And Then There Were None

This game has already been released in the US, according to Adventure Gamers. That's a whole two weeks early! :)

I don't know when it's releasing in the rest of the world, but I mention it here because I did some script editing work on the title. I have no idea about the gameplay as I've yet to see the game itself (though the preview over at AG suggests it's worth looking at). The publisher simply wanted me to look over the script and ensure that the dialogue had a "British feel". As it was written by Lee Sheldon, an experienced writer and designer, much of what I altered was superficial in the main and replacing words like "gas" with "petrol".

I'll let you know how the gameplay is when I eventually get my free copy.

Not just games...

I discovered this post via the Projector Films blog. I love the fact that the internet is opening up opportunities to independent creativity in a way that's allowing people to make some money. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that the internet is really the way to go for me.

A ray of light?

Following the gloomy feeling of my last two posts, I must say that a smile came over my face as I read this article in the latest issue of The Escapist online magazine. The idea that the whole of South America is poking Sony and Microsoft in the eye creates a warm feeling in my heart. A lesson to be learned by everyone on the issue of content versus style. It makes me want to design games for the South American market.

Fewer and Fewer

This piece over atEurogamer highlights another major problem with the increasing expense of making games. Soon only the very biggest publishers will be able to fund the development of "top" games and so in a few years' time we'll be reduced to a handful of big publishers as they grab all of the smaller ones. Am I the only one who sees nothing but gloom for the game player from this?

Are expensive games becoming unfeasible?

Reading the latest issue of MCV, it's very easy to get the impression that there is a lot to be worried about in games development. Both the US and Japanese retail markets show a fall in game software sales of around 24%. When you take into account the fact that this software is now spread across a larger number of platforms, the likelihood that a game is profitable is diminishing rapidly.

What this tells me is that the expensive (to make) games for the new consoles are going to be few and far between because most development studios will be unable to secure the huge costs necessary. The funding required is likely only going to be available to those who can demonstrate an incredibly strong track record or who can build on an existing franchise.

Those whose forecast low sales for their games will have to work with a budget that is unlikely to allow them to take advantages of the power of the new platforms and so are therefore unlikely to get the concept approval from Sony or Microsoft.

With retail game prices not rising in direct proportion to the development costs and being further exacerbated by large supermarket chains discounting top titles, it's difficult to see any kind of development model that suggests expensive games are feasible to the majority of developers.

I think that most development studios are going to have to seriously look at how they are going to structure themselves so they can develop games in a way that allows them to continue in business.

The Curse of the Were Rabbit

Today I went to see the film, Wallace and Gromit - The Curse of the Were Rabbit. What a hilarious film - so much so that I'm going to have to see it again. The attention to detail is amazing and the dedication of the creators is unbelievable when you think of the amount of time and energy that must have gone into making it.

I heartily recommend that everyone go to the cinema and watch it - you won't regret it.

Funny thing, writing

Never having written a book before, I must admit that the process has taken me somewhat by surprise. Although I have mapped out what I want to say by creating a chapter list that contains a few paragraphs on each, when I sit down to start each one I'm briefly filled by a feeling of terror.

For a short while I look at the blank computer screen and think that I'll be lucky to think of enough to say beyond a couple of hundred words. Yet once I get going I find that it becomes much easier and a few days later I have 3,000 words that appear to have come from nowhere. :)

Whether it makes sense to anyone else, of course, is another matter.

Forum Down Time

The community forums have been down for a few days. The database had to be changed by the hosting providors because of an external attack. Everything should be back to normal now. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Girls with Slingshots

Danielle Corsetto's excellent strip, Girls with Slingshots, has been around for exactly a year now. As part of the celebrations, Danielle asked for some guest strips for the site. Today you can see the Mr. Smoozles strip I put together for her on the main page.

Congratulations on the first anniversary, Danielle.

I'm writing a book...

A few months ago I was approached by a publisher interested in publishing a book on writing for games as part of an established series of books they have of various writing topics. This came about as a direct result of my maintaining a solid presence online, particularly my article, "My Fingers are Blistered and Bleeding", which the editor liked the style of.

The upshot is that they liked my proposal, which was then approved by the board and I've just signed the contract. Because of the time it will take to write and get published, it won't be released until this time next year. It's an exciting thing to be doing, particularly as I've never written a book before... :)

Niche Games

This afternoon I was talking with Tony Warriner, a colleague and friend from my time at Revolution, when we touched ont he subject of niche games, which led onto the subject of adventure games. Clearly, the adventure genre isn't dead because adventure games continue to sell, but it ahs quite clearly become a niche market.

We talked about sales figures and came to the conclusion that if a game sells 100,000 copies it's likely to be regarded as a hit. Because the developer is likely to get only 3-4 Euros for each game sold, an adventure that has a budget of more than 400,000 Euros is going to be a big risk and although may make some money for the publisher is unlikely to generate additional income for the developer, over an above what the publisher has given to fund the project. The harsh reality is likely to be that we can only expect low-budget adventure games from now on.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. If the games are designed and developed with the low budget in mind from the start, the emphasis can be placed where it really belongs - on the gameplay. What really drains a game project of its money is the over-dependence on expensive graphics and animation. This doesn't mean that games should be created with bad graphics, just that the quality should be maximised within the constraints.

When you begin to think beyond adventures, to the wider markets, and think about the fact that most games fail to make profits for their developers, you realise that adventures aren't the only games that are niche games.

Looking at the film industry for a moment, a top film will have audiences of 100 million or more, which is huge in comparison to the five million that a top game will sell. When you take into account the fact that there are far more games released each year than films, it seems to me that ALL game genres are niche markets - it's just that some niches are bigger than others.

The book selling industry realised this a long time ago. It's why they organise their books into the various niches the books are aimed at - Sci-Fi, Crime, Romance, Horror, Biography, etc.

The "mass market" is a myth and the sooner the industry realises that it is catering for a series of niches the better it will be for all concerned.

Yet another interview...

Those kind people over at Adventure Developers were interested in having a chat with me. You can discover what we talked about here.

And the winner is...

The voting in the competition has now closed and the results are as follows:

Andy Warthog by Corvus D. Elrod 3%
Lucile by Stathis Riso 43%
Marcus Roadkill by by Geraldo Ramos Falci Jr. 30%
Root Monkey by Colin Panetta 16%
Skid by Jean-Louis Sirois 6%

This means that Lucile by Stathis Riso is the winner. Well done Stathis!

A big thank you to everyone who came along and voted.