Unusual canvasses: resolving copyright infringement through the lens of community customs

The evolution of video game technology is outpacing intellectual property law. As augmented realities and online gaming environments continue to collapse the distinction between real and virtual worlds, they have rendered traditional frameworks for copyright law unworkable. Gaming environments were traditionally circumscribed by the magic circle. Video games now interact with the outside world in a way that obscures the divide between the public domain and the private. Such disruption undermines copyright's core purpose of balancing interests, and transforms issues such as implied license, fair dealing, and moral rights into enigmas. This article proposes a framework that redraws the magic circle using the consent-based customs of gaming communities. Only those who play at the vanguard have the expertise to reconcile copyright with modern video games without constraining creativity or innovation. Deferring to community norms restores compatibility between copyright and unusual canvasses while preserving the integrity of these interesting works.

Mā te rongo ka mohio: Māori Pā Wars and Kaupapa Māori Methodology at the Interface of Video Games

This essay reviews Māori Pā Wars (2017), a te reo Māori mobile game developed for mobile devices by independent Māori-led video game company Metia Interactive. Through consideration of the historical struggle for cultural and te reo Māori revitalisation, this essay discusses the use of kaupapa Māori methodology to activate mātauranga Māori through gameplay. Situated within a wider global shift towards ‘indie’ game development and more pertinently ‘Indigenous game development,’ Māori Pā Wars is one of the first games to bring kaupapa Māori methodology to the interface of video game technology. Through analysis of game development methodology, mechanics, game design and the ubiquitous mobile medium, this essay outlines the ways Māori Pā Wars challenges a ‘literature of dominance.’ It concludes that the game borrows from remix and convergence cultures inherent to indie game development, thereby reflecting the way Māori technologies, social and political systems continue to adapt to a changing technological landscape.