Will D&D sue Diablo?

[stillman]

What's with all these famous D&D spells? Magic missile, come on, lol.

[Sein Schatten]

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edit: Need better formatting options here. :P

[MysteryNotes]

lol interesting art.
But im pretty sure those words aren't copyrighted.
I've seen those other spell names in other games anyway.

[phool]

Hmm let me try.

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Or were you actually trying to say Blizz should have used less traditional, even homage, names?

[stillman]

It's not supposed to be a serious question. I just didn't enjoy seeing lightsabre from Starwars in d2 and now they're ripping off D&D. They should make their own names for spells and items instead of blatently ripping off mega giants.

[phool]

Lightsabre isn't a 'ripoff', it's a pop culture reference. Personally I appreciate it, along with their proactive CR and sense of humour (e.g. Pandaren Empire). You'd hate to see how many of these are in Guild Wars' skill names etc. (http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=358791) such as Enadiz headbutt. They're hardly ruining immersiveness and even if you don't like them, compare to Titan Quest Guild Wars Dungeon Sige 2 etc which have things such as a santa claus armour set, candy cane weapons and bucket headgear with dedicated graphics.

[Apocalypse]

was d2 the first game to use the skill whirlwind? i dont remember ever seeing it before but after every game has it now lol

[Sein Schatten]

It's not supposed to be a serious question. I just didn't enjoy seeing lightsabre from Starwars in d2 and now they're ripping off D&D. They should make their own names for spells and items instead of blatently ripping off mega giants.

Dunno. Magic Missile is so generic and everyone can imagine what it is. A missile out of magic energy which the mage conjures. I like it that way.
I rather have it that way than some cryptic names.

[raveharu]

It's not supposed to be a serious question. I just didn't enjoy seeing lightsabre from Starwars in d2 and now they're ripping off D&D. They should make their own names for spells and items instead of blatently ripping off mega giants.

Then don't play Diablo3.







Although with all the usual idiots whining and ranting about minor details for the sake of whining and ranting, chances they wont play equal 0.0000098765476%.

[Matora]

Ummm got a reference for that?

Cause this forum relies on proof =)

[Mad Mantis]

Magic Missile is so generic and everyone can imagine what it is.

You use it to attack the darkness.

[visom]

I've seen some guy saying D2 should be sued by WC3 because it copied chain lighting from WC3.............................

[Starving_Poet]

You use it to attack the darkness.

But you're the Elf of Light.

[Thunderchild]

Oh come on now, this is absurd. D1 and D2 weren't a "rip-off" from D&D?
firewall, ice shard, fireball, meteor swarm, blizzard, and tons more.
It's the same concept everywhere, the only difference is the name.
What do you want them to do? they use the same concept of elemental use.
They do come up with something that looks different and then you blab that it looks like laser.

Ghad this place is creeping with people who simply want to whine, it's extraordinary.
Don't play the damned game but for the love of God whine quietly if you must do so.

It's classic fantasy- there are games that deal with the heavens versus hell. Diablo, Bhaal- all are names taken from a biblical origin, or some myth.

That's how it goes, yish

[Apocalypse]

i think pretty much every single fantasy rpg game could be called a DnD rip off. its not really a big deal, the new DnD games may rip off something from D3, it happens. look at FPS games, every new one has ripped something off from a previous one infact if it was not for companies ripping off ideas the games would probably all suck

[onishin]

Yeah and every fantasy game or book or movie whatever, should pay Tolkien's family, because he invented elves, dwarves (as a race), and lots of other myth stuff. Knowledge and ideas are about sharing, not patenting for profit

[Brother Laz]

http://modsbylaz.planetdiablo.gamespy.com/images/skillicons/amazon/15-MagicMissiles.gif

Magic Missiles in D2 - first appearance: Median 2 SE (~'05) as a sorceress skill. Adopted into the amazon skill tree since '07 in Median 2008 and remains there with improved graphics in Median XL.

Omg they stole my skill!



If it is a missile and it is magical, you call it Magic Missile rather than something farfetched, so the player knows what it is about. It also makes the game more recognisable - which is important considering the Diablo series strives to be realistic in its environments, people and weapons/armor.

[Gigashadow]

I find more of a direct Nox influence in DIII than DnD. DnD is extremely broad, and virtually ANY fantasy RPG uses a piece of DnD, question is, in what distribution. DIII and Nox align pretty well. Nox has a Wizard char who uses elements, manipulates objects, etc, and has tons of weird spells. Nox's Wizards are pretty crazy people, too. Nox Wizards have a lighting spell that behaves very similar to electrocute... also has magic missile... both of those are sorta starter spells... with extra levels, the amount of targets hit by missiles and lighting increase and stuff... DIII switched from DII's choose-and-cast skill activation system to choose first, cast by clicking a key system + mouse system (DIII sort of perfected what Nox started). Slot inventory... low potion amount... auto stats... detailed armor options (pauldrons, etc.)... hey, DIII is a total Nox rippoff!

Or maybe I just played too much Nox, and you played too much DnD. We often find similarities games have with games that we played, because they are so familiar. Or games we hate (WoW). Or games that are just way too popular. Kinda seems to come down to that. WoW is really popular so people compare to it all day long. DnD just has an old history so people compare to it, too... but in reality, games are just that: similar. Excluding the occasional surprises that sometimes open new genres or just come and go.

Personally, DIII is being pretty original so far, as much as a fantasy Hack&Slash has room to be original without being freaky.

[Luckymofo]

''wizard(ess?) in DIII: fine, we'll call them magical projectile and lightning arc''

[Kiley]

Lightsabre isn't a 'ripoff', it's a pop culture reference. Personally I appreciate it,

That is my opinion on the new wizard and his/her spell names. When I first read it, I kept waiting for my anger to rise on it being an obvious ripoff. I kept reading the new skills and got a smile on my face. Rather than find it offensive and a ripoff, I found it a very cool homage to the basic wizard from D&D. A nod to the classic character class, not something bad.

In short I love the new class and hope they aren't forced to change the names of all the spells to appease people. IMHO if they had changed all the names of the spells people would be crying about how obvious it was, and the cheesy new names were cheap coverups. I like the class just as it is represented.

[Sylvanite]

I agree with the people who point out that everything rips off previous sources. It's much cooler to honor your inspirations through homages than to try and lamely cover-up the things you are pulling from. Players like to see the connections, references, and allusions for the most part. It makes us feel smart and well read regarding our geeky interests :thumbup:

[nEgativezEro]

Lightsabre isn't a 'ripoff', it's a pop culture reference. Personally I appreciate it, along with their proactive CR and sense of humour (e.g. Pandaren Empire). You'd hate to see how many of these are in Guild Wars' skill names etc. (http://guildwars.incgamers.com/showthread.php?t=358791) such as Enadiz headbutt. They're hardly ruining immersiveness and even if you don't like them, compare to Titan Quest Guild Wars Dungeon Sige 2 etc which have things such as a santa claus armour set, candy cane weapons and bucket headgear with dedicated graphics.

Exactly. I mean who didn't laugh when they first found "The Diggler"

[Starving_Poet]

Dirk "The Diggler" still brings a chuckle to this old gamer.

[Majaii]

You use it to attack the darkness.

Only if you forgot to cast Mordecai's Magical Watchdog.

[MooCQ]

So you're cool with a "magical fart?"

[Anathema]

It's not supposed to be a serious question. I just didn't enjoy seeing lightsabre from Starwars in d2 and now they're ripping off D&D. They should make their own names for spells and items instead of blatently ripping off mega giants.

If Games Workshop didn't sue Bliz over Starcraft/Warcraft, then nobody will sue Blizzard. I once heard GW killed a hundred thousand kittens with a multi melta because a high school kid wrote an unauthorized Warhammer: 40,000 fanfic for his writing class.

I really doubt Wizards of the Coast scares Blizzard at this point anyway.

Gary Gygax (R.I.P.) has nothing on Phil Gallagher.

[Erring Ryft]

How about "Arcane Torpedo"

It sounds completely ridiculous, but at least it won't offend anyone.

At the same time, people will be wondering if it can only kill deep-sea monsters, which I doubt will be a big feature in DIII

[konfeta]

Giga, I played both Nox and DnD based games as spellcasting classes.

Trust me, D3's Wizard comes very closely to the line where fans call it homage and bashers stealing. Not close enough for copy-right for a feasible infringement, but there are striking similarities.

[SeraphimJMF]

I agree that they would never sue for the reasons already posted, but another good reason is that Wizards of the Coast and Blizzard are business partners; Wizards publishes Warcraft and Diablo RPG's based on the DND rules. It wouldn't really be in their best interests, especially with the boom in sales they will probably see for Diablo products when D3 is launched.

[stillman]

I sometimes make thread titles that are poorly thought out, like this one, lol. The issue I wanted to bring up was not really about actaully suing literally. I'm just irked about these VERY specific name stealing things that go on.

I mean, lets say you were watching, i don't know, Grey's Anatomy for example. So suddenly a new docor chr is introduced and he is exactly the spitting image of Dr. Green from the previous mega hit tv show ER. And his name is Dr. Green. And, he behaves the same as the Dr. Green from ER and has the same personality. Wouldn't you find it really distracting? The first thing you would do is say "Hey! That's Dr. Green from ER, dammit!! Isn't Grey's Anatomy big enough without Dr. Green? He's obviously cast in to squeeze every last potential buck out of the show in a DESPERATE attempt to gain more popularity. These corporate slimebags are STEALING! Can't those lazy writers come up with their own chr?"

Well that's what I thought when I saw lightsabre in d2. And magic missile. But not so dramatic.

Now, teleport, firewall, and chain lightning are indeed from D&D, but I see their use in d1-2 as forgivable. Those are simple, everyday nouns and anyone can have them in their production. But magic missile is very specifically D&D and is clearly stolen from D&D perhaps to leech popularity from D&D. And yes, Blizzard would do that just to squeeze in a bit more popularity even though Diablo is already popular without it.

Apparently, I'm the only living person on this fan site who has an issue with taking Star Wars culture and dumping it into Diablo. That's fine. But how would you like it if you went to see some serious dark and gritty movie like The Dark Knight or w/e and batman pulls out the lightsabre form Star Wars. That would just suck. Well, I think it sucks to see the name lightsabre ANYWHERE except in Star Wars where it belongs.

Come on, those "artists" at Blizzard are being paid to come up with stuff.

[phool]

I mean, lets say you were watching, i don't know, Grey's Anatomy for example. So suddenly a new docor chr is introduced and he is exactly the spitting image of Dr. Green from the previous mega hit tv show ER. And his name is Dr. Green. And, he behaves the same as the Dr. Green from ER and has the same personality. Wouldn't you find it really distracting? The first thing you would do is say "Hey! That's Dr. Green from ER, dammit!! Isn't Grey's Anatomy big enough without Dr. Green? He's obviously cast in to squeeze every last potential buck out of the show in a DESPERATE attempt to gain more popularity. These corporate slimebags are STEALING! Can't those lazy writers come up with their own chr?"

Well that's what I thought when I saw lightsabre in d2. And magic missile. But not so dramatic.

A better analogy would be Grey's Anatomy having the same desk that appeared in a classic medical film which represents one of the inspirations for Grey's Anatomy in a single episode. This is a homage. This is not stealing.

magic missile is very specifically D&D and is clearly stolen from D&D perhaps to leech popularity from D&D

Read what you just wrote again. Yes it derives from D&D, but for the purpose of associative popularity from the popular D&D franchise? A single, once D&D-associated, now ubiquitous, skill potential players, other than the Diablo fanbase, are unlikely to even discover until they've bought the game? An absurd claim.

Apparently, I'm the only living person on this fan site who has an issue with taking Star Wars culture and dumping it into Diablo. That's fine. But how would you like it if you went to see some serious dark and gritty movie like The Dark Knight or w/e and batman pulls out the lightsabre form Star Wars. That would just suck. Well, I think it sucks to see the name lightsabre ANYWHERE except in Star Wars where it belongs.

Again, a better analogy; the inclusion of a thematically consistent poster for an old film noir in an alley in TDK. D2's lightsabre has nothing in common with Star War's lightsabre except the name - a name which fits right in beside names like viperfork, hellslayer and death's cleaver.

[Starving_Poet]

Dr. Green is dead!

[Gorny]

Minor nitpicks:

Tolkien did not invent Elves and Dwarves.

Elves and Dwarves as they are were around long beforehand, Tolkien just changed the spelling of some of the descriptive trems regarding those races, I.E, Elfs and Elfin to Elves and Elven or Elvish and Dwarfs and Dwarfin to Dwarves and Dwarven, and Dwarvish.

Another point on Tolkien and D&D, The D&D franchise Dragonlance is modeled after Tolkiens work as well.

Also on Starwars for example you are incorrect, Lightsaber and Lightsabre are two different things. Also if you have a problem with "dumping" star Wars references of references from any other things in Blizzard's games.. then WoW will likely kill you ... the game is filled with everything from book references to movies and more.

[slickr]

What's with all these famous D&D spells? Magic missile, come on, lol.

LOL! Those are common names, no one has a right on them.

Thats like some1 copyrighting the name john or something so no one else can be named john! lol

[LawStudent]

I really dont see a copyright claim... they are one word things.
I also dont see much luck under trademark.

What theory do you think D&D should use?

[Gorny]

I really dont see a copyright claim... they are one word things.
I also dont see much luck under trademark.

What theory do you think D&D should use?

On top of that what case law would they come up with?

[Kiley]

On top of that what case law would they come up with?

IMHO Gary Gygax would be thrilled with the homage in such a game as Diablo 3.

To hell with all lawyers and internet lawyers:)

[popalot]

I see magic missile in wc3 maps since 03

[Starving_Poet]

On top of that what case law would they come up with?

WotC would have had to have trademarked Magic Missle in relation to the spell.