Re: patents on Frets on Fire, Pydance, StepMania and such games

[Don Armstrong <don@debian.org>]

[Going wildly OT for fun; further messages will be sent individually.]

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008, Joe Smith wrote:
> "Don Armstrong" <don@debian.org> wrote in message 
> [🔎] 20080119014257.GE13670@volo.donarmstrong.com">news:[🔎] 20080119014257.GE13670@volo.donarmstrong.com...
>> What else is sheet music but a storage form of notes, timings and
>> durations?
>
> I agrue that sheet music differs significantly from midi files,
> although it is generaly possible to generate one from the other with
> a reasonable level of accuracy.

The only difference is that midi files contain per-note velocity
information[1] which is slightly different from the expression
information contained in sheet music. [And in any event, this system
doesn't discuss velocity.]

> Basically, AIUI that requirement is about a machine readable
> representation of the notes, etc. I will agree that at least some
> sheet music creation software must store data in a format that
> qualifies.

All sheet music digitally encoded is a machine readable representation
of notes, duration and expression; it can't be anything else or it
isn't sheet music.

>> So you have an instrument which has to preselect a note, and
>> another which much be pressed with exact timing. Most wind
>> instruments satisfy that requirement.
>
> True enough. However, to find prior art for this claim would likely
> require we find a "game system" which shows players some form of
> sheet music representation of data stored in a more machine readable
> format , to which such a wind instrument is played.

Midi wind instruments have existed for at least 15 years...


Don Armstrong

1: There's also various after-touch midi control codes, but most of
that can be expressed in music.
-- 
Some pirates achieved immortality by great deeds of cruelty or
derring-do. Some achieved immortality by amassing great wealth. But
the captain had long ago decided that he would, on the whole, prefer
to achieve immortality by not dying.
 -- Terry Pratchet _The Color of Magic_

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