(Posted by: Eric Rees)
Notch, the creator of the cult-hit Minecraft, has recently been in some hot water with one of the larger more beloved developers in the game industry, Bethesda Softworks. The trouble all started about a year ago when Notch tried to register the name "Scrolls" for something that he'd eventually use in Minecraft. Well the problem is that Bethesda is mainly known for their game "The Elder Scrolls." Oh, and did I mention that Notch set the retail release date for Minecraft on the exact same day as the new Elder Scrolls: Skryim game?
So therein lies the issue, but Notch fresh off of a wedding ceremony doesn't want there to be bad blood between the two companies. This morning he challenged Bethesda to a Quake 3 duel. On his blog he lays the thinking out as such: two twenty minute rounds, each level chosen by the opposite team, 3 players each and whoever gets the highest frag total across both levels wins. Notch said the idea came from "Game of Thrones" where "Tyrion chose a trial by battle in the Eyrie."
Genius? Or making fun of a serious situation? I'm not sure. Notch says if they win that Bethesda will drop the lawsuit, and if Beth wins, Mojang will change the name of Scrolls to "something you're fine with." Is this the way to go about a legitimate legal claim? We'll see if Bethesda takes up arms for this duel.
So therein lies the issue, but Notch fresh off of a wedding ceremony doesn't want there to be bad blood between the two companies. This morning he challenged Bethesda to a Quake 3 duel. On his blog he lays the thinking out as such: two twenty minute rounds, each level chosen by the opposite team, 3 players each and whoever gets the highest frag total across both levels wins. Notch said the idea came from "Game of Thrones" where "Tyrion chose a trial by battle in the Eyrie."
Genius? Or making fun of a serious situation? I'm not sure. Notch says if they win that Bethesda will drop the lawsuit, and if Beth wins, Mojang will change the name of Scrolls to "something you're fine with." Is this the way to go about a legitimate legal claim? We'll see if Bethesda takes up arms for this duel.
