Can the name Wesnoth be used in a novel?

[macxcool]

My son is working on a novel for school. We don't know what's going to happen with it, but it's based in the Wesnoth universe. Can he use the name Wesnoth in the title and/or text?

[Gambit]

I can't see why anyone here would mind. As far as I know we have no registered trademarks, and even if we did...

If the school cares about copyright (perhaps as part of their plagiarism rules), you just need to make sure you're not violating the General Public License under which Wesnoth is published. Also make sure that inventing the settings and characters from scratch is not a requirement of the assignment.

But if he's young enough that you're still helping with homework, I can't imagine anyone being upset about his paper being set in a video game. Kids write about spiderman and what not all the time.

Coincidentally, we happen to have a forum for Wesnoth writing where he might seek further information regarding certain places and events. Also available are some wiki pages detailing the history, geography, and peoples of the game.


It's awesome to hear that Wesnoth could help him with school!

[Sapient]

Interesting... Any more details?
If I were planning to sell such a novel, Id probably check with Dave to be on the safe sidde. For a school project though,why bother.

[macxcool]

He's working through a curriculum that has him create a novel from start to finish and, since he's been playing Wesnoth for years and loves it (he's only 14 now) he immediately wanted to do a Wesnoth novel. He's working on character development right now. I think he's making up his own characters but basing them on things he's encountered in the game. He's using locations from Wesnoth.

When it's done; if it's any good; I think I'll recommend that he publish, although I don't know if we'll decide to try to sell it or donate it to the Wesnoth community. It's just a work-in-progress right now. Who knows how long it will take to finish We will check out some of the links. Thanks Gambit. If we do decide to publish it in the end (who knows) I'll check back. He was just worried about using the name (which is good, in my opinion). He's on his own with this project unless he asks me for advice

[macxcool]

Here's a blurb from Isaac

I was thinking that I would tell a story about a mage boy, who finds an magical artifact.
The story is centered in Wesmere Forest, but it would start at the Isle of Alduen Academy.
It would have some elements in it that are not in the game so far. For instance, magi are by unspoken implication a different race than humans, and they have sort of separated. For another, I thought that the elves would be less distant from magi than they seem to be from men. Other than that, I wasn't planning on changing much.
I would love to have input and ideas from fellow wesnothians.

Isaac.

[ancestral]

Fan fiction is absolutely welcome! The more the merrier.

If you publish and sell it, then either consider seeking the thumbs up from Dave, or just change the names.

[Dixie]

Well if he asks about input from fellow wesnothians (and I'm not by any means a lore expert):

I'd be wary about how he wants to present the fact that mages are not humans. Maybe he got that idea by how there are mages in the rebels faction? The way he could twist this, however, is how certain creatures are creatures of magic (like elves, IIRC), while others are not (like humans). Maybe mages could be humans with a twist, a special connection with magic, which would make them more favorable in the elves' eyes. So they'd still be humans, yet a little different and closer to elves. Making magi an entirely separate species seems like a delicate matter that could break some stuff in the universe such as: how could two normal humans have mage children if mages are an entirely different species?

Well anyway, this is his story and I'm just saying, he may be as creative as he likes with the universe. Let him have fun writing, after all

[macxcool]

I've started up a discussion in the Writers forum. I'll post Isaac's questions there and his responses. We discussed what you said Dixie and he agrees but I'll let him speak for himself.
Here's the new thread in the Writers forum.
http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=38286

BTW. Is this the way to move a discussion to a new, more relevant place?... or is there a better way? I wasn't sure.

[Elvish_Hunter]

When it's done; if it's any good; I think I'll recommend that he publish, although I don't know if we'll decide to try to sell it or donate it to the Wesnoth community. It's just a work-in-progress right now.

Fan fiction is absolutely welcome! The more the merrier.

Don't forget that another option is making a campaign out of it: after all, every UMC campaign can be considered, in some ways, a fanfiction.

BTW. Is this the way to move a discussion to a new, more relevant place?... or is there a better way? I wasn't sure.

Staring a thread in the Writers' Forum (like you did) is the best option to talk about the actual fanfiction, while the Users' Forum is better suited to ask permission and generic informations. So, I'd prefer to leave both topics open; but if you really want, this topic can be moved there, merged with the other (at risk of making the whole thing confusing), or locked. Your call.

[macxcool]

I'd prefer to leave both topics open

That's good enough for me. I wasn't sure how these things were usually handled. I read a lot but don't post much.