Hi folks,
I hate for my first post to this mailing list to be a depressing one, but I need to pass along some bad news.
Due to patent concerns, we won't be able to include any games in Fedora which meet the following criteria:
A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
This means:
No "Guitar Hero" clones. No "Dance Dance Revolution" clones.
I need your help to make sure that we don't have any other games that meet this criteria, either on the wish list or in Fedora.
If you're not sure, ask me.
Thanks in advance,
~spot
Dnia 2008-01-16, o godz. 14:46:02 "Tom "spot" Callaway" tcallawa@redhat.com napisał(a):
A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
Does camping in Quake count?
Lam
On Wed, 2008-01-16 at 21:39 +0100, Leszek Matok wrote:
Dnia 2008-01-16, o godz. 14:46:02 "Tom "spot" Callaway" tcallawa@redhat.com napisał(a):
A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
Does camping in Quake count?
Nah, although campers deserve to be sniped. ;)
~spot
Tom "spot" Callaway wrote:
On Wed, 2008-01-16 at 21:39 +0100, Leszek Matok wrote:
Dnia 2008-01-16, o godz. 14:46:02 "Tom "spot" Callaway" tcallawa@redhat.com napisał(a):
A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
Does camping in Quake count?
Nah, although campers deserve to be sniped. ;)
Mostly though the campers are the snipers also...
-Jeroen
On Wed, Jan 16, 2008 at 02:46:02PM -0500, Tom spot Callaway wrote:
Due to patent concerns, we won't be able to include any games in Fedora which meet the following criteria: A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
Seriously? I wrote an AppleBasic game in fourth grade (1984) that did that.
On Wed, Jan 16, 2008 at 03:42:48PM -0500, Matthew Miller wrote:
On Wed, Jan 16, 2008 at 02:46:02PM -0500, Tom spot Callaway wrote:
Due to patent concerns, we won't be able to include any games in Fedora which meet the following criteria: A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
Seriously? I wrote an AppleBasic game in fourth grade (1984) that did that.
And by "did that", I mean literally that's exactly all it did. Squares came into the screen the left and moved to the right, and you got points if you hit a key exactly when they crossed a line in the middle of the screen. Sure wish I'd published that code.
Matthew Miller wrote:
On Wed, Jan 16, 2008 at 02:46:02PM -0500, Tom spot Callaway wrote:
Due to patent concerns, we won't be able to include any games in Fedora which meet the following criteria: A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
Seriously? I wrote an AppleBasic game in fourth grade (1984) that did that.
I hear you, some smartass behind DDR though so game mechanics can't be copyrighted, lets patent them.
Cheesh.
Maybe its an idea to petition pubpat: http://www.pubpat.org/ to fight this? I know they have much bigger (and much more important) fish to catch, but this seems trivially easy to overthrow.
Regards,
Hans
On Wed, 2008-01-16 at 21:50 +0100, Hans de Goede wrote:
Matthew Miller wrote:
On Wed, Jan 16, 2008 at 02:46:02PM -0500, Tom spot Callaway wrote:
Due to patent concerns, we won't be able to include any games in Fedora which meet the following criteria: A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
Seriously? I wrote an AppleBasic game in fourth grade (1984) that did that.
I hear you, some smartass behind DDR though so game mechanics can't be copyrighted, lets patent them.
Cheesh.
Maybe its an idea to petition pubpat: http://www.pubpat.org/ to fight this? I know they have much bigger (and much more important) fish to catch, but this seems trivially easy to overthrow.
If you're motivated to find the prior art, feel free.
Unfortunately, I have several million other things on my todo list, and I'm not going to add "hunt down prior art to invalidate video game patents held by mega-corps" to that list anytime soon.
~spot
On Wed, 2008-01-16 at 15:42 -0500, Matthew Miller wrote:
On Wed, Jan 16, 2008 at 02:46:02PM -0500, Tom spot Callaway wrote:
Due to patent concerns, we won't be able to include any games in Fedora which meet the following criteria: A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
Seriously? I wrote an AppleBasic game in fourth grade (1984) that did that.
I hope you sue the pants off of someone. <cackles>
On Wed, 2008-01-16 at 14:46 -0500, Tom "spot" Callaway wrote:
A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
This means:
No "Guitar Hero" clones. No "Dance Dance Revolution" clones.
You've got to be shitting me.
... So, how about if the "targets" stay still and the cursor moves? I think there's assloads of prior art on that...
On Thu, 2008-01-17 at 04:17 -0600, Callum Lerwick wrote:
On Wed, 2008-01-16 at 14:46 -0500, Tom "spot" Callaway wrote:
A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
This means:
No "Guitar Hero" clones. No "Dance Dance Revolution" clones.
You've got to be shitting me.
... So, how about if the "targets" stay still and the cursor moves? I think there's assloads of prior art on that...
No, the patent is pretty darned specific. Its "targets moving in a straight line" to a "predetermined point or line", and the player having to hit a button at that precise point or line to get points. If you're shooting the target, doesn't apply. If there is cursor motion involved, doesn't apply.
As far as I can tell, only DDR, Guitar Hero, and Donkey Konga games meet this criteria, and I don't think we have anything like that in Fedora currently. Am I wrong?
~spot
On Thu, 2008-01-17 at 08:09 -0500, Tom "spot" Callaway wrote:
... So, how about if the "targets" stay still and the cursor moves? I think there's assloads of prior art on that...
No, the patent is pretty darned specific. Its "targets moving in a straight line" to a "predetermined point or line", and the player having to hit a button at that precise point or line to get points. If you're shooting the target, doesn't apply. If there is cursor motion involved, doesn't apply.
Hmmm. Basically I've been tossing around the idea of developing piano tutor software, that has the visual flair and interest of DDR and Guitar Hero and whatnot, but actually teaches you to play piano and sight read music notation.
I found something along the lines of what I'm thinking: http://www.synthesiagame.com/
However it seems its not portable, and is going closed source, and originally did not have the goal of teaching notation. That is apparently a pay feature... Really doesn't sound worth salvaging to me.
I was thinking this would be an excuse to do something in python... I suppose if I ever actually do this, I'll have to remember to duck this patent somehow... :P
On Thu, 2008-01-17 at 20:11 -0600, Callum Lerwick wrote:
I was thinking this would be an excuse to do something in python... I suppose if I ever actually do this, I'll have to remember to duck this patent somehow... :P
There are quite a few related patents, so I would be especially cautious.
~spot
On Thursday 17 January 2008 23:38:30 Tom "spot" Callaway wrote:
On Thu, 2008-01-17 at 20:11 -0600, Callum Lerwick wrote:
I was thinking this would be an excuse to do something in python... I suppose if I ever actually do this, I'll have to remember to duck this patent somehow... :P
There are quite a few related patents, so I would be especially cautious.
If the patents are so ridiculous as the ones that have being discussed here, you could just host the project outside the US. Patents are valid only in the country where the patents were issued.
If more people start using this approach, then the U.S. patent office will(hopefully) realize that there is something wrong with the way they have been operating until now.
Cheers,
On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:46:02 -0500, Tom "spot" Callaway wrote:
Hi folks,
I hate for my first post to this mailing list to be a depressing one, but I need to pass along some bad news.
Due to patent concerns, we won't be able to include any games in Fedora which meet the following criteria:
A game where "targets" move across the screen to a predetermined point or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s) crosses that point or line, and gets points.
Anybody out there can lay your hands on a copy of Easy Guitar for the Commodore 64 by DJ Software, Circa 1986-1989
From memory it includes such a game with the fret positions mapped to
the keyboard.
David Mohring -We know where the skeletons are buried,and who buried them.