Warner Bros Patented the Nemesis System

This is one of the craziest things ever done in gaming. In Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor,

enemies remembered you. If an orc killed you, he’d get promoted.

If you killed him, he might come back scarred, angry, and obsessed with

revenge. That wasn’t just clever design. Here’s the twist. Warner Bros actually

patented the Nemesis System. Not the code. The entire gameplay concept.

That meant other studios legally couldn’t use similar systems where enemies remember past encounters,

evolve, and build personal rivalries with the player. So one of the most

innovative mechanics of the last decade was locked to a single publisher. And after Shadow