Using art from TMW in another free gameproject?

[Nikke]

Hello,

In my spare time I'm making an RPG that could use some game graphics (I'm a programmer).
Am I allowed to use a tileset from TMW, provided that I credit the authors?
Could anyone tell me what the exact license of the art provided with the game is, and how I know which people I need to credit?

Thanks in advance,
Nikke

[Crush]

The license for everything in TMW, including the graphics, is the GNU General Public License Version 2 or later.
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html

That means you can use them when you also license your game under the GNU General Public License.

You can credit the "The Mana World Development Team".

Good luck with your project, and have fun!

[Nikke]

Hi Crush, thanks for your quick reply. However, I still don't understand something:

My game is written in PHP and javascript (jQuery). Would this mean I have to release my PHP source-code?
The javascript code is already "released" as it is simply client javascript that needs to be loaded anyway..
But my PHP code does not "touch" the GPL as I simply show html images that are property of TMW.

Sigh.... all so complicated... Is there perhaps a way i can address someone directly via email asking for permission?

Thanks again,

[Len]

http://opengameart.org/content/oga-staff-picks
Great place for GPL and other art

My understanding of GPL as it pertains to art
*You must accredit the original artist/artists
*You can alter the work and add your name, but it must be marked as altered and you must still give the original artist/artists credit (as the original artists)
*Tag (if it has one) info must remain in some form
*you can sell it, but can not change the license from GPL even if altered.'
*When it pertains to art the original artwork is considered the source code.

[Nikke]

Thanks again! OGA is awesome!

[Crush]

Hi Crush, thanks for your quick reply. However, I still don't understand something:

My game is written in PHP and javascript (jQuery). Would this mean I have to release my PHP source-code?
The javascript code is already "released" as it is simply client javascript that needs to be loaded anyway..
But my PHP code does not "touch" the GPL as I simply show html images that are property of TMW.

The GPL only forces you to license programs under the GPL which are executed by your users. You can license the client-sided part under GPL and the server-sided part under a different license.

Sigh.... all so complicated... Is there perhaps a way i can address someone directly via email asking for permission?

Good luck with that. The number of contributors to TMWs graphics is as long as your arm. When you want to use a graphic, you need the direct permission by everyone who worked on it to license it under a different license. Many artists are only known by their handles and have left the project long ago, so you will have a hard time contacting them.

I, for myself (and I did something for a lot of tilesets), will not give you permission to license my work under a non share-alike license unless you pay me for it.


Have you considered to develop your whole game as open source, including the server-sided part? It would make it very easy for you to find people who improve your code for you. And even when you don't have time for your project anymore, others can keep it alive. The project founder of TMW isn't even here anymore, but his vision is still coming true, because he decided to use an open source license.

[Nikke]

Thank you for explaining. I have already thought about going open-source, but the project I'm working on has been there for a few years, and I always have been the only person working on it. I'd like to keep it that way for now. Should you be interested, you can check out the project here: www.nickotopia.com
About the graphics, you certainly have a point about non share-alike licenses. However, what's wrong with a Creative Commons license?

[Crush]

In retrospective, using CC-BY-SA would have been a better choice as an art license, but unfortunately it is too late to change it now, because changing the license of old graphics would violate the rights of the people who worked on them, and not all of these people are available for contact anymore.

[Matt]

I dont see why you should need to open source your php scripts if you use GPLed graphics.

Just release the graphics as download pack and you are good to go.