IP is a joke. Fuck copyright. Fuck patents. Nintendo is out here patenting physics.
"The movement of movable dynamic objects placed in the virtual space is controlled by physics calculations, and the movement of the player’s character is controlled by user input. When the player’s character and a dynamic object come in contact in the downward direction relative to the character (in other words, when the character is on top of an object), the movement of the dynamic object is added to the movement of the player’s character.”
These aren't even inventions. They are just obvious models of the real world that would occur to anyone who is trying to replicate physical interactions in a virtual world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_mechanics
These are Japanese patents but I also have no fucking doubt a lot of this stuff has very obvious prior art even in gaming, to say nothing of other physics-based software packages.
That's just the concept of "moving platforms" from literally 40 years ago lmao
But now with fewer limitations on property law and a somehow worsening economic landscape!
It's bananas to think about how this shit would play out back decades ago.
Nintendo v Sega
A case about how Sonic's Invincibility power up is an infringement on Mario's Invincibility power up.
"Your honor, the hedgehog hits a box and becomes invincible while a different song plays over the stage theme. Mario did this eight years ago in 1983."
This litigious shit is wearing thin on people who are already feeling a financial strain. Entertainment is getting too difficult to purchase and that'll just mean more piracy and independent forms of entertainment.
Once more realize that these things are ultimately impossible to enforce on everyone, we'll see a new landscape.
Don't know if that'll be in my lifetime, but I'm hoping. I want to see more of those silly crossover fanfic games like they had on Newgrounds, but with the software assets and resources we've developed as a society.
It's pretty much the only way to handle an object than moves on top of another moving object.
I bet, for example, AC: Black Flag uses this same exact technique for moving the characters on a ship's deck.
Giving them the ability to piecemeal patents is such a bad move. I can't stand that there are still game company loyalists out there who don't see anything wrong with this.
Nintendo is spitefully litigious too. They pull videos from YouTube and prevent fan projects that use their assets. They keep IPs (hate the term so much), and would rather let a game series wither or churn out a sanitized remake than let somebody offer an optimal remaster for free because they love a game that much.
Imagine an industry where this is normal. Naughty Dog registers a bunch of patents on the heavily cinematic nature of TLOU, and the chilling effect causes the producers of God of War (2018) to produce a completely different game, much more in line with franchise earlier installments. Mega Crit registers a bunch of patents on the unique combination of deckbuilder and roguelike used in Slay the Spire, so Daniel Mullins makes "Inscryption" with no path map, relics or cards, just to be on the safe side. In Horizon Forbidden West, the two times where you get to pick if you're Empathetic Aloy, Rational Aloy or Angry Aloy are removed because hey, don't want to end up going to court with Bioware...
I have to wonder if there isn't a class of patent lawyers just milking this companies for shit like this. Like, how common have any of these patents, especially percentage-wise, actually been utilized either offensively or defensively for these companies?
Or are workers at these companies getting bonuses or corporate respect based on how many game mechanic patents they file/contribute to or something.
Not in games development, but a company I previously worked at had me file/renew patents about very, very generic things related to voice-control of a program.
Felt absolutely disgusting.
Even if they aren't actively used, the mere existence of these patents create a chilling effect on the industry.
