3 ms·

Has anyone tried to patent a specific game mechanic?

• joezydeco 12y ago
  They're all patented. And protected vigorously. Just for a fun story: One of the most famous game mechanic patents belongs to Ernie Moody, the guy that designed Triple Play Poker. Moody designed the game on his own, patented it, then licensed it to IGT who built it into a immensely successful line of video poker machines. At the time the whole idea of licensing an outside game mechanic was relatively new, so Moody asked for and was given a sizable percentage of the handle for this game. This was the difference between Tom Cruise asking for a % of the box office instead of a flat actor's fee, but nobody realized it at the time. It has been told that at the height of Triple Play's popularity, Moody was taking in $500,000 per day in royalties. He's easily one of the weathiest game designers in history, if not #1, and very few have ever heard of him.