Hey,
I came to the realization the other day that this is a great place to write about current projects. I am not allowed to talk about much of anything concerning LondonTown but I am also working on a project for one of my classes. The assignment was to write up a concept document for an original video game idea. The teacher had everyone in the class propose their ideas then the class voted on which ones they wanted to work on. Out of the 30 or so proposed ideas mine was chosen.
I had taken a class taught by this professor previously and wanted to design a game that actually fell into the scope of a student project. In the previous class I took we designed another game design a came up with that was supposed to be a AAA title and was unsatisfied with the outcome. For this project I designed a Flash based game that was within the scope of a student project. I really want to try and make this game after we finish the concept document.
Writing the concept document with 4 other people was really difficult for me. The idea was mine and letting go and accepting others input is very hard. I think that I did a good job letting everyone give their opinion and that everyone can point to something they contributed. I tried to just focus on maintaining the vision I had but letting the details be created by whoever had the best idea.
At first I think that some of the members of my group were not sure about how I was running things but as time went on I think they liked it. It is always interesting working in groups while in school because everyone has a different agenda. Some students want to get the best grades possible, some students are just there because they were told to be, and others fall somewhere in the middle. In order to properly lead a group you have to figure out how motivated each person is and what their skill set is. It is fun figuring it out and trying to make it work.
The next step in the project is to find other students to actually make the game. I would take on the producer and designer roles on it and would need to find a programming, sound, and art team. I think the game is within the scope of making within a semester. We'll see if I can get this project moving forward and I'll try and keep posting back on progress.
Cyaz
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
PC Gaming Rigs
Hey,
I believe that the biggest factor holding back PC gaming is the cost. Even a mediocre PC costs around $800. You can build a decent rig or get a pretty good deal on a custom made PC for around $1,500. Then there are the high end rigs that can cost upwards of $5,000. A PS3, the most expensive of the consoles from this generation, costs only $400 making it much more attractive to most consumers.
The thing about a console is that it really only lasts for the current generation. After the next generation comes out your console is no longer supported by the majority of developers. The good games are still good but you will never get anything new and the console has no other purpose than to play games. A PC does thousands of different things.
My gaming rig is around 5-6 years old. I have had one hard drive failure and I upgraded the ram and graphics card 2 summers ago for $200. When I bought the computer it cost $1,500 with a monitor. I already had speakers and I have purchased a new monitor for $500 3 years ago. So in total I have spent around $2,200 on a piece of equipment that I mainly use to play video games. This seems a little ridiculous considering I could spend significantly less and get basically the same experience.
Yet for some reason there are thousands of people out there that continue to play video games on their computers. Some exclusively play video games on their computers and some play on both consoles and computers. I am strong proponent of PC gaming but also have a strong respect for consoles. The PC gaming market lately has been struggling on though despite all the odds.
I think that the gaming rig has a certain allure to it, especially if you build it yourself. You start to feel attached to it and you can really customize it. Every PC you turn on is just slightly different while every console is almost completely identical. Having a fast PC is also a hobby similar to cars. Some people constantly mod and upgrade different parts to see how far they can push their machine.
I'm not really sure where I wanted this post to go when I started writing it. It kind of ended up being a short summary of PC gaming rigs without any real insights into anything. I guess my point was that PC gaming does exist regardless of any real rational reasoning. It will probably go on forever as a hobby but it could shrink to insignificance. MMOs right now are almost solely played on PCs but eventually they will be adapted for console play. RTS's and FPS have already made the transition.
That was more of a ramble than anything very insightful but my rambling thoughts count as thoughts too.
Cyaz
I believe that the biggest factor holding back PC gaming is the cost. Even a mediocre PC costs around $800. You can build a decent rig or get a pretty good deal on a custom made PC for around $1,500. Then there are the high end rigs that can cost upwards of $5,000. A PS3, the most expensive of the consoles from this generation, costs only $400 making it much more attractive to most consumers.
The thing about a console is that it really only lasts for the current generation. After the next generation comes out your console is no longer supported by the majority of developers. The good games are still good but you will never get anything new and the console has no other purpose than to play games. A PC does thousands of different things.
My gaming rig is around 5-6 years old. I have had one hard drive failure and I upgraded the ram and graphics card 2 summers ago for $200. When I bought the computer it cost $1,500 with a monitor. I already had speakers and I have purchased a new monitor for $500 3 years ago. So in total I have spent around $2,200 on a piece of equipment that I mainly use to play video games. This seems a little ridiculous considering I could spend significantly less and get basically the same experience.
Yet for some reason there are thousands of people out there that continue to play video games on their computers. Some exclusively play video games on their computers and some play on both consoles and computers. I am strong proponent of PC gaming but also have a strong respect for consoles. The PC gaming market lately has been struggling on though despite all the odds.
I think that the gaming rig has a certain allure to it, especially if you build it yourself. You start to feel attached to it and you can really customize it. Every PC you turn on is just slightly different while every console is almost completely identical. Having a fast PC is also a hobby similar to cars. Some people constantly mod and upgrade different parts to see how far they can push their machine.
I'm not really sure where I wanted this post to go when I started writing it. It kind of ended up being a short summary of PC gaming rigs without any real insights into anything. I guess my point was that PC gaming does exist regardless of any real rational reasoning. It will probably go on forever as a hobby but it could shrink to insignificance. MMOs right now are almost solely played on PCs but eventually they will be adapted for console play. RTS's and FPS have already made the transition.
That was more of a ramble than anything very insightful but my rambling thoughts count as thoughts too.
Cyaz
Monday, November 3, 2008
Response to Email and New Conclusions on Casual Gaming
Hey,
I never got around to writing a response to the emails and my last post on casual gamers due to being sick all week. Better late than never though.
I've read over my email, my previous post, and thought about all I learned during my internship and come up with some new ideas. In the emails I described the mass market and how people are starting to realize the existence of it. I still think that the idea of a mass market needs to be spread around and that we need to stop dividing the market solely between core and casual. By simply splitting the market between casual and core a divide is created that keeps gamers from trying to cross the divide. A core gamer will not play casual games because he gets the impression they are boring and a casual gamer will not play core games for fear they are too difficult. The mass market creates a middle ground that both groups can play in where they learn that the divide between the two is not as impassable as they originally believed.
The mass market meets the criteria I proposed in my older post. Mass market games give the same experience to both casual gamers as it does to core gamers. Guitar Hero is the best example of this. Both core gamers and casual gamers get the same experience out of the game, playing rock and roll as though they are on stage at a rock concert.
The time commitment of mass market games is completely up to the player. Players can play as long as they want and they will generally get the same experience. I don't agree anymore that time alone defines the difference between a casual gamer and a core gamer. They really are completely different markets. But they are not the only two markets. The mass market is where time commitment loses its affect on who plays. I believe that the mass market games is where the majority of the industry growth will come from in the next couple of years.
I don't know if that really was a response to the emails or just rambling but it is something.
Cyaz
I never got around to writing a response to the emails and my last post on casual gamers due to being sick all week. Better late than never though.
I've read over my email, my previous post, and thought about all I learned during my internship and come up with some new ideas. In the emails I described the mass market and how people are starting to realize the existence of it. I still think that the idea of a mass market needs to be spread around and that we need to stop dividing the market solely between core and casual. By simply splitting the market between casual and core a divide is created that keeps gamers from trying to cross the divide. A core gamer will not play casual games because he gets the impression they are boring and a casual gamer will not play core games for fear they are too difficult. The mass market creates a middle ground that both groups can play in where they learn that the divide between the two is not as impassable as they originally believed.
The mass market meets the criteria I proposed in my older post. Mass market games give the same experience to both casual gamers as it does to core gamers. Guitar Hero is the best example of this. Both core gamers and casual gamers get the same experience out of the game, playing rock and roll as though they are on stage at a rock concert.
The time commitment of mass market games is completely up to the player. Players can play as long as they want and they will generally get the same experience. I don't agree anymore that time alone defines the difference between a casual gamer and a core gamer. They really are completely different markets. But they are not the only two markets. The mass market is where time commitment loses its affect on who plays. I believe that the mass market games is where the majority of the industry growth will come from in the next couple of years.
I don't know if that really was a response to the emails or just rambling but it is something.
Cyaz
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