Monthly Archives: June 2010

The iPhone 4G could provide a Train2Game student with their big break.

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June 24th 2010 is a big day for mobile video games, phone applications and Apple fans in general. Why? Because on that day the iPhone 4G is released, and not only will it continue to revolutionise mobile communication, but it’ll also continue to expand the opportunity for playing quality, well developed, video games on the iPhone.

The iPhone 4G will introduce a number of enhancements over previous models, including “improved camera system and battery life, as well as an updated version of the iOS operating system, designed to provide more flexibility for developers.”

That last bit is likely to be most appealing to Train2Game students, be they a Games Designer, Games Developer or a Games Artist & Animator, as the continued advancement of the iPhone technology means it’s easier than ever to get a video game published. Apple themselves say they approve 95% of Applications within a week.

iPhone games are getting more and more popular, especially with old classics such as Final Fantasy and Monkey Island now available for the handset. Twenty years ago you would have needed a state of the art games system in your room in order to play these. Nowadays you can enjoy these almost legendary titles wherever you are, be you on the train, at the park or *ahem* in the bathroom.

The choice and quality of games available for the iPhone can only improve, as according to Apple, “4G’s gaming applications will be superior to previous models due to the addition of a three-axis gyro, which will allow for a wider array of motion control options.”

Many of the biggest gaming news websites have already taken note of the potential of iPhone games, including GamesRadar who run an ‘Iphone game of the day’ feature’ which showcases a variety of games that people can easily go onto download from the iTunes store at generally low prices.

The advantage for developers – like the Train2Game students – is  iPhone games can be developed for a relatively small amount – and bought for as little as 59p – but if the game proves popular it can really jumpstart a career in the games industry. There are a number of tales out there about iPhone game developers who have been very successful through this medium. Perhaps a Train2Game student will one day a make a name for themselves in this way.

So, who’s excited about the iPhone 4G? And who’s ready to attempt to developer a game for it?

As usual all comments are appreciated. Either leave them here or on the Train2Game Forum.

Why aren’t you buying my games?

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So, let’s imagine that you’ve completed your Train2Game course and a small group of you have formed your own little independent studio with a Games Developer, a Games Designer and a Games Artist and Animator. You make a game, a great game that you feel is amazing, but due to the competitive market, your title doesn’t sell as well as you’d hoped. What do you do?

Give up? No, don’t be silly! When did Train2Game ever teach you to do that?

Work on another project and just hope that it sells a bit better? Hmmm, maybe.

Send out a questionnaire asking people why they’re not buying your games?

That last one sounds a bit farfetched doesn’t it? Well, not necessarily because that’s what one independent developer has done.

Positech Games is a UK-based one man games company run by Cliff ‘Cliffski’ Harris, who last year released a title called Gratuitous Space Battles which has generally received favourable reviews. Now in the name of self-improvement, Cliffski is asking ‘“Why didn’t you buy Gratuitous Space Battles?” He says:

“I am NOT complaining. I am NOT moaning about sales. I am NOT unhappy with sales, I am not whining or anything like it. I just like making games that people enjoy, and I don’t know why the people who didn’t buy it, didn’t buy it. I’d like to know. The answers may well make it a better game for everyone, if I fix those reasons (if they make sense). It will make the game attractive to current fence-sitters, better for current owners, and more sales for me and my cats.”

Anyone, including you – yes, you – can email Cliff and tell him why you didn’t buy his game. Responses so far range from ‘I have too many games to play’ to ‘I don’t like strategy games’ to even ‘Before reading this I’d never heard of your game’ Hopefully this information has been useful to Cliffksi and he’ll benefit from it as a independent developer.

However, it isn’t the first time he’s asked the general population on the Internet about issues relating to his games. Two years ago, Cliff asked ‘Why do people pirate my games?’ and the responses he got led to the removal of DRM from his games.

Positech games may be a tiny developer, but he has allowed the general gaming public to have a say on his company’s products and this has had had an impact on sales. This could be an important lesson to any Train2Game students trying to break into the industry – you need to listen to your audience – their attitude towards your games could essentially make or break them.

Would you consider asking people who haven’t played your game why they didn’t buy it?

Discs vs Digital

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Digital distribution of games might be becoming more popular, especially on PC, but according to Sony, “Disc based content is still very much what the consumer is used to and wants”

Speaking to the PlayStation blog about content delivery, SCEE President Andrew House acknowledged that while discs are still popular, improved technology is making digital downloads an increasingly attractive option.

“There has been a change in attitude and technology that is making digital delivery far more feasible and far more attractive. It is our job to ensure that consumers have the choice between the two where possible.

How this area will evolve, I can’t really say at this time, as we are relying on many things outside of our control, such as broadband speeds. Things are changing quickly and we have to make sure we are ready for those changes.”

So while discs remain the dominant force on consoles for now, it appears Sony will be keeping a close eye on how the ability to distribute digital content delivers in future. Indeed, only this week it was revealed that the PSP2 could be a download content only device.

However, at this moment in time it seems farfetched that a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360 could become completely download only. Industry analyst Michael Pachter even goes so far to say that there’s “No chance in hell” of this happening, and explained:

“PCs are probably about 95% connected to the internet but my guess is with the Xbox 360, it’s maybe two-thirds, with the PS3 it might be as high as 85%. And with the Wii my guess is it’s below 50% but probably closer to 35%, so it’s all the guys that are NOT connected that are going to keep games from ever being mandate downloadable.”

He raises a good point. Perhaps the PC market could become a fully digital industry at some point in future just due to the very nature of how a computer works. A brand new PC has a massive hard drive and this can easily be upgraded as time goes on in order to store more content. Consoles on the other hand have limited space. What would happen to a game that needed to be uninstalled to make room for a new one?

It’s this question that’s one of the main reasons that I personally prefer to buy my games on discs. I can access them any time I want just by picking them up off the shelf. It’d be an incredible hassle to constantly have to re-install older games I may want to go back to.

Of course, both the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live allow you to download smaller independent games – one a Train2Game student could develop – but even this can take a long time. It could therefore take most of a day to download and install, say a digital version of Red Dead Redemption onto a console.

Yes, I occasionally use digital distribution through Steam to download PC games, but at the end of the day, I still prefer to have physical copies available on my shelf not only for me to pick up and play whenever I want to, but also just to sit there and look nice in exactly the same way books or DVD’s would.

Digital distribution does have advantages, a cheaper price for the consumer and an easier way for an aspiring Games Developer, Games Designer or Games Artist to get their work out to the market. But personally, I believe that discs will be around for a long time yet.

How about you? Do you prefer to buy games as a physical disc in your hand? Or as a digital download? How do you think this will develop in future?