9 Amazing Video Game Features You'll NEVER See In Anything Else

Bloober Team's horror game The Medium released earlier this year wasn't great, but it did present an intriguing feature that somehow hasn't really been done before - presenting two planes of reality at the same time via split-screen.

The physical realm and the spirit realm were depicted simultaneously throughout the game, with players controlling the protagonist in both realms at once, a unique mechanic which Bloober Team decided to patent all the way back in 2016, almost five years before the game's release.

The idea was originally conceived by the developers in 2012, but because consoles of the era - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U - weren't powerful enough to render two scenes at once, Bloober Team effectively had to put The Medium on the back-burner.

What's especially interesting about this patent, though, is that while the developers are clearly protective of the feature, one of the game's producers confirmed in a Reddit AMA that split-screen gameplay was ultimately an "experiment," and they don't actually plan to use it again soon if ever.

Nevertheless, the patent will hold until 2036, so they've sensibly got their interests protected for the next 15 years should they change their mind.