the Hollywood model

Lets move to Hollywood in games

It is my contention that sometimes we work to hard at games, developers and publishers, and I would like to see a more “Hollywood” approach to game development, especially under the larger publisher’s stable of developers. What I mean is large Hollywood studios have large departments dedicated to things such as costumes, props, and set designs. When Hollywood needs a lamp for a scene, it usually doesn’t build one from scratch, the set designers contact someone in the prop department. It is not uncommon at all for people to use the same costumes. If one film company is making a western they are probally using a large amount of props, costumes, and stage design from other Westerns.
So why can’t large publishers of videogames do the same thing? Why can’t EA have a large database of assets for all its studios to use. It would surely increase development time. When creating a racing game why should artists have to even think about making such simple and obvious things as trees.

Just think about a tree, it is something we obviously take for granted, a form we know very well from seeing them everyday (hopefully… I know some coders who haven’t seen the sun in a while) And trees are everywhere around us, so they are everywhere in almost any game, it could be a racing game, or a role playing game or a first person shooter. Trees are everywhere. But the question is why should game design slow down to create these things when they have been created a thousand times before?
Do you think game players will be upset when they see a tree in a roleplaying game that looks like the one they just sped by at 120 mph in a racing game? But lets be more specific, lets say the asset is a sword or a shield. A game player may notice the same shield or sword in different roleplaying games, but I contend that a player won’t get upset at this and is more upset when all the villagers look the same with the same sword and same shield and there is no individuality, instead of using a large varied amount of stock assets will make them look individual and fresh.

High definition?

Are we seeing real high definition out of gaming? Mind you this is the same generation (Sony and Microsoft) that Sony said that the next Gran Turismo could support dual screen 1080p gaming. Now I basically laugh at that claim, or call them out. Because what many of what publishers claim is real high definition is not, its not even 720p gaming. Some of the more high named games are coming in at below the 720p mark and than upconverted. If they are using upconversion as a standard for what high def is than you can probally upconvert the wii output and call that high def!

The sad truth is that this generation of consoles are not true high def gaming machines, they are smack in the middle. This is like when the genesis had virtuafighter, yea it was the 3-d polygonal fighter but boy was it limited.

Now I am not saying that what these systems output is not gorgeous but it sure is not what could be high def gaming, if these games are barely reaching native 720p resolution can you imagine what a true native 1080p game would be like? So yes I take umbrage with the fact that this is so called the age of high definition gaming, when I think this is just the advent of high definition game and the true age will be the next generation of consoles.

Digital Distribution

With the ongoing struggle with the used game market and piracy one of the answers people prop up is the advent of digital distribution, which basically sends the game to you through the magic of the internet. (thank you Al Gore) and while I applaud such efforts, mostly because of the enviormental impact of not having to press all those dvds that will eventually find itself in a garbage heap 15 years down the road. (Sorry, your collectors edition of Alone in the Dark 4 will not be worth anything, sorry to burst your bubble)

But as the speeds of interwebs get faster and faster, the storage capcity of our media grows and grows, and believe me if developers don’t have to compress their work, they won’t. So with the new defacto bluray discs as the medium of the future I don’t see people sitting down and trying to download a 50 gig game. I just don’t see it.

I think it will work on the arcade type of games, but not on the big AAA titles that people wait on. So we are going to be paying 79 dollars for Metal Gear Solid 5 on the PS4 that will have a whole season of bad soap opera action hero drama on it, and than in three months you will be able to pick it up used for 49 dollars at your local game stop, only after someone sells it back to them for 15 dollars.

next Xbox launch titles

David Ray Oct 16th 2008

Inquiring minds want to know, that’s the tag line for the national enquirer, but its also the reason I am bringing up the subject of the Xbox 720, or Xbox III launch titles. Whatever the name of the iteration of the next generation xbox we know for sure one is going to come down the line, in what form and with what specs no one knows. But this is where gander a guess at what the launch line up will be
.
Before we get into the games, there is a certain logic that Microsoft will use on their initial launch lineup. One of the most important things is that it will have to show off the system new capabilities. The obvious ones will be the superior online offering, the improved graphics and sound, the addition of a bluray player, and … of course the new motion controls. Yes they are going to rip off Nintendo.

All that said Microsoft will have some of their heavy hitters out there and one of the main points of emphasis will be covering all their bases, which means giving a wide variety of games that fill most genres. And expect a new emphasis on the casual gaming crowd. (which will be tough considering that the xbox is know as the hardcore gamers machine of choice.)

This list is based on no evidence at all, just my opinion of what is needed and what has launched previously with systems.

Project Gotham Racing V - this would fill the mandatory racing game slot all systems need to have, also the 360 launched with PGR III, you might say, hey bizarre creations was bought by Activision, well rumors point to the developer of Forza coming in and taking over the title.
Why is it important, well nothing really shows off a system better than a racing game, racing games are basically full featured tech demos on the processing power of the system, expect the game to be full of online features and maybe use a unique control system.

Madden NFL XX – of course this is going to launch with the system and of course its going to be just a supped up high end version of the PS3 one, but still people want their madden.

Its important because its Madden, and as EA pointed out to the Sega dreamcast, without EA on board the you will fail. So having Madden is mandatory. Plus EA has experience working motion controls with the Wii, they should have a pretty good grasp on how to move the gameplay over.

Some kind of WWII FPS - yes WWII has been overdone, we all know this, but hey we still buy the games, why? Because WWII was the perfect mix and balance of technology and brutal anti-personal force on the battlefield. Tanks, artillery, bombers, and still close enough to put a baonet in some Nazis gullet.

Why its important, well for sure the next xbox will try its best, to get the casual market, it will market it towards the casual market, it will make games for the casual market but I feel it will still try to retain the hardcore gamer and nothing says that than a WWII FPS.

One or two Rare games, maybe a new Viva Pinata game or a Banjo and Kazooie game, its been widely rumored that not only have Rare been in the process of making games for the new system but they have been integral in designing the new ‘motion control’ peripherals. Recently it was rumored that Microsoft was going to release a motion controller for the 360, but that might have just been a mix up with the new upcoming system. I would love to see a Perfect Dark game or a Killer Instinct game at launch but with MS going for the broader more casual game market I can’t see that launching with the system.

Its important because out of all the developers that MS has in their stable, Rare is probably the one with the best ability to recreate that Nintedo mass appeal magic.

Fight Night XX, nothing says motion control better than a boxing game, one of the early games that really knocked people off their feet (no boxing pun intended) was EA’s Fight Night for the next gen consoles, that showed what the difference between next gen and last gen was. I expect a similar release as well because of the new motion controls.

Why its important, if you have a new motion control scheme, than you need to show it off somehow, and boxing is the easiest way to do so.

NBA game – the system will probally launch sometime in the Sep-Nov time frame of next year, if so the NBA season will soon be starting and a new NBA game,

The nba game is important because there is no other team sport game that has such a personal varied feel to it, from individual faces, body types, and tattoos, to their signature moves, nothing shows this off better than the new system.

Here are my surprise games. I have no reason to think so, just a feeling

Half Life something or other – Valve has been a huge fan of the xbox, or maybe just a hater of the ps3, but either way I imagine the folks at valve or cooking up new graphic and game engines that will be optimized for the next xbox.

Crimson Skies – there is no hard evidence its in development, but you know what, if the next xbox is going to have motion controls than I think a flying game seems like a good fit.

Games we probably won’t see at launch,

Halo game, Halo games are notortious for being late to the party, always has been, always will be, plus MS likes to hold it back as an ace in their hole, something to drive the second wave of sales. So I don’t expect a Halo game at launch.

RPG games, RPG games are notoriously long to develop for and it may not pay to have a launch game with the early small install base.

So what games do you think I missed , what games am I totally off on, and what games do you wish would show up for launch, oh… and most importantly what game if released on launch date would make the next xbox an instant purchase!

Holiday 2008, advantage to ?

This Holiday Season plans to be a major fight between Sony and Microsoft, they will try to counteract any advantage the other has by releasing their own exclusive titles. Here we go….
It is easy to see the possible matchups Microsoft and Sony envisions.

Sony will be putting out Killzone 2 and MS will have gears of war 2
Sony will have MGS4 and MS will have Splinter Cell Conviction
Sony will have the new Final Fantasy game will Microsoft will have Fable 2
Than there are games that don’t seem to have obvious counterparts, but if you look at them you can tell that the Sony group of games is more Japanese and the 360 is more western. Classic example is the RPG of Final Fantasy vs. Fable. One is heavily influenced by and designed by Anime and Fable is more of your classic European Fairy tale. Looking at the other games, MGS4 is decidedly more Japanese than the more realistic splinter cell series. Of course it all comes down to preference,….

Sony will be coming out with Gran Turismo and a new wipe out Microsoft will have nothing

Microsoft will have halo wars an intense RTS and Sony will have nothing
Sony will have little big planet and Microsoft will have nothing

Microsoft will have Allan Wake and Sony will have nothing

Sony will have resistance 2 and Microsoft will have nothing

Microsoft will have Ninja Gaiden 2 and Sony will have nothing.

Sony will have Africa and Microsoft will have nothing

Microsoft will have Banjo game and sony will have nothing.

And than there are the lesser tier games that people will try and prop up as being important but won’t

And of course there might be a few surprisingly good exclusive titles as well

And than there are the inevitable announcements of future exclusive releases that we all know
are going to be coming. Sony will talk about the new god of war, and Microsoft will talk about the new halo game with peter Jackson. But in the end we all know the Nintendo wii is going to rule the next Christmas season still……

The biggest news though will be which company will makes the biggest push into online MMOPG.