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Korean devs get busy: MapleStory DS, Mabinogi XBox 360 port in '08
Time for your dose of Korean MMO-ness.Nexon, a publisher of MapleStory, talked to Gamasutra about the upcoming MapleStory port for the DS, and about an XBox 360 port of the thus-far-Korean-only PC MMO Mabinogi. MapleStory DS development is going well and should see a Korean release in mid-2008. It will probably come to the West some time after that. The game is similar to the PC version, but only supports four players via Wi-Fi.Mabinogi is a traditional anime-style MMORPG. It's had some success in the Korean market but no exposure at all in North America or Europe. Nexon plans to port the game to the XBox 360. As Gamasutra points out, the Korean market for the XBox 360 is extremely small, so we may be able to assume this means the 360 version of Mabinogi will be arriving in Western markets somewhere down the line.
Gamasutra gives a look behind BioShock
Thanks to decades of hard living and abuse of over-the-counter cold medicine, we're just a couple of months away from completely forgetting BioShock and being able to experience it again for the first time. Until then though, we've had to entertain ourselves with pieces like this one from Gamasutra which explores the classy first-person shooter from its roots.It's a fascinating look at the game's evolution, especially 2K's Alyssa Finley's revelation that the instincts of the team, in many respects, were wrong about how well players would be able to understand the game. It's a reminder that as much as brilliant games are a product of creativity, they're often equally the result of some good old-fashioned elbow grease.
LotRO reps talk demographics, casual play, console plans
Yesterday Gamasutra published a five page interview about The Lord of the Rings Online with Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel and Adam Mersky.According to the interview, one third of LotRO players are over 35 because the license drew people new to MMOs -- people who came for "The Lord of the Rings first, the MMO second." Fans of LotRO often claim the game's community is more mature than that of competing games. "Sometimes game communities can be rough, just because of the nature of the competitiveness and the nature of the age range of people playing, and this is a pretty mature, fun place to be a part of," said Steefel.Steefel and Mersky also talked about the challenges of dealing with gold farmers, what the real definition of "casual games" might be, the pluses and minuses of adapting a famous work of literature, the competition, and Turbine's option to produce massively multiplayer games for consoles. As is the case with most Gamasutra interviews, the discussion is an excellent read if you want an inside look.
ESRB explains how game ratings work
The ESRB is drawing back the curtain on how they rate games. ESRB president Patricia Vance explains to Gamasutra that they employ six full-time raters who are hired in a "fairly straightforward interview process." These people review a DVD or videotape created by the games' publisher regarding the content up for consideration. Vance says they prefer raters who have experience with children, whether it be their own or through their profession, and are able to express thier views regarding content. The raters don't have to be gamers, but they do need to know how to use a controller because "part of their job is to test final product after its release to confirm that the original submission materials prepared by the publisher reflected the final product."Vance says rating games can be difficult, especially in deciding what language to use as descriptors on the box. A prime example she uses is if an animated looking character smacks another over the head with a frying pan; is that "Comic Mischief" or "Mild Cartoon Violence?" She also says that the presence of sensitive social issues like sexual or racial stereotyping has led to "internal debate" on how to address these issues in the rating. We would have to laugh (and be disturbed) if the rating labels ever started warning of "Ridiculous Cleavage" or "Potential Homosexual Content."
Turbine takes on new CEO
Turbine, the company behind Asheron's Call and Lord of the Rings Online, has announced the surprise appointment of Jim Crowley, in place of former, long-standing CEO Jeff Anderson. Crowley was the Chief Operations Officer of mobile billing firm m-Cube, which was acquired by Verisign for $250 Million USD in 2006, and is described by Turbine as being key to m-Cube's growth and success to-date. No reason has been given for Anderson's departure from Turbine, only a generically neutral "the move is one of many that Turbine has recently made to invest in new talent that will drive the next wave of the company's growth." [via Gamasutra]
Gamasutra dissects open world games
Following up on his recent look at difficulty in game design, Gamasutra's John Harris is at it again, this time offering an ample look at what he calls 'open world games' -- titles, according to Harris, where a player is dropped into a larger world and left to figure things out on his or her own. Like his difficult games feature, the lion's share of the article is spent looking at specific examples of games he feels fit this mold, from arcade and 8-bit classics to more contemporary examples like the Grand Theft Auto series.Interestingly, despite GTA's inclusion in the list, Harris concedes that most of the article is spent talking about older games, an observation for which he makes no apology. According to Harris, older games feature "more elemental designs," meaning they don't get all caught up in trying to be more than just a game. Even so, the list is pretty random, with nods to titles such as Cadash, Crazy Taxi, and even Warren Robinett's Atari 2600 classic Adventure, while MMOs go strangely ignored. This last bit seems more peculiar given that that author himself spends time writing scripts for Second Life, but it is an interesting read nonetheless.[Disclaimer: I wrote for Gamasutra from March 2006 to August 2007.]
Frank Pearce talks WoW 2, competitors and Team 3 with Gamasutra
Senior VP Frank Pearce and Starcraft II producer Chris Sigaty sat down with Gamasutra to chat about "The State of Blizzard's Union" recently, and while there's not a lot of new stuff ("Team 3" is mentioned, but no hints are given), it's always cool to have an inside look at what it's like running the biggest MMO in the world.Pearce does talk about a possible WoW 2 (not gonna happen, he says, until Blizzard needs a whole new framework, and that's not going to happen for a long time), and WoW's competitors-- he namechecks Warhammer and Age of Conan, but as I've said before, we won't know how those games will actually do until they see release.There are a few interesting numbers thrown around in the interview as well-- while Blizzard has said they've got 9 million before, Pearce specifically says 8.5 million subscribers, so it does seem like they're dropping a bit (updated-- see note below). Still, especially with the release of Wrath of the Lich King in the next year or two, they remain optimistic that they'll hit 10 million before it's all said and done. It's also amazing to see Blizzard's growth-- Pearce co-founded the company, and they started out with around 50 employees. Before WoW, they had about 500, and nowadays, they've got 2700 people working for them. And the teams are really interesting, too-- WoW has 135 developers, Starcraft II has 40, and Team 3 has 50, plus Blizzard has 85 people (also devs, however) that work on their famous cinematics, and extra teams for sound and quality assurance.Very interesting to get a look inside such an amazing videogame developer. Now if only we could find out what Team 3 was...[ via WorldofWar ]Update: Blizzard contacted us to say that this interview happened way back at E3, which was before this press release dropped. Subscriber numbers are not dropping-- when Pearce did the interview they had 8.5 million, and after that, they rose to 9 million. And Blizzard tells us that since then, they are above the 9 million mark.
Studying the WoW Tribe: Gamasutra asks "Is there life after World of Warcraft?"
Gamasutra has an in-depth interview with several academics asking "Is there life after World of Warcraft?" Neils Clark suggests that the majority of of MMO players don't spread themselves out over multiple MMO games, but instead migrate like a flock of birds or a "gamer tribe". I do think that the same chunk of players went from EQ to Galaxies to WoW with some dabbling in games like AO, DAOC and CoH inbetween. Obviously, Blizzard attracted about 8 million extra people to our "tribe", however, so I wonder if our tribe just got a lot bigger or if we are now just one tribe of many.Clark interviews 5 academics about how gamers will move from WoW to other games and what what has made WoW the powerhouse that it is. The discussions of social networks, lures of new fantasies and the ramifications of a WoW collapse are very interesting.Clark also says that he thinks WoW is the "king of the mountain" not because it is the best game out there but because it attracted the "right people". I say the "right people" are playing because it's currently the best game out there. What do you think?
Gamasutra looks at 20 difficult games
Believe it or not, building difficulty into games isn't just about making them more impossible. John Harris over at Gamasutra takes the long route to prove this in an extended look into difficulty in game design. The majority of the feature is spent looking at specific cases of legitimately difficult games, dissecting their design and coming away with lessons learned from each. Harris concedes that most intelligently difficult games are much older, and typically don't have a "lose" condition. The list includes hair-pulling classics like Defender, Sinistar, and Lode Runner, as well as a few more recent titles like Super Monkey Ball. It's a good read for anyone interested in game design.John Harris also writes the excellent @Play column for GameSetWatch, which focuses on a long history of games classified as "roguelikes."
Line Rider inspired by Gamasutra
We've exerted our influence on game design a few times before-- and by "a few times" we mean "once", and by "game design" we mean "a subtitle." It hardly compares to Gamasutra's accidental influence on Line Rider.The creator of the Flash game, soon to be a DS and Wii game, didn't know enough about physics, and therefore couldn't make the physics-based game we all enjoy. That is, until he saw an article on Gamasutra with simple physics calculations laid out in pseudocode. He adapted the pseudocode into real code, integrated it with a drawing tool, and Line Rider was born. We love hearing about gaming websites Making a Difference. We'd love to feel useful someday ourselves!
Gamers don't use consoles as DVD players [Update]
A new research report by The Diffusion Group has found that only a small percentage of console owners actually use the inherent DVD playback capabilities of their PS2s and Xbox 360s.According to the report, 80% of console owners have DVD playback options on at least one of their systems, but a staggering 70% didn't even realize that the feature was available. The report concludes that despite the best efforts of companies like Microsoft and Sony, consumers are still using video game consoles to play games, and rarely use them for non-gaming purposes.For the Xbox 360 and PS2, this may be due in large part to the prolificacy of standalone DVD players, but that's not the case with the Playstation 3. Earlier this week, we reported that PS3 sales make up the bulk of Blu-ray disc players in homes, with less than 100,000 standalone players sold thus far in North America. If PS3 owners aren't using their systems to watch movies, or even aware that the option exists, that spells bad news for Sony's shiny blue format.Update: We received a tip that clued us in to some inaccuracies in our original source for this post, specifically relating to Blu-ray discs. Though the report does bring up Sony's Playstation 3, the research only covers consoles with DVD playback, meaning that the numbers do not reflect Blu-ray sales or the PS3, contrary to our original assumptions.
The History of Zork examines a legend
The idea of a commercially successful videogame with nary a single picture is, in today's market, absurd. But there was a day when the typed word reigned supreme, and Zork was the undisputed king. Gamasutra has just posted a thorough history of Zork discussing its lasting impact on games and the gaming community. The article is the first in what will be a series of features presenting detailed official histories of each of the first ten games voted into the Digital Game Canon.A whole generation of gamers have grown up with graphics as the centerpiece of entertainment. Many haven't played a single text-based game, let alone the granddaddy of them all. Despite its downtrodden reputation with the "new, hip" modern gamer, interactive fiction is thriving with authors such as Emily Short stretching the boundaries with every release. Even though text adventures aren't as flashy, they're the stuff real gaming is made of.
PSP hardware to undergo refreshing change?
When speaking of PSP, many gamers come up with one of two qualms. Firstly, the absence of a PSP store, similar to the PLAYSTATION Store found on PS3 consoles. As we reported earlier, this problem is finally being addressed. The second complaint -- a much more common one -- is the hardware design: many people are clamoring for a revised PSP design.Well, looks like that's going to be happening too. While unlikely to be a true successor to the PSP hardware, Sony seems intent on making a slightly altered system. In a statement that Gamasutra picked up, it appears that Sony is working on a "hardware refresh." Certainly, an interesting choice of words. What could a "hardware refresh" mean? It could be something as simple as a new system color ... or it could be something far more drastic, akin to the change from the original DS Phat to the sexier DS Lite.Let the speculation and conspiracy theories begin.
Grimm news for GameTap and American McGee
Oh American, you so crazy. You went and let it slip that your game Grimm was going to be distributed by GameTap. Now, we weren't there to see you talking about this on your blog, but Gamasutra saw. And they remember. They remember that you said it would be a 24-part episodic series. They remember when you said it should start in 2008. Or, at least, we think that's what you said.Apparently McGee was a bit early letting the Cheshire Cat out of the bag, as the blog post that announced the the game has been replaced with a bean-spilling apology. But the long and short is, as you probably could have gathered from the title, he'll be giving the Hot Topic treatment to a bunch of stories by The Brothers Grimm. Though we're eager to see more of the game, we were disheartened to hear he's been blaming Argentinian McGinty for the leak. Come on man, grow up.
Station Launcher to bring downloadable movies to PSP
Sony Online Entertainment is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the PLAYSTATION Network and Store. At yesterday's Gamer's Day event, they revealed Station Launcher, a new service that will bring downloadable content to the masses. The plans are quite ambitious, as detailed by Gamasutra's interview with SOE creative director Nathan Pearce. According to the interview, plans for a PSP version of Station Launcher is already in the works. Through it, players will be able do download movies directly to their handhelds."We have a version of Launcher where it recognizes when you plug in your PSP into the PC. You can download a movie straight from the internet through the Launcher straight to your PSP without it ever having touched your PC. There is no version on the PC, if you don't want it to be. It can download straight to your destination device like your PSP."Movies will be formatted for PSP, and will not incur an additional cost. The possibilities of Station Launcher are nearly endless: imagine if PS1 games were made available for download, sans PS3. Unfortunately, because of the huge scope of the project, it will be a very long time until we see it: "It is going to be a pretty big endeavor, so I don't have a release date for it, but it is going to be a good time after summer."[Thanks, Colin!]
Gamasutra completes CRPG history series
Gamasutra has just posted the third, and (one would assume) final chapter in their massive "History of Computer Role Playing Games" series. (You can read The Early Years and The Golden Age if you need to play catch-up.) There's a lot of fascinating stuff here as they explore the direct and spiritual predecessors of some modern favorites, call out and analyze some of the biggest problems for CRPGs during the 90s, and try to figure out when we'll see the "next big thing" in the genre.It would be almost impossible to click away from the 20,000-word epic not having learned something, but even if you are a CRPG android, it'll at least be a nostalgic reminder of some of your past favorites. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to go dig out our copy of Arcanum.
Interactive fiction writer Emily Short talks about her craft
Emily Short doesn't design dull or formulaic interactive fiction. Each one of her releases is remarkable in some way, whether it's a technical achievement or artful storytelling. Her 2000 title Galatea centered around player and non-player character interaction, creating one of the most believable NPCs ever. Her latest work, Floatpoint, won the 2006 Interactive Fiction Competition and was top in several categories in the annual XYZZY awards.Gamasutra recently interviewed Emily about one of her games, Savoir-Faire, and the process of creating interactive fiction. The interviewer gives a fascinating example of Emily's programming prowess. Savoir-Faire features an intricate linking system where similar objects can be tied together through the use of spells. The interviewer linked a cuckoo clock with a snuff box. A few turns passed and a message popped up saying the box had opened -- and then closed. A bit later, the same message appeared. Random coincidence or unsightly game glitch? Far from it. By linking these items together, the box was "programmed" to open every time the clock struck the hour. That sort of logical creativity is what keeps Emily's interactive fiction at the top of our must-play list.
Gamasutra asks: "Is there anything wrong with the PSP?"
We'd like to think that there's nothing wrong with our beloved handheld. However, the truth is that many people, misinformed or not, do not believe in Sony's platform. Gamasutra asked a number of industry professionals about what they think is wrong about PSP, if there is anything at all. David Cole from DFC Intelligence points out that the price drop is a good step, but that's not enough. "I think a new form factor is needed more than a price cut." Ed Barton from Screen Digest is frustrated at the constant comparisons to Nintendo DS: "We forecast that the global installed base of PSP users will be around 29 million at the end of 2007, generating $1.9 billion in software sales. Lifetime software sales at the end of 2007 will be around $4.5 billion. If this is 'failing,' then failure just got a huge brand makeover." Mike Wolf from ABI Research thinks that anti-Sony fanboyism runs wild due to high expectations placed on Sony ... due to their ambitious claims. "I believe the device's perceived 'failure' by some is due to the device struggling to live up to Sony's own marketing of the product, much like what the PS3 is going through today." I completely agree with many of the things these professionals have to say about PSP. It's true that PSP is certainly not a failure, but it could've been far more successful as well. Sony has made a ton of mistakes this life cycle, but as they've been recently showing, things can easily change with a refocused effort.
Average game industry salary drops
So, when your top-shelf console releases increase from $50 to $60, where does that extra $10 go? (Besides, Gamestop, obviously.) Gamasutra helped narrow the possibilities on Sunday when it reported a drop in the average American game industry salary to $73,316 in 2006, down from $75,039 the year before.Parents disheartened that their youngster wants to be the guy who creates the next Marcus Fenix may want to push them towards becoming the guy who sues people for making dolls of the next Marcus Fenix. Lawyers and business staffers lead the pack in the industry, making $95,596 on average last year.Programmers are next on the list, pulling down $80,886 in 2006, followed by production staffers at $77,131, audio employees at $69,935, artists at $65,107 and game designers, making an average wage of $61,538. The lowest paid group by far was quality assurance personnel at $37,861.Not included in the survey: The reported 100 rainbows Shigeru Miyamoto is paid every time his games bring joy to someone's heart.
Gamasutra seeks Nintendo games that caused a revolution
The latest in their non-Sam Beckett-related Quantum Leap polls, Gamasutra is looking for Nintendo-created games that caused the industry to "leap" forward. Nintendo has established a long list of franchises, most of which were created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and has been an innovator in the video games industry for decades. But which games are truly revolutionary and which are just franchise cash-ins?We're pretty sure Mario will climb his way to the top of the list. The original Super Mario Bros. practically invented sidescrolling platform games, while Super Mario 64 is still one of the greatest 3D titles ever created. What other games deserve top honors?
