Video gaming - the new frontier.

Recently I was approached by a NY law firm to quote on clearances and licensing for buildings/architecture and signs within a video game. I have been doing clearances for a film currently shooting out of New York, and that combined with my interest in gaming made me a likely candidate for the task.

What struck me first was that the lawyer I was dealing with had little to no understanding of gaming to begin with - which as technology and AI within the online world continues to evolve is going to become an increasing problem for legal professionals (not to mention those that rely on their advice).

He didn't know if the game was meant to be single or multiplayer, whether it was to be played online and therefore constantly evolving, or not. I wasn't just being pedantic - all of these factors impact hugely on the clearance issues at hand. For instance, if the game is to be played 'in world', and the user is, in a sense, tailoring his or her own experience, you can't just clear a sign or the copyright on an architectural work (building) for background. For all I know, a player might take it upon themselves to stand in front of the structure throughout their whole gaming experience, making it fully featured. (If that were at all feasible, that is, without being instantly killed). But still...

So I began the impossible task on quoting on the infinite. The first hurdle, of course, is that his client wanted the game to be modelled on New York City. I asked him with a chuckle if there was to be any flying involved. He balked at this, 'Excuse me?' I proceeded to explain that probably, the censors might have a bit of a problem with a realistic video game that was based around flying in and around NYC vis a vis September 11 and the war on terror.