blog

Cheap Redemption

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:08:54 +0100

I can be a cheap as the next guy. I admit that. Yesterday, I was debating with a friend about buying Red Dead Redemption. It was available for only five dollars off of full price at GameStop, but the local Pre-Played had it priced at $40.00. They didn't have any copies currently, but Half.com did, for the same price. Of course, I'd have to wait for it and it would cost me $3.50 more in shipping. My friend cut through the confusion with one very concise sentence: "Depends on whether you want to give Rockstar your money or not." Gah! I hate you!

This particular friend has a way of always being right and he sure was in this case. I wasn't thinking of it that way. I find that players have few compelling reasons to think of things that way, either. That's no longer true for me. This is my industry. I have friends in this industry. I want to see them get paid. Even more than that, I want them to get the recognition they deserve. Sales numbers are more than dollar amounts. They are statistics, metrics. The more a game sells, the more players are affirming that they like it and want to see more like this.

I started asking around about this. "What makes you pay full price for a game?" For the most part, the answers were the same: re-playability and the inability to wait for a game to become available pre-played. If it was a franchise game, the love of the franchise often seems to drive players to buy it as soon as it arrives.

I thought about my own buying habits. I will certainly pay more for a game that comes with a great toy. If there are physical tie-ins to a game I'm hyped on already, my money hits the table pretty fast. In-game content and downloads, even online play, are all pretty meaningless to me as bonus items. I want an action figure to put on the bookshelf. I want Pandora's Box and posters and maps; concrete symbols of my geek status to add to my decor. I also buy games that I don't want to live without, can't wait to play, and know I'll play repeatedly.

Players, for the most part, don't see the industry. They see their wallets, and their lives. How do we fix that? Some developers have started to put exclusive content in their games; content that can only be accessed by the original registered owner or by paying a premium to get to it, if you've bought the game used. An employee of GameStop stated that, in the case of Madden, this is working. Players would rather be able to play online right away than pay the premium. If I was just a player, though, it wouldn't work for me. Other than toys, I don't know what would? I'm interested in the thoughts of others, though.

For now, I hang my head in shame. I've let my peers down. My one shot at redemption is finding an answer to that question....how do we get them to buy our games new?

Agile Game Development With Scrum

Mon, 31 May 2010 19:12:10 +0100

I was honored to be quoted in Clinton Keith's new book, Agile Game Development with Scrum and further honored to receive a complementary copy of the book for my library. I have yet to finish reading it, but his writing style is light, easy to read, and offers plenty of anecdotes to drive home the point.

Fascinating

Sun, 02 May 2010 20:08:53 +0100

I have spent a large part of this weekend analyzing 2 games for the DP challenge. One of the games, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, strikes me as really poor game design even though the franchise is extremely popular and Rockstar is a well-known and popular developer. The other, Kick-Ass, is by Frozen Codebase, a small local indie company. Based on the movie of the same title, this game hardly stands a chance of positive reviews. In doing the DP Challenge, I found that there is not a single movie-based game on the Top 100 list. I was surprised to find this, since I actually thought one of the Star Wars-based games might have made the list.

Kick-Ass provides polished play with solid play mechanics and yet, it will be harshly panned by reviewers. Meanwhile, the entire GTA franchise has been embraced by reviewers and the public alike despite poor physics and uninspiring missions. I understand the reasons for this, but I still find this phenomenon both fascinating and disappointing.

Busy, Busy

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:43:08 +0100

I was excited to attend the Midwest Gaming Classic on March 27th and attend a very informative IGDA meeting embedded in the Classic. What a great time!! On the 28th, I was able to attend the annual Midwest Regional Game Fair at ITT and listen to Billy Sweetman talk prototyping while Ben Geisler talked of changes in the industry and Norb Rozek told us how to apply for jobs without appearing totally brain damaged. I still have to get my notes up and some articles written for Gamasutra, but, if anyone wants more information, I have plenty of it to share!

Are Video Games Violent?

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:42:30 +0100

My family and I spent the holiday weekend playing Apples to Apples, a board game in which players are holding a handful of descriptive cards to play against a word card held by a "judge". A basic strategy of the game is to "play to the judge". In other words, to lay a card that you think the judge will agree describes the word they hold.

On one of my turns at judge, I held the word "violent". The cards laid were hockey, the CIA, and video games. Obviously, someone wasn't playing to the judge. Nonetheless, an argument ensued in favor of the connection between video games and violence.

Since we had spent the afternoon checking traffic and causing spectacular damage in Burnout Revenge, I was hard-pressed to immediately list games that were not violent.

This brings me to the point. Obviously, it would be incorrect, or at least inaccurate, to state whole-heartedly that video games are not violent. One does not have to stretch in the least to list a host of games across several genres which could be considered violent.

Many games hold ESRB ratings that note the violence. Indeed, even the "E" Rating allows for mild violence. The problem is that we do have to stretch to list, and occasionally describe to others, games that are not violent.

The problem lies in the perception of games and the games industry as being violent and, possibly unnecessary. It's so much larger than a simple question of "Are video games violent?". Knee-jerk reactions against the industry for violence and for, basically, a lack of redeeming qualities, are rampant. But, while many articles have been written on the benefits of gaming, it still seems that we, as an industry, lack a return knee-jerk response.

Everyone knows that video games improve eye-hand coordination. Most people are aware that video games challenge the imagination. Less well-known are the benefits of gaming in staving off the symptoms of Alz`eimer's and dementia.

Some of the general public are completley unaware of the creative aspects of gaming such as level design in LittleBigPlanet, creature creation in Spore, and modding in games such as Neverwinter Nights and Unreal Tournament. Newer in the public eye are fan art and Machinima.

Games and gaming communities inspire learning. Teachers would be hard-pressed to find better methods to teach statistics, discovery, esoteric knowledge and resource management than the methods used in forums, walk-throughs and fan-driven wiki's. Co-op play and online play improve social skills.

Improvements in localization increase cultural awareness and accountability. Gamers must balance resources, think creatively, problem-solve, be persistent, learn patience, improve timing, focus, and make decisions. Often, they are required to play decisively and quickly at the same time.

We all know this. These are skills we bring into our every day world. We know there is more than one way to do things and because we already think creatively on a regular basis, solutions are often easier to see. We don't quit. We don't expect immediate gratification.

The point is not that video games are not violent. Some of them are. Some, not all. Placing all games under a stereotypical umbrella of being violent allows society as a whole to put blinders on regarding the positive aspects of gaming.

Because games are perceived as violent, we, as both players and developers, fail to improve public perception no matter how many articles we write on the benefits of gaming. We are the ambassadors of gaming. It is up to us, as a whole, to show the world a view beyond BFG's and glorious destruction.

This post was featured on Gamasutra on December 29, 2009

Official Announcement from HG4H

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:57:15 +0100

HG4H has made the official announcement of the game design contest on their website today. I've also been honored, along with the other winners, by Danny Cowan on Gamasutra.

The Press Release for HG4H Game Design

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 03:45:47 +0100

Humana Games for Health Announces Winners of “InsertCoin” Game Idea Competition

Healthy game idea competition draws entries designed to get players moving

Business Wire posted: 8:00 AM 12/21/09

Have you ever wanted to learn how to dance like a star? The winning entry in Humana’s InsertCoin game idea competition could have you showing off some fancy new dance moves. Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) announced today its Games for Health team has selected the winners of this unique competition. First, second and third place winners will each receive a cash prize and the chance to have their idea prototyped or commercialized. Humana Games for Health sponsored the competition as a way to generate new and differentiating active video game concepts to positively impact the health of kids, families and seniors.

“This competition can be considered a listening post to what gamers are looking for in health games,” said Ben Sawyer, InsertCoin judge and co-founder of Games for Health Project, which spearheads the annual Games for Health Conference. “Gamers want to play health games with some type of story that can draw them deeper into the game experience. The winners are representative of three major themes that came out among all the entrants. Those were: we want some dance games that aren’t as metaphorical, we want some active games with more storyline, and we want games that we can take out into the world not just in our living room.”

The winning entry is a game called “Dance Class” and is the idea of Shelly Warmuth of Green Bay, Wis. Players are taught to dance by virtual dance instructor avatars. For her winning entry, Warmuth will receive $5,000.

John Green, of Brooklyn, N.Y., submitted the second place idea called “Camp Awesome.” Green’s concept is a summer camp simulator where players get the full action-packed experience of a camp. Third place in the competition went to Kevin Ray for the idea called “Jungle Mayhem,” an activity and social based game. Green and Ray will receive $3,000 and $2,000, respectively, for their winning entries.

“Humana’s Games for Health team is grateful to all the participants for their creative submissions,” said Paul Puopolo, leader of the Games for Health team. “It was a very difficult decision to pick the top three entries from such a competitive field and we look forward to discussing these ideas in more detail with each of the winners. This contest is representative of Humana’s continued belief that game technology can be used to help people lead healthier lives.”

InsertCoin is the latest in a series of efforts to use video game technology to inspire healthy behavior. The Humana Games for Health team also recently launched the second phase of The American Horsepower Challenge, an activity based program for nearly 1,500 middle school players nationwide; Operation Planet Savers, an activity based game that was a collaboration with Walt Disney Motion Pictures; and earlier this month launched Dancetown, a dance mat game for active seniors. The team believes that by making fun things healthy, people of all ages can be motivated to live an active lifestyle.

About Humana Games for Health

Video games can be more than just fun and entertaining – they can serve as a catalyst to healthier lifestyles. The HG4H team – part of Humana’s Innovation Center – creates ways for people of all ages to reach new levels of health and well-being through the use of game technology. The games can be used to combat obesity, provide entertaining physical therapy and battle age-related physical and mental decline.

Still busy, but excited!

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:46:54 +0100

So, I found out today that both of my game designs were in the top 5. One in first place and one in fourth or fifth. I'm pretty excited about that. Turns out that both are under NDA for the next 18 months, so they won't be posted anywhere or shared with anyone for a good long time. That's ok because I was debating the concept of posting original IP as a pitch document anyway. I have one or two on here now, but, I'm not really worried about having them developed without me.

I'm looking forward to the IGDA Webinar on Localization tomorrow. I should also be posting a few new games on my DP Challenge here in the next few days. And, I've started writing for gameinformer.com. So, very busy. But, also very excited!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:29:33 +0100

I attended the IGDA Meeting in Middleton this last Thursday and should be posting notes and articles on sound design and the Minimae Postmortem later this week. I've added five new evaluations to my DP challenge, new articles to my Examiner page, and I'm still working on an article on creating more immersive gameplay. I'm also hoping to update my site here with the finalist game design entry that's not currently under an NDA. Oh, and I'm set to attend the latest IGDA Webinar on December 2nd, while contemplating volunteering as a runner for this year's GDC. Busy, so busy, but having so much fun!

I Won!!!

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:38:59 +0100

Humana Games 4 Health has chosen my game design as the first place winner in the InsertCoin contest. It means a substantial prize and street credit, but I hope it could lead to a job on the team! I can't wait to play this game, but more than that, I'd like to help develop it.