GDC Day Two

March 4, 2015 | Author: HDIAndrew

Day Two started with Unity’s much-anticipated announcements, including Unity 5 Personal Edition. Perhaps the most interesting part was Mike Capps appearance. As the former head of Epic, their Unreal Engine and Unity battled for dominance. Since Epic was sold to Tencent, rumors have spread that Capps was unhappy with the direction they took, and this appearance seemed to confirm that, without him ever mentioning Epic or Unreal.

One thing that is good to see this year is the very visible presence of large, non-game industry companies like Google, Apple, Twitter and others. This is part of why a big part of everyone’s focus this year is on ads in and around games. While this has been happening in games for years, it really seems to now be a major factor. I am actually rather proud that our Mall Tycoon game more than a decade ago was one of the first, with good players getting to build Gamestops. I actually think ads are a good part of a game when they fit it well, which is true for maybe one percent of ads in games.

The best way that I saw to include ads in games was Kongregate’s AdVenture Capitalist. First of all, I am very amused by the idea of Idle (or Incremental) games. Second, the ads were provided on a opt-in basis, and if you looked at the ads, you received power ups – very fitting in a game about capitalism

I went to a few good presentations yesterday, but most of my day was meetings. I don’t usually post about those, but I do want to share some of what came from the Game Industry Support meeting. No, this isn’t a support group for people who have been in the industry too long, though goodness knows we need that. This is for trade associations, government groups and the like who work to build and improve the industry.

We had a great discussion on game industry surveys that I won’t inflict on you. I do want to share some of what Jason Della Rocca is doing in Canada. Jason, former IGDA president and, more importantly, former SIEGE keynote speaker, runs an accelerator in Montreal for game studios. These are rare around the world, and Jason’s Execution Labs is easily one of the best, if not the best. They have expanded their operations, starting a cowork space in addition to the accelerator. I would be interested in thoughts of indie developers as to its model: http://executionlabs.com.

Random thoughts through the day:

1. Yep, convention wi-fi is still the Sux0R

2. Are eSports events more like pro sport events or music festivals?

3. Should eSports be spelled Esports, ESports, or eSports?

Hope to see you at 3:30 today in North Hall 111 for the IGDA’s Advocacy Training!

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GDC Day One

March 3, 2015 | Author: HDIAndrew

A question first – Who plans to use Unity 5.0 Personal Edition?

Monday of GDC is usually the lightest day, before everyone arrives, but not so this year. I was not the only dev who found day one as intense as other days usually are. After a day of meetings, sessions and meals, I called it after just one party. Let’s hope I do better tonight.

Some thoughts:

1. The Google sessions were packed. Lots of interest in their tools, and most people expect that 2015 is the year the Android store has more sales than the iOS store. For mobile devs, however, iOS will probably still account for more of their revenue. By the way, if anyone incorporates Google Player Analytics, please let me know how that works out.

2. The summits used to offer what the Computer Game Developers Conference use to provide – lots of discussions and idea sharing. I see them doing less of that this year. The sessions are quick and very much presentation focused, with limited opportunity to talk to the presenter. GDC has set up side rooms for that purpose, but not all speakers are using them. The presentations are all right, but I have always found developers talking to developers to be the best educational opportunities.

3. I understand that many companies are paying for slots and want to send their marketing people, but nothing beats developers who actually use the tools talking about them.

4. Why is the convention wireless so overloaded on Day One, when no one is here? This does not bode well.

The best session I saw was Tom Blind from Backflip Studios talking about prototyping. Nothing new, but his nine rules for prototyping made up a nice, consist list. He was the presenter I saw use the abbreviated nature of the summit sessions to best effect.

1. Know what the prototype should accomplish. (I say a prototype should have one main goal – proof of technology, show that specific game play elements work or are fun, or get an investor to put in resources).

2. Anything can be a prototype – card games, spread sheets, etc.

3. Go for breadth, not depth. He recommends trying out a number of different approaches.

4. Always kill your babies – throw away the prototypes when they have served their purposes. Do not attempt to turn them into your game. I have seen prototypes that have gone onto become a full, good game, but usually this is a good principle

5. Prototype in parallel with game development. Many small studios do not have the resources to do both, but generally I agree.

6. Do not polish. Focus on gameplay, not art. Unless you are doing an art prototype or making something to show investors, this is a good point. Good art can mask game flaws.

7. Get anyone you can to playtest. He recommended www.usertesting.com, which I have not used.

8. There is no fail, only try. This is a very good point, but many small studios do not have the resources to fail repeatedly.

9. Give inexperienced people a chance. Let new hires prototype. I agree with this, but make sure you have the rights firm before you do so. Blind also recommended having daily meetings to test prototypes. Again, this may not be within a small studio’s budget, but real deadlines should be in place for getting prototypes done.

 

Another session that is always excellent is Mike Rose’s presentation on indie game sales. I’ll be glad to share his numbers in another post if people want, but his contention that PS4 will become a better platform this year for indie games was an interesting one.

This was also the first year they had a Community Management Summit, and I enjoyed dropping into those sessions and meeting the speakers. I found the summit a little light on specific recommendations, but I think it was a good addition.

Finally, it was interesting hearing how many indies are using ads to pay for their development. I am watching the Unity announcements right now, and Unity ads are one of their big pushes at this show.

 

 

 

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Gaming the Game Developers Conference

March 2, 2015 | Author: HDIAndrew

GDC has been one of my favorite events for decades, ever since I attended its predecessor, the Computer Game Developers Conference, in the early 90s. I thought it went downhill around 2000, which is part of the reason I established SIEGE. The GDC owners learned from their mistakes, and it is again the industry must-attend event.

There are numerous online guides for how to make the most of GDC, but there are a few specifics that I think get overlooked.

1. Go to the round tables. GDC offers numerous learning opportunities and chances to network, but the round tables are the best mix of both. You get a great mix of perspectives and experience, as well as the chance to meet everyone who speaks. These sessions are always some of the highlights of GDC for me.

2. Talk to everyone. Our company, HDI, came out of a chance encounter at CGDC. Everyone is casually dressed, and may not look impressive, but the most slovenly dressed person may well be exactly the person you want to meet. While some people in our industry may have weak interpersonal skills, most are very friendly and approachable. Especially approach people around meals. I find lunch much better for networking than the loud nighttime parties.

3. While HDI has gotten contracts at GDC, most of your real results will come long after the con is over. Follow up, respond to follow ups, and don’t insist on immediate results. Game Dev is often a long process of figuring with whom you want to work and finding the right project on which to partner.

I am always curious as to other people’s GDC experiences, positive or negative, so please let me know.

 

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IGDA Advocacy Training at GDC, Part 2

February 27, 2015 | Author: HDIAndrew

First of all, yesterday I wrote that one thing all advocates should do is celebrate their successes, so here we go:

Yesterday the Georgia House Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously to extend the video game tax credit which has done so much to empower our industry here. While we still have much to do before this extension is signed into law, yesterday’s vote is the result of a number of advocates working to ensure that many people see the value of what we do. This is just one example of what developer-advocates can do when they put their minds to it.

Now onto reactive advocacy. This is what most of us think of when the term “game advocacy” comes to mind, in particular the response to the numerous baseless charges that games cause violence. The very assertion was offensive for many reasons, not least because a) there was no evidence of such and b) the assertions became a distraction for addressing the issues we DO know are causes of violence. I always found it amusing that some of the same attackers who made these charges were also the ones who used to scream that rap music caused violence, until the clear racism and unfounded nature of their arguments became unsupportable. It didn’t hurt that Frank Zappa made them laughingstocks in Congressional hearings.

It is not just assertions about violence to which developer-advocates have had to react. IP and online trolls, addiction worries, DRM, bandwidth throttling and more have all required intelligent responses. While each controversy has its unique characteristics, dealing with them often follows the same format:

  1. Identify the primary detractors and their core motives. Yes, it is easy to dismiss many of them as self-serving publicity hounds, trying to gain fame by criticizing others’ work, but this is not always the case. Putting them all in the same box risks complacency.
  2. Determine who your primary audience should be – customers, legislators, media, other game devs, etc. Don’t expect reason to change your opponent’s mind. Focus on those people impacted by the issue but who do not have their minds already made up.
  3. Utilize a variety of communication tools. While it may seem easiest to just do a single press interview, it is often best to supplement that with letters and web sites where you can control what is said.
  4. Promote supportable evidence demonstrating the flaws of the issue. For instance, when bandwidth throttling became a concern, developers noted the very real impact that could have on their endeavors.
  5. Use the attention to demonstrate the value in what we do. The Grandtheft Childhood study became a surprisingly strong part of the fight against the “games-cause-violence” lie.
  6. Identify allies and enlist their aid.
  7. Have a core message, i.e. the notion that games cause violence is not supported by evidence, but understand that even your allies and supporters may have their own messages.
  8. Recognize successes and defeats, but do not wallow in either. Most of the time these issues should never have come up, so it is better to promote how they are being dealt with, rather than
  9. Remain vigilant. All of these issues can crop up again, so always remember Jefferson’s quote that “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

Please note that not all reactive advocacy is inherently combative. For instance, the many in the industry have recognized the validity of complaints that female representation is lacking, both in games and in the ranks of developers. In this case, advocacy has played its greatest role in encouraging change within the industry. This has had multiple benefits, increasing both the number of people making and playing games.

In any case, this just scratches the surface. For more definite strategies and tactics, join us Wednesday in room 111 of the Moscone North Hall.

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