Emailing Id Software About My Mod; getting it released

[Bernie]

So a while ago I mentioned in my thread about my mod 'The Ruin of Roib' about emailing id software about my mod and maybe getting them to include it in something, either free or selling it. I really don't know what exactly, but thought i'd give it a shot. Anyways, maybe you guys can help me a bit with the email, i don't know how good I am with formality. I was thinking something like this:
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(Title:) 'Commander Keen' Mod For Your Viewing; Inc. Further Discussion.

To Id Software, whom it may concern

A few months ago I completed a modification of the old game Commander Keen Episode 4: The Secrets of the Oracle. My mod is called Commander Keen Episode 58: The Ruin of Roib.

Its a complete modification, with it's own story and graphics (except for a few key graphics kept from the original). I showed it around the site http://pckf.rigeltechnical.com and had a few people playtest it and weed out bugs, so it's at a rather professional level (Note: if there are issues with having the game already released online, I can always take the download link down). The only major technical issues ofcourse is the limits of the original engine for the game (e.g 4 bit graphics) which I ofcourse can't do anything about.

I'm emailing your company basically because I have the idea of maybe doing something more with this mod. I'm not exactly sure what exactly- I guessed perhaps releasing it with some of your other older games, or releasing it individually in some way. I had the idea of maybe trying to actually sell it, but with a game that old I don't know if that would work (personally speaking though, *I* would've bought this game if I saw it. Cheap ofcourse).

Having only a little experience with selling a creative product, I'd be glad to atleast hear what you have to say about the idea. Or if all else fails, I'd be happy if you could atleast give the mod a try.

Its available here:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Anyways, thank you for reading.
-Bernie DeWint

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so what do you guys think? I wrote this while watching that Craig Ferguson show so i dunno what i wrote.

[Roobar]

My advise is to be more sure of what you want. I've made a few corrections. If someone else got anything else to say or correct (Levellass?)...

(Title:) 'Commander Keen' Mod for your viewing

To whom it may concern

Dear Id Software team! A few months ago I completed a modification of Commander Keen Episode 4: The Secrets of the Oracle. It is called Commander Keen Episode 58: The Ruin of Roib. You can check some screenshots here: www.xxxxxxxxxxxxx.com.

I showed it around the Public Commander Keen forum (pckf.com) and got quite a response! It is a solid modification with its own story and graphics (except for a few key graphics kept from the original). A few people playtest it and weed out bugs.

I am emailing you basically because I have the idea of maybe doing something more with this mod. Perhaps releasing it with some of your Commander Keen game packs, or releasing it individually in some way. It will add additional value to your existing Keen packs and people love getting more for the same price! I had the idea of maybe you trying to actually sell it.

Having only a little experience with selling a creative product, I will be glad to at least hear what do you think of these ideas. Or, if you are not interested in such ideas, I will be happy if you could at least give the mod a try.

We, who tested it, agreed that such a fun mod with exceptional quality can be more than just a closed community mod and we will be very privileged if you consider using it in some way!

It is available here:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thank you. Best regards,

Bernie DeWint

[Cobalt]

How is it that the NES is an 8-bit system, but Keen 4 is only 4 bit?

[Roobar]

Are you even reading what he wrote? 4-bit color means 16 colors and that has nothing to do with the 8-bit NES processor. I'd rather say EGA though, which is less confusing.

[Gridlock]

I think before we jump to emailing companies about releasing Keen mods, we should think this through a little more carefully. Asking a company to sell/use fan creations of an almost 20 year old game is quite a large request. If we could pull it off as a community, it would be awesome to get our work published. Maybe the request could involve asking ID about selling Keen mods in general, providing a select group of mods like TUIT and Roib as examples? I mean, we don't want to rush into this, but if by some chance we are successful, it could pay dividends for everyone.

[Roobar]

You've got a point, but I'd say one thing at a time. I think we should first try and see what reaction we will get for a single mod, not for an entire community. If they don't send a cease and desist letter immediately, then there is a light in the tunnel. And to avoid the worst case scenario, we should first insist talking with someone in the higher hierarchy and not to some employee, who doesn't even know what Keen is, and will trash the email or will just say "no" without explanation or whatsoever, not even considering taking this to the people who make bigger decisions in that company.

[Cobalt]

I nominate the Martinez series.

[szemi]

I nominate the Martinez series.

THERE'S THE POINT!
It's what I wanted to say now!


But I'll see.

[StupidBunny]

You can check some screenshots here: www.xxxxxxxxxxxxx.com.

I highly suggest you send id Software that link.

[szemi]

Wait! If I want to sell my Martinez 1-3 trilogy - and they say "yes" - then how can I sell it?

[Nospike]

There's a 99% chance that they won't let you because it's their game you've modded, they haven't given you permission to mod it and obviously don't want you to profit from it. You need to remember that your request doesn't go to John Carmack or Tom Hall or anyone, but to a low ranking id employee who probably doesn't care or know the game enough to pass it along and then decide.

[szemi]

Yeah, I get what you mean.

[NY00123]

I should've probably told this earlier, back when the topic has been raised in the forum thread about the mod 'The Ruin of Roib'. Anyway, quoting wiivn in a totally out-of-context manner:

cease and desist

Basically, while some people who were involved in the development of Commander Keen may support the idea of modding in general, there may still be legal issues, especially when it comes to money. Some of these issues may be unknown to us. (One example: Anybody who knows *for sure* why hasn't Keen 6 been distributed for so long? In particular, why can't it be done now? I mean, full (legal) details.)
And then, there is also the point that all kinds of modifications have still been done in quite unofficial manners.

So, to conclude, I want to point out that there is still some risk with sending such a mail (see the above quote), so it may actually be better to give up. However, it is not me who decides if that is eventually done, and any other individual might also do it in theory.

[KeenEmpire]

Wait! If I want to sell my Martinez 1-3 trilogy - and they say "yes" - then how can I sell it?

None of you should be getting any hopes up.

I'm guessing that they would demand copyright assignment for any of the ones they decide to publish, and use C&D's on existing work to pressure you into doing so. Afterwards, you wouldn't even be allowed to use your own characters in further work.

Remember: businesses don't do things out of the goodness of their heart. If you have leverage (your future games are going to make them millions) you could start to negotiate better deals.. preferably with a lawyer. If you don't (which none of us certainly have) but have a somewhat milkable product anyway, they'll just take you for all you're worth. In this case, the best you can really hope for is that they'd just ignore your letter.

If you want a sellable mod, your best course of action is probably to use Commander Genius as a base, strip out all references to Keen, and publish it independently.

[NY00123]

NOTE: Although it doesn't really matter, my post above has actually been added about 35 minutes *after* KeenEmpire's last post. Looks like the PCKF server's internal clock has been reset in a way, causing a minor post order swap. (What's more interesting is the supposed shared time of posting the two... at least ignoring the seconds.)

A hint: The PCKF currently reports the time of 23:51 (Aug 09) here, although it should really be 00:26 (Aug 10).