Is using doom flats on powerpoint backgrounds illegal?

I need to present one slide, and I decided to Doom up my presentation. I decided to make my background one of the nukage flats, along with red and white text.

Is it illegal for me to do that? I want to know, so if it is illegal, I can undoomify my presentation.

The doom font does not work though, since the school's computer I need to present my slide on does not have it.

Is extracting anything from any of the IWAD files, and messing around with the wall textures, flats, ceilings, objects illegal?

Just do it. No one is going to care.

Given the number of totally unrelated to Doom sites where you see Hexen torches and textures, or Archvile fires or whatever being used, I'd agree with EarthQuake but, yeah, I guess it probably is illegal.

Do it - nobody gives a shit as long as it is for noncommercial use.
Where it would matter - e.g. you have a site where one can download backgroundpics for handies for a few cent... you assembled those backgrounds with foreign artwork - big no no.

Yes it is illegal, and yes no one is going to care.

You can take the equivalent flat from Freedoom instead.

One-off non-profit educational use of copyright material is generally one of the more clear-cut examples of the (often abused) concept of fair use or fair dealing (or whatever this concept is called in the local copyright laws).

Though this generally relates to teachers giving out photocopies of pages of textbooks, rather than a background image from an FPS...

Considering that the nukage flat was algorithmically generated (from what I can remember) as opposed to hand-painted (well, maybe some aftertouching was done to make it tile properly), you could very well just generate a similar picture if needed, too...

Id Software's usual requirement to using their content is that the result requires the game it's from. Fair use may expand this a bit (in the way Doomworld uses some of their graphics in its interface, or as people show screen shots of levels with id's graphics).

signofzeta said:
Is it illegal for me to do that? I want to know, so if it is illegal, I can undoomify my presentation.

What you're doing and where you're going to present it or post it will factor in, both in respect to whether it's illegal, and whether someone would do something about it.

If where you're submitting the presentation is sensitive to copyrights, they may reject it or dislike the use of such a background. If it's for a DOOM add-on it might arguably fall within "fair use" (doubtfully, as it seems to be for school). If it involves profit or a service related to profit copyright may matter more, and if it's nonprofit and educational* or informal few may care or notice.

Why not ask your teacher? If anything counts here, it's his or her opinion and requirements. If your teacher were to say "if the game company allows it, yes", I'd use something else (though see the * note below).

* Though educational fair use has to do with needing such a graphic in particular for illustrative purposes or whatever, rather than optionally. Gez's proposal also seems good here (as well as in other cases) if you don't require something quite specific; there are free (or freer) alternatives to id's materials.

would a microbiology professor, who probably never played any games notice the background, which is the nukage flat?

I'm just saying, does id software care I use one of their flat textures for a powerpoint background?

signofzeta said:

would a microbiology professor, who probably never played any games notice the background, which is the nukage flat?

I'm just saying, does id software care I use one of their flat textures for a powerpoint background?

Everyone is saying go for it ID doesn't give a shit about it just do it :)

signofzeta said:
would a microbiology professor, who probably never played any games notice the background, which is the nukage flat?

So, you'd be dishonest to your teacher? The teacher could have played DOOM anyway, as long as his or her age is right (those who were still students in the early 90s would likely have been exposed to it) or might know of it from his or her kids.

I'm just saying, does id software care I use one of their flat textures for a powerpoint background?

The only way you can answer that is by how they handle copyrights, because "caring" and doing something about it are not the same thing. That is, their copyright stance (such as if they gave any permissions or licensed their stuff in any way) is what tells you how they care about their copyrighted materials. It's a written document clearly stating that, as opposed to anything we may assume out of speculation or convenience. And you said "would a microbiology teacher notice?"... but how could id Software notice what happens in your classroom?

tubers93 said:
Everyone is saying go for it ID doesn't give a shit about it just do it :)

I'm hoping the 93 in your user name is your birth year.

I don't see how including a nukage flat in a powerpoint made for non-commercial use is any different from including a screenshot of a Doom level, or from Doomworld using Doom's monster graphics and liquids as part of its site header design.

It can be different because Doomworld is a DOOM fan site. Some uses of copyrighted materials by fans can be fair use (or else fan groups or sites would hardly be possible), while the same materials in another context might be out of place. Fair use in education doesn't apply for anything equally. If the flat were used to drive a specific point or make a case it would be more acceptable than just using in place of any background. Microbiology doesn't seem to be a subject that might need a DOOM texture in particular. He might be wanting to use the water texture... but I bet there are many free watery textures available online.

signofzeta said:

I'm just saying, does id software care I use one of their flat textures for a powerpoint background?

That's not what you asked initially.

"Will I get away with this?" and "Is this legal?" are two totally different questions, and probably with totally different answers if the background image has no relevance to the subject being presented.

For all we know, you might be concerned about being failed (rather than prosecuted, which you obviously won't be) for improper use of material in your presentation, and asking for advice from that perspective.

Grazza said:

That's not what you asked initially.

"Will I get away with this?" and "Is this legal?" are two totally different questions, and probably with totally different answers if the background image has no relevance to the subject being presented.

For all we know, you might be concerned about being failed (rather than prosecuted, which you obviously won't be) for improper use of material in your presentation, and asking for advice from that perspective.

I guess I'll just use white as my background then, make it look too plain. Just want to spice, er doom things up.

I just thought the nukage, and their recolors made great backgrounds for powerpoint presentations.

A complex background (read: anything more than a simple colour or gradient) will make your powerpoint look really ugly and will lower your mark, mind.

Just use one of the default PP themes that come with it, they're marking what you have written not your "artistic flair" after all.

Oh yeah. Having sat through interminable PP presentations produced by my sudents where they seem to think that using every single type of text animation, as many different font styles and colours and as many complex and distracting backgrounds as possible is the way to make their presentation interesting, rather than putting something in it that is actually interesting and which you can read, I can vouch for the fact that marks do get lost with that kind of approach - by the bucket load.

Enjay said:

Oh yeah. Having sat through interminable PP presentations produced by my sudents where they seem to think that using every single type of text animation, as many different font styles and colours and as many complex and distracting backgrounds as possible is the way to make their presentation interesting, rather than putting something in it that is actually interesting and which you can read, I can vouch for the fact that marks do get lost with that kind of approach - by the bucket load.

BUT, what if I made the nukage, slime, lava, whatever texture, stretched out, so that it looks fuzzy. It gives a cool effect, while at the same time, does not strain the eyes of the viewers. I'm trying to make my presentation "normal" and "doom" at the same time.

I knew I shouldn't have bragged about how I'm going to put hellfire and demonic symbolism and "doom" all over my presentation, stupid me.

OK. All my plans looks stupid, but is brown a good background color? I'm trying to make my background represent the settings in where my microorganism lives, and at the same time, use a doom texture, cut a piece off it, and zoom it in, so it looks like parts of the background has a gradient of color that becomes brighter, and some places darker. The one I'm referring to is one of the slime textures.

If you stole flats and tryed to sell it in a commerical game yeah they'd probably go after you. But seriously why not do it..They aren't going to haul you off to jail for using a flat or two on a powerpoint project. I think its one of those grey areas...It is probably illegal but they aren't going to enforce it over something as simple as a powerpoint project. Jaywalking is technically illegal but people do it anyway and they don't really enforce it.

Is this guy serious? Come on guys.