anyone can do it!. (but few do) supposed cost of entry "ea has teams as large as 200 people or...
TRANSCRIPT
Anyone Can Do It!
(but few do)
Supposed Cost of Entry
"EA has teams as large as 200 people or potentially as large as 300" - Scott Cronce, chief technology officer at games giant, EA. (May 2005)
“With the bill for some big budget games now reaching $10m, producers are facing costs of up to $20m a title.”
- BBC News (May 2005)
It looks like the PS3 and Xbox360 marks the end of the independent developer.
Don’t Believe Everything You Read
About Me
• John Passfield• Founder of Interactive Binary Illusions,
Gee Whiz! Entertainment, Krome Studios
• Creative Director, Pandemic Studios
Early Years
Chilly Willy
• First game published 1984• Team size: 1
Chilly Willy
Halloween Harry
• Second game published 1985• Team size: 1
Halloween Harry
Halloween Harry
• Remade in 1993• Highest selling shareware game until
the release of Doom• Team size: 4
Halloween Harry
Flight of the Amazon Queen
• Published in 1994• Point and click graphic adventure• Team size: 2.5
Flight of the Amazon Queen
Zombie Wars
• Published 1996• Sold on the internet (before our time)• Team size: 4
Jaruu Tenk / Spirit Board
• Screen Operas published in 2000• Team size: 2
Krome Years
• Championship Surfer• Barbie Beach Vacation• Extremely Goofy Skateboarding• Sunny Garcia Surfing• Barbie’s Sparkling Ice Show• TY the Tasmanian Tiger• Jimmy Neutron: Jet Fusion• King Arthur• TY the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue
Krome Years
• Produced titles for PSOne, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox and PC
• Team size: 10 to 60+
Boom Time
• Developed for Palm Pilot in 2001• Team size: 1
After Krome
• Sold share of the company in 2005• Joined Pandemic Studios• Worked on Destroy All Humans! 2• Working on new Pandemic game
• Developing small games for myself
The Console Market
• PS2/Xbox require 50+ people• PS3/Xbox360 require 100+ people
• Small developer dead, right?
Movie Analogy
• Current console thinking is:Games = Pirates of the Caribbean
• But not all movies are Bruckheimer blockbusters– Sideways, Napoleon Dynamite, Borat
• Need to change your thinking about what a game is and can be
Looking Back
• Shareware was successful• But had restrictions
– Internet was in infancy– People had to order over phone/by mail– Demos required retail versions– A lot of work!
Things Have Changed
• In the 2000’s the web exploded• People could download demos• Digital Rights Management curbed
piracy• People not nervous about using credit
cards online
Bejeweled
• Failed advergaming product• Released as “shareware” in 2001
Bejeweled
• 10,000,000 units sold to date• That’s a lot of money
• Ushered in a whole new ball game…• …the Casual Game
Things Are Looking Up
• The PC “Casual Games” market has saved independent developers
• 1-5 person teams are making money
• Happy times!
Example Casual Games
• Virtual Villagers• Tumble Bugs• Bookworm• Dream Day Wedding• Zuma• Solitaire• Monopoly• Carrie the Caregiver
Mystery Case Files
Diner Dash
Peggle
Not Just PC
• The console market has discovered “casual games”
• PSN for PS3, Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox360 and Virtual Console for Wii
• Independent developers aren’t locked out of console development
fl0w
• Developed by Jenova Chen
fl0w
• Discovered by Sony• Sold on the PS3 Network
Worms
• Developed by Team 17 in 1994• Xbox Live version in 2007 for $10
Puzzle Quest
• Developed in Australia• Available on PC, DS and PSP
• Merges Casual Game and Core Game play mechanics
• This caters to a new category I call “Gamer Dads”
Puzzle Quest
• Combination of Bejeweled and RPG
Puzzle Quest
• Appeals to core gamer
Little Big Planet
• Developed by Media Molecule• To be published on PS3 PSN
• Team size: 14
Word Shake Experiment
• Wanted to see how hard it was today• Simple word game• Began in 2004, shipped in 2005
• Team size: 1 (plus art contractor)
Word Shake
Word Shake
• Developed with PopCap framework• Used TryMedia’s ActiveMark DRM• Used free tools
TOOLS
ArtRage 2
ArtRage 2
• FREE – for limited edition• USD $19.95 – full edition
• http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html
Audacity
Visual C++ 2005Express Edition
Visual C++ 2005Express Edition
• FREE
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualc/
Pro Motion
• USD $29.95 – lite version
• http://www.cosmigo.com/promotion/
Alternative Frameworks
• Play Ground SDK (FREE)– https://developer.playfirst.com/overview
• Irrlicht (FREE)– http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net/
• Blitz3D ($100) / Blitz Max ($80)– http://blitzbasic.com/
• Torque Engine ($150)– http://www.garagegames.com/
• Ogre3D (FREE)– http://www.ogre3d.org/
Here’s How I Used The Tools
Brainiversity
• PopCap framework• Began November 2006• Less than 6 months development• Developed nightly during “TV time”• Signed to Oberon Media
• Team size: 1 – With music by Mick Gordon
Brainiversity
• Brain Training style game• 4 brain categories
– Analysis– Math– Memory– Language
• 16 mini-games• 8 stamp rewards
Check Out The Game
You Can Do It Too!
• Never been easier to make games• Everyone has a PC• Lots of talent out there
– http://forums.indiegamer.com/
• Heaps of excellent free tools• Huge market (millions of PC owners)• Easy to distribute and monetize
– http://www.trymedia.com/
Questions and Answers
All images are copyright © their respective owners.Talk is copyright © 2007 by John Passfield.