Celebrity in the Games Industry: We’re Worth It
October 15th, 2008
I was watching the latest Bonus Round last week, and at the conclusion of the show they brought to mind something that piqued my interest. That is celebrity status in the games industry and how developers are finally being treated the way that they deserve to be; as rockstars.
It then occurred to me that it doesn’t just end with developers. Indie developers, game writers, fan artists, bloggers, comic artists, critics, amatuer video producers are all now becoming celebrities, even within their collected societies. Celebrity in games is taking off and at a rapid pace.
My next realization was that only three to four years ago the games industry wasn’t really like this at all. Developer diaries, interviews and commentaries were rare, there was no such thing as a game critic let alone games bloggers. The only celebrity that existed back then were the greats like Will Wright and Shigeru Miyamoto and despite their stature, they could hardly be regarded as celebrity, they were just professionals at what they do.
I think that a great deal of this change can be attributed to the growth of the internet. With faster connections speeds we can now download an interview and witness the personality of developers instead of just seeing their name and a small photo in a print magazine. There is also the rise of content distribution which has created an upsurge in content creators versed in the gaming niche, giving names to people like Gabe and Tyco, Ben Croshaw and The Angry Video Game Nerd. And with that blogging, in all its trendiness, providing a platform for a new wave of games writing thanks to writers like Stephen Totilo, N’gai Croal who are soaking up this new life of gaming celebrity. Then there’s podcast, social media and the rest of it, I’m sure you catch my drift.
The great thing about the birth of gaming celebrity is that thanks to the savage community that surrounds it, celebrity is often earnt, even if you play the anti-celebrity role such as Jack Thomson or perhaps even Dennis Dyack, you’ll need a thick hide to get there. The flipside to this is the manufacturing of celebrity which publishers have already been putting in motion since they first caught taste of gaming celebrity. I guess the developer diaries are in some ways a form of brand establishment for the developers, sometimes this can be difficult to decipher though, other times it is blatently obvious. Other methods of forced entry in gaming celebrity include Alison Carroll.
While Alison Carroll is great to look at, I’m sure that we can all distinguish the differences between money spinners like her and movers-and-shakers such as Jonathan Blow and Jason Rubin. The fact that so much celebrity stems from worthwhile discussion is only positive for the industry.
With games celebrity increasing at a consistently high rate, I don’t think that it’ll be too long before articles like this one become standard or at least a little more popular. Considering the effort that goes into the game development process this can only provide positive recognition to the people that deserve it.
Next Level Games Artists action Skateboard Decks for Charity
October 23rd, 2007
Being into design and awesome artwork I was pleasantly surprised when I came across this article on Siliconera. Several artists from Next Level Games(responsible for the Mario Football games) have decided to celebrate their 5th Anniversary by hand painting several skateboard decks and auctioning them off to charity. Its all part of a silent auction for the BC Children’s hospital foundation.
So far the price ranges from $50-100 Canadian dollars. So that’s roughly $60-$120 for us Aussies(you are Australian right? :D). You can make a bit right here. Such great role models these game developers. ^_^
3 of the Current Most Frustrating Developers
September 8th, 2007
A while back I wrote up an article about three recent positives in the gaming industry. I’ve decided to resurrect this theme with 3 of the Current Most Frustrating Developers. In the last 2 weeks I have noticed how tragically pathetic some of these developers have been. Here’s what I have noticed:
Cruis’n:: Midway
A few weeks ago when the Games Convention over in Leipzig was going on Midway tried to steal the thunder away from some of these highly anticipated titles at the show by showcasing new screens to the hotly anticipated Cruis’n game. What they showed amazed everyone, allow the screens to do it justice:
How I have compressed them actually makes them look slightly better, click here to see them in full view
Yes folks, these are actual screenshots from the game. If you thought that developers couldn’t make Wii titles look any worse than they currently do then think again. This tripe thankfully did not go unnoticed, when questioned about the appalling screenshots Midway apparently stated that they were focusing on the gameplay over the graphics. Yeah nice one, like we are gonna fall for that trick, Midway.
Just for my own amusement, here are some comparison shots between the new title and the arcade games:
Factor 5:: Lair
Here’s the thing, I don’t want to pay out Factor 5 because their anticipated title was a complete flop. Stuff like this happens all the time and it wouldn’t be fair of me to do so. What I am going to talk about is how they tried to soften the blow.
Factor 5’s Julian Eggebrecht(Director of Lair) recently spoke to IGN about how the game was cursed from the beginning. The excuses don’t end there though, I found the following quotes very amusing:
“That is exactly the kick of creating a first-year game: exploring the not-yet-finished hardware and growing the technology while the hardware is coming together. I think both Rogue Leader and Lair gave a good stab at poking into the depths of the systems for such early titles, and from that you have a second-generation growth opportunity that surpasses most developers that jump onto the bandwagon later.”
I love how he tries to relate Rogue Leader and Lair. Unfortunately for him Rouge Leader was an awesome title, made in a shorter time limit with technology that was much more advanced than the previous generation’s technology. If they were having problems with developing the title with unfinished hardware…infact why would he even make an excuse about that? He(or his team) decided to develop on incomplete hardware, so they can suffer the consequences.
“The Sixaxis motion control itself feels a lot more organic and free-form than the rigid controls of other flight games and does much better for casual players, as we saw in focus tests. It does seem to alienate some reviewers who are at the top of the hardcore crowd and seem to have a passionate hate for all things motion, be it Wii Sports with sometimes absurdly low scores for what might become the defining game of this generation, or Lair as their newest poster child of evil. It’s an unfortunate development that, if the players themselves listen too much to the motion-hatred message, will divide the gaming community. Our potential for growth as an art form for the mainstream is in the easier-to-access control schemes that might be less precise but a lot of fun.”
I love how he marvels over Wii Sports after some of his previous comments on the Wii. Its also great how he tries(once again) to pair his game with a game that actually got it right. I mean seriously, check out those absurdly low scores on Wii Sports. Just awful.
Boogie|| PS2 & DS
Boogie is EA’s latest cash cow for the Wii. After they pledge their dedication to being one of the best developers for the system I can’t help but be sorely disappointed by the lack of solid gameplay. I am even more frustrated that they are pursuing this franchise and bringing it to the PS2 and DS. The trailer for the DS version doesn’t actually look half bad but the same can be said for the Wii trailers.
I have been meaning to get this issue off my chest for a while but it only continued to build up over the few weeks that I have taken to write this post. Please express your frustration in a commentable form if you wish.
Welcome to Daniel Primed, my self-titled games analysis blog and the online supplement to Adventures in Games Analysis.
Reader Emails | RSS / Email Feed
Game Design Companion: A Critical Analysis of Wario Land 4 - $7.99
Level Design: Processes and Experiences
Speed Boost: The Hidden Secrets Behind Arcade Racing Design - $5.99
Adventures in Games Analysis: Volume I - $5.99
