I was surprised to discover that since version 0.13 the images are not included in the main game archive anymore, but are distributed as a "fan patch".
I understand that the goal is to avoid copyright issues, but I do not think that it helps at all. It could even have the opposite effect because the way this is done confirms that it is willful copyright infringement. This can expose the developer and all contributors to treble damages, depending on what country/state/jurisdiction would handle the case. It is usually much better to feign ignorance or to claim fair use than to give some proofs of willful infringement.
Here are a few facts that would expose the developer and other contributors to greater legal risks:
- Contrary to what is stated in the introduction ("I do not endorse the use of copyrighted gifs or images or any "fan patch". Patriarch is a text game only."), the game is unplayable without the fan patch. Some important elements of the game such as the energy level, threat level or city level are only available as images. If the game is supposed to be playable without the fan patch, then these mandatory images should be included in the main game (not in the fan patch) or the user interface should be redesigned so that the game can be played without these images.
- The HTML file contains 3926 references to images (
<img src=...>
). If the game is supposed to be text-only, then these links should be removed from the HTML file. They may be added back by a patch, but these links cannot be in the main game if it is supposed to be text-only.
- One cannot claim that all these links were added as placeholders to be filled by some random fans, because the announcement of the v0.15 release was followed less than two minutes later by the , including around 200 new images for which the links were just added in the HTML file. It would be very difficult to pretend that they were developed independently of each other.
- It was stated several times here (the last time was two days ago) that the full game includes all images. Several comments and even the Changelog entries up to v0.13 refer to fixing images, etc.
I understand your wish to reduce your legal exposure, but I think that the way the game is currently packaged is just making things worse for you. It would be too easy for a copyright holder to use these facts against you to claim that you were aware of the copyright infringement and that the statements about the fan patch were just some hypocrisy.
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but I see two options to reduce your legal risks:
- If you want to have a credible claim that the game can be played without the fan patch, then all links to the images from the fan patch should be removed from the game. The images that are part of the user interface should be included in the main game, or the user interface should be redesigned without them. Make sure that the game is fully playable and can be completed and enjoyed without the fan patch.
- Alternatively, put all images back in the main package and do like most other games do: give credit to the original models and offer to remove any content that a copyright owner may not be happy with. Some games such as "Sluttown USA" include a credits page accessible as soon as you start the game, with direct links to the Twitter/X profiles of the actresses as a way to give something back. Other games such as "Gateway" or "College Daze" have one or several pages in which the names of the models are revealed as they are encountered in the game.