Why no one picks up abandoned AVNs?

[Gumshoe]

Is it not possible or allowed for other devs to pick up established abandoned AVNs?
Like take AoA Academy for example. The game already have an established fanbase, other devs or someone who can render and write a good story could just pick it up to continue it, or will it be considered plagiarism?
I mean they were abandoned so they should be free for others to pick up.

Also if abandoned games did get picked up by other devs will you support it?

 

[jeanbaklazan]

Well you need the assets for it. Sure you can try to guess and recreate them, but when you have that skill level why not starting something new? People would always compare you to the original, that may get annoying...

 

[Uncle Loco]

The problem with that is having or finding all the right assets and to be able to recreate the characters, locations, props, writing styles, etc... There is a ton of work just to get it close let alone right. Now if the previous dev handed over all the assets, characters, locations, etc... Then maybe I could see it happening.

 

[MaWe]

recreating 3d models that come close to the original is super hard. Writing story is easy (at least for some people), implementing it into a game is also easy (for some people), but matching 3d models or a 2d character style is very hard even if you are good.

 

[NateDawg59]

Most of the important issues have already been addressed. However, yeah, you could be hit with a lawsuit if you try to pick up a project without contact with the original dev. And that's yet another issue, when many devs abandon a game, they too vanish into thin air. Somehow or another there's a bunch of LiL copies out there with different student and MC names, but most projects would cause trouble for you if you tried to copy/redo them.

 

[TemperTempah34260923]

it's kinda like raising someone else's kids - you're putting time and money into something you didn't create and don't necessarily have the rights to full custody.

 

[klmb1990]

It does happen occasionally. There is that Big Brother remake and the modders that have been continuing on with Lab Rats 2. I think it's just that if you're gonna put in the amount of effort it takes to make a game, most people would rather create their own content.

 

[SeveredRealms]

I have been looking for a writer and daz creator for my own games since my health took a giant shit on me. I have all the assets for my main story including the duf files but my second story's files are gone due to a hard drive failure so like anyone else wanting to take over a story.. All the assets need to be created from scratch and they will never look the same. Meaning the stories renders would pretty much all have to start from the first scene and all be done over.
I have also been trying to get a team together for another game. I have the writer for that one on board but nothing else. All the assets for that one have to be started from scratch as we have none since the author died and no one can get a copy of them.
So it is not "impossible" to restart a story but it can be damn near unless you have the files.

 

[sglade]

It's doable sure but for example Frank Herbert wrote 6 Dune books and died, then his son kept it going and wrote like 20 more books, yet every fan agree Dune only has 6 books

 

[Chainedpanda]

Significant legal liability. The original creator owns copywrite over it. Even if they abandoned the project, they can sue you. Assets are another major factor as well.

Furthermore, why bother? If you're willing to spend the time working on the project, spend the money to acquire the licenses and assets, why not just create your own?

 

[barbarella2021]

It's doable sure but for example Frank Herbert wrote 6 Dune books and died, then his son kept it going and wrote like 20 more books, yet every fan agree Dune only has 6 books

I think you hit an important nail on the head. The really memorable AVNs -the ones that people want continued after abandonment- have some sort of compelling story or character or element that's really hard for a successor to recapture, even if the assets were all available. Imagine someone trying to copy Akabur's patented humorous dialogue. A few have tried but it's not quite there...

 

[stangnomez]

Even if you could write with a similar style and quality, and even if you were skilled enough to recreate the models etc., you starting a new VN would still be a much better use of your time from the perspective of getting good story out there.

 

[Chthonian]

I am always amazed that people think taking over a game is easy and somehow a good idea.
Like how dumb are you that you think some random person is able to recreate or improve on what the original creator was doing.
If you are that fucking talented they would just make their own fucking game.

 

[De2afasdfs@$]

It's a lot of work to make a game from scratch. It's arguably harder to continue some else, because you have to also spend time mimicking their work too.

 

[iluvpxrn]

Wondering why dont people take over abandones games? is it problems to do with source code or what? I've always wondered that but never had an answer. Would really like to old games come back like Monster Girl Island or abandoned ren'py games finished up

 

[Heisenberg]

Source code, script and models

 

[Hynegard]

It's just not worth it. If you are planning to monetize it and the original author decides to come back, it may become an issue.

 

[User_120092]

Cause a lot more are bad than good.

 

[bingbear]

What would be the end goal? I assume money. Carrying on someone else's work would be copy write infringement. Others here have already said some of the technical issues. Those issues can be mostly solved with time and effort. But if you are going to spend the time and effort, and be at risk of a lawsuit over the work, you might as well have started over with a new story. Way simpler, less cost, faster, and more likely to make money.

The only exception is if an author passed the project and its models, resources, story board, and artwork directly to you with a letter stating you now have all rights and ownership. Even then, I would get a lawyer involved before starting. See, still easier to just start your own new project.

 

[bv220040]

I agree with what most people are saying its difficult and most people would rather make there own