[MUD-Dev] Procedural content (was Re: [Sweng-gamedev] Patent 4, 734, 690) (fwd)

[Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt]

I just wondered about prior art for both the 4,734,690 patent and
for procedural content. I cannot say i read the messages that
originated thread.

I know that this game does both. I don't know when the patent for
procedural content was filed, but ELITE was released in 1982.  This
game was produced sold by the million, so it should be easy to
establish.

  http://www.frontier.co.uk/games/elite/

It's a classic 3D game where you basically fly around in 3D space
using your keyboard for rotational direction, so in that aspect, it
pretty perfectly covers the 4,734,690 in the special case where the
radius of the sphere is negative or 0, in the case where the
spacecraft is not moving. I.E. you have your own spaceship as the
center, and your viewpoint to face away from the object (negative
radius), using pitch and yaw to determine the position on the
'sphere' to place your viewpoint. Now the patent suddenly defaults
to the ability to change this _one_ parameter (radius) at will,
which makes it a bit thin.

As for procedural game content, ELITE also uses this extensively, in
the exact way we would think of it for games now.

--
--Hans-Henrik St=C3=A6rfeldt
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