Game development 'hampered by IP'

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
Intellectual property is the biggest single threat to game development today, ahead of censorship issues and even hardware limitations. According to Jon Hare, widely regarded as one of the godfathers of gaming for work on such titles as Sensible Software, Cannon Fodder, Wizball Wizard and Mega lo Mania during his time running Sensible Software, the single biggest obstacle in game development is trying not to violate IP rights. "It is virtually impossible to create a game these days without infringing on someone's rights," said Hare, speaking at the Game Developers Conference in London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre on Wednesday. "Until legislation is brought in that says games can be like newspapers and mention other people's names, we will continually face the threat of being sued." Right now, said Hare, if a famous personality's name is used in a game, the developers are accused of exploitation. But the problem is not confined to use of names. "We recently made a video for a new soccer game and showed it to the publishers," said Hare. "When they looked closely they saw that the football boots had three stripes on them. We were told to take them off." "Creatively it's a disaster area. We have to work very closely with the legal department." Game creativity faces other threats too, and these range from censorship issues to hardware limitations but, said Hare, IP rights remain "the single biggest threat to creativity." Sensible Software, which is now owned by Codemasters, has come up against most obstacles. The controversial and never-published Sex n Drugs n Rock n Roll (SDRR) never saw the light of day because of the sensibilities of publishers, said Hare. In SDRR, the main character was shown in a dream sequence on a cross, for instance. "The lawyers said that was the only ratings-related issue in the game and that we would have to change that, so we had him strapped to a star instead." However, this was not enough for the publishers, who refused to distribute the game, said Hare. "The perception of games is still that they are aimed at children. It is difficult to re-educate the market that games can be aimed at adults and that this does not necessarily mean they are just interactive porn. SDRR was aimed at 18 to 50 year olds, but the perception was that because it was a game it was aimed at children." Sensible's problems with SDRR occurred in the mid-90s, but the company has hit obstacles more recently with Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing. "With this we didn't get approval from Sony in the US until very very late in development. Issues like this affect creativity -- everyone starts getting edgy." On top of that, said Hare, some retailers refused to stock the game because, he said, they did not want to be associated with Tyson.
ZDNet UK's Developer News Section delivers the latest headlines together with the best UK jobs, right to your browser. Have your say on all developer topics. From j2ee, to C++, from Visual Basic to Javascript plus much more. Share your experience with others on the Developers Forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

10 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

15 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

60 minutes ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

1 hour ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

2 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

2 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

2 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

5 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

6 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

6 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

7 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

8 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

10 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

18 hours ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility
txtrainguy

Replying to an old topic that I'm currently facing with my CEO (who is on a Mac). Our servers are primarily Windows Servers, office is about...

1 day ago by txtrainguy on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility
k0tcs3

Sure, that makes perfect sense. Pay wrong-doers money and thank them for breaching your security and pointing out your flaws, that would surely...

1 day ago by k0tcs3 on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack
Random_Error

I think he's referring specifically to Android apps, as Apple do regulate their App Store, but Google seem to let any old crap onto the Android store!

1 day ago by Random_Error on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store
Paul Fezziwig

Keep the crap apps out?! How will they compete with Android and Apple's claim to fame of having so many life changing apps? I wonder if the media...

1 day ago by Paul Fezziwig via Facebook on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store
Aigars Mahinovs

It has been shown time after time that if there is an author store that sells the songs at even 1$ per song and gives you a high-quality digital...

1 day ago by Aigars Mahinovs via Facebook on Copyright isn't working, says European Commission
awbMaven

""As a result of Butyka's alleged conduct, researchers were unable to use the computers for more than two months while NASA removed the malicious...

1 day ago by awbMaven on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack

Latest in Application Development