Author Archive
Bollywood: Bollywood to Boost Indian Gaming?
In the perfect example of a happy symbiotic relationship, the Bollywood film industry looks like it’s ready to pair up with companies to develop mobile games. The main intent is (of course) to boost revenues for the films, but a pleasant potential side effect would be to boost India’s gaming industry. Of course, since a great percentage of Bollywood films are spectacles including catchy song and dance numbers, we’re not talking about the easiest types of film to convert into games (although we have previously covered the Bollywood games with SingStar and Dance Mela), never mind games for mobile phones.
Reportedly some of India’s well known production houses are planning to tie-up with some foreign as well as Indian software companies to produce movie based video games. This may be a new strategy of marketing, as film-video games will be scheduled to release ahead of the actual screening of the film.
In fact as per the plan if a Bollywood 3D game releases at least two weeks before the release of the film it can certainly create a buzz of the movie in advance, which would add to the publicity and promotion of the movie.
Who’s up for some formulaic, musical fun on their cell phone?
Mobile Gaming: a new market strategy for Bollywood [Newstrack India]
Contests: Make Game, Win Money, Change Health Care
A rather lofty order for a video game, but Changemakers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are sponsoring a competition and putting up prize money ($15,000 in total) to see who can present a game that will make an impact on health or health care - that doesn’t just mean newsgames or the like with varying degrees of interesting content, but even games a la Dance Dance Revolution that (surprise!) turned out to be a novel way to get couch potatoes moving.
We expect this competition to shake up conventional wisdom about what constitutes a health game, the market for such games, and the approaches one ought to take in designing great health-related games. We anticipate a wide variety of entries (e.g., existing games, research about games, conceptual game designs that are past the programming stage of development, public or private initiatives for game-based approaches to health and health care, etc.).
Some of the games will likely have been specifically and carefully designed to address health conditions. But, we also hope to discover games that were not originally designed or marketed to improve health but whose application to health and health care has been demonstrated or show significant potential.
Entries close on 27 September.
Why Games Matter: A Prescription for Improving Health and Health Care [via Water Cooler Games]
Never Say They Weren’t Progressive: Jesuits See the Potential of Second Life
It’s not just universities, police departments, and businesses who see Second Life as a potential recruiting ground: the Society of Jesus, that rather controversial order of the Catholic Church better known as the Jesuits, are being urged by one of their own to head into virtual territory to facilitate real-life spirituality. In the Italian Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, “Antonio Spadaro urged fellow Catholics not to be scared of entering the virtual world, which may be fertile ground for new converts wishing to better themselves.” Despite the inclusion of “the erotic dimension” and people who no doubt would prefer to escape the real world, not be converted, Spadaro feels that the virtual world is just a new frontier for missionary work:
“Deep down, the digital world can be considered, in its way, mission territory,” he said. “Second Life is somewhere where the opportunity to meet people and to grow should not be missed, therefore, any initiative that can inspire the residents in a positive way should be considered opportune.”
The Jesuits have been criticized over the centuries for being too liberal and have gotten the papal smackdown in centuries past for trying to integrate native customs and Catholic teachings when preaching to the not-yet-converted; I’m curious what the formal stance of the Catholic Church on missionary activity in the virtual realm is.
Jesuits urged to take God’s word to ‘Second Life’ [Reuters via GamePolitics]
Oh The Shark Has Such Teeth, Dear: Timewaster of the Day (Week? Month?): Sharkrunners
Not really a timewaster thanks to the ‘fun factor,’ but for the interesting melding of real-life science with online games that slow my browser down to the speed of molasses: perhaps appropriate, since Sharkrunners is a game that’s going nowhere fast, as it operates in real time. Going hand in hand with Discovery’s annual Shark Week, Sharkrunners let’s the player control a virtual ship to track real-life sharks:
In the game, players control their ships, but the sharks are controlled by real-world white sharks with GPS units attached to their fins. Real-world telemetry data provides the position and movement of actual great white sharks in the game, so every shark that players encounter corresponds to a real shark in the real world.
Ships in the game move in real-time, so players receive email and/or SMS alerts during the day when their boat is within range of an encounter. Players login, choose crewmembers and an approach technique, and then collect various data from the nearby sharks.
This reminds me to set the TiVO.
Sharkrunners [via Wonderland]
Nexon: Counter-Strike Coming to Asia
In a partnership with Valve, Nexon (the Korean company responsible for MapleStory) will be developing and publishing Counter-Strike Online for South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan. Over at PlayNoEvil, an article wonders if they will be going towards a virtual asset purchase model like a number of the other big hits in Asia. “As long as the game company can keep its costs of distribution and operation low, there is a huge potential for getting a bit of money from a whole lot of folks.” We’ll see if Counter-Strike can make a dent in the Starcraft-mad market, free-to-play model or not.
“It is our utmost pleasure to be able to develop Counter-Strike Online with Valve,” said David K. Lee, CEO of NEXON Japan Co., Ltd. “We will be devoting our expertise in online game development and service know-how for Asian territories to Counter-Strike Online. Already a global phenomenon, we are confident we can grow the success of Counter-Strike with this new product by tailoring the gameplay for the millions of gamers in Asia, one of the gaming industries fastest growing territories.”
The PlayNoEvil article has some interesting thoughts on the virtual asset transaction model and the potential applications for games outside of Asia.
Valve and Nexon to bring Counter-Strike to Asia [Destructoid via PlayNoEvil]
Advertising: Coke Using Gaming Tournaments For Marketing
Not content with billboards, giant Coke bottles that tower several stories high in high-traffic pedestrian zones, and a pretty overwhelming market share, Coke has decided to go after Chinese gamers using the ubiquitous internet cafes and gaming tournaments. In partnering with GGL to roll out the tournaments, Coke will be reaching “15 provinces, 100 cities and 4,000 cybercafes.” In addition to the fun of participating in targeted advertising, “the winner of the iCoke tournaments will be flown to New York to compete in the 2007 Digital Life gaming tournament, which will take place Sept. 27-30.” But fear not, while Coke may be going after the potentially lucrative Chinese market first, the tournaments should be coming to a country near you soon:
there are plans to roll out the initiative with Coke in other countries, including Brazil, Japan and Korea and eventually the U.S. and Western Europe. Entry into some of those countries will start later this year.
Thrilling! … Maybe I’m still just a touch bitter about the shunning of Diet Coke in favor of Coke Zero at convenience stores all across Taipei. Damn you, 可口可樂.
Coke’s Got Game in China [AdWeek]
We’re In The Mainstream Now: CBS Televising Game Tournament Tomorrow
Tomorrow at noon EST, CBS will be airing the first part of four consisting of footage from last month’s World Series of Video Games tournament. We covered this back in May, but the first date is finally upon us. The program will be featuring Guitar Hero II, World of Warcraft and Fight Night Round 3. The New York Times has even picked up on the show and has a quick look at the potentials and pitfalls of bringing gaming to a mainstream channel:
But for gaming to make it as a major-network TV sport, the big hurdle will be translating a medium that is by its nature meant to be experienced firsthand into a compelling hands-off spectator experience. It is a task that in some ways is no less daunting than that of the early baseball television producers who eventually realized that a camera way out in center field would provide the best view of pitches.
My boyfriend already set the TiVO. We’ll see how this goes and (perhaps more importantly) what the ratings are like after the fact.
Video Game Matches to Be Televised on CBS [NYT]
Where’s Frank Lloyd Wright?: Architecture in Second Life
The Farnsworth House may be one of the most iconic pieces of modern architecture, and it also happens to be fairly unsuitable for habitation: what better place for it than the virtual world of Second Life? The Guardian has an interesting look at the architecture of SL and the real-life architects that are creating new communities or recreating old ones. It also happens to be one of the first ‘mainstream’ media pieces that points out that despite a large registered user base, SL often feels more like a ‘ghost town’ than a ‘boom town’ unless you’re in a popular area, as well as the trippy nature of virtual environments (why exactly do you need a house for anything at all?).
There’s an office, where Bartlett holds real-time business meetings, a home theatre where she can watch movies with friends, outdoor areas for cocktail parties, even a dining room - yes, you can mimic eating in SL. But why would you want to eat? The more I explore, the more I find myself asking similar questions. Why put stairs in a house when you can fly? Why put a roof on it when it never rains? Why mimic a Barcelona chair when you never need to sit down? Why build a house at all?
It’s an interesting and different take from the stuff usually presented about Second Life.
Buy! Buy! Buy! [The Guardian]
Game Design: The Chemistry of Game Design
Gamasutra has another essay from Danc of Lost Garden up, this one entitled ‘The Chemistry of Game Design.’ Chock full of visual aids and some interesting observations on game mechanics and how players learn to play a game (and master it), it’s a lengthy but worthy read. In true academic fashion, he sums up his discussion of skill chains, mastery, and burnout in the last few paragraphs and tells you why all this matters (or should matter):
The reproducible application of psychological manipulation of individuals and groups using software is big heady stuff. In the short term, I would hope that a deep understanding of models like skill chains help us crack open the rigid craftsmanship of existing genres so that we can build better, more potent games. Long term, it will be interesting to see what world changing uses we can find for our ever improving psychological technology.
While it’s true that in many fields, the ‘academic/research’ side and the ‘real world’ side are frequently at odds and never the twain shall meet, I’m interested to see if perhaps the game development world can bridge that gap a little better and take philosophical research to real world applications in fewer than eighty steps in between.
The Chemistry of Game Design [Gamasutra]
Only In China: Chinese Anti-Addiction Measures Not Going So Smoothly
Despite mandating that all Chinese companies install anti-addiction measures on MMOs and the like by the beginning of July, things aren’t going as smoothly as intended: 20 companies have failed to implement the systems and the government isn’t too happy about it. Notices have been sent out, and if the companies fail to comply with the requests of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), they will have their internet service suspended (and the games will be shut down until they do comply).
Kou Xiaowei, deputy director of the Audio & Video and Online Publication Management Division of GAPP, has told local media that fully implementing the anti-addiction system is an important measure taken to carry out the State Council’s rule on molding Chinese teenagers’ morals and promoting the sustainable and healthy development of China’s online game industry. He has called on the companies to strengthen their social responsibility and consult with the concerned departments to ensure the anti-addiction tasks can be carried out smoothly.
No word on whether or not the government has figured out who’s actually cheating the system or what they’ll do when they find out.
Game Operators Receive Anti-Addiction System Warnings [China CSR]
Wii: ‘Analyzing the Analysts’: Thoughts on the Wii
Games * Design * Art * Culture has some thoughts up on remarks by analysts and their real world validity. Not being prone to getting out scratch pads of paper and theorizing on topics I am ill-equipped to deal with, I’m not sure if the analysis of the analysis is valid, but it’s a reminder that quoting experts is fun, but not always an accurate prediction of what is to come. In this case, the topic is an analyst “saying publishers will flock to the Wii because of ‘favorable economics‘”; the argument here is that it’s not ‘favorable economics,’ but sheer numbers of users that will determine the success of the Wii over the long term.
… The real thing publishers look at when deciding what to develop for is simply user base plus tie ratio–that is, how many boxes each manufacturer ships, and how many titles the average user buys for that box. This, and not a putative cost advantage for Wii over other platforms, is what’s working in Wii’s favor at the moment–it’s selling better than its competitors …. I expect there will be a flood of third-party games for Wii, that the advantage PS 2 and Xbox had over GameCube in this regard will not be true for the current generation: the tie ratios will look much more similar.
It’s a short but interesting look at the potential costs and factors going into developing a game and a successful console overall.
Xbox 360: One Take On the 360 Red Ring of Death
Australian site SquareHouse has a short and sweet summation of “what killed the Xbox 360,” at least in terms of current ring-around-the-rosey, red ring of death warranty debacle: crappy planning and some cost-cutting measures to try and undermine the competition that led to the current problems and potential PR disaster (what’s that old saying? ‘Quality doesn’t cost, it pays’?). Microsoft sees the silver lining, in that they’re owning up to problems, perhaps bolstering their image (imagine that, a company taking responsibility for problems with their product!).
One Asian manufacturer that SmartHouse spoke to on Friday said “Microsoft have known of this problem for a long time. They are trying to blame component manufacturers but it was a combination of bad design and them (Microsoft) wanting everything cheap. This is what caused the problem along with them wanting to beat Sony to market. A lot of manufacturers were pushed to deliver components without much testing of the components working together inside the console”.
Microsoft has said little about the causes of the hardware woes. It relies on two contract manufacturers to make the Xbox 360–Flextronics International (FLEX) and Celestica (CLS)–both of which make the finished product at plants in southern China. But Bach indicated the issue had nothing to do with the recent spate of tainted or defective Chinese imports.
I’m relieved to know the 360 in the living room isn’t in danger of poisoning me any time soon, except perhaps with dangerous levels of cuteness from Viva Piñata.
Why The Xbox 360 Failed [SmartHouse]
Money Money Money: Don’t Put Your Money In Video Game Stocks Quite Yet
For the gamers who also have an eye on their portfolio, investing in gaming-related stocks is probably not the best gamble right now. Long term prognosis is good, but CNN Money reports on an analyst’s thoughts on ‘interactive entertainment’ industry right now, and it’s probably not the best option to beef up your portfolio. An exception is for some companies like EA, but in case you needed to be told, don’t put any money in Take-Two.
The broker started coverage of the video-game sector with a neutral rating. In a report, analyst Eric Handler noted that the market is growing, with new gamers attracted by “interesting hardware choices” that are driving “greater creativity” among video-game publishers.
However, he added that slower sales of new consoles than expected and ” overextended” company valuations will limit upside in the group for the near term.
Financial stuff makes my head spin; I guess it’s a good thing I’m going into a field where I’ll be broke for the rest of my life, thus not having to worry about it.
Video-game Stocks Have Limited Upside For Now, Lehman Say [CNN Money]
We’re Coming For Your Children: Mainstream Media Discovers Griefers!
From GamePolitics comes a Reuters article that will probably make you foam at the mouth, both for its lovely ‘how did it take you people this long to notice?’ quality, as well as the rather unfair characterization of the industry by an ‘expert.’ Dr. Sally Black expounds on griefers as well as her personal opinions on gaming, which span from ‘games are addictive’ to ‘the industry is going after your children with advertising,’ including nice comparisons to the tobacco and alcohol industries.
“… Right now these marketers are going straight after the young ones to try to get them addicted at an early age, and it’s like a parent trying to fight tobacco and alcohol. It’s very difficult,” she said.
There’s actually some interesting discussion over at GamePolitics once you get past the frothing and foaming at the mouth.
A new type of cyberbully hits online gaming world [Reuters via GamePolitics]
Everyone Hates Litterbugs: Mario and Goomba Helping Out With the Trash
In Norway, at least. Reader Kim V. sent these images along, saying: “I was having a bbq yesterday at Vigelandsparken in Norway when I came across these two when throwing stuff away afterwards. Good to know that Mario and Goomba are watching over all the garbage. The image with Goomba says “Waste”, and the one with Mario says “Grill box - Used one time grills only”.
Get Your Bets In Now: MMO Operators Could Break Laws In the UK?
Not if they have the appropriate license come September, but with a gambling law getting its final update at that time, MMOs that have competitions or offer prizes may be classified as ‘online gambling’ and subject to the same laws and penalties as more traditional forms. With all the chatter in the US and elsewhere about where MMOs fit into the overall scheme of online gambling (or not), it will be interesting to see how companies start to navigate the water. In the US, for example, ‘games of skill’ are - for the most part - exempt from gambling regulations; this is not the case with the new UK law.
… MMO operators can avoid any potential penalties by obtaining an operators’ licence from the Gambling Commission.
“This is not a simple task, but it is also not overtly complex. The key is to satisfy the Commission that you have in place an operation that satisfies the requirements and key objectives of the new law.”
These include commitments to ensuring fair and open gambling, the protection of children and other vulnerable persons and the prevention of links between gambling and crime.
I just have a hard time equating any MMO competition with playing poker or betting on the ponies.
MMO operators at risk of breaking law from September [GamesIndustry.biz via PlayNoEvil]
Indie Games: On Kongregate and Indie Development
GameSetWatch has some interesting thoughts up on Kongregate and a link to a doubly interesting article on The Hollywood Reporter entitled “A place for indie developers”, also dealing with Kongregate and the free-to-play, easy-to-develop-for model. The question is - can anyone make enough money to live on courtesy of revenue from free-to-play sites? Simon Carless thinks the answer is ‘probably not,’ but …
For game makers who just want to have fun, get noticed in the biz, and make personal art - and those who want to make free Flash games that might turn people on to other paid games - Kongregate (alongside Newgrounds) have a great, swift, easy YouTube-ish angle that encourages a massive variety of games.
He points out that Kongregate is also looking at some alternate plans to increase revenue that could very well make it a viable proposition, but time will tell if those ideas will pan out. In the meantime, the platform does allow for indie developers to get their names (and websites) out there, which can certainly add to a developer’s coffers, just not across the board.
On Kongregate And The Future Of Indie Gaming [GameSetWatch]
“A place for indie developers” [The Hollywood Reporter]
Speculation Is Fun: In-Game Ads To Grow Exponentially
At least according to a new analysis published by the Yankee Group. According to them, “in-game advertising could climb considerably to $971.3 million by the year 2011, up from just $77 million globally in 2006 and $56 million in 2005, as companies begin to target the video game market for static and dynamic commercials.”
Companies are apparently slowing with their traditional media ad budgets and investing more heavily in newer media forms, and the report says that “connected game devices ‘are becoming the foundation on which providers build dynamic in-game insertion.’” Of course, they also warn that ads should not be used in a way that distracts from game play. Irritating product placement is bad enough in television and movies, but I’d be royally pissed if it became a common feature of the games I play.
In-Game Ads Grow To $971 Million By 2011 [Gamasutra]
Academia: Trinity College Dublin Offering New Video Game MA
Irish gamers and anyone else who has a yen for a graduate degree in a video game-related field will now be able to head to Dublin: Trinity College just announced that they will begin offering a one-year MA in “interactive entertainment technology.” Partnering with some heavy hitters like Microsoft, “the course provides students with a state-of-the-art learning environment including the Microsoft sponsored XNA Gamelab - the first in Ireland.” It’s interesting to see the growth of game development, theory and design on an academic level, especially at some of the top universities around the globe.
The course is open to only 25 students annually, each of whom will have achieved a minimum of a 2.1 in Computer Science or a related degree. Students meeting these requirements will be required to sit an interview as part of the selection process. The course features modules delivered by world class researchers taken from TCD research groups including the graphics vision and visualisation group. The second half of the year-long course will focus on individual research on a chosen dissertation topic and contribution to a significant group project developing a complete application (e.g. a game). Students will be encouraged to build a portfolio of work and enter international competitions such as Microsoft’s Imagine Cup.
Applications for Fall ‘07 enrollment close at the end of July, and the program will begin in October.
Trinity College partners with industry to launch new video game masters degree
You Don’t Say: Kids Like M-Rated Games
In what comes as a surprise to no one, a study has established that kids really like M-rated games. The Journal of Adolescent Health has just published a study conducted by a team from the Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and Michigan State University that “surveyed a total of 1254 students, aged 12-14, from Pennsylvania and South Carolina in 2004.” And the surveyed teens responded in convincing numbers that they quite rather like M-rated games, and they also play games because ‘there’s nothing else to do.’
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the results showed that most boys, and many girls, played games that the ESRB had rated M, signifying that they were for mature audiences only. Of the games played by the boys, Grand Theft Auto and Halo were both in the top three, and GTA was also the 2nd most played game by girls, according to the data. Over half of all boys agreed with the statement “I play electronic games because I like guns and weapons.” On the other hand, over 60 percent of boys and girls agreed with the statement “I play electronic games because there’s nothing else to do.”
I would hope that the actual article has some slightly more useful and/or startling conclusions than these, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
New survey shows that kids like games rated M for mature [Ars Technica via GamePolitics]
