As a game developer, with 6 games in the appstore, we also had some exposure to this issue. Our first major game was a multiplayer pool game (Earl Strickland or Steve Davis) where matchmaking was provided by our own servers, nothing really sophisticated, it just acted as a relay. While i am not saying that one pirated copy is one lost sale, but the first couple hundred games played online was done using a pirated copy, and we haven't seen a single legitimate in the first 2-3 days after release. And there was a free demo...
Technically, detecting a pirated copy is still very easy, the "cracking" just removes the entitlements from the plist, so we knew the device id, the only thing we had to do is just do something about it... The reason we choose to do nothing was the prospect of something going wrong for a legitimate user...
After all sales were not that bad, one of our games made it to the UK top 10, but the company has folded by then. I guess that says pretty much about how much profit we made...
In real life the story is a bit different from the one Apple tells you - your game will only sell well (10K units+) if it is featured, and you have to pay up for that... Do some calculations, do release a professional quality game, you need a coder or an artist for 2-3 months (if they are exceptional, and you are either one of them) or more if they are average, which (in the UK) will cost you like 2K GBP per month (cheap), ignore the cost of software, office space, etc... so you have make at least say 5K on your game. Assuming 1 GBP per game (70% stays with the developer), that makes perfectly clear how many units you have to sell to make it even. Good enough for the bedroom coder, but for a professional there is a lot more money to make elsewhere. That pretty much explains the average quality of games on the iPhone, IMHO.
It is not the cost of the developer kits what makes games expensive. What is 20K compared to the wages for a team of 40, 100, maybe more ? And we are not talking about a few inexperienced plumber trainees here, you need above averege programmers, talented artists, designers... And you have to keep them for a year, maybe more despite sometimes insane working hours. How do you keep someone when he/she can earn more for less work outside the games industry ? Love of games.... You need a lot of love, because if you are in the crunch for months, those 12-16 hour working days can be really long.
Apple's primary market is desktop, and uninterruptive design and responsiveness are far more important there. Not the high throughput, but an even performance without sudden drops in performance.
Technology and science are no longer at the state when animal research is absolutely required. The problem that most people do not care about the pain and suffering of others, and it is very easy to justify anything with the words "scientific interest" and the "for the good of mankind" - without verifying is this is really true. But even then, companies providing fur for your clothing probably causes much more pain and tornemtn on a much larger scale... But nobody is going to "bomb" a multinational fashion company.
Yes, other animals do kill other... But if we use it to justify our means, we are no better, or more precisely nothing more then an animal. a primate.
Do we care more about the suffering of others ? And do we do at least as much against it, even if it would be very easy ? And if we see it each day, we get used to it. We dont care, as long as it does not affect us personally. And what frightens me, this is not much different from the animal rights issue. We simply became ignorant.
Free as in freedom, or free as in free beer ? It does make a difference, and the current DRM basically forbids you to view almost any content on let just say Linux. Or BSD. Or Whatever.
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As a game developer, with 6 games in the appstore, we also had some exposure to this issue. Our first major game was a multiplayer pool game (Earl Strickland or Steve Davis) where matchmaking was provided by our own servers, nothing really sophisticated, it just acted as a relay. While i am not saying that one pirated copy is one lost sale, but the first couple hundred games played online was done using a pirated copy, and we haven't seen a single legitimate in the first 2-3 days after release. And there was a free demo... Technically, detecting a pirated copy is still very easy, the "cracking" just removes the entitlements from the plist, so we knew the device id, the only thing we had to do is just do something about it... The reason we choose to do nothing was the prospect of something going wrong for a legitimate user... After all sales were not that bad, one of our games made it to the UK top 10, but the company has folded by then. I guess that says pretty much about how much profit we made... In real life the story is a bit different from the one Apple tells you - your game will only sell well (10K units+) if it is featured, and you have to pay up for that... Do some calculations, do release a professional quality game, you need a coder or an artist for 2-3 months (if they are exceptional, and you are either one of them) or more if they are average, which (in the UK) will cost you like 2K GBP per month (cheap), ignore the cost of software, office space, etc... so you have make at least say 5K on your game. Assuming 1 GBP per game (70% stays with the developer), that makes perfectly clear how many units you have to sell to make it even. Good enough for the bedroom coder, but for a professional there is a lot more money to make elsewhere. That pretty much explains the average quality of games on the iPhone, IMHO.
Sometimes games can be movies in their own right. Either i became to old, or does anyone else remembers Wing Commander III and IV as well ?
NAQUADAH is the proper name ! Scentist, kree !
Captain, i have something. A new change in sensor readings... American F-22 decloaking on the starboard bow !
It is not the cost of the developer kits what makes games expensive. What is 20K compared to the wages for a team of 40, 100, maybe more ? And we are not talking about a few inexperienced plumber trainees here, you need above averege programmers, talented artists, designers... And you have to keep them for a year, maybe more despite sometimes insane working hours. How do you keep someone when he/she can earn more for less work outside the games industry ? Love of games.... You need a lot of love, because if you are in the crunch for months, those 12-16 hour working days can be really long.
Apple's primary market is desktop, and uninterruptive design and responsiveness are far more important there. Not the high throughput, but an even performance without sudden drops in performance.
Technology and science are no longer at the state when animal research is absolutely required. The problem that most people do not care about the pain and suffering of others, and it is very easy to justify anything with the words "scientific interest" and the "for the good of mankind" - without verifying is this is really true. But even then, companies providing fur for your clothing probably causes much more pain and tornemtn on a much larger scale... But nobody is going to "bomb" a multinational fashion company. Yes, other animals do kill other... But if we use it to justify our means, we are no better, or more precisely nothing more then an animal. a primate. Do we care more about the suffering of others ? And do we do at least as much against it, even if it would be very easy ? And if we see it each day, we get used to it. We dont care, as long as it does not affect us personally. And what frightens me, this is not much different from the animal rights issue. We simply became ignorant.
Not that there are any blueray/hd-dvd content on the market...
Free as in freedom, or free as in free beer ?
It does make a difference, and the current DRM basically forbids you to view almost any content on let just say Linux. Or BSD. Or Whatever.
HLSL's syntax is very similar to CG, some even say that it that the syntax is based on it.