Scrolls Message Board older than one year ago

Bethesda VP of marketing Pete Hines is providing some context for its case against Minecraft-dev Mojang's coming title, Scrolls, saying Mojang hasn't fairly presented Bethesda's side of the fight (probably because it's on the side against Bethesda). "Mojang's public comments have not given a complete picture as it relates to their filings, our trademarks, or events that have taken place," Hines said.

Bethesda has an obligation to protect its trademark -- Elder Scrolls -- at the risk of diluting or losing it entirely. In that regard, this isn't something Bethesda wants to do, but it is something it has to do: "Nobody here enjoys being forced into this," Hines said. "Hopefully it will all be resolved soon." I bet that Quake 3 duel is looking pretty good to both sides right now.

#eldervsscrolls Another batch of documents in the legal wrangling between gaming giant Bethesda and indie darling Mojang hit Twitter today. More »

#theelderscrolls In spite of lighthearted suggestions by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson that their differences be settled as gamers, the battle between developer Mojang and The Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda is headed to the courtroom. More »

Remember when Bethesda's lawyers sent Minecraft creator Notch a nasty letter, warning him to cease using the word 'Scrolls' for his digital card-trading game? Their argument was that this infringed on their trademark 'Elder Scrolls'...

So ... no Quake 3 then?

Despite Notch's offer to engage in deathmatch against a team of Bethesda's choosing over the matter, it seems that the battle for use of the "Scrolls" name will take place in court instead. As the Mojang boss tweeted, "The Scrolls case is going to court! Weee! :D"

If you remember, Bethesda claimed that Mojang's upcoming collectible card game, Scrolls, was too close in (trademarked) title to the publisher's Elder Scrolls series of games. Mojang business developer Daniel Kaplan called the suit "really silly" while speaking with Gamasutra, but said that, in the worst case scenario, Mojang would be forced to change the title.

Since a name change would be the toxic leftovers from this legal wrangling, we'd suggest changing the name to "Fallout." You can thank us later.

#minecraft For those on the fence about attending MineCon, the inaugural Minecraft convention to be held Nov. 18 and 19 in Las Vegas, Mojang is hoping an early look at its next two games will sweeten the deal. More »

Mojang Specifications is making a pretty big assumption about the character of the folks who are attending the first MineCon expo: That they enjoy playing Mojang's games. Frankly, we think this disposition seems a little presumptuous, but nevertheless, the successful indie studio has announced that it will hand out vouchers to download alpha code for Scrolls (its next first-party title) and Cobalt (its first third-party title) to all of the event's attendees.

Now that we think about it, Mojang's missing out on some pretty great contest opportunities by just giving those things away. Why not hide them inside of cuboid trees, and give attendees axes, and just tell them to go crazy? Or bury them far, far below the earth, perching them precariously over a pit of awaiting lava? Or hide them in Notch's hat!

Straight outta PAX comes this teaser for Markus "Notch" Peterrson's newest Mojang joint, Scrolls. It's chock full of hand-drawn art, magical stuff and concludes with some sort of golem punching robot thing. Now that's something we can get behind! (You're safe from its punches there).

Or should that be Mojangian? Probably, as this is information from exciting Jakob Porser, rather than boring old Notch. And will it still be called Scrolls after the Bethesda lawyer-machine is done with it? I don’t. I just don’t know. What I do know is that details have emerged about how the game will work (via VG247). Speaking at PAX the Scrolls designer explained that the game would allow players to sign into a persistent character from a number of formats, including a browser. Although exact pricing hasn’t been settled, the game will apparently feature a subscription that delivers new scrolls to you each month, while unwanted scrolls can be auctioned away, microtransaction-style in the game’s auction house.

Confused about what it all means? Have a read of our preview. (New Scrolls teaser video below!)(more…)

#scrolls Minecraft mastermind Markus "Notch" Persson had a surprise for Kotaku today. He literally handed me the first trailer for his next game. More »

Minecraft maker Markus "Notch" Persson has admitted a strategic miscalculation in challenging Bethesda to a Quake 3 tournament to settle their legal dispute over Notch's Scrolls, whose title Bethesda says conflicts with its Elder Scrolls franchise. Considering Bethesda owns Quake 3 and employs a handful of professional players, Notch admitted his choice of game might have been a poor one. "If it came to a Quake 3 tournament, I have a feeling we just might have to change the name," Notch told Wired.

Notch isn't giving up his fight with Bethesda, saying the entire lawsuit is a "bogus claim," but attorney and game industry analyst Mark Methenitis says Bethesda has a "reasonable argument" based on established US trademark-law tests. Perhaps Notch should challenge Bethesda to a Twitter duel, because at 303,000 followers, Notch could trounce Bethesda's 50,000 roughly six times over and still have enough people left over to play the Scrolls alpha when it launches later this year, and that's ridiculous.

Look, sometimes the traditional justice systems of the world just can't get it done. Some kerfuffles require alternative forms of arbitration -- like, for instance, the recent trademark dispute between Mojang and Bethesda over the former's upcoming game, Scrolls. Notch from Mojang has an interesting suggestion for solving the dispute once and for all: "I challenge Bethesda to a game of Quake 3," he said in his blog earlier today.

"Three of our best warriors against three of your best warriors," Notch added. "We select one level, you select the other, we randomize the order. 20 minute matches, highest total frag count per team across both levels wins." The stakes for this contest would be fairly high, as Notch added, "If we win, you drop the lawsuit. If you win, we will change the name of Scrolls to something you're fine with."
In related news, we've been sitting here for like, an hour, trying to turn this whole scenario into a parody song of Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Our two hang-ups are that we're not comfortable characterizing either party as Satan, and also that we're just not Weird Al-clever.

Markus “Notch” Persson, creator of Minecraft, is currently in dispute with Bethesda over the trademark for “Scrolls”. Mojang’s next game is called Scrolls, which Bethesda says is too similar to The Elder Scrolls. A lack of hilarity ensues. Except now Notch has struck upon a potential solution. A Quake 3 match. He suggests three from Mojang take on three from Bethesda, pick a map each, and compete for the name.

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#theelderscrolls With all the hullabaloo that's broken out over The Elder Scrolls creator Bethesda's legal threats against Minecraft creator Marcus Persson regarding the title of his upcoming game Scrolls, it's easy to overlook the fact that it's not entirely clear what The Elder Scrolls themselves really are. More »

Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson is in the process of being sued by Bethesda Softworks, though the legal issue has nothing to do with the sandbox indie sensation set to launch later this year. In a blog post explaining the situation today, Notch says Bethesda's attorneys are seeking to stop him from using "Scrolls" for the title of his next upcoming game, stating it infringes on their existing trademark for "The Elder Scrolls" games...

Mojang Specifications' Daniel Kaplan confirmed that the studios' next game, Scrolls, will follow the same procedural release plan as its current mega-hit, Minecraft. Kaplan explained to attendees at the Barcelona-based event Gamelab 2011 that the game will be released "very early," and will be continually patched and updated until finished. Hey, if there's anything we love more than magic-infused parchment, it's instant gratification.

Kaplan also outlined the future of the development studio, explaining that Scrolls is being developed by a five-person team -- a sizable increase over Minecraft, which was "by and large created by one developer, Markus Persson." He also revealed the studio is considering becoming a publisher for other, smaller indie developers, which of course means that Mojang is totally selling out, or something.

We've got good news for you newsletter collectors: Minecraft dev Mojang isn't just offering an email publication about its second game, Scrolls, but also potential alpha testing access.

As Tumblr user Buddyp450 points out, signing up for the developer's newsletter at the bottom of the Scrolls game site includes the choice to "opt-in to become alpha tester." Of course, if you're all anti-newsletter or something, but you purchased a Minecraft license when that (still unfinished) game was in alpha, you're also guaranteed access to the first Scrolls preview.

Of course, if you miss out on the alpha test, there's always the free public beta after that. And, we imagine, you'll eventually be able to purchase the full, complete game at some point.

You there! You look like a Minecraft player to me. Well, how do you fancy maybe being one of the first to try out its developer’s next game, Scrolls? There’s nothing certain quite yet, but if you opt-in to the Scrolls newsletter you can register your interest in helping test (and have early access to) the fantasy card-battler.

There’s no date and no guarantee, but for the brief sake of scrolling (ha!) to the bottom of the Scrolls website and enterting your email address, it’s well worth a shot, eh?

#minecraft If you're the guy who made Minecraft, you've got it good. Your game's a hit. You're getting lots of money for it and winning lots of awards. But what's it like to be Notch? More »

Mojang hasn't technically finished its first game, Minecraft, but it's gone ahead and revealed another one. Scrolls is a digital collectible card game/board game designed by Markus "Notch" Persson and Jakob Porser -- with story help from Penny-Arcade's Jerry Holkins, and art by famous "demaker" Jnkboy.

According to the newly launched website, Scrolls "offers a new and unique game play where you fight to outmaneuver your opponent on the battlefield [a chess-style game board] using the destructive powers in your collection of magical scrolls [cards]." Scrolls will become weathered with use, giving visual indication of your preferred tactics. Of course, you'll be able to augment your deck with new packs.

A limited free alpha will be available later this year, offered initially to some Minecraft alpha purchasers; a public beta willfollow. Both will be free and used to balance the game.

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