I don't know, I think we know all we need to at this point. Further inquiries into Langdell's private life or prior enterprises don't really seem germane to the issue at hand - whether he actually worked on 200 games or not, it's clear that the Edge Games "brand" was in no danger of being confused with the iPhone game Edge, especially since, indeed, we can't really identify an Edge Games game since 1994. Whether he's a fraud or simply stretching facts in other parts of his life is largely irrelevant. A sitting IGDA director has used what appear by all accounts to be shady practices to bully a small indie team to extort them for cash.
If anything, Landell is obfuscating the real issue by throwing out all these "I worked on 200 games! I saved indies in the 80's!" claims. I mean, if Alec and company tried to blackmail another indie company for just having the word "Ammo" or "Infinite" in the name of their game they'd be assholes just the same as Langdell. A track record of "good" behavior like releasing awesome games and helping fellow indies doesn't excuse being a dick. So even if he's telling the complete and entire truth about this stuff, it doesn't exonerate him.
If we should be asking Langdell anything, it should be his basis for his extremely strong defense of a really weak trademark. What really interests me - what legitimate concessions has he offered that didn't involve him taking a share of the profits from Edge and claiming yet another "licensee"? Have him prove that he's legitimately simply concerned about protecting his trademark and is willing to help another small indie developer make it while protecting his own interests and not just in it for a quick buck. That's the real test litmus for how scummy this scandal is, not whether he could technically claim a credit for a two-week advising job he did on God of War.
Yeah, as much as I find the muck raking somewhere between hilarious and shocking - it's pretty much established now that Tim if not outright lying, is certainly blowing situations out of all proportion for self gain.
Edge were, at best, middle ground players in the eighties in the UK. The reinvented sense of importance we're seeing here is totally like an alternate time line where Tim and his company existed on a separate plane of reality. He wasn't and isn't, despite claims to the contrary, a godfather of the industry really. He's just some guy who published a couple of games a long time ago.
What's boggling for me as someone who not only lived through this but has friends and acquaintances who were part of the industry in the Eighties and still are to this day is the sheer scale of the truth stretching. I nearly popped a blood vessel when Everiss decided to rewrite the history of Imagine blaming piracy for its demise but shit me, compared to the Langdell-o-matic, that's a leetle tiny drop in the ocean.
And it's good that you lot have brought this to light. Really good. Because vile cuntery in business is pretty much taken as "oh well", vile cuntery in business when combined with the info dredged up over the past couple of days elevates it into a position whereby it's hard not to take notice.
But yeah, there's enough rope there for Tim to hang himself multiple times over by his own actions and deeds. Aside from voyeuristic enjoyment, I think the scale is apparent now and best focusing the fight on where it matters and that's like you say above, so I wont reiterate it other than to quote it and stick two thumbs up at it.
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