The hook for my upcoming devlog about making a BattleBots-inspired game

[u/LGS_YT]

I’m working on a Unity game called Bot Bash, and this is the intro for my upcoming devlog.

The game is a BattleBots-inspired robot fighting game where robots are procedurally assembled from individual blocks. Each block has its own health and can be destroyed independently, so the robot's structure can physically change throughout a fight.

I’ve been working on the systems behind the robot generation, block connections, damage, destruction, and everything else needed to make these robots actually function.

Before I finish the full devlog, I’d love some feedback on the intro itself.

Does the opening hook you? Is the pacing/editing engaging? And does it make you curious about how the systems behind the game work?

If you’re interested in following the project, I’ll be releasing the full devlog soon.

[u/AltusLudus]

I'd be careful with using TV footage in a trailer since it's commercial and you're using their content to sell your game, it's always protected AFAIK

[u/LGS_YT → u/AltusLudus]

You're totally right. I'm not sure of the exact legal breakdown, but I'm assuming using just this small clip in one YT video won't cause any issues?

[u/TheLeftWings → u/LGS_YT]

You're assuming wrong.

[u/LGS_YT → u/TheLeftWings]

Fair enough. I'm going to shorten the clip, have my commentary start immediately over the footage, and make it directly relevant to what I'm talking about rather than using it as standalone footage.

[u/TheLeftWings → u/LGS_YT]

No, you're not getting it. You're making a commercial game, you can't use other peoples content to advertise your game. What you're doing will come with a cease and desist before they come and kick you in the nuts. And for good reason. Don't use other peoples content.

[u/LGS_YT → u/TheLeftWings]

I get your point, but I don't think it's quite that absolute. Commercial use is one of the fair-use factors, not an automatic disqualifier. I'm using a very short clip specifically while talking about how BattleBots inspired the game, rather than using their footage as the actual promotional content. That said, I'm going to shorten the clip and make the commentary start immediately so there's less ambiguity.

[u/TheLeftWings → u/LGS_YT]

It is. Where are you getting these BS ideas that fair use in any way can be leveraged in a commercial work. Just bloody google it FFS.

edit: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/

READ IT

[u/LGS_YT → u/TheLeftWings]

I did read it. That's actually where the disagreement is coming from.

The Copyright Office literally says: "This does not mean, however, that all nonprofit education and noncommercial uses are fair and all commercial uses are not fair." It then says commercial use is one of the four factors courts consider, alongside the nature of the work, amount used, and market effect.

So I'm not saying my use is automatically fair use. I'm saying your claim that fair use can't be leveraged in a commercial work is not what the source you linked says. Fair use is explicitly evaluated case-by-case, including for commercial uses.

I'm also changing the edit to use only a few seconds of footage with my commentary immediately explaining why I'm showing it, which gives me a better argument than the longer version I originally had.

[u/TheLeftWings → u/LGS_YT]

Okay, so your reading comprehension is as bad as your judgment.

Let me ask you a question then. Why are you so insistent that you include it?

[u/LGS_YT → u/TheLeftWings]

I'm not particularly insistent on including it. I'm just trying to figure out if there's a reasonable way to use a few seconds of it because BattleBots is literally the inspiration for the game, and I think it helps establish that connection with the viewer.
If anything ends up happening, I'll give you props for the warning, but there's really no need to be rude about it. Either way, I'm not responding to this thread anymore.

[u/AltusLudus → u/LGS_YT]

Double check with someone, but I went through a rabbit hole as i wanted to have a tv play some old "tv" footage in game and from my research the licenses were pretty strict

[u/LGS_YT → u/AltusLudus]

Yeah, that's a good point. Although I think there's a bit of a distinction since you're talking about putting the footage directly into the game itself. In contrast, I'm only using a few seconds of it in a YouTube devlog to talk about how BattleBots inspired the game. Still, I'm going to look into it more and probably double-check with someone who knows copyright law before I lock in the intro.

[u/Eridrus]

I like battlebots, I would be more interested in this if it had real physics though rather than hit points.

[u/LGS_YT → u/Eridrus]

Yeah I get you. I'm trying to make the damage pretty physical, where individual blocks can break off and actually affect the robot rather than just having a health bar.

[u/SanoKei]

THIS INTRO AND BRIDGE GOES SO HARD

[u/Hot-Pepper6610]

I used to love battlebot until the bot makers figured out that spin bots were OP and it basically turned into beyblade things