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Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2018 20:09
by JoeCapricorn
So I am watching the videos by Skullzi who seems to be trying to dig up anything he can find on The Elder Scrolls VI and when it might possibly release - and he found this page of trademark filings and while he was scrolling I noticed something curious. https://www.onscope.com/ipowner/en/owne ... ml?tic=426

There was a Commander Keen trademark, filed September 10, 2018. Another one was filed September 28, 2018. The one is sandwiched right in between Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot and Doom Eternal.

They both seem to be the same type of trademark as that of Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein: Youngblood and so on.

It's also filed here: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield ... 44388y.3.2

What could this mean? Maybe nothing. Maybe a re-release of the Commander Keen games on Steam (I'm not sure when Commander Keen was put on Steam but it seems like a long while ago, and only 5 episodes). Maybe Billy Blaze is being added to Quake Champions.

But, I can't help but wonder if maybe something new is in the works. The trademark could mean anything. Sometimes it serves as the first clue that something might be brewing. Starfield was rumored to be the name of Bethesda Game Studios next game for many years before they showed the first teaser at E3. Skyrim was trademarked around the same time Oblivion was released. Now Redfall is rumored to be the next Elder Scrolls game.

What are your thoughts? Could our beloved Commander Keen be returning in a big way, or is this just a trademark filing to assert ownership over the series?

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2018 21:09
by Roobar
I think these fillings are to assert ownership. Look at how many trademarks are around that period.

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2018 21:24
by proYorp
Hmmmmmm. Either way I don't think I like the sound of this. If they are planning to make a new game, they better have finally gotten their heads straightened out and hired Tom Hall as creative director, otherwise it's gonna just be another cringy lifeless Keen GBC. And if that's the case, burn it with fire. :no Hopefully it is just asserting ownership. I still find that just a bit annoying though.

I noticed in that list, "Youngblood" is spelled wrong, lol.

Also your second link is broken. Says "This search session has expired."

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2018 22:09
by JoeCapricorn
Hmm, I thought that URL would have linked directly to the page on USPTO.

It's essentially the same text as shown in the first link.

And I noticed that "Younglbood" trademark as well. Clearly, not everyone has an IQ of 314.

If there is a new game in the works, it is probably tightly under wraps with the trademark filing being the only possible clue to its existence.

Maybe Tom Hall is involved, but he can't say anything due to an NDA.

Or it is an assertion of ownership, but that begs the question of why now?

Maybe something is in the works for the series 30th anniversary, which will be in less than two years (December 14, 2020). There is no doubt that the series has had a lasting impact.

Clearly, at the very least, the trademark is valuable enough to Zenimax for them to trademark in 2018.

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2018 22:45
by Roobar
I'm pretty sure Tom is not involved because on the Keen birthday, when asked to make a new keen game, he said "I wish".

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:48
by JoeCapricorn
That was in response to someone tweeting to him about playing the classic games in their living room (i.e. some sort of port to modern systems)

Another interesting tweet from him was a few days later about maybe revealing what the Universe is Toast storyline would have been on the 30th anniversary. It could be an extremely coy way of hinting at something, if you want to read really deep into it. Or it is what it sounds like, that he will present what his idea of The Universe is Toast would have been.

And one I replied to asking about the trademark was about the big corp (assuming Zenimax/Bethesda) not giving up or using the IP.

So... maybe it is just to affirm ownership over Commander Keen, but I also find it hard to believe that they aren't doing something with it.

It's definitely not an impossibility.

But if Billy Blaze shows up at one of these future Bethesda showcases at E3...

There could be a tie to Wolfenstein: Youngblood. That's a game about BJ Blazkowicz's twin daughters and is set 19 years after New Colossus (so 1980). Unless they retcon something, Jessica and Sophia Blazkowicz are Commander Keen's aunts. I'm just thinking out loud here using my fingers which are only making a typing sound. The timeline could fit, but I don't think I would like Commander Keen growing up in a world where the Nazis took over. Even if by the time he becomes Commander Keen all the Nazis are dead. It would be weird.

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:26
by Roobar
Commander Keen making appearance in a new Wolfenstein game? NO. JUST NO. I'll be really mad if something like this happens. The only real appearance of Commander Keen I can see is as a playable character in Rad Rodgers. What I think has happened (and I'm speculating here) is that Slipgate Studios have contacted Bethesda to use Commander Keen in a future version of their game Rad Rodgers. And judging by the update trademark you posted, they may have succeeded at that. I mean Slipgate Studios have already secured the rights to use Duke Nukem from THQ in their upcoming update, so Commander Keen is the next logical thing to come (plus, in Rad Rodgers, there's already a Keen helmet, a pogo stick and a neural stunner).

I'll see if the guys at Slipgate will comment on this (though I doubt they will). Also, someone could point this to Tom Hall and post his response here. At least he's replaying to most questions.

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 17:47
by JoeCapricorn
Oh, I didn't know about Rad Rodgers, I'll have to check this game out!

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 22:08
by Nisaba
Roobar wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:26 Commander Keen making appearance in a new Wolfenstein game? NO. JUST NO. I'll be really mad if something like this happens. [...]
I second this

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 23:16
by K1n9_Duk3
Calm down. I doubt this has anything to do with Keen appearing in a Wolfenstein game. I think this is just Bethesda protecting their intellectual property.

I'm not sure if anybody here has been following the events around Nightdive Studios filing a new trademark for No One Lives Forever, but the story was that nobody knew for sure who own which rights to NOLF. The game was developed by Monolith (now owned by Warner Brothers) and it was published by Sierra (now Activision Blizzard) and 20th Century Fox used to own the trademark. Nightdive was trying to bring the game back, so they filed a new trademark, but actually re-releasing the game didn't work out, I guess.

When I heard about that NOLF trademark, I decided to check for Commander Keen and I couldn't find any trademarks at all. Without the trademark, it would have been possible to create a new game using the Commander Keen name (and only the name, since Bethesda still owns the IP regardless of any trademarks).

Somebody at Bethesda must have noticed that, too, and just added Comander Keen while they were at it (is there a discount for these things?). By filing a trademark, Bethesda is just making sure that nobody else can use the name. It doesn't necessarily mean they are actually doing something with that IP. Of course Bethesda is very welcome to prove me wrong. I just don't want to see all of you getting your hopes up and being disappointed in the end.

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2019 1:11
by JoeCapricorn
Well...

I had a feeling there was a new Keen game.

It is something I didn't expect. It's made by Zenimax Online Studios and will be a mobile release. The trailer makes it look like a Saturday Morning cartoon.

I... am interested. Also it features the children of the original Commander Keen, twins named Billy and Billie (a boy and a girl).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtQjGPfkEe8

The opening image shows a wall of photos, and included is an old picture of William J. Blazkowicz and Jess and Soph Blazkowicz

I am hoping it is a platformer, but if the trailer showed what the gameplay might be, it honestly doesn't look all that interesting.

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 5:51
by proYorp
The nightmare has come true.
We were warned, and we did nothing about it. Though what could we have done? What can we do?

---
proYorp wrote: Sat Dec 29, 2018 21:24 If they are planning to make a new game, they better have finally gotten their heads straightened out and hired Tom Hall as creative director, otherwise it's gonna just be another cringy lifeless Keen GBC. And if that's the case, burn it with fire.
I still stand by this statement.

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 18:16
by VikingBoyBilly
ITS THE BEST KEEN EVER!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZDI-3bbiyQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGdg4WxeF8

It's almost as good as Keen GBC :barf

Also, apparently these are Keen's kids? There's actually some easter eggs if you pause the trailer in some parts (keen receiving the golden V is framed on their wall)

Re: Bethesda filed new Commander Keen trademark

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 20:44
by nanomekia
VikingBoyBilly wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 18:16 Also, apparently these are Keen's kids?
Yep. As said by JoeCapricorn above:
Also it features the children of the original Commander Keen, twins named Billy and Billie (a boy and a girl).