Harry Potter MMO - Soon to be on Kickstarter

[ro9ue]

From their forums regarding licensing




I'm honestly not even sure how this could NOT violate Kickstarter's guidelines. They are producing a video game based on copyrighted material to which they have no legal usage rights. To make matters worse they are doing this for Harry Potter; which means they'll have to deal with potential licensing backlash from Warner Brothers AND J.K. Rowling; both of whom have proven to be quick with cease & desist requests.

This is hands down one of the most unprofessional development processes I have ever heard of. Let me highlight the last sentence.

If they don't however, then no, they will not be allowed to release anything HP related.

The game that they are marketing as "Harry Potter Online" may not have anything Harry Potter in it if they cannot obtain licensing rights, which as of last month they do not have.

Yeah that just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen...

[zealo]

From their forums regarding licensing




I'm honestly not even sure how this could NOT violate Kickstarter's guidelines. They are producing a video game based on copyrighted material to which they have no legal usage rights. To make matters worse they are doing this for Harry Potter; which means they'll have to deal with potential licensing backlash from Warner Brothers AND J.K. Rowling; both of whom have proven to be quick with cease & desist requests.

This is hands down one of the most unprofessional development processes I have ever heard of. Let me highlight the last sentence.

If they don't however, then no, they will not be allowed to release anything HP related.

The game that they are marketing as "Harry Potter Online" may not have anything Harry Potter in it if they cannot obtain licensing rights, which as of last month they do not have.

Sounds like a cease and desist waiting to happen, if that's not a red flag i don't know what is.

[Celista]

Quality looks terrible. Concept would work as an RPG, possibly an MMORPG but not on a tiny budget.

[isuridedes]

Their forum moderators are hinting that the 'executives' have something worked out; they are no longer commenting on the licensing status as something that 'cannot be discussed at this time'. Here's the thing though; they cannot meet Kickstarter's guidelines for projects if they are going to promote a "Harry Potter MMORPG" unless they can also guarantee licensing from the start.

Their Kickstarter was canceled within hours of its creation but people are still posting on the forums like this project is still alive and well.

I get it; a Harry Potter MMORPG done right seems like it could be a lot of fun. It doesn't even really need to involve the main characters so much as the universe created by JKR. But that MMORPG is not going to be created by an indie game developer with 0 published games in their back pocket and fans of the book/movie series need to realize that. What's worse is that this 'company' seems to have gathered several employees who lack a basic understanding of copyright and trademark law.

I wouldn't encourage this company in the slightest until it provided proof that they have licensing. Until they do they are just trying to steal your money.

[Savior Hill]

Their forum moderators are hinting that the 'executives' have something worked out; they are no longer commenting on the licensing status as something that 'cannot be discussed at this time'. Here's the thing though; they cannot meet Kickstarter's guidelines for projects if they are going to promote a "Harry Potter MMORPG" unless they can also guarantee licensing from the start.

Their Kickstarter was canceled within hours of its creation but people are still posting on the forums like this project is still alive and well.

I get it; a Harry Potter MMORPG done right seems like it could be a lot of fun. It doesn't even really need to involve the main characters so much as the universe created by JKR. But that MMORPG is not going to be created by an indie game developer with 0 published games in their back pocket and fans of the book/movie series need to realize that. What's worse is that this 'company' seems to have gathered several employees who lack a basic understanding of copyright and trademark law.

I wouldn't encourage this company in the slightest until it provided proof that they have licensing. Until they do they are just trying to steal your money.

^^^ I think it's a bit of a jump to assume they are out to steal your money. Sure they are a start up but in order to produce a game with the harry potter license you'd 1. have to have a lot of money to buy licensing or 2. Show WB that its worth investing in and having the license given to them so the game can be made, I think that's the main point of the Kickstarter. To gain enough hype for this "Wizarding World Online" game (a name which is legal to use). I don't think this start up company is dumb enough to do anything that would bring about a giant lawsuit against themselves. If they are in talks with WB then it's very likely that WB likes what they have seen and wants to see what they can do. I think their work looks awesome! I would encourage this company to continue to try and produce a game that fans will enjoy, there's no need to bring down a company trying to produce an awesome product, we all start somewhere.

[userboo]

kickstarter for the game is live, and it looks amazing

[Kelimbror]

It doesn't look amazing, but it looks interesting. Love the universe too much not to be interested.

[Azgraal]

Contributing 50$ (minimum donation to get a copy of the game) for a game that doesn't even have any work to show apart from conceptual texts is a bit too steep imo...

[Kelimbror]

Contributing 50$ (minimum donation to get a copy of the game) for a game that doesn't even have any work to show apart from conceptual texts is a bit too steep imo...

Indeed. Not even my love of the universe could make me support kickstarter in this form. There is nothing worth donating money other than an idea, hopes, and dreams and we should have learned the lesson that this is not what kickstarter is for. I really hope enough silly people give them money so I can check it out if it gets made, but I'm not putting my wallet on the line for that. I can play numerous harry potter games on steam already.

[Xargoth6634]

I don't have a whole lot of faith they'll get it off the ground, and I don't support kickstarters regardless. If it does actually happen though, I'll definitely pick up a collector's edition. My main concern is the lack of anything concrete that they have so far outside of some art and concepts, and a lack of endorsement from WB. WB will likely be very wary about licensing/risking anything from an MMO standpoint, particularly since SWTOR has shown how hard an mmo based on a major, well loved and widely known franchise can flop.

[Deleted]

From Kickstarter page:

DISCLAIMER: This production and it's entirety is being produced by a team of developers to represent a fan/indie game and not intended for profitable distribution or sale. All Harry Potter characters, designs, sounds/music, stories, logos, locations, etc. are all owned and copyrighted by Warner Brothers Entertainment. This production is not intended for a profit, but to develop a game fans around the globe can enjoy as they dive into the magical world.

That's a pretty weak attempt at "please don't sue us".

Taking bets on how soon this gets shut down...

[zito]

lol they didn't even get permission?

[Deleted]

How can a multi billion dollar IP require crowd funding? It's stuff like this that pisses me off about kickstarter.

Not a chance this is getting made.

[Mekkle]

fuck it, i'd give give it a shot.

[Wondercrab]

I took a peek at the kickstarter page and immediately shook my head at the $100,000 goal for am MMO, but then I skimmed the page and found the caveat I was looking for about it only being a starting point from which to get publishers on board.

Really though, it looks like a money hole. A project this ambitious with so much ground to cover and little more than concept art to back it up is not something I'd expect to see the light of day at this point. It has a minefield of problems to navigate before it even crosses the starting line.

[Deleted]

How can a multi billion dollar IP require crowd funding?

The people behind this do not have rights for that IP.

They are either delusional or actively trying to rip people off.

[Hayro1]

No chance of this being released if they didn't get permission, GL to them though, especially asking for $50 dollars for a copy of the game (really, that's it...?) with no work to show on the GAME, not the conceptual art. Huge red flag to me, sorry but if you fork 50 bucks over, you're foolish.

[ro9ue]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...g-world-online

Are they expecting to raise 100k and then HOPE to get the rights to make this game?
Are they going to just use the HP IP to steal 100k from Kickstarter people?
Do they really think this won't get shut down?

So many fucking questions.

[Deleted]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...g-world-online

Are they expecting to raise 100k and then HOPE to get the rights to make this game?
Are they going to just use the HP IP to steal 100k from Kickstarter people?
Do they really think this won't get shut down?

So many fucking questions.

They are all answered on their homepage:

DISCLAIMER: This Product is not Endorsed or Produced by Warner Brothers Entertainment. This production is a Non-Profit development created for the sole purpose of supplying fans the experience of creating their own wizard or witch within the beloved and reknown world. All Characters, Logos, Names and Music/Sounds are copyrighted by Warner Brothers. We are not affiliated with Warner Brothers and are not producing this production for a profitable income.

Ok so that is the official announcement from Bio-Hazard. In simple terms, Bio-Hazard is making this game on there own with no support at this time from Warner Brothers who owns all the rights. The game plan is to create this game up to beta and present this to WB in hopes of gaining their backing to proceed further with developing the game to official release.

[carnifex2005]

This abortion of an idea finally got a cease and desist order from Warner Brothers.