Patents: in a recent discussion about games and patents, it emerged that these common elements are patented:
- streamed loading
- minigames during a loading screen
- ghost cars in racing games
Looks like software patenting is coming to computer games in a big way. I’m not sure how any game on a modern platform can avoid the ‘streamed loading’ patent.
Naturally, I can remember playing games on the Commodore 64 in the 1980s that included these…