Unobscured View

In a recent piece on Gamesindustry.biz (Sony claims 14 million active PSN accounts // News) Sony announced that there are now 14 million active PSN accounts and that between them they have downloaded over 273 million pieces of content.

“pieces of content” could of course refer to paid for content such as games, themes etc or free content such as demos or videos or any other give-aways. Much like the press releases from Microsoft which talk about the “average number of game downloads” - but don’t tell you how many of those downloads were converted into sales - this latest piece of information can be filed under U.

The PSN version of Strawdog Studios’ game “Geon” just launched on the US PSN network and is coming to PAL territories on 2nd October.

The team have spent several months reworking/enhancing the game as a result of feedback on the original XBLA version. The new features in the PSN version include:

• New goal scoring system which encourages player interaction (its essential to stop your opponent scoring),
• Redesigned single player maps,
• Introduction of a new League mode,
• Players have attack and shield as standard (instead of only via a power-up) allowing for greater interaction with (thumping the hell out of) your opponent,
• Redesigned Power-ups with the introduction of new ones such as Bliss’ ghost cubes (which collect pellets for you) and Rage’s extra attack – it’s one angry cube,
• Dramatically improved AI to handle the new game-play,
• 1080p High Definition visuals,

Oh yea, and I think it features PSN trophies too.

A tutorial video is up at http://www.strawdogstudios.com/geon/ and more should follow in the coming days.

Well done to the team who can now relax for ten minutes. Then it is back to work on the Wii version.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) aren’t something most people think about in relation to porn. However that is exactly what I thought about when I read this article, published by Kotaku  (Saint’s Row 2: Porn Starlet Tera Patrick Joins Saint’s Row 2). The porn st…. sorry adult star Tera Patrick has been appointed “Special Producer” for the THQ published game Saint’s Row 2 - much to the embarrassment of some members of the development team, Violition (www.volition-inc.com).

Now don’t get me wrong, I am as sick as the next guy and am happy to keep staring at naked ladies until they find the drill hole and block it up. In addition to liking naked women I also like games and films and beer and animals. (The latter burnt just enough that they stop moving then smothered with bar-b-q sauce). What I don’t like is stupid and lazy marketing people who think that the best way to sell me a game (or any of the other things I like) is to dangle Tera Patrick, or any other porn star, in front of my face. Tera Patrick isn’t really a producer (special or otherwise) on the project. She doesn’t have any involvement in the development of the game and the game isn’t about Porn so her use in marketing Saint’s Row 2 is completely gratuitous. Saint’s Row 2 is about Gangs - would anyone seriously think that it would be good marketing to use a porn star to promote The Godfather or Gangs of New York? All this does is tell me that, in addition to being lazy, these marketeers have no understanding of why people buy games and have no respect for for either the customer or the developers that make the games.

So what does any of this have to do with Intellectual Property Rights? Well, in addition to the more commonly discussed IPR such as Copyright and Trademarks there are another set… Moral Rights. No I’m not talking about anti-sin, placard waiving Republicans. Moral Rights are the rights of a author not to have their work distorted, mutilated, or modified in a way that would prejudice the author’s honor or reputation. Something that they could certainly claim is happening as a result of this marketing campaign. Of course they will almost certainly have had to sign a development contract with assignes/waives any such rights but that doesn’t make it acceptable, it just means that unfortunately they can’t do anything about it.

“Wii Is ‘Expensive Niche’ Says Sony’s Stringer” http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19394

I don’t get it. Sony’s negative marketing* makes them look mean (and a little stupid) just as it does when Hilary Clinton or any other politician uses the tactic. More importantly it would also seem to be a less efficient use of Sony’s time/money, because there are three consoles in the world. If Sony spend their time telling me the Nintendo Wii isn’t what I want (but don’t actually bother to tell me what is good about the Playstation 3) then I may just go off and buy an Xbox 360. That means Sony need to spend more time/money rubbishing Microsoft’s console - but even then they still haven’t given me a reason to buy a Playstation.

Wouldn’t it be cheaper and more effective to just do one set of work telling me how good the Playstation 3 is?

 * Yes Microsoft and Nintendo are just as guilty of this as Sony.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/eidos-clarifies-pivotal-redundancies

In a story posted on Gamesindustry.biz, UK publisher Eidos has corrected some inaccuracies regarding the announced redundancies at the company’s Bath, UK based development studio Pivotal Games http://www.pivotalgames.com/

Eidos has issued a statement to GamesIndustry.biz to clarify the number of staff made redundant at UK developer Pivotal Games.

A maximum of 95 staff are to be axed, while the remaining – between 10 and 12 artists – will stay with the publisher long-term.

“The number of jobs which will be made redundant at Pivotal Games will be between 93 and 95, not the rumoured 99 which has been mentioned by some websites,” said the company.

Yep you read that right. Eidos went to the trouble of issuing a press statement to clarify that only 95 people are being made redundant instead of the 99 reported by some sites. I wonder who the lucky 4 are who get to stay while 90% of their colleagues are losing their jobs.

Personally if I had just made all those people redundant I wouldn’t be issuing petty press releases to correct insignificant details.

Game reviewers are always complaining about unrealistic level design in First Person Shooter games set in military bases. How can it be, they ask, that these military installations are littered with crates, barrels and gas tanks that a games hero can climb on, throw, stack up or blow up. Do these level designers think we are stupid? Don’t they do any research at all? Shouldn’t they make just a little effort to create believable game levels?

Well it seems that the level designers were right all along - as shown by this photograph (click for a larger version). It was taken on a recent trip to a UK military base and sure enough the place was littered with barrels (conveniently close to larger containers), crates, pallets and, yes, even gas tanks.

I can assure you that, had I thought to take along my gravity gun, I would have had no trouble at all stacking up an assortment of containers in order to gain entry to any window or ventilation shaft and from there make my way to the secret research labs that I’m sure existed somewhere on the base. Not only that but the level designers are spot on with their architecture too. The buildings do all look like ugly square blocks with doors and windows cut into them and they are all bump mapped too.

While catching up on my reading I came upon a post entitled Bluff on Pierre-Alexandre Garneau’s blog. The topic was the concept of bluffing in games with a mention of one of my favorite games of the moment, Texas Hold ‘em Poker. Now oddly I used to hate Poker, almost as much as I hated negotiating Publishing contracts. In Texas Hold ‘em Poker you can’t see all the cards the other players have in their hand. I always preferred Blackjack because you got to see the cards you were playing against.

Then one day something strange happened. I suddenly started to enjoy negotiating contracts and playing Poker, exactly because I couldn’t see all the cards. I realised that when negotiating a contract you aren’t the only person who can’t see all the cards and, just as in Poker, it’s far easier to negotiate on a set of weak cards if people can’t see them. Of course that isn’t much use to you unless you also realise that Publishers actually want developers to negotiate. Sure, the first draft contract that a publisher sends out come from the draw marker “for idiots” - but that only applies if you actually sign it. Publishers are in business to grow their business and if that means taking advantage of a developer that doesn’t know better then that is what they will do. It’s nothing personal, just business. However Publishers are also smart enough to know that their business will do better in the long run if they don’t work with too many idiots.

A developer who negotiates a better deal for themselves (better than the “idiots” contract at least) will be less likely to make stupid mistakes, hopefully more financially stable and at least stay in business long enough to finish developing their game. So, if you want to do well in the development business, better break out the cards and start practicing your Poker.

Video Game news site Gamedaily.com has a story up here about an apparent new IP incubator company to be founded by Scott Miller of 3DRealms and Jim Perkins, a former SVP of GT Interactive. The story is based on the brief existence of a web site (now showing just a logo) for a company called Radar Group. The story states that “Radar Group is an original IP incubator that will aim to take video game projects into cross-media properties such as films, TV shows, novels and toys.” The story goes on to quote more from the site regarding the company’s plans with “We build into our original, co-created IP the hooks to make for both a great game and a great film.”

Hmmmm now Scott Miller is obviously a smart guy and thinks this is the way to go but personally I can’t remember a “cross media” project that has been a meaningful success. By that I mean a project designed to be successful across multiple media, instead of taking a success from one media and moving it to another. It takes a lot of passion, dedication and hard work to make a great creative product, be it a film, comic, game or book. Trying to make a game, which is also suitable for a film (or vice-versa) is adding an extra level of complexity to an already difficult creative process. Designing a game to include elements because they are suitable “hooks to make for both a great game and a great film” is a quick way to dilute creative vision and make the creative process harder. In the 20 years I have been in the industry I have been pitched a multitude of cross media projects designed to be a great game/comic/film. None of them ever succeeded.

Cross media products are a bad way to make creative products…. of course as business people love the media convergence concept such a business model is are a great way to attract investment.

Lively industry Networking event Never Mind the Polygons reached double figures this week as Polygons #10 took place on Thursday the 13th of March, in the Union bar at the University of Derby. The event was hosted as usual by Toby Barnes of Pixel-Labs and I was joined on the good team by George Bray, International Business Development Manager for Mumbo Jumbo. My normal sparing partner Iain Simmons (captain of the bad team) was absent this time and stepping into his shoes was Nick Burton (Rare/ MGS), partnered by Craig Albeck (Games Republic).

Both teams were once again soundly beaten in the evenings quiz/discussion section by an enthusiastic audience (in excess of 70 strong) as topics as diverse as Indie Gaming, Atari and Haircuts (you had to be there) were discussed and debated at length. Following on from the discussions the evening moved on to drink and networking as students mingled with developers from Rare, Eurocom and Monumental Games before making their way off into the night to finally head home.

NMTP #11 is scheduled for Thurs May 8th with the venue TBC (most likely Derby) so do come and join us if you are in the area.

According to a Reuters’ report here the computer games publisher Take-Two has instituted a severance plan for employees (both executive and non-executive level), which would be activated in the event of them being fired following any purchase of the company. Obviously Take-Two are a caring company with their employees best interests at heart and the fact that this “poison pill” would make the company more expensive to purchase is just a convenient bonus. The plan would give all non-executive employees the equivalent of six months salary as severance… with the executive staff getting up to 1.5 times salary and bonuses for 18 months and all at zero cost to Take-Two.

The plan is part of Take-Two’s attempt to avoid being gobbled up by the ever hungry Electronic Arts (EA) following the latter’s February 25th announcement of a $2 Billion bid for the Grand Theft Auto publisher. Further steps include an attempt to bolster share-holder confidence (and push up the share price) by publicising the companies successes, with an announcement of historical sales to date for a host of Take-Two’s top titles (see gi.biz story).

Of course no corporate take over these days would be complete without a few stockholders suing someone or other. Regardless of how the takeover plays out someone somewhere is bound to think they haven’t earned as much as they should from their shares and sue someone…. anyone… in an attempt to get more. This is more fun than any soap currently showing on TV so we can only hope it will make it to a second season.