What The Dub?! developers on fair use and copyright in games
We spoke with the team behind What The Dub?! to learn more about the logistics behind the game.
What The Dub?! is a game that sees players dubbing over missing dialogue in B-movies. With the nature of copyright laws in the modern era, it’s a bit of a mystery how Wide Right Interactive, the team behind What The Dub?!, are able to use so many properties without legal consequences. We spoke with the developers about just that in a recent interview.
Shacknews Head of Video Greg Burke spoke with developers from Wide Right Interactive in a new Shacknews interview. Jim Dirschberger (Creative Director) and Mark Zorn (Head Programmer) spoke about their work on What The Dub?! in the interview that can be viewed below.
In the interview, the developers reveal that leading up to the release of Freedom Finger, they were constantly watching Rifftrax, a series where comedians rag on silly moments in movies. It was then that Mark Zorn had the idea to turn the concept into a video game. Thus, What The Dub?! was born.
Of course, using footage from films owned by other companies can create a copyright nightmare, and the two devs spoke about how they were able to pull it off in What The Dub?! They spent a ton of time finding films and clips that were in the public domain, double checking with clip houses to ensure that they wouldn’t face legal pursuit over the use of footage. They ended up not having to spend money, as everything they used was in the public domain.
The full video can be viewed on YouTube. For more exclusive developer interviews, subscribe to GamerHubTV and Shacknews on YouTube.
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replyDonovan Erskine posted a new article, What The Dub developers on fair use and copyright in games
