Tuesday 30 December 2008

Looking back to the future of fun

Looking back to the future of fun

By Daniel Emery
Technology reporter, BBC News

As 2008 draws to a close and with 2009 just around the corner, it has been an eventful year for the games industry.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6214321543352361867#
Will the recession and a lack of triple-A titles make 2009 a year the industry will want to forget?
Call of Duty: World at War surpassed expectations, Wii Fit showed us that you can play video games and still keep the spare tyre in check, Gears of War 2 proved the Xbox 360 was still a force to be reckoned with, selling over two million units world wide.
World of Warcraft released the Wrath of the Lich King and kept millions of gamers glued to their PCs for another six months, and Grand Theft Auto IV took the world by storm.
But with the economy cooling, games companies like Sony shedding jobs, and a shortage of triple A titles scheduled for release, what does 2009 have in store for gamers and the video game industry?
We put that question to some of the industry stalwarts, asking them for their thoughts on how 2008 has been for them and what they think the next year will bring.
PETER MOLYNEUX: Video game designer, Lionhead Studios

"2008 was the year that the Nintendo Wii got even better, more than anyone really thought possible when it first launched. The 360 did well, although it was put into the shade somewhat by the Wii. PlayStation 3 has been disappointing to say the least.
On the gaming front, GTA IV was a real moment for the industry. Rockstar nailed how you characterise a game and their engine and cut sequences are state of the art. However, only a few people actually saw all the cut sequences because the game was so tough to play. Are we making games too difficult? That's a question the industry has been asking itself of late.
We - as developers - are finally comfortable with the next-gen consoles and we saw a slew of sequels this year. Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, Fable II, the seventh Tomb Raider.
One of my personal favourites was Little Big Planet; superb artistry and a fantastic marketing job by Sony - yet it didn't make the numbers. I wonder if Christmas is really the right time to release a new title. We've got into a rhythm [of sequels at Christmas] which is all fair and well while people are buying games but we have to make sure we don't get complacent.
Next year, well, it's all looking a bit dry. All the triple A titles came out this Christmas and while there is stuff in 2010 we can look forward to, off the top of my head I cannot think of anything next year that really excites me.
Everyone says games are good value for home entertainment, despite the relatively high price. I'm not so sure. I think we're going to see a lot of price pressure put on games.
And as for Lionhead: now we've got Fable II out of the door we can focus on our other project - it's super secret for now - but we might announce it next year."
PAUL BARNETT: Creative director, Mythic Entertainment

"Personally 2008 was like giving birth: lots of pain, struggle, huffing, and puffing. But the end result [Warhammer Online] was worth it; it's no longer ours, it belongs to the players.
It was a year of disappointing big games; budgets too big, development too long, platforms underdeveloped, and expectations were too high. The Wii produced some kooky games that defied logic, the 360 continues to do well, the PS3 is desperately trying to find a market, and the PC was coming to terms with DRM (digital rights management).
At the same time, 2008 was the year that web browser games came of age: proof that backroom coders, great art design, and business know-how can exist under the same roof: Passage, Shift, World of Good, and Portal were all very curious.
GTA IV was the most impressive game of 2009, because it's almost impossible to deliver a game that good. It was a proper computer game, it sold bucket loads, and it improved on the original. Not only that, but it was British! I'm not a fan of the game but I am really respectful of what they [Rockstar] have done.
Bioshock proved that art direction matters in a game - and it was truly a triumph of art. It looked good and every icon and element felt connected. People get wrapped up in the story and narrative. Bioshock never had a story - people pretended it does - it doesn't. It's simple and linear, but in terms of art it is fantastic.
That said, some people confuse games with art and developing a game as an art title (as opposed to a good game with great art in it) will lead us into madness.
As for Warhammer, we're going to make good on our promises. We've got RvR [Realm vs Realm] hobby experience; this means bigger battles, more character, a stronger campaign. Basically, war is everywhere.
As for next year, it's going to be a year of pain for all the big labels and a continuing fight between games defining themselves as 'art', 'design' and 'entertainment'.
The games industry is going to go through the pain the music industry went through when the traditional way of making and selling their products goes through a radical shift. The route to the customer is undefined and income streams are uncertain. Large firms have a history of not being responsive (and being fearful) of change - the DRM fiasco (with Spore) is a classic example of that.
I expect to see some large studios go under and some big name titles fail."
RICHARD GARRIOTT aka 'Lord British': Video game designer

"For me, the high point - quite literally - was spending 12 days on the International Space Station. As a result, I've been somewhat outside the gaming scene; I was in quarantine for nearly three months in 2008.
That said, Halo's sequel was a big deal. World of Warcraft continues to dominate the massive multiplayer arena - more power to them. If I had to pick a developer who has done a bang up job, it would be Blizzard [the development team behind World of Warcraft]. The number of people they have converted is just amazing. They have shown all of us what good game development is all about.
After 25 years at Origin, the last thing I wanted to make was yet another medieval fantasy game. Now, after a very interesting break, I'm keen to get back into the fray and work on a new game. Probably medieval fantasy and probably online; there's something very powerful about getting people together."
WILL WRIGHT : Video game designer, Electronic Arts

"2008 was the year that the console hit its stride, we're seeing the rise of mobile gaming (along with user generated content) and, as we hear every eight years, the death of PC gaming.
The Wii took everyone by surprise - not for its looks, but its accessibility. Games like Guitar Hero attracted non-gamers and Sony and Microsoft are responding to that with things like the 'Avatar' system and Little Big Planet.
Next year, we're going to see more connected games - more social networking rather than just multiplayer. What's more, they are going to be more fractal in nature; how you interact with the game will depend not only on what you play (360 vs mobile) but where you play. So, for example, a mobile game that interacts with a GPS (global positioning system) so that where you physically play the game in the real world will have a direct effect on the game you are playing."
JOHNATHAN 'Fatal1ty' WENDEL: Professional games player

"The high point for me was getting my new line of headphones. I've been working really hard to develop them with Creative and we saw our sales increase by 50% since 2007.
That said, I think the credit crunch and subsequent fall out really hurt sponsorship of professional gamers. We used to have 300 people making a living from playing games; now we have less than 100.
Because of that, I want to start sponsoring other gamers. They're having a tough time at the moment, so I want to give something back to help them follow their dreams to become a professional gamer.
I'm going to continue working on a professional series of headphones. I want people to use my headphones, not just to talk smack, but to use them in the real world by making them stylish and attractive. We're close to getting that finalised and then we can launch.
And as for the future, well I hope we'll soon start seeing real 3D. You already get that experience in an iMax cinema. I think games will eventually go that way. I still want to use a mouse and keyboard to play, but if I can get that kind of graphical feel, that would be great. We really need to change the way we view a game."

Sunday 28 December 2008

The virtual battle of the sexes

The virtual battle of the sexes

By Tamsin Osborne 
BBC News

Screenshot from Everquest II, Sony Online Entertainment
Online games' emphasis on combat has led many to paint them as male pursuits

Picture a typical player of a massively multiplayer game such as World of Warcraft and most people will imagine an overweight, solitary male.

But this stereotype has been challenged by a study investigating gender differences among gamers.

It found that the most hard-core players are female, that gamers are healthier than average, and that game playing is an increasingly social activity.

Despite gaming being seen as a male activity, female players now make up about 40% of the gaming population.

The study looked at gender differences in more than 2,400 gamers playing EverQuest II.

 What we think might be at play is that it's not that games are good for you, it's that TV is bad for you 
Dmitri Williams

The participants, who were recruited directly out of the game, completed a web-based questionnaire about their gaming habits and lifestyles. They received an in-game item as a reward for taking part - a condition which has led to some questioning of the results.

In addition Sony Online Entertainment, Everquest's creator, gave the US researchers access to information about the players' in-game behaviours.

Gender bias

The results showed that, although more of the players were male, it was the female players who were the most dedicated players, spending more time each day playing the game than their male counterparts.

Lead researcher Scott Caplan of the University of Delaware said the result demonstrated how out-of-date stereotypes can be.

"In many cases, stereotypes reflect what I would call a 'cultural time lag'," he said.

"What we think about men and women and videogames may have been true 10 or 15 years ago, when there were mainly console video games or single-player games.

Nintendo games console, BBC
Attitudes to games may date from the early years of consoles, say researchers

"But what were seeing now is that games become social, and as these online games become communities then the attraction for that kind of behaviour might increase for women," said Prof Caplan.

"I think a lot of our stereotypes are based on the way computer games have been, rather than where they're going."

The pressure to conform to traditional gender roles might mean that some women are put off activities seen as "masculine", whereas women who reject traditional gender roles might be more likely to play MMOs such as EverQuest II.

Perhaps in support of this the survey revealed an unusually high level of bisexuality among the women who took part in the study - over five times higher than the general population.

"These are not people who are following strict gender stereotypes," said Prof Caplan.

"I think that the game itself is right now a very non-traditional activity for women, and so I think what you would find in this population are going to be people who are in other ways less traditional than the majority population."

Consumer focus

Another unexpected finding was that the online game players - particularly the women - were healthier than the general population, though this was drawn from self-reported levels of exercise and body mass index.

Dmitri Williams, a researcher at the University of Southern California and a co-author on the study, said one possible explanation could be that playing computer games reduces the amount of time spent in front of the television.

Woman playing Wii, AP
Consoles such as the Wii have won a cross-gender audience

"What we think might be at play is that it's not that games are good for you, it's that TV is bad for you," he said.

"With television, what you get is an endless stream of commercials telling you to buy things and to consume things, and what we think we're finding is that when you remove all that consumption impulse you are probably less driven to consume."

In games such as EverQuest II, players spend their time completing quests and killing monsters, so it's possible that such in-game activities might influence players in real-life, said Prof Williams.

"It could be that games inspire a more active lifestyle, instead of sitting in front of a TV."

The study also found that men and women played computer games for different reasons, with men more likely to play to win and women more likely to play for social reasons.

Furthermore, a high proportion of women reported playing the game with their romantic partner, supporting the idea that game playing is becoming an increasingly sociable activity. The researchers say that this trend is reflected in patterns of general computer and internet use.

"If you go back 20 years and talk about people using computers and the internet, I think the stereotype would have been of a young male," said Prof Caplan.

"Nowadays, if you look at MySpace and Facebook and all of the social uses of the internet, the number of women who have it as part of their everyday life has gone up phenomenally," he said.

"In the same way that the stereotype of a computer user has become more gender-neutral, I think we'll see that with games too."

Wednesday 17 December 2008

Games developed by Ubisoft Casablanca

Games developed by Ubisoft Casablanca

  1. Prince of Persia: The Fallen King [DS]

  2. Prince of Persia: The Fallen King [DS]

  3. Rayman Raving Rabbids [DS]

  4. Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party [DS]

  5. Star Wars: Lethal Alliance [DS]

    Star Wars: Lethal Alliance is built exclusively for the PSP system and DS, immersing players in an adventure that takes place between Episode III Revenge of...

Ubisoft to strengthen presence in Morocco; plans 150 recruitments by 2010

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - French games developer Ubisoft Entertainment said it is to strengthen its presence in Morocco with 'the expansion of its studio in Casablanca', and plans to recruit 150 extra staff by 2010.

The group said in a statement that it already employs 50 staff in Morocco, and plans to take on young talent from 'local engineering and art schools.'

Ubisoft opened its Casablanca studio in 1998, and is the only developer present in Morocco, or in Northern Africa.

vicky.buffery@thomson.com

afp/vb/jfr

Video industry




L’industrie mondiale du jeu vidéo représente actuellement un marché de 25 milliards de dollars US*. Selon une récente étude, l’industrie est appelée à doubler pour se chiffrer à 55 milliards de dollars US d’ici 2009*.

On prévoit également que le jeu vidéo, avec une croissance anticipée de 16,5 % par année, se positionnera d’ici 5 ans au deuxième rang des industries du divertissement, se classant derrière le cinéma mais devançant ainsi la musique.

Cette croissance considérable se traduit par une transformation de l’industrie qui passe entre autres par une demande accrue d’une main-d’œuvre qualifiée et formée. Les possibilités de carrière sont, et continueront d’être très intéressantes pour les finissants des programmes de formation du Campus Ubisoft.

Ubisoft opens Casablanca campus

Publisher partners with Moroccan audiovisual company Sigma Technologies on gaming and animated-film training center opening in October.

Last year, the Moroccan government created an incentive program to encourage companies to create new tech-industry jobs in the country as well as train individuals for those positions. One publisher to take Morocco up on its offer was Ubisoft. The publisher said it would be dramatically expanding its Northern Africa operationsfrom 50 to 150 positions by 2010.

Today, the publisher said that it would also be partnering with Moroccan audiovisual company Sigma Tecnologies on a new digital media training campus. The school's curriculum will focus on training individuals for jobs in the gaming and animated-film industries, with courses ranging from "programming to 3D animation and modelling, game and level design to project management."

Ubisoft's campus will be located in Morocco's capital of Casablanca and expects to open its doors in October. It has been modeled after a similar campus in Montreal, where many of Ubisoft's top games are created, including Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas.

For more on Ubisoft's campus in Casablanca, head over to the school's official site.