The Game Industry

Robin Burke

GAM 224

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Outline

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The Game IndustryStructureProcessProblems

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The Game Industry

Statistics (2004) US Retail sales: 9.9 billion Software sales: 7.3 billion Add MMO subscriptions: 1 billion 248 million units sold

Halo 2 $125 million opening weekend best film ever

• $114 million (Spiderman 2)

Growth

Costs

Premium game title 1992

$200K 2001

$1-2M 2004

$5-7M next generation

$10-15M

Industry structure

Hardware Suppliers

Publishers

Developers

Distributors

Retail Outlets

Tool VendorsSupport Services

Consumers

Publisher

MoneyFund game developmentFund marketing campaigns

ConnectionsConvince distributors / retails to carry

and display the gameManage licensingManage intellectual property

Hardware suppliers

Hardware Supply console hardware to consumers Supply peripherals / add-ons such as video

cards for PCs Supply hardware and development tools to

developers Quality control

Approve games for release on console platforms

Tool Vendors

Produce specialize software used in game production 3-D modeling

Maya 3DS max

Sound editing Motion capture Middleware

AI engine Physics engine Graphics engine 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 3-D models textures animations

Create audio / video assets cut-scenes sound effects speech

Develop game code graphics engine game AI user interface

Distributors / Retailers

DistributorsMaintain inventoryMarket games to retailersDeliver games to retailersMonitor sales and market activity

RetailersSell to consumers

Process

Pre-production Concept development Game Design Art Production Plan Technical Design Prototype

Development Planning Asset development Code development Play testing Quality assurance

Post-production Manufacturing Packaging Marketing Advertising

Concept Development

Players Designer Tech lead Concept artist Producer

Brainstorming activity to generate new game design often based on existing IP or licenses

• movie characters and situations• sequel to existing game

more rarely, original IP and designs• almost always from someone with a proven record

Tasks Concept art Game concept Budget Competitive analysis

Get a publisher interested Or publisher may contact developer for this

Game Design

Players Designer Tech lead Concept artist Art director

Nitty-gritty details of every bit of the game every level every character every gameplay element

Task convince the publisher that you can actually produce the

game provide framework for art production plan and technical

design

Technical Design

Players Tech team

Software development plan Middleware licensing Staffing Tasks, milestones and deliverables Budget

Task Understand the technical challenges of

production Plan and budget for the effort

Art Production Plan

Similar to technical design but on the art sidewhat are all the art assets?how will they be produced?Budget / staffing / etc.

Prototype

Establish the "look and feel" of the gameespecially its core mechanic

TaskConvince publisher to fund

development• Will it be fun and distinctive?• Are the technical aims feasible?

Development

Hard work Programming Creation of art assets Integration Tuning Testing

Organized by milestones part of production plan developer only gets paid when milestones are achieved E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) often an important

milestone• major marketing opportunity• aiming for Christmas sales

Post-Production

Master disks shipped to hardware supplierAcceptance testing for quality control

Manufacturing, printing, packaging Marketing Distribution Retail

Realities

Game development is complex

• different skills• different technologies

dynamic• changing technical environment• changing competitive landscape

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 small200-300 titles in stock

• compare to record stores!

space is a premium Retail wants to shelve profitable items

games have a limited period to prove themselves

• a couple of weeks

Risk

Sales are increasinglarger population

of gamers But it is harder and

harder to make money on a game

Risk II

To balance risk publishers need to place lots of bets so that big wins balance the losers

Publishers need to be big really big

• Nintendo• EA• Sony• Microsoft

it isn't clear that Midway is going to make it As the bar is raised

higher definition art more technically complex development the stakes at the table are raised

Risk III

Publishers cannot gamble they are in business to make money

Their $10 million must go where the return is acceptable and predictable sequel-itis licensed IP well-known genres

Because there are existing fans there are channels to market to those

audiences

Risk IV

Control of IP Control of IP is a hedge against risk

• IP can turn into a franchise• with lucrative spin-offs

Publisher owns the game concept, characters, and (usually) code base

• Bioware made KOTOR but• LucasArts owned the IP, so• Obsidian made KOTOR II

Result Developers lose control of their creations

Genres

A game genre a set of formal rule characteristics that give

rise to a core mechanic (or collection thereof) with

durable appeal Examples

social card game real-time strategy first-person shooter action adventure

Genre life-cycle

A genre has a life-cycle Coinage

• A designer creates a game that exemplifies the mechanic Popularization

• The mechanic is refined and a really popular game breaks out 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.

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.

Niche• Genre addicts form the sole audience.• Technical innovations in the mechanic are of primary interest.• Innovation decreases.

Examples

2-D arcade shooter Spacewar Space Invaders Defender, Centipede, Galaga Defender II, Galaxian

Text-based adventure 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

Budget pressures and risks Genre maturation

Problem where will innovation come from? no avenue for independent developers to reach a

mass audience nothing like

• independent film industry• independent record labels

Wideload Games

Stubbs the Zombie Alex Seropian & Co.

founders of Bungiedevelopers of Halo

Problemhow 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

How to keep 70 people busy during next design phase?

Typical answer Try to have a portfolio of projects coming

and going• some small-scale

Burn-rate risk

Very risky for the developerA project that doesn't materialize

• means 50 people with nothing to do

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 people x time = money fewer people means more time for the same money

Solution license existing engine (Halo) small core team (11) augmented by contract work (65 peak)

• concept and game art• animation• motion capture• sound

Wideload III

Result Schedule slip could be absorbed

• contractors weren't paid while technical fixes made

Focus could be on game play• not on meeting targets

Some difficulties in managing distributed team

• but they did it If technical innovation was required

new game engine much more difficult

The Future

Next-gen gameshigher budgetsmore complex technologyincreased customer expectations

All mean greater riskwhich means less innovation?

Monday

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