PART 7.1: GAME PRODUCTION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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GETTING A JOB IN THE GAME INDUSTRYWITH THE CURRENT EXPANSION IN GAME INDUSTRY EMPLOYMENT, HOW DOES SOMEONE ACTUALLY MAKE THE BIG MOVE?

• KNOW GAMES• LOVE GAMES• TAKE ART CLASSES• LEARN TOOLS• NETWORK• MAKE MODS• MAKE A DEMO• INTERN• GET TEAM

EXPERIENCE

PART 7.1: GAME PRODUCTION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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CONFERENCES & ORGANIZATIONSONE WAY TO NETWORK AND TO KEEP INFORMED ABOUT CURRENT TRENDS IS TO JOIN GAME-RELATED ORGANIZATIONS AND ATTEND THEIR CONFERENCES.

ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMEN

T EXPOTHE LARGEST U.S.

GAMING CONVENTION; PRIMARILY FOR RETAILERS AND

PUBLISHERS, BUT DEVELOPER

SESSIONS ALSO OCCUR.

GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE

THE LARGEST GAME

DEVELOPMENT TRADE SHOW.

INTERNATIONAL GAME

DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATIONPROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION; PROMOTES THE INDUSTRY VIA INTELLECTUAL

PROPERTY RIGHTS, TECHNICAL SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS,

AND TESTING STANDARDS.

SIGGRAPHACM’S GRAPHICS

SIG; ANNUAL CONFERENCE

PRESENTS LEADING EDGE

GRAPHICS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

PART 7.2: GAME INDUSTRY ROLES AND ECONOMICS

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THE GAME INDUSTRYTHE THREE LAWS OF THE GAME INDUSTRY“CHANNEL TO MARKET IS EVERYTHING”• SHELF SPACE IS LIMITED• FIRST 60 DAYS ARE CRITICAL• ADVERTISE IN PRINT, MTV, RETAILER FLYERS,

ETC.• PROMISE FULL REFUNDS TO RETAILERS FOR

ALL COPIES THAT DON’T SELL THROUGH“WHOEVER STANDS BETWEEN YOU AND THE CUSTOMER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE”• GAME PUBLISHERS PAY DEVELOPERS A PERCENTAGE OF

GROSS SALES, USUALLY ABOUT $10 PER UNIT (FOR PC GAMES, MORE FOR CONSOLE GAMES)

• EXPECTED UNIT SALES FOR MOST GAMES: ABOUT 50K (FOR PC, MORE FOR CONSOLE)

• EXPECTED DEVELOPMENT COSTS: AT LEAST $2M (FOR PC, MORE FOR CONSOLE)

“STYLE IS AT LEAST AS IMPORTANT AS SUBSTANCE”• SERIOUS GAMERS WANT IMPOSSIBLY UP-TO-DATE

GRAPHICS, INCREDIBLY FAST ACTION, AND AN INFINITE SUPPLY OF EXTRAS (SECRET LEVELS, BONUS CHARACTERS, HIDDEN MOVES)

• ANYTHING LESS WILL NOT SELL

PART 7.2: GAME INDUSTRY ROLES AND ECONOMICS

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DIGITAL DISTRIBUTIONDOWNLOADING GAMES HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR ELIMINATING MUCH OF THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH TRADITIONAL RETAIL DISTRIBUTION.AS INTERNET-ENABLED CONSOLES PROLIFERATED IN THE EARLY 2000S, IT BECAME POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT THAT COULD BE ADDED ONTO FULL RETAIL GAMES, SUCH AS MAPS, IN-GAME CLOTHING, AND GAMEPLAY.EACH OF THE PRIMARY CONSOLE MANUFACTURERS NOW HAS ITS OWN DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION PLATFORM, FULL RETAIL GAMES AS WELL AS EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOADABLE GAMES.IN 2004, VALVE RELEASED THE STEAM PLATFORM FOR

WINDOWS PCS (LATER EXPANDED TO IOS AND LINUX) TO DISTRIBUTE GAMES DEVELOPED AT VALVE, AND LATER TO SELL TITLES FROM INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS AND MAJOR DISTRIBUTORS.BY 2011, STEAM HAD APPROXIMATELY 50-70% OF THE MARKET FOR DOWNLOADABLE PC GAMES, WITH OVER 40 MILLION USER ACCOUNTS.DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION IS THE PRIMARY METHOD OF DELIVERING CONTENT ON MOBILE PLATFORMS.LOWER BARRIERS TO ENTRY ENABLE MORE DEVELOPERS TO CREATE AND DISTRIBUTE GAMES ON THESE PLATFORMS, WITH THE MOBILE GAMING INDUSTRY GROWING CONSIDERABLY AS A RESULT.

PART 7.3: THE PUBLISHER-DEVELOPER RELATIONSHIP

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LICENSING PROPERTIESLICENSING MOVIE AND TELEVISION TITLES AND COORDINATING THESE GAME RELEASES WITH MAJOR EVENTS FOR THE PROPERTY (FILM RELEASES, NEW TV SEASONS, DVD RELEASES) HAS PROVEN TO BE AN EFFECTIVE COMBINATION.MOVIE TITLE IS LICENSED; OTHERWISE, THERE IS NO RELATION TO THE ACTUAL MOVIE

MOVIE CREATORS INVOLVED WITH GAME PRODUCTION; GAMEPLAY SUPPLEMENTS MOVIE STORY AND ACTION

MOVIE CREATORS INVOLVED WITH GAME PRODUCTIONGAMEPLAY RECREATES MOVIE STORY AND ACTION

TV CREATORS INVOLVED WITH GAME PRODUCTIONGAMEPLAY MAY FILL GAP BETWEEN SHOW SEASONS

PART 7.4: MARKETINGPAGE 6

CASUAL VS. COREWHAT DISTINGUISHES THE CASUAL GAMER FROM THE CORE GAMER?CASUAL

GAMERS…CORE

GAMERS……PLAY A LOT!…PLAY A LITTLE.

…SPEND A LOT!…SPEND A LITTLE. …TOLERATE FRUSTRATION

WELL!…ARE INTOLERANT OF FRUSTRATION. …PLAY FOR THE

EXHILARATION OF DEFEATING THE GAME.

…PLAY FOR THE SHEER ENJOYMENT OF THE EXPERIENCE.

…VIEW CASUAL GAMERS AS UNDEDICATED WIMPS.

…VIEW CORE GAMERS AS NUTTY NERDS.

AS THE CORE GAME MARKET BECOMES SATURATED, GAME COMPANIES ARE

BEGINNING TO LOOK BEYOND THEIR

TRADITIONAL AUDIENCES AND TO TARGET CASUAL

GAMERS.

PART 7.4: MARKETINGPAGE 7

PREDICTING THE FUTUREONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN THE GAME INDUSTRY IS PREDICTING WHAT WILL APPEAL TO NEW AND EXISTING GAMERS.HOW PREDICTABLE WAS THE SUCCESS OF THE NINTENDO DS, WITH GAMEPLAY (AND PLAYER ATTENTION) SPLIT BETWEEN TWO SCREENS?

HOW PREDICTABLE WAS THE SUCCESS OF THE NINTENDO WII, WITH RADICALLY DIFFERENT PERIPHERALS LIKE THE WIIMOTE, THE NUNCHUK, THE WHEEL, THE BALANCE BOARD, AND THE ZAPPER?

PART 7.4: MARKETINGPAGE 8

EMERGING TRENDSIMMERSIVE GAMINGVR HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAYS, LIKE THE OCULUS RIFT, PROVIDE LOW-LATENCY HEAD TRACKING, LARGE FIELD-OF-VIEW, AND STEREOSCOPIC 3D RENDERING.

SECONDARY SCREENSSECONDARY DEVICES, LIKE THE WII U GAMEPAD WITH ITS BUILT-IN TOUCHSCREEN, MAY BE USED

TO SUPPLEMENT THE MAIN DISPLAY WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (INVENTORY, MAPS,

ETC.) OR TO TRANSFER PLAY FROM THE MAIN DISPLAY.

OPEN SOURCE GAMINGFOLLOWING THE LEAD OF THE MOBILE GAMING MARKET, INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS ARE CREATING AND DISTRIBUTING HOMEMADE GAMES USING INEXPENSIVE PLATFORMS LIKE THE OUYA, WHICH DOESN’T REQUIRE THE PURCHASE OF A SEPARATE DEVELOPER’S KIT OR DEVELOPER LICENSING FEES.

PART 7.5: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CONTENT, LAW, AND

PRACTICEPAGE 9

THE LEGAL PERSPECTIVETHE GAME INDUSTRY HASN’T BEEN A REAL STICKLER FOR THE LAW…1978:

MATTEL RELEASES A LICENSED BATTLESTAR GALACTICA GAME CALLED SPACE ALERT

1979: MATTEL DEVELOPS AN UNLICENSED VARIATION, FILLED

WITH BG-STYLE SHIPS AND CYLONS, BUT IS FORCED TO REMOVE THE

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA LOGO AND TO RENAME IT GENERICALLY AS

SPACE BATTLE

1998-1999: HASBRO INTERACTIVE PURCHASES THE ATARI LIBRARY (CENTIPEDE, MISSILE COMMAND, ASTEROIDS) AND LICENSES THE NAMCO LIBRARY (PAC-MAN, POLE POSITION, GALAGA).

2000: HASBRO INTERACTIVE

SUCCESSFULLY SUES SIX OTHER COMPANIES FOR

BLATANTLY COPYING GAMES TO WHICH

HASBRO OWNS THE EXCLUSIVE COPYRIGHT.

PART 7.5: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CONTENT, LAW, AND

PRACTICEPAGE 10

GAME SOFTWARE PIRACYSALES IN PC-BASED GAMES HAVE DECLINED, A TREND FREQUENTLY ATTRIBUTED TO SOFTWARE PIRACY.GAME DEVELOPERS INCREASINGLY USE THE PC PLATFORM TO DEVELOP GAME ENGINES AND GAMES BEFORE PORTING EVERYTHING OVER TO CONSOLES.

PART 7.6: CONTENT REGULATION

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CONTENT REGULATIONCOURTS HAVE REPEATEDLY RULED THAT COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES ARE PROTECTED SPEECH AND THAT RECENT LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO BAN OR LIMIT ACCESS TO GAMES VIOLATES THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION.

Indiana, March 2001Judge: “To shield children right up to

the age of 18 from exposure to violent descriptions and images would not only

be quixotic, but deforming; it would leave them unequipped to cope with

the world as we know it.”

Missouri, June 2003Judge: “…the government cannot silence

protected speech by wrapping itself in the cloak of parental authority.”

Washington, July 2004Judge: “…there has been no showing that

exposure to video games that ‘trivialize violence against law enforcement officers’ is likely to lead to actual violence against

such officers.”

Illinois, December 2005Judge: “…if controlling access to allegedly

‘dangerous’ speech is important in promoting the positive psychological development of children, in

our society that role is properly accorded to parents and families, not the state.”

Michigan, April 2006Judge: “It would be impossible to separate the

functional aspects of a video game from the expressive, inasmuch as they are as closely

intertwined and dependent on each other in creating the virtual experience.”

Minnesota, July 2006Judge: “…there is no showing

whatsoever that video games, in the absence of other violent

media, cause even the slightest injury to children.”

Louisiana, November 2006Judge: “The Court wonders why nobody objected

to the enactment of this statute. In this court’s view, the taxpayers deserve more from their

elected officials.”

Oklahoma, September 2007Judge: “…the presence of increased

viewer control and interactivity does not remove these games from the release of

First Amendment protection.”

California, February 2009Judge: “…there remain less restrictive

means of forwarding the state’s purported interests, such as the

improved ESRB rating system, enhanced educational campaigns, and

parental controls.”

U.S. Supreme Court, June 2011Justice: “Video games qualify for First

Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays, and movies, they communicate

ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And “the basic principles of freedom of speech . . . do

not vary” with a new and different communication medium.”