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JJ Abrams and Gabe Newell full DICE keynote presentation
Here's the DICE 2013 keynote conversation between movie director J.J. Abrams and Valve co-founder Gabe Newell, which concluded with the news of the pair trying to figure out a Portal or Half-Life film.This was the only DICE presentation not released this past weekend from the annual video game executive conference. You can watch the rest here.
Journey bankrupted the studio, next game to be multiplatform, Chen says
Developing Journey cost thatgamecompany a lot of time, talent and all of its money, creator Jenova Chen said during his DICE 2013 address. Journey bankrupted thatgamecompany; Chen began its development in 2006 and the studio eventually received two extensions from Sony so the team could perfect the game's emotional impact."We did get the money, we got to finish the extra year, but a lot of people in our studio were not paid in the last half of the year, and we actually paid our savings to extend the game for another couple months," Chen said. "So by the end, when we shipped Journey, we also went bankrupt as thatgamecompany."In the end, Chen said it was worth it, if only to see the deep, human impact Journey had on its players. One email he received told Sophia's story, a 15-year-old who played Journey with her dad before he died and said the game changed her life for the better.Next up, Chen wants to create a similarly artistic, but more commercially successful game, in an attempt to broaden the game development industry as a whole, he tells Polygon. Thatgamecompany's next game will be multiplatform, unlike its previous, Sony-exclusive games.
Kislyi calls for 'second F2P revolution' in DICE speech
Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi took the stage at last week's DICE Summit to talk about the ongoing evolution of free-to-play. He's what you might call an expert on the subject given that the company he founded features 1.2 million peak concurrent users as well as 1,400 employees and 12 offices world-wide. Kislyi's 40-minute speech featured World of Tanks, but it also made mention of the firm's recent acquisition of Day 1 Studios. The move was made with an eye towards cornering the console F2P market, something Kislyi says that traditional console makers would be wise to do as well. "They keep their own prejudice and they keep to their old ways," he said. "If they keep holding to their old way, single-player box ideas they may pretty well drop." You can view Kislyi's DICE speech in its entirety after the cut.
Pretend you were there with all of these DICE 2013 presentation videos
DICE 2013 is over and done with, but through the magic of AV recording and the internet, most of the presentations are available online. The only major address that's not on YouTube is the introductory discussion between Valve's Gabe Newell and director JJ Abrams, but we all know how that thing went down.Engadget has a one-stop shop for all of the DICE 2013 talks you may have missed, including Supergiant Games' Amir Rao on multiplatformism, Quantic Dream's David Cage with "The Peter Pan Syndrome: The Industry that Refused to Grow Up," Ouya's Julie Uhrman, former Junction Point head Warren Spector, Jenova Chen of thatgamecompany with an emotional presentation, BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka, Telltale Games' Dan Connors with some Walking Dead wisdom, and more.This much candid information is priceless, especially considering all the money you didn't lose by not physically traveling to Las Vegas for DICE 2013.
Journey takes 'Game of the Year' at DICE awards
Journey took a long walk through the DICE awards this evening and scooped up eight accolades along the way. We can't help but agree with the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. The 16th annual DICE awards also recognized The Walking Dead with four awards.Valve co-founder and overlord Gabe Newell became the 17th inductee into the AIAS Hall of Fame (he also totally ignored the "no denim" rule of the awards show). Also, Infocom co-founders Dave Lebling and Marc Blank receive the 2013 AIAS Pioneer Award.All the winners can can be found listed after the break.
Watch the DICE Awards live tonight at 10pm EST
Machinima will offer a live stream of the Dice Awards tonight. To see the year's best dice innovations honored – achievements in the number of sides, dot designs, and custom color schemes – go to this site starting at 7pm PST (10pm EST).Actually, we've just been told it's the DICE Awards, and it's about video games. Now we understand why our editor suggested we put this on Joystiq. Journey is up for game of the year (though it already won the one that counts), against Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, Walking Dead, and XCOM.
Warren Spector dials back the panic in DICE speech
The recently unemployed Warren Spector, former head of Disney's shuttered Junction Point Studio, dialed back the panic today at DICE. He's looking toward the future, and the industry's direction overall. The "57.33"-year-old legend (he hates that term) took the long view in his speech about an aging industry, having lived through many "sky is falling" scenarios."I have seen so much chaos in the last 35 years," said Spector. "This may seem like an especially chaotic time, a uniquely tumultuous time, but really not so much. A lot of us here lived through when the 'end of arcades' meant the end of games, when the 'end of Atari' meant the end of games, when the PC supplanted the Apple II as the primary gaming platform – that was the end of games."He went on: "We've lived through a lot of changes and we'll live through whatever changes we have to deal with now. Chaos is where we live as video game developers. If you can't deal with that, go work in a bank ... no, wait, don't work in a bank. Go work somewhere else."
Gabe Newell's DICE keynote: Steam Box price point 'much, much lower' than living room devices
Valve co-founder Gabe Newell didn't drop any major announcement bombs during his DICE keynote address, but he did provide insight into Valve's current, internal approach to the gaming industry. Newell discussed the evolution of Steam software within the context of future hardware, notably Valve's Steam Box, and stressed the continued importance of the PC.As for the Steam Box's in-home PC streaming system, Newell said it would be a cheap addition to any TV, starting at $100 and eventually hitting $0. "The price point that's going to be hit is going to be much, much lower than things we've traditionally seen in living room devices. Better, it's basically a PC in the console form factor and at the console price point. There's nothing really magical about the hardware – this is the great thing about PC, is that it's been evolving so quickly."Businesswise, make the in-home streaming experience a great one and it could serve as a gateway to high-end PC gaming, Newell said: "A user who has a great experience using in-home streaming is going to be much more likely to upgrade to a PC in a console form factor and then continue to invest."The Steam Box will hinge on in-home streaming rather than cloud gaming, and Newell explained that he was a long-standing skeptic of cloud gaming. As he saw it, the cloud incurred a huge network cost that could collapse the system upon its own success, and it put latency compensation in the wrong place, at the center of the network rather than the edge."One thing we believe is latency sensitivity is going to increase in the future," Newell said. "The ability to do local, high-speed processing will become more important than it is right now."
Watch Gabe Newell's DICE keynote here
What is Valve president Gabe Newell's "View on Next Steps?" Find out along with us, when he delivers his DICE 2013 keynote, livestreamed right here.
Hit List Q&A: Frank O'Connor, 343 franchise development director
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: 343's Franchise Development Director Frank O'Connor. Frank O'Connor has worked in and around the gaming industry for about twenty years, starting in the gaming press in the UK, where he edited and wrote for several magazines before making the move to the States. After several years working on games publications here, he took an opportunity to work at Bungie studios as a community manager, working on consumer relations, marketing efforts and game fiction.When Bungie spun out of Microsoft during Halo Reach, he decided to stay with the Halo franchise and has been there since the inception of 343 Industries. He's lived through every single console and computer game transition, and he is just as excited about the impending one as he was when Pong gave way to the Atari 2600.At Frank's forthcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session with Microsoft Game Studios/343 Industries' Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill, Frank will co-present on "Changing the Universe - Three for Three." This session will explore the trials, tribulations, and opportunities in building and rebuilding a cultural phenomenon, expanding a beloved universe into live action and transmedia storytelling, all while creating a AAA-game studio from scratch.
Super Joystiq Podcast DICE 2013 Special: Chris Roberts and Chris Taylor
Welcome to "Kickstarter from the developer perspective," or "Chrises on Infinite Earths."In this first Super Joystiq Podcast Special from DICE 2013, Chris Roberts (Wing Commander) and Chris Taylor (Supreme Commander) talk about what it takes for independent developers to get a game off the ground in the current market. Roberts's Star Citizen crowdfunding effort has raised a staggering $7.5 million, and Taylor's Wildman Kickstarter campaign currently sits at $446,000 of a $1.1 million goal with eight days to go.Be on the look out for more podcast specials out of DICE over the next few days.Listen to the Super Joystiq Podcast: Subscribe to the Super Joystiq Podcast in iTunes Add the Super Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator Download the MP3 directlyDetails about each segment are available after the break.
Ouya partners with Double Fine and 'Words With Friends' creator
Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman announced at DICE today that the Android-based console will partner with Tim Schafer and Double Fine Productions, along with Words With Friends creator Paul Bettner. Double Fine will bring The Cave and Reds to Ouya, while Paul Bettner's Verse studio is currently in development on two unannounced titles for the console."Ouya and Verse are nothing less than The Return Of Console Gaming. The last big wave was mobile ... Words With Friends is the most played game across all mobile platforms," said Bettner. "And yet I believe we're about to see another disruption even bigger than this last. Gamers want the App Store in their living room. Ouya will be the first to deliver it, and it's going to change everything. Again."There are currently no release dates for the games by Double Fine of the Paul Bettner projects. The Ouya console will be available in June.
Bastion sales reach 1.7 million
Speaking at DICE today, Supergiant Games founder Amir Rao mentioned that Bastion has sold 1.7 million copies across all available platforms.Rao's presentation at the annual executive conference explained how Supergiant Games went about porting Bastion from XBLA to PC and mobile. The company's porting team was ... well, it was eight people that composed the entire company. Staggering the releases of Bastion allowed them to keep the quality high and test ideas as the game expanded to other systems."We didn't lose an opportunity by not sim [simultaneously] shipping," said Rao. He pointed to his employment experience at EA, and simultaneously shipping Red Alert 3 for PC and Xbox, as an example of split focus.Bastion's slow multiplatform creep has been successful, with over 90 percent of sales occurring after its original launch month. Rao didn't mention any more upcoming ports of Bastion, but says it's the number one request they receive at Supergiant.
Newell: Valve looking to make Portal or Half-Life movie with J.J. Abrams
During today's DICE keynote conversation between movie director J.J. Abrams and Valve co-founder Gabe Newell, the latter noted a collaboration he's looking forward to making a reality if possible."We're going to try and figure out if we can make a Half-Life movie or a Portal movie together," said Gabe Newell.The two sparred on storytelling methods in movies and film, and used scenes from each other's work to illustrate how player agency can augment storytelling, and how films can use "forced" foreshadowing to set up later events. According to the creative pair, they wanted to pursue this dialogue more seriously, and now hope to collaborate on a film based in some way on Half-Life or Portal.There are no details available beyond this brief announcement, likely because the process is still in its early stages.
J.J. Abrams and Gabe Newell to duel in DICE 2013 opening keynote
J.J. Abrams, prolific film director and dual-wielder of beloved franchises, will headline the opening keynote of the 2013 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit alongside Valve co-founder Gabe Newell. The Star Wars/Star Trek director will bring his cinematic perspective and flair to a discussion entitled "Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?" on February 6."J.J. thoughtfully weaves together suspense, action, emotion, and fun into every one of his projects – elements every game developer aspires to capture as well," said Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences President Martin Rae. "Each year, the D.I.C.E. Summit sets the tone for the year ahead in games and adding J.J. and Gabe's shared insights is a natural fit as we see all forms of entertainment converge."The D.I.C.E. Summit will have a host of talks swirling around the impending entertainment singularity, and run from February 5 until February 8 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The D.I.C.E. Awards, which seek to honor the best games released over the past year, will take place on February 7.
2013 DICE Award nominations led by Journey, Walking Dead, Far Cry 3
The nominations have been announced for the 16th annual DICE Awards, and Journey leads the pack with nods in 11 categories including outstanding achievement in music composition, outstanding achievement in game direction and overall game of the year. The Walking Dead, Far Cry 3 and Halo 4 have each racked up eight, seven and six nominations, respectively. Dishonored and Borderlands 2 each pulling in five nods.In addition to Journey, contenders for game of the year include The Walking Dead, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown.The DICE Awards will take place on February 7 at 10:30pm ET, during the 2013 DICE summit, and will be hosted by Chris Hardwick of The Nerdist and Talking Dead. The event will be streamed live on Machinima. You can read the full list of nominations right here.
DICE Award nominations for 2013 open
Pssst, academy members, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences currently has submissions open for the DICE awards. So, go ahead and start submitting titles for the annual awards show. You've got until 5PM Pacific on Monday, December 3. Nominees will be announced the week of January 21, 2013. The actual awards show is February 7 at the Hard Rock Casino in Vegas.Pssst, non academy members, here's your chance to tell voting members the games you think should be nominated. The DICE awards, previously known as the Interactive Achievement Awards, is the most legit awards show this industry has all year. So, go ahead and drop some ideas in the comments below. We're pretty sure some members will use it as a crib sheet.
DICE 2013 announces dates; receives location, award name change
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences announced formatting and name changes to its annual DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) summit. The event is an annual who's who of industry elite, hosting the most respectable awards ceremony the video game industry experiences all year.The big name change? The Interactive Achievement Awards – which have always been referred to in general conversation as "the DICE awards" – will now officially take that colloquial name.The other big change is the off-strip location of the Red Rock Hotel and Casino being replaced by the almost on-strip location of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.The event will take place in Las Vegas on February 5-8, 2013, with the awards show taking place on the evening of February 7. This year's speakers include Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford and thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen.
