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The Art of Downloadable Game Development

Posted by Soulskill on from the get-used-to-it dept.

The Guardian's Games Blog looks at how the development of downloadable games has shifted over the past several years. As an example, they point to Capcom, its recent reinvention of the Mega Man franchise, and an upcoming game called Flock. Quoting: "[CEO Paddy Sinclair said], 'The first thing we realised was, it wouldn't be as easy as we thought. Luckily we're funded privately so we had the luxury of getting it wrong. It was very... educational. We learned very quickly that, no, you can't write a game in three months. We also realized we'd need a bigger team than just two or three.' 'The XBLA market has really evolved,' continues business development head, Chris Wright. 'If you look at the very early games they were simple ports — single-player, retro emulation titles, and you can kick those out very quickly. That market is disappearing. If you're going to do retro remakes you have to extend it, you have to add multiplayer. If you're going to do something new, it has to be bigger. We've got a team of 10-12 people working on this title. If you look back, it's what we would have had on PS1, and the game is probably of the same sort of size. It's not the huge budgets of a retail title, but it's not a trivial undertaking, either.'"

32 comments

  1. creeping featurism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pay attention audience. Noticed how things moved from low-hanging fruit to higher up with an increase in number of developers. That effect is why in part modern games cost as much as they do and take as long as they do.

  2. Game Storyline by troll8901 · · Score: 1

    Would a good game plot, overcome a lack of great graphics and features?

    (i.e. Would yesteryear's Sierra and LucasArts games overcome today's market demands?)

    1. Re:Game Storyline by grumbel · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Telltale is running their whole business on adventure games and so far they seem to be doing quite fine.

  3. Really? by KDR_11k · · Score: 1, Insightful

    From what I see most XBLA titles are dual-analog shooters or stuff like that and while the effects and such get more and more advanced the core gameplay just gets clunky. Then again I've only played the demos of most and those rarely get much past the tutorial. Seems to me like this upmarket trend here is just adding superficialities and needless complication.

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    1. Re:Really? by NightRain · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Really? My XBLA downloads mostly consist of turn based board game remakes and the like. I don't think I've even demo'd a shooter on XBLA, let alone bought one...

  4. Wii Retro by sleeponthemic · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Shame the wii retro console titles don't have any graphical filter work done on them. Depending on your loyalty to bad graphics, I found it difficult to commit to playing Donkey Kong Country with such awful pixelation (regular large lcd tv) when I could just as easily play the superior, smoothed (via emulator) and very functional version on my xbox 1.

    I think that Nintendo sold us short on that (rather than the idea that they the left it that way for the purists). I'd rather play DKC on a nintendo but the difference is massive and stays in line with my impression of the Wii. Which is, that it is a console dominated by mediocre exploitation of the mainstream crowd it has sucked in. The amount of truly horrendous (and non functional) software out there for the Wii is staggering. Once upon a time, you couldn't put a game out if Nintendo didn't think it was up to scratch.

    --
    I record my sleeptalking
    1. Re:Wii Retro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The Wii got this generation's share of crap games, cheap marketing gimmicks, and general crap. It shares that with the DS.

      Last generation, it was the PS2 that had most of the crappy games, sharing the spot with the GBA.

      Prior to that, the PS1 had vast amounts of shovelware.

      Way back in the day, we had the NES. Pick any twenty NES games at random, and only one of them will be remotely playable. NES games were, by and large, absolutely terrible, even for the day.

      That's about as far back as my memory goes. Basically, whichever console is the most popular tends to attract developers looking for a way to cash-in quickly on that system's popularity. They're usually too lazy to go multi-platform, so the less popular consoles are shielded from it. The more a single platform dominates (and, at the moment, the Wii really dominates), the more it attracts crappy games.

    2. Re:Wii Retro by grumbel · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The difference is that the PS2 also got tons of awesome games too, the Wii on the other side not so much. With the DS situation looks quite a bit better, but not exactly all roses either.

    3. Re:Wii Retro by pizzach · · Score: 1

      I think that Nintendo sold us short on that (rather than the idea that they the left it that way for the purists).

      I think that is more a marketing excuse than a reason. I'm sure they realize that most people don't even know such nice filters exist. Meh.

      --
      Once you start despising the jerks, you become one.
    4. Re:Wii Retro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The Wii has plenty of great games. Not nearly as stellar a lineup as the PS2, but that's to be expected.

    5. Re:Wii Retro by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      The smoothing only looks nice for a while, after that you realize that the filtering is ruining the look of the game by making shading harder (banding) and such. I've set all my emulators to use the original image instead of any filters because the game graphics tend to be designed for the regular output and get messed up by filters.

      You still can't put a game out if Nintendo thinks it's not up to scratch, the hurdle is just that it has to be technically fine (doesn't crash much and doesn't damage the hardware) and supposedly some devs still have trouble meeting it. Looking at the NES it doesn't really seem like their quality standards were any higher back then though they may have had additional restrictions to the content.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  5. The "problem" of retro game development by Opportunist · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Most "retro" games have found a new home as flash games. It's pretty much logical that this technology would be used for it. Modern machines can easily handle that overhead (because what they have to "run" requires essentially the fraction of a percent of a current machine's power), downloading a game that had to fit into the very limited capacities of early consoles or early home computers takes only a few seconds, and for controls, well, many people are happy with keyboard input.

    So I dunno, is there actually a market that you could sell real "retro" games to?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:The "problem" of retro game development by blahplusplus · · Score: 1

      "So I dunno, is there actually a market that you could sell real "retro" games to?"

      Yes depending on what kind of titles you mean by "retro". If someone developed a real sequel to Chrono Trigger I'm certain their is a market for that. Just as there was a market for remakes of older final fantasy titles. The fact is, if you're going to do "retro" development you have to develop something new or you should get hired to do an update of classics, but you ultimately have to do market research. The problem with many developers is lack of resources to do advertising and proper market research, also many developers are simply clueless to what the market wants. That fact has to be faced. I've seen so many good genre of games and franchises get ignored that were profitable and sold enough but who's publishers dropped them because they weren't million plus sellers. This kind of mentality of trying to be a jack of all trades and master of none is going to stop you from targetting the appropriate market you're going after.

      Sins of a Solar empire, by all intents - an indie game, sold over 500,000 copies but note the largest portion of that sold was at retail. Many indie game developers games have no real retail presence. This kind of lack of business sense is what gets a lot of developers in trouble. Not to mention the enormous amount of market saturation filled with average to downright crappy games. Developers have to stop releasing bug ridden, or total junk as well, that fact has to be faced.

    2. Re:The "problem" of retro game development by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Market? No. Maybe you have not noticed the retro revival. It seems the whole industry is playing down or underestimating the tide of retro gaming. There are no "problems" with this activity. Only if you view it as a "market". But it doesn't apply to the demographic of young gamers that the industry follows, it applies to the generation that industry is losing, those who play casual games on handhelds and netbooks on the morning train to work.

      PC gaming has fragmented because of the high demands for graphics hardware, DRM, required internet connection. Most of the casual games I see played are not new. My brother and his mates play Elite a lot. I spent the last year enjoying Doom again. It's the only game I've played in years that gave me so much fun. Discovering the hundreds of thousands of levels and mods out there available for free has been an endless mine of entertainment. Most of these games are available as free versions like "freeboom" or the original disk images can be played via tiny emulators. When I get bored with Doom I'm going to relive many 80s titles for the C64 and Spectrum that I still miss.

      For "marketing" there's nothing new you can offer this group, or nothing that can compete with retro gaming because the authenticity is part of the experience and joy, and the games industry thrives on what is new, that's it's entire modus and rationale. (okay, there is one new AAA title I have my eye on. I buy a new game about every 5 years. But if it is crippled with DRM and phone-home nonsense I won't be getting it, reto games really give me everything I want, I'm not wowed by impressive graphics any longer, as a mature gamer I just want the pure distilled entertainment, which has largely been provided by the mod and level makers who came in the wake of the main games)

      The games industry is in danger of following the music industry not being able to compete with its own past and the fact that "cultural ownership" has shifted to the users. I know the industry likes to try RIAA type tactics, attempting to destroy the reto gaming market, erase the past, cripple ROMS and remove copyrighted files. But they are screwed, because the real value in retro games like Doom is the user generated content. Those hundreds of thousands of levels and mods are public, not owned by any company and not controllable by their lawyers.

    3. Re:The "problem" of retro game development by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Of course there's no meaningful way to appeal to someone who refuses new games on the grounds that they are new (you mention authenticity, that sounds like nostalgia to me) but that doesn't mean the design principles of the old games are lost forever. Some say the Wii is the revival of the arcade-era game design, at very least it did abandon the focus on better graphics. Kinda hard to say how it will pan out, even after 2-3 years this batch of consoles still seems to be in its infancy. Meh, if in doubt, get a DS. Best game system avaiable currently.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  6. Not surprising by Frozen+Void · · Score: 1

    When 'indie' company tries to competes at the field dominated by larger studios hey become more corporate and less 'indie'.
    Real indie developers code for the PC and rarely even cooperate.

  7. Keyboard has no 2 player by tepples · · Score: 1

    and for controls, well, many people are happy with keyboard input.

    A lot of the classic games, such as Contra, are meant to be played by two people looking at one screen. That can't be done comfortably in SWF unless you think all your players can follow your instructions on how to install JoyToKey.

    1. Re:Keyboard has no 2 player by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doesn't SWF have "key down" and "key up" events? If you have those, then you can easily allow two people to share a keyboard. Player 1: WASD, player 2: arrow keys. Etc., etc.

    2. Re:Keyboard has no 2 player by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You can get that experience by introducing network ability. If the split-screen experience is actually adding to your enjoyment instead of taking away from it (as it was usually for me), nobody keeps you from showing your opponent's side of the screen, too.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Keyboard has no 2 player by tepples · · Score: 1

      You can get that experience by introducing network ability.

      Which changes "System requirements: 1 PC" to "System requirements: 2 PCs". Doesn't that significantly limit the market?

    4. Re:Keyboard has no 2 player by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Well, it also offers the option of "system requirement for multiplayer: 1 PC + Internet connection". Which might expand the market to people without friends. :)

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re:Keyboard has no 2 player by tepples · · Score: 1

      it also offers the option of "system requirement for multiplayer: 1 PC + Internet connection".

      In that case, what do two siblings who live in the same house and share a PC do when they want to play together?

    6. Re:Keyboard has no 2 player by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Appear on The Supernanny, what else?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  8. PCs have even more shovelware by tepples · · Score: 1

    Basically, whichever console is the most popular tends to attract developers looking for a way to cash-in quickly on that system's popularity.

    The most popular platform capable of running video games is an x86-based personal computer running a Windows operating system, sometimes called "the PC". And your observation still holds here: the PC has an even bigger "problem" with shovelware than the consoles because non-corporate developers can develop for it, unlike the consoles.

  9. Casual gaming... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is a HUGE and growing number of so-called casual games being developed for sites like bigfishgames.com or gamesocks.com - most download development is in the casual game space these days.

  10. Re:good Gameplay more important by tebee · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Would a good game plot, overcome a lack of great graphics and features?

    I'm not sure about a good storyline, but good gameplay can win out over limited graphics and features.

    Probably the best example I can think of is The Kingdom of Loathing - http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/ - This needs way to many clicks to play and has stick figure graphics but the complex interaction of the various features make gameplay addictive.

    This, and the humor in the game, has attracted a large loyal following.

    --
    N.B. this user is far too lazy to write a witty and intelligent sig.
  11. The too many keys beep by tepples · · Score: 1

    Doesn't SWF have "key down" and "key up" events? If you have those, then you can easily allow two people to share a keyboard.

    Without at least one person using JoyToKey, all I get is beep, beep, beep, beep when two players start pressing multiple keys.

  12. Portables? by phorm · · Score: 1

    Seems that a lot of them would still have a market under portables. Playing a good ol' game of Bubble Bobble or even Pacman as part of a "classics collection" is still a fun way to pass excess time while taking transit etc.

    If they add basic networking capabilities to allow the multi-player stuff to work (just enough to connect and allow for two controllers and a shared screen) it should work rather well.

  13. Downloadable Games != "Games for the Impatient" by EllF · · Score: 1

    Quoting from the article, "You have to make a game of a certain size and certain type. It's got to be simple but also rewarding within the first 60 seconds." What's with this idea? I've written about the problem of conceptualizing "casual gaming" as being different from "hardcore" gaming before; I think that the medium of downloadable games lends itself well to properly executed game design, because you can't lean on graphics or massive worlds, but even so there's no reason to say that a small game has to pander to impatience.

    --
    We who were living are now dying
    With a little patience