The Game Industry Robin Burke GAM 224 1

The Game Industry Robin Burke GAM 224

¢ 1. MADDEN NFL 06 PS 2 2. POKEMON EMERALD GBA 3. GRAN TURISMO 4 PS 2 4. MADDEN NFL 06 XBX 5. NCAA FOOTBALL 06 PS 2 6. STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT II PS 2 7. MVP BASEBALL 2005 PS 2 8. STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH PS 2 9. NBA LIVE 06 PS 2 10. LEGO STAR WARS PS 2

Outline ¢ Admin l ¢ Play papers The Game Industry Structure l Process l Problems l

Admin ¢ Play papers l ¢ Done grading Distribution AAAAAA-----l BBBBBB+++++++l CCCC++++l FF l

The Game Industry ¢ Statistics (2004) l l ¢ US Retail sales: 9. 9 billion Software sales: 7. 3 billion Add MMO subscriptions: 1 billion 248 million units sold Halo 2 l l $125 million opening weekend best film ever • $114 million (Spiderman 2)

Growth

Costs ¢ ¢ Premium game title 1992 l ¢ 2001 l ¢ $1 -2 M 2004 l ¢ $200 K $5 -7 M next generation l $10 -15 M

Industry structure Hardware Suppliers Tool Vendors Developers Publishers Consumers Distributors Retail Outlets Support Services

Publisher ¢ Money Fund game development l Fund marketing campaigns l ¢ Connections Convince distributors / retails to carry and display the game l Manage licensing l Manage intellectual property l

Hardware suppliers ¢ Hardware l l l ¢ Supply console hardware to consumers Supply peripherals / add-ons such as video cards for PCs Supply hardware and development tools to developers Quality control l Approve games for release on console platforms

Tool Vendors ¢ ¢ ¢ Produce specialize software used in game production 3 -D modeling l Maya l 3 DS max Sound editing Motion capture Middleware l AI engine l Physics engine l Graphics engine l etc.

Support services ¢ ¢ ¢ Motion capture labs Motion capture actors Sound studios Voice actors Contract art / animation Musicians Composers Technical writing PC configuration testing Localization / translation etc.

Developers ¢ ¢ ¢ Create art assets l 3 -D models l textures l animations Create audio / video assets l cut-scenes l sound effects l speech Develop game code l graphics engine l game AI l user interface

Distributors / Retailers ¢ Distributors Maintain inventory l Market games to retailers l Deliver games to retailers l Monitor sales and market activity l ¢ Retailers l Sell to consumers

Process ¢ Pre-production l l l ¢ Development l l l ¢ Concept development Game Design Art Production Plan Technical Design Prototype Planning Asset development Code development Play testing Quality assurance Post-production l l Manufacturing Packaging Marketing Advertising

Concept Development ¢ Players l l ¢ Designer Tech lead Concept artist Producer Brainstorming activity to generate new game design l often based on existing IP or licenses • • l more rarely, original IP and designs • ¢ almost always from someone with a proven record Tasks l l ¢ movie characters and situations sequel to existing game Concept art Game concept Budget Competitive analysis Get a publisher interested l Or publisher may contact developer for this

Game Design ¢ Players l l ¢ Nitty-gritty details of every bit of the game l l l ¢ Designer Tech lead Concept artist Art director every level every character every gameplay element Task l l convince the publisher that you can actually produce the game provide framework for art production plan and technical design

Technical Design ¢ Players l ¢ Software development plan l l ¢ Tech team Middleware licensing Staffing Tasks, milestones and deliverables Budget Task l l Understand the technical challenges of production Plan and budget for the effort

Art Production Plan ¢ Similar to technical design but on the art side what are all the art assets? l how will they be produced? l Budget / staffing / etc. l

Prototype ¢ Establish the "look and feel" of the game l ¢ especially its core mechanic Task l Convince publisher to fund development • Will it be fun and distinctive? • Are the technical aims feasible?

Development ¢ Hard work l l l ¢ Programming Creation of art assets Integration Tuning Testing Organized by milestones l l l part of production plan developer only gets paid when milestones are achieved E 3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) often an important milestone • major marketing opportunity • aiming for Christmas sales

Post-Production ¢ Master disks shipped to hardware supplier l Acceptance testing for quality control Manufacturing, printing, packaging ¢ Marketing ¢ Distribution ¢ Retail ¢

Realities ¢ Game development is l complex • different skills • different technologies l dynamic • changing technical environment • changing competitive landscape l uncertain • design is iterative • hard to predict successful game mechanics

Problems The last mile: retail issues ¢ Risk vs reward ¢ Lost innovation ¢

Retail Issues ¢ Game stores are small l 200 -300 titles in stock • compare to record stores! l ¢ space is a premium Retail wants to shelve profitable items l games have a limited period to prove themselves • a couple of weeks

Risk ¢ Sales are increasing l ¢ larger population of gamers But it is harder and harder to make money on a game

Risk II ¢ To balance risk l l ¢ publishers need to place lots of bets so that big wins balance the losers Publishers need to be big l really big • • l ¢ Nintendo EA Sony Microsoft it isn't clear that Midway is going to make it As the bar is raised l l l higher definition art more technically complex development the stakes at the table are raised

Risk III ¢ Publishers cannot gamble l ¢ Their $10 million must go where the return is acceptable and predictable l l l ¢ they are in business to make money sequel-itis licensed IP well-known genres Because l l there are existing fans there are channels to market to those audiences

Risk IV ¢ Control of IP l Control of IP is a hedge against risk • IP can turn into a franchise • with lucrative spin-offs l Publisher owns the game concept, characters, and (usually) code base • Bioware made KOTOR but • Lucas. Arts owned the IP, so • Obsidian made KOTOR II ¢ Result l Developers lose control of their creations

Genres ¢ A game genre l l ¢ a set of formal rule characteristics that give rise to a core mechanic (or collection thereof) with durable appeal Examples l l social card game real-time strategy first-person shooter action adventure

Genre life-cycle ¢ A genre has a life-cycle l Coinage • A designer creates a game that exemplifies the mechanic l Popularization • The mechanic is refined and a really popular game breaks out l Maturity • A group of the gaming population focuses on this mechanic and becomes a market force • Product differentiation occurs above the mechanic: narrative elements, licenses. l Decline • Market consolidates around the winners of the "Maturity" phase. • Less devoted fans move on to other genres. • Well-defined market attracts marketing attention but little innovation. l Niche • Genre addicts form the sole audience. • Technical innovations in the mechanic are of primary interest. • Innovation decreases.

Examples ¢ 2 -D arcade shooter l l ¢ Spacewar Space Invaders Defender, Centipede, Galaga Defender II, Galaxian Text-based adventure l l Adventure Zork Planetfall, A Mind Forever Voyaging King's Quest

Death to the games industry? ¢ ¢ ¢ Costikiyan's claim Loss of innovation in the mainstream game industry l Budget pressures and risks l Genre maturation Problem l where will innovation come from? l no avenue for independent developers to reach a mass audience l nothing like • independent film industry • independent record labels

Wideload Games Stubbs the Zombie ¢ Alex Seropian & Co. ¢ founders of Bungie l developers of Halo l ¢ Problem l how to develop a modern console game with a limited budget

Staffing ¢ ¢ Few people for concept and design (~5) More for prototype development (~10) A lot for full-scale production (~20 -70) Problem l ¢ How to keep 70 people busy during next design phase? Typical answer l Try to have a portfolio of projects coming and going • some small-scale

Burn-rate risk ¢ Very risky for the developer l A project that doesn't materialize • means 50 people with nothing to do l A project that runs late for technical reasons • means 30 artists with nothing to do • while programmer work day and night • while nobody gets paid

Wideload II ¢ ¢ Insight l people x time = money l fewer people means more time for the same money Solution l license existing engine (Halo) l small core team (11) l augmented by contract work (65 peak) • • concept and game art animation motion capture sound

Wideload III ¢ Result l Schedule slip could be absorbed • contractors weren't paid while technical fixes made l Focus could be on game play • not on meeting targets l Some difficulties in managing distributed team • but they did it ¢ If technical innovation was required l l new game engine much more difficult

The Future ¢ Next-gen games higher budgets l more complex technology l increased customer expectations l ¢ All mean greater risk l which means less innovation?

Monday Culture paper ¢ Grand Theft Auto III ¢ There is no quiz 3 ¢