November 01, 2005
Spielberg gets a desk at EA
Spielberg is Wired proclaims interactive storytelling blog, Grand Theft Auto. It seems that Electronic Arts is calling in the big guns to make the next emotional breakthrough in gaming. I'm all for seeing the future of films and games fuse into one in the way Spielberg and Zemeckis have predicted, minus the obligatory cute kid factor.
October 18, 2005
IGF Modding Competition
MOD your way into the Independent Games Festival and score a free pass to the Game Developers Conference to boot.
October 14, 2005
XBOX 360 video streaming
CNET gives furtehr insight into how XBOX 360 will act as a bridge to home cinema libraries via Media Center PCs.
September 03, 2005
Programming with kids
David Bau documents how he made a game with his six-year old using Python. An interactive experience that you can't buy with a shrink-wrapped product.
June 06, 2005
MODs as launchpad for new kinds of games
Another article pointing out that 'innovation' in the games industry usually means better performing hardware.
http://csmonitor.com/2005/0603/p11s01-stct.html
April 12, 2005
Half-Life 2 accepts plug-ins
Half-Life 2 has a Source Engine Plugin Interface which makes it relatively easy to integrate 3rd party functionality with the game platform.
February 14, 2005
Tecmo vs the Naked MOD
Get ready... Fight! It had to happen. While many games makers are perfectly happy for customers to play with released titles, express their creativity and circulate MODs in their communities, Tecmo are having none of that nonsense.
Hackers sued for tinkering with Xbox games | The Register
A lawsuit under the US DMCA has now been issued against the now defunct website ninjahacker.net because users were swapping "skins" that changed the appearance of game characters.
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball is one such title that you will now MOD at your peril. Its no small irony that the original title has enough T&A on display to class as soft porn as-is.
December 12, 2004
MTV2 Video MODs
Tony Shiff and Big Bear Entertainment have created a series of music video that recycle game assets and re-use characters.
November 11, 2004
Game industry HR in the spotlight
When making games are your life, it's worth asking what the price is. In this Slashdotted piece, Anonymous "ea_spouse" writes about the working conditions at EA studios.
The conclusion seems to be something to do with the conflict between art and commerce. In the third world, we'd call this a sweat shop.
September 27, 2004
European Developer Forum presentations
Powerpoints and notes from the recent European Developers Forum conference.
Detailed Programme : European Developers Forum - The Interactive Entertainment Conference
September 01, 2004
Oddworld Inhabitants talk Stranger
The new game from Oddworld Inhabitants is showcasing the studio's first foray into real-time cinematics, a departure from their Academy Award nominated rendered sequences that have always been a highlight of their games.
June 11, 2004
Why realistic graphics make humans look creepy
Slate examines why the closer we get to CG realism for human characters, the more difficult it becomes.
The Undead Zone - Why realistic graphics make humans look creepy. By Clive Thompson
Call it the Final Fantasy syndrome or whatever, I am starting to doubt whether we will see many photo-realistic performances this lifetime. Not because the technology isn't there but more because of the way it will be used. Most people can now tell when CG models are being used in a shot and the novelty has well and truly worn off.
May 13, 2004
Pacmanhattan
I was just reading in develop magazine about how every game generation introduces its own version of Pac Man then I got this link...
Let's make a brash prediction. Pac Manhattan will have more lasting impact than XBox and PS2 games. Maybe not to everyone's taste and I, for one, look crap in yellow. But you do burn calories!
April 28, 2004
D&D is 30 years old
BBC NEWS | Magazine | What happened to Dungeons and Dragons?
known. We truly got involved with the playing of characters as opposed to just hack-and-slash. This of course was way back in the old 1st edition days, when men were men and giants roamed the earth. I played a human monk, which at that time was a rarity. Staying up to wee hours of the morning; eating pizza, potato chips, and tortilla chips; being amongst friends - these are the memories I cherish.
Collin D. Freeman, Kansas City
D&D still goes strong in the UK with a number of gaming clubs and events for charity around the country. By my reckoning, roleplaying events raise in excess of £5,000 each year for a number of charities, something that goes largely unnoticed by the masses. Aside from that, its a great social hobby which requires imagination, intelligence and the occasional bit of luck. Long may it continue
Terry , UK
The thing I most enjoy is immersing myself in a role in such detail that the seem alive all on their own. I have heard of actors talking about such when they play roles for movies.
Samantha, St Louis It's the social side as much as anything that keeps the game going. There's something of a roleplaying revival at the moment. Nothing that quite matches the early 80s but the internet is bringing gamers closer together all ove
April 27, 2004
Tendrils - rhythm combat
http://members.cox.net/swt2/Tendrils/Main.html
Tendrils is a "re-mix" RPG (in beta) billed as a cross between Final Fantasy and Dance Dance Revolution. The main combat interface is a rhythm game.
The game itself is a re-mix of earlier games - all graphics, music, items and even dungeons are sampled and the architecture supports the easy incorporation of new assets.
March 21, 2004
XBoxMediaCenter
The XBox linux community is in full swing now with products like Xbox Media Center justifying the efforts of the really persistent.
March 11, 2004
WORDIMAGESOUNDPLAY (WISP)
"WISP is a collection of experiences for the PS2 console. Human and strange. Animal and familiar. Happy and sad. Music made from people. Stories crossing each other. Japanese and English. Language and translation. Sound and shapes. Seeing stories and hearing tales. Films and pictures. Music and sound.
There is gameplay on WISP, but there are no games. There is no story that holds the whole thing together, but there are stories. WISP isn't a music title but it's filled with music."
UK release date (March 17th 04)
March 05, 2004
Blogging the BAFTAs
Time to try and filter my hazy recollection of the inaugural BAFTA Interactive Festival (Feb 17-19) through a developer perspective. I’ve even emulated the hard living gamer types I know in the interest of authenticity. It’s done my lungs and liver no good at all.Are the results in on that recent survey on the quality of life in the games industry? Hah!
Despite not attracting nearly enough developers, the BAFTA Festival was successful in bringing together a mix of 'interactive' people that normally exist in parallel universes. BAFTA is fairly uniquely placed to nurture a creative community spanning linear and non-linear entertainment. At a time when spreadsheets are merging, the cross-pollination of interactive entertainers has barely begun.
Only a few years ago I seem to vaguely remember the film and game industries announcing "There will be no convergence."? Well times have changed and the Festival dedicated a whole day to the subject. Certainly amongst the weird non-gamer types I tend to hang out with, this seemed to be somewhat of a draw card even if, for many of them, interactive entertainment consists of reading recycled jokes in the email. The irony is that this is the year that BAFTA, in response to industry feedback, has split the traditional Interactive Awards into separate Games Awards and Interactive Awards. It had to happen but here’s hoping that both ‘sides’ stay in touch even if only to avoid re-inventing the flat tyre.
Forget the market-speak and sales-talk, I was looking to talk to game developers. It wasn’t easy. The only developers in evidence were either ‘the names’ up on the panels or the alumni of various famous titles. Where were the rest of you? Down the pub heaping scorn on the establishment? Cooped up in a code farm? Waiting for the webcast? Who knows but you were missed.
Sound folk were unusually visible with a welcome number of audio sessions. From an ‘interactive audio in games’ discussion hosted by John Broomhall to ear-splitting 3D spatial surround performances hosted by the Illustrious Company, the message was loud and clear - ignore the ‘poor relation’ of creative arts at your peril. Yet the irony was also clear that game sound people aren’t coming close to pushing the audio capabilities of current devices like the XBOX, hamstrung by cross-platform development constraints. How about letting us publish a couple of audio-only titles, Bill? We all know kids using the box more as a jukebox then anything.
As expected, the best sound bites were invariably low-tech. The installation artist Charlie Morrow, in between blowing on his conch shell, forecast that the future of sound (as per the name of the session) would involve the loss of hearing. He urged the crowd to "go to nature to get in tune with the system that built us". Meanwhile Peter Molyneux reminded ‘The Movies’ sneak-preview audience that anyone attempting to really make a film is mad.
Going back to nature was a theme I picked up again in the session I chaired (‘What’s the Story?’) on interactive story-telling. A debate between film-makers and game designers had a diverse audience from all walks of life. The discussion exposed many home truths. No one really knows how to deliver interactive fiction. Games miss out on the equivalent of film vocabulary to inform you of what is about to happen. Film-makers relish the fluidity of real-life shooting. MODs make for interesting times. And lastly low tech, albeit money-spinning, interactive entertainment like the Sing-a-long Sound of Music is totally under the industry radar. Keep it simple stupid? Yeah right…
For those who made the effort, it was the diversity of perspectives on offer which provided the pay-off. The school and university exhibits were a real highlight. Teenagers tracking video motion, primary school kids filming stop-motion animation… Let’s face it, we’re still laying down the turf. Can we PLEASE have some real fun while we’re doing it?
At the heart of the convergence debate there seems to be a worrying assertion that the game industry has to simply to learn the ropes from the film industry. Is it really appropriate to use Hollywood as a template? Let’s not ape an industry grappling with its own spiralling costs, technological upheaval and entrenched forms of social and gender inequality. Under the hype, the power struggles says precious little about where art is coming from. So go figure why it’s ‘technically impossible’ to make a game on your own these days. Who’s zooming who? How about some game equivalents of the Blair Witch Project next year? Developer awards? Feminine game designs that go beyond global search and replacing lad brand with girlie brand?
Maybe it boils down to this. Art produced in a vacuum ain’t art. Sorry. Not in a networked world and perhaps never. The interesting stuff is coming from the cross-pollination of several industries, all keeping each other on their toes. Maybe the truth of the matter, clearer after throwing different kinds of practitioners in a venue for a few days, is that the zeitgeist comes from those who try. Trying in this game means a certain willingness to share.
February 27, 2004
Interactive Fiction in the 21st Century
Magic Words: Interactive Fiction in the 21st Century is a nine-chapter article on the past, present and future of text adventure games.
February 24, 2004
007 - Everything and Nothing
Wired reviews the latest 007 game and finds itself reviewing a bad movie.
"EA built its business on sports titles that vow to put players "in the game." It is growing into an entertainment behemoth by perfecting film-licensed games, such as its recent Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter titles, which put players in the movies. One can only hope that as EA continues to develop its interactive-movie mastery, it will use those cinematic production values to please a broader, more mature audience. "
Wired News: James Bond: Great Game, Bad Movie
EA built its business on sports titles that vow to put players "in the game." It is growing into an entertainment behemoth by perfecting film-licensed games, such as its recent Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter titles, which put players in the movies. One can only hope that as EA continues to develop its interactive-movie mastery, it will use those cinematic production values to please a broader, more mature audience.
January 02, 2004
Unity
Unity is a collaborative game project between two llegendary game designers Jeff Minter (Llamasoft) and Peter Molyneux (Lionhead Studios). Fans of Rez will be pleased to know that another "abstract shooter", that allows you to perform interactive graphics, is on its way.
November 07, 2003
OpenDemo
Quietly nestled in machinima.com is the intriguingly named, OpenDemo project which aims to provide source and tools for open game demos. Support for LucasArts games like Jedi Knight II and ID's Quake III Arena is included.
August 12, 2003
Machinima in The Two Towers
The Two Towers review on Machinima.com
"Two Towers's gameplay is, as a whole, unambitious but fun. However, its selling point and the reason to rush out and buy this game now is its spectacular integration of gameplay, Machinima cinematics and footage from the films. Wachowski brothers, taken note: this is how you make a game of your film."
June 12, 2003
Global Best Practice in Digital Game Publishing
The UK Department of Trade International Technology Service have just published a report into a game mission to North America and France in 2003. The mission summary is online.
Some massive points from the launch event at BAFTA last night:
- Moral rights regimes, such as those in France, Japan, and Australia, prevent game creators from assigning over their moral rights. The UK moral rights regime is under review. Full moral rights regimes prevent any creator of content to re-assign them. This includes people who create game MODs using tools supplied by the games publisher.
- Viewpoint from Atari (ex-Infogrames) -
- Games need to reach a wider audience
- Games need higher production values, better in every area
- Game developers need to out-source
- Games need to be shorter but better, providing a more intense experience
- game companies will continue to need a mix of original and licensed titles
- Online remains unprofitable and risky. Game company strategies view online in terms of the following, in increasing order of risk:
- Online communities and registration
- Online multi-player functionality on a title that also supports a single-player experience.
- Online distribution of games
- Massively multi-play online games (persistent worlds)
- Valve, creators of Half-Life, are developing a broadband business platform for direct software deliver and content management called Steam. "At its core, Steam is a distributed file system and shared set of technology components that can be implemented into any software application."
- EA and THQ want to invest in more 3d party original licenses.
- Licensed games seen as an opportunity to improve a film franchise. A suggestion that the game Goldeneye and related James Bond titles, revived interest in the movie franchise.
- Development costs are roughly one third the overall cost of titles released by major publishers.
moddatabase
Every game, every mod, nothing more nothing less - modDB.com. Kind of like Slashdot for game MOD people.
April 04, 2003
Primal
The upcoming PS2 title Primal is the subject of a series of events at the ICA. P::R::I::M::A::L :::: A::R::T
Pop Idol rhythm game in development
Codemasters have announced a rhythm/action game based on the hit TV show. It's only single-player however. Doesn't sound like it will knock Gitaroo Man off it's pedestal in this house.
March 06, 2003
Whacked on XBox Live
First contact with XBox Live and while it's early days for choice of games (about 5), the experience is revolutionary. No real set up difficulties, other than having to tediously enter credit card details via the XBox controller. I was soon in Whacked!, running around a giant sink trying to hit some kid from West Virginia over the head with a stapler. Wacky games, I dunno... What was the most amazing thing about XBox Live? Being able to talk to other players during the game, and use a "mask" to disguise your real voice. Role-playing gamers are going to love this. After trying several masks, Robot, Large Man, and Kid (yes, you heard right), it became obvious that you will never know who you are talking to through an XBox. Controversy awaits no doubt.
November 21, 2002
Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing from Nintendo.
"Ever wanted a dream life where you're in total control? Then welcome to Animal Crossing, Nintendo's real-time game where you live in a world that is wholly unique and you call all the shots. In this imaginary world, you own a home, you work hard to get ahead, and you play even harder to enjoy the irresistible challenges of each day and each season. Join the growing population of players who live to play and play to live in a land of fun and surprises."
November 20, 2002
Blinx patents time
BLINX is the first XBox game to record time, or rather all the actions of the game. Gotta check that one out. Patents have also been filed for the game design. What exactly Microsoft thinks it owns is still a mystery, to me anyway. Comments and URLs welcome.
November 17, 2002
Gitaroo Man
 | Gitaroo Man, the strangest but very compelling rhythm game from Koei. The game tries to distract you from the fact that you are supposed to concentrate on a small blue dot in the middle of the screen and move the Playstation 2 joystick around in the direction of shapes and lines. | While this seemingly simple coordination test is playing out, you've got a collection of kooky keyboard ufo creatures circulating you, standing as a guitar clad super guy in a very Japanese little town gathering in the streets. It's worth a look for the soundtrack by japanese band Coil alone. "You lose!" (images) |
October 31, 2002
The X Files Game
I recently met Greg Roach, the founder and CEO of Hyperbole Studios who designed and directed The X Files Game for Fox Interactive. Released in 1998, The X Files is a game which merits further scrutiny, not just for its atmospheric FMV and sound, but also for the way it was marketed and then received by punters.
Despite rave reviews from the mainstream press, some computer game industry reviews were damning.
Four years later, what is so interesting about this title is that its premise was rejected not only by its target audience, gamers, but by the producers themselves, Fox Interactive. One of the questions I put to Greg was why, given the game's extensive catering to non-gamers via an Artificial Intuition help system, was there no way to let the game simply run as a linear passive experience (i.e. an X Files episode in its own right). It turns out that Greg had been explicitly prohibited from including this in the game by Fox who did not want the product labelled an "interactive movie".
With the benefit of hindsight, it would appear as if the label "game" is what detracted the most from the long term success of the product despite many innovative features. The transitions between 1st person interactivity and 3rd person passive Full Motion Video are extremely fluid. One thing that gamers and fans appear to agree on, the "game" captured the atmosphere of the TV series, no mean feat.