Would David Bowie Approve of The New Labyrinth Game?

Making your own video game is challenging in ways that I cannot even comprehend. Yet, if you’re choosing to make a game (and seek funding for it via Kickstarter) your best bet is to create something brand new. Yet, Labyrinth the Game has landed on the crowdfunding service all the same. The campaign page is quite brief, offering just the most basic description of the RPG they intend to make and set it with a low goal of £5000. Chances are this will simply fade into unfunded obscurity as the month goes on (if it isn’t hit with a DMCA takedown first).

But – there’s something unique about Labyrinth the Game’s campaign page. The designer actually recognizes that they do not own the rights to Labyrinth film. As such, in the risks and challenges section they state the following:

That’s far more reasonable than most other project creators as of late have done (Metal Gear Solid 1, Asteroids HD). However, with a campaign like this that basically shows nothing how can they expect any positive response from The Henson Company? Here’s a tip for people considering making games off existing properties via crowdfunding… Speak to the copyright holder first. If they say yes (which isn’t particularly likely for indie studios, unfortunately) then you can go forth with plans. Trying to post a campaign first and receive the OK later is a dangerous exercise. Even with the comment that they may change the game to avoid copyright, their campaign page may simply be taken down before they get the opportunity.

Speaking of which, Labyrinth: The Computer Game already exists! If you came to this post hoping for a digital version of Labyrinth then try and snag a copy of that computer title.

Note from the editor: In an effort to come across as less click-baity, and because we currently lack an official statement from Mr. Bowie himself, we’ve changed the title of this article.  However, it’s doubtful that Ziggy, Vendice, Thomas Jerome, Pontius, Nikola, Blaylock, and especially Jareth the Goblin King would approve of this Kickstarter campaign.  We’ll update this article if we hear from any of them.