After my post about highly regarded fan fiction, it was interesting to note Tony Walsh’s post about Microsoft’s ‘Game Content Usage Rules’. People wanting to create machinima using XBox 360 are warned:

You can’t add to the game universe or expand on the story told in the game with “lost chapters” or back story or anything like that.

And then they end the list of rules by saying:

If you do any of these things, you can expect to hear from Microsoft’s lawyers who will tell you that you have to stop distributing your Items right away.

There’s still a way to do some of these things we’ve excluded, but you have to contact us for a commercial license. Thanks, and have fun!

* Shaking my head in disbelief *

Check out: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/developer/rules.htm