Skyrim gave me an A+ on my essay! : V - Skyrim

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:36 am

I am pretty sure this is plagiarism, but if he wrote the story based on what happened but made up your own characters and towns would that still be plagiarism?

If you took a Led Zepplin song and changed a few of the lyrics and gave no credit to Zepplin would that be plagiarism? It seems like much the same thing as what you've described.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:18 am

Regardless of plagiarism, it might not be the best idea to
advertise you play roleplaying games to your classmates,
depending on what grade you're in.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:07 pm

Regardless of plagiarism, it might not be the best idea to
advertise you play roleplaying games to your classmates,
depending on what grade you're in.

tell that to vin diesel.

or, all the pro sports players.

or, me when i was in high school.

or, my young daughter who has me as her father.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:04 pm

Try to make a movie about Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader and see how long it takes Lucas Films to sue you for plagarism. In an English class, one thing you should learn is the difference between plagarism and fair use. His English essay probably falls under fair use, if all he's done is use the settings and characters to tell his story. If he's gone as far as to tell how he cleaned out the Barrows by freeing a guy with a golden dragon claw, he's crossed the line.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:09 am

tell that to vin diesel.

or, all the pro sports players.

or, me when i was in high school.

or, my young daughter who has me as her father.

Hey, I feel you man, I'm using my free time to
post in an Elder Scrolls forum and have spent an obscene
amount of time writing D&D adventures. But the truth
is that in high school, it's just asking for negative attention.
If you don't mind, all the more power to you, but sometimes
its better to save your individualism and RPGing at home so
you can have someone to talk to at lunch or take to the dance.
I'm not saying be ashamed, its just not something socially accepted to be interested in.
I'm not trying to put you down, I just know from experience it can be disheartening (to say the least).

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:54 pm

fryfro-

lol! i was just making the point that the stereotype about gamers being nerds, loners, etc. is VERY outdated and just plain false.

it's very mainstream. when i was playing hoops in college we'd play videogames all the time. go see how many kids play madden, halo, cod, gta4, etc.

yes, there are geeky, dorky, loner, people in this world that play videogames.

but, that stereotype just doesn't apply even near as much as it used to.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 11:10 am

It's called plagiarism. You'll be very lucky if you actually get away with it. In college it will earn you an "F" and possible expulsion.

Well, depends on how you do it. If you just copy all the dialog word for word from Skyrim, then that's plagiarism. But, if you just use Skyrim to give you the basic framework for a story and you fill in all the details yourself, then it is not plagiarism. Lots of classic literature, like Shakespeare's Hamlet for instance, is just retelling of old tales. Even elements of Tolkien's great works (including names like Gandalf and Frodo) can be traced back to historical sources like the Icelandic Eddas.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:57 am

I'm am one of the best liar in this world and i think its good to cheat a bit in life. Thieve guild forever.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:22 am

fryfro-

lol! i was just making the point that the stereotype about gamers being nerds, loners, etc. is VERY outdated and just plain false.

it's very mainstream. when i was playing hoops in college we'd play videogames all the time. go see how many kids play madden, halo, cod, gta4, etc.

yes, there are geeky, dorky, loner, people in this world that play videogames.

but, that stereotype just doesn't apply even near as much as it used to.

There is even a reference to COD in this hilarious SNL skit on dating advice, where the girls advise their friend that if she wants to land a guy she needs to, among other things, "tell him that you play Call of Duty". http://jezebel.com/5850526/snl-dating-advice-lie-to-him-ladies

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:16 pm

Wrong. It is plagiarism even if you use someone else's idea. If you use 3 or more words together and it is taken from somewhere than that is plagiarism also. You need to cite Skyrim if your basing an essay off of their creation.

No, you are wrong. When someone tells the story of how they won a baseball game then it is also not plagiarism when the teller describes all the rules of baseball. You may even find that others have played the same game with the same result and yet it is not plagiarism. In the same way is it not plagiarism when you play Skyrim and describe the events with your own words. Everyone plays this game differently and you will have no chance of turning this into a negative.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:24 pm

He stated that he wrote his essay based on the Main Quest, not his own experience. That is plagiarism.

Read again, he or she wrote that the story was made up.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:07 am

Regardless as to the specifics, it's a learning opertunity. Ask your teacher to explain the difference between plagarism and fair use. You don't even have to bring up why. It's important that somewhere along the way, you learn the difference so that you don't get into some real trouble later in life.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:30 am

You need to cite Skyrim if your basing an essay off of their creation.

What if you based you story (as many have) on Romeo and Juliet, or some other Shakespeare play? On one of the many works derived from those plays? On one of the works Shakespeare copped from?
What if you based it on Beowulf? Canterbury Tails? The Lord of The rings? Conan? Skyrim cops more or less directly from ALL of those.

Skyrim is just another work contributing to a long chain of cultural "plagerism". Nothing makes it more sacrosanct than any of those others... except maybe that Bethesda has good lawyers and and up-to-date copyright.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:14 pm

Well, depends on how you do it. If you just copy all the dialog word for word from Skyrim, then that's plagiarism. But, if you just use Skyrim to give you the basic framework for a story and you fill in all the details yourself, then it is not plagiarism. Lots of classic literature, like Shakespeare's Hamlet for instance, is just retelling of old tales. Even elements of Tolkien's great works (including names like Gandalf and Frodo) can be traced back to historical sources like the Icelandic Eddas.

Folk tales, historical events and such are freely available for anyone to use, because they can't be ascribed to any persons. Particular tellings of folk tales, and particular interpretations of tales and events, generally can be ascribed to persons, and are often copyrighted. The plot used by the OP is someone else's creative idea, and to present someone else's work as one's own is to commit plagiarism. The plot is copyrighted too, which adds potential legal complications. Without seeing the work for myself, I can't be absolutely certain that plagiarism occurred, but from the OP's description of what he did, it sure looks that way.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:03 am

What if you based you story (as many have) on Romeo and Juliet, or some other Shakespeare play? On one of the many works derived from those plays? On one of the works Shakespeare copped from?
What if you based it on Beowulf? Canterbury Tails? The Lord of The rings? Conan? Skyrim cops more or less directly from ALL of those.

Skyrim is just another work contributing to a long chain of cultural "plagerism". Nothing makes it more sacrosanct than any of those others... except maybe that Bethesda has good lawyers and and up-to-date copyright.

This is true. There is nothing new under the sun.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:33 am

Folk tales, historical events and such are freely available for anyone to use, because they can't be ascribed to any persons. Particular tellings of folk tales, and particular interpretations of tales and events, generally can be ascribed to persons, and are often copyrighted. The plot used by the OP is someone else's creative idea, and to present someone else's work as one's own is to commit plagiarism. The plot is copyrighted too, which adds potential legal complications. Without seeing the work for myself, I can't be absolutely certain that plagiarism occurred, but from the OP's description of what he did, it sure looks that way.

Sorry, but you cannot copywrite an idea.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:05 pm

Sorry, but you cannot copywrite an idea.

Actually... ideas are exactly what you copywrite.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:01 pm

Actually... ideas are exactly what you copywrite.

No. It is spelled "copyright", unless I am missing the joke here.

And you protect work, but not ideas with a copyright.

I know another word that can be used here. The word is envy. Two examples:

To assume plagiarism without having read the story is envy.
Your envy lets you distrust the teacher's judgement who gave it an A+.

See? A new word: envy.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:11 pm

Regardless of whether or not it's plagiarism, I still consider it cheating. First of all, you're not really being creative if you just use someone else's story and put it in your own words. Second, I seriously doubt that a story-centric essay about Skyrim would hold up to any English teacher unless you added actual symbolism, characterization, and imagery.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:53 am

This isnt unusual. I know someone who copied Assasins Creed and Mass Effect on his tests.
Many others did the same. More ofthen than not, it doesnt pay off.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:20 pm

I had a friend who wrote an entire economics research paper using the plot from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. He kept the names of the places, but changed some of the more recognizable characters and received and A+ as well. Apparently our professor wasn't a fan of science fiction... that or he was horrible at geography and though Naboo was a country in Africa...

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 2:55 am

No. It is spelled "copyright", unless I am missing the joke here.

And you protect work, but not ideas with a copyright.

I know another word that can be used here. The word is envy. Two examples:

To assume plagiarism without having read the story is envy.
Your envy lets you distrust the teacher's judgement who gave it an A+.

See? A new word: envy.

Dude, no offense but you CAN get copyrights on ideas, they just have to be written out. Now the script for Skyrim is a virtual game and so it's safe to assume it's written out. The thing in question doesn't have to have physical appearance. Also, you sound nervous...did you do this yourself? :shifty:

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 2:35 am

plagiarism wins again

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:43 am

This thread is a great example about why you should clarify these ideas with your teacher. Everyone here has their opinions as to what is or is not plagarism, and only about 1/3 of us are right. Make sure you develope a much better understanding of it than these yahoos have. First off... it's not about copyright. That's a whole different ball game. Ask your teacher. Ask another teacher. Ask your principal. But don't take the words here as truth.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:25 am

Yesterday I went to english ready to turn in my essay that I typed the night before. I handed in my essay and when my teacher came around to reading mine she was blown away by my story telling and choice of words. All I did was make up a story about the first main quest of how you have go tell the Jarl of Whiterun theres a dragon coming this way and you have to go and get the dragonstone and stuff like that. I was amazed how she fell for it :biggrin:

. She asked to share it with another class and said of course. So really Skyrim gave an A+ on my essay! :banana:

Oi, are you Rachel. In my school there was a girl who made a poem based off of a few lines in Oblivion. No one caught it except me (my school is too ghetto for Oblivion), so I decided to rat her out, not because she cheated, but because I hated that [censored] (who may possibly be you.)