Re: [DISCUSION] Licensing of Games Change

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 23:16:21 +0000

I think that until we're able to get some actual legal advice of our own—and, probably, until there's more case law on CC BY-SA and video games—this is about as good as it'll get.

Re: [DISCUSION] Licensing of Games Change

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 22:33:56 +0000

Having written all versions of the updated games guides, I fully support this change.

The rules as they were are not enforceable, nor do they make sense for game development. These changes allow us to offer guidance to comply with the goals of why we use the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license, even if they cannot be directly extended to all parts of the game development process.

Essentially, this compromise allows us to enforce a policy, while also providing specific guidelines about how to actually attribute and honor the license, in a way that is both reasonable for a developer, and aligns with the ethos of share-alike.

Full support, obviously.

[DISCUSION] Licensing of Games Change

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 22:29:42 +0000

Rules Change Proposition

This is an update to our Licensing under games policy. Please read carefully.

Changes

1. We change the Licensing Guide's language to state the following:

Game Developers: Due to the complexities of the interactions between game engines, development and our site's license, we cannot give specific legal advice regarding how to comply with the license while making a game based on the SCP wiki. We suggest that any video game developers looking to create a game based on the SCP wiki seek their own legal counsel to assist in clarifying those specifics.

Suggested ways to disclose and properly attribute pages or content from the wiki is outlined in other sections of this guide. For further questions or suggestions of best practices, please contact Queerious, or another member of the licensing team.

2. We host a page on O5, for internal use, outlining the best practices a game developer can take, to stay compliant with the Wiki's license. This page does not constitute legal advice, and is stated outright at the top. The page will be provided to game developers on request, and subject to complying with the outlined suggestions, a game will be considered as a 'good faith attempt' to follow the Wiki's license, and licensing team will not pursue any corrections. In instances where a video game does not properly attribute the wiki, the Licensing team will be able to contact the developers regarding the issue, as with any other derived content. The contents of this internal page below:
https://05command.wikidot.com/games-licensing-guidelines

Reasoning

The current Licensing Guide outlines specific rules for the development of video games that are derived from the SCP Wiki. The listed rules are overly restrictive, and many of the largest current games based on the SCP Wiki do not comply with the license as written — notably, the current rules prevent the usage of any major Game Development Engine, presenting a major blocker to aspiring developers. As well, when contacted with questions regarding the current policy, Licensing staff is unable to give a solid answer, due to the non-enforceability of the current policy, without potentially providing information that is legally correct, but contradicts the policy.

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