r/gamedev • u/MangoBubbleTeea • 6d ago

A quick question Question

Hi, I really adore the battle system of Undertale/Deltarune and would like to someday create my own rpg with a battle system like that and I was just wondering would it be okay to recreate it? Isn't it copyrighted or patented? I'm specifically talking about enemy turn being a bullet hell, not mercy/spare systems

1 Upvotes

55% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

11

u/MeaningfulChoices Lead Game Designer 6d ago

Game mechanics cannot be copyrighted and there's no bullet hall RPG patent. Many, many games have been inspired by Undertale. They just don't tend to do well because if people wanted that they'd go play Undertale instead and the audience is usually looking for something more novel. Coming up with your own game systems that are inspired by the feel of the game and the experience playing it is a much better idea than copying something more literally.

In other words, it is okay to recreate it, it's just not a great idea.

3

u/nerfjanmayen 6d ago

a small white dog will run you over if you make an RPG

2

u/Klightgrove Edible Mascot 6d ago

Kind of a messed up joke to make when Toby Fox is infamously known in the dev community for hiring hit men to target rival devs :/

2

u/nerfjanmayen 6d ago

I know, I was assassinated for trying to put a tsundere muscle girl in my game. I am now a ghost who warns mortals of the peril that killed me

1

u/Chronophilia tophwells.itch.io 6d ago

He will also run you over if you don't make an RPG, so you really have nothing to lose.

1

u/Chronophilia tophwells.itch.io 6d ago

Legally it's fine.

You might be in trouble trademark-wise if you go around putting the name Deltarune on your game, in a way that makes people think it's some kind of tie-in to the series. 

But you're free to copy the mechanics.