Games industry patents are an interesting mix of futuristic ideas, practical applications, and utter nonsense. They can tip a company's hand as to what it's planning next, give an idea of how they're thinking about certain parts of their business, or let us revisit old successes and see how they were originally envisioned. Patent Trawling is intended to be a mix of all of the above. Not everything featured here has come to fruition, or ever will, but it will hopefully offer some insight into why the industry is the way it is, and where it might be headed next.