10 Amazing Patent Protected Game Mechanics

Patents for video game mechanics are rare, thankfully. While the frustration of having a good idea copied is understandable, patents can severely limit gaming.

Could you imagine what gaming would be like if the first FPS game successfully patented the mechanic before it became a genre? Many of our beloved games wouldn’t exist.

While no one has or even could patent the idea of an FPS game at this point, there are still a few patents on game mechanics out there.

Many patents are seemingly pointless legalese or so specific that they seem impossible to replicate. However, some ideas are so great that you understand why the owner doesn’t want to share.

10 Poké Ball Mechanics

Gotta Catch ‘Em All, Unless They’re Pals

The Poké Ball mechanics are an interesting way to catch and store wild creatures, and they work perfectly within the Pokemon series. It’s a fantastic idea that solves problems that similar creature-battling games like Monster Rancher or Digimon have encountered, such as taming or managing several creatures.

For years, it’s been extremely unique to Pokémon, as you’d only see it outside of Pokémon when it comes to parodies like Pocket Mortys and not serious competitors.

Pokémon has been around since the 90s, but Nintendo and The Pokémon Company didn’t patent the Poké Ball mechanic until 2021, roughly 25 years after first using it.

The patent has stirred up quite a mess as it has allowed Nintendo to sue the developers of Palworld, Pocketpair, as Palworld uses this same mechanic. Palworld is a great game that really isn’t a direct competitor to Pokémon, so it’s a shame that it led to this.

9 Dialogue Wheel Mechanics

You’re Just Talking In Circles

We’ve seen dialogue wheels in plenty of games, but there’s a patent on the mechanic, at least the specific way that the Mass Effect series implements it.

Having an interactive, circular graphical interface that highlights dialogue choices to show what is about to be selected is owned by EA. It’s an extremely intuitive way of implementing multiple-choice conversations and works extremely well.

However, thankfully, this doesn’t mean you won’t see dialogue options in other games. There are many ways to implement multiple dialogue choices that aren’t covered by this patent, and EA has gone on to use the mechanic in other games like Dragon Age: Inquisition.

8 Mouse Controls For Airplanes

Dogfight or Mousefight?

In most games where you can fly airplanes on PC, most controls are done through the keyboard or with external peripherals like a joystick. The developers of War Thunder figured out a way to control the airplane with the mouse instead.

It offers a smoothness that you can’t get with keyboards, which is fantastic for PC players who don’t have a controller or joystick available.

Now, War Thunder isn’t the first game to ever have you able to control a plane with a mouse, with Microsoft Flight Simulator X being a clear example, but the way they developed it was unique enough to patent.

7 Loading Screen Minigames

Two Minutes Without A Game Is Two Too Many

In the early days of console gaming, it wasn’t uncommon for games to slip in less complex minigames into the loading screen to pass the time.

It’s a great idea that allows the developers to make more advanced games without worrying about scaring off the player with the long load times that come with that. After all, who doesn’t like a good minigame?

Namco realized how great of an idea this was and patented it, preventing other companies from continuing to use the great idea. So, while you’d still see the minigames in Namco games like the Tekken series, with Tekken 5 having StarBlade in the opening loading screen, other companies had to stick to boring loading screens.

Luckily, this patent expired in 2015, so any game can now have minigames on loading screens. However, loading screens rarely last long enough for that to matter anymore.

6 Controlling A Game With A Real Guitar

How Does It Know I Played The Wrong Note?

The mechanics behind Rocksmith, a rhythm game that doubles as a learning tool, are protected by multiple patents.

It’s no surprise, as musical Rhythm games were once an extremely competitive genre for developers, and using a real guitar and being able to apply your skills for the game toward something else is quite a game changer.

Not only that, but I’m sure figuring out how to make a game where the controller is something that was never meant to be a game controller was a daunting task.

Rock Band 3 came close with a special controller that doubled as a guitar, so it was clearly something other companies were looking into. Ubisoft just happened to figure it out first.

5 Active Time Battle Mechanic

Hang On, I’m Thinking!

First seen in Final Fantasy IV, which was released as Final Fantasy II in North America, the Active Time Battle mechanic became a defining part of the Final Fantasy series.

In a turn-based RPG, which is how the Final Fantasy series started, nothing happens until each character takes a turn based on turn order.

However, with an ATB system, each character can take a turn based on a timer and not turn order. This adds a sense of urgency and increased interaction into what was previously solely a mind game.

It’s a great mechanic and was promptly patented by its developers at Square before passing on to Square Enix. It was largely reserved for the Final Fantasy series but also seen in other Square and Square Enix games like Chrono Trigger. The patent expired in 2012.

4 Simulating A Rock Band

The Best Band In The Living Room

Rock Band changed up the rhythm game genre that was previously dominated by Guitar Hero by adding drums and a microphone to the mix and doing so in a way that made you feel like you were really in a band when playing with friends.

Harmonix, the creators of the Rock Band series, filed several patents around the exact mechanics that were implemented. It’s probably a good thing they did, too, as unlike some patents, which are used to aggressively bully or limit competition, these patents were used in defense.

Konami sued Harmonix over Rock Band, claiming it violated patents for several older games, like DrumMania. However, thanks to Harmonix’s patents, which were argued as legal improvements on the design, the lawsuit was ultimately dropped.

3 Ping Mechanics

“They’re Over There” Isn’t Clear Enough

Apex Legends introduced an extremely intuitive and helpful ping system, allowing players to ping locations, items, and enemies that they’re looking at to mark them for their teammates.

Since then, this fantastic mechanic has become the norm in first-person shooters, ranging from Call of Duty: Warzone to Borderlands 3. However, it’s actually patented by EA.

Thankfully, EA patented this marvelous mechanic to protect its use for any developer. Anyone is allowed to use the ping system, and no one can patent the mechanic to gatekeep it, as we’ve seen with other patented game mechanics.

At least, that is given EA doesn’t decide to revoke permission to use the patent, but that’d be horrible PR.

2 Floating Direction Arrow Mechanic

Before GPS, There Were Magical Arrows

One of the most infamous patents related to video games is the patent on the floating directional arrow seen in Crazy Taxi. It works extremely well at giving the player an idea of where to go without giving them an exact path.

In the case of Crazy Taxi, this gives the player the task of figuring out optimizing the route taken to save time. It’s also very intuitive and easy for anyone to understand. However, Sega patented the mechanic in 1998.

Radical Entertainment decided to use it anyway in their game The Simpsons: Road Rage, which basically copied everything else about Crazy Taxi as well. Unsurprisingly, this led to a lawsuit. The directional arrow has been noticeably missing in games since.

1 The Nemesis System

An Army Of Archenemies

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a great game, largely because of the complex and highly compelling Nemesis System.

The higher-ranking orcs in Mordor have procedurally generated names and personalities, an evolving hierarchy, and remember their encounters with you.

The mechanic adds a ton of depth to the game, so it’s no surprise that Warner Bros. went on to patent it. Unfortunately, the mechanic has only been used in one other game, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War.

However, the patent is so specific that it’s not likely going to get in the way of other developers, but the difficulty of pulling off such a complex system might.