DDLC Developer doesn't like Gaia's reference items... At all

[Bryie]

All I am gonna say is, parody law has them covered.

The hair isn't a ponytail

Some of the poses ref other characters

Yandere items aren't an original idea

Yes it's similar to his idea, more than likely sparked the idea

But it could be several things in one.

Like part his character Monika and part Giffany front Gravity Falls, WHICH ALSO HAS PARODY ITEMS HERE.

He really has no ground to stand on. He can be mad, but there is no way to definitively prove THIS is Monika.

That's like saying the Pokekaiju item in the shop now is ABSOLUTELY that Pokémon.

[dreamsk]

After thinking about it, I've decided he should put up or shut up. It's not right to send internet goons to do your dirty work for free. Put up the legal fees to defend your copyright if you feel so offended by it.

If you dont defend your copyright, you lose it.

[RandomKate]

When you think about it, people are making money off let's plays on his game.

Honestly, the guy should not have posted about this on his Twitter. Instead, he should have immediately contacted Gaia. I mean, it's not like that sort of information is hidden. Something could have been done and would not have to cause drama.

[Throttle Kitty]

No more than YouTubers who "Steal" games to make money off it through their ads.

Fair use is just that. Gaia has literally hundreds of items like it. You don't get a magic "negate fair use cause I want to" card cause your product is free, either. Sorry but you can't pick and choose who and what references you or your work. Ask any billionaire hollywood wack job, even they can't stop it...

I think it's creating drama for the sake of it. It's not much different than filling a DMCA against a YouTube channel for making money off your game because you don't like that individual YouTuber. It's a really rude way to abuse your power.

I'm not trying to defend Gaia, trust me. But the concept of fair use itself matters a great deal to me, and it's as important here as it is on YouTube.

Someone might need to message Jim Sterling. Fair use? Video Games? Right up his ally.

i might do that myself honestly.

[Princess Arcee]

If he really had a problem with it, he could have contacted gaia directly. Instead, he posts it on twitter, knowing his followers will go into a witchhunt. Kind of glad I've never played the game before now. Don't think I'll be inclined to play it any time soon, if ever.

[Pimpernel Blue]

This is just like when that tektek guy posted the C&D letter without any other information. Obvious pity ploy to misinform people.

(And, privately, like... when your game exists as a satire of an entire genre, thus including many themes of that genre... glass houses, man.)

[Ami Satomora]

If Imma be 100% honest, I really don't care how this is gonna turn out because I didn't care for DDLC at all after reading up on the plot for it. I have enough games with similar feels tyvm

BUT, what irks me about the entire situation is that the creator posted about it on twitter instead of immediately contacting Gaia in private. I'm on twitter and I know how really ignorant people on twitter can be so they can just been seen as a good hero for those sweet sweet likes, so it just rubs me the wrong way when people air their grievances out on twitter in certain circumstances. Gaia isn't some shady online store that makes it literally impossible to be in contact with them if there's an issue with something. So doing a callout post on twitter (and tumblr; I know there wasn't anything on tumblr but this kind of stuff happens on tumblr too) is just kinda erm no in my mind.

This doesn't make me lose respect for Gaia or the creator in the slightest. I'm just the type of person that if something can be situated in private, I'd do that first before going on social media with a callout.

[Siege Machine]

When Just Dangerously Me came out I was slightly concerned that recoloring the item to the canon palette would be one step too far. In a general sense I kinda feel for people who suddenly find out their IP is being parodied / paid homage to without their knowledge. It's all about how you handle it though. Making a public fuss to stir up a mob and not clarifying the situation isn't a great approach.

Heck from what I saw on some of those twitter replies Hoo Boy some of them think Gaia is selling a whole game?

Like it takes one email or phone call to contact someone, involving thousands of random people doesn't go well for anyone involved. gonk
Thats when it crosses over from looking like someone wanting a situation solved, to someone wanting the talk and drama of it all.

This has happened enough though that perhaps some of the parody items should dial it back a bit. So many other items have proved you can pay homage or make a reference without having a mob on your hands. sweatdrop

[BOMB4Y]

I think I said my piece on the Site Feedback thread. I'm 50-50 on this one - parody is something a lot of companies that produce anime allow and turn a blind eye to, or even encourage, because it gets them a following in a very competitive industry. If they blocked off fandom celebration (i.e.: controlled cosplay and fan merchandize/doujinshi) fans would comply - but then move on to another series and celebrate that instead. Anime markets and fandoms are pretty much about the freedom of sharing and trade. You celebrate the talent of others, not just your own. When parody items are made, free marketing is extended to a crowd of people who may not know about the series yet.

From the independent creator's point of view though, they'd be missing out on potential profit. Perhaps their revenue is lacking in terms of merchandize and they'd like more - and this was a chance for it. I won't fault the creators since they did work on creating a product. Perhaps they're not really big on the anime fandom itself, or it's very different where they live. They have their own way of thinking too. Gaia might do well to ask before making parody items based on independent creators' works.

I was told about the game earlier and was about to look into the premise, but I'm personally not touching the game with a ten yard stick now after seeing that post. sweatdrop If they're that protective of it, they won't like me making parody or fan art of it, and giving it to friends or selling these drawings for charity. I do the latter quite a bit... and well, I give some of the printed stuff I make to the kids at the shelter for their back to school day. I just sell the rest to buy them reference books which they hate me for doing lol

If I can't do that with this game I'll just find another. I imagine it'll be the same for others, Gaia included. No big deal really.

[Bunni Hime]

I remember in like early 2000s on gaia, people were ASKING to have parody items. Even creating a petition for it.
Now that Gaia artists do it on their own, they're getting s**t for it??
I've seen the tweet's replies and they're just full of people poking at gaia just because others are and would love to make it a huge deal. :/
That's really toxic and bad for the site's reputation still, so it might be a good idea to get that sorted out on tweeter.

On a side note, Gaia's supposed to be an anime/ gaming/ kpop/ RP site that people of the same interests can talk about something they like. I hardly see how parodying an item from a game that has become so popular, is harmful. Aside from monetizing a free game. But it just so happened that a free game became popular enough to grab Gaia artists's attention.
I feel like they should be proud that Gaia's "ripping off" their anime design.

It's no different to artists drawing fan art of a character with the EXACT design, and selling merch of it at Cons or online shops.
That's my take on it.

On a side side note, thanks Dan for shouting out Gaia and reminding your fandom it still exists. No such thing as bad publicity ;')

[BOMB4Y]

Bunni Hime

It's no different to artists drawing fan art of a character with the EXACT design, and selling merch of it at Cons or online shops.
That's my take on it.

I kinda thought of this as well. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm kinda curious to know what the creator's thoughts on con artists selling prints made with his characters in it are. I'm guessing he wouldn't like that, since they are profiting off his IP.

I'll just stick to BNHA and Touken Ranbu for my table this year emotion_0A0

[Bunni Hime]

BOMB4Y

I kinda thought of this as well. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm kinda curious to know what the creator's thoughts on con artists selling prints made with his characters in it are. I'm guessing he wouldn't like that, since they are profiting off his IP.

I'll just stick to BNHA and Touken Ranbu for my table this year emotion_0A0

I feel like it's definitely the same thing. u - u
Gaia's just a huge site selling reference items to fans so they need to be careful of directly "ripping off" IPs. I think the artists do it super well! I honestly don't see how different it is with making fan art and selling it at cons! If anything, it builds the fandom, until the creator decides to beat up the whole Gaia community lol

Gaia just takes precaution to not directly rip off the design but still reference it largely.
If they didn't throw in the hair bow, background and text box, the item could reference another game entirely!

Also BNHA yessssssssssssss

[BOMB4Y]

Bunni Hime

I feel like it's definitely the same thing. u - u
Gaia's just a huge site selling reference items to fans so they need to be careful of directly "ripping off" IPs. I think the artists do it super well! I honestly don't see how different it is with making fan art and selling it at cons! If anything, it builds the fandom, until the creator decides to beat up the whole Gaia community lol

Gaia just takes precaution to not directly rip off the design but still reference it largely.
If they didn't throw in the hair bow, background and text box, the item could reference another game entirely!

Also BNHA yessssssssssssss

Mmmm yeah! Trade market has always been what made the anime/games/comics fandom great to participate in. You get to share your love by recreating and enjoying a creation by someone else, or a fellow fan - that's the spirit of fandom. I've always seen it as a celebration of freedom and appreciation, even back when it was smaller and a lot more niche. We're getting more mainstream now though! Perhaps the business and IP mindset has been brought in by new creators, such as this one. Changing times call for new ideas, after all. Can't be helped.

Mmm I see! I didn't take a good look at the item or the designs of the game, so I can't really tell how big the reference is. But I imagine Gaia would know what it's doing. They do have a team of lawyers.

All da flowery japanese kimono Todorokis and Froppys shall grace my tablecloth redface

[Xavior Hellzwing]

Oh ... this is confusing. I thought more exposure and free publicity would only work in the creator's favor. Especially for a free game that I've heard is a teaser for an upcoming project. Like all the play-throughs on the Youtubes, who are no doubt keeping their videos monetized.

But I don't know how these things work, and I can't take into account the artist's feelings. It doesn't look like Gaia was maliciously trying to hurt them or directly compete with DDLC.

I understand there's a lot of ways to handle problems like this, but this route doesn't feel good. It reminds me of cyber bullying. I guess starting a s**t-fest in public also grabs attention? The rotten, pessimistic misanthrope in me wants to believe he knows the laws, knows he's got no ground to stand on, and is just using Gaia as something new to whip the fans into a frenzy over.

I hope all this hot air blows away quickly.

[Shymana]

Wow, someone tagged >>> "@pewdiepie , @Jack_Septic_Eye , @indeimaus @BijuuMike @markiplier" hoping they would say something about this too.