A continuation of Lewis Pulsipher's playtesting article, which continues the discussion by explaining what to do with playtesting feedback you get and how to evaluate it.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Playtesting is Sovereign, Part 2
Sega Sammy Raises Forecast On Pachinko, But Consumer Games Still Weak
Sega Sammy, the holding company for game publisher Sega, raised profit and sales forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 2011 -- but it wasn't due to strong sales of consumer video game software. The Tokyo-based company on Thursday raised forecasts thanks to strengthening pachinko and pachislot machine sales and improved cost reduction in the segment. For the current fiscal year, Sega Sammy said that it expects to sell 300,000 pachislot machines, up from the ...
Trailer: Radical Fishing (Jan Willem Nijman and Rami Ismail)
Developed under Jan and Rami's new indie company Vlambeer, Radical Fishing is fishing, but in a radical sense. Players lower their fishing hook, grab lots of fishies, jellyfish and sharks, then drag them to the surface, launch them into the air and watch them explode in a bloody mess.
This'll earn you money, which can then be used to upgrade your line, making it longer and attaching new weapons of destruction to it. Really loving the art style, and can't wait to play it! The guys are looking for a Flash sponsor at the moment, so if there is someone out there who wants to give them money, please do - I need to play this right now. Cheers!
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Game Design Challenge: Heavier Rain
GameCareerGuide.com's Game Design Challenge kicks off its latest challenge with a unique concept - what kind of game would you make using the Heavy Rain game engine? Details, specifics within..
Video: 'Final Fantasy XIV' a new persistent world
Creator Hiromichi Tanaka talks about the new game and the popularity of the series.�(msnbc.com)
GDC Online Reminds On Pass Deadline, Adds Parties, Summit Talks, Civ V Lecture
GDC Online organizers are reminding that this Friday is the final pre-show discount deadline for next week's Austin show, revealing a new Playboy/Bigpoint party and lectures from Civilization V creators along the way.
The Austin, Texas based conference -- formerly known as GDC Austin -- is sharply focused on the development of online games, including free-to-play titles, social network games, and traditional MMOs, with a veteran online game industry advisory board evaluating and selecting the lectures.
There are now more than 120 panels, lectures and tutorials currently scheduled for the October 5th-8th event. Highlights include the confirmation of a keynote from Zynga chief game designer Brian Reynolds (FrontierVille), and track keynotes from Blizzard's Greg Canessa (on Battle.net), Playdom's Raph Koster (on social mechanics), and Bigpoint's Heiko Hubertz (on the rise of Europe in online gaming).
Organizers are reminding that final registration discounts for the show, which kicks off next Tuesday, will run out this Friday, October 1st, with discounts of up to $200 still available for prospective attendees who register now, as opposed to doing so onsite.
At this late stage, several new announcements have debuted. Famed media brand Playboy, which recently announced a foray into digital gaming with partner Bigpoint, is co-hosting an official GDC party open to all GDC passholders at The Phoenix on Thursday, October 7th.
As previously mentioned, the rounded-out parties and networking opportunities at GDC Online include an Opening Night Party on October 6th sponsored by Unreal Engine creator Epic Games, plus on-site mixers from Hi5, Crytek, and a multitude of others.
In addition, the four Summits taking place at GDC Online on October 5th and 6th have rounded out their session content, with new lectures in the iPhone Summit, iPad Summit, 3D Stereoscopic Gaming Summit and the Game Narrative Summit from notable companies such as Obsidian, Booyah, Supergiant Games, Smoking Gun Interactive, OneBigGame and more.
Also rounded out are the full set of vendor-supported tutorials, open to all GDC Online pass holders excluding Game Career Seminar, having added specifics for the GameSpy-supported tutorial day, including a lecture called 'Tools for User Generated Content in Sid Meier?s Civilization V', laying out "an introduction to the modding tools developed for Civilization V that players have used to create dynamic new content for the next generation of Civilization games."
These final announcements join just-debuted talks with lessons from APB, Habbo and even Cow Clicker, with a full set of highlighted lectures including talks from KingsIsle, IMVU, Disney, Playdom, BioWare Austin, Hangout Industries, Broken Bulb Studios, CCP, Gaia Online, Playfish, InstantAction, Ubisoft and a host of other notable companies at the leading worldwide online game-specific conference.
One of the other major advantages of attending GDC Online is the comprehensive list of nearly 100 exhibitors with whom attendees are able to get product demonstrations, meet, and interact on the vibrant GDC Online Expo Floor. These include major firms like Epic, Rackspace, Gaikai, Offerpal, Vindicia, Trinigy, ARIN, Versant, Rixty, Softlayer, and many other large companies in the space.
GDC Online is operated by the UBM TechWeb Game Network, as is this website, and will take place October 5-8, 2010 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. To learn more about lectures across all tracks and summits for the event, for which registration is still open, please visit GDC Online's official website.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Softkinetic's iisu Middleware Adds Linux Support, New UI Tools
3D gesture recognition software developer Softkinetic has updated its iisu middleware, adding a variety of new features and support for the Linux operating system. Linux support bolsters iisu's existing compatibility with the Windows NT, XP, Vista, and Windows 7 operating systems. Version 2.5 of issu also introduces Interaction Designer, a new tool allowing serious game designers to prototype gesture recognition in existing applications. Other new features include a complete UI development framework, a new plugin ...
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GDC 2011 Announces Summit Line-Up, Calls For Submissions
Game Developers Conference organizers have announced additional Summits for GDC 2011, including a new GDC Smartphone Summit and the return of the Social & Online Games Summit. The organizers have also opened up a call for Summit lecture submissions until October 14th.
The GDC Summits take place Monday, February 28th and Tuesday, March 1st, 2011, the first two days of the historic 25th annual Game Developers Conference. They offer deep-dive content on a variety of notable game industry topics, ahead of the main conference which runs Wednesday, March 2nd through Friday, March 4th.
This year, the conference is introducing the GDC Smartphone Summit, which brings top developers from around the world to share knowledge and concrete takeaways on the smartphone and related platforms.
These include breakout game platforms like Apple's iPhone, the iPad, Android OS phones and tablets, Blackberry and a variety of other notable handheld devices.
The summits also include the vibrant Social & Online Games Summit, with a packed agenda devoted to social network games, free-to-play web titles, and microtransaction-powered online games.
2011's GDC will also see the return of the signature Independent Games Summit, highlighting the top indie game creators and lessons. the Summit will run as part of the Independent Games Festival at the show.
Epic Games Brings Unreal Engine 3 to iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
CARY, N.C. ? September 1, 2010 ? Epic Games, Inc. today announced its ?Epic Citadel? App is now available from the App Store. The app showcases the technical capabilities of Epic?s award-winning Unreal Engine 3 on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. In ?Epic Citadel,? players navigate a fictional castle realm using simple controls and the innovative Multi-Touch user interface. ?Epic Citadel? also features stunning visuals and special effects, with an environment inspired by ?Project Sword,? Epic?s newest game.
?Project Sword? is the codename of the all-new action role-playing adventure game exclusively for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch developed by Epic?s critically acclaimed studio, Chair Entertainment, creators of the Xbox LIVE Arcade games of the year ?Undertow? and ?Shadow Complex.? Scheduled for release later this year, ?Project Sword? will bring unrivaled visual fidelity and a highly accessible gameplay experience to the iOS platform.
?This is a testament to the sheer power of iOS devices as up until now, Unreal Engine 3 has typically been used to create high-end gaming experiences on game consoles and computers,? said Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps. ?And we?re not just keeping it to ourselves. We’re putting Unreal Engine 3 technology into the hands of game developers all over the world, and we can’t wait to see the apps they make next.?
A small team of Epic?s programmers, artists and testers created ?Epic Citadel? in just eight weeks of development time. Unreal Engine 3 is scalable yet packed with the same tools hundreds of thousands of users work with to create games, simulations and animated content. Features include:
- Amazing visuals. ?Epic Citadel? pushes the envelope for stunning visuals on iOS devices. Through the latest advances in Unreal Engine 3 technology, the application delivers unrivaled graphics and special effects that immerse players in the kingdom?s grounds.
- Bump offset mapping. Also known as parallax mapping or relief mapping, bump offset mapping enhances the visual appearance of stone walls and rocks providing intricate textures.
- Normal mapped architecture. Brings stunning detail to bricks and ground surfaces within the environment.
- Texture blending with painted weight maps. Refines nuances on roads and terrain, making them rich and lifelike.
- Global illumination. Unreal Engine 3?s built-in global illumination system, Unreal Lightmass, provides realistic lighting and shadows with minimal development resources.
- Dynamic specular lighting with texture masks. Helps create authentic cobblestone roads and vivid reflective marble surfaces, while lens flares and light coronas add dramatic emphasis when panning across light sources.
- Real-time reflections and animation. Environment mapping enables real-time reflections on objects such as the statue inside the cathedral. Dynamic movements of trees and banners are made possible through the use of vertex deformation and skeletal animation.
- Free tools. Epic?s Unreal Development Kit (UDK), available for free download at http://www.udk.com/download, ships with the same tools and technologies used to create Epic Citadel.
?Epic Citadel? is available for free from the App Store on iPad, Phone and iPod touch. For more information about ?Epic Citadel,? visit http://www.epic-citadel.com.
About Unreal Engine 3
The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics and best-of-breed toolset. Unreal Engine 3 maintains those features in addition to multi-core processor support, Xbox 360� and PlayStation�3 optimizations, massive world support and a highly mature tool pipeline. Unreal Engine 3’s consistently evolving toolset is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for PC and console games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, visualizations and real-time 3D animation. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained through the Unreal Technology website at http://www.unrealtechnology.com.
About Chair Entertainment
Founded in 2005, Chair Entertainment Group is a video game production company committed to creating blockbuster entertainment franchises through development of its original intellectual properties. In 2006, Chair launched its first original property, ?Empire,? as a bestselling novel written by Orson Scott Card. In 2007, Chair launched ?Undertow,? an award-winning underwater action shooter for Xbox LIVE Arcade. Set in the universe of ?Empire,? Chair?s 2009 release for Xbox LIVE Arcade, ?Shadow Complex,? was awarded Best Downloadable Game of the Year by multiple media outlets. Additional information about Chair can be obtained through the Chair Entertainment website at http://www.chairentertainment.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its ?Unreal? series, including ?Unreal Tournament 3? for PC, PlayStation�3 and Xbox 360�. Epic?s “Gears of War” franchise has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and won more than 30 Game of the Year awards. Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 is the four-time winner of and Hall of Fame inductee for Game Developer magazine?s Best Engine Front Line Award. Unreal Engine 3 has also been recognized as the number one game engine by Develop magazine. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through the Epic Games website at http://www.epicgames.com.
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IndieCade 2010 Finalists: Solace (One Man Down)
Not many more IndieCade 2010 finalists for us to look at! Next up is Solace, a bullet hell shmup that explores the five stages of grief. The game is available to download from the Solace site.
Created by a team of students at the DigiPen Institute of Technology, Solace uses dynamic audio in an attempt to capture the moody tone that the team were looking for. The game was also a PAX 10 finalist, so obviously there's something about it that is catching the judges' eyes!
Give it a download and see what you think.
Are video games the 'devil's flute'?
As the Supreme Court gets ready to look at a case that pits the state of California against the video game industry, some say this is simply history repeating itself. California wants to ban the sale of violent video games to minors but others say this far from the first time a new form of media has inspired moral panic and attempts to violent First Amendment rights.
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Popcap CEO Roberts: 'Great Games' Will Win Out Over Zynga
Popcap CEO Dave Roberts shared some choice words for Zynga and the wider social games industry during a panel at the WTIA TechNW Forum in Seattle today.
As TechFlash reports, Roberts praised the social gaming juggernaut for marketing their games extremely effectively, but said the company was "in some ways struggling to catch up because they are not (about) gaming in their heritage."
"We believe that ultimately, and it's our bias, that great content wins out, and that great games are always going to be better than great marketing," Roberts continued.
To illustrate his point, Roberts noted that Popcap's Bejeweled Blitz is attracting more daily visitors than Zynga's Mafia Wars despite zero marketing spend on Popcap's part.
"Zynga is really good at sort of using money to buy their customers every day." he said. "...That's an interesting business model, but becomes complicated."
Roberts expanded his critique to the larger social gaming industry, which he said is going to have to adapt quickly to a world in which it's not as simple to achieve instant success on Facebook.
"I think a lot of the easy money that catapulted companies like Zynga into this crazy stratosphere -- the easy money days are gone," Roberts said. "That doesn't mean the platform is dead, it just means that you actually now have to work at it. Now, it is not about luck, it is about good, old-fashioned hard work."
In July, Popcap announced Zuma Blitz as the company's second Facebook game, and said the company was working to bring further adapted and original games to the popular social network.
Zynga has reportedly grown to employ over 1,200 employees, adding up to 1,000 servers a day to keep up with the 215 million users that have played a Zynga title.
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
EU Nintendo Update - Robox, Mystic Quest Legend, GO Series: Defence Wars And More
5 new titles across all 3 platforms this week -- let's get to it.
WiiWare gets one new title -- Robox for 1,000 Points. Based on the trailer this looks like it might be worth your money -- check it out above.
The Virtual Console release for the week is Mystic Quest Legend, a spinoff of the classic Final Fantasy series that was supposedly geared more towards the American market. Grab it for 800 Points.
Three new titles for DSiWare -- GO Series: Defence Wars, a wave based defence game that could be a bit of fun for 200 Points, Music On: Learning Piano from Abylight for 200 Points, and My Exotic Farm for 500 Points.
Browser Game Pick: The Day (Gregory Weir)
The Day is the story of a little girl named Tia, who is given a trading card as her birthday present. Using her single card, she must battle the other children in the area and collect all their cards.
Well, this is main story presented to you anyway - but you'll soon start to notice that there's something a little strange about where you are, and what's going on. There are two endings to find, and the whole game takes around 15 minutes to play through.
Really nice stuff for filling a spare few moments. Play it over at Armor Games.
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PressOK: Team Autonomy Cut iPhone Development Time In Half
As part of its latest feature at FingerGaming sister site Gamasutra, PressOK vice president of engineering Alex Koloskov describes how the company’s policy of letting teams work on side projects results in hits — developed in half the time. The company booted up a “Rogue Development Project” program, hoping to channel developers’ personal inspiration into [...]
Dude Icarus: Fly Around Without The Fear That You'll Turn Into An Eggplant
Developed in just two weeks for the recent Indie City Game Jam, Dude Icarus is a fun little platformer that has you exploring the world as the titular mythological character, collecting feathers to increase how high you can fly, and eventually reaching a high enough altitude to hang out with the god of sun Apollo.
It's the work of Scott Roberts, Nicole Lenard, Erin Robinson, Jake Elliott and Switchbreak, who managed to add some charming touches to the short game -- though it's all about flying around, make you sure you check out Icarus' walk animation to see him skip around. The cartoonish visuals, too, are great.
Switchbreak says he plans to continue work on the game and add interesting objects in the upper atmosphere. Dude Icarus is pretty fun as it is right now, though -- just don't forget you can get more feathers by jumping on the birds. I spent 15 minutes trying in vain to reach the top of a few high pillars before realized they had extra feathers.
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