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Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

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Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#91

Post by Ekaros »

thomastjeffery wrote: post #61
xyzzy_plugh wrote: post #31

If anyone has worked with an IP attorney before then they know that filing patents is a stength-in-numbers approach. You don't file patents because you think you're a genius, you file patents to defend yourself and ensure an end state of mutually assured destruction. It looks like Nintendo threw everything against the wall to see what sticks, which is what a good IP attorney would recommend. It's unlikely these would…

> what a good IP attorney would recommend. I think we could find a more useful word than "good". How about "useful"?

Successful? At least in their billing or justifying themselves on being on payroll...

Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#92

Post by lcnPylGDnU4H9OF »

jncfhnb wrote: post #70
matsemann wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or like every 2D platformer ever?

Not quite. It’s pretty rare to be jumping off and standing on top of moving physics objects in 2D platformers. Like in Mario almost everything you can stand on is static or following a fixed movement pattern.

I'm also wracking my brain for this situation in one of the many metroidvanias I've played. There are many which let the player freeze enemies so they can be used as platforms but the enemies are also not moving by that point.

The most likely I can think of is Axiom Verge, which has a mechanism for "glitching" enemies that might allow for a non-frozen enemy to be used as a platform while it continues to follow the player character around. I'm not totally familiar with how each enemy glitches so it's only "likely" in the sense that I don't know it's definitely not possible.

Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#93

Post by realusername »

hospitalJail wrote: post #7
realusername wrote: post #3

I'm pretty sure there's nothing revolutionary here, sandbox games have existed for a very long time and that loading transition isn't anything special.

Seems like they banked everything on their sandbox mechanic instead of the rest of the game. Maybe they plan to reuse it in the future. Although I think this time I'm done with Zelda for real.

Oh yeah sure, it doesn't mean the game is bad or anything, you can use the most obvious gaming mechanic and succeed, the execution matters a lot and the way it's done matters a lot.

It's just not worth a patent though.

Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#94

Post by yccs27 »

freejazz wrote: post #75
ocfnash wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I salute your intention to find the silver lining but my experience reading patents is that they are hard to read. I believe this is because their job is not to convey information but rather to fulfill a legal requirement. I also believe that less restriction of these "inventions" would lead to a greater proliferation of truly useful explanations. No doubt there are exceptions but this has been my experience.

That would probably not be the case as companies would be obligated to wrap anything up in trade secret and never disclose anything.

With trade secrets, you can still independently discover them later. With patents, you have to check your own inventions on whenther they infringe patents, which is kind of ridiculous.

Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#95

Post by freejazz »

loeg wrote: post #83
freejazz wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because triviality isn't an issue in patents, non-obviousness and inventiveness is what's key, so it doesn't matter that the thing accomplished is trivial.

Because it seems I need to really spell it out, there are a lot of obvious and non-inventive patents being granted.

That's something that is certainly frequently asserted here but I've never seen any proof besides someone linking to one or two patents they don't like.

Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#96

Post by moogly »

pphysch wrote: post #53
SantalBlush wrote: post #33

They should patent their "tedious side quests with mundane rewards" feature so nobody does it again.

Meh, I'd rather have lots of side quests with mundane rewards for the quest-enjoyers than a bunch of "not actually side quest" side quests with near-mandatory rewards. Side quests should feel optional.

The side quests are quite boring and uninventive though. 95% of them are not even worth the reward, and then of course they sprinkle in 5% that really are, so you feel you don't really have a choice of missing out.

Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#97

Post by Melatonic »

ocfnash wrote: post #13
hermannj314 wrote: post #4

We seem to always focus on the cost of the patent system, never the benefit. One day we will all be dead (or much older) and all of these features and patents will be freely available, described in significant detail to be reproducible, and the world will be a slightly more amazing place than it is now. If you look at all the expiring patents, many filed 20 years ago, you will find there are some neat things document…

I salute your intention to find the silver lining but my experience reading patents is that they are hard to read. I believe this is because their job is not to convey information but rather to fulfill a legal requirement. I also believe that less restriction of these "inventions" would lead to a greater proliferation of truly useful explanations. No doubt there are exceptions but this has been my experience.

Sounds like a great opportunity for someone to make an AI that is designed to "decrypt" patents into their actual useful parts (minus the legal stuff basically)

Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#98

Post by Melatonic »

keiferwiseman wrote: post #81

Tears of the Kingdom is just Breath of the Wild with Garry's Mod tacked on. Still a good game though

I feel like its also just generally a lot more full than BOTW - I encounter things to do constantly even in seemingly open spaces

Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#99

Post by gjsman-1000 »

spookie wrote: post #80
xyzzy_plugh wrote: post #31

If anyone has worked with an IP attorney before then they know that filing patents is a stength-in-numbers approach. You don't file patents because you think you're a genius, you file patents to defend yourself and ensure an end state of mutually assured destruction. It looks like Nintendo threw everything against the wall to see what sticks, which is what a good IP attorney would recommend. It's unlikely these would…

> I would be surprised if Nintendo uses any of these aggressively -- do they have a reputation of doing so? They do have a reputation of suing everyone who "infringes their copyrights". I would assume they would do the same over patents. Hell, there's even one case where they tried to sue themselves.

No. They accidentally filed a DMCA takedown against a group that had permission IIRC. Nothing like a lawsuit.

Re: Nintendo filed numerous patents for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mechanics

#100

Post by jimmaswell »

superb_dev wrote: post #52
jallen_dot_dev wrote: post #34

> The functionality seems at first glance to be a given for any game with a similar environment, but according to an observation by naoya2k, what makes Nintendo’s solution unique is that there are no physics working between Link and the dynamic object. Since both the character and object use physics, the most straightforward solution would be that Link moves together with the moving objects he is on top of as a resul…

I’m pretty sure the source engine has this builtin

In HL1 you fly to the back of the tram when you jump because you only move with it while grounded. In HL:Source you move with the tram correctly and jump in place relative to the tram. Bafflingly in Black Mesa it's back to the incorrect HL1 behavior. Always bothered me.
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