Stranger Things Chapter Perks - should they be renamed?

Seiko300

I'm well aware in matters of licensing, the community has less influence and sway than probably any other aspect of the game. However, I'm still posting this poll anyway- because the topic is ambiguous enough (to me at least) that I still want to hear others opinions on it.

So we all know that Stranger Things is going to be leaving DBD soon (cause Netflix is trying to become a gaming company now I guess?) and when they do a bunch of things are going to happen. One of those things is going to be how to deal with Steve and Nancy's teachables. It's likely we'll seem them enter amongst the ranks of the generic perk pool new players start out with access to, and the perk icons themselves will have to be changed to remove any connection to the Stranger Things IP, IE Inner Strength has a picture of Nancy Wheeler on it ready to pull up her hood. These changes, are all fine, well, and good and are completely understandable.

That being said:

I personally really hate the idea of renaming the stranger things perks to other things. This comes from a practical need- the sheer bloating DBD is experiencing on account of the number of perks, add-ons, is not fun to deal with and the need to memorize every single one and their effect on a whim is a serious pressure most regular players can probably identify with if they're making a sincere effort to get better. Renaming perks in the midst of this bloating and STILL without an organizational system for our inventories of 7+ full pages of perks is just nothing short of an annoyance for players committing this information to memory, it is simply an inconvenience for the playerbase.

I completely understand the need to rework the perk icons to something else non-stranger things related, but there's no way that Netflix can actually claim some kind of copyright or intellectual property over the NAMES of perks, which are just words. Are you really trying to tell me that Stranger Things has some kind of rights over the words / phrase "inner strength"? "camaraderie"? or "cruel limits"? These things truly have very little to do with the overall show and are just loose connections to the characters but they are entirely generic enough that I don't see Netflix actually being able to hold a case in court.

I firmly believe if there's any chance to keep the names of perks they should. I see no real reason to change them beyond "being nice" and all the devs really need to do to avoid any serious legal concerns is to:

1. Change perk icons.
2. Change the perk descriptions, which means:
   1. Getting rid of the quotes of Stranger Things characters that are at the bottom of the perk. IE: "Let's burn that lab to the ground." -Nancy Wheeler (quote under the perk Better Together)
   2. Possibly getting rid of or editing the intro blurb before the perk. For example Steve's intro blurb for Second Wind is: "You have learnt to avoid awkward situations with parents. Part of you still thinks your best option is to run away and hope things will take care of themselves." This is probably more specific to Steve's character than it would be to any other generic piece of advice, so for perks that are too close that might necessitate a change which I would understand.

But that's it. There's no way Netflix has any claim to the words "surge" or "fixated" or the phrases "Inner Strength" or "Better together". Realistically speaking these could be easily applied to the traits and characteristics of any number of characters that exist in Dead By Daylight.

Before we had Steve, there was David King whose character functions in lots of the same ways Steve's does in season 1 of Stranger Things, as a Jerk / ######### that can also be a team player and fights for them whether they like him or not. His intro blurb for We're Gonna Live Forever is "Your few friends deserve the best protection" so in many ways the perk names like Camaraderie or Second wind could easily be applied David King and still make sense. The following is part David King's character description:

"His perks are a result of his years playing rugby and stem from his strong physique and his need for Adrenaline. But being fast isn't everything, he's - sometimes - also a team player. But that side is seldom seen."

If this doesn't sound fitting enough character for Steve's perks I don't know what is. Ask yourself if all Steve's teachables were to swap over to be David King teachables would they still fit with his character? In broad brushtrokes, I would say yes- especially as far as legal is concerned anyway.

Now, to address the elephant in the room: Steve's perk Babysitter is less generic than the other 8 perks that exist for the Stranger Things Chapter. In multiple points throughout the show Steve is referenced as a "pretty damn good babysitter" and it's part of how he grows as a character in the show into a more mentorship role to the kids and most specifically to Dustin. Although again, even with Babysitter a case can be made that it's still just a generic everyday language word and there's no way that Netflix can claim some kind of copyright to it. Just because it's more closely tied to the show doesn't mean that gives them rights to the word. But, I'll admit that of all the perk names- Babysitter is likely the one that needs to be changed the most.

But as for the others they should stay the same. And think about what this would mean if companies like Netflix could somehow claim the right to use certain words in media- for example, the first time I ever heard somebody say "We're going to live forever" was in TF2's Expiration Date cinematic short released 7 years ago in 2014, when Soldier says the phrase to Scout after he mistakenly says that he's going to be dead on account of tumors he and the rest of the RED team are filled with. Does that now somehow give Valve the rights to the phrase "we're going to live forever?"

I think it would be a dangerous encroachment of artistic liberties and freedoms if this were true.

GannTM

No, the devs should change the names of the perks

Yeah Netflix sure does own the word “Surge”

Hex_Llama

Other (explain)

I'm assuming it's because they have some kind of contract where they developed the perks for the Stranger Things chapter and they're not allowed to distribute them outside the chapter unless they get renamed. It wouldn't make sense for them to change the names otherwise.

So, theoretically, sure -- I wish the perks didn't have to change at all. But I'm certain that the devs would have left the names alone if they had the option to.

AetherBytes

I just wish the original perks were kept for those who do own the characters.

babydemoboi

No, the devs should change the names of the perks

i swear i saw under the perk second wind it was called renewal and camraderie was called kinship