$12256 / $11500
Dear Artist,
My name is Chris, and i would like to take a second of your time. I know that we are all busy in life with projects and other on goings. So thank you for this moment. i have spent the past 4 years with a single thought in my head of a card game. Please understand, I wanted to be a programmer but with my lack of spelling skills, writing code was to hard for me. Hence, I got an idea to make the game a different way, as card game. At this point in my project I am about 2 months away from filing my patent on it, only cause of the lack of money, the game it's self and the patent are done. The finishing touch, aside form filing the patent, is the art work. Which i need alot of drawings perferrably of characters, Weapons, Armor, Attacks, Magics in use and Attacks in use. which brings me to this site. I need an artist. It should be understood that i don't even have the money to file the patent right now, let alone hire an artist. So yes i am sad to say that even if i had the art i would not be able to manufacture the cards. Yet there is one major game changer. If i have the art work (mind you i do have the layouts of the cards made, i did it my self) i would be able to get my project on kick-starter. Kick-starter helps people get the funds needed to start up projects, such as my game. So In short if i get an artist(s) to help me get on to kick-starter I would be able to processed with the production of the game. The game will span a few years going from a mid evil world and slowly change into a sci-fi world. Feel Free to respond and we can discuss more over Skype. Thank you again for your time.
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First off you dont need a patent and it wouldnt help you having one as even Wizards of the Coast's (who is owned by a 4 billion dollar company) patents in regards to MTG have been hard to enforce for them due to the nature and historical evolution of card games. That said you may have some revolutionary idea, just its been my experience that very rarely is there anything new under the sun. If you do have some revolutionary idea and you dont have the $$ for a patent I recomend investing in a Provisional Application for Patent just note that there are some strict rules in regards to those however you can do it yourself check out this example (tho its a good deal of work) and only costs $125 (as you qualify under cfr 1.27) compared to the $7-9k (minimum) for a real patent with similer protections for a shorter lifespan, and a provisional patent is a good steping stone into a real patent.
Second if you have any information on the cards done? For example are all the rules complete, the cards designed etc or at the moment is it just an idea in your head? You dont need art to complete the rules and the first set of cards, if you havent done that yet I recomend starting there. If you have done that I recomend telling people that you have that completed, and sharing some of your ideas wouldnt hurt eaither.
Lastly at this time it seems you cant pay the artist, but if you got $$ via kickstarter would you? If so how much would they get paid? Creating unique art and design layouts for the cards, even a meger 50 cards is months worth of dedicated work so keep that in mind. Also do you plan to make the game open source?
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Full Steam Ahead! o/ <-- little ascii fist in the air holding a debugging hammer.
Thanks for the questions botanic, i will be more then happen to answer.
i have the PPA written, i am having it checked over right now , then willl be filing the ppa for the game. It is a thought in my head for the fact i have been dealing with this game for so long. Wizards patent on MTG is about to lose hold in 2 years. I am tring to file my patent before the flood games open on games.Wizards can keep any one from making a game like theres. My game is not like theres, which is why i am getting a patent. I agree every thing comes full circle and there is nothing 100% your idea. Life influences us that is part of being human.
Next i do have stuff done on the cards. Like i said i have the design/layout of the cards done, i did it on my own. Not pro but enough to get the idea accross. I have the first set of cards done and i have the rules done and all are in my ppa. All of the ground work is layed out that is why i am here looking for the art. Like i said i need the money for the ppa so i cant file it at the moment, that will be in jan 2013. So in the mean time instead of sitting on my ass i am trying to fine the art for it. as far as sharing my ideas, i cant because of not having the ppa. Cant tell you how to play the game so some one else can take it. Hell even if i told you i have a full year to fill a ppa from my disclosure to you to fill my ppa. But i cant deal on chance.
I cant pay an artist your right, and If i do get money from kickstarter i would pay. The amount would have to be discussed. and define open source for a TCG card game? does any one and every one get to make cards?. Do people like wizard get to make cards and sell them ? My game is made to continue to change and grow in depth. There can always be changes from people to make it better, because i made it to do so. Yugioh another knewn game has been recycling old ideas over and over. They are at the end of their time. Magic on the other hand, has a great set up and continue to make new sets. They are not limited by as much stuff as yugioh. A card game would be alot of work , but 1 art peace from 70 people is not as bad as 70 peaces of art from 1 person. Because of this i made sure to write my game /rules with the freedom that magic has.
The patent is to stop the selling,shiping , and useage of the produce. I dont care if the fans remake the produce,use or ship it . Yet if any other companys try to make it i will stop them. 4 years of my life went into this game, i wont give a penny to a big company, Unless the out right buy it. So if me not wanting, people to remake it and sell it as there own is not open source then no it is not open source. If the players are allowed to change what they want and the game still be my baby, with out others being able to make money off of it, then yes it is open source. In other words i would let any one use and remake but not sell. Hope i answered every thing.
By open source I mean something like http://wtactics.org
Also it seems you are more intrested in a trademark then a patent, they are distinctly different.
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Full Steam Ahead! o/ <-- little ascii fist in the air holding a debugging hammer.
I think the best thing you can do is to get some bucks together (Friends, Family, Fools) and hire a professional artist for 1-3 Card Designs. This way you have something to show for kickstarter and with the kickstarter money pay for the designs of your first set.
Sure you can ask for free designs here, but I dont think that anyone is willing to draw a bunch of high quality cards without knowing anything about the game and giving them to you as a gift. If they are released here as CC-BY-(SA) someone else can use the graphics too, and it sounds like you dont want that.
If an open licence is not a problem you can browse here the allready uploaded art. I am sure there is something to use in the Concept-Category or some arts from wtactics.
As a sidenote, I am sure that it is a good way to get donators at kickstarter if you invested atleast the $100 for some graphics when you want others to spend their money for your idea.
Have you playtested your game? Currently it sounds more like an idea, but I think a game should be played to detect possible flaws, and these should be found before you spend your money on a patent.
Best of luck anyway!
I already went through the motions of figuring out what i needed. A trademark is just for the icons. The way to play the game , like magics Turing a card from one point to another is patented, not trademarked. The way of playing my game is what i am patenting. and i never saw Wtactics before that is alwsome. either way at that rate i will have no control over the game and what is made. There is much i cant go into about the game but some factors would not work. like rarity , obtaining cards, having them in real stock. i would rather my players be able to hold the cards and not have to print them. Yet again Wtactics can be a way for me to get it out there when the time comes
I have done play testing with my friends, but even the extent of what they where playing was no where near the end result.What i means is i had them play with cards that just had numbers. No pitures, no Designs, and just small basics on how the game is played. The numbers are fine. Every game last about 20-30 mins. Of course the rules of play allows for mods so that the player can shorten or extend the game based on skill level. i think i started talking about this to soon. Not that it is not ready , but people are not ready for it. Once i file my patent i will try again. Thanks for the help.
Just a note: you could totally use open-source placeholder art for your pitch, and replace it later once you got some buy-in.
Maybe we can help you with some small things to make your cards look a bit better. Like a general card concept, or some small symbols. Even if they just act as a placeholder it may be a help.
You can't tell us what its about in general, but you could describe it. (i.E. a turning arrow from left to right, a small sword, a burning arrow...)
Copyright should be enough to protect your game manual and your art to give you a head start. When you publish your rules nobody can patent them anymore - if that's what you fear. It's called prior art. A lot of patents get issued also there is prior art but that just means they are invalid patents.
Something flipped by 90° is marked as used - void scare tactics.
Ridiculous matter - happy that game ideas aren't patentable in the EU at all.
i will give the detail that i can that has nothing to do with my writing. in general i need a few small icons, like the ones that world of warcraft has on there cards that repersent the classes,races, origin, and weakness of the cards. For a warrior for example would be a sword , or a sword and shield. they just have to be different that WOWs icons. the card lay outs are done and have a color for each race, just like MTG. some races can be used in the same deck with others while some can only cantain cards of the same origin. The game will travel from a mystical theme like WoW and MTG , to a more Steampunk Grapics, and end with a furturistic set. That is down the road though. Cards will have the basic life, Power , Def structure. I will need icons for that as wel, which i have some one working on already. All the art i need for the icons are general stuff that has been done before. After 20 years of existiance, things become public. no one can own the word warrior. So the classes will follow the basics. With new classes and races being added over time. Each race has a play style of there own. Not really sure what else to say, hard with out getting into how to play at the moment. I am not looking for gods hand in the art, just enough to make it look good for kickstarter.the following link is a link to another card game on kickstarter. This is about what i am looking for. But even if i get the art work for the kickstarter, i would need the artist for the all the cards. i cant make the bankers wait 6 months for their reward. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/924348132/purge-sins-of-science-the-...
what do you mean by publish? and yes that is my fear. i want to be known as the creator of the game, and have the rights. if i publish do i lose the rights?
1. An author automatically holds the copyright to his works (in most western countries).
2. Patentable are only unpublished inventions because only unpublished things can be novel (to the public). Publish = Made known to the public, like in a Kickstarter video, a webpage, a speech, or actually printed and sold.
Therefore you would lose the "right" to patent after publication, second nobody else could patent it after you have published it (with "enough" details). But somebody may change a little detail and patent it anyway. Another down side are road blocking patents which aren't necessarily valid either. And I assume patent offices earn more by checking less before filing a patent.
That aside it's ok to patent it under your circumstances I guess - not that it would have a lot of influence - having a patent doesn't help if you aren't successful in the first place or if you can't win in court in the second place.
A Problem with patents is usually that they are either too specific (possible to circumvent) or too generic (there is prior art).
Anyway: You already got the copyright to everything you write and the compilation of your writings and art. But a provisional patent doesn't sound, too bad if you fear. But then if successful I would consult an expert and lawyer. Maybe join a startup-competition which offers experts help.
ps. Please be cautious about promising future earnings that's a hot topic on these forums recently. And kickstarter isn't a warranty for success. This is a page about open-art so for free may be ok as well when it results in more open-art coming to opengameart.org in return.
The real question here is what makes your game different/better/etc from all the other games out there. You have class's and power/def/life thats all we know and frankly about as generic as it gets.
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Full Steam Ahead! o/ <-- little ascii fist in the air holding a debugging hammer.
sorry botanic, just being careful about what i say. I can tell you the game does not use a resourse, so there is no taping for mana. Or playing energy cards from your hand onto a creature unit. but i truely cant go any further. When the time comes i will tell you every thing.
"After 20 years of existiance, things become public."
Needs clarification. There are three major areas of IP protection:
- Patent: Covers specific processes and methods (e.g. gameplay). Under US law, patents expire 20 years after date of filing.
- Copyright: Covers mainly unique works of 'artistic expression' (e.g. text, art, audio); this includes code, documentation, artwork, etc., but not the rules of gameplay (so someone can't copy your instructions manual for their own game, but they can make a game with identical structure and paraphrase the rules). Under US law, copyright expiration is 'life of the author + however long Disney can milk it'.
- Trademark: Covers specific phrases or logos used for marketing or other product identification. Under US law, does not expire as long as the Registered Trademark holder actively uses and defends it.
Also, what hc said. Copyright is automatic and doesn't require registration like the other two (though registration can help if legal action is ever necessary), whereas patents are insanely tricky to navigate and difficult/costly to defend.
(disclaimer: IANAL, etc.)
My project: Bits & Bots