Nintendo has filed a new patent seemingly linked to Splatoon
Nintendo is always experimenting with ideas and patents are a very important part of this process. Sometimes it will focus on the game experience.
On this occasion, it’s about the gameplay side – with the latest profile seemingly focused on improving the minimaps. The gist of it according to Stephen Totilo of Axios is that it’s about making “better minimaps” for series like Splatoon.
You can view the original patent filing here, it’s a giant wall of text. There are multiple mentions of “ink splash” and “paint” areas with clear ink in the patent, which means it could be related to an upcoming Switch release. Platoon 3. GoNintendo has also provided a brief summary:
“This mini-map approach is intended to make it easier for players to understand not only their location but also the locations of useful items and other imported areas on the map. Cameras are used. will automatically change based on the moment-to-moment action, as well as changing key areas on the map.”
As with all patents, nothing says Nintendo will actually take things further. So we’ll just have to see what happens to it.
This filing follows some news about patent control last month: