Comments on: In which EA does a good deed

By: spinks

spinks — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 04:55:29 +0000

I’m not a lawyer, but I strongly suspect in this type of case that the question of ‘what is considered normal within this industry’ is something that the judge would consider, in the context of whether Zynga has been operating outside the bounds of normality (which is what EA are trying to show in their document, quite persuasively IMO.)

So I don’t actually think this would necessarily open up lawsuits for relatively minor look and feel issues. I do think it is important for the industry that EA win this one though.

By: Redbeard

Redbeard — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 01:19:31 +0000

Another interesting aspect is what it might imply for “look and feel” games.

I was thinking that too. However, if corporations are going to play that game, SOE might come a knocking on Blizz’s door looking for some cash from WoW.

I really doubt any of it would hold up in court, but I’ve been surprised before about what sticks.

By: jalindrine

jalindrine — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 03:47:52 +0000

Honestly, it’s a who’s who of great C=64 games:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Arts#Notable_games_published

Wow. I’ll always remember the giant paperboard square packages, but looking back at that list, it’s really amazing the talent they gathered. Mail Order Monsters was so far ahead of its time, it’s mind boggling. Adept, M.U.L.E., Wing Commander, One-on-One… it’s crazy. And they don’t have Adventure Construction Set on there. Wonder what else they left off.

They’re too big for their own good now (I like Spinks’ take — “they are after all an investment company whose main goals are to monetise their games into the ground”), but wow, what a history.

By: Stabs

Stabs — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 20:52:22 +0000

This could end up in court. Zynga may feel that their backs are to the wall – if they can’t rip off other people’s work then what can they do? (Hint: so far there’s no sign that they might make original games). Also if EA take a large settlement there are potentially a number of other game development houses who might start actions if EA are seen to be doing well.

Another interesting aspect is what it might imply for “look and feel” games. WoW popularised the hotkey tab target UI used by Asheron’s Call and AC2. Which then got used in almost too many games to count: Lotro, WAR, Rift, SWTOR, and so on. Bartle’s infamous comment during the Warhammer beta springs to mind: “I’ve already played Warhammer Online, it was called World of Warcraft.” What if lawyers start telling designers they have to be more different? I think it would be of immense benefit to players if games designers move away from making WoW with a [Star Wars/Conan/Warhammer] skin.

By: Redbeard

Redbeard — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 13:54:54 +0000

Reading this reminds me that at one time EA was just another game producer that came out with some really good titles, such as The Bard’s Tale. Of course, that was back in the days when a certain game company called Microprose was more dominant with games like Civ, Master of Orion, and Pirates.