Warner Bros. is trying to patent the critically acclaimed Nemesis system of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, which has emerged.
The revelation came in the last video of the excellent YouTube series Game Maker’s Toolkit, which looks at how the Nemesis system works.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system, developed by a series of employees at Monolith Productions studio in Kirkland, Washington, tracks the player’s actions in the game to create enemies that are apparently able to remember their encounters, rising through the ranks and decreeing revenge. As our Christian Donlan wrote about the villain generator in 2017, “die for an orc and the orc that killed him will be stronger and can get a promotion”.
“This allows what can be a repetitive game to become a wonderfully heavy pleasure: there is a kind of wavy grind on offer here, as you alternate between learning, killing and dying – the point at which the whole system moves forward and becomes more complex in ways that require more learning, more deaths and even more deaths. “
The patent, originally filed in March 2016, is dubbed “Nemesis characters, strong nemesis, social vendetta and followers in computer games”, and is now attributed to Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. Its current status is listed as “pending”, but there is reason to believe that the request will be granted.
According to the list of patents, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a final rejection in November 2019. But Warner Bros stood firm and, in October 2020, a “Notice of Permission” was issued. This indicates that Warner was able to overcome the rejections and the USPTO believes that the invention qualifies for a patent.
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So it seems only a matter of time before Warner Bros. gets its Nemesis patent six years after the first application. And if that happens, it can be set to return somehow in an upcoming game from Middle-earth – or any game from Warner Bros. Bat Man? Harry Potter?
The revelation of the Nemesis patent certainly sparked a debate about the mistakes and successes of Warner Bros. shares here. Observers are also wondering if Warner Bros’ attempt to patent the Nemesis system is why we haven’t seen a similar system in other games. I have seen some insist that it should be impossible to patent the mechanics of video games.
“If you take someone’s design and make a better version of it, you should receive a trophy and a triumph on the streets and the people who made the previous version should applaud you and say, ‘wow, that was really cool'”, Obsidian design director Josh Sawyer wrote in Twitter.
If I try to legally protect a game mechanic, I hope to be executed via the Persian boats !!!
– Josh Sawyer (@jesawyer) January 29, 2021
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In fact, many developers and publishers over the years have obtained patents for video game mechanics. BioWare, for example, has a patent for the Mass Effect dialog wheel. Sega once owned a patent arrow for the Crazy Taxi compass, although it expired in 2018. Currently, Nintendo holds a patent on the Eternity Darkness health meter.