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An external force has forced immediate production haltage on Age of Nations, Apolyton Civilization Site's (ACS) machinima-driven drama set in the Rise of Nations universe. Earlier this month RoN's publisher parent Microsoft Corporation (MS) released usage rules on Game Content published by them and/or to which they own the intellectual property to. RoN and its Thrones & Patriots expansion pack were published by Microsoft Game Studios and is specifically mentioned -- all versions -- in this Game Content Usage Rules document. Under the heading "What Can't I Do", two points affect AoN directly. Quote:
- "You can’t use Game Content to create... anything that contains vulgar, racist, hateful, or otherwise objectionable content."
- "You can’t use the soundtracks or audio effects from the original game."
The phrase otherwise objectionable content is a catchall that could be cited by MS in almost any circumstance, though some of the themes used in AoN could also be regarded as "vulgar" and "hateful". While AoN has never used audio effects from RoN due to filming concerns, it has used its soundtrack from the beginning and that from T&P. This is particularly true since Episode 104 in the series when in-game music began to be used within the story and not just the theme.
In the concluding paragraph to the new rules' page, MS states that "[t]here’s still a way to do some of these things we’ve excluded, but you have to contact us for a commercial license". AoN has been a non-for-profit venture from the outset and we at ACS which produce and distribute this series do not have the financial means to acquire one. An additional practical consideration is that there were but two more featurettes to go to wrap up this series due to internal and other external factors. One member of the greater machinima community after contacting MS for clarification is confirming that these rules are not retroactive, however. So, what does this mean for AoN?
- As the said rules are not retroactive, commentaries for Episodes 113, 114 and the first featurette will proceed and be released.
- The second and third AoN featurettes will not be produced but will be released in another medium.
With the second point, what is meant is that the script for the second is nearly completely and that for the third is well underway. So as to conclude the series' saga one way or another the scripts will be released publicly. Unfortunately releasing an audio-version of these stories cannot be considered as an alternative as these Usage Rules fall under the blanket other cool things category for which they apply.
The phrase otherwise objectionable content is a catchall that could be cited by MS in almost any circumstance, though some of the themes used in AoN could also be regarded as "vulgar" and "hateful". While AoN has never used audio effects from RoN due to filming concerns, it has used its soundtrack from the beginning and that from T&P. This is particularly true since Episode 104 in the series when in-game music began to be used within the story and not just the theme.
In the concluding paragraph to the new rules' page, MS states that "[t]here’s still a way to do some of these things we’ve excluded, but you have to contact us for a commercial license". AoN has been a non-for-profit venture from the outset and we at ACS which produce and distribute this series do not have the financial means to acquire one. An additional practical consideration is that there were but two more featurettes to go to wrap up this series due to internal and other external factors. One member of the greater machinima community after contacting MS for clarification is confirming that these rules are not retroactive, however. So, what does this mean for AoN?
With the second point, what is meant is that the script for the second is nearly completely and that for the third is well underway. So as to conclude the series' saga one way or another the scripts will be released publicly. Unfortunately releasing an audio-version of these stories cannot be considered as an alternative as these Usage Rules fall under the blanket other cool things category for which they apply.
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