Duck and Cover

I am working on a science fiction epic with a similar story involving an apocalypse, and a profound main character who survives the apocalypse and endures many trials before setting the world on the right track towards creating a civilized society greater than the previous.

The story is to center around philosophical ideas and values as well as human behavior. However many people have written regarding similar environments before and I think none of those universes have been so richly developed as the fallout universe.

I am a huge fan of the fallout series and wonder if anyone has information or knows where I can get information regarding what kind of terms a fan fiction author faces. Many other video game universes have associated books, and in some cases the writers of the books were not employees but rather external inspired writers who got approval to franchise because books would not have existed otherwise.

My understanding of the associated law is that I can write it all I want, but without a prior agreement they could simply ask me to stop at any time and I would be forced to comply. Does anyone know of any special concessions made by the owners of fallout universe?

You can't sell it if you use someone else's property unless they say "ok" and that will cost money yourself.

Todd does not approve.

what is a todd

Anyways yeah... In truth though it makes sense for them to allow it since if someone wants to write a good sci fi story about a post apocolyptic world they could recieve some attention from it.

As opposed to the story being written and diverting attention from any fallout based similar story that had the sole purpose of milking the fanbase.

Considering how Bethesda Softworks killed the ready-to-print Fallout PnP project, your chances are rather slim. Call it Phallout or Phallus or whatever.

VasikkA wrote:Considering how Bethesda Softworks killed the ready-to-print Fallout PnP project, your chances are rather slim. Call it Phallout or Phallus or whatever.

Bailout.

Fallin'.

VasikkA wrote:Considering how Bethesda Softworks killed the ready-to-print Fallout PnP project, your chances are rather slim. Call it Phallout or Phallus or whatever.

You are right I didn't know they did that. I will just do my best to create my own story. When you think about it, fallout really didn't invent many of the ideas used in its mythos (fallout shelters, nuclear apocolypse, energy weapons, radiation mutants). It is just that certain elements of it's universe are particularly stylish and some of it's story elements are interesting.

I have a strong hunch that whatever story you come up with is going to suck, and even if it doesn't, it's not going to be allowed publication in print. Stick to online fanfic. Published novels based on game universes are always written by experienced authors with numerous publishing credits.

Subhuman wrote:Published novels based on game universes are always written by experienced authors with numerous publishing credits.

And they're always total pieces of shit? It's teen litterature if you ask me.

The quality of the writing doesn't matter, doofus, the point is that it's written by established authors.

Subhuman wrote:I have a strong hunch that whatever story you come up with is going to suck, and even if it doesn't, it's not going to be allowed publication in print. Stick to online fanfic. Published novels based on game universes are always written by experienced authors with numerous publishing credits.

You ignorant fool. You have no clue what you are talking about or clearly anything for that matter. For all you know I am an established author. Not to mention the fact that established authors don't pop out of thin air. I don't write fan fic. And your reasoning skills are pathetic - first you claim that it would suck if not written by an established author, then you claim that the quality doesn't matter only whether or not it is written by an established author. Why does the author being established matter if it is going to suck anyways? It doesn't.

You missed the previous poster's point that attempts by game companies to capitalize on their small niche market of players by hiring an established author to make a story fail horribly. Authors write something when they have a story to tell. Telling an author to make a story so they can make money from their franchise never works out too well. If someone like me has a story to tell, and it could benefit from a preexisting franchise rather than defining its own universe than it would be in the franchise owner's best interest to allow it to draw more attention to their franchise and perhaps collect some modest amount of revenue that the author agreed to. Contrary to your ignorant beliefs, many game franchise owners realize this and allow "fan fiction" to be published under certain terms.

The point of my story is the fact that it is based on philosophical ideas, profound character and stories which demonstrate them both. Fallout has no claim to any of the themes associated with it. Not that my story would use similar elements if it can't use them all anyways. But Bethesda cannot say crap just because someone writes a story that has a nuclear holocaust in it, or fallout shelters, or mutants or just about anything else in the story as long as they do not use the specific names associated with the fallout universe like vault tec., super mutants, etc

All of these ideas were taken from other authors and stories to make the fallout universe. There was even a game that came before fallout that was very similar. Many fallout ideas were taken directly from this game. Fallout's owner's intellectual property is limited to very specific names and items.

Another reason why it is in their best interest to allow people to publish fan fiction, because people can write stories that would be popular and be similar enough to take the wind out of the sails of any attempt the Fallout owner would make, and yet not be violating what little intellectual property they have.

You're an established writer but you have no idea about the processes surrounding publishing?

You cannot publish any story using anybody else's intellectual property without their permission, period. Who gives a shit if that's not how you like it, but if you try you'll get sued, that's for sure.

I don't like your post writing style very much at all, so I don't even think I'd read your book.

I find your writing very entertaining, kriminal99, though likely not for the reasons you would think.

kriminal99 wrote:But Bethesda cannot say crap just because someone writes a story that has a nuclear holocaust in it, or fallout shelters, or mutants or just about anything else in the story as long as they do not use the specific names associated with the fallout universe like vault tec., super mutants, etc

All of these ideas were taken from other authors and stories to make the fallout universe. There was even a game that came before fallout that was very similar. Many fallout ideas were taken directly from this game. Fallout's owner's intellectual property is limited to very specific names and items.

Then what's the point of this thread? You asked what kind of rights an outside author has regarding the use of a copyrighted franchise, specifically fiction based on the Fallout universe. I, and a few others here, have explained that writing a novel set in the Fallout universe is impossible without some kind of contract with the Fallout license holders, and they're not going to draw up said contract for some yahoo on the Internet who wants to write fanfic. Sorry, but it's you who clearly has no idea how this kind of thing works. Now, no one is stopping you from writing a post-apocalyptic novel, but if you want to use specific characters/locations from the Fallout games, you need the rights.

kriminal99 wrote:For all you know I am an established author.

Please. Name me one of your published works. I'll wait.

kriminal99 wrote:And your reasoning skills are pathetic - first you claim that it would suck if not written by an established author, then you claim that the quality doesn't matter only whether or not it is written by an established author.

No, I said that it would probably suck if you wrote it. If that makes me an ignorant fool, fine, but I'm gleaning this opinion from your clear lack of knowledge about the publishing industry and your spotty use of grammar, which does in fact speak volumes about your writing ability, fiction or non.

kriminal99 wrote:If someone like me has a story to tell, and it could benefit from a preexisting franchise rather than defining its own universe than it would be in the franchise owner's best interest to allow it to draw more attention to their franchise and perhaps collect some modest amount of revenue that the author agreed to.

Indeed. If only the publishing industry worked that way.

kriminal99 wrote:Contrary to your ignorant beliefs, many game franchise owners realize this and allow "fan fiction" to be published under certain terms.

BS. Again, name me one example.

SuperH wrote:You're an established writer but you have no idea about the processes surrounding publishing?

You cannot publish any story using anybody else's intellectual property without their permission, period. Who gives a shit if that's not how you like it, but if you try you'll get sued, that's for sure.

I don't like your post writing style very much at all, so I don't even think I'd read your book.

More ignorant fools. I know more than you could possibly fathom about the processes involved. If I write a book that takes place within the universe that someone else created or owned, it is MY intellectual property. That is the law.

However, the people who own the rights to the universe can require me to not to distribute the work if they so choose. Next time read something about it before you open your mouth.

I was asking about what kinds of terms the owners gave on the subject anyways. It doesn't matter what the law is if they choose to allow people to write stories.

As I said before, people who own the rights to a franchise like fallout truly own very little. They have a lot to gain and little to lose from allowing published "fan-fic", though some may be too dumb to realize it. The industry works however the people who own franchise rights want it to, and if they are smart they would allow anyone who can write a story good enough to be published to do so and bring attention to the franchise. They could even get away with charging minimal percentages of revenue.

But there is not a lot use of such a franchise really has to offer that would make it worth much more than that.

kriminal99 wrote:More ignorant fools. I know more than you could possibly fathom about the processes involved. If I write a book that takes place within the universe that someone else created or owned, it is MY intellectual property. That is the law.

Oh, wow.

kriminal99 wrote:As I said before, people who own the rights to a franchise like fallout truly own very little. They have a lot to gain and little to lose from allowing published "fan-fic", though some may be too dumb to realize it. The industry works however the people who own franchise rights want it to, and if they are smart they would allow anyone who can write a story good enough to be published to do so and bring attention to the franchise.

And as we've said before, the industry doesn't work like that. So you think these rights holders are "too dumb" to realize what an asset published fanfic would be to their license? Great. Shout it from the rooftops all you want, but the rights holders still aren't going to give a shit. It's like complaining about how stupid it is to drive a car inside the white lines on the road rather than on the sidewalk. We'd all love to drive on the sidewalk, dude, but it's still illegal.

kriminal99 wrote:I was asking about what kinds of terms the owners gave on the subject anyways. It doesn't matter what the law is if they choose to allow people to write stories.

Then ask Bethesda. Seriously, inquire directly about their licensing rights. Then contact a publisher, preferably one who accepts unsolicited manuscripts (ie. sumbitted without an agent, 99% of which end up in the publisher's "slop pile", which you'd know if you knew anything about the publishing industry at all). I'm willing to bet a pretty penny that your soon-to-be-published Fallout novel isn't going to get past that first phone call.

just make up a universe and steal the bits out of fallout you like and call it something else. then you wont even have to check your fax.

P.S are you bret easton ellis?