a poorly written article and thinks something like: "omg. someone uses our trademark titles to make an own product. I need to report that!". Then other people watch it and with the changed GUI and camera angles and the people may didn't identify Starcraft 2 in that anymore. So they download the video (maybe), contact youtube to delete the video and did more research about that. As far as I know the creator had to be contacted to make Blizzard's staff understand that everything was a sc2 map only!
As far as I'm concerned this is a complete (and terribly pathetic and self-serving) fabrication. Feel free to cite something that shows you aren't talking out of your ass.
If Blizzard wants to make World of StarCraft in 5 years they'll have an issue if this mod gets big.
Quote from name:FaZ-
As far as I'm concerned this is a complete (and terribly pathetic and self-serving) fabrication. Feel free to cite something that shows you aren't talking out of your ass.
^ contradictory or what? ;p
1. It's not a 'mod'. It's a 'map'. 2. So therefore, it is limited to Battle.net. 3. 10 players I think is as MMO this RPG is ever going to be.
And also, I know pretty much for a fact that Blizzard won't be making a World of Starcraft in the next 5 years. Or ever. It'll be sort of like releasing Warcraft: Orcs and Humans content in the Starcraft 2 engine.
Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 22 2011, 4:45 pm by Cardinal.
If Blizzard wants to make World of StarCraft in 5 years they'll have an issue if this mod gets big.
Quote
...Feel free to cite something that shows you aren't talking out of your ass.
lol
Show them your butt, and when you do, slap it so it creates a sound akin to a chorus of screaming spider monkeys flogging a chime with cacti. Only then can you find your destiny at the tip of the shaft.
Earlier this week, a player-made StarCraft II mod called World of StarCraft and described as a “StarCraft MMO” was featured on a number of prominent gaming news sites, catching the attention of gamers as well as our own. With the name so closely resembling that of World of Warcraft, we wanted to discuss the title of the mod with the developer, and as part of our routine procedure, we contacted YouTube to request the video be removed while that discussion took place. We were also curious about the project and wanted to discuss with the developer what the mod entailed.
The words are largely interchangeable pretty much everywhere except here, I think Blizzard actually suggested a while ago that mapmakers refer to their project as mods. Anyway, the massive red herring you both just attempted to pull is pretty much QED.
Whether they have it planned or not yet is irrelevant. They could do it eventually, and therefore it's standard and certainly acceptable business practice to reserve the name. Devlin summed it up nicely above.
Post has been edited 4 time(s), last time on Jan 22 2011, 6:08 pm by FaZ-.
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