Gameplay videos

[Pilchard123]

Hi, first post and all that jazz.

Where would I stand if I wanted to record footage of Wesnoth gameplay - dreadful though I may be - and put it on YouTube? What if, in the unlikely event that it becomes worthwhile, I wanted to monetize those videos?

[pauxlo]

There have been some people already who posted videos from recorded games. I would recommend to not simply post a recording, but at least add some commentary or other added value. And ask the people who are playing before publication, if it is not only yourself and the AI.

I'm not sure about the license implications, i.e. whether you would have to put your video under the GPL for using Wesnoth's images, and what this would mean for videos. (I.e. what is the source code?) GPL doesn't mean that you can't earn money for them, it just means anyone else (who got the video from you) can do the same.

[Pilchard123]

Oh, I was going to commentate as well, the plan is to try to get a gaming channel going with a couple of friends. I wondered how the GPL would work with videos. It is, after all, a software licence. As you said, where is the source code for a video?

[Iris]

I am neither a lawyer nor a U.S. citizen, but I think gameplay footage under U.S. law would fall under “fair use” given that it’s being used for educative/commentary/etc. purposes, and thus be exempt from any limitations or requirements imposed by the GNU GPL.

I would not worry about it, really. We are not going to request YouTube to take down videos containing Wesnoth gameplay footage; that would be ridiculous.

[Pilchard123]

Okay, thanks. I'll let you know how (if) it goes.