An homage to Ryan in a game, how do you feel?

Hey,

My name is Nick, I'm from a very small indie dev called Bïtse Games. We're planning on releasing our first game Gentlemen...Ricochet! very soon and I wanted to hear the Giant Bomb community on something.

Me and Stephane our artist are huge GB fans and the passing of Ryan was met with much sadness. We wanted to remember him our way in our game by making a token (the kind of ball you throw around in the game) about him.

We're walking a fine line here and we know it. I know the guys from GB always say let's remember him by making crazy stupid stuff, we just wanted to know if we were "offending" anyone, or if people felt it was over the line.

So what do you think?

I think you should get Jeff and the crews permission to use his likeness. If they're okay with it then I am too.

Not only the GB crew's permission but also maybe his parents and/or wife? I think the art is awesome and I would love to see a tribute to Ryan in a game.

A.) What's with the Donkey Kong teeth?

B.) Why does he look like he wants to murder me?

That's a wise course of action. I don't think they're the ones to give permission, but I'm sure they could get you an answer.

I think it's fine as long as the game is fun. Make sure your game is fun! REMEMBER THE FUN FACTOR GODDAMNIT.

Include the whole crew in some way.

@nicolasverge: In what context is he being used? Depending on the usage, they may or may not like it. You should PM them instead of asking us. We aren't exactly in a position to say either way.

He's been after you for years.

I can completely understand the impulse to pay homage to Ryan. When I started work on a screenplay a little ago I decided that the characters killed in the intro would be Ryan Davis. And he would die charging at a velociraptor with a butter knife, as we all know Ryan Davis would do. But, yeah, for a final product you should definitely contact the GB crew and seek out permission from them and his loved ones.

The art is cool, and it would be nice but As everyone else mentioned we are not in a position to give permission. Maybe a dedication to Ryan T. Davis during the credits? Also you can call me a dick for pointing this out but it's a pet peeve of mine, title should be A, not An. :p

Yeah, I'd contact @rorie. As much as we all love Ryan you using his likeness in something I'm assuming you're going to be charging money for gets a little dicey on the legal front so I'd try to get permission first?

@wolfhazard said:

Using "an" is perfectly acceptable. "Homage" can be pronounced with or without the "h" sound; if without, you would use "an".

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homage

[hom-ij, om-]

@bisonhero: I thought that too! French is my first langugage so you never know but hey.

@truthtellah: Like I said in the post it would be a collectable / playable "token", think candy in Cut the Rope.

@bisonhero said:

I'd even say that "an homage" is the vastly preferred form given the way most people pronounce the word.

@demoskinos: I'm trying that front now, just don't want to bother the guys and they're not the easiest to reach but will do! Thanks!

Asking the Giant Bomb crew for permission doesn't make any sense. Ask his wife.

When has Ryan ever NOT looked like he wanted to murder someone?

Also, I agree with many of the sentiments expressed in this thread as far as asking about it. At the same time, Ryan Davis is not copyrighted (although I'm sure that Ryan would've told you differently). I'm pretty sure that no one asked Giant Bomb about a likeness rights thing or whatever when Patrick in his hot dog suit was used within an episode of Archer.

I mean, I don't know what the logistics of something like this would be, but in all honesty, I don't see why you CAN'T use that token in your game.

Maybe I'm insensitive but I don't see why asking anyone is necessary, it's just a cool and nice thing to do.

Grammar is not the list of hard set rules that some might like it to be. Rather, it's the reflection of ways in which an ever changing language is structured. In this case, we all pronounce "an" in front of vowel sounds any way. So writing it that way is just fine.

Anyway, on topic...

If that Ryan head is just a minor "ball" in your game that isn't a big feature, I'd say it's a nice little remembrance easter egg and go for it. If he's a main important thing actually called "Ryan Davis" or something major like that, then you might be crossing a line.

This actually depends on where you live.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_rights

In California, for example, the rights to the commercial use of a dead person's name and likeness are owned by the person's heirs. In Ryan's case, that'd be his wife (unless he specified otherwise in his will, which I'm guessing he didn't). Those rights are protected for up to 70 years after one's death.

Some states/countries don't have personality rights at all, though, and in others, they expire after one's death. So, depending on where you are, you may legally need permission from his wife. Even if you don't, though, I think it's a bit insensitive to include it without permission...but then again, I'd also feel uncomfortable asking his wife for permission in the first place. If it were me, I probably just wouldn't do it at all.

I am not offended by this, but get the approval from family first.