Hi, Since I`m planning to create 5-7 smaller games this year with the engine that I finally have, my main concern is patents in the light of recent events (solitaire). I definitely can`t afford some patent lawyer or a patent fee. Therefore I`d like to know what is already patented. The games I`d like to make (not all of them though) are mostly based on ideas from older classic games. Naturally I won`t use the original name or any name that could make it obvious that it is taken from that old game. But the gameplay shall make it obvious that my game is based on some other game. It is also very odd to me that these games haven`t been remade so far, so that[patent] might be the issue too (most probably). Even if the maximum damage (in best case) would be to take the game off the distribution, for me, as an indie, that could be catastrophic. As of now, I`m finishing Avenger and next game is about 55% comlete. I don`t worry about these two games since they`re completely based just on my ideas (although theoretically someone could object they have been done in past, because there were similar puzzle/action games in past). However, next week my modeller starts full-time, and I wanted him to start creating art assets for the third game (so that we have enough time to update/finalize them) in parallel with making levels for the second game. So where can I find what has already been patented and what hasn`t ? Thanks VladR Avenger 3D game (Last update FEB-04)

http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html is a good place to start. Of course to be thorough you need to check the patent office for each country you intend to sell the game in.

Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions (www.obscure.co.uk)
Game Development & Design consultant