The Nemesis system, founded by Warner Bros., the titles Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel, is a feature that the gaming community has always wanted other developers to use since its inception in 2014. This has never happened. in the seven years since then, though. , and is due to the fact that the publisher has successfully patented the mechanic in question. News of this came in the previous week, but after several failed attempts, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will allow the patent to remain valid as of February 23, 2021. Warner Bros. may choose to maintain it until 2035.
The patent covers: “Nemesis characters, nemesis forts, social vendettas and fans of computer games.” Indeed, another developer cannot copy the Nemesis system for something similar. This can be achieved by creating your own vision of the feature and dressing up with your own expressions and terms – the wheel of dialogue in Mass Effect is a famous example. BioWare holds the patent for the RPG’s specific dialog wheel, but that hasn’t stopped games from using branched dialog options since then. It’s about the way you present it. However, the action taken by Warner Bros. to patent the driver does not yet set a particularly positive precedent.
John Wick Hex and the Creative Volume Mike Bithell took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the matter, saying: “This is really rude, especially for a franchise that has built its brilliant nemesis system on top of a whole bunch of mechanics reproduced from other games. Just like all games do. Because that’s how culture and creativity work. Be a better neighbor, WB. “Meanwhile, Sony Santa Monica employee Alanah Pearce shared her own thoughts in the video embedded above. The general gaming community has not accepted Warner Bros.’s actions too well, with some worried that patenting the gameplay could trigger a worrying trend from other companies.
There are ways to avoid patents, but when there is such a big hurdle that is already blocking some of your paths, this could discourage smaller independent teams from even trying to create something of their own. How do you react to that? Share your thoughts in the comments below.