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E-sports: Publishers versus Pros
A recent Wired.com article touches on the precarious position of e-sports pros in a world where the game publishers hold all the power. Many e-sports pros are full time employees, with salaries and benefits, and compete in an industry valued at over a billion dollars. But, as the article says, there is one major difference […]
Class 4 – Week of 9-21-20 Audio-Slides; “John Milton Plays Grand Prix Legends”
Audio-Slides below… Jon
Are hardware mods akin to in-game mods?
The Verge recently posted an article on how to modify an Xbox One controller into a throttle-and-stick setup with 3-D printed parts to make it easier to play Microsoft Flight Simulator. In last week’s class we discussed unauthorized in-game mods; for example, mods created in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing by hackers. If a game developer takes […]
News of the Week; September 23, 2020
GAMES Voodoo wins plagiarism lawsuit against Zynga-owned Rollic Games: Judge rules that Istanbul-based firm’s Wood Shop copies key elements of Voodoo carpentry game Woodturning Supercell ordered to pay $8.5 million for infringing Gree’s patents: Texas jury found Clash Royale developer infringed four patents, fine could be increased by up to three times Nintendo sued for […]
Class 3 – 9/23/20; “Epic’s epic epic. & other things” (Synchronous Q&A/Discussion) & “Legal, Normative & Cultural Perspectives on Mods and Modding of Japanese Video Games”
Video and slides below… In yesterdays’ discussion we talked about the differences between the attitudes of Japanese and North American video-game companies towards mods. Below, if of interest, you will also find video of a talk I gave at a UBC conference in February 2015 about Japanese video-games that deals with that subject. Unfortunately the […]
A Return to Reception? Situating ‘Walking Simulators’ within the Contemporary Video Game Copyright Regime
The status quo in video game copyright – namely, that the “constituent elements” of video games as systems are copyrightable[1] but that the gamer’s role in supplying the “creative inputs [emphasis added]” for such systems[2] precludes games per se from copyright[3] – may be problematic in the context of some emerging video game genres. In […]
Video game stars are the new(ish) target of predatory management contracts, but are those contracts illegal?
See Cecilia D’Anastasio’s exposé in WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/streaming-video-game-star-management-industry/
News of the Week; September 16, 2020
GAMES Lawsuit over Atari 2600 Copycat Is Going to Trial Ubisoft renamed Immortals Fenyx Rising after trademark dispute: Upcoming game given current name after Monster Energy opposed trademark application for original title Gods & Monsters Twitch apologizes for offensive Hispanic Heritage Month emotes: Emote modifiers including sombreros and maracas “clearly missed the mark” and were […]
Class 2 – Week of 9/14/20 Audio-Slides; “If Picasso had painted a round object..”
Audio slides below… Jon
News of the Week; September 9, 2020
GAMES Apple is now seeking damages from Epic Games over breach of contract Apple goes on offensive in Epic Games lawsuit: Apple’s official login system will work with Fortnite “indefinitely” but users are encouraged to update Epic accounts Apple pauses plans to end ‘Sign In with Apple’ support for Epic Games accounts Apple says Epic’s Fortnite payment […]