How to create a new game that uses licensed content

Welcome Zanoske. Yes, card games are part of the board game family, so more than welcomed here!

My first question to you is why does your game require licensed intellectual property?

My second question (or rather series of questions) would be regarding your comment about selling the concept.
-Do you have a fully finished, tested, ready-to-publish game? Or is this just a concept that you have done a bit of work on?
-Do you have a prototype made?
-Has it been playtested?
-Have you played it without using that IP (as in, have you tried giving it a new theme)?

I would first and foremost suggest you read everything at this link : http://www.jamesmathe.com/category/game-design/

Once you've done that, consider your options.

-You could self publish. This is a LOT of work in itself.
- If you insist on using someone elses IP, you will need to get permission and this will cost loads of money, and depending on the IP it may be more than you will ever make off the game.
- You could pitch your (tested, finished) game to publishers who may be interested. This leaves all the work of legal issues, publishing, selling, distribution, etc to the publisher and you receive a royalty on sales (typically in the 3-9% of wholesale sales), but you still need to have a (nearly) completed game, and even then the publisher may (or likely will) make changes.

SO, as I said, read everything at that link above. It should help you get from concept to development. Once you've developed and tested the game thoroughly, THEN you worry about everything else.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/493249/mythbusting-game-design-and-copy...

Essentially (tl;dr), publisher is going to steal your idea. They have enough work of their own to deal with.

BUT, if you're truly worried about it, talk about it, get feedback, be active in the community. Start up a design blog/WIP blog. The more people associate it with you, the more they realize who did it.

The industry is relatively small. Shameful behavior gets noticed and does not go over well.

Here's the most relavant part of that link btw;

"How do I protect my work?

Just by making your game available to the public, you have claimed copyright protection for the artwork (unless you licensed it from someone else). By continually using certain elements, you will have a trademark defense.

If someone violates your copyright, you can send a Cease and Desist letter. One is provided in the Nolo Press Copyright Handbook. That is usually enough.

You can far better protect your game by making a superior product. Playtest, procure premium components, do something different. Fantasy Flight's Games are hard to produce due to the quality of the bits they procure. Puerto Rico's simultaneous role selection mechanic has defined a new genre (notice how we sometimes refer to Race for the Galaxy as "Puerto Rico in Space) or refer to tile-laying games as "Like Carcassonne."

What should I register?

If you are going to create a line of games on a similar theme, I'd consider registering a trademark. If you have a very unique new mechanic, consider filing for a patent. In my humble opinion, it is not worth registering any copyrights for games.

What does registering give me?

Registering a copyright, trademark or patent gives you a slightly stronger defense. If you made a game available to the public, even as a print and play, and 2 years later someone registers a copyright on the rules sheet, you may very well have a stronger case, since you published it first and were the first to obtain the de facto copyright.

Can someone steal my game/Can I use elements from someone else's game?

Sure, as long as:

1) The artwork is different
2) The "expression of the rules" are different
3) No trademarks are infringed
4) No patents are infringed

This is may be why web developers such as ASObrain can offer Settlers and Carcassonne clones without paying royalties or requiring permission.

So sure, you could publish a game that works exactly like Settlers of Catan or Star Wars: Queen's Gambit as long as you did not use the name, artwork, or licenses.

Straight up copying a game is generally not a good idea though, as you will have a hard time marketing and selling a game that already exists in a more popular incarnation."

I don't want to "offend" you - but IF it's just an IDEA - it's worthless.

Why is it worthless?

Because you are no where near a prototype and that's what a Publisher will want. THEY WANT A GAME, not just an idea. WHY? Because there are so many details to a game's DESIGN that can make or break a game.

Let me put it in another set of words.

If you have a Set Collection mechanic and you realize you want to use a Drafting mechanic ... and suddenly you realize that you don't want the opponent to know the kind of cards you are buying. (That's a sample problem).

What do you do? Do you abandon the design because of this hurdle? (It is possible you may not be able to "marry" the two...) Or do you decided to eliminate Drafting and go with a Deck Construction mechanic... Knowing full well you MUST avoid the pitfalls of CCGs/TCGs because nobody is interested in those two (2) categories of games except HUGE Franchises.

Or instead do you SHELF the game - and let your mind explore other designs while in the back of your head, you try to fix this mechanical conflict...

That's what makes a GREAT game!

Having gone through the process with my 2nd Game, I can tell you that by listening to the playtesters, having a Developer on your team or another designer to help bring your idea to reality, is very important. Of course you could get by not having someone to bounce "ideas" with and see what makes sense for YOUR game... But it's more difficult.

So now you know the secret, why people Blog about their future game ideas and don't worry about "People stealing the idea"... Because most of us need people to playtest and that of course means creating a prototype and making sure all the mechanics and rules hold together in ONE (1) cohesive unit...

And so I say to you: transform your IDEA into a GAME. And then there will be something REAL to talk about.

As @Jay put it: create your own universe. BUT keep in mind, that when you pitch the game - you say that instead of using your own universe, you may use the work of another entity... And I would say this ONLY after they have PLAYTESTED YOUR game (and they like it...)

If they like the GAME that much, maybe you have a chance to use the OTHER IP. Maybe the publisher might say: "Of course using the Universe of 'X' would make complete total sense..." But don't hold your breath on it...

Focus on YOUR game FIRST... Deal with the IP LAST!

Note: And yeah - for the most part I design "Card Games" too... This is a good website to discuss your design and future game...

Update: And you can IGNORE and NOT worry about the artwork of the game. A prototype could be Black & White... Your prototype must convey the IDEA of the game with all the rules that go with it. So a GAME is a prototype + rulebook.

If you are "secure" about yourself, instead of "hiding" the IP, I would simply just say in a post, "I WANT to use the IP 'X' for my Card Game". The designer will figure out from that statement if indeed your "idea" is sufficiently creative. But remember, what matters is how YOU transform the IDEA into a GAME. And that's the BEAUTY of BGDF... We can help. We will give you feedback, help you with obstacles, offer you criticism (positive not negative), help you with playtesting (harder but sometimes possible), help make sure your rulebook is well written and is cohesive, etc.

And if you ask: "What makes it that all these people know what to do?"

Because we have designers JUST LIKE YOU who HAVE managed to use IP. @David has created a Star Trek game using licensed Star Trek material for his game "Star Trek: Five Year Mission"... Here is the link:

http://www.mayfairgames.com/products/star-trek-five-year-mission

David has a close working relationship with Mayfair Games. If you want to discuss the finer details of IP, send him a PM (Private Message). Username is "Dralius". You can search for his username (in the search and select the Users tab when the search results appear).

While David has designed a BUNCH of games, he has had many of his designs Published.

So there are people here, other designers who have already DONE what you may (still) want to... Just a matter of you opening up and telling us what you want to do - knowing several designers have key-ed in telling you an IDEA is not good enough.

Update #2: And how do I know? You said it yourself:

You have no clue how profitable an idea is. Like I said IDEAS are "worthless". Do you know how many GAME IDEAS I have? I have over a dozen design ideas... All in some form of concept/prototype.

Most have prototypes that are "broken" (they don't work with the game). And if you ask other designers some have EVEN MORE like two (2) dozen ideas... Or the prototype of the game SUCKS - Because I thought the idea SOUNDED COOL - but when I CREATED a PROTOTYPE, the game SUCKED.

As you prototype - you will realize IF your game can be cohesive or not. The next step is PLAYTESTING - Play test it YOURSELF and you will see IF the game might be FUN. Is there enough - to make it a worthwhile prototype??? IDK - time will tell... But you've got to MOVE ON from the IDEA - and closer to a playable prototype...

Using licensed IP is like FROSTING! You have a perfectly yummy cupcake ... and you want to add sugary frosting to the top. Of course the cupcake could be perfectly good without the frosting - but just adding the frosting makes the cupcake even better! So much so, that we gawk when we see a cupcake without frosting: "Oh my, somebody must be on a diet!"

The bottom line is that there is EXCITEMENT when you see brands you know.

And I think this is one legitimate reason you would want to use licensed IP: brand recognition. And that suggests some form of zombie-like acceptance. "Oh my god a Star Wars Miniatures Game...! I got to play this..." <- See what I mean!

I am in the process of "building a brand". Not a label brand, a GAME brand.

What does that mean? I can't fully disclose all the details because they are a bit subject to secrecy... BUT I can say we're talking about "Expansions"! Very excited to go in that direction and offer more content to gamers.

We'll have a NEW "Core" and in the future hopefully release two (2) more...

The goal is to get some familiarity: "Hey I've heard of this game before..."

And that's what licensed IP does: it grants you familiarity of the brand. So licensed IP, if used smartly can be valuable... But are you willing to pay the high cost of acquiring the IP???

That's another question...

The other option as I see it, is pricing the COST to make the game and the sales point (MSRP) you are going to sell the game for.

You might not need the complexity of "lawyers" per se, it could be simply an amount based on the distributors' discount (60% off). So MSRP x 0.40.

Then you should know how much each Game COSTS to manufacture + shipping. And deduct from the wholesale cost (distributor's price point).

That will leave you with $x.00 of profitability for each game set SOLD. Now IF you are doing it alone, from that profit you must deduct the cost of having a Graphics Designer (or doing it yourself - if you can) and any cost of artwork. If it's 100% licensed material, then figure out how much of $x.00 you are willing to spend for the IP.

This is the other way and can avoid any type of complexities.

Once you figure out HOW much you are willing to share $y.00, you send an e-mail to the IP owner saying you want to make a card game and use their IP. In return you are willing to share $y.00 per game sold.

If they like the amount and feel confident about your game - they may agree to it... You can ask them to draft the contract based on $y.00 per game sold.

That in my opinion is another way of going about it...

If this is NOT an "original" game - but just a re-skin of an existing game - well then I would forget about it... Not only do you have to license IP, you also need to strike a deal with another Designer or even worst his Publisher...

Neither will probably agree to making a "re-themed" version... That's just my opinion.

It's just a shame that intellectual property games cannot be easily designed. I mean, I could open a Subway franchise relatively easily, Why is it not as easy with IP.

I understand that the profits made from board game are already thin, so it could be the reason why negotiating an IP could be more complicated as probably the price to get that IP is not proportional to the profit margin of a board game.

Designing games from IP has many advantages besides boosting sales. It's also a source of inspiration for game design.

I would have liked to have a generic Intellectual Property management system that could allow designing games based on IP without a hassle. Some kind of system where you have pre-defined cost in proportion with your profit margin making it accessible to any kind of production scale.

The down side of more accessible IP is that it could lead to a lot of crap and actually destroy the quality of the IP. For example, I have seen a TMNT video game where the turtles does not look at all like the original turtles. Still, the IP holder could always give the final go about accepting or refusing the licensing.

From an IP owner point of view, the only work it could demand is reviewing the project to authorise licensing if they really want to. Else, it's just free money for them. So I don't understand why it should be that complex to get in the first place.

It's the same idea as a franchise, the person opening the franchise reduce his risk of failure if they accept to follow the rules of the franchise.