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Please note that this is an article about a FAN-MADE MEDIA, and is neither licensed nor endorsed by Capcom, and is not canon.


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FanFilm

A poster for the Mega Man fan film.

Fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by individuals coming together for a common interest, often spending large amounts of time with this interest and can include many things, such as cosplaying, fan games, art, music remixes, and so on. The Mega Man franchise created by Capcom has a large fandom, and is often centered around his video games, with many often remixing their favorite songs or attempting to make their own Mega Man game through various methods.

This article outlines the Mega Man fandom. Additional fandom content can be found on the Mega Man Fanon Wiki and Fan Fiction Wiki.

Fan activities

Pharaoh Punch

A gif of Pharaoh Man punching Mega Man after having his power stolen

Members of a fandom engage in a large variety of activities to show off their love of the franchise. The advent of the Internet has significantly facilitated fan association and activities, and it is also used for archiving detailed information pertinent to their given fanbase. Often, fans congregate to share their love for and criticism, leading to a high level of organization and community within the fandom. There are multiple websites and forums dedicated to it, as well as internet memes and animated GIFs, fan art, fiction, wallpapers, videos (even a fan film), music, games, among other content.

There are also active fan organizations that participate in philanthropy and create a positive social impact. For example, the Games Done Quick events are speed running marathons done for charity. GDQ has done several Mega Man games since their inception.

Cosplay

Cosplay

A cosplay of the TruForce Collectibles Mega Man X, by cosplay_meg

Cosplay (a portmanteau between costume and play) is the creation and wearing of costumes designed in the likeness of characters from a source work, which can also be combined with role-playing and reenacting scenes. Mega Man fans cosplay as the various characters and iterations of Mega Man in the franchise from all different expects, even cosplaying as characters such as Bad Box Art Mega Man and Air Man.

Fan art

MegaManTribute

The book Mega Man Tribute is a collection of fan illustrations

Fan art is artwork drawn by fans of a given series that is normally not commissioned or licensed by the company that owns the series. Sometimes fan art appears in official media, such as the ending credits from Rockman DASH 2 and in a dedicated section from the Archie Comics Mega Man series.

Fan club

A fan club is a group of dedicated fans that is usually run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. Despite the name, there are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person or organization the club is centered on, such as My Capcom and its predecessors Capcom 'Fun' Club and u-Capcom.

Fan fiction

Fan fiction, or fanfic, is a type of written, drawn, or recorded made piece of media that is made by fans and it may or may not tie in with the story's canon. This may also portray a character in a wildly different tone, personality, or atmosphere that is not at all like the character they are derived from. Despite this, at times the fandom has had influence over what is generally accepted by the community or even the franchise's story itself.

Fan fiction is almost never regarded as canonical. However, certain ideas may become influential or widely accepted within fan communities, who refer to such ideas as "fanon" (fan + canon). Similarly, the jargon "headcanon" is used to describe a fan's personal interpretation of a fictional universe. One example of this is the "cataclysm" theory from Bob and George.

Fangames

Fangames are video games created by fans of the series. Many fangames attempt to clone or remake the original game's design, gameplay and characters, but it is equally common for fans to develop a unique game using another only as a template. Though the quality of fangames has always been variable, advances in computer technology and in available tools, e.g. through open source software, have made creating high-quality games easier. Fangames can be seen as user generated content, as part of the retrogaming phenomena and as expression of the remix culture.

Examples

Doujin games

Modding

Mega Man Ultra title screen

Mega Man Ultra title screen

Modding, Mod for short, is the process of modifying a video game to alter one or more of its aspects, such as graphics, dialogue, stages, and gameplay, ranging from small changes to complete overhauls, including creating a new, unofficial game by using the original game as a template. It is usually done by technically inclined video game fans to breathe new life into a cherished old game, as a creative outlet. Modding can be done in many ways, such as ROM hacking, which is done by modifying a ROM image or ROM file of a video game.

ROM hacking is generally accomplished through use of a hex editor and various specialized tools such as tile editors, and game-specific tools which are generally used for editing stages, items, and the like, although more advanced tools such as assemblers and debuggers are occasionally used. Once ready, they are usually distributed on the Internet for others to play on an emulator or console. There is such a big number of hacks available on the Internet, that searching for "Mega Man hacks" on YouTube will easily reveal at least a dozen.

ROM hacking is also done to provide fan translations for games that were not officially released on specific languages, with varying quality. Examples of Japanese exclusive games that gained an English fan translation include Wily & Right's RockBoard: That's Paradise,[1] Rockman.EXE 4.5 Real Operation,[2] Rockman.EXE Operate Shooting Star,[3] Rockman.EXE WS,[4] and Namco × Capcom.[5]

Cheat devices such as Game Genie, Action Replay, and GameShark can also be used to make changes to a game, but they are mainly used for cheating, manipulating the code to provide different beneficts. Many games with multiplayer and online features may have anti-cheating measures to prevent unfair play. After an incident during the Rockman.EXE 2 NetBattle tournament, where the winner used the unannounced Gospel event Battle Chip, most games from the Mega Man Battle Network and Mega Man Star Force series (mainly in the Japanese versions) included a subtle change to the save message to detect modifications, such as the removal or replacement of a dot or comma, preventing the entrance from cheaters on tournaments.[6] On that note, depending of the modification and method, modifying a game's coding may cause permanent changes or even flaws to a game if not done properly, backup copies being more suited for them. Depending on the severity, errors that may occur include the corruption or loss of saved data and making the game unplayable. Some glitches may also scramble game data, such as MissingNo. in the original Pokémon games.

Below are some examples of ROM hacks. For more, see ROM hacking in the Mega Man Fanon Wiki.

Fansites

A fansite, fan site, fan blog or fan page is a website created and maintained by one of more fans. The content of Mega Man fansites vary, including specialized information on the franchise (e.g. The Mega Man Network), specific elements (Sprites Inc), and dedicated to a single subject (Dust Man's Domain).

Most fansites are unofficial, but a few are officially recognized and may interact with each other. To state that they are unofficial, many fan webmasters put a disclaimer on a visible place on the website, which sometimes also includes the copyright of the site.

Relationship with the industry

The entertainment industry refers to the totality of fans devoted to a particular area of interest, whether organized or not, as the "fanbase". The Mega Man franchise often received fan content via boss character contests.

Media fans, have, on occasion, organized on behalf of canceled series, one successful example being Star Trek in 1968. The cancelation of Mega Man Legends 3 led to the creation of the Get Me Off the Moon group. Such outcries, even when unsuccessful, suggests a growing self-consciousness on the part of entertainment consumers, who appear increasingly likely to attempt to assert their power as a bloc.

The relationship between fans and professionals has changed because of access to social media platforms. These give fans greater access to public figures such as creators, authors, and actors.

Music from OverClocked ReMix's album For Everlasting Peace: 25 Years of Mega Man was used in the Mega Man Legacy Collection 3DS trailer, and three fans from the series were invited for the Mega Man 30th Anniversary podcast that unveiled Mega Man 11.

External links

References

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