Proper way to give credit? (how & where)

What is the proper protocol for giving credit to authors of the various models or textures one may be using in a game(i.e. under a Creative Commons license, etc.)? If I am only using one 3D model from a given source, it wouldnt be fair to me to say “3D Modeling by 3rd Person Joe Blow”. At the same time, it would appear a bit daunting and unprofessional to list every single texture and its author… Though that said, I am guessing 3/4 of the materials I use to be my own/original.

Also, where would such credits go in a game? A “rolling credits” section? Would that suffice? Many author’s seem to want their credits featured much more prominently… like the title screen… :no:

And, if I need supply original source code (python scripts for example), may I simply have a text file in the game’s “source” directory crediting the author’s complete with links to their source code/materials? OR must i furnish an actual copy of the material?

Finally, what about promotional material that may feature the 3rd-party content? For example a 20 second youtube video clip showing off a level in a particular game? Seems foolish to have a 20 second credit roll for 20 seconds of game footage. Can the video not give any credit with the assumption that the final game once completed will include all relevant credits?

Sorry for the newbie questions; my background is not in this field but I am wanting to learn and go about things properly.

It’s a case-by-case thing. Some people using CC-by are very specific about how their work should be credited (and that should play into your decision to use it). Others are more lax. If it is CC-by, though, you definitely need to give attribution for each piece. If there’s no specification about where attribution should be, then having a credit roll of some sort or an About section should be sufficient. Also, if your game has a website, it would be nice to include credit there (perhaps on an About page or a Credits page).

What about on promotional material, like a youtube clip illustrating game play? To provide credits there is just not professional practice nor practical in my opinion… this is making me want to cancel the entire project, to be honnest. CC license seems more difficult to work with than Microsoft EULA. I Just want to make a great game and give due credit as I would want if someone were to use my materials. But this has liability written all over it…

Would you say that a screenshot of the game displayed on the website needs to have the credits for the textures depicted in the screenshot alone? Crazy… Almost as crazy as the guy at EPSON who I just got off the phone with after telling me my 2 month old printer is out of warranty. He really upset me…

My solution is to make sure that I have the complete liscence to everything that I use. This means that if I want something, I have to make it, or personally know the person who did. This way I can avoid the hassle altogether.
Models and textures aren’t hard to make, so i’d suggest slowly working your way throuh everthingnin your game and making a similar model yourself. Same with textures. Sounds are a little harder to make, but after a little analysis, I’ve found I can make most sounds reasonably well with nothing more than audacity and a microphone. Some I can sysnthesize entirely (explosions are easy to make digitally, as they are just carefuply shaped white noise, and there is a lot of variation in what explosions sound like anyway.)

The thing is: how can you say it’s your game if you don’t hold the licences to everything in it? And thus you have to start respecting other peoles terms, which quickly becomes a big hassle. That said, peple are peoeple, and chances arenyou can get in contact with the creators of said models and textures and ask.

I think you’re starting to see why a lot of producers prefer to work with their own original content or pay to have artists do work for hire. Really, though, a CC-by license makes things a lot more simple. Otherwise, you’d need to contact the creator of each of your assets and individually negotiate whether (and how) they would like to be attributed for their work (you can still do this, BTW, regardless of the CC license).

Regarding promotional material… if your game has a website (and it should) and you credit contributors there (you should), then if you include a link to the site from the video description, that’s probably sufficient. If your game doesn’t have a website, you can still give attribution in the video description on YouTube… and in that case, you only need to give attribution for the assets that show in the video. It’s not difficult to add a few lines of text to the description.

But look, unless your game gets ridiculously popular or you make a lot of money (sidenote: if you’re selling your game, make sure none of the assets are CC-noncommercial), it’s pretty unlikely that anyone is going to come after you.

But here’s the biggest thing: you’re getting these assets for free from people who have been gracious enough to share their work under a permissive license. The least you could do is indicate your gratitude by acknowledging their hard work with a little bit of credit.

Absolutely agree with you, Fweeb! The complexity of how to go about it just getting to me a bit. Everyone is generous to provide their work as it is under a permissive license. I just wish the folks at CC had taken the “how” into consideration and not just the “what” (permissions/rights). I’m not thinking of anyone in particular, I honestly just want to do this in the most equitable way possible, truly and sincerely.

The thing is: how can you say it’s your game if you don’t hold the licenses to everything in it?
This reminded me of the debates in USA about how individuals are solely responsible for their successes and failures… The simple truth is its not ever just my game, even if all the assets were created by me - they would have been created on this great program - Blender, which I did not create, on Windows 7, an operating system I also did not create, on a computer that I did not design, shipped to me on a UPS truck I did not drive… but seriously, the video APIs, python language, etc… all created by brilliant people to whom I am most thankful and owe a great deal of appreciation… you get my point.

is very important topic, choices must be given for the user to give credit to author specially if there are many models are used in a commercial product, or to generate a commercial picture that is made out of 20 models under cc-by license in just one picture. i think the CC license has to have more specific information to deal with that issue

Well, actually pretty simple long established etiquette/practice too always observe:

If you didn’t make it, then due diligence requires attributing the Original Author

Fairly straightforward I would’ve thought!

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That choice is entirely up to the original artist. If you create work that cannot obey the required license (for example, you can’t or won’t credit 20 artists), then this you should use something else. You can purchase ‘royalty free’ work on CG marketplaces that do not require attribution.

So basically, you pay with attribution or you pay with your wallet :slight_smile:

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this is not what i said that is not up to the author to decide and i didn’t ask for other choices which already known, what I’m aiming for is the attribution requirements has to be more flexible and more reasonable,more realistic for a commercial work so more artists and studios can use those cc-by material with no liability and the original author work will spread more so benefit both ways, and i gave a very reasonable example using more the 10 models in just one pic
i pet if you had to pay for your replay we wouldn’t see your profile showing up , so post a useful replay or stay away from the keybored :smiley:

How to give credit? However the license of the assets you use mandates. In the absence of a license, you need to at least use the author’s name.

Where to give credit? Anywhere you don’t make 100% of something yourself.

After you have made very sure that you have all the proper clearances for your materials, the best way to “give credit where credit is due” is in “the crawl.”

This is entirely uncalled for:

Bart gave you a very considerate and accurate response. You suggested that the license be “more flexible” but gave no example whatsoever what what a more flexible license might look like (and still give attribution to the artist). If you have a recommendation, make it.

In my view, the CC-BY license is very clear and flexible. As with any licensing agreement, you options are to either abide by it, or contact the original artist to get special permission. You’d be surprised how frequently that works… and really, you can’t get more flexible than that.

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