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Tag Archive for Videogames

The acronyms are coming…

March 17, 2010 Videogames Comments Off on The acronyms are coming…
So DRM is the new “hate” oriented buzzword in games (Digital Rights Management) but it’s not just *our* problem, it covers ebooks, music, pretty much anything in a downloadable format.  It’s a sticky wicket because it gets into actual ownership issues, ie, without an actual *physical* object in hand (and even if you *do* have a physical object in come cases) can that content be taken away at the whim of the publisher?
In recent news, Valve has announced the upcoming release of “Portal 2” the sequel to one of the more popular first-person games out there.  In preparation, they have gone back and modified the original game so include content that will more cleanly lead into the second, included cookies, etc.  They have even gone so far as to modify the ending of the original to give us a clean transition into the sequel.
Yep.  They changed the ending.
And in addition to this, the changes seem to have been made automatically, in order to play the game, you need to be connected to Valve’s “Steam” server and distribution system and the game was modified *there*.  Which means that unless you purchased the “Orange Box” DVD originally, you don’t have a copy of the original any longer, they’ve gone ahead and made the changes for you.  As far as I know (and if anyone else knows, please post a comment so *I* know too) Portal requires a link to Steam to be played.  So even if you install a fresh, clean copy, you’re still going to get it patched behind your back.
The real problem here is one of control. Who “owns” the game, and, by extension, who has the rights to modification. One of the bigget things I keep hearing is not about the changes, or the potential changes, but rather whether or not those changes are optional and/or reversible. The IP universe these days is riddled with “alt-universes” and spinoffs and whatifs. There ought to be room for two StarWars films, one where Han shoots first and one where Greedo shoots first. Some people prefer the original Portal, but others, particularly those who are new players, may not care so much (just like the majority of the 10 year olds who started in the StarWars universe with the “prequels” don’t really get why the originals are “better”).

I think there would be much less hullabaloo if we had a choice, but *that* is what is slowly being taken away. I think if, when you opened up Portal it asked you if you wanted to play through “classic” or “improved” mode, you’d have a whole bunch of happy fans, delighted to pay for additional content (and to stay more loyal to the brand) because you are not fu**ing with the emotional investment they have made in these worlds. When you change up something that a player (or a moviegoer) has invested hours of time in and has made an emotional connection with, you’re going to piss them off, there is going to be an element of emotional betrayal (even if they are interested in seeing the new stuff).

Thoughts on GDC10

March 14, 2010 Uncategorized, Videogames Comments Off on Thoughts on GDC10

I have been in the industry for more than 15 years now, and this is the first year I have gone to GDC without feeling like a total poser. I have no clue why, in fact, I’ve held positions in the past that were arguably more “industry” than others.  I can only think it’s the familiarity somehow.  I know where everything is, I know where the cool parties are (even if I don’t always have an invite) I have the floor and building layouts memorized and know which Peets has the shortest line. You might be reading this and thinking, oh yeah, she’s hit that “Jaded Pro” moment.  But thats not it so much.  

Here’s the cool thing about the games industry.  It’s always new, there’s always another cookie, a new story, a shiny piece of code.  I’m an industry fan, I love all this stuff.  I love to see what my peers are doing, even if you’re dev-ing for a different console or a different OS.

Even if you’ve done something in direct competition with what I’ve got under wraps, I’m still going to be excited to see it.  I love beautiful, well executed projects, clean code, high end and low end pixel-pushing.   I’m one of those dorks who listens to the tech demos (even if I don’t *really* get the differentce between multi-threaded-bi-polar-subcutaneous processing tweeps.  

This year is showing a lot of interesting stuff on the game floor.  Now that E3 is back up, the glitz and noise from a couple of years ago seems to have calmed down.  The Big Dogs are notably absent, not in a “we fled the scene” sort of way, but rather than having companies like EA have MASSIVE booths with full-size skateboard jumps, the focus is back again on the tech, the middleware, the tools and programming that helps to streamline the dev process. 

A couple publishers here and there, a number of booths from faraway and exotic places like Bavaria and Ireland (I’m a surfer-girl at heart, Ireland is pretty exotic to me) trying to hire people to come start/bolster game dev at home.  There are a LOT of enablers there, Chase and Bank of America seems to have a THING going with regards to grabbing the online transaction business, almost every university that offers a game design program seems to have someone with a booth. 

Not as many tool demos as I would expect, the Neurosky guys are back with a cooler booth (which usually means they are doing better) but not much in the way of headsets and controllers and actual physical hardware being shown off, which was a touch curious.  I DID see the giant VR ball, which not only trips the “how cool” response, but also the “OMG, talk about a gimmick” response as well.

NVidia had a very cool plan for their tchotchkies, each of the “boom-sticks” has a number printed on it.  You’re supposed to go find the person who has a matching number.  I’ve been asking around for about 5 hours now, I think I’m going to be out of luck on that one.  I’ve seen marketing used like this before, but with “Social Gaming” being the new buzzword-du-jour, it’s an interesting tie-in, making us all go talk to one another.  More like a giant icebreaker than a giveaway.

Thing is, I am reminded, every year when I come here, just how LUCKY we are to be working in this industry.  There are bad-apples, sure, companies that make you crunch for months and months, but I’m not talking about *that* kind of lucky.  I mean lucky to work in a small industry where, 5 minutes after you hit the expo floor, someone calls your name. 

The fact that guys like Sid Meier (if you can catch him, that is) will strike up a conversation with you just ‘cos you’re stuck in a 20 floor elevator ride.  The fact that I’m seeing people in suits hanging at the bar with people with tie-dyed hair and that the fact that you’re young and stupid (and eager) is often considered an *asset* rather than a black mark on your resume.

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