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I saw a video online where someone made a first person version of flappy bird, so I was wondering...

If I were to remake a 2D game into a 3D game and change the perspective to first person, and then proceed to release it online (like on itch.io) for free, would there be any repercussions?

The game concept and gameplay would be nearly identical with maybe a few changes, and while the art would be very similar, they'll still be original 3D models that I made myself, and differ from the actual assets used in the original game. All the code is original.

And could I just name it "First person (+ game name)" outright or is it better to name it something original?

user129935
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  • Game designs cannot really be copyrighted / protected. Trademarks are a different story. Generally speaking, you should be fine as long as you don't use trademarks / assets or terminology that is too similar to the game that you are cloning. If I were you, I would still consult a lawyer or a least, other (legal) sources online. I'm not a lawyer; my advice alone is not enough to go on. – Engineer Jul 10 '19 at 06:50
  • I'm not a lawyer too. But as long as you do not use art (graphics or music) or other copyright protected material from the game which you want to clone you should be safe. It's not forbidden to create a game which is similar to another. – user743414 Jul 10 '19 at 12:31

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I'm not a lawyer, but

Fair use legally protects parodies. If you redo most assets in the game, it will be certainly fine.

Relevant parts:

In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. In other words, fair use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement. If your use qualifies as a fair use, then it would not be considered an infringement.

[...]

A parody is a work that ridicules another, usually well-known work, by imitating it in a comic way. Judges understand that, by its nature, parody demands some taking from the original work being parodied. Unlike other forms of fair use, a fairly extensive use of the original work is permitted in a parody in order to “conjure up” the original.

From https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/

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Bálint
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    I agree with the above answer but pay attention to which country you publish your game because of the new law in Europe about copyright [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/03/the-eu-votes-on-a-confusing-new-copyright-law-tuesday/] – LXG Jul 10 '19 at 18:39