Working on my first choicescript game. One of my achievements is the name of a movie and the text description of the achievement is a quote from the movie. I’m not sure if this is okay and I wondered if anyone knew better?
No, it’s not okay. I referenced Star Wars in one of my projects and Disney had me arrested. I’m writing this post from copyright jail and it’s pretty crowded here, so don’t you dare provoke the shout-out police too.
JK, make however many references you want. Until one of your characters is literally Harry Potter there’s no reason for anyone to care.
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Yes. Others have done the same thing in published games and there’s never been a problem. That kind of reference falls under fair use.
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Referential humor is my lifeblood. I love, love seeing references in IF, especially if our MC gets to make it and deal psychic damage to everyone around them.
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Technically quotes and movie scripts are not fair game as they are covered under copyright laws. It’s a bit of a grey area though for what you can and can’t get away with using. The chance of Disney (or whoever) coming after you though is slim fit using such a small account unless you use it in a way that makes them look bad or get unlucky (or I guess lucky enough to have a game worth enough for them to bother with). Have to check with COG what their stance is if you plan to use it in a published game.
In this case, you’re allowed to do so, since there is only implicit referencing. I think Kiss with Death and the Bread must Rise may have similar achievement descriptions as yours.
The Achievements for Stars Arisen are full of literary and cultural references, too, including some recent ones.