Line #72 Main/AscendedFanFic


1	A professionally-published story that evolved from {{Fanfic}}. This can overlap with SerialNumbersFiledOff, but it is by no means necessary. The setting of the new work will often be suspiciously similar to the source material for obvious reasons, but the plots of the two stories can come out very different indeed. Alternatively, a number of these began as {{Transplanted Character Fic}}s, which are easier to publish professionally as the only connections to the original canon are character personalities and inter-relationships that are too vague to be covered by MediaNotes/{{copyright}}. A PromotedFanboy might even rework his fanfic as an official part of the franchise.
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3	On occasion, a fanfic becomes its own legitimate franchise without bothering to cut all its ties to the original, complete with its own fanbase outside fans of the original, with the blessing of the original work's copyright owners. In some cases, some fans may not even realize that it was a derivative work.
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5	In other media, this can applied to video games that originated as unofficial fan games or {{Game Mod}}s.
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7	Compare SpiritualSuccessor, where a work doesn't violate copyright law, but fans consider it to be very similar to some preexisting work. See also HumbleBeginnings, of which this can be considered a subtrope.
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9	Contrast AscendedMeme and AscendedFanon, where derivative material is later incorporated into the canon material, and the similar RunningTheAsylum, where fans gradually take control of the original franchise as time goes on and start publishing [[{{Canon}} official material]] that looks like fan fiction. Also compare CanonImmigrant and RetCanon, where the new elements stem from official sources. See also SerialNumbersFiledOff, DivorcedInstallment, WhatCouldHaveBeen, and CaptainErsatz.
10	----
11	!!Examples:
12	[[foldercontrol]]
13
14	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
15	* ''Manga/NyoronChuruyaSan'' started as a series of ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya''-themed {{doujinshi}} comics. ''Churuya-san'' would later be officially published in ''Comp Ace'', and it even got adapted into a net animation at the same time as the official ''Haruhi'' GagSeries ''Manga/HaruhiChan'' did.
16	* ''Manga/PetitIdolmaster'' was originally a fan comic published on the author's website. It would later become an official spinoff of ''VideoGame/TheIdolMaster'' and get its own anime adaptation.
17	[[/folder]]
18
19	[[folder:Audio Play]]
20	* The Japanese drama CD ''Yours for an Hour'' surprisingly started out as a ''American'' slash fanfic of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. It went as far as using Creator/JunkoTakeuchi and Creator/NoriakiSugiyama for the leads.
21	* The founders of ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' were part of the ''AudioPlay/DoctorWhoAudioVisuals'' fanwork community, and five Audio Visual plays were remade by Big Finish, with another getting a StealthSequel.
22	[[/folder]]
23
24	[[folder:Comic Books]]
25	* Creator/GregRucka's espionage series ''ComicBook/QueenAndCountry'' is an acknowledged ascended fanfic of the British TV series ''Series/TheSandbaggers''.
26	* ''ComicBook/TheLastHope'' was an unlicensed Film/{{Gamera}} dōjinshi made as a fan prequel to the Heisei Gamera films. The Japanese translation of ''ComicBook/GameraTheGuardianOfTheUniverse'' in 2018 included ''The Last Hope'' as a bonus (on top of also having the cover illustrated by the same artist), and [[https://spankzilla85.tumblr.com/post/175359229255/oh-oh-thats-right-im-an-official-gamera-artist the studio that releases Gamera films considers the story canonical]] (also meaning that the previously unused Showa kaiju Garasharp, which features in the comic, is retroactively made canon as well).
27	[[/folder]]
28
29	[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
30	* Creator/GuillermoDelToro stated in an interview that ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'' began life as some doodles he made after seeing ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' as a child, when he wondered "why couldn't the fish monster and his beloved be happy together?". And so, many years later, came an Oscar-winning film.
31	* The Despecialized Edition restorations of the Original Star Wars Trilogy have since been used for some theatrical screenings of the Star Wars Trilogy since the Lucasfilm acquisition.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Literature]]
35	* YoungAdult author Creator/CassandraClare started off as a [[Fanfic/TheDracoTrilogy fanfic author]] and later used lines from her own fanfics in her original work.
36	* ''Series/DoctorWho'' and Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse examples:
37	** The fourth Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures novel, ''Timewyrm: Revelation'', with the Seventh Doctor and Ace, came out of a Fifth Doctor and Tegan fanfic published in a fanzine. Creator/PaulCornell expanded and changed quite a bit and made it into his first novel.
38	** ''The Highest Science'', an early NA by Creator/GarethRoberts originated as a crude fan story. It turned into ''his'' first novel. This, in turn, formed the loose basis for the television story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E15PlanetOfTheDead Planet of the Dead]]", which he cowrote with Creator/RussellTDavies.
39	** ''The Left-Handed Hummingbird'' by Kate Orman began as a fan fiction for the Australian fanzine Pirate Planet.
40	** The ''Literature/BerniceSummerfield'' novel ''Deadfall'' by Gary Russell was based on his ''AudioPlay/DoctorWhoAudioVisuals'' play of the same name. In addition, Russell included a number of references to Audio Visual continuity as {{Cryptic Background Reference}}s throughout his novels.
41	* ''The Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', was at a very early conceptual stage ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fanfiction; Beta Colony and Barrayar are reminiscent of the Federation and the Klingon Empire, respectively. Of course, it diverged away and became its own universe almost immediately.
42	** "Negri's Boys" by Charles Coleman Finlay, which was originally fanfic of Bujold's work, was rewritten with the serial numbers filed off as "The Political Officer". It was published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' and nominated for the MediaNotes/{{Hugo\|Award}} and MediaNotes/NebulaAward.
43	* This is Creator/NaomiNovik's origin story for the ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series:
44	--> "...it was started on January 8, 2004, about ten days before I sat down to write a different fantasy AU story and suddenly went, you know what, this isn't so much FanFic anymore, and these aren't [[Literature/AubreyMaturin Jack and Stephen]], ("[[Music/TalkingHeads this is not my beautiful house]]") and off I went to frolic with dragons."
45	** Novik's Literature/SherlockHolmes [[http://yuletidetreasure.org/archive/75/commonplaces.html fic]]-[[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597801607/ref=s9_simi_gw_s0_p14_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1AJS25W8CVGSMNHEZXR9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846 turned-published-pastiche]], Commonplaces, is another example.
46	* Creator/HarryTurtledove's ''Literature/{{Videssos}}'' cycle began as Fourth Age ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' fanfic.
47	* ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' used to be a ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' {{Mundan\|ization}}e-AU fanfic named ''Master of the Universe''.
48	* Examples of "pulled to publish" fanfics plague the ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' fandom: [[http://www.sharetermpapers.com/general-b35/twilight-fanfiction-13292/90/?PHPSESSID=9e62d70df2aa96e733031d7e70f5b498#msg115742 here is the list]].
49	* ''Devil's Brand'', Casea's Major's thinly-veiled work of ''Fifty Shades'' fanfic, making it an ascended fanfic of an ascended fanfic!
50	* Dennis L. [=McKiernan=]'s Literature/{{Mithgar}} novels (''The Iron Tower'', ''The Silver Call'', ''Hel's Crucible'') started off as ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' fanfic. Doomsday wanted to publish. Tolkien Estate said "no". Changing the names and filing the numbers off for the "Silver Call" duology required inventing a new backstory of a great war against evil to replace ''The Lord Of The Rings'', and thus the Iron Tower trilogy came about. The rest of the series grew more divergent from there, but the Moria-analogue in those first books is unmistakable.
51	* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' examples:
52	** Some (most?) of the ''Star Trek: The New Voyages'' anthologies came from stories originally published in fanzines.
53	** The 1983 tie-in novel ''Killing Time'' by Della Van Hise was and still is thought to be originated as SlashFic about Kirk and Spock. The truth is, according to author Della Van Hise, the original printing was from a non-proofed, and therefore "not approved by Creator/{{Paramount}}" manuscript accidentally sent to the printer. Paramount discovered this and [[ExecutiveMeddling ordered the first printing run pulped]][[note]]but didn't get them all; hunting out first-print editions of the novel is a popular hobby for K/S fans at used bookstores[[/note]]. An edited second printing came out shortly thereafter wherein most changes were minor single sentence or word changes designed to reduce the subtext. But this led to unstoppable rumors that an original, explicitly K/S, version of ''Killing Time'' exists. The author says, "There is no such manuscript."
54	** Creator/BarbaraHambly's novel ''Literature/Ishmael1985'' is a crossover between ''Trek'' and the Western TV show ''Series/HereComeTheBrides'' (1968-1970). (It's inspired entirely by the fact that actor Mark Lenard appeared in both series.) [[http://barbara-hambly.livejournal.com/82721.html According to Hambly,]] she dug her original fanfic out of a drawer when she heard Pocket Books was looking for ''Star Trek'' authors, and in fact offered to rewrite the setting as a generic Western, but the editor told her it wasn't necessary.
55	* ''Literature/DivineBloodNovels'' was originally a MegaCrossOver fanfic of several anime (most notably ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', and ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'') which eventually developed enough mythos and themes of its own that the author decided to [[SerialNumbersFiledOff file off the serial numbers]] on the characters and make it into its own novel.
56	* Many lesbian romantic novels of the early 2000s started off as ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' Xena/Gabrielle {{Transplanted Character Fic}}s, known in the ''Xena'' fandom as "uber" fics. Tall, dark-haired, bitter woman meets sweet, good-natured blonde, and romance ensues? It just might be an uber.
57	** There's also a few uber-''Series/{{Glee}}'' lesbian novels starring the equivalents of Quinn and Rachel ("Faberry").
58	* ''Literature/CaptiveOfTheRedVixen'' started out as an AU fanfic of the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Terinu}}'' where Melika (renamed Melanie Lovejoy in the final draft) became a pirate.
59	* ''Literature/DogAndSpiderPrivateInvestigations'' was actually originally a short story lead-in to a Franchise/MarvelUniverse RP campaign. Every player was to write a story as to how their character joined the main campaign. The author, who was going to play ComicBook/SpiderWoman, was the only one who wrote anything of note. At the encouragement of the group, he took that short story and turned it into an entire series. Jessica Dombrowski's origin story and dialogue in the first 30 pages or so of book one become more obvious if you know this, though the series diverged heavily thereafter.
60	* ''Literature/SpectralShadows'' started out actually as a sequel fanfic to ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'', but when Creator/{{Disney}} was able to retain the rights to [[Literature/{{Bambi}} the original Felix Salten novel]] and its characters, the creators ended up crafting their own story out of what they had at that point.
61	* ''Fanfic/{{After}}'' by Anna Todd started out as a Music/OneDirection fanfiction about an OC falling in love with band member Harry Styles.
62	* The British SF writer Suzanne Palmer published an early short story called "Concession Girl", which was '''blatantly''' a first-season ''Series/BabylonFive'' fanfic with the character names changed and the alien characters made less humanoid. Despite this, any B5 fan will instantly recognise Londo, G'Kar and Garibaldi. The Garibaldi character even retains the initials MG. Cheekily, fandom culture at the time would almost certainly have denounced the story as too self-centered (the original-character female protagonist saves "Londo" and "G'Kar" from a human-chauvinist terrorist attack and ends up dating "Garibaldi").
63	* ''Literature/ASymphonyOfEternity'' started out as crossover between ''Literature/{{Flashman}}'' and ''Franchise/CodeGeass'' before evolving into a SpaceOpera that uses magic instead of technology and ramping up the conflict to a galactic scale. Oh, it also has a [[Franchise/StarWars Death Star]] with two energy beams.
64	* ''The Wayward Astronomer'' by Geoffrey Thomas started off as a fanfic for ''WebComic/{{Dreamkeepers}}'' that became an official ''Dreamkeepers'' work.
65	* ''Morning, Noon & Night'' by Michael Payne started as a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic, ''Half the Day is Night''. It was heavily rewritten, all the characters changed to non-pony species (unicorns become humans, pegasi become birds, earth ponies become dogs) and published on Amazon.
66	* ''Popcorn Love'' by KL Hughes started as a ''Series/OnceUponATime'' TransplantedCharacterFic with [[{{Mundanization}} no magic whatsoever]] - businesswoman and single mother Elena Vega was originally Regina Mills, her three-year-old son was a three-year-old Henry Mills (albeit with a different origin, in that he was ''actually'' Regina and Daniel's son, rather than being adopted), and Elena's new babysitter, NYU senior and eventual love interest Allison Sawyer was Emma Swan.
67	* ''Literature/GoblinSlayer'' began life as a D&D mod, but while getting stuck on how to write it out, the author turned it into a novel instead.
68	* ''Salvation: Dawn of War'' very clearly started life as a [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Megatron/Starscream]] fanfiction. Even the character names are similar.
69	* Creator/PeterWatts' Hugo-nominated short story "The Things" doesn't even try to hide the fact that it's a PerspectiveFlip fanfic of ''Film/TheThing1982'' from the alien's point of view.
70	* ''Literature/LastAndFirstIdol'' began as a ''Anime/LoveLive'' fanfic before going on to become a MediaNotes/SeiunAward winning short story.
71	* Cecilia Johanna's novel ''Underground'' began as a ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' [[FightClubbing street fighting]] alternate universe fanfic for the Hope/Lightning ship. It got so popular she decided to remove it from the internet, change the names, and publish it as an original romance novel.
72	* The notoriously litigious Addison Cain's ''Born to be Bound'', one of the first major published Omegaverse stories, started life as a fanfiction of ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''. In its published form, there's still a lot of similarities--the setting is a city that's been walled off from the outside world, the male lead is a muscular crimelord with an anarchistic political philosophy, the frozen-river execution is maintained, quite a few characters are analogous to ones in the film, and there's even a clear paraphrasing of Bane's speeches about being born in the dark.
73	* ''Literature/TheAngelOfTheCrows'' by [[Creator/SarahMonette Katherine Addison]] is very clearly a take-off of Sherlock Holmes, in which "Holmes" aka Crow is a not-quite-fallen angel and "Watson" aka Doyle is a hellhound, but according to WordOfGod it started life specifically as a ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' fanfic.
74	* ''Literature/SpiritOfTheNorthwest'' is a DistantSequel of ''Series/HereComeTheBrides'' published as a novel.
75	* ''Literature/TheLoveHypothesis'' is about a Ph.D. candidate who fake-dates a moody professor, only for the two to fall in love for real. This started out as a [[Franchise/StarWars Kylo Ren/Rey]] [[{{Mundanization}} Mundane AU]] fanfic.
76	* The ''Literature/RecordOfLodossWar'' franchise started out as [[AfterActionReport edited accounts]] of a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaign, which were published as a series of novels. The novels quickly became popular enough to spawn their own [[RecursiveAdaptation game system]], manga, multiple {{OVA}}s, and a television anime.
77	* ''La Profecía de las Espadas'', an epic high-fantasy 1000+ page novel by Spanish author Helena Ramírez, was published February 2023 more than 10 years after first appearing as a fanfic from Franchise/LyricalNanoha and originally known as ''La Leyenda de la Espada del Día y la Espada de la Noche''.
78	* ''Fanfic/SecondChancesTheNovelArtist'' is a no-powers-AU fic for ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug''. The author later published it on {{Creator/Amazon}} with a number of changes (including changed names for almost all the characters).
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80
81	[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
82	* Lancelot of the Myth/{{Arthurian Legend}}s came by way of French storytellers. Percival was an OC. It could even be said that the entire Arthurian Canon is, in its own way, fanfiction.
83	* OlderThanFeudalism: ''Literature/TheAeneid'', widely hailed as the first work of literature ever and the model for much that came after, was basically a PerspectiveFlip {{fanfic}} continuation of ''Literature/TheIliad''.
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85
86	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
87	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' is something of a strange case. The game borrowed heavily from Creator/JRRTolkien (and a few other fantasies, such as Creator/JackVance's ''Literature/DyingEarth'' series, Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/ThreeHeartsAndThreeLions'' and Creator/FritzLeiber's ''Literature/FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser'' series), as well as various more obscure mythologies, but had many unique elements as well. The franchise owners have ended up splitting the game rules into "trademarked material" and "open source material", and encourage others to develop derivative material based on the open source components. In addition, the owners have also licensed derivative settings that have gone on to become book or video game series enjoyed by readers who aren't necessarily fans of the pencil and paper game, including ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'', ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'', ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'', ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}''.
88	** ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' setting was originally a home-brew ''Dungeons and Dragons'' module.
89	** Ditto for ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', which originated as the two creators' home-brew setting.
90	** ''Literature/RhapsodyOfFire'' based epic storylines of their songs on their D&D campaign.
91	** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' were born as a setting ''before'' voluntarily going under ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', though fleshed out mostly after. Whether basic (''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'') rules were more of inspiration or problem is up to Ed Greenwood -- he both constantly kicked them aside and used new edition change for the "Time Of Troubles" overhaul.
92	* ''TabletopGame/RenegadeLegion'' was originally set in the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends''.
93	* ''TabletopGame/AfterTheBomb'' was originally created for ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' 'verse.
94	* The ''International Super Teams'' setting for ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' had its genesis in an unused timeline and history written for a ''TabletopGame/VillainsAndVigilantes'' campaign in which [[Tropers/LooneyToons the author]] was a player.
95	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
96	** [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/The_Guy_Who_Cried_Grendel Castus Grendel]], the [[BadassNormal low-level acolyte]] who tried to [[HeroicSacrifice delay for one round]] a daemon that can eat {{Space Marine}}s for breakfast. Grendel ended up [[SingleStrokeBattle decapitating it in one hit]] with a simple knife purely on a blessing of RandomNumberGod (or maybe the GodEmperor?). Then this hilarity continued to absurd degrees and [[SerialEscalation beyond]]. Started as an amusing session report, ended up mentioned in {{canon}} material (the last link in that article).
97	** [[https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Rocks_Are_Not_Free! Rocks Are Not Free!]], a deconstruction of the ColonyDrop tactic, was later published in GW's White Dwarf magazine.
98	** The fanmade ''WebAnimation/{{Astartes}}'' was not only made an official GW product, the original Retributors chapter was made canon as well.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Video Games]]
102	* The Nintendo 3DS Version of ''VideoGame/{{VVVVVV}}'' [[OfficialFanSubmittedContent includes 18 fanmade levels]], and canonizes those levels.
103	* One of the most prominent examples in all of video gaming: ''VideoGame/MsPacMan'' was originally an unofficial GameMod of ''VideoGame/PacMan'' named "Crazy Otto", which introduced more complex mazes and semi-randomized elements into the ghost's AI. The mod creators, General Computer Corporation, thinking they might have had a successful game in its own right at their hands, ended up approaching Creator/MidwayGames, the company holding ''Pac-Man''[='s=] North American distrubition license, to show off their project. Midway was impressed with the modders' work and struck a deal with them, converting their project into an full-on ''Pac-Man'' sequel, and were also the ones to come up with the idea of having the game feature a DistaffCounterpart of Pac-Man. Although this was originally done without Namco's consent, Namco president Masaya Nakamura was eventually brought in on the project by Midway and would provide feedback on the player character's design. The character and others inspired by her would later appear in various official Pac-Man media.
104	* Save for the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series, all Creator/ValveSoftware works were developed from fan mods:
105	** ''VideoGame/TeamFortressClassic'' is an official sequel to a ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' mod, which was ported to ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'''s engine. As is ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', by extent.
106	** ''VideoGame/CounterStrike''? It was a ''Half-Life'' mod. So was ''Day of Defeat''.
107	** And ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' was originally inspired by a zombie mod for ''Counter-Strike''.
108	** ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' was inspired by the student project ''Narbacular Drop'', and the gel mechanic in ''VideoGame/Portal2'' was developed from ''Tag: The Power of Paint'' (Valve hired ''the entire'' programming team of the latter). Also, the Platform/Xbox360 UpdatedRerelease ''Portal: Still Alive'' contained some levels from the mod ''VideoGame/PortalTheFlashVersion [=MapPack=]''.
109	** ''VideoGame/AlienSwarm'' and ''VideoGame/Dota2'' also count, having originally been mods for ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament2004'' and ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' respectively.
110	** ''VideoGame/DotaUnderlords'' is derived from the popular ''Dota 2'' mod, ''Auto Chess'', which makes it a ''triple-recursive'' Ascended Fanfic.
111	* The GameOfTheYearEdition of ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' contained the mods ''Rocket Arena: UT'' and ''Chaos: UT''. There were plans to also include a mod version of ''Tactical Ops: Assault On Terror'', which didn't made the cut.
112	** The Translocator in ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament2003'' and later has a remote camera within the transport-destination disk. This idea was taken from "Translocam", a mod that added this functionality to the classic Translocator.
113	*** The Bombing Run gametype is inspired by the Fragball mod for ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament''.
114	*** The [[OneHitKill Instagib Shock Rifle]] gained a zooming ability which appeared first in the "Zoom Instagib" mod for ''Tournament''.
115	*** The [[GameOfTheYearEdition "Editor's Choice Edition"]] of ''2004'' also included the fan-made mods ''Air Buccaneers'', ''Alien Swarm'', ''Chaos: [=UT2=]'', ''Clone Bandits'', ''Deathball'', ''Domain 2049'', ''[=Frag.Ops=]'', ''[=JailBreak=]'', ''Red Orchestra'', ''Rocketeer'' and ''[=UnWheel=]''.
116	*** The [[DownloadableContent Mega Bonus Pack]] for ''2004'' canonizes six fan-made maps, four for Assault[[note]]Acatana, Jumpship, Outback and Thrust[[/note]] and two for Capture the Flag[[note]]Concentrate and Pistola[[/note]]. There were plans to get another Assault map[[note]][=AS-MZ-HighRise=][[/note]] for the pack, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen but were dropped due to the map not being finished in time]]. Coincidentally, these maps were among the finalists and winners for the first "Make Something Unreal Contest".
117	** ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII'' has the Greed mode from the Titan Pack[[note]]Or [[UpdatedRerelease UT3 Black]], depending where you obtained the game.[[/note]], which started as a mod for ''Unreal Tournament 2004''. His creator, Mysterial, is now working for Creator/EpicGames.
118	** This is the entire point of ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament4'', said to be a collaboration between Epic Games and the Unreal community.
119	* Hours before the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' modification WAD "Evilution" was set to be released, the creators, Team TNT, were emailed by Creator/JohnRomero offering a publishing deal. It ended up as half of ''VideoGame/FinalDoom''. This decision, however, resulted in a BrokenBase: many players were thrilled to see a fan production become canon, while others accused Team TNT of "selling out" their fans.
120	** One of the most common types of mods created for ''Doom 3'' was the kind which allowed the player to use their gun and their flashlight at the same time. For the ''BFG Edition'', id gave the player a flashlight that is attached to the player character's armor, allowing you to use it without putting away your weapon.
121	** The Glory Kill mechanic in ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' is obviously based on the execution mechanic from ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom''. Mods to upgrade and improve weapons are hidden around the levels, similar to ''VideoGame/DoomTheRoguelike''. Argent Energy, Earth's reliance on it as a clean and bountiful source, and the UAC harvesting it leading into the demon invasion is extremely similar to the lore in ''VideoGame/HideousDestructor''. And the lore of the Doom Slayer joining the Argenta military to help destroy demons infesting countless other dimensions implicitly means every mod made for the classic games is canon.
122	* ''VideoGame/RedOrchestra'', ''VideoGame/KillingFloor'' and ''VideoGame/AlienSwarm'' were all originally mods for ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament2004''. The developers of the first founded Tripwire Interactive, who also published the second. The developers of the third were hired by Valve and eventually ported it to the Source engine.
123	** ''Killing Floor'' also tends to make some well-made custom maps official through patches.
124	* TowerDefense began as mods for ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' and ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' but later became a standalone genre.
125	* ''VideoGame/FallFromHeavenAgeOfIce'' was included in "[[VideoGame/{{Civilization}} Civilization IV: Beyond The Sword]]."
126	* ''VideoGame/TroubleInTerroristTown'' started as a simple game mode for ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'', but it went on to win the Fretta contest (a contest to see who could win the best gamemode using the new gamemode framework, called Fretta) and grew in popularity so much it now comes with the game.
127	* The "Fudge Pack" and "10th Anniversary" releases of ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 1'' and ''VideoGame/Postal2'' include the ''Eternal Damnation'' and ''A Week in Paradise'' mods for the second game. The later digital releases of ''Postal 2'' were patched to also include ''A Week in Paradise'' by default
128	* ''Tempest Tubes'' was a popular unofficial hack of ''VideoGame/{{Tempest}}'' that Creator/{{Atari}} ended up distributing officially.
129	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' was a VERY thinly-veiled [=d20=] game in the style of ''Dungeons & Dragons''.
130	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' was also heavily inspired by D&D, to the point that they had to edit a few monsters because of copyrights (the [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110512003110/finalfantasy/images/d/d1/Eye-ff1-nes.png Eye]] was originally a [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110511064404/finalfantasy/images/f/f9/Evil_Eye_Original_Sprite.png Beholder]]). ''FFI'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' also used a spell system with "levels" of spells based on D&D's caster classes, but sequels (and later remakes) changed this to [[ManaMeter Magic Points]].
131	* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXMegaMan'' was a ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' fan game that eventually became officially endorsed by Capcom themselves.
132	* One of the most popular types of mods for multiplayer first-person shooters is "zombie mode". For ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'', Treyarch decided to skip a step and just [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies implement a zombie mode from the get-go]].
133	* ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity Override'' began as a total conversion to ''Escape Velocity'' (that's actually where there name comes from: the mod developer called it Override since it would override the old game data[[note]]It was 1996. The term Total Conversion hadn't really spread yet.[[/note]], and the name stuck) before the developers of the original adopted it, updated the engine and published it. The same happened for ''Escape Velocity Nova'', which started as an ''Override'' TC.
134	* The Steam release of ''7.62 High Calibre'' includes the ''[[http://bluesunmod.webs.com/ Blue Sun Mod]]'' and the fan-made extension ''[[http://store.steampowered.com/app/306290/ 7.62 Hard Life]]''. The former is enabled or disabled through checking an option in the Steam's options of the game, while the latter is technically a stand-alone game included in each ''7.62 High Calibre'' purchase.
135	* ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade: Warband'' DLC ''Viking Conquest'' is basically the mod ''[[http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/board,189.0.html Brytenwalda]]'' converted as an official campaign by ''Brytenwalda'' creators.
136	* ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'' was originally released as a ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' mod with most graphical assets reused from that game, then re-released commercially with original graphics.
137	* ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'' started its life as ''[[VideoGame/MyLittlePonyFightingIsMagic Fighting Is Magic]]'', a FightingGame based on the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' cartoon, by a group of fans called [=Mane6=] using the ''[[GameMaker 2D Fighter Maker]]''. After a [[ScrewedByTheLawyers cease-and-desist]] sent by Creator/{{Hasbro}}, [=Mane6=] decided to continue the project, but [[DivorcedInstallment with original characters and a new universe]]. The creator of the MLP:FIM cartoon, Creator/LaurenFaust, was [[ApprovalOfGod hyped about the original game]] and offered her help in designing new characters to the new game. Additionally, Lab Zero Games gave them a license to use the [[VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}} Z-Engine]], a professional MediaNotes/GameEngine, in substitution of ''2D Fighter Maker'', a GameMaker. Now the group of fans [[TookALevelInBadass constitute an actual company]], ''[=Mane6=], Inc'', and their game will be released commercially.
138	* ''VideoGame/RWBYGrimmEclipse'' started out as a fan-made effort, but was picked up by Creator/RoosterTeeth and made into an official LicensedGame.
139	* ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' initially began life as a ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' fan game. With high-speed platforming, and looping roller coaster level designs, and the character designs are very Sonic-esque, but ultimately grew into its own beast entirely. It was successfully Kickstarted and released in 2014, and is got [[VideoGame/FreedomPlanet2 a sequel]] released in 2022.
140	* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaacAntibirth'' is a popular GameMod for ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaacRebirth'' that adds a multitude of new floors, songs, weapons, and bosses to the already meaty base game. Naturally, once word got out that the ''Afterbirth+'' expansion would include an official modding suite, the ''Antibirth'' dev team received a quite a few requests from fans asking them to port the new content they added into the ''Afterbirth+'' engine. However, this wasn't deemed technically feasible with the limitations imposed by the modding kit, and that seemed to be the end of it for a few years. In September 2018, though, came the surprise announcement of ''The Binding of Isaac: Repentance'', a second set of DLC for ''Rebirth'' that canonizes all of the content from ''Antibirth'' and adds in some new things of its own.
141	* The {{retraux}} 3D platformer ''VideoGame/ZeraMythsAwaken'' started out as ''Spyro: Myths Awaken''. It was originally a ''Spyro The Dragon'' FanGame and a FanSequel to ''Spyro: Year of the Dragon''. After the project was given a cease-and-desist, it was rehauled into a SpiritualSuccessor instead.
142	* ''VideoGame/{{Oddity}}'' was originally a FanSequel to the ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series known as ''Mother 4''. It was eventually rebranded as a new IP: partly to avoid potential legal issues with Nintendo, but also because the developers recognized that they were really making an original game anyway, with the ''Mother'' series elements having little reason to exist.
143	* The cat sim ''VideoGame/{{Cattails}}'' is a retool of the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' FanGame ''VideoGame/WarriorCatsUntoldTales''.
144	* {{Zig\|ZaggingTrope}}-zagged with the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' premium modules ''Darkness Over Daggerford'' and ''Tyrants of the Moonsea''. Originally slated to be ommercially released premium modules, they ended up released for free after the premium module program was canceled. However when the ''[[UpdatedRerelease Enhanced Edition]]'' of the game was released, the modules got an overhaul of their own with bugfixes and added content and were finally released as paid premium modules.
145	* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' gives us the Fazbear Fanverse: A project where Creator/ScottCawthon funds a few fan-games so they can get console ports, mobile ports and merchandise, making those few fan-games official, but not canon to the [=FNAF=] lore.
146	* Gun Game, a popular FPS gamemode mod where players progress through a list of in-game weapons, gaining a new weapon with every set amount of kills until they're at a final level (usually a melee weapon of some variety), has been a staple modded gamemode of most FPS games ever since the original Counter Strike. Eventually it was added as an official mode to CS:GO(), Valorant, and Halo Reach, Halo 4, and Halo 2 Anniversary's Multiplayer via the Master Chief Collection (renamed "Arms Race" for the former, and "Escalation" for the latter 4 games).
147	* ''VideoGame/TheForgottenCity'' started as a popular quest mod for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', and then got remade as a standalone title. The standalone version recreated some gameplay and mechanics from ''Skyrim'', but with some new differences and the setting changed from a secret Dwemer city to ancient Roman times.
148	* ''VideoGame/SuperLesbianAnimalRPG'' evolved from a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fangame made using MediaNotes/RPGMaker titled ''Super Lesbian Horse RPG''. In its current incarnation most of the original characters are so different from the ponies they replaced that it's nigh-impossible to guess who replaced who in most cases. But there are some artifacts from SLHRPG, for instance the Cutie Mark Crusaders acted as equipment merchants in the old game and SLARPG's starting town merchants are still a pair of kids.
149	* ''VideoGame/PathOfTheMidnightSun'' began as an alternate universe GameMod of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' featuring an original cast of characters and story. The majority of these characters and plot elements remain in the finished game, albeit with vastly different gameplay mechanics, such as hunger and sanity effecting combat, a timed clock that alters story events, and a row-based battle system.
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Webcomics]]
153	* ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' was originally a ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' fanfic.
154	* ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' started off as a comic using the characters played by a group of friends in the ''VideoGame/{{Furcadia}}'' online chat/roleplaying client. Early strips have a lot of reference to roleplaying terms, game mechanics, internet fads and the like, before it grew into its own setting and story.
155	* ''[[http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Freighter_Tails Freighter Tails]]'' was originally called "Haul Trek", but the authors remade it, removing all the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' elements in the process.
156	* Whatever it might have become, it's fairly obvious from the first strip that ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'' was originally a ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' comic. Things went full circle when the backers suggested a video game was made.
157	* ''Webcomic/AwkwardZombie'' had a [[http://awkwardzombie.com/comic/same-great-taste strip about turning itself into an Ascended Fanfic]], but it turned out to be onetime gag and the series went back to using Smash Bros. characters. The author also pulls strip ideas from the forums pretty frequently, and even has a thread for the purpose.
158	* ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'' is based on ''King Arthur In Time And Space'', which in turn was based on ''Franchise/StarTrek''/''Series/DoctorWho'' crossover fanfic cartoons with the proper names search-and-replaced (Arthur, Lancelot and Guenevere replacing Kirk, Spock and [=McCoy=]; Merlin and Nimue subbing for the Doctor and various companions).
159	* ''WebComic/MicoVerse'' started life as an ''WebAnimation/{{Eddsworld}}'' fancomic.
160	* ''Webcomic/MageAndDemonQueen'''s writer, a fan of ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', was fond of Ritsuka/Carmilla as a pairing and wanted a proper story dedicated to it due to lack of other material. As it was a TransplantedCharacterFic featuring [[CrackPairing a non-canon relationship between the hero and a relatively minor character]], there wasn't a lot of work needed to turn it into its own thing. The only real similarities in the final product end up being that you can ''sort of'' recognize Malori, Vel, Cerik, and Melathia as Female Ritsuka, Carmilla, Male Ritsuka, and da Vinci, if you've been told about the connection or seen Color-LES's earlier fanart.
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	[[folder:Web Original]]
164	* ''Literature/ChakonaSpace'' started out as a ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fanfic. It has retained most of the technology and the Caitian race, but almost everything else is original by now.
165	* The racy ''Monster Girl Encyclopedia'' series started out as a ''Dungeons & Dragons'' style MoeAnthropomorphism bestiary, but soon added more original creatures to the roster (though characters like the Gazers and Beholders are still running around).
166	* ''WebAnimation/ToBelong'' started out as a series of {{Transplanted Character\|Fic}} {{Fanvid}}s featuring various characters from animated films. The creator has decided to make it into a web-cartoon by giving everyone new designs and changing their names.
167	[[/folder]]
168
169	[[folder:Western Animation]]
170	* The GenderFlip "Fionna and Cake" episodes of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' were based on WhatIf comics created by the show's character designer, which were in turn based on the RuleSixtyThree images on 4chan.
171	* The [[Recap/RenAndStimpy2x09TheGreatOutdoorsTheCatThatLaidTheGoldenHairball "The Cat that Laid the Golden Hairball"]] episode of WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy was based on a fan comic that had been mailed in to Spumco.
172	* A 26th season ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode, "Bart's New Friend", is based on a fan script written by Creator/JuddApatow. The plot is about Homer being hypnotized into acting like a ten-year-old.
173	* The character of Newtralizer in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' came from Executive Producer [[PromotedFanboy Ciro Nieli's]] elementary school drawings.
174	* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' began as "The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti", a fan parody of ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' submitted to Website/Channel101. When it was taken up by Creator/AdultSwim, it was retooled to make the ''Back to the Future'' elements much less overt.
175	[[/folder]]

Context Main / AscendedFanFic