Fan game facts for kids
A fan game is a video game made by fans of a certain game, movie, or book. These games are often based on one or more existing video games or series. Many fan games try to copy or remake the original game's design, gameplay, and characters. But it's also common for fans to create a totally new game using another as a starting point.
In the past, the quality of fan games varied a lot. But now, with better computer technology and easy-to-use tools (like open source software), it's much simpler to create high-quality games. Fan games are a type of content made by users. They are also part of the trend of playing older games (called retrogaming) and show how people like to mix and change existing ideas (called remix culture).
How Fan Games Are Made
Fan games are made in two main ways. They can be standalone games with their own special software (called engines). Or, they can be changes (called mods) to existing games, using that game's engine. Each way has its good points. Standalone games are usually easier for more people to play. But they can take more time and effort to create.
Making Standalone Games
Fan games are often made using tools and game engines that already exist. Popular engines like Unity and Adobe Flash let fans create standalone games. Other programs like GameMaker, Construct, RPG Maker, or Clickteam products (like The Games Factory and Multimedia Fusion 2) are also used.
Many fan game creators choose free and open source game engines. Examples include OGRE, Crystal Space, DarkPlaces, and Spring. These engines help fans make games without paying for expensive licenses. Open source engines can be changed and redesigned. They usually cost much less than commercial options. However, they might need more work to create amazing visual effects.
It's also possible for fans to build a game engine from scratch. This means writing all the code themselves using a programming language like C++. This takes a lot more time and advanced skills. An example is the Spring Engine, which started as a fan-made game based on Total Annihilation.
Changing Existing Games (Mods)
Sometimes, fan games are made as a modification to an existing game. This uses features and software that come with many game engines. Mods usually don't change the original story or graphics. Instead, they add new content to what the original game already has. Making a mod is often cheaper than building a fan game from the ground up.
Because making a brand new game is complex, fan games often use tools that came with the original game. Or they use tools that are easy to find. Some games, like Unreal Tournament 2004 and Neverwinter Nights, include tools for editing maps and writing scripts. These tools let fans create mods using the game's own engine.
Older games, like Doom, are sometimes old enough that their source code has been released. This allows fans to make big changes to the game. You can find more examples in the List of commercial video games with available source code.
Another way to mod is by editing the ROM images of older games, like those for the SNES. Programs such as Lunar Magic let users change existing data in the ROM image. They can change levels, character looks, or other parts of the game. These edited ROM images are usually played on emulators (software that pretends to be an old game console). But they could also be put onto special cartridges to play on the original game system.
A famous example of a fan game made this way is The Legend of Zelda: Parallel Worlds. Many people thought it was a great unofficial follow-up to A Link to the Past. Other examples include Legend of Zelda: Curse from the Outskirts and Super Mario World - The Second Reality Project 2.
Some fan mods become very popular. For example, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, and Pirates, Vikings and Knights II were all fan mods. The original game developer (in these cases, Valve) sometimes adopts these mods. They then become official additions to the original game, like Half-Life.
See also
In Spanish: Fangame para niños
- Fan labor
- Homebrew (video games)
- Dōjin soft
- Game development
- Game Maker
- Microsoft XNA
- M.U.G.E.N
- XGameStation
- Enterbrain's game suites
- RPG Maker
- Fighter Maker
- Sim RPG Maker
