Master of Magic is a beloved classic for old-time strategy games ever. It had a game design that has not been equaled to (imo) since in many respects.
So why hasn’t anyone made a Master of Magic 2 or a remake of it? The answer is that the rights to this game are a tangled web.
Our story begins in 1994. Master of Magic was designed by Steve Barcia, one of the greatest game designers in our industry’s history. That is not something I say lightly. At his level of game design, you’re not talking about skill, you’re talking about some sort of divine gift. I’ve only met a handful of people that fall into that category on game design (needless to say, I am not in that category).
His company, Simtex, developed Master of Magic and it was published by Microprose. Microprose was acquired by Hasbro Interactive in 1997. While Microprose had the publishing rights to Master of Magic, it is unclear what their rights were beyond that. In 1999, Hasbro shut down Microprose sold its assets to the French company Infogrames which was subsequently branded as Atari (a wholly owned subsidiary of Infogrames).
In the early 2000s, Atari (USA) approached us about relaunching some these franchises. This was post-Master of Orion 3. The idea was to bring back Star Control, Master of Orion and Master of Magic. The plan ultimately bogged down due to the complex legal relationships in place at the time, particularly around Master of Magic.
Now, fast forward to 2013. Who has the rights to Master of Magic? I don’t know. Atari doesn’t seem to think they do beyond their original publishing agreement for the DOS game from 1994. The trademark for Master of Magic expired some years ago and Nival (makers of King Bounty) registered the trademark with an intent to use (so we might end of with a game with that name at some point in the future).
But it’s not clear who, if anyone, has the legal right to make a Master of Magic game that can lay claim to the original game except for perhaps, Steve Barcia and that’s just my speculation.
What I can say is that anyone hoping that Atari’s upcoming bankruptcy auction will result in someone “bidding” on the Master of Magic rights can stop wondering now. At this stage, it doesn’t appear that’s an option.
Meh, I like your Elemental universe better, now. I probably played MOM for 500+ hours. No joke. I can honestly say that LH is more fun.
If there was an alternate dimension in LH, however....
I'm writing a post on my suggestions for FE's next expansion. Check it out when it's up!
Is Steve Barcia around? Would be interesting to chat with him about it. And what he thinks of Legendary Heroes.
I'm pretty sure Master of Orion's trademark belongs to ATARI INTERACTIVE, INC at the moment. Registrant (1997): Microprose Software; LAST LISTED OWNER: ATARI INTERACTIVE, INC.
Concerning Master of Magic it's... strange... The record shows (APPLICANT) Nival Network Limited Russian Federation. Note that it doesn't show "Last Listed Owner" but "Applicant". But, frankly I don't know what that means.
Check it for yourself here: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/
Infrogames owns it as far as I can see. Isn't there some database about who owns what?
Can't anyone just contact Infrogames and ask them?
Whether the Master of Magic rights will be up for bidding awaits to be seen. There will be a list of what you can bid on, just like when THQ shut down, right?
Who gets paid if you buy it off GOG?
At this point I'm not sure I want another Master of Magic. Other than polishing it up with new graphics and making the interface more intuitive anno 2013, it becomes very risky messing with the "formula" without disturbing the core gameplay and what made it "Master of Magic". In the end it has set a foundation for other games to draw inspiration from, the Elemental series, Age of Wonders series, ect.
I think it's more interesting to see what other designers come up with, based on the template MoM established.
I'm probably alone in saying that I loved Star Control more than Masters of Magic or Masters of Orion.
Agreed.
At this point the only reason why MoM is still at the tip of my brain is because of the sheer amount of items, creatures, summons, and spells the game had. LH can easily flush those out in a DRM.
It should be interesting to see what happens with Star Control and Master of Orion.
QFT
Star Control 2 was remade to the fantastic, open and free Ur Quan Masters, in case someone missed that one:
http://sc2.sourceforge.net/
And a damn fine game it is, too. I just wish the Toys for Bob folks would try kickstarting a new game along somewhat similar lines.
Actually Star Control 3 is one of my favorite games of all time, but the others aren't up there for me. Don't get me wrong, Star Control 2 is fun, and the ship battles are more intuitive, but I liked the campaign much better on 3.
Wow. I had COMPLETELY forgotten about Star Control. Right now I can only recognizing/remembering the ships' appearances. I feel like a kid and a very old man at the same time. oy.
Check out Worlds of Magic: http://myworldsofmagic.com/
I wonder what people would think of a Stardock developed Star Control game.
I would think - "How do I give them my money fast?!"
Yes please?
I'd preorder it now. That's what I think.
I would be happy to test that for good quality control during the entire process... where do I sign up?
Right behind me.
I would want it. You will always have those dicks who will always hate the new version of the old thing they love no matter how good the new version is( Firaxis XCOM or Beth Fallout), but fuck those guys. Stardock Star Control sounds awesome.
Interesting comment given some of the artwork posted here:
https://forums.elementalgame.com/445174
That's why they invented 4chan and somethingawful and RPGCodex. Keeps "those dicks" quarantined.
Nice foreshadowing! Per RPS "Stardock got the Star Control IP."
I don't think RPGCodex deserves to be lumped in with the other two. I'm actually a member there and have had useful feedback on our games there.
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