Parody games

[zaimokuza]

Let's see, I've played quite a lot of games from this forum and one of my most favorite genre is parody as it gives kinda refreshing feeling seeing the characters parodied doing something that won't ever happen in the original. However, the parody games are kinda limited in variations here, as far as I can tell, there are naruto, avatar, and disney's troupes, I think there were others but they were only short lived.
And my point is here, why's the variation of the parodied subject so few in number? For sure there are so many popular movies, games, and comics out there.
For once, One Piece could be quite a good material here, both story and characters are parodiable, like let's say Luffy's still the meat lover and is aiming to become the pirate king. There, we could change the definition of 'pirate king' and 'meat' here to match the adult genre. The story could also still be about him going here and there saving people, gathering companions, and fighting enemies. And so on, and so on.
Well, just take it as a rant from someone dying out of boredom. Also, please don't say something along "If you want it then make it yourself" line, as I completely know nothing about creating a game.

 

[polywog]

Parody is a great thing, and a time honored tradition. Where most attempts at parody run it to trouble it's because the dev just likes everything about the original and wants to make a fanfiction, and that is not parody. It must be humorous or satirical to be parody, and even then the owner might still try to come after you.
If you look at some successful parody movies and game, you'll see that it's safer to parody as a crossover.
Taking characters from multiple stories, and mashing them up together in a new story that makes fun of the originals.
If you combine characters from multiple different sources, it's less likely (nearly impossible) for the owner to challenge.

Airplane, and other comedies like it, made fun of the "serious disaster movies" from not one but many different studios.
These parodies ripped-off favorite scenes from teen movies and made a mockery of that awkward stage of growing up.

Alita the submissive sexbot will do anything to recover "her precious" stolen by those dirty Hobbits.

 

[khumak]

There are some parodies on here but I would agree that I'd love to see more of them. If/when I try to make my own game it's fairly likely that my first one would be a parody. I'm not clear on what sorts of things you would need to change to avoid getting into trouble with the original's creators. I wouldn't want to damage the brand or piss off the author of a series that I really enjoy, but at the same time I would want it to be similar enough that it works as a parody.

 

[Zippity]

Let's see, I've played quite a lot of games from this forum and one of my most favorite genre is parody as it gives kinda refreshing feeling seeing the characters parodied doing something that won't ever happen in the original. However, the parody games are kinda limited in variations here, as far as I can tell, there are naruto, avatar, and disney's troupes, I think there were others but they were only short lived.
And my point is here, why's the variation of the parodied subject so few in number? For sure there are so many popular movies, games, and comics out there.
For once, One Piece could be quite a good material here, both story and characters are parodiable, like let's say Luffy's still the meat lover and is aiming to become the pirate king. There, we could change the definition of 'pirate king' and 'meat' here to match the adult genre. The story could also still be about him going here and there saving people, gathering companions, and fighting enemies. And so on, and so on.
Well, just take it as a rant from someone dying out of boredom. Also, please don't say something along "If you want it then make it yourself" line, as I completely know nothing about creating a game.

I'm guessing you are trying to understand why so few Parody style VN/Games are available...

It's kind of systemic of this niche of the porn industry, that because most products are produced by amateur developers, many are started, but will either take an eternity to develop or never even be completed at all... As to the genre's of works being focused on for Parody in this market... Yes, there seems to be this tendency towards parodies of Disney and a few other animated series (such as anime themed parodies of shows like Avatar or others like Kim Possible/Teen Titans/etc)... Probably because cartoon/animation style 2D characters are easier to draw from scratch and customize, for a lot of folks... There are a lot of comic/animation style artists out there... You see it in Parody themed comic books, tv shorts, graphic novels, and editorial comic strips... Where as 3D is far more difficult to manage properly when making a Parody...

There are some other Parodies I've seen, but just not in as great a number... Parodies of shows and movies like Star Wars, Dune, Game of Thrones, and so on... Some even poke fun at other PC and Console games... But again, you don't see as many of those being developed or even reaching completion... There are a few, but not many...

Good parody is hard to do sometimes... The point of parody is not just to make fun of a prior work, but to also be funny... There are some that claim to be parodies, but are not all that funny... They are just claiming to be a parody in order to not get sued or get in trouble for using copywritten material (such as similar drawings, themes, and story elements) without permission... Using the images and concepts for sexual content, but lacking anything that truly makes it a parody... It's a fine line some products walk...

When I try a Parody VN/Game in this market, I expect there to be humorous story elements, and not just some wacky use of visuals... When there isn't any, then I don't continue to play/read it... Some developers think they are being funny by using stuff like sarcasm and inside jokes, but again, if I don't find it funny or get the joke, then what was the point... You almost need to have those comedian type qualities to write good parody...

But back to what your asking... Since good parody is hard to do, and the volatility of this industry is high, you don't always get a bunch of parody themed VN/Games... Especially ones that reach or get close to completion... There are some more obscure ones out there, but they may not be all that popular and so you don't run into them easily... And due to the variation in quality, low quantity of available Parody themed VN/Games, and depending on what your preferences are, you may be hard pressed to find what you're looking for...

I think we all wish there were more good Parody themed VN/Games on the market... But it is what it is...

Zip

 

[GuyFreely]

There's a line between parody and copyright infringement. There was an abandoned Scooby Doo game that looked promising, the art was dumped on here a while back. If you want to make a parody, it safer to be a -wink wink- -nudge nudge- situation. Where the characters might look something like the originals and might be named something like the originals, but you'll want enough distance that the copyright holder doesn't come after you. As was mentioned, in this genre it would be more along the lines of fan fiction. "What if all the power rangers were naked and fucked everything?" There's plenty of naked battle heroine games, but they mostly stay away from being specifically a well-known property. As polywog was alluding to, you'd be safer doing a true parody where the game is "in the style" of X, but not directly related. So you could do a Scooby Doo-like gang solving mysteries, but without a blonde jock, bimbo red head, nerdy brunette, and scruffy loser. Just a group of plucky 18yos (obviously) solving mysteries in a bang bus. That's not to say people don't make porn games with the exact characters from well known sources, but it's much riskier legally, especially if you are trying to make money from it.

So I think all the legal riskiness and having to make a thing that's like a thing but not too much like it might be part of the reason you don't see that many of them. I think some people just want to make their own thing too. They want to stand on their own merits as it were. If I had infinite time, money, and talent to make whatever games I wanted, one of them would eventually be a parody. If I can only make one game, which I'm kind of doing, parody isn't my first choice.

 

[Zippity]

There are some parodies on here but I would agree that I'd love to see more of them. If/when I try to make my own game it's fairly likely that my first one would be a parody. I'm not clear on what sorts of things you would need to change to avoid getting into trouble with the original's creators. I wouldn't want to damage the brand or piss off the author of a series that I really enjoy, but at the same time I would want it to be similar enough that it works as a parody.

Here are some sources of information with regards to Fair Use through the use of Parody:

You must be registered to see the links

- Are Parodies Protected Under Copyright Law?

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- Parody, Fair Use, Or Copyright Infringement?

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- Legal Definition of Parody

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- Parody Legal Definition

Fair Use laws and interpretations of the law are highly complex, and will differ from place to place as well as product to product... The Fair Use laws involving both Parody and Satire are not a guaranteed protective blanket... Every instance of parody/satire is different, and therefor the copyright laws are usually enforceable on a case by case basis... There are many other sources that discuss this topic... Some are more detailed and factual then others...

You take your fate into your own hands when producing any form of product that might fall under Fair Use protections in the US and other countries... It's usually best to seek out the advice of an Entertainment Lawyer or Copyright Lawyer to determine if your product fits within the stipulations of Fair Use... And each judge can interpret the fair use law differently depending on the product itself...

And it gets even stickier when money is involved... Where the producer of the Parody/Satire is making money off their product...

Zio

 

[GuyFreely]

Here are some sources of information with regards to Fair Use through the use of Parody:

You must be registered to see the links

- Are Parodies Protected Under Copyright Law?

You must be registered to see the links

- Parody, Fair Use, Or Copyright Infringement?

You must be registered to see the links

- Legal Definition of Parody

You must be registered to see the links

- Parody Legal Definition

Fair Use laws and interpretations of the law are highly complex, and will differ from place to place as well as product to product... The Fair Use laws involving both Parody and Satire are not a guaranteed protective blanket... Every instance of parody/satire is different, and therefor the copyright laws are usually enforceable on a case by case basis... There are many other sources that discuss this topic... Some are more detailed and factual then others...

You take your fate into your own hands when producing any form of product that might fall under Fair Use protections in the US and other countries... It's usually best to seek out the advice of an Entertainment Lawyer or Copyright Lawyer to determine if your product fits within the stipulations of Fair Use... And each judge can interpret the fair use law differently depending on the product itself...

Zio

I can just imagine walking into a legal office with a sample from your parody fuck game and asking the lawyer, "So do you think this would be legal?"

 

[khumak]

I can just imagine walking into a legal office with a sample from your parody fuck game and asking the lawyer, "So do you think this would be legal?"

Or trying to defend it in open court if the copyright holder refused to back down...

 

[Zippity]

I can just imagine walking into a legal office with a sample from your parody fuck game and asking the lawyer, "So do you think this would be legal?"

I would not doubt that it's happened already...

Or trying to defend it in open court if the copyright holder refused to back down...

It would be a sticky situation, both literally and figuratively...

Zip

 

[khumak]

I suspect that the threat of copyright infringement is probably one of the big reasons more parodies are not done. Just using this definition from Zippity's Cornell Law link:

"When an author or artist ridicules a well-known work by imitating it in a comedic way. To the extent that the parodist copies material protected by copyright, the publication may be considered a copyright infringement unless excused by the fair use defense. The key factor for a parody to qualify as fair use is whether the parody is transformative -- it adds something new, with a further purpose or different character altering the copied work with new expression, meaning, or message."

That's about as clear as mud to me. Also in my case I'm not really interested in ridiculing the original work. I'm interested in creating a story where the characters just happen to have a lot more sex than in the original and the central characters happen to have similar personalities, jobs, and relationship status to the original. The storyline wouldn't be remotely similar. I would probably avoid having them look very similar either, although the main character would probably be close.

 

[GuyFreely]

I think the tricky part is what is transformative. There's plenty of Star Wars porn on pornhub that doesn't seem to get taken down. So take that as you will. If you slap Darth Vader on a T shirt and sell that shirt, then you haven't done anything transformative. If you give him something dumb to say, then it's parody(?). So is having characters fucking that wouldn't normally do that transformative enough? I don't know, I'm not a lawyer.

You must be registered to see the links

Obviously, as the name implies, the primary protection is against copying. Like burning images of blu-rays and selling them on the street corner. You've literally made a copy and sold it. The second major protection behind copyright law is consumer confusion. Would someone mistake your product for a genuine item. So if I make a crappy space opera and call it Star Wars: The IG88 Story, would someone think this is a genuine Star Wars film? If I make a porn movie and call it Star Whores: Booty Hunter Chronicles, people are less likely to think this is the real deal.

So it can be a very murky area to work in and it's not really worth the risk of getting sued most of the time.

I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the best Star Wars parody of all time, Spaceballs. The characters were there, but they were all exaggerations or twisted versions of themselves. Obviously, this was also a comedy that poked fun at the source material, so it's very squarely in the parody category.

 

[khumak]

I think the tricky part is what is transformative. There's plenty of Star Wars porn on pornhub that doesn't seem to get taken down. So take that as you will. If you slap Darth Vader on a T shirt and sell that shirt, then you haven't done anything transformative. If you give him something dumb to say, then it's parody(?). So is having characters fucking that wouldn't normally do that transformative enough? I don't know, I'm not a lawyer.

You must be registered to see the links

Obviously, as the name implies, the primary protection is against copying. Like burning images of blu-rays and selling them on the street corner. You've literally made a copy and sold it. The second major protection behind copyright law is consumer confusion. Would someone mistake your product for a genuine item. So if I make a crappy space opera and call it Star Wars: The IG88 Story, would someone think this is a genuine Star Wars film? If I make a porn movie and call it Star Whores: Booty Hunter Chronicles, people are less likely to think this is the real deal.

So it can be a very murky area to work in and it's not really worth the risk of getting sued most of the time.

I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the best Star Wars parody of all time, Spaceballs. The characters were there, but they were all exaggerations or twisted versions of themselves. Obviously, this was also a comedy that poked fun at the source material, so it's very squarely in the parody category.

Yeah and without really knowing where the line is draw it may be that it's just not worth the risk unless you really are absolutely determined to do a parody. In my case I would love to do a parody of The Dresden Files. But I could just as easily create something with a similar theme but completely different characters.

 

[redknight00]

There's a good number of games being produced, the parody tag has over 250 games (for reference incest has around 600). It's just that with all properties spread out it's rare to find one you like.

 

[GuyFreely]

There's a good number of games being produced, the parody tag has over 250 games (for reference incest has around 600). It's just that with all properties spread out it's rare to find one you like.

Finding a game I like is about 1/500 so far.

 

[polywog]

Being a character creator is like being a parent. You protect them when they are young, raise them well, and one day you have to let them go out into the world. No father wants to think about his baby girl faking orgasms, he wants her to be happy. Would you want you daughter to be forever alone, collecting cats? If some shyster lawyer came into my office saying "I saw your daughter's sex-tape, do you want to sue the guy" I'd beat him within an inch of his life, and throw him out on the curb.

 

[RanliLabz]

As far as the large numbers of games tagged Parody goes, many don't fit the standard definitions at all. Some would be better described as fan-fiction (since they don't contain significant amounts of comedy) and others simply as comedies (since their foundation on a specific property/franchise/opus is weak).

My own game is an example of those that fall between the cracks - it's tagged Parody solely because of the (necessarily) limited number of tags. At it's core, it's a satirical critique of the ideas presented in Starship Troopers - but it contains no characters, settings or organisations from the franchise - and cannot be regarded as a parody even though many have correctly identified its target. It could also be described as a spoof - since it's an original story that mocks conventions in sci-fi and adult gaming, from Alien to Milfy City. It's not really a parody - but that's the closest tag on offer!

As far as the relative lack of true adult gaming parodies goes - I think that's far less a matter of legal liability (as has been suggested above) and far more about the difficulty of the visuals. It's easier in other disciplines - Axel Rod can just dress up a porn actress as Lara Croft, write some bad jokes and call it a parody movie... anyone can write a story about Daenerys getting boned by her dragons and call it a parody.* But to create a parody game you need to be able to either draw or model convincing likenesses of the target's characters and setting in a scaleable way - and very few people have those skills or the time.

*not too soon, I hope, GoT fans!

 

[polywog]

At it's core, it's a satirical critique of the ideas presented in Starship Troopers

Ummm Starship troopers was a parody satire.

 

[Zippity]

Or trying to defend it in open court if the copyright holder refused to back down...

As far as the large numbers of games tagged Parody goes, many don't fit the standard definitions at all. Some would be better described as fan-fiction (since they don't contain significant amounts of comedy) and others simply as comedies (since their foundation on a specific property/franchise/opus is weak).

My own game is an example of those that fall between the cracks - it's tagged Parody solely because of the (necessarily) limited number of tags. At it's core, it's a satirical critique of the ideas presented in Starship Troopers - but it contains no characters, settings or organisations from the franchise - and cannot be regarded as a parody even though many have correctly identified its target. It could also be described as a spoof - since it's an original story that mocks conventions in sci-fi and adult gaming, from Alien to Milfy City. It's not really a parody - but that's the closest tag on offer!

As far as the relative lack of true adult gaming parodies goes - I think that's far less a matter of legal liability (as has been suggested above) and far more about the difficulty of the visuals. It's easier in other disciplines - Axel Rod can just dress up a porn actress as Lara Croft, write some bad jokes and call it a parody movie... anyone can write a story about Daenerys getting boned by her dragons and call it a parody.* But to create a parody game you need to be able to either draw or model convincing likenesses of the target's characters and setting in a scaleable way - and very few people have those skills or the time.

*not too soon, I hope, GoT fans!

There is a big difference between Inspired By and being a Parody Of... If people can't easily tell by playing/reading your VN/Game that it is related at all to Starship Troopers, without you saying something about it in the description or title or etc... Then it really isn't a parody of it...

As to the original post, because of varying reasons, coupled with the low numbers of actual parodies being created in this niche market, then add in the filters of content that you're specifically looking for, anyone would be hard pressed to find a whole lot of Parody based VN/Games that will fit the bill...

Zip

 

[RanliLabz]

There is a big difference between Inspired By and being a Parody Of... If people can't easily tell by playing/reading your VN/Game that it is related at all to Starship Troopers, without you saying something about it in the description or title or etc... Then it really isn't a parody of it...

Indeed. That's why I said it isn't really a parody in my post. It's a spoof.

Ummm Starship troopers was a parody satire.

lol - did you make that meme? I should use it for marketing!

More seriously, the film was indeed a parody of the book (and the sequels were arguably parodies of the first film). My game part-parodises the ideas presented in the book and the films. It's a nest of parody resulting in a spoof.

 

[Turkis]

There's a line between parody and copyright infringement. There was an abandoned Scooby Doo game that looked promising, the art was dumped on here a while back.

I'm assuming you're talking about the the dev's making the Ben X parody? They were working with Gunsmoke Games, and there seemed to have been some miscommunication between the Ben X dev's and GG, which lead to GG cancelling the game, but allowing the Ben X dev's to 'own' the rights to all the art they did while working for GG. Nothing to do with copyright infringement.