White lines and sliders
As I’ve been dwelling on my earliest memories of electronic games I overlooked an important thing. There was a game that possibly predated my first encounter.
Technically, my first computer gaming experience is still accurate, but the first video game I had the pleasure of interacting with was none other than the infamous and the first commercially available video game itself: PONG. The hardware it ran on was based on the AY-3-8500 chip, housed in a European clone machine called ‘Universum Color Multi Spiel’ from a German mail order catalog named Quelle. I have no exact recollection of when we got a hold of one, but it was probably around 1985. So how could I forget such an iconic game? Well, to be honest, it didn’t have the same profound impact on me as International Karate and the C64 computer, but I do recall how smoothly the white lines could be operated with the simplest input of all time: a slider. The 2 player device had two “gamepads” hardwired to the main body. Those had no buttons. Any operation had to be done on the main device. Some switches could alter the speed and the size of the lines, a reset button, and the points or goals had to be manually tracked with a set of sliders. It had different preset games but it was mostly a different version of the same concept: A square ‘dot’ bouncing on the screen in all directions and can be manipulated upon contact with the lines or pads the players could move up and down the screen. As I looked up the release date of this particular hardware dated 1977, I found out that an almost life-size rifle peripheral was included in the original packaging. We didn’t have that accessory with our system, but there was a game that had the dot going around the screen without any inputs. Now it all makes sense that it was a point-and-shoot mode with the gun. It was an entertaining gadget, and we had lots of fun at family gatherings without realizing we were witnessing the birth of something exceptional. Without comprehending how significant part of the video game history it will become as a kid, for me it was just another toy to play with. Speaking of history, I always wondered what was the very first video game ever made. I found a fascinating documentary dissecting the exact question and ultimately giving a definite answer. It’s a 1 hour long video but worth watching. You can watch it here. Without giving out any spoilers the answer is not what you might have in mind.
World of patents
Once we had the funds for the development of the controller, one important task was to get a patent for it. Every patenting process starts with an IP scan, a thorough patent search usually done by a patent law firm. Based on the detailed description of the subject, their job is to find any prior art patent that might have any connection with the invention. They usually find a couple dozen that might have any overlap within their patent claims that might affect the outcome of the patent application. For an invention to be patentable, it has to comply with 3 major characteristics:
- Novelty
- Industrial Applicability
- Inventive step
Novelty is kind of straightforward: It must not have been made public, before the date of the application and it requires that the invention must be different from the prior art. Industrial applicability means it has to be possible to manufacture the invention. So ideas such as a game concept, can’t be patented. The inventive step is a tricky one, but I believe it means that it must not be known to any skilled person in that particular field.
The heart of all patents is the ‘claim’ that the description of the patent further elaborates. A patent could have any number of claims, but the more it has the harder it will be to have all claims approved based on the 3 requirements.
Patent law is a delicate play with words. If a claim is too broad, it can give the greatest protection of the invention, but it would probably be affected by too many prior patents to be granted. If it’s too exact, the opposite can happen: it would probably be granted without any problems, but any minor alteration of the invention could easily bypass the patent.
There are numerous stories about inventors being cheated and their inventions stolen by giant corporations. Against a company with endless resources for legal defense, they are helpless. Some fought to the end, winning the battle morally but losing the war financially as the legal procedures consumed more than what they gathered. A famous case was between a Hungarian inventor Laszlo Oroszi, the creator of a special soccer shoe that later became known as the Adidas Predator Precision. But there are other times when companies don’t get away with it so easily. Microsoft and Sony had a patent infringement case versus Immersion, who as the plaintiff won big time in the end. Both companies have been using their haptic rumble technology. Patents are granted for 20 years, so they no longer receive royalties, but they successfully defended their rightful inventions. This case happened before the internet boom, nowadays companies would get a lot more heat for things like these, so it’s always wise to protect intellectual property with patents. I’ve been fortunate to work with a very good law firm in Hungary with our patent. All of our claims have passed and are currently patent pending. You can see the patent here.
Stay tuned…
