Thoughts on the Ghostface license

[Seiko300]

If you already know about the whole deal with the license just skip the background information headed section

Background Information

Alright so for those of you who don't know I'm specifically going to be referencing this video that Paulie made just an hour ago today now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1df75VVwrGA&t=602s

In the video he's talking about this trailer which devs dropped on the official Dead by Daylight youtube channel which was dropped only three hours ago today as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFiZ7cZcuQo

Quick summary of what Paulie basically says for anyone who's not watching the 15 minute video he made:

What we can learn from the teaser trailer that was just dropped are two things:

1: This is only going to be a paragraph chapter which means no survivor, and no map just Ghostface, you can tell because the video itself is called "Ghost Face - Trailer" and even the title card that's shown at the end of the teaser just says Ghost Face. Not "Chapter 12: Scream" or any references to a new survivor or even a new map at the bottom, just "Ghost Face"


2: The fine print at the bottom of the title card reads as follows:

"Ghost Face is a registered trademark of Fun World Div., Easter Unlimited Inc. All rights Reserved. Ghost Face protected under worldwide copyright registration and is the exclusive property of Fun World Div., Easter Unlimited Inc. All Rights Reserved."

These are the people who own the license for the Ghostface mask not the people who own the rights to the Scream movies and the characters specifically in those movies: AKA Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley, Randy Meeks, etc. including Ghostface himself as a character.

So what we have are the rights to the original mask, not the actual character himself because these licenses are separately owned, the mask belonging to Fun World, and the character belonging to whoever (apparently it's super complicated and has been passed off from a lot of different people)

Thoughts on the situation

So basically what we have isn't the actual character GhostFace himself from the Scream franchise, but a guy who wears the same mask, uses the same sort of knife, looks quite similar, has the same sort of mannerisms and kills in a similar way (wipes the blade using the tips of his thumb and index finger, has access to a phone and is seen using it, is stealthy quiet etc.) but isn't actually him. Different character with different backstory and lore with a slight chance that this could be a copycat killer from the actual Ghostface from the movies.

Paulie brings up this point that this might have been done for the sake of time, to make a licensing agreement between both Fun World and whoever else would have taken too much time, been really costly, and probably really restrictive as well we might not have gotten the leaked cosmetics that we've already seen, etc.

However, what we might see is later down the line BHVR could negotiate with whoever owns that license and get an actual Scream chapter, which comes with a Scream related character, a Scream related map (Woodsboro High School?), and maybe an OG Ghostface skin which would give Ghostface the look that he looked like in the films with the classic father death robes.

Assuming that the price for this upcoming Ghostface Chapter is priced like every other paragraph chapter (I believe 4.99 USD) and this hypothetical Scream chapter would be priced the same way way, would you want it? Or would it cause complications that aren't worth, for example it's sort of like buying the same chapter twice but not really, it might mess up the backstory for whatever killer we do have right now who is technically not ghostface from the films so what explanation is there for why he has the original robes to wear, would the "licensed" cosmetics we have right now for Ghostface conflict with the acquirement of the Father Death robes for the original character, etc.

Or are you a big enough Scream fan that you would wholeheartedly accept and purchase two separate chapters like that and pull a "Shut Up and take my money". I personally think I'd probably fall into the latter category but I wanna know what people think

[Seiko300]

Originally posted by Bacon Bullets:

Legion should have been Ghost Face.

Just no.

Legion is to Ghostface as Hillbilly is to Leatherface, they're nice original characters but they don't exactly fill the same role as these great characters which we've seen in multitudes of films.

Originally posted by ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥:

I don't get this Ghostface love. I grew up in the `90s, his character was not that great. I mean, sure, it was okay back in the day, but now? He wasn't even that scary, or whatever. The best thing about ghostface was the Scream parodies that followed which were pretty funny.

Am i missing something here?

As a big Ghostface guy and one who's vouched for the characters implementation since launch three years ago (or really more since Myers initial release and everyone realized they could get a hold of popular licenses), I can tell you the reason(s) that I've always loved the character.

First off it can't be unsaid that the Scream movies themselves (or at least the original, I know some don't like the sequels but I still enjoy them) are absolutely brilliant. By the time the film came out in 1996 the slasher genre itself had already arguably begun to run stale with it's many, many sequels to original ideas and overall played out tropes of the genre. Scream single-handedly revitalized the whole genre with Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson's perfection of the meta-film. Self commentating on both itself and the genre it comes from as well as constantly subverting and manipulating audience expectations the whole way through.

One of the primary reasons that I like Ghostface so much is because he's eerily realistic and it remains absolutely uncanny as to how plausible the story itself actually is. Ghostface is frightening because he could be real, as opposed to the very much fictional killers that he joins the ranks of: Michael Myers, an immortal incarnation of pure evil "poured into a human mold", Jason Voorhees, an invincible tank of an undead, undying man, Freddy Krueger, a haunting odious burned man turned Dream demon. Scary as the concepts of these characters are, none of them are real and none can do anything to anybody outside of the pages of a script or the scenes of a film. Scream is ironically quite grounded in comparison to all these other films which feature killers like Chucky or Pinhead or whoever else and that's what makes it better than other slasher films in my opinion.

Horror movies have always played with the idea that villains and slasher killers specifically always look the part, that they look terrifying or creepy. However, the notion that someone who doesn't look the part who still might be just as cold, bloodthirsty and insane as someone who does, that it could be the person standing right next to you is frankly all the more unsettling.

The character himself just fits the setting he's placed in so well on top of it all, with the mask on each Ghostface adopts (for the most part) the same kind of persona: that of a snarky, cocky, sarcastic, smart and very much dangerous individual. Someone who knows exactly where you are or where you're going to be and who you will never find unless they want to be found. And he will taunt and terrify you right up to the very point that the knife slips in

[Lolita Rose]

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

sooo...no new theme music for the new killer?
ffs why only Myres...WHY!!!!!! even the saw theme was amazing and they ignored it..

tbh what my opinion is..if you're not going to make a licensed killer perfect and represent the whole movie atmosphere and all...then just DON'T DO IT,seriously what the point?

the best licensed killer dbd ever had was The Shape, they gave him chase/terror radious music,released the survivor along with map from the movie,made his powers same as the movie and fun to play with/against him (i wish every killer i face is Myres,fking love him).

they actually worked hard on him (my god the trailer gave me chills everytime i watch it)
then look at the others licensed characters and see the difference.

disappointment...

they were paired with starbreeze that time,after starbreeze is gone,bhvr lost "quality" in their products i think

[Seiko300]

Originally posted by BraveClem:

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

sooo...no new theme music for the new killer?
ffs why only Myres...WHY!!!!!! even the saw theme was amazing and they ignored it..

tbh what my opinion is..if you're not going to make a licensed killer perfect and represent the whole movie atmosphere and all...then just DON'T DO IT,seriously what the point?

the best licensed killer dbd ever had was The Shape, they gave him chase/terror radious music,released the survivor along with map from the movie,made his powers same as the movie and fun to play with/against him (i wish every killer i face is Myres,fking love him).

they actually worked hard on him (my god the trailer gave me chills everytime i watch it)
then look at the others licensed characters and see the difference.

disappointment...

they were paired with starbreeze that time,after starbreeze is gone,bhvr lost "quality" in their products i think

From what I heard starbreeze was being a huge pain and generally impeded BHVR from taking the game in the direction that they wanted to and making the process of doing so generally slower. Everything that BHVR wanted to do in terms of new content, events, acquirement of licenses, balancing, etc. had to go through Starbreeze as their publication company and it was just generally bad.

[BOOYAKAAA]

Originally posted by Seiko300:

Originally posted by Bacon Bullets:

Legion should have been Ghost Face.

Just no.

Legion is to Ghostface as Hillbilly is to Leatherface, they're nice original characters but they don't exactly fill the same role as these great characters which we've seen in multitudes of films.

Ghostface runs around with a knife killing people as does Legion. That is why I think Legion should have been Ghostface.

What do you think Ghostface will be doing in the game besides chasing you with a knife?

[Squeaky Fengy]

Originally posted by BraveClem:

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

sooo...no new theme music for the new killer?
ffs why only Myres...WHY!!!!!! even the saw theme was amazing and they ignored it..

tbh what my opinion is..if you're not going to make a licensed killer perfect and represent the whole movie atmosphere and all...then just DON'T DO IT,seriously what the point?

the best licensed killer dbd ever had was The Shape, they gave him chase/terror radious music,released the survivor along with map from the movie,made his powers same as the movie and fun to play with/against him (i wish every killer i face is Myres,fking love him).

they actually worked hard on him (my god the trailer gave me chills everytime i watch it)
then look at the others licensed characters and see the difference.

disappointment...

they were paired with starbreeze that time,after starbreeze is gone,bhvr lost "quality" in their products i think

That explain everything then....

Originally posted by Seiko300:

Originally posted by BraveClem:

they were paired with starbreeze that time,after starbreeze is gone,bhvr lost "quality" in their products i think

From what I heard starbreeze was being a huge pain and generally impeded BHVR from taking the game in the direction that they wanted to and making the process of doing so generally slower. Everything that BHVR wanted to do in terms of new content, events, acquirement of licenses, balancing, etc. had to go through Starbreeze as their publication company and it was just generally bad.

Every licensed dlc after Starbreeze left was complete garbage tbh :/

[rj1567]

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

Every licensed dlc after Starbreeze left was complete garbage tbh :/

They didn't even release a single licensed DLC except for ash after they bought the publishing rights of Dead by Daylight from Starbreeze

[Squeaky Fengy]

Originally posted by rj1567:

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

Every licensed dlc after Starbreeze left was complete garbage tbh :/

They didn't even release a single licensed DLC except for ash after they bought the rights to Dead by Daylight

I thought from the previous comments that they left Starbreeze after Halloween chapter?

[rj1567]

It was the 21st march 2018 when they bought the rights and the chapter before was the Pig chapter the last licensed DLC until Ash's release https://www.starbreeze.com/2018/03/starbreeze-sells-rights-to-dead-by-daylight-to-behaviour-for-usd-16-million/

[Lolita Rose]

Originally posted by rj1567:

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

Every licensed dlc after Starbreeze left was complete garbage tbh :/

They didn't even release a single licensed DLC except for ash after they bought the rights to Dead by Daylight

But they are releasing soon,without starbreeze,Ghostface,from scream,Without

1:A Map
2:Classic Costume As cosmetic
3:Without Survivor
4:An interesting Power
5:Custom Music

Best "Chapter" Of The Year, ._.

[Squeaky Fengy]

Originally posted by BraveClem:

Originally posted by rj1567:

They didn't even release a single licensed DLC except for ash after they bought the rights to Dead by Daylight

But they are releasing soon,without starbreeze,Ghostface,from scream,Without

1:A Map
2:Classic Costume As cosmetic
3:Without Survivor
4:An interesting Power
5:Custom Music

Best "Chapter" Of The Year, ._.

6: his original outfit...

[rj1567]

Originally posted by BraveClem:

Originally posted by rj1567:

They didn't even release a single licensed DLC except for ash after they bought the rights to Dead by Daylight

But they are releasing soon,without starbreeze,Ghostface,from scream,Without

1:A Map
2:Classic Costume As cosmetic
3:Without Survivor
4:An interesting Power
5:Custom Music

No licensed killer except for Michael got custom music
A survivor is not important except for their new perks but otherwise they really aren't needed as they are skins
Another map that has to be balanced along with the 27 other ones and it is also possible they would have to pay extra for
Cosmetics can be added afterwards
Regarding his power i would say it is up to each ones opinion if they like it or not

It is also very likely that they didn't add any of these because they don't have the rights for the Scream franchise. As they only have the rights for the Ghostface mask

[KNOBOLOGIST ツ]

I'm just putting it out there and I'm sure many of you will already know BUT don't get too excited for Ghostface - he will only be nerfed three weeks after release. Freddy #2

[Squeaky Fengy]

Originally posted by rj1567:

Originally posted by BraveClem:

But they are releasing soon,without starbreeze,Ghostface,from scream,Without

1:A Map
2:Classic Costume As cosmetic
3:Without Survivor
4:An interesting Power
5:Custom Music

No licensed killer except for Michael got custom music
A survivor is not important except for their new perks but otherwise they really aren't needed as they are skins
Another map that has to be balanced along with the 27 other ones and it is also possible they would have to pay extra for
Cosmetics can be added afterwards
Regarding his power i would say it is up to each ones opinion if they like it or not

It is also very likely that they didn't add any of these because they don't have the rights for the Scream franchise. As they only have the rights for the Ghostface mask

well..that exactly what i meant in my previous reply:

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

tbh what my opinion is..if you're not going to make a licensed killer perfect and represent the whole movie atmosphere and all...then just DON'T DO IT,seriously what the point?

[Seiko300]

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

Originally posted by BraveClem:

they were paired with starbreeze that time,after starbreeze is gone,bhvr lost "quality" in their products i think

That explain everything then....

Originally posted by Seiko300:

From what I heard starbreeze was being a huge pain and generally impeded BHVR from taking the game in the direction that they wanted to and making the process of doing so generally slower. Everything that BHVR wanted to do in terms of new content, events, acquirement of licenses, balancing, etc. had to go through Starbreeze as their publication company and it was just generally bad.

Every licensed dlc after Starbreeze left was complete garbage tbh :/

I don't think starbreeze has anything to do with the quality of the content the devs release for Dead by Daylight anyway. Starbreeze was just the publication company and I'm really not sure how much they had a hand in making decisions about the game in a way that people really cared about like balance specifically.

People just like blaming ♥♥♥♥ on the devs all the time :/

Originally posted by Bacon Bullets:

Originally posted by Seiko300:

Just no.

Legion is to Ghostface as Hillbilly is to Leatherface, they're nice original characters but they don't exactly fill the same role as these great characters which we've seen in multitudes of films.

Ghostface runs around with a knife killing people as does Legion. That is why I think Legion should have been Ghostface.

What do you think Ghostface will be doing in the game besides chasing you with a knife?

If you really want to boil it down that far / simplify and generalize it like that, I can one up you and say every killer in this game just chases you in some way, shape, form, or fashion equipped with some weapon which they use to kill and / or severely wound, injure, or maim people. Therefore there is no reason to have anything more than Trapper according to your own logic.

In the grand scheme of things, outside of the DBD community nobody gives a ♥♥♥♥ about legion, hell even in the DBD community ever since he was released not many people gave a ♥♥♥♥ about him. He is not popular or widely recognizable and thus does not serve as a replacement for a character which has built up a wide fanbase over the course of four films, a tv series, and numerous other on-screen appearances.

[rj1567]

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

Originally posted by rj1567:

No licensed killer except for Michael got custom music
A survivor is not important except for their new perks but otherwise they really aren't needed as they are skins
Another map that has to be balanced along with the 27 other ones and it is also possible they would have to pay extra for
Cosmetics can be added afterwards
Regarding his power i would say it is up to each ones opinion if they like it or not

It is also very likely that they didn't add any of these because they don't have the rights for the Scream franchise. As they only have the rights for the Ghostface mask

well..that exactly what i meant in my previous reply:

Originally posted by Leather Bin Bubba:

tbh what my opinion is..if you're not going to make a licensed killer perfect and represent the whole movie atmosphere and all...then just DON'T DO IT,seriously what the point?

I rather have him in a game instead of not being able to play with him at all.

Also getting 2 licenses one from the movies and the other for the mask isn't cheap as both want to get shares from every DLC and cosmetic sold which cuts the DLC revenue between 4 companies Behaviour, Steam and the 2 license holders. Also each company has their own vision how the characters should look like so even more work.
Also in the tv series of scream they also didn't use his mask so it could be possible that the relations between the license holders is bad and they don't want to work together