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Using Product Names

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zamajam
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Joined: 10/14/2016

Hello everyone. I am new to game design and new to the forums. I have a question about a game that I am working on. It is a paranormal investigation game that will make use of actual equipment. What I would like to know is am I able to use product names in my game (such as FLIR), or do I need to contact each company and get their consent? I have a feeling I know the answer to this, but wanted to put it out there.

Thank you ahead of time for your help.

questccg
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Joined: 04/16/2011
There are easy ways to get around it.

Had no clue what a FLIR was - until I googled it.

Instead of using the Brand Name FLIR, use "Thermal Camera"...

This way you don't have to ask for anyone's permission and you can continue with your game not worrying that anyone will tell you NOT to use their Brand.

That's my 5 cents!

Best of luck with your game...

Note: This might be because you are very CLOSE to the "paranormal investigation" techniques or equipment. Just use BROADER terms that identify what the equipment is without needing to use actual Brand names...

Stormyknight1976
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Joined: 04/08/2012
I agree with questccg

Check out Ghoststop on the web to search for neat equipment that investigators use during their investigations.

Also I would suggest that your game has a day and night mechanic. Not all haunts are active during the witching hours of 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Haunts or activities actually happen through all hours of the day, week, month or a certain anniversary or holiday or event or when ever the energy is most active. Also a haunt or episode does not need to be in a old building from the 1830's, for an example. Also, sometimes the location may not the haunted and its the person who is that attracts the unknown.

For equipment based mechanics:

You can use real world equipment or have your players come up with their own gadgets to experiment during the investigations.

Hope this helps you out. I am an paranormal investigator that has experienced quite of bit of the unknown in the field. I do not have a website, but I do have friends who do. If you want to chat sometime, feel free to send me a message. I have stories to tell if you want to hear. Would like to hear more on your game.

Stormy

zamajam
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Joined: 10/14/2016
Thank you

Thank you both very much for the answers and the ideas. I figured the best way was to use either generic terms or maybe even come up with fictional names.

Thank you Stormy for the insight as well. I would love to hear the stories you have to tell. And such a great amount of info you shared as well. Gets the ideas flowing for sure.

gilamonster
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Joined: 08/21/2015
Brand-name fever

This comment is probably a bit late, but I agree with QuestCCG, because in writing (science fiction writing, specifially), there is a stylistic flaw that is sometimes called "brand-name fever" - the idea being that the author has described the future by means of name-dropping a lot of brands. At best, you'll end up with a story (or game) which dates very quickly, when any cultural references or connotations that it contained have become forgotten. You can create a lot more atmosphere (again, in a work of fiction, but I do feel that the same can apply to a game) by describing it - in the case of a game, artwork helps with this, of course.

Obviously, this doesn't apply when the product name has been in general useage for a few decades, eg 'xeroxing' for photocopying, 'googling' for doing an internet search and so on. I think this also makes it easier to use legally, but I'm not a lawyer.

zamajam
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Agreed

Excellent post gilamonster. It makes a lot of sense. As a matter of fact I found that using equipment names such as "EMF Detector" instead of Mel-Meter makes it easier to understand because you are defining the equipment preventing me from taking up valuable card space by having to name, define, then list cost and other info.

So thank you for the post. Very much appreciated.

bbblackwell
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Joined: 10/23/2013
No worries

Welcome, Zama! I wouldn't spend any time worrying about this sort of thing, especially during the design stage. These things can always be changed later, and there's a long road before publication anyway.

This would only be your concern if you were going to self-publish. If you're going to seek an existing publisher, they'll know what they need to do with the legal stuff and sort it out themselves.

Design from your inspiration -- mundane legalities are not a matter worthy of an artist's attention! It takes a village to raise a published game, and your role in the village doesn't include dealing with red tape.

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