Speaking as someone who has helped come up with a LOT of ideas for space transportation, it would have been nice if I'd gotten rich off one of them instead of still having to worry about where next year's income is coming from. But let me tell you, if someone else had grabbed one and applied his own cash and effort to open up space to all of us, nobody would be happier about it than I would.

As for "networked games," I thought of that too back in about 1980, when Gary had a prototype Control Data Plato system installed in his apartment as part of some special deal. The gimmick was that the graphics (monochrome, and about as complex as the old "Asteroid" game) were downloaded into the computer, and after that they were manipulated internally with only basic location instructions transmitted over the pathetically slow phone line.

Someone involved in the Plato system developed the game of "Empire." Dozens of players online at the same time, on one of four teams: Federation, Romulan, Klingon, or Orion. Each had their own ship designs, and the object was to blow up other ships, conquer planets with armies from your ships, and win the universe for your team. All commands were by various keyboard combinations. I spent frigging DAYS playing that game--there were some damned creative tacticians to make it interesting--and it occured to me that one could make some money with this.

The Big Idea...make up for the horrible graphics by building the computer screen into a little simulated spaceship cabin in an arcade. There would be dozens of such simulator cabins with a screen and REAL stick controls in the arcade to run the game, connected by dedicated phone lines to other similar arcades around the country. Okay, it would cost a lot up front, but nobody else had any kind of computer game that allowed you to play dozens of OTHER PEOPLE instead of a stupid chip.

Control Data was totally uninterested. This was an Educational System, and would remain pristine. A presentation to Bally and Atari in 1981 (I've STILL got a copy of all the paperwork) that I whomped up didn't go over either. This pretty much exhausted my interest and capacity, and I forgot about it. Like you say, an idea on its own is just an idea. Still, for 1980, it was pretty good, and I still see Plato as the very first glimmer of the Internet on the horizon.