LAST EDITED ON Mar-19-15 AT 11:12 AM (EDT)
>I've never played Tempest - indeed, my only exposure to the game and
>its creator is through NXE - but it seems odd to me that Atari would
>make such a big stink about this. I mean, yes, they own the name and
>the original game, but it's pretty damned obvious they were never
>going to DO anything with it.
>
>I wonder if he could change some sprite data (and maybe arrange a new
>soundtrack) and successfully give them the finger?
>
>For that matter, I wonder if crowdfunding could get the guy a lawyer
>or two to shovel this great big steaming pile of BS Atari has dumped
>on his lawn... As detailed in the news post and Minter's own post that they link to, Minter isn't using any old Atari assets or code. The soundtrack is completely new, if in a similar style, and the graphics were created without any of the source art on hand.
Minter even points out that Tempest X for the Playstation was specifically created to be "different enough" so that Atari wouldn't have to pay him royalties, so, by extension, TxK should be "different enough" that "new-Atari" shouldn't have a leg to stand on.
I am not a lawyer however.
And it sounds like "new-Atari" has set this up in such a way as to make it as expensive to fight as possible, just to reduce the chances of loss.
I don't think anyone is going to dispute that TkX was "inspired by" Tempest 2000, or that it could even be considered perhaps a "Tempest Clone" in the same way that we have piles of "match-3 clones" on mobile these days. But considering you have the same guy making the game in both cases, that's kind of to be expected.
You can't copyright game mechanics, after all. (You can copyright a rules book, but not the actual mechanics themselves)
-Jeff
Edit: Grammar, clarity