Nintendo recently released a slew of patents that reveal the inner workings of several game mechanics found in Tears of the Kingdom, but their release has also caused some to question if the use of patents in video games has gone too far.
For years, video game publishers have used patents to secure copyright over many aspects of their games and designs. Nintendo is no stranger to this, as evidenced by the new Tears of the Kingdom patents. These patents include Link’s basic Zonai abilities, Champion powers, and even the physics engine and how certain items interact with it. Many of the details provide an incredible insight into how the game was developed and many of its core mechanics work. An article by Automaton does a great job breaking down many of the patents and how Nintendo managed to make the revolutionary game work.
Patents like these are generally designed to help protect original ideas and IPs a company comes up with. However, since Nintendo released these patents to the public there has been an outcry of fans claiming Nintendo has overstepped their boundaries and is restricting creative freedom due to the broad nature of some of these patents. Any studio, big or small, that wants to replicate a part of Tears of the Kingdom into their game would now have to go through Nintendo to secure the rights, significantly dampening the possibility of seeing games influenced by or trying to build on the latest Zelda game.
IGN points out that this problem extends past Nintendo with other companies taking similar action to protect elements of their games, like Warner Brothers Interactive’s patent on the “Nemesis System” from their Lord of the Rings-inspired “Middle Earth” series. However, with the extent of mechanics and ideas covered, Nintendo potentially has taken this to a new level with the recent patch of patents for Tears of the Kingdom. On one hand, these patents protect Nintendo from piracy or blatant copying of their ideas, but on the other hand, patents that are too general in nature can create a minefield for other developers to navigate when wanting similar mechanics in their future games.
While these patents provide a wellspring of information on the inner workings of Tears of the Kingdom, they may also prove to be a restriction on creative freedom in the gaming industry as similar patents have in the past.
