7 Game Ideas That Were Patented So No-one Else Could Use Them

The fact that Nemesis system patent exists just to prevent anyone from using such a cool idea ever makes me so mad

Imagine patenting a system, basically holding it hostage for 20 years, and then being like "yeah, but we'll never use it again"

Imagine if ID, creators of DOOM patented the FPS... Petty patents destroy creativity.

I remember everyone acted like Medium was this jaw dropping masterpiece when it released. Now it’s on a fast track to being known only as “that game that copyrighted an idea it didnt even invent”

Imagine if movies started pulling shit like this... "M. Night Shyamalan patents the concept of plot twists."

I guess this answers my question of why no one else has tried to do a nemesis system.

Man, I love the nemesis system. A shame they patented it. Could be implemented in such a cool way in other games.

"Medium was the first game to allow simultaneous control of two characters on the screen at the same time." There's a few games on kongregate from like 2008 that beg to differ.

missed opportunity... "sometimes they did, and it was fine, and sometimes they did, and it was fined"

The chicken glasses were shaded red, so as to filter out the color of blood. Apparently chickens will peck each other to death, and the glasses stopped that.

This is crossing WAY over the line. Patents exist to protect creators from having their ideas stolen, not to restrict artists from innovating off of existing pieces of art.

Great, but infuriating, video. These are awesome examples of how patent law is exploited. Patents are supposed to be there to protect innovators and inventors who take time and effort developing an idea, but these ideas were so general in essentially all circumstances that there's nothing to protect.

I didn’t expect to be made furious by what can be patented, but here we are.

Crazy taxi patent for pedestrians to move out of the way when car incoming : EXISTS Pedestrians in other games: "Guess I'll just die"

If the nemesis system mixed with an older style saints row, that would be an epic way of taking down gangs and controlling a city, with lower level gang members eventually becoming lieutenants and stuff, but as they lose territory and the more important people are lost, the slower they can recruit lieutenants to try and push back and reclaim their streets

Great examples of why the patent system is broken and just hurts consumers and businesses alike, rather than helping 'protect innovation'. Congrats, here's a patent for a gameplay mechanic so obvious that someone was definitely going to do it the very moment the hardware was physically capable of doing it, the patent will go to just whichever random developer was lucky enough to be that first developer, and now they probably won't even use the mechanic in any other games, and no one else can either, even though it is entirely obvious as far as innovations go. Brilliant. Thanks patent system.

Patenting game mechanics is a silly and toxic practice. Pretty much assures that the mechanic simply won't be used and most likely isn't so ground breaking as to be an industry standard even if it weren't patented. Some of these games companies are way up their own arse

7 Companies that stopped good ideas from being built upon

The medium pitch meeting "I've desiged this really cool duel screen mechanic" "That's awesome, what new game play mechanics does that allow us to use?" "Why are you asking me?" "Alright, how about interesting and unique puzzles?" "I don't know" Seriously all that game did was horde a great idea from people with actual talent in game design.

You can either let your innovations take root in the industry and have your game (and company) become a timeless source of inspiration, or cash all that in for a paltry sum before your ideas quickly get dropped down the memory hole.