I know What You Did Last Year

[RepentantSky]

If it turns out that I'm wrong and there was something malevolent about this, it doesn't change the fact that it's within their rights to do so if they feel The Last Year is too close to their material. It doesn't make it fair but it's legal and there's not much that can be done about that fact. It sucks but I saw that Last year stuff, I can see why some of the claim says it does. Inspiration or ripping off, it all seems pretty close to me in this case.

[Mass Distraction]

If it turns out that I'm wrong and there was something malevolent about this, it doesn't change the fact that it's within their rights to do so if they feel The Last Year is too close to their material. It doesn't make it fair but it's legal and there's not much that can be done about that fact. It sucks but I saw that Last year stuff, I can see why some of the claim says it does. Inspiration or ripping off, it all seems pretty close to me in this case.

If they didn't use any assets, locations or anything otherwise straight from Friday the 13th there is legally nothing that can be done about it. If it is not using any actual copyrighted material then they have the complete legal rights to proceed with the game. If that was the case not a single mockbuster or a parody would ever have seen the light of day.

[CLXcool]

On a good note. We do know that there's an official Friday the 13th game that is coming our way. And then there's the 'homage' video game that pays tribute to those old horror classics like Friday the 13th. Now. Its only a matter of time to wait and see what events will turn in order for the creator of 'The Last Year' can do to settle this lawsuit to make his game see the light.

[RepentantSky]

If it turns out that I'm wrong and there was something malevolent about this, it doesn't change the fact that it's within their rights to do so if they feel The Last Year is too close to their material. It doesn't make it fair but it's legal and there's not much that can be done about that fact. It sucks but I saw that Last year stuff, I can see why some of the claim says it does. Inspiration or ripping off, it all seems pretty close to me in this case.

If they didn't use any assets, locations or anything otherwise straight from Friday the 13th there is legally nothing that can be done about it. If it is not using any actual copyrighted material then they have the complete legal rights to proceed with the game. If that was the case not a single mockbuster or a parody would ever have seen the light of day.

That said I can see why they might look at The Last Year and think there are enough similarities that it goes beyond a simple parody, homage to or mockbuster version of their property. It really does look similar and the camp's name is literally one word in difference to the camp in Friday The 13th. I kind of have my doubts The Last Year is going away, but I can't say it shocks me that this happened either.  

[EvilOverlord]

Have two updates on 'Last Year':
Hello everyone and happy Friday The 13th! I wanted to mark this day with an update on whats happening with the copyright infringement claim. It's a little overdue but with legal issues like this it's always a bit tricky or uncertain how much can be said out in the open.

As you know the owners of Friday The 13th (Crystal Lake Entertainment and Sean Cunningham) have made several complaints that we're profiting from their brand. They've made quite a few requests to remove and change things... which in some cases are valid (like removing the poster from the video...fair enough!) But in other cases the complaints have been farther reaching and frankly a bit silly. Unfortunately, until they officially withdraw their copyright claim to Kickstarter the page is inaccessible to everyone and I can't access most of it either…It's basically held hostage until Kickstarter receives a complaint withdrawal notice from them, regardless of how far reaching or silly their claims may be. If the worst case scenario were to happen and they shut us down, and I'm not saying it will, you will all receive refunds as the first priority.



As for their complaints here's the camp example from their lawyer:



"Level 1 of the game is called Silver Lake Summer Camp. This, of course, is an infringement of the now famous Crystal Lake Summer Camp, the location of the original Friday the 13th horror film."



Bruce Isaacs | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
865 S Figueroa Street, Suite 2400 | Los Angeles, CA 90017
Tel: (213) 633-6808 | Fax: (213) 633-6899
Email: bruceisaacs@dwt.com | Website: www.dwt.com



I simply responded to him with this:



"The term "Silver Lake Summer Camp" is a completely different term than "Camp Crystal Lake" including it's geographical location. It is drawn from the real world location of Silver Lake, California, as shown here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Lake,_Los_Angeles"



They seem to have removed this particular item from the list of their complaints…but they are still not happy. Here's an update from them as of today:



"James:



We still have three objections:



1. You still make specific reference to our title “Friday the 13th.” You need to eliminate that.



2. There is a still frame in which the killer’s mask looks like Jason’s mask. You need to eliminate that. And, the juxtaposition of the title and the mask strike us as an intent to profit off of our protectable elements.



We are not pleased that you raised over $100,000 by making use of our protectable elements and reserve all rights, at law and in equity.



Bruce Isaacs | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
865 S Figueroa Street, Suite 2400 | Los Angeles, CA 90017
Tel: (213) 633-6808 | Fax: (213) 633-6899
Email: bruceisaacs@dwt.com | Website: www.dwt.com"



To this I responded with:



"Bruce,

1. The dialog clearly states "INSPIRED by films like Friday The 13th.." Inspired by is the keyword here as there is no law against stating inspirational pop culture references. No reference was made to this being an official license or anything misleading. 4000 backers will testify that they were fully aware of this.


2. You'll need to provide visual examples of which art piece and mask you are referencing so that I have a clear understanding of what exactly to fix. "



They are grasping at straws and I've been going back and forth with their lawyer, editing the video and sending it back to them, fixing concept art to their liking, etc. until they are satisfied to the point that they'll release their stranglehold on the Kickstarter. I'm happy to remove items such as the poster, however, making us fix concept art and saying things like Silver Lake can't be used is completely ridiculous and unfair.

I'm sorry that you guys have had to deal with this on a freshly funded project...The good news is that the money is in safe keeping and not a cent has been spent or will be spent until this is resolved. They say they are not happy we raised money using their brand but if the worst case scenario were to happen then money would be refunded to all of you first and not a cent given to them. I'm not saying the worst case will happen...I just want to make it crystal clear that my goal is to move forward on development and stage 2 funding as planned, but, if something were to prevent this from happening then the first priority would be giving you refunds.

If they try and make further claims that you guys were "confused" or misled or whatever into thinking this was somehow officially related to Friday The 13th then I'm really going to need your support to prove otherwise.. In fact I need your support now. Personally I felt it was quite clear we were inspired by Friday The 13th and other classic horror games...we are not in any way affiliated with them or profiting from them. They just see dollar signs in their eyes now and they want a piece of the pie. Luckily, a very well known copyright lawyer has contacted me to offer us his help to fight them if needed. Hopefully it doesn't come to that since we don't have time to waste...but we have the firepower if necessary.

Thanks for your support guys..I'm annoyed, angry, frustrated too. Any support, emails, and statements from you guys are incredibly helpful to get this sorted out. I get a feeling they don't want bad publicity for themselves by picking on the little guys and angering 4000 backers but you never know.

As always you can reach me at lastyearthegame@gmail.com with any comments, questions, concerns, etc. and I'll do my best to respond as fast as possible.

Hopefully next update will be via official Kickstarter channels.

I'll keep you posted on the latest news once I hear back but don't hesitate if you want to let others know what is happening.

Have a great weekend everyone!

James

--------------------------------------------------------------
Hey everyone just a quick update and a huge thanks for the amount of support in the past couple days. It looks like things are going on the track of being resolved in the coming days! Also I just wanted to ask a quick favour to please refrain from emailing the lawyers or any of the people who filed this since we don’t want to anger them further. I should have redacted their email address but I just wanted to make it transparent. We don’t want to poke the bear!

James

[CLXcool]

Good to hear that they are sorting things out here. Hopefully everyone gets what they want, by letting this slide it being a 'homage' to Friday the 13th. And the suits at Paramount can be happy to approve of an official Friday the 13th game letting this homage off of the lawsuit strings being not connected to the franchise whatsoever.

[Mass Distraction]

Jesus, those corporate butts...

[CLXcool]

Jesus, those corporate butts...

And I thought Disney had corporate problems. 

[Mass Distraction]

Jesus, those corporate butts...

And I thought Disney had corporate problems. 

At least they are sharing Spiderman with Sony.

[EvilOverlord]

Update:

SUCCESS!! 

Hello fine people. As you already heard the IP dispute is over!
It caused quite a frustrating and unnecessary delay but I appreciate the patience and words of support you all gave. Thankfully its over and we can now get back to work!!
In the unfortunate scenario that Silver Lake would have caused additional problems I had backup plan with a new location I started working on.. .The Suburbs

If you’ve ever wanted to explore a creepy movie inspired suburb at night this is it. It's a classic movie neighbourhood that’s become mysteriously deserted and you'll explore houses, backyards, tool sheds, parked cars, tree forts and numerous other spots for hiding and gathering materials. Down the street is a large park which has a swing set, tennis court, benches, trees, paths and more. A few lamp posts here and there illuminate small areas of the map...the rest is pretty dark and misty, a few crickets can be heard, and theres a creepy feeling in the air. On the far edge of the park there are train tracks which separate the park from a small patch of trees. Theres a path through the trees that leads into a slightly abandoned area near the river where the cool kids hang out and the hobos sleep. It’s a bit dirtier with graffiti, broken bottles, a run down building and an old bridge. Not a place you want to be caught alone with the killer. 
I haven’t come up with name for the location yet…just calling it suburbs seems a bit too generic. A name of the street could be interesting. Send ideas if you have any.

The focus now is still the production funding plan for Canada Media Fund seen in the PDF. I’m working on the application right now which includes documentation and overview on the project, budget information, and the overall pitch. I’ll keep you updated once that’s complete and ready to be submitted (April).
Website:
The website design is planned to be finished during the end of the week of March 9th, then after that about a week of coding and it should be online shortly thereafter. 
Trapping prototype:
Remember, the killer can’t run as fast as the survivors. His strategy is to pick off survivors one by one using stealth tactics and the element of surprise…….not just chasing everyone down.
His main ability is predator mode but he also has a trap ability. The big difference with the trap is this: The survivors can’t actually see the trap..it’s invisible.
The trap is a 1.5 meter invisible zone that the Killer can place anywhere on the ground. Think of it as a simple glowing circle on the ground that only the killer can see and place. When a survivor runs through the trap something bad happens to them: If Amber runs through it the heel on her shoe will break and her ankle will break and she'll be stuck on the ground. Likewise, if Troy runs through his leg will snap. Once a character gets caught going through the trap they've essentially become incapacitated and are now bait for the Killer to arrive and make the kill. The animation of what happens to each character getting trapped depends on their stereotype... The Nerd might drop his glasses and be stuck on the ground looking for them for example. 
To save a trapped friend you have to walk up, hold a key down for 5-10 seconds, and it'll help them up and they’ll be freed again. Theres a strategy element for the Killer here though.. Does he execute his prey immediately or does he wait nearby for someone to come help their friend then take them both out at the same time?
Amber, as the scout, is the only player that can actually see the traps..so she’ll need to communicate to other players where the traps are. Thats where strategy comes in as well…if the scout dies then survivors no longer have a trap spotter.
Obviously certain limitations need to be placed on it for balance.. like only 1 trap is allowed at a time and having a trap recharge time in place. The whole idea is to capture the classic movie cliche of someone falling down/getting hurt while on the run and turning this into a gameplay mechanic that feels fun but still balanced. It gives the Killer the strategic ability to catch prey while the survivors are challenged with spotting and avoiding potential hazards.
I've been asked at various times how the asymmetrical aspect of Last Year differs from games like Evolve for example and my answer is that I see this as a slower, methodical, strategic game. It's not so much about shooting as it is about tension, choice making, heart pounding chases, and melee combat (even though there are still weapons like harpoons and slingshots).
We’re modelling the Chad in-game character right now so I'll be updating you with progress on that shortly with various stages of completion. After that is the skinning and animation and test the trapping mechanics in engine. 
Thanks again for the patience and support the past weeks all..it really helped move things along and get it resolved quickly. I'm just glad we can move forward on making an awesome project!!
-James

[CLXcool]

Thank freaking goodness.

[Mass Distraction]

Oh boy. http://www.relyonhorror.com/latest-news/...sy-ensues/

The article is rather biased, since to me it seems like pointless bickering from both sides.

[CLXcool]

^More debating on people who don't do their research before discussing.

[Mass Distraction]

I honestly wouldn't mind both this and the new Friday the 13th game being both released, I'm sure both will have their own unique things. I hope they come to a peaceful agreement.

Btw. This thread could use a title change, since it can be confused with the actual Friday the 13th game that also has its own thread. I vote for "I know what you did Last Year"

[RepentantSky]

I honestly wouldn't mind both this and the new Friday the 13th game being both released, I'm sure both will have their own unique things. I hope they come to a peaceful agreement.

Btw. This thread could use a title change, since it can be confused with the actual Friday the 13th game that also has its own thread. I vote for "I know what you did Last Year"

Done and done.