Extremely slim.

But then again, why not come up with something yourself? Remember, you can't copyright a concept. A game that involves a robot running through sidescrolling levels while shooting other robot enemies with various weapons and jumping off walls probably wouldn't violate Megaman Xs copyright, if you were careful.

It actually depends.
If you are using Mario graphics to make a Mario game then yes, it is a fan game (hell, if you make a Mario game then it is a fangame no matter what, even if you make the graphics yourself).
But if you use Mario graphics to make an entirely different game that is in no way related to Mario then no, it is not a fangame. But I'm not sure of how games on the BYOND website are classified, so technically it might not be a fangame, but it could still be classified as one on this website.

And, using any resources from any other game is considered stealing. Whether you make a profit off it or not doesn't matter, stealing is stealing and it is illegal. And you can get in trouble for it.
On top of that, simply making a fangame is illegal and is considered to be copyright infringment, whether you steal resources or make them on your own.
But usually if you do make a fangame and steal resources you wont get in trouble. Most of the time the fangame wont even be popular or big enough to draw the attention of the company who owns the copyrights to the game you are making a fangame of. But even if that does happen the chances of you getting in any real trouble are slim to none.
They will usually order you to cease and desist, which means you have been legally ordered to stop making the fangame and to stop distributing it (if it has gotten to the point where you can). Failure to do so will result in legal action, in which case you will probably be sued for a LOT of money, but if things do come to this then it is your own fault for not listening in the first place.

King of Slimes wrote:

Does using RPG Maker graphics get into any legal trouble? (Even if its slim chance for the trouble)

In theory, yes. Practically, I haven't heard of anyone being sued, but that doesn't mean it won't happpen.

It depends. The licence agreement says you can only use the RTP RPG Maker graphics if you have bought the legal version of it. So, technically you could get in trouble if you've just downloaded them off the internet, but again, I doubt it really even matters. They were made for use by other people in games they are making, so chances are no one will even bother to check up on these things even if they do see you using them.

I'm fairly sure that would fit under the definition of 'fair use', OFD. :P

Especially given that you're not claiming it as something you've done - you're referencing. And you're not hindering my ability to make a profit of those words, because I don't make a profit off of them.

Plus, I'm fairly sure it's implied that posts in a forum such as this are in the public domain.

Jp OFD wrote:

I'm fairly sure that would fit under the definition of 'fair use', OFD. :P

Especially given that you're not claiming it as something you've done - you're referencing. And you're not hindering my ability to make a profit of those words, because I don't make a profit off of them.

Plus, I'm fairly sure it's implied that posts in a forum such as this are in the public domain.

=)

OneFishDown wrote:

a company (philips) blatantly copied pac-man and sold the game in stores. atari sued and initially lost the case, but won the appeal. philips, who had been making money from the game, had to stop production and pull it from store shelves. i wouldn't call that "serious trouble" and philips was making a significant amount of money from it. considering you wouldn't be making money from a fan game that you make, nothing would ever happen to you.

Indeed.

Most likely you would get served a cease-and-desist order before they went to all the expense of a lawsuit anyway, so as long as you complied you'd be okay (except that all of your work on the game would have been wasted).