Resourcium

Dan Walters has created a 12 part video game programming training series using XNA Game Studio and SOFTIMAGE|XSI Mod Tool "without skipping steps". It teaches you how to make a complete XBox game from scratch.

Here is what the series teaches you:

• How to build a simple 3D model in SOFTIMAGE|XSI Mod Tool
• How to build a more complex skinned, rigged & animated character model in SOFTIMAGE|XSI Mod Tool for use in an XNA game
• Project setup for XNA and XSI projects
• Pipeline & workflow between XSI and XNA
• How to animate a skinned XSI model in XNA using the XNAXSIRuntime library provided for free by SOFTIMAGE
• How to creating and managing sound and audio using the DirectX XACT tool
• How to handle input from the controller
• How to prep an XNA PC game for XBOX 360
• How to deploy an XNA game to the Xbox through the Creators Club
• And many, many nuances and "gotchas" that will help make your development experience 1000% smoother.

I haven't had a chance to review the videos yet, but I'm very excited about it.

Before you create your video game think about what the gamers are buying. Nintendo Wii and Guitar Hero are topping the sales charts against more sophisticated games like BioShock. Gaming is maturing from the solo gamer to the social gamer. The NY Times takes a look at why Mass Effect, God of War II, and Value's Orange Box aren't in the top 10.

"the growth in the now $18 billion gaming market is in simple, user-friendly experiences that families and friends can enjoy together."

"Nine of the 10 top-selling games of 2007 include a significant multiplayer component."

This past Christmas I discovered that 40% of the people I worked with had Guitar Hero III at home. It was one of the games I asked for this past holiday after playing it with some friends on the Xbox. After I got Guitar Hero III, the next day I bought the Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II double pack because I loved the game so much.

Jason Kapalka, from PopCap, provides some video game design tricks for the casual game industry in an interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun. The article focuses on how PopCap was able to create successful casual video games such as Peggle and Bejeweled.

Interesting casual game developer information:

• 89% of players are aged 30+
• 76% are female
• Create puzzles with more than one solution to increase replay value
• Have sound cues of rising pitch associated with combos
• Never award points in increments of less than 10
• Focus on fun first over the bells and whistles
• Hardcore gamers can get into casual games too

I've watched some people play casual video games. One of my co-workers loads up a different game during lunch everyday. I've also watched my girlfriend play them. Neither of them have actually purchased any of the games yet.

Questions raised over revenue growth from modern advertising

This article has some insight on in-game advertising. Luckily, there are some skeptics that believe it is too early for in-game advertising. I'm personally still annoyed by the amount of advertising on the DVDs that I buy. I find that if I'm purchasing a product, I don't want to be bothered with any advertising at all. I gave you the money already for this copy. I can understand the need for advertising to support free games though. I have nothing against anyone trying to earn some revenue from the efforts they make.

[Source: Gamasutra]

The Orlando Electronic Interactive Entertainment Convention (Otronicon) just wrapped up their public presentation at the Orlando Science Center. Visitors were treated to over 100 gaming stations including Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Wii, GameCude, XBox and XBox 360 running today's hottest video games to popular classics. Last year the event attracted 18,000 video game enthusiast from children to grandparents.

Otronicon:
"Otronicon brings together the entertaining world of consumer video games with a behind-the-scenes view of the art, technology and science that form the foundation and the future of both the videogame and simulation industries. Families and individuals of all ages will have a tremendous range of places and opportunities to explore."

The game development and design school Full Sail ran workshops over the 4 day event. Full Sail offers degrees in Game Development, Game Art and Computer Animation.

Full Sail Workshops included:

• Design the Levels of a Game
• 3D Computer Generated Modeling for Games
• 3D Animation for Games
• Game Development
• Digital Storytelling
• Designing the Game
• Gaming for the Web
• Game Digital Audio Creation

The video gaming fun isn't over yet. Their will be school field trips running from Tuesday, January 22nd through Friday, January 25th. On Thursday, the Hard Rock Live will be hosting a Video Game Live concert that features music from popular video games.

I went to something related to this in New York City once. It was on a much smaller scale. It was the 3D Buzz Tour, which was sponsored by Epic Games to promote their Make Something Unreal contest. They gave us a chance to see the new Unreal Tournament game engine at the time. The part on how to create games was a demonstration of creating a small level and populating it with a character that used a path to walk through a door to the second room.

The XNA Team wants to get your feedback on XNA Game Studio 2.0. Take a few minutes of your time to go over there and tell them what you think of the tools they released. Hearing from game developers like you is what helps these guys make better tools the next time around.

Some of the things they ask:

• XNA Setup Experience
• XNA Framework
• Deploying XNA Game Studio Games
• XNA Documentation
• Satisfaction Level with XNA Game Studio 2.0

David Edery, a.k.a. the Game Tycoon, has important advice for game programmers looking to increase sales of their titles. Though it is geared towards XBox Live Arcade, the main points apply to all platforms.

Here is a summary of the topics he discusses:

• Create a Buzz with PR
• Don’t confuse or frustrate the player
• Don’t make the player wait for the fun
• Don’t make the game trial too short
• Don’t make the game trial too long
• Intensify the player’s curiosity
• Work that upsell message
• Show off your best features

It is articles like David's that really make a difference for the hobbyist game developer. Many of us are so focused on the process of creating a video game that we don't consider the necessary steps to getting people interested in our game projects.

The highly anticipated video game Spore was recently announced for the Mac platform. It is the next big title from the same game developers that brought us The Sims. The short and sticky on the game is that you evolve your own creature from a single cell organism to a race bent on intergalactic domination (ok, there are diplomatic options, but who is really going to use them).

What is more interesting to the game development community is how EA is bringing Spore to the Mac. Their friends over at TransGaming have developed a technology called Cider which allows games developed for Windows to run on Intel-based Mac computers without modification to the source code.

Direct from the source:
"How Cider Works
Cider is a sophisticated portability engine that allows Windows games to be run on Intel Macs without any modifications to the original game source code. Cider works by directly loading a Windows program into memory on an Intel-Mac and linking it to an optimized version of the Win32 APIs. Games are "wrapped" with the Cider engine and they simply run on the Mac. This means developers have only one code base to maintain while enjoying the flexibility of targeting multiple platforms and, therefore, multiple revenue streams. Cider powered games use the same copy protection, lobbies, game matching and connectivity as the original Windows game. All this means less effort and lower costs. Cider is targeted to game developers and publishers."

The pricing for Cider is based on sales of the game for the Mac platform. TransGaming opts for a revenue sharing model and doesn't take an upfront fee from the game publishing company.

Cider already has a pretty impressive list of games using the technology.

Positive news for video game developers and the industry. A poll by Interpret LLC indicates that more people are turning in the TV remote for their game controller. The shift is only temporary until everything gets sorted out, but the gaming industry has surely gained some new avid gamers.

"A new survey from Interpret Llc has found that as the WGA's strike lingers more and more people are watching less TV and 26% are now playing more video games."

What were they watching before the strike? These days I'm having a harder time finding things I want to watch on TV. I don't know of any TV shows that have been so compelling I make it a point to watch them. What are you watching?

The XNA Team is asking for games made using the XNA Game Studio. This is a great way to earn a chance to promote the game you've been working on.

"We’re looking for a few 2D and 3D games created using XNA Game Studio for an upcoming opportunity to showcase the great work our community has been doing since we released the tools over a year ago. This could be the chance you and your game have been waiting for to enjoy the spotlight and anything that may come as a result. You will additionally have a chance to participate in an upcoming closed beta of a new XNA technologies."

So, whether you made the next World of Warcraft or the new Super Deluxe Ultimate eXtreme Tic-Tac-Toe game, they want you to send in your game. Also please note, I already submitted my Super Deluxe Ultimate eXtreme Tic-Tac-Toe game.