Tim Langdell Loses to Future Publishing

By: Derek Yu

On: June 16th, 2011

Rock, Paper, Shotgun’s John Walker has written a fascinating summary of the case that Future Publishing, the publishers of Edge Magazine, had brought against the notorious trademark troll Tim Langdell and his company Edge Interactive Media. Last year, Langdell was stripped of his trademark “edge” in a battle with Electronic Arts.

And to think, it all started with this little quote from iOS game developer Mobigame, published on the mobile gaming site FingerGaming:

We have legal issues with a man named Tim Langdell, says Mobigame’s David Papazian. If you already asked why Soul Edge (the Namco game) was called Soul Blade and later Soulcalibur in the US, you have your answer.

Tim Langdell and Edge Games: Still at It

By: Derek Yu

On: July 15th, 2009

I want this image of Tim Langdell’s face to be seared into the hearts and minds of every person who has ever worked hard to create something of personal value. Memorize it. Take in every loathsome detail. But make special note of the smile. That smile… is the smile of a man who has never known the feeling of creating something in any real sense. It’s the smile of a man, or some semblance of one, who instead wants to take that feeling from other people, prying it out of their hands with cease-and-desist letters and other tenuous legal threats so that he may satisfy his own barren womb. Like an aging and desperate Captain Hook, he strangles Tinkerbell and the Lost Boys for some of their pixie dust so that he might feel the feeling of flight.^!

That’s right, Tim Langdell/Edge Games is still threatening game developers over the word “Edge.” Here’s a recap:

1. David Papazian and Mobigame are still being antagonized by Langdell. They’ve received another cease-and-desist from lawyers representing Edge Games¹ and Ninomojo revealed on TIGForums that the iPhone game Edge has been removed from the App Store again.

2. Edge Games is now also targeting another indie iPhone developer who would like to remain anonymous right now (although it shouldn’t be hard to guess what word the game has in its title).²

3. In what appears to be another preemptive move by Langdell, Edge Games obtained a trademark for “Edge of Twilight” on June 1st, which is the name of an upcoming game for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.³ Fuzzyeyes third-person action/platform game has been around since at least 2007.⁴

4. Tim Langdell is, of course, still on the Board of Directors at the IGDA. But I’m honestly going to start leaving this fact out as it’s still not obvious to me what the IGDA accomplishes beyond insulting the very people who the organization should be helping. Seriously, if you’re unhappy with the IGDA, stop yelling at a brick wall (that occasionally insults you) and just drop your membership when the time comes. Then start or join an unaffiliated online community or a local game development group in your city.

To address the question of “how does he get away with it,” well, as far as I know there’s nothing illegal about sending people cease-and-desist letters. I’ve never really doubted that what Tim is doing is legal. But is it necessary? No, it’s clear to me that there would be very little confusion over whether any of these games came from Edge Games. And in my opinion it is a serious abuse of laws that are meant to promote growth and innovation by protecting creators… what I see here is the opposite.

By the way, I’m compiling a centralized page of information regarding Tim and Edge Games here on TIGSource, including quotes from various developers who claim to have worked with Tim. If you have any more information or can help verify some of this stuff, please post here in the comments or e-mail me. Obviously first-person source material is the best.

The more successful Tim is, the harder it is for the next guy or gal who has the misfortune of having to deal with him. So don’t forget that face. As painful a prospect as it might seem.

¹ Fingergaming, “Edge Trademark War Continues On Multiple Fronts”
² Fingergaming, “Edge Trademark War Continues On Multiple Fronts”
³ Kotaku, “Trademark Troll Is at It Again”
⁴ YouTube, Edge of Twilight Trailer
^!These are strictly opinions of the author and should not be construed as fact.

Tim Langdell and EDGE: Part Two

By: Derek Yu

On: June 9th, 2009

Now that Classics Week and E3 are over, I’d like to come back to Tim Langdell for a moment, because I personally consider it to be not only a fascinating topic, but also an important one that raises a lot of issues important to the community, including intellectual property and the role of the IGDA. A lot has come up since my last post, and unfortunately, it’s spread relatively thinly across a number of interesting discussions. I’m going to do my best to summarize and provide links to source material so that people can have a better understanding of what’s going on. I make no pretensions about my personal feelings on the matter, but please consider that anything that I say for which I do not explicitly provide a source are my own opinions. I will try to make it as clear as possible when they are.

Also, apologies to the readers who come here looking for news on new games to play and are uninterested in this story. There will be some very soon, and I’ll hide the rest of the post under a jump so that you can easily and quickly move on.

A Quick Recap:

1. Fingergaming posts an article revealing that the popular, award-winning iPhone game Edge has been removed due to a legal issue with Langdell. Mobigame’s David Papazian suggests that Langdell was also responsible for Namco’s Soul Edge being renamed to Soul Blade and then Soul Calibur in the United States. (Source)

2. Simon Carless posts an article on GameSetWatch in which he suggests that Langdell has a habit of engaging in lawsuits over his trademark on the word “Edge.” Carless also notes that Langdell’s Wikipedia entry, which is oddly detailed, has been mostly edited by a single user, Cheridavis, who may or may not be Cheri Langdell, Tim’s wife. Cheridavis had denied being related to Langdell, and had insisted that she (he?) was writing an unnamed book on the game industry and was posting information she discovered through her research of the book. Carless mentions at the end of his article that because of Langdell’s history of trademark abuse it’s unfortunate that he has recently been accepted to the board of directors for the IGDA.

3. Simon’s article is removed, for unknown reasons, but has been quoted on various other websites and forums. (Source)

4. Thanks to a tip from mklee, I read Simon’s article, follow his links, and decide to make a post about it myself here on TIGSource.

5. Langdell’s Wikipedia page is cleaned up and is now under neutrality and notability disputes.

6. Both the IGDA and the “Game Attorney,” Tom Buscaglia, respond, with Tom responding on his own behalf. The IGDA claims that it cannot take any action with Langdell regarding the legal dispute. Buscaglia calls Simon’s article a “hatchet job” and implies that Carless has reason to take down Langdell because of a rivalry between Game Developer Magazine and Edge Magazine. He suggests that, in order to keep his trademark, Langdell must actively protect it by pursuing legal action against Mobigame.

(Note: Buscaglia has since apologized for his “snide” remarks about Carless and insists that his implication of a rivalry was intended as a joke. He has also edited his post to remove the latter. In this author’s opinion, there was no indication of a joke in the original post.)

Tim Langdell and David Papazian Speak

Probably the most important thing that has happened the past week is that Langdell and Papazian have both spoken up regarding the controversy, in the comments section of Stephen Jacobs’s Gamasutra blog. Jacobs has been involved with the IGDA for at least 4 years and once worked with Langdell to try and establish an organization for game educators and researchers.

It’s probably best if you read the entire discussion, starting with Jacobs’s article. But here are the basic claims by both sides:

1. Langdell claims that EDGE Games informed Apple of the trademark violation, whereupon Apple sent a standardized notice to Mobigame. At that point, Langdell claims that Mobigame pulled the app voluntarily.

2. Langdell claims that it is, in fact, Mobigame that is bullying EDGE Games over the trademark. He also asserts that Mobigame started the “flame war” with the intention of causing him embarrassment.

3. Langdell claims that he has never sued anyone over EDGE trademarks, or ever started any litigation over the trademarks. Furthermore, he claims that “EDGE has never engaged in anything other than entirely legitimate practices to protect its trademarks.”

4. Langdell asserts that he has personally produced all of the several hundred games EDGE Games has developed or produced since 1979, and that every other statement he has made regarding his own accomplishments are entirely true.

(Note: Langdell, even when asked directly, has seemingly made no attempt to verify any of this, or even provide a simple list of games he has produced. Update: But if you go to the EDGE Games website and click “Videogames” at the top, you can see a list.)

5. Papazian responds to Langdell by saying that he has not made any comments regarding the dispute since the Fingergaming article and has no prior connection to either Simon Carless or Owen Good (who penned a Kotaku article about Langdell). He regards Langdell’s accusation that Mobigame is trying to cause Langdell embarrassment as a lie.

6. Papazian corroborates Langdell’s claim that Edge was voluntarily pulled.

7. Papazian claims that Mobigame offered to change the name to “EDGY” whereupon Langdell refused the offer and proceeded to register the trademark “EDGY”. Papazian also asserts that Langdell holds the trademarks “MIRROR’S SPORE” and “SOUL SPORE,” suggesting a connection to EA’s games Mirror’s Edge and Spore, and Namco’s Soul Edge.

(Note: Edge Games does indeed own those trademarks. You can look them up yourself here [EDGY] and here [MIRROR’S SPORE AND SOULSPORE].)

8. Papazian claims that Langdell has never given proof of his connection to Edge Magazine, or any proof that he has actively used the mark in recent years. He claims that the only person he has spoken to from EDGE Games has been Langdell.

On Langdell

Although I make no claims about the legality of anything that Langdell has done, it’s obvious to me that there is something very underhanded with the way that he operates. At best, he bends the truth. For one thing, there’s no reason not to believe what David Papazian has said, and, in fact, there is a lot of evidence to corroborate his claims (e.g. the trademarks Langdell has registered and the fact that there really is no evidence of Papazian or his colleagues commenting on the issue between the Fingergaming article and the Gamasutra blog post).

There are also many unproven, yet eyebrow-raising, reasons to be skeptical of what Langdell is saying. For one thing, there’s the whole dispute over his Wikipedia entry and whether he was personally involved. There’s also the “Mirrors a game from Edge” advertisement on the EDGE Games website, which seems purposefully misleading. In fact, if you use the Wayback Machine to look at previous incarnations of Langdell’s site, you’ll see that he’s pulled similar stunts throughout the years. My favorite is the EDGE Games jacket, which has a photo of a jacket with “EDGE Games” written on it in a red font. (Thanks to raiten for pointing this out.)

Plus, as the story has been spread, more personal anecdotes from people who have worked with Langdell have popped up, and they are terrible. Read this, this, and this, if you’re interested. It’s gruesome stuff.

Is anyone defending Langdell? Aside from Buscaglia, there appears to be a single anonymous person calling themselves either “Joe” or “mopius” who claims to be friends with Tim and is posting gems such as this on various blogs and forums:

Because of the Wikipedia dispute, there is suspicion that “Joe” is Langdell himself, but this is unfounded.

Plus, this. Seriously.

To date, Langdell has tenuous associations with and/or has claimed creative ownership of the following brands:

1. Edge Magazine
2. Soul Edge
3. Edge (iPhone game)
4. Mirror’s Edge
5. Edge of Extinction (Cybernet Systems v. Edge Games)
6. Edge Computers
7. EdgeGamers (game community)
8. The Edge (movie)
9. Edge (Malibu Comics character)
10. Koala Lumpur: Journey to the Edge

But it’s not obvious (to me, anyway) what Tim Langdell has actually created, aside from trouble for the various people who have had the misfortune of dealing with him and his trademark during its 30-odd years of existence. My hope is that, by helping to bring out the story, real creators can avoid him (and others like him) in the future. I don’t believe Langdell is a smart man, because a lot of his stunts are poorly managed and straight-up bald-faced – the only way he can succeed is if people are not knowledgeable.

So know your legal rights! As far as I know, trademark strength is not dependent on who “calls it” first, but on how you use it. I would love to hear a lawyer (who is not Buscaglia) comment on this matter.

Regarding the IGDA

The IGDA has taken the stance of “this is none of our business.” I disagree that it’s none of their business, and I strongly disapprove of their impotence regarding this issue. They are enabling people like Langdell when they should be helping to protect developers from them. Game developer/blogger Craig Stern sums up the situation very well. You can also see that the IGDA does have some rules regarding ethical behavior on the board and what they can do about it (scroll down).

You can sign a petition asking for Langdell to be expelled from the IGDA here.

Update: I’ve collected information regarding Tim Langdell and Edge Games here for easy reference.

Tim Langdell: The EDGE of Insanity?

By: Derek Yu

On: May 29th, 2009

Mobigame’s award-winning iPhone game Edge has been removed from the App Store, pending a legal battle with Tim Langdell (pictured at right) over the trademark “Edge.” What’s troubling is that, according to a GameSetWatch article by Simon Carless, Langdell, who founded and owns the company Edge Games, has had a history of using his trademark to cause creators grief and to link himself with various high-profile media projects, including, but not limited to, games.

If you look on Tim’s Wikipedia page, you’ll notice that he is associated with Edge Magazine, a Malibu Comics character named Edge, and also the movie The Edge, starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. What Tim actually did on any of these projects is questionable, but my guess would be that it’s about as much work as he will do for Edge, the iPhone game, once all the dust settles. Namely, he threatened to sue the living fuck out of anyone in his path (mind you, this is conjecture).

You may also notice that the Wikipedia entry is oddly detailed and poorly cited for a man who no one has really given a shit about until now… it’s also under a neutrality dispute. And no wonder – the entire page is almost single-handedly the creation of user Cheridavis, who, very coincidentally, shares the name of Tim’s wife, Cheri Davis Langdell. When pressed on the issue of neutrality, Cheridavis wrote: “You are mistaken. I am writing a book on founding members of the game industry and noticed that Tim Langdell was one of the only people missing from Wikipedia. The article I created is based on my research, not on being Tim Langdell or knowing him personally.” That would be Tim Langdell, the husband of Cheri Davis Langdell, the founder of the game industry, the producer of such notable titles as Fairlight and Snoopy: The Case of the Missing Blanket, and the man who participated in these three roundtables at GDC this year:

– Who Controls a Game’s IP and Who Reaps the Financial Benefit?

– How to Design Your Game So That its IP is More Valuable to Hollywood

– How to Sell Your IP to Hollywood (Without Selling Your Soul)

If you’re wondering where Simon’s article for GSW went, it is, for whatever reason (heh), not available anymore. Unless you go to NeoGAF or any of the other places the article has been reposted. And if, after reading this, you’re wondering, like I was, about Mirror’s Edge, you’ll be happy to note that Mr. Langdell’s EDGE Games is currently working on a new game called “Mirrors a game from Edge,” which I’m sure will not conflict in any way with the popular parkour-inspired FPS.

Jokes aside, the most frightening thing about this entire debacle is not how greedy and disingenuous human beings can be (you should be used to it by now), but that Mr. Greedyguts himself is a board member on the IGDA, a non-profit organization created to empower game developers and advocate on their behalf. Which is, in this author’s distinct opinion and should in no way be construed as a fact, somewhat like having Joseph Mengele on the board of the Red Cross. It’s absolutely fucking ridiculous and brings the credibility of the organization to serious question. How does this happen and what are they going to do about it?

Thanks to mklee for pointing this out, via TIGForums. Thanks to John Nesky for pointing out the GDC roundtables.

Update: The IGDA has responded, and so has Tom Buscaglia, the “Game Attorney” (and also an IGDA board member).

Update 2: The follow-up to this article can be found here.

Langdell Resigns From IGDA Board

By: Brandon McCartin (BMcC)

On: August 31st, 2009

A quick news bite for anyone following the Tim Langdell controversy: Dr. Langdell has stepped down from the IGDA Board of Directors, effective immediately.

For more information on Tim Langdell / Edge Games, visit our Edge Games Info Page. There’s also a long-running thread on the conflict with Mobigame in the forums.

I cannot say what this means for the future of Edge.

IGDA Elections – Candidate Scrutiny

By: Derek Yu

On: February 23rd, 2010

IGDA elections for the Board of Directors are going on right now. You have until February 28th (this Sunday) to vote for 5 new Board members. 5 members are also leaving, including Tom Buscaglia, who came under some fire during the Tim Langdell shenanigans.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the International Game Developers Association, it’s a non-profit “professional society for video and computer game developers worldwide” (Wikipedia). It is made of a central organization and many local chapters. Members pay $48 a year for access to IGDA events, products, and services.

People seem to have very differing opinions on the local chapters, which is not surprising, since their quality depends so much on local leaders and members. On the other hand, I’d say people’s opinion of the central org is overall pretty negative. Last year the IGDA was criticized heavily for having Tim “EDGE” Langdell on its Board of Directors and moving very slowly to remove him (he eventually resigned before they could remove him). This was not very long after the IGDA fumbled the Mike Capps situation. Mike, the President of Epic Games, was an IGDA board member when he infamously explained how Epic management expected their employees to work 60+ hours a week on games.

Beyond that, there’s the question of how much the IGDA actually does for game developers, and why they can be so defensive and evasive when one of their own is criticized. With that in mind, this election is important for the IGDA. The idea that another Langdell or Capps is lurking amidst the 23 candidates is a scary thought for members.

Scott Macmillan, an indie developer and a member of the Boston IGDA, realized this and started a section on his website to scrutinize the candidates further. He asked them each a few more specific questions based on their candidate profiles. This is a nice place to start if you’re an IGDA member and are interested in voting.

I’m not an IGDA member, but after reading through Scott’s site, I’d like to share my favorites:

Darius Kazemi – I’ve met Darius at PAX and he’s an active member of TIGForums. He also made a neat mod for Spelunky that updates Twitter. So yeah, I think he’s a cool guy! But another reason I favor him for the IGDA board is because he runs a successful local chapter (Boston) and wants to focus on improving local chapters as a Director. I think this is a great idea, because I get a real sense that the IGDA’s strengths lie with the local chapters and not the bureaucratic central organization. That Darius is an enthusiastic and level-headed indie is great, too. (Greg Costikyan supports Darius in his Mike Capps article, by the way.)

Jane Pinckard – I don’t know Jane personally, but I’m familiar with a lot of her work, which includes writing for GameGirlAdvance, 1up, and various magazines. Good stuff. She wants to make the IGDA a more flexible and diverse place, and that sounds great. It’s notable that she intends to spend 10-15 hours a week on the IGDA, whereas the average amount of time for most candidates is 15 hours a month.

In short, Darius and Jane are young, energetic, creative, and indie-friendly folks so that’s why I like them. I think the IGDA could use more of that.

I’m fairly ambivalent about the other candidates, although I would not hesitate to say DO NOT VOTE FOR DINO DINI! During the Langdell fiasco Dino proved to be extremely irritating and counter-productive on the IGDA forums. He also stood solidly with the status quo (Langdell, Buscaglia, et al) and defended the forum’s shitty censors right up until the point where they censored one of his posts! I wish the IGDA forums hadn’t been wiped out after the incident, because it was something to see. At some point I did say “Be thankful that [Dustin Clingman and Dino Dini] are moderators of a forum and not in charge of something more important”. Hopefully I can continue saying that in March.

The Niner, in Review

By: Derek Yu

On: December 31st, 2009

The prevailing idea has been that the independent games community is getting bigger each year: more games, more people, more quality, more press. Partway through 2009, however, I was getting the impression that we were in a lull. Understandable, I suppose, since 2008 saw the arrival of Braid, World of Goo, and Castle Crashers, arguably three of the most critically and commercially successful indie games ever, as well as Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, one of the least commercially successful but most awesome games ever. It’s a tough act to follow.

Of course, “big” has never been the only barometer for success in the indie community (for some, it’s the antithesis). Personally, I’m really enjoying being able to watch and be a part of a growing scene; being able to make a living making my own games and watch others do the same is extremely gratifying. So is getting to interact and work with some of the most creative, excitable, passionate, opinionated people I’ve ever met.

But no matter how you look at it – big, small, commercial, free, 2d, 3d, forward, back, or sideways – 2009 was a sleeper year for independent games, and a huge leap forward. Going back through our front page posts, skimming the forums, trolling the database, I was shocked and awed by what you guys have accomplished this year – by what I managed to get done, too, despite all the wonderful distractions!

I cringed at some of the arguments and flamewars that were had, too. But regret nothing – it’s all part of the experience, in my opinion, and the scene would be poorer without it.

2009. Oh Nine. The Niner. You will be missed!

You know, I’ll never understand it when people say indie games are only about platformers, or shoot ‘em ups, or art games, or 2d games, or retro games, or cactus games, or whatever else. First of all, those are a lot of really broad genres. Second of all, what about all the games that aren’t?!

A metric ton of fantastical and diverse games came out in 2009. Here are 20 of them:

Machinarium – If I had to choose a best game of 2009, this would be it. Machinarium took adventure games to another level, offering many subtle innovations to a genre that really needed some. Plus it dazzled with its fantastic artwork, audio, and puzzles. I love this game.

Hammerfight – I’ve been waiting patiently for Hammerfight ever since I played the demo in 2007. It did not disappoint. Innovative physics-based game mechanics and incredibly stylish.

Captain Forever – Farbs, who quit his job spectacularly this year to work on indie games full-time, didn’t waste a moment in putting out a great title. Captain Forever and Captain Successor combine the fun of putting together spaceships with the fun of blowing them up.

RunMan: Race Around the World – In a day and age where our platform heroes have become shiny, polished, and pre-packaged to a fault, here comes RunMan, who showed me that joy comes with rough pixel art and public domain bluegrass.

Canabalt – A great one-button game, a slick production throughout, and a testament to the flixel engine which creator Adam Saltsman released to the public… Canabalt showed us this year how to do Flash and iPhone games right.

Fl0wer – ThatGameCompany is, frankly, one of the best game companies, and followed up fl0w with a PS3 game that’s even more lovely and original.

Opera Omnia – I’ve never seen mechanics married so well with a game’s theme before. Stephen Lavelle is one of indie gaming’s most underrated and most prolific experimental developers.

Eufloria – Once called Dyson, this game started out as an entry for TIGSource’s Procedural Generation competition and turned heads for its cool atmosphere and casual strategy.

Time Fcuk – Edmund McMillen brought his A game with this puzzle platformer, which explores all sides of a dimension-shifting mechanic and comes with hundreds of user-made levels.

Minecraft – Minecraft is an epic project that might end up being a 3d massively multiplayer online Dwarf Fortress but for the moment works very well as a 3d massively multiplayer online sandbox building game.

Enviro-Bear 2000 – This is one of the funniest games I played all year, period. Enviro-Bear 2000 was the winner of TIGSource’s Cockpit Competition and is now available for the iPhone!

Small Worlds – Created for the JayIsGames Casual Gameplay Competition 6, Small Worlds was a real treat for fans of chunky pixel art. As you explore, the world gradually zooms out and reveals itself in this charming platform game.

Crayon Physics Deluxe – Winner of the 2008 IGF Grand Prize and spawner of numerous copycat clones because it is so awesome, Crayon Physics Deluxe started our year off right.

Star Guard – Fast, tough, and decidedly retro, Star Guard is a shining example of the pixel platformer genre. The narrative that develops as you play the game serves mostly as background noise, but it’s evocative nonetheless.

Time Gentleman, Please! – Funny, kooky, British. These are the words I’m using to describe Zombie Cow’s funny, kooky, British adventure game.

Zeno Clash – Zeno Clash is a weird and beautiful first-person brawler, and ACE Team, the developers, also released a black and white adventure game à la Shadowgate this year. They’re awesome.

Fatale – Love them or hate them, Tale of Tales never fails to draw a reaction, and that’s one of the things I love about them. Despite their bellyaching about games being too much like games, I like to think that they really do enjoy some of the same things that I do! I thought Fatale was surprisingly good, although I have to admit I enjoy the ensuing discussions even more.

Blueberry Garden – The winner of this year’s IGF didn’t see a lot of press outside of the festival, I thought, but it is an fun game with a charming, peculiar look.

Blue Lacuna – One of my New Year’s resolutions is to have more coverage of Interactive Fiction games on TIGSource. This year saw the release of many good IF games, but Blue Lacuna stands out as one of the most ambitious. Calling itself an “interactive novel”, the game will offer some players over 20 hours of playtime, and is recommended highly by noted IF authors such as Emily Short.

Don’t Shit Your Pants – It’s a survival horror game that really hits close to home. It’ll probably be an IGF finalist, so get your diapers ready! (Actually, I have no idea whether it will be a finalist.)

2009 was a great year for tools. Not, like, douchebag tools, but actual software tools for game development.

flixel – As if you needed another reason to love Adam Saltsman. This year he released his Flash framework flixel, which makes 2d Flash game development simple and efficient.

Unity 3d – Unity 3d gained in popularity this year, due to its simple interface, great 3d tools, and incredible cross-platformyness (Windows, Mac, iPhone, Wii, and eventually Xbox 360). The Indie edition became free this year!

Unreal Development Kit – Epic Games’s Unreal Engine 3 became free this year, as well!

Sculptris – DrPetter’s new free tool let’s you create 3d models intuitively.

Game Maker 8 – Despite controversies over its logo and the general management of its product, YoYo Games did put out another version of Game Maker. Even though it’s lacking in a lot of long-awaited features, it does have some neat improvements and it’s faster.

If I missed anything, please let me have it in the comments. (I know I missed some stuff. Be gentle.)

It’s a Gooey World – Even though World of Goo came out last year, I really enjoyed watching its success continue this year, when it garnered big press for its “Name Your Price” birthday sale and was named one of 2009’s hottest brands by Advertising Age. Couldn’t have happened to two better guys, and their continued success is great for all of us. Thanks, homies!

IGF – The Indie Game Summit had the funniest and most heartful talks I’ve ever seen, including the fantastic 5 Minute Rant Session, and Experimental Gameplay Workshop drew huge crowds. The award show was truly memorable, and not just because Dan Tabar took off his shirt (but that certainly helped). And IGF 2010’s record number of entries is being met by a record number of judges.

ArtXGame – Asian Pop Culture powerhouse Giant Robot teamed up with superstore Attract Mode to pair people’s favorite indie games and artists, and the result was a wet dream for everyone, not just hipsters (but mostly for hipsters). All in all, it showed that games not only belong in the gallery space, they thrive there.

Tim Langdell – Every great year brings forth a great villain to battle. Unfortunately, all we managed to dig up in 2009 was Tim Langdell, who slimed his way into all of our hearts by (allegedly) “spawning” many unhappy “licensees” with his notorious brand “Edge”. It’s doubtful this year will be the last we hear of him, but thanks to the hard work and support of many bloggers and commenters, it will hopefully be the last year he will get away with it. The Langdell discussion also called brought a spotlight down on the IGDA for its ineffectiveness in addressing developer issues (and its role, perhaps, in exacerbating them).

Blurst Changes – I never gave this the proper post it deserved, but Blurst announced a few months ago that they are abandoning their “experimental game every 8 weeks” model to concentrate on a fuller version of their most popular game, Raptor Safari. Aside from being a critical contributor to both TIGSource and IGF/IGS, the Flashbang boys put out some fun games this year and are just plain inspiring in the way they handle their shit, to say the least. I can’t imagine an indie world without them.

The TIGverse expanded. Our forum population alone doubled from last year. TIGSource was listed as one of The Guardian’s 100 Essential Websites for 2009. Wow.

TIGJam – Our second annual TIGJam in Phoenix (hosted by Flashbang) was, dare I say it, even more fun than it was last year.

Projects – I never believed that internet forum projects could get anywhere until TIGSource. This year our two biggest and longest-running projects, Balding’s Quest and Indie Brawl, saw significant releases.

Competitions – The TIGSource competitions have become such an important part of the site, due to the insanely high volume and high quality of the entries. No prizes given, no prizes necessary – some of the games entered have gone on to become famous in their own right. Join one today!

TIGRadio – Matthew Wegner, Ben Ruiz, and Tommy Refenes hosted Edmund McMillen, Brandon Boyer, Danny Baronowsky, Colin Northway, and Adam Saltsman to end 2009 with the first inaugural TIGRadio podcast, a weekly discussion of what’s happening in the indie games scene.

TIGCast – TIGCast is a podcast that was started by Dragonmaw and godsavant, and provides a community-oriented perspective on indie games.

This was a bigger year for me than I realized, too. Aside from enjoying all the TIGSource-related shenanigans, I released version 1.0 of Spelunky, Diabolika for the iPhone, and started working on my first XBLA game. I was excited to be able to participate in the Game Over Continue show with my friends Hellen Jo and Calvin Wong, too. I’m very much looking forward to where independent games will go next year and am proud and grateful as ever to be a part.

Well, what did indie games mean for you in 2009? What did you or didn’t you accomplish? What are you looking forward to in 2010?

Cybernet Systems v. Edge Games Documents

By: Derek Yu

On: July 18th, 2009

To the Tim Langdell/Edge Games page I’ve added links to documents pertaining to the Cybernet Systems v. Edge Games case (which is still ongoing, despite the fact that Cybernet’s Edge of Extinction has been inactive since 2002). These documents were obtained through PACER, a service that provides online access to court records. Anyone can get an account and the data is considered public record.

Among these documents are emails sent by Tim to Cybernet, as well as various exhibits submitted to the court by both parties. One of these exhibits, shown above right, is a really curious thing – to me it looks like a very amateurish mock-up of an Edge Magazine cover (the real issue from July 2004 is shown on the left). I’m wondering what it’s actually supposed to be, because in “Answer to Complaint, Counter-Claim, and Affirmative Defenses,” it states that the exhibit is a sample “of the EDGE brand as used in connection with computer hardware in various formats.”

The rest of my opinions are hidden behind this jump:

Tim, of course, uses his connections with the game industry (including the IGDA) to help prove his case, although he fails to mention how those connections were made. Is it becoming clearer how this has all worked out for him? If I were to put together a satirical timeline of Tim’s history in the game industry, it might look something like this:

80’s – Tim Langdell registers the trademark “Edge” and humanity dies a little. Various unwitting developers produce games for Edge Games and some of them even get paid. Tim eventually flees moves to America, the land of lawsuits opportunity.

90’s – Edge Games produces games about Snoopy and Garfield, the last creative properties it will not obtain through litigation. Using the credentials Tim built on the bloody, flayed backs of honest developers, Tim enters the entertainment industry and joins the boards of various organizations, such as the AIAS and the IGDA, and tarnishes their names with his very presence. Meanwhile, there are many legal threats to be made, and many more “licensees” to be had!

00’s – With the dawning of a new millennium, Tim’s throne of skulls grows ever bigger. Each new creator he coerces and each new organization stupid enough to have him as a member becomes another “exhibit” he can wield in court. But in his hubris he makes a vital mistake by editing his own Wikipedia entry, which ends up reading like a biography of Charlemagne as written by a hyperactive graduate student.

And the rest, as they say, would be internet history. But hey, like I’ve said before, keep in mind that these are just my opinions.

The documents, however, are very real and are now available for you to look at (pdf format). And IGDA members, it looks like you may have some recourse. Put your membership to good use!

Thanks to Brandon at Offworld for tracking down the July 2004 issue of Edge Magazine.