The weather has been an unpredictable mess of downpour and blazing sun this week, but Saturday feels like it could be the turn. Another chance for the sun to yank on the starter cord of summer and get that season’s engine thrumming.
I simply refuse to have to turn back from another walk around the park because 10 metres from my front door the lovely sunshine is replaced by pelting rain.
Among the worries faced by game developers seeking a publisher is the gamble of a prototype – that is, “a playable build that meaningfully shows what’s good about your game – a proof of concept”, in the summary of Suspicious Developments boss Tom Francis. Specifically, Francis says a “prototypable project is one where you can build that in an amount of time you can afford to lose”.
Few independent devs have bags of time to lose, and there’s no guarantee the labour will be rewarded. And yet, many publishers today won’t even come to the table unless they can get their hands on a playable slice of a game. At Digital Dragons in Krakow this year, I spoke to people from 11 Bit, Jagex and Bloober Team, together with a couple of independent teams, about the seeming necessity of prototypes and the associated temptation to knock them together using generative AI.
As with most suits of this nature, the one Nintendo filed against Palworld developer Pocketpair has been going on for a while now. Almost two years, in fact, specifically over infringement of patent rights related to specific mechanics, as opposed to anything like copyright. Nintendo suffered a bit of a loss earlier this year, and now it sounds like the whole thing might only net them what is essentially pocket change (for a billion dollar company, anyway).
Generally when a game gets remade, you’ll assume that it’ll mostly be the same at least narratively, given how not normal can be with works that are considered uncomfortably sacred. That’s certainly what many may have guessed about the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, only those pesky Whispers to get in the way offering some changes here and there. Rebirth continued that here and there, staying the course in other ways, and Revelation will be out next year with an ending you can’t change. And according to director Naoki Hamaguchi, that ending has been planned right from the beginning, more or less.
City builders, kind of by definition, tend to be quite large in form. You’re constructing an entire city here after all, and all the complications that come with that. So how about a citybuilder that’s going for something a bit smaller? Meet Zlin City: Arch Moderna, a city builder designed to look like you’re making dioramas, made by scanning actual, physical models, inspired by the real Czech city Ziln.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that when you think of penguins and video games, Club Penguin is probably the one that comes to mind for you (or the Surf’s Up adaptation if you’re nasty). There aren’t really a lot of games about these flightless birds, and they’re normally on the sillier side when there are because penguins are funny little critters. Penguin Colony, the next game from the devs behind Umurangi Generation, doesn’t completely abandon that silliness, but it does throw in some cosmic horror and the hubris of man in for good measure. And its first demo certainly sets the stage for an old experience.
Many of you young’uns might hear the term Y2K and think of a vague, all encompassing descriptor of 2000s aesthetics, but us older folk think of it as this apocalyptic event that never came to be at the turn of the new millennium. Because the world didn’t end, many thought that it was just a load of hogwash. In reality, there was a genuine computer bug that could have ruined important infrastructure worldwide if it hadn’t been fixed leading up to the year 2000. All this to say, here’s MonCraft 199X, a Pokemon-esque survival game where Y2K really did happen.
It’s been a while since there’s been a new Ultima! Just about eight years, in fact, and it wasn’t even called Ultima (it was Underworld Ascendant, which we didn’t review back in the day). Such is the case with many series’ that are over 40 years old, they just don’t have quite the same steam as they used to. But then earlier this week, it appeared that EA (who have long owned the rights to the series) filed a couple of new trademarks for Ultima this week. And following this, it appears series’ creator Richard “Lord British” Garriot is trying to get the copyright back.
**Richard Garriott’s Desire to Regain the Ultima Series: A New Era for the Classic RPG**
Richard Garriott, the celebrated game designer, astronaut, and owner of a Texas castle, has proclaimed his plan to reassert control over the legendary *Ultima* series, a foundational aspect of role-playing games (RPGs) that he sold to Electronic Arts (EA) during the 1990s. In a recent statement to *Inside Games*, Garriott conveyed his dissatisfaction with EA’s oversight of the series, which has not seen a mainline release since 1999. His ambitious initiative to reclaim the series may come to fruition as early as next year, leveraging a unique copyright clause rather than a standard acquisition.
The motivation behind Garriott’s announcement is his concern regarding EA’s recent actions involving the *Ultima* trademarks. After several trademark applications by EA, Garriott expressed urgency and a history of unsuccessful partnerships with the company related to rejuvenating *Ultima*. “Every decade or so, I attempted to collaborate with EA on a revival of *Ultima*,” he remarked, emphasizing the ongoing collapse of negotiations that once seemed promising.
Garriott’s approach to recovering the *Ultima* series is rooted in copyright legislation, specifically a clause that enables original creators to regain rights to their creations after 35 years. Since Garriott sold Origin Systems, his studio, to EA in 1992, he believes this law can be utilized to initiate development on fresh *Ultima* content. Yet, one significant constraint persists: while he may have the ability to create a new *Ultima* game, EA holds the trademark for the series, implying that any new entry would necessitate distinct branding.
This unorthodox strategy aligns perfectly with Garriott’s character. He has consistently been recognized for his trailblazing mindset, both in gaming and his personal pursuits. The *Ultima* series, which thrived from the late 1970s through the 1990s, introduced many foundational aspects of contemporary RPGs. Garriott founded Origin Systems following the success of *Ultima III*, and after its acquisition by EA for $30 million, he directed resources toward endeavors that mirrored his distinct worldview, including space travel and the building of a medieval castle in Texas.
Despite the ambiguity surrounding the specifics of EA’s recent trademark filings and what a potential *Ultima* game might involve, Garriott remains hopeful. He invites fans to attend his upcoming appearance at Dragon Con in Atlanta, where he intends to share further insights and plans regarding the future of the beloved franchise.
In conclusion, Richard Garriott’s pursuit to reclaim *Ultima* not only reflects his deep connection to the series but also signifies a possible revival of one of gaming’s most treasured franchises. As he navigates the intricacies of copyright and trademark legislation, the gaming community eagerly anticipates the opportunities that lie ahead.
Vanillaware might not be a household name to some of you, but it’s got a library that hangs up there with the best of them. Odin Sphere, Dragon’s Crown, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, all games that I have seen their biggest supports plead for you to play them on sites like Dwitter and Bluesky. Only problem for us lot is that none of them are on PC. Well, most of them, as just this week it was announced that one of their earlier titles Muramasa: The Demon Blade will finally be coming to PC. And, as it seemingly turns out, Vanillaware would like more of their games to be made available on PC… it’s just not up to them.