The Computer Game Industry: Size, Shape, and Key Issues, Study notes of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Download The Computer Game Industry: Size, Shape, and Key Issues and more Study notes Electrical and Electronics Engineering in PDF only on Docsity! Computer Game Business 10/13/06 The Industry • About 45 (or 30) years old now • Employs 144,000 people in North America (3/2006) • Annual salary: $86K for experienced programmer, $64K for artists/animators, $64K for game designers Industry Statistics Top-10 Facts http://www.theesa.com/facts/top_10_facts.php Sales, Demographic, Usage data http://www.theesa.com/archives/files/Essential%20Facts%202006.pdf Dubious Claims About Video Games Games don’t influence behavior • Certainly, study after study has shown that playing video games will not incite the player to violent acts. This is generally true of all media effects research. The causal link between media consumption and predicted outcome is difficult, if not impossible to make. Those looking for a direct connection between game violence and real violence will come up short. • But we need to be very careful not to argue that games have no influence. If games cannot move us to tears or get us out of our seats in anger, if they cannot push us to think differently or to reconsider the choices we have made in our lives, then truly they are the diet soda of media—all taste, no calories. • Books, movies, theater, even television may not make people kill each other. But they do deeply affect us. The reason not to single out video games for censorship is because they are like other media—they can affect us deeply and profoundly—not because they are harmless. Games are a social activity • Everyone that takes games seriously laughed when Pew spent money to tell us that video game players prefer to play with people around. Still, it would be a gross mischaracterization to say that video games are a social activity. The fact is, most of us spend most of our time playing games looking at our own screen with our own eyes by ourselves. If we prefer to play games with friends, this is an artifact of our social natures. I’d say that if we prefer games in social situations it is because we are social creatures rather than anything games are doing in particular to pull us out of our shells. • Then again, watching movies is not a social activity. They routinely show reels before films reminding people to sit still and be quiet—i.e., don’t be social during the flick. Sit down and shut up. This is a part of the experience of the medium. • The fact that video games allow any social interaction is a great advance in modern media. But it is still a stretch to try and characterize video games as a great social activity. Video games can be social. But so can knitting and reading. That doesn’t mean they are deeply or purposefully social. Video games is a young medium • If we pick 1961 as the starting point for the video game era--the date that Steve Russell and company created Spacewar at MIT -- then we’ve had the medium in development for 42-odd years. • If we pick 1927 as the birth of television, when Milo Farnsworth transmitted the first TV signals, then we can look at what that medium did in its first four decades of life. Some of the highlights include the I Love Lucy Show, the Kennedy-Nixon debates, the creation of PBS and the widespread use of color TV. By 1969, they were watching a man walk on the moon. • The video game medium is past the point where it can excuse any behavior due to its adolescence. Critics should not be held at bay while the medium matures. While video games have much room to grow and improve, it’s an exaggeration to call the medium “new” or “emerging”. Video games are art Video games are not art • These claims go together because both confuse artistic expression with the medium. Are movies art? The question is, “Is the Godfather art?” or “Is Ace Ventura: Pet Detective art?” It’s like asking whether painting is art. If you are painting the Mona Lisa sure, it’s art. If you are painting your house, maybe not. • There are some good reasons to blur the line between media and art. It helps raise the credibility of the entire medium. But in more precise terms, media convey expression and emotion, ideas and information. What is communicated may, or may not, be artistic. Money and Games • Individual games • $10-$60 for PC • $20-$70 for consoles • Game rentals: $800M in 1999 • Consoles • $299 [New console introduction] - $99 [Final years] • Controllers: • $20-40 • Graphics cards • $80-$400 • PCs • Internet subscriptions • ~$10/month Business Models • Shareholders • Stock price • Publishers • $$’s from game sales • Software developers • Owned by publisher [Bungie, Raven, Maxis, …] • Independent: Advance for development – charged against future royalties • Console developers • Proprietary media delivery • Lose money on consoles • Internet games • Initial game & monthly fee • Tool developers • Create “engines” and “middleware” and sell to game developers • Contract services: • Motion capture, art, cut-scenes, audio, … What was Selling? • Source: PC Data • Sample: 1600+ games at $9+, selling 100+ copies in August • 1 game represents 8% of total revenue • Top 20 games represent 30% of total revenue Rank Title Units Dollars $ Share ASP 1 Diablo 2 129,300 $6,677,917 7.9% $51.65 2 The Sims 101,405 $4,303,712 5.1% $42.44 3 MP Roller Coaster Tycoon 67,510 $1,822,861 2.2% $27.00 4 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2nd Edition 62,110 $1,137,948 1.3% $18.32 5 MS Age Of Empires II: Age of Kings 38,446 $1,649,013 2.0% $42.89 6 MP Roller Coaster Tycoon Corkscrew Follies Expansion Pack34,101 $658,252 0.8% $19.30 7 Sim City 3000 Unlimited 32,518 $1,202,015 1.4% $36.97 8 Unreal Tournament 28,358 $682,650 0.8% $24.07 9 Deus Ex 27,259 $1,046,490 1.2% $38.39 10 Starcraft/Battlechest Bundle 27,215 $809,757 1.0% $29.75 11 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 26,274 $244,894 0.3% $9.32 12 Sim Mania Pack 25,345 $447,834 0.5% $17.67 13 MS Age Of Empires II: Conquerors Expansion Add-On24,196 $722,817 0.9% $29.87 14 Return to Krondor 23,613 $431,570 0.5% $18.28 15 Icewind Dale 21,923 $1,052,433 1.2% $48.01 16 Sim Theme Park 20,941 $608,690 0.7% $29.07 17 Hoyle Casino 2000 19,778 $524,591 0.6% $26.52 18 Crystal Key 19,079 $358,984 0.4% $18.82 19 Scooby Doo Mystery Of The Fun Park Phantom 18,979 $309,879 0.4% $16.33 21 EverQuest: Ruins Of Kunark 18,004 $704,264 0.8% $39.12  There’s a lot of money to be had, but few seem to get it  Therefore, the business is ruthless, with executives and producers desperately trying to replicate hits and determine the “secret formula” for success  Like movies, there are massive, expensive bombs that were expected to succeed (Messiah), and surprise hits that cost very little to make and have very little marketing support (WarCraft) For the Month of August, 2000: Key Issues in Console Success • Overall Software Portfolio • Number of quality games • Number of quality exclusive games • Size of installed base • Overall Game System Cost • $299 is a critical price point for consoles • Game Cost • Delivery media, expected market, development costs • Game development cost • Was a problem with Nintendo 64, PlayStation2 • Xbox, Gamecube • Delivery media • Capacity, speed, cost • Cartridge, CD, DVD, Internet Key Issues: Technical • Hardware Stability • Consoles are fixed • PCs are extremely variable • Goal of DirectX is to provide stability • Display quality • TV vs. Monitor vs. HDTV? • Input devices • Keyboard, game controllers, joy sticks, steering wheels, revolution? • Memory systems • ROM, RAM, and hard drives • Networking capabilities • Local, modem, cable modem, … Changing Markets • Platform shifts will change the balance of power among developers and publishers • The conflict between hardcore gamers and the mass market will continue to increase • Addition of completely new markets • Cell phone/gamepad hybrids? Publishers • Originally grew out of developers • Massive consolidation in recent years • Most also develop games Greenlighting • Most Publishers have a “Greenlight Process” that they use to determine which projects go forward • Because development cycles are so long (1½-3 years), games have to submit to the greenlight committee at five independent stages: • Concept • Assessment • Prototype • First Playable • Alpha • At each stage, the committee reviews progress, decides whether or not to continue funding the project, and evaluates the market potential of the product and adjusts unit forecasts and marketing spends accordingly The Producer • Projects are assigned by studio management to an Executive Producer, who will have any number of Producers and Associate Producers working for him or her • Producers oversee the production aspects: manage Developers toward their milestones, and often provide additional resources, creative input, management advice, etc. • The Developer delivers “milestones” each month, and don’t get paid unless the milestones meet strict definitions. Most developers are unlikely to receive any royalties, because the funding they receive is an advance against future royalties; if their game is not a hit, then the Developer may not even be able to “pay back” the advance Internal Producer • Manages development team • Work with art and tech lead to staff project • Manage project plan • Check milestones • Make tradeoffs • Work with external producer • Manage bug-list Assistant Producers • Manage Assets • Data Wrangler – make sure latest files are used • Supervise the daily build • Maintaining the design web site • Generate screenshots for PR • Review milestones with a group • Everything else • The music • The videos The Game Designer • Usually the vision guy • Writes the design document • with help from level designers, tech. lead, and art lead • Must continue to make design decisions during development • Sometimes involved in development • Mostly at scripting level • Keep up on current games I am a manager • I help the artists and programmers get their job done • I track their tasks • I know what they are doing • I am crucial to the success of the game Programmers • Technical Lead – create and manage technical spec., define interfaces, … • Programmer tasks • Rendering Engine • AI • Physics • Tools • Database • Networking • Sound effects • Scripting language • Special graphic effects • Asset management and integration • Must have lots of communication I am a programmer • I program the game • I make the characters interact • I write tools for the artists • I manage the data in the game • I am crucial to the success of the game I am an artist • I make the art • The worlds, the textures • I use commercial software • I talk to programmers about the game • I set the mood for the game • I am crucial to the success of the game I am an artist • I studied classic art • I learned about animation • I then learned the 3D stuff • I am part of a team Testing • Test lead • Create testing methodology • Provide fast, useful feedback to development team • Testers • Is it fun? Game play • Is it easy to use? • Does it make sense? • Does it work? Bugs Retailers • Started with mail-order and computer specialty stores • Shift in 80’s to game specialty stores, especially chains • Shift in 90’s to mass market retailers • Internet sales big but still not huge Retailers • 70% big stores (Target, Best Buy, WalMart) • 25% specialty game stores • 5% Internet/mail order Retailers • Shift to mass market distribution has resulted in a more hit-driven market • Recent years have shown a broadening of the market, mostly via genre shifts Development Team Size • As late as the mid-80’s teams as small as one person • Teams today ranging from 20-100 people • Programming now a proportionally smaller part of any project Development Team 1988 Sublogic JET • Three Programmers • One Part-Time Artist • One Tester Development Team 1995 Descent • Six Programmers • One Artist • Two Level Designers • One Sound Designer • Off-site Musicians Changing Economics • The increasing size and cost of projects will make it hard for small developers to survive • Further consolidation of publishers will change the types of games produced • Globalization affects products Next Trend: Episodic Games Traditional, monolithic games: • Modern games take several years and up to $10m to create, with 50+ hours of gameplay • 20% of Halo 2 players haven't finished the game => 80% are paying for content they'll never consume • Twice as much content takes 4 times as much resources to develop Enter episodic games: • Sequel to Half-Life 2 released as a trilogy of shorter episodes, each costing $20, instead of the usual $40-60, and provides 5 hours of gameplay • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has several add-ons which can be downloaded online Next Trend: Episodic Games Pros: • Half-Life 2 took 6 years to develop, each episode of the trilogy took a year or so • Cheaper episodes allow for more risk taking in gameplay Cons: • Just a way to lock in the players, at very high margins • Grand Turismo: costs $800(?) to buy the whole game • Are shorter games really cheaper? Most of the investments go into character and artwork and engines---all initial investments • episodes == sequels?