Re: [kidsgames] Just Subscribed.

[Kidsgames Project Coordinator - Jeff Waddell <jeff@smluc.org>]

Hi Steve,

On Thu, 17 Feb 2000, Steve Baker wrote:

-->Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 11:55:52 -0600
-->From: Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>
-->Reply-To: kidsgames@smluc.org
-->To: kidsgames@smluc.org
-->Subject: Re: [kidsgames] Just Subscribed.
-->
<snip>

-->Well, the state of the code right now is that all the 3D rendering works,
-->you can fly around on your broomstick in this large stadium - and any other
-->computers that know your network address can join in.  My son's PC and mine
-->are connected via 10baseT network cable - and he can fly his broomstick and
-->see me flying around on mine - and vice versa.

Wow, this sounds neat...  Let's look at it without the Harry Potter
references for a minute.

A large stadium, can fly around on a broom, can see each other, over the
network....Great....

ok, let's see what we can do with these things for fun...first can we
switch the broom for some other ride, maybe a "spaceship" or a big beach
ball...

hmmm, has anybody else played koules?  I think if you made your flying
person a Big Koules (just three spheres--two eyes and the body) and then
have some kind of gravity rules to bounce each other against the walls of
the stadium....  This could be very fun...  Especially since you mention
bowling balls below, it seems that you could easily (note I know NOTHING
about 3d programing and probably am just dumb here) add some of the other
Koules effects in a 3d environment.

I'm sure there are lots of other games that could be created from this
base.  Is it even feasible to make a set of configureable rules from which
the game could be played... i know they do that with AisleRiot the
solitiare card game suite in gnome, and YES I DO know that a solitaire
card game is essentially VERY different from what I'm proposing above....
Take it as a high level concept that may have NO basis in reality...and
then again maybe it's not so far fetched.  I mean it would be fun to
change gravity around and watch it's effects on the game.... ;)

-->
-->The Harry Potter books are rather vague about some of the rules of the game.
-->ANd there are certainly some practical problems with the things we DO know.
-->For example. the best racing broomstick is supposed to fly at up to 150mph,
-->when you set up one of my virtual broomsticks to fly at 150mph and to make
-->turns that would produce a 3g force on the player, you need a pretty massive
-->arena - bigger than a football stadium that's for sure.
-->

hmmmmm...

-->The player who is the 'seeker' has to find and catch this flying 'ball' called
-->"The Golden Snitch" that is supposed to be "the size of a walnut" with little
-->silver wings.  Well, just try finding something a golfball from the air in a
-->volume of space the size of a football stadium while zooming along at 150mph
-->and dodging these bowling balls that are flying around trying to hit you!
-->

ouch....

-->> Hmm...even if they won't budge, I wonder how enforceable a proprietary claim
-->> on the rules of the game itself would be. I mean, unless you include Harry
-->> and other copyrighted characters, all you're doing is implementing a
-->> simulation of a concept, which can't be copyrighted the same as a character.
-->
-->Yep. We certainly wouldn't need to include the actual characters - it's a
-->purely graphical thing - so you never know the names of the players.
-->Although it would be nice to use the team names and colours from the book,
-->that's not necessary either.
-->
-->> NB: I'm not a lawyer, nor even close.
-->
-->No IANAL either - but I know enough to be scared of them.  :-(
-->

I suppose that is a reasonable stance, as they can have a tendency to ruin
one's day.

-->The reason I'm concerned is that there is to be a Spielberg movie of
-->Harry Potter - and one of the toy companies has already signed up
-->to make the action figures.  That means that for sure there will be
-->Quiddich games written for Playstation and/or Nintendo 64 - and THOSE
-->companies will be paying big licensing fees.  They won't be at all
-->happy about some yahoo coming along and giving a game away for free
-->without paying any fees.
-->

:)  You are quite the 'yahoo', I see....  I don't know much either but for
some reason the phrase "prior art" jumps out in my mind.....

-->So, I need to tread very carefully.
-->
-->What I thought would be the best way forward was to contact some of
-->the Harry Potter fan clubs on the web and (since they are the people
-->most likely to want this game) to have them petition the author to
-->grant permission for a free implementation.  Perhaps we'd offer to
-->collect a 'shareware' fee and give that to charity or something.
-->
-->Anyway, most of the fan clubs didn't even reply to my request -
-->one did and offered to ask it's members to write to the author.
-->I sent them some screen-shots and explained the state of the
-->software to date (ie not finished - but playable).
-->

Hmmm, I wonder if they even had much of a clue about what you meant.

-->That was months ago - and I didn't hear anything after that. 
-->
-->

Perhaps a follow-up is in order?

-- 
Jeff Waddell
jeff@smluc.org

Kids Games Project Coordinator
main website at http://smluc.org/SIA/kidsgames/


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