Using real places and organisations in fiction?

[BeforeDawn]

Hi all,
just a question that I had. If I were to design a game centred around real-life events or organisations, would I be at risk whatsoever? Imagine a game set in the White House or the European Union where you play a staffer and are working towards "rising to the top", or something along those lines.

Now, I think fiction is fiction, and I think it should be fair game to use these institutions in a work of fiction. However, being related to porn or erotic content might not be appreciated. Does anyone know whether it might be "risky" or not?

 

[anne O'nymous]

[QUOTE="]
If I were to design a game centred around real-life events or organisations, would I be at risk whatsoever? Imagine a game set in the White House or the European Union where you play a staffer and are working towards "rising to the top", or something along those lines.
[/QUOTE]

[I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice]

It depend.
Your example talk about institutions (I assume that by "European Union" you mean "European Parliament"), which is different from organizations because (basically said) they aren't owned by someone/something. You are free to use them as background for your story, but honestly I don't recommend it. Since you're working on a fiction, create your own country with its own governmental structure ; it would give you more freedom and will permit you to avoid part of the trolls.
But organizations and, worse, societies, are something different. They are owned entities, and the owner can decide that your game goes against the image of the said entity and force you to stop. Here again, it's better to create your own organization/society, as a look-alike of the one you initially wanted to use. By example you can place your game in a computer society that have a banana as logo. Everyone will understand that you meant Apple, but it's not Apple, so you're free to do what you want in your parody.

And finally as for real-life events, as long as you don't use names of real person, and it's not a event potentially traumatic or you don't mock it, you should be free to do what you want. The better approach being to not place your story directly in the center of the event, but at the border. If by example you want to place your story during the 1963 Civil rights march on Washington, your MC will be one of the many anonymous at the back of the march, or a late comer, and in place of talking about Martin Luther King, he would say that "he heard the Pastor's speech" or things like that.


Edit: Added the disclaimer.

 

[215303j]

You are free to use them as background for your story, but honestly I don't recommend it.

the owner can decide that your game goes against the image of the said entity and force you to stop.

Again, I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice

But although I get what you are saying I have to disagree.

Using a setting that people are familiar with (I guess that eliminates any European institution ) can have benefits in a game. If you use the White House, everybody knows what it is and to some extent how things work there. If you use a setting that is closely modelled on the White House, you can have a similar effect. But if you use the office of the prime minister of Nepal, then most people have no idea. If you use the office of the president of Donutistan, then people can make up their own image of what that means but it may be something else than what the dev intends, so the dev needs to explain things: is Donutistan a democracy or a Islamic fundamentalist state? Is Donutistan very wealthy or dirt poor? Is the president corrupt?

As for forcing the dev to stop, the White House, as well as e.g. the British Houses of Parliament or even the Kremlin have been the setting of quite a number of movies and games. So although in the present cancel culture you can't be sure anymore, I suppose you'd be fine.

Private companies are a bit different and could probably sue you for something.

little known fact: a parody of Ursula von der Leyen also featured in a porn game...

 

[BeforeDawn]

Well yes, it could be set in a fictional country, but in that case it would lose some of its allure. The fiction would be set in the near future, but contain no references to actual people in office. I would not reference any existing private company.

(I assume that by "European Union" you mean "European Parliament")

Well the EU is more than just the parliament, it is a monolithic institution, it has 40.000 people working in its civil service. The MC would not be a politician, but work on the sidelines. Maybe having to "influence" procedurally generated bureaucrats could be one of its mechanics.

Probably the reality is weirder than fiction. Who really knows what they do when the cameras are off!

In any case, for now this is a thought experiment. I do not see it as a Daz-like game: it would generate too many expectations of realism. People would start asking for a 3D version of the White House or the Commission Building to sell the illusion. But maybe as a CYOA type of game, it might work.

little known fact: a parody of Ursula von der Leyen also featured in a porn game.

Ok, now I have to know which game it is!

 

[anne O'nymous]

[...] (I guess that eliminates any European institution ) [...]

To my greatest shame, I had to ask google if we still had a parliament or if it changed

This said, I agree on the need to still keep a familiar setting, but to which extend can it be applied ? What a none US citizen who haven't seen "West Wing" series on TV effectively know about the White House, and to which extend the said series was accurate ?
We all fantasize the reality, without really being sure that it's how it works. And a look on the political # on twitter tend to say that few effectively have it right ; except if effectively it suffice of one phone call for everything to instantly change, but I doubt of that.

Therefore, an unnamed country with something looking more or less like what is perhaps the White House (and probably every place of power in the Western world) should looks familiar enough.

If you use the office of the president of Donutistan, then people can make up their own image of what that means but it may be something else than what the dev intends, so the dev needs to explain things: is Donutistan a democracy or a Islamic fundamentalist state? Is Donutistan very wealthy or dirt poor? Is the president corrupt?

Isn't it needed anyway ? If you take the Iródou Attikoú palace (presidential residence of Greece) it will looks like any Western country setting, yet it's not especially a wealthy country. I'm not even sure if the president have a real power, or if he stand more outside of the politics, like the Italian president.
And if you ask a none US citizen about the US president (whatever which one), I'm sure that you'll have a majority of "he's corrupted in a way or another".

As for forcing the dev to stop, the White House, as well as e.g. the British Houses of Parliament or even the Kremlin have been the setting of quite a number of movies and games. So although in the present cancel culture you can't be sure anymore, I suppose you'd be fine.

Like I said, they are institutions, so not owned ; or people owned, it depend of the point of view. Therefore, paradoxically due to their effective power, they don't have the power to stop you.
A president can say, "he's mocking me", or "he's mocking the highest institution of the country", but well, freedom of speech like would say our American friends.
And if in top of that it's made by the citizen of another country, what can be done ? They don't have the power to sue you, especially in another country, and if they use the diplomatic way... Even with two countries as close than the USA and UK, the other one would not move, too happy to have some soft revenge for the last diplomatic affront.

little known fact: a parody of Ursula von der Leyen also featured in a porn game...

Well, what's the name of this alt-right idiots who have a pornstar doppelganger that used and abused of ?



[QUOTE="]
Well the EU is more than just the parliament, it is a monolithic institution, it has 40.000 people working in its civil service.
[/quote]

Technically the EU is the territory, not the institution. But honestly I can be wrong on this one. I'm 49yo, which mean that I lived through 80% of the changes they made, both for the name, the status and the way it works ; they can perfectly have lost me at one turn.

 

[215303j]

To my greatest shame, I had to ask google if we still had a parliament or if it changed

Off topic but I wonder if "we" ever had a "parliament" or if "someone" had "it" (whatever "it" is). But maybe I'm just too cynical and like I said it's anyway off topic.

This said, I agree on the need to still keep a familiar setting, but to which extend can it be applied ? What a none US citizen who haven't seen "West Wing" series on TV effectively know about the White House, and to which extend the said series was accurate ?

There are also some set in Britain, e.g. the original House of Cards (fantastic series!!) which does require some knowledge of how the British system works, and that part seems accurately portrayed. Of course what happens (the story) is dramatised and may or not be how it really works (hope not, but who knows...).

On the other hand, a series like Yes, Minister is a more general political series but it still portrayed the British situation rather than the French or German ones which are quite different.

Something else entirely, there is a mission in one of the Hitman 47 games where you need to infiltrate the White House and assassinate the vice president. Although I am quite sure enough details were changed and you can't use the game to plan an actual attack on the White House, such a setting goes a lot further than even a realistically intended porn / drama / political thriller, or a parody one about some guy with a saxophone and a cigar.