Are gameplay mechanics subject to copyright?
<p>I'm willing to remake an old video game, first as a hobby project, but in the future I'd like to publish it online, for free or as a commercial project.</p>

<p>I've been reading for a while about copyright infringement, and despite not copying any artistic assets, lore, names, or things like that, I'm afraid I could run into copyright infringement.</p>

<p>The reason why I think so, is because I would be using some very specific mechanics that are key to the gameplay, and I suspect those mechanics can be subject of copyright.</p>

<p>Without entering into much detail, are there any kind of rules that apply to gameplay or game mechanics regarding copyright?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Copyright does not protect the idea for a game, its name or title, or the method or methods for playing it. Nor does copyright protect any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in developing, merchandising, or playing a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles. Copyright protects only the particular manner of an author’s expression in literary, artistic, or musical form.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160411131325/http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Link</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.copyright.gov/registration/other-digital-content/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.copyright.gov/registration/other-digital-content/</a></p>

copyright