tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post1273477509737995382..comments2023-10-31T08:28:52.391-07:00Comments on Computer Programming and Magic: The Gathering: Is Forge Legal?Forgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15838286606081721333noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-57473753314605455562011-01-06T22:27:44.676-08:002011-01-06T22:27:44.676-08:00A Dutch forge player here. Yes even in this small ...A Dutch forge player here. Yes even in this small below-marine level country do ppl play forge. <br />Thnx for the splendid program, I hope the interface will improve over time as well. <br />Grtz ChrisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-30014178630415311012010-08-10T05:55:56.671-07:002010-08-10T05:55:56.671-07:00Swedish Forge-player here. I guess there are Forge...Swedish Forge-player here. I guess there are Forge-players in almost all countries that MTG has been released in.E-mannennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-81658965260507455752010-08-02T11:59:46.067-07:002010-08-02T11:59:46.067-07:00A French Japanese guy, wow, that is out there. I ...A French Japanese guy, wow, that is out there. I bet if you made a Japanese version of Wagic people would go crazy for it, they seem to love portable gaming (because they have to ride long trains?).<br /><br />By the way, Wagic's "Brother's War" campaign looks very interesting. I'm going to post a link to it in the Forge forum. Keep up the good work. :!)Forgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15838286606081721333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-69334674031474476652010-07-30T16:55:39.509-07:002010-07-30T16:55:39.509-07:00Hey forge, I'm French but I live in Japan. Thi...Hey forge, I'm French but I live in Japan. This should help bumping the international stats for forge ;)wololohttp://wololo.net/wagicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-37269520647138758252010-07-30T09:16:05.691-07:002010-07-30T09:16:05.691-07:00Well if you play Forge in Africa, that makes Forge...Well if you play Forge in Africa, that makes Forge an international hit. <br /><br />On a side note, other than the USA, where in the world are you (the readers and players of Forge)?Forgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15838286606081721333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-14931277896473347532010-07-30T09:15:54.542-07:002010-07-30T09:15:54.542-07:00I love the idea of creating an online card game th...I love the idea of creating an online card game that allows the users to access ALL of the cards. Of course I have to invent my own game...Forgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15838286606081721333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-65932565605740395192010-07-29T07:47:34.168-07:002010-07-29T07:47:34.168-07:00The legality of Forge issue aside ... I for one ho...The legality of Forge issue aside ... I for one hope that Forge stays around and continues to grow and get better!<br /><br />I play paper Magic, Duels of the Planeswalkers for PC and the odd tournament ... but spend way more time questing in Forge.<br /><br />Long live Forge!<br /><br />Or as they would say in my country (South Africa) "Viva, Forge, Viva!"The Turquoise Magehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03693566371916771170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-61858107430750909032010-07-28T23:12:12.742-07:002010-07-28T23:12:12.742-07:00Gregg, why would they do that when they can sell y...Gregg, why would they do that when they can sell you the same cards on a per-unit price ? a person who plays regularly for 6 months will bring them much more money than someone who pays 10$ a month for 3 years...wololohttp://wololo.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-23239990685257174282010-07-28T12:35:35.807-07:002010-07-28T12:35:35.807-07:00I've written WOTC a few times suggesting they ...I've written WOTC a few times suggesting they come out with a monthly online subscription to use their cards and platform. All I want is access to all the cards in their library and game mechanics for $10 a month. I'll build my own casual decks and play with friends from around the world. If they want to host some tournys for prizes or fame that's cool. If not I'll just play casual.<br /><br />I guess they weren't interested because I never heard back.Gregghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10349966118289311664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-25562904378479882622010-07-27T10:25:50.398-07:002010-07-27T10:25:50.398-07:00"The longer WotC waits to shut you down, the ..."The longer WotC waits to shut you down, the stronger your claim is that WotC let you have this project. If a company does not enforce its copyrights, they can lose the copyrights."<br /><br />Well my blog and Forge has been up since Dec 2007, which is a fairly long amount of time.Forgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15838286606081721333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-889604442512373664.post-39790954171958140012010-07-26T21:34:22.474-07:002010-07-26T21:34:22.474-07:00Rules themselves can't be copyrighted, in the ...Rules themselves can't be copyrighted, in the sense that the "rule" for flanking is "when two units are involved in combat, and the first has flanking, and the second does not have flanking, the second unit experiences a particular disadvantage"<br /><br />But calling it "flanking" is copyrightable, and for Forge to call it "flanking" is to infringe.<br /><br />Calling an ability "flying" probably isn't, because how else is WotC supposed to get across that the unit is flying? "Hover"? "Float"? "Aero"? Those just don't cut it.<br /><br />But there are a lot of ways to express "flanking" "trample" "deathtouch" and "wither." Using WotC's names for those things is a violation.<br /><br />Having a mana pool that's designed to hold colorless, RGUBW and snow mana is a violation. You use the color scheme invented by WotC. That's a violation.<br /><br />You have taken the names of the cards and the gameplay mechanics for each particular card. Tundra Wolves are 1/1 with first strike. Even if WotC can't copyright the idea of 1/1 to represent attack/defendant, and even if WotC can't copyright the idea of "first strike," WotC can copyright a card called Tundra Wolves that's 1/1 with first strike. You copied their combination, and the mana cost.<br /><br />I think you have the right idea with "Forge is illegal, Wizards does not seem to be hunting me down." They could if they wanted to.<br /><br />Each card is a violation (as well as the tokens), so you're talking about 3,000+ violations, each one worth at least $750, for a minimum liability of $2M. And that's every time anyone downloads a copy of Forge. Your liability is probably in the billions at this point.<br /><br />For Forge fans in general, if you have a lot of money, I would strongly advise AGAINST distributing Forge or card pictures. Give a copy of Forge to someone --> $2M liability to WotC. If you actually have $2M lying around, WotC just might try to grab it.<br /><br />Mtgrares, if you win the lottery, take the lump sum payment and move to Switzerland before WotC catches on.<br /><br />LIKELY WORST CASE SCENARIO<br /><br />The longer WotC waits to shut you down, the stronger your claim is that WotC let you have this project. If a company does not enforce its copyrights, they can lose the copyrights.<br /><br />Sooner or later, the lawyers whispering in their ear will convince them that allowing your project to exist is damaging to their copyrights, which are the core of their business model, and WotC will force Forge underground.<br /><br />Forge won't go away completely--people will still trade source code over torrents--but its development will slow down if not stop, new cards won't be as frequent, and there might be branches instead of a single main version. WotC won't care enough to stamp it out because all they need to do is make an effort now and then so they can prove in court that they weren't completely asleep.<br /><br />WotC PROBABLY won't bother going after you for money, though it might threaten it as leverage to make you stop developing, distributing, or even talking about it. And if you flagrantly continued to violate their copyrights, they might try to get money from you just to force you to stop.<br /><br />That's one reason why you should distribute working source code with each distro of Forge--each one could be the last, and your fans should have access to a stable version.<br /><br />LIKELY BEST CASE SCENARIO<br /><br />In a few months, WotC will chase you off this blog, and off google code. You will go someplace else, and WotC will ignore you for another year. WotC's lawyers will tell them that the copyrights are safe because they made an empty show of force. And WotC employees can continue to play Forge at home.<br /><br />By the way: this is not "legal advice." You can go out and get a lawyer for that, if you ever feel that you need it.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16127155592358468530noreply@blogger.com