What is Digg?35 Comments
- alx1507, on 06/24/2008, -0/+25ahh... CNN. My favorite gaming news source.
- LMN8R, on 06/24/2008, -5/+12Meh, Steam is doing far more for indie game developers than XBLA or PSN could ever dream of. No waiting for Microsoft to grant you access, no ***** like that. Audiosurf alone is probably more successful than any title ever released on either of those platforms.
- ThePenrod, on 06/24/2008, -3/+9Microsoft was first, about two years ago they released they're dev kit to any party willing to create a game for Xbox Live. My hope is that along with this, WiiWare, and what Sony is doing with games like Little Big Planet we will see a resurgence of the niche game titles of the days of Atari. When it was just a couple of guys in their garage making a game. Of course that could also mean another copy of Custard's Revenge.
- lacreme, on 06/24/2008, -1/+7yes it does, when you buy half-life 2 or a similar source engine game you also receive source sdk, which comes with editing tools and a link to a free version of the 3d editor valve uses. also, a very very extensive wiki full of information for modding
valve has done ALOT more than just releasing a devkit - audieattar, on 06/23/2008, -1/+7Wii just started a program like this where they reward indie video game makers. They need to engage the audience to try and boost their struggling revenues. I didnt know Microsoft was also doing this, I only wonder who was first?
- hollyminkowski, on 06/24/2008, -0/+5This sounds like fun.
It would be cool to design some games that were not so violent. - pezholio, on 06/24/2008, -0/+4I'd hardly say they were 'finally' breaking through. Indie 'software houses' (as we used to call them) were all the rage in the early days. Imagine - Play the Game, Codemasters (when they were owned by the Darling brothers), Elite etc etc. I'm going all misty eyed now...
- KaiUno, on 06/24/2008, -1/+5What exactly is Sony doing with LittleBigPlanet to draw in the little developers? Those guys came around with their idea and Sony threw a huge sum of cash their way and gave them all their technical expertise so the title could grow and become the system seller it is likely going to be. (Hey, I'm temped, just for that game alone.)
I don't see Sony do that for anybody else actually. And if you're talking about the social aspect of the game... There's no money in that. - ThePenrod, on 06/24/2008, -0/+4In reference to LittleBigPlanet I was indeed speaking of the social aspect of the game as far as level creation is concerned. Yes there is no money involved in it but I think that as consoles start allowing for more user created content allows for video games to become a respected art form. LittleBigPlanet is a step forward because, more than just being a game, it is a set of tools to allow for people to create an interactive narrative from their home and then share it with other users painlessly. Again, I don't necessarily see LittleBigPlanet as an outlet for the little devs, but it is a game that is built mainly on user created content.
To sort of summarize I am more interested in video games being cultivated as an art form and not an outlet for what those in power believe to be commercially successful. LittleBigPlanet, along with the indie development teams submitting to Xbox Live, are great strides in a direction necessary to cultivate that art form. - 11Christine, on 06/24/2008, -0/+4Just curious... how much can they earn from a single game? And how long does it take to develop a game like "Dishwasher"?
- fishie, on 06/24/2008, -1/+5i skimmed the article but it hardly talked about the game at all which i found dumb.
- 4rp4n3t, on 06/24/2008, -1/+5@ stuffradio
Sorry, that made me laugh. No offence, but it makes me think of the (mostly hugely exaggerated) stories of coke / crack / heroin dealers giving drugs to kids for free to get them hooked..."hey buddy - you want some software - it's free..." - drakia, on 06/24/2008, -0/+3Also, you don't need to develop a game using Valves tools to get it put on the Steam network. They will host pretty much anything and everything if they think it could be profitable.
- kmattso, on 06/24/2008, -0/+3I'd like to see anyone with "some basic programming skills" and develop a game for XNA. Not that easy...
Here's what you need:
"Basic math (trig and physics) skills"
"Basic CAD/Modelling skills"
"Basic HLSL skills"
It took that dude a year to develop Dishwasher. By the looks of him he probably didn't do much more than develop outside of his 20 hour a week dishwashing job. - pigfister, on 06/24/2008, -0/+3"Indie video game designers finally break through!"
wtf, i'm sure populous and elite were both bedroom created games. the problem now is that it has been taken over by courporate morons only intent on making money which is why sony and m$ charge for what has always been free content like map packs and weapon mods ect, and the endless FPS clones or sequels, and the games rely on graphical ability to sell. sad.
but its the sheep that pre order that are to blame because of being suckered by advertising and phony FanBoy wars, which is created by the console makers to keep loyality. - blatantninja, on 06/24/2008, -0/+3Spiderweb games makes some pretty cool titles. The graphics are pretty dated, but the gameplay is better than most of the junk the big studios put out.
- stuffradio, on 06/24/2008, -2/+5No,
You'd be surprised how much Microsoft cares about its developers. I'm a student, and I get lots of Microsoft software for free.
DreamSpark(http://channel8.msdn.com/) is an example of what students can get! - thatsmyaibo, on 06/24/2008, -1/+3I think this was inevitable. It happened with music and movies and video games are next in line as far as digital entertainment goes. I just hope it doesn't lead to too much crap being produced. Like movies and music, an independent revolution led to a lot of ***** movies and music being made and in a way, messed up the industries.
- LMN8R, on 06/24/2008, -0/+2Sorry for the double post.
- hollyminkowski, on 06/24/2008, -0/+2Yup, I just love the beautiful graphics that the game consoles can do....but the idea of shooting imaginary people or running them over with a car just creeps me out.
- Cloud7654, on 06/24/2008, -1/+2Microsoft first? That's unpossible.
- LimeParrot, on 06/24/2008, -2/+3I played Dishwasher when Microsoft did that demo that year. It's actually a GREAT game...
- aadsfasdf, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Yeah, I thought that too, but I didn't laugh.
- willi, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1depends on what kind of game.
- CherrySmith123, on 06/24/2008, -0/+1Awesome!! I'm ready to play!!! :)
- zombird, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Dwarf Fortress has no graphics at all and is better than most EA games. It's all about gameplay.
- craighoxton, on 06/24/2008, -1/+1Yes, this is something that I've been thinking about. As the average age of a gamer is now in the 30's, why not have games and genres that are tailored to our age group rather than the teen fodder that Big Software churns out.
- joshmack, on 12/22/2008, -0/+0Love gaming its great, I love my PS3 more than anything in the world. http://www.monster-ps3.com is a great site for PS3 games
- HueytheFreeman, on 06/24/2008, -1/+1Let's not forget Steamworks, which is a "freely available development and publishing suite which allows developers to use parts of Steam, and in particular, allows for auto-updating, game statistics, multiplayer capabilities with voice chat, and access to the Steam community." (Wikipedia)
- aussierobot, on 06/24/2008, -3/+1
Personally I think indie game dev on consoles, i.e. xna, wiiware and psn are a load of crap.
XNA/360: Best of the bunch. Good tools, but distribution only through Creators Club members. No commercialization permitted for 360 games. Quite difficult to get your game 'out there' unless you win some sort of competition. (Surprise!)
PS3: vacant. empty. 'nuff said
WiiWare: I got very excited when they announced WiiWare. What no-one tells you (or bothers to check) is the fact that it is not targeted to indies, as in individuals and 'amateur' developers, but that you don't get jack unless you develop a full game design doc, show Nintendo that you are a capable developer with a full team and titles under your belt etc. There is no SDK or tools available etc.
TBH: one of the best ways for indies (albeit on desktop, not console) is the Source SDK on Steam. Although I have a love/hate relationship with Valve (their SDK is the most advanced and supported, but they do tend to leave devs with hanging with huge problems for months and months) they have to be commended for the sheer amount of tools, technology and documentation they have and continue to release. The catch is that you of course cannot commercialize unless they really like you and either buy you out or come to a special arrangement. The other catch (and this applies to all the avenues mentioned so far) is that most big companies have learnt their lesson about indies (ie getting shown up by the few genius' amongst us producing better games than the expensive commercial titles) and have set the system up in such a way that if you come up with a great idea, they can pretty much just own it regardless of you.
To free yourself of this you then end up with the mother of all gaming companies: iD. If you can accept the GPL, then you can take anything up to the Q3 engine (and yes you can extend it, just look at engines like tenebrae) and make a commercial game and sell it. It's an awesome deal although many of us are waiting for JC to release the idTech4 engine code so we can get some real physics and shaders etc....soon I hope. - inactive, on 06/24/2008, -2/+1Microsoft has a very strict indie development scheme. It's nothing like wiiware.
- cheerybounce, on 06/24/2008, -3/+2I think linux, whenever I see some single guy doing something awesome with little resources.
- stuffradio, on 06/24/2008, -5/+2Steam isn't giving you software to develop games...
- LMN8R, on 06/24/2008, -10/+6Meh, Steam is doing far more for indie game developers than XBLA or PSN could ever dream of. No waiting for Microsoft to grant you access, no ***** like that. Audiosurf alone is probably more successful than any title ever released on either of those platforms.
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