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For instance, if someone used a waterfall in their level, could I use that waterfall in my own level so I can make my level look pretty? Or if someone used a golden temple with all the gold-colored tiles, could I work on a golden temple of my own with kinda the same tile usage?

I ask this because I'm afraid of plagiarizing someone else's work on a level.

I'll look at other people's levels, and when I see an idea they used, I'll think, "Oh well I can't use that. Someone else just had that idea," in stead of "Oh cool. I want to try that kind of design myself."

Nah. I think it's okay but I think you have to ask permission from them. Well some people didn't ask permission from them and they saw that they copy their stuff so they ask.

I think it's A-Okay.

Hey DB, of course you can copy single elements like a waterfall or a golden temple. In fact, we're constantly copying level4 with all the glitches like quicksand, floater device etc. Just credit if you feel like it, you usually don't need any permission. The main thing is that it's your creation.

Sometimes a bit of inspiration from others is even necessary. I've kinda admired SK's tiling style a lot and "copied" it a bit, until it turned into my very personal style.

And by the way, I've tried waterfalls in an older level of mine, Tall Tree in the Water Forest, and at that time I surely wasn't the first to do that.

The whole point of the designer is that there's so much you can do with it. What's the point in discovering something amazing, only to then say "only I may use this"? No matter how good your levels may be, saying that would make you a terrible designer, because you're not willing to make other people better. That being said I'm pretty sure that's never happened before.

So yeah, I reckon it's fine to use things from other levels. I guess, depending on its significance, you could say "credit to (name) for (idea)" if you use something.

Yeah. That makes since.
Also, SK is someone who's inspired me too.

Nothing is copyrighted here, if you use someone else's inspirations or concepts, then you can always leave a credit or something for them but in my eyes, it's more or less a kind of flattery if I see someone use my idea.

And I have seen a lot of people re-use ideas and concepts that I think I may have been the first person to use, and I never thought "how dare they, that's my idea", because after all we're an accepting community and sometimes the best way to learn is to be inspired or to build on what other people have already done.

Yeah, I get what you're saying.

I'm thinking about it now: I've taken inspiration from the Donkey Kong Country levels because I'm a fan of the games and applied the ideas used in the games into my levels. That's kinda why I chose Forest Interlude for Frost Glade. I really like having music fit with the environment.

In that regard, I was using other people's ideas. So yeah, I understand using other people's idea is okay and give credit to them.