There is a major difference between creating product for a hand-held old-school console like the Gameboy Colour (GBC) and for the N64. The GBC has a very simple architecture, and by its nature has a limited range of game types that can be made for it. It is an ideal platform for hobbyist game programming (as long as you don't want to do fancy 3D graphics). In fact, I'm using it to introduce my children to assembly language programming and basic computer architecture.
It is feasible through "pure" reverse engineering to determine how to program the Gameboy - although, in fact, most information has leaked out through authorised developers who have the actual documentation.
The N64 on the other hand is a very complex system that derives much of its speed from running pre-compiled graphic processes (display lists) in parallel with the CPU. What is more, it relies on microcode to drive the graphic process. The microcode can be totally reprogrammed and this makes it very powerful. [Unfortunately Nintendo would not initially release details on how to program the microcode even to authorised developers, and so I had to reverse engineer it in order to render more complex surfaces than triangles].
IMHO almost all of the actually useful information on the N64 has been leaked and not reverse engineered. Even my reverse engineering of the microcode relied on a certain amount of social engineering with Nintendo engineers.
Fuji TV wants the web addresses of these fan sites, but aren't willing or able to pay for them - however they can't follow the usual practice to get the rights to the names (as in the JuliaRoberts.com case) because the web-sites have actual relevant content. Therefore the first thing to do is prevent them from having relevant content, and then they can sue for the names for free...
My oldest is 10 now, but he started showing an interest in doing what I do when he was 8 1/2.
I started him with Gnu C and "hello world".
What I then did was get him to start writing a text adventure. This covers topics like planning, user input, strings, parsing, text formatting, database construction and access (although for goodness sake, don't tell your kid that's what they are).
You can introduce each topic in small increments, and for each thing they learn there are immediate results that they get pleasure from. (The delight on my son's face when his mum selected girl from his character creation screen and it bailed out with the custom message, "Girls stink" was a pleasure to behold.)
He has a fully working (if small) game that he wrote pretty much by himself. He is of course, incredibly proud of it.
Now he wants to do a version of Hack, a much trickier proposition because it involves a graphic refresh. But, since he is no longer struggling so much with the language he can actually make headway with some of the more complex topics involved in handling that (often machine specific programming).
I am currently preparing a "syllabus" for him to start assembly programming a game on the Colour Gameboy for later on this year. Its a little tricky, because it is very important to introduce only one new concept at a time (otherwise the kids feel overwhelmed).
StrutterX (Game Programmer by Trade - so some bias here:-))
Well, gee, I guess not all of us can be as hugely successful as some people around here.
And, I'm happy to know we have such industry luminaries who know so much about the inner workings and sales numbers of LG writing our epitaph.
To make things clear:
0) Underworld 1/2, System Shock, Flight Unlimited 1 all sold very well, and were not money losers. Terra Nova, BOCG, and FUIII sold poorly, and were. Viacom killed the torturous hell of ST:V. FUII was break-even. BOCG and TN left the company with a pretty big hole.
1) Thief sold *much, much* better than has been portrayed in this thread, and at a very high average per-copy price. The average retail price didn't drop below $30 until nine months after we shipped. Including OEM deals it made millions for LG.
2) SS2 didn't sell as well as hoped, but it was produced for only a small margin over advances. It didn't sink us.
3) [The wood] One project was grossly undersold to publisher A, and we mismanaged it to make the effect even worse. This incurred unexpected costs.
4) [The coffin] After the team signed up to do a game signed with publisher B bailed (unexpectedly and uncooly), publisher B had grounds to pull out, did, and subtracted millions from the LG FY2000/2001 budget. This was a disaster.
5) [The nails] Publisher C had stock, cash, other product schedule slips, and banking issues that killed the acquisition of LG that had been under LOI.
So there we were. Plenty of long-term income potential in the briskly selling Thief 2, and signed deals. No short term operating capital. Can't pay the bills, can't pay salaries? Can't keep the doors open.
End quote
Someone else pointed out that:
"gross mismanagement following last year's buyout of Looking Glass by Intermetrics is what doomed the company"
Just reporting what I've read, and they ain't my opinions, because I wouldn't know!
Slashdot Mirror
I am a professional console game programmer.
There is a major difference between creating product for a hand-held old-school console like the Gameboy Colour (GBC) and for the N64. The GBC has a very simple architecture, and by its nature has a limited range of game types that can be made for it. It is an ideal platform for hobbyist game programming (as long as you don't want to do fancy 3D graphics). In fact, I'm using it to introduce my children to assembly language programming and basic computer architecture.
It is feasible through "pure" reverse engineering to determine how to program the Gameboy - although, in fact, most information has leaked out through authorised developers who have the actual documentation.
The N64 on the other hand is a very complex system that derives much of its speed from running pre-compiled graphic processes (display lists) in parallel with the CPU. What is more, it relies on microcode to drive the graphic process. The microcode can be totally reprogrammed and this makes it very powerful. [Unfortunately Nintendo would not initially release details on how to program the microcode even to authorised developers, and so I had to reverse engineer it in order to render more complex surfaces than triangles].
IMHO almost all of the actually useful information on the N64 has been leaked and not reverse engineered. Even my reverse engineering of the microcode relied on a certain amount of social engineering with Nintendo engineers.
StrutterX
I may be paranoid but:
Fuji TV wants the web addresses of these fan sites, but aren't willing or able to pay for them - however they can't follow the usual practice to get the rights to the names (as in the JuliaRoberts.com case) because the web-sites have actual relevant content. Therefore the first thing to do is prevent them from having relevant content, and then they can sue for the names for free...
StrutterX
My oldest is 10 now, but he started showing an interest in doing what I do when he was 8 1/2.
:-))
I started him with Gnu C and "hello world".
What I then did was get him to start writing a text adventure. This covers topics like planning, user input, strings, parsing, text formatting, database construction and access (although for goodness sake, don't tell your kid that's what they are).
You can introduce each topic in small increments, and for each thing they learn there are immediate results that they get pleasure from. (The delight on my son's face when his mum selected girl from his character creation screen and it bailed out with the custom message, "Girls stink" was a pleasure to behold.)
He has a fully working (if small) game that he wrote pretty much by himself. He is of course, incredibly proud of it.
Now he wants to do a version of Hack, a much trickier proposition because it involves a graphic refresh. But, since he is no longer struggling so much with the language he can actually make headway with some of the more complex topics involved in handling that (often machine specific programming).
I am currently preparing a "syllabus" for him to start assembly programming a game on the Colour Gameboy for later on this year. Its a little tricky, because it is very important to introduce only one new concept at a time (otherwise the kids feel overwhelmed).
StrutterX
(Game Programmer by Trade - so some bias here
Posted in the evil avatar and fat babies forums:
Start quote:
Well, gee, I guess not all of us can be as hugely
successful as some people around here.
And, I'm happy to know we have such industry luminaries
who know so much about the inner workings and
sales numbers of LG writing our epitaph.
To make things clear:
0) Underworld 1/2, System Shock, Flight Unlimited 1
all sold very well, and were not money losers. Terra
Nova, BOCG, and FUIII sold poorly, and were. Viacom
killed the torturous hell of ST:V. FUII was break-even. BOCG
and TN left the company with a pretty big hole.
1) Thief sold *much, much* better than has been portrayed
in this thread, and at a very high average per-copy price. The
average retail price didn't drop below $30 until nine months
after we shipped. Including OEM deals it made millions
for LG.
2) SS2 didn't sell as well as hoped, but it was produced for
only a small margin over advances. It didn't sink us.
3) [The wood] One project was grossly undersold to publisher A,
and we mismanaged it to make the effect even worse. This
incurred unexpected costs.
4) [The coffin] After the team signed up to do a game signed
with publisher B bailed (unexpectedly and uncooly), publisher
B had grounds to pull out, did, and subtracted millions from
the LG FY2000/2001 budget. This was a disaster.
5) [The nails] Publisher C had stock, cash, other product
schedule slips, and banking issues that killed the acquisition
of LG that had been under LOI.
So there we were. Plenty of long-term income potential in
the briskly selling Thief 2, and signed deals. No short term
operating capital. Can't pay the bills, can't pay salaries?
Can't keep the doors open.
End quote
Someone else pointed out that:
"gross mismanagement following last year's buyout of Looking Glass by Intermetrics is what doomed the company"
Just reporting what I've read, and they ain't my opinions, because I wouldn't know!
StrutterX