The PC Centric Extravaganza 2.28.08

Posted by Chris Evans on 02.28.2008

GDC takes over, EA target Take-Two…head explodes!


The PC Centric Extravaganza – 26th February 2008


Righty, where do I start…well it has been GDC week and there has been so much news, sadly I haven't had the time to scoop it all up and talk about it. Well it has been a busy week again for me, university presentations, lots of work, an interview and goddamn I seem to have lost track already of what has gone down this past week! Anyway, this weeks column should be better than last weeks, so lets crack on! Oh I did experience some internet problems last week…which sucked!

As I am writing this I realise how much shit I missed and didn't get round to posting on my blog…shocking!

Games Developers Conference

This past week saw the GDC touch down in San Francisco and…well there was a helluvalotanews! Well most of it seemed to be emanating and focusing on the consoles, which sucked for me. However there was PC stuff going down there which is as ever great!

PC Gaming Alliance


The PC Gaming Alliance has been officially announced at this years GDC and they seem to have some noble intentions.

PC Gaming Alliance will be the Authoritative Voice of PC Gaming World Wide. We will make data that highlights and promotes the PC platform to analysts, press and the public.

We will promote the PC Gaming Industry and the PC as a gaming platform, provide web and event based forums to discuss, debate and influence all aspects of PC development for gaming for all regions of the world, and guidance to help resolve industry-wide challenges such as: Piracy, Cheating, Security, Consumer experience.

PC Gaming Alliance will also provide guidelines to simplify hardware specifications and speed the introduction of new technologies, as well as improve Consumer PC Gaming Experience by working with developers and publishers and PCGA members to maximize the PC gaming experience in all ways possible.

Before I give my thoughts, I highly recommend this article by Jim over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. He provides some good analysis and a brief rundown on what happened at the official announcement of the PCGA.

The presentation ended with a mixed feeling of anticipation and validation. PC gaming is huge, and growing, and the big boys know that they have to get a handle on it, and that they can't leave it up to the single-entity consoles to lead the charge into the future of gaming. I really hope the PCGA can settle some problems and do some things to change the landscape of gaming in a positive way. I really hoped it doesn't just fizzle out and quietly disappear. While I'd argue that it's people like Valve and the Runescape boys that are really doing the most for the PC, it'd be good to know that the commercial magnates are actually paying enough attention to realise they have to work together. That alone, I suspect, could be enough to make PC gaming a far stronger, safer place for development.

I am somewhat sceptical I must say, especially following the recent announcement about a new 8-core motherboard from Intel (more info) which seems to just hurt the goals of the PCGA to help improve and further the PC as a leading games platform. I really can't see how adding more random crap to mix of PC hardware is going to help anyone.

However if their intentions are true and they do aim to, and will continue to, improve the PC as a gaming platform by making things much better and easier for gamers to understand then all well and good. However I just fear that with so many big companies involved and the apparent nature at times of them that they will just try to make a quick buck out of this movement. For me, it is Valve and more specifically Steam that are the future and the way forward for the PC.

If the PCGA really wants to help push the PC forward and make it a more accessible, profitable, innovative platform then they need to focus on the indie games, distribution methods like Steam and by streamlining, now confusing the hardware picture.

Interesting times ahead.

The Sims Carnival

Sims Carnival has been officially announced by EA at this years GDC and a Closed Beta has begun, if you head over to the site and register you will be in with a chance of being involved.

What is The Sims Carnival?

The Sims Carnival is a new online community and gaming experience from The Sims that makes game creation and sharing more accessible and fun than ever before.

The introduction of this new creative endeavor from The Sims is designed to convert millions of players into game designers - no programming skills required!

While this is early days and we only have limited information regarding The Sims Carnival this certainly does seem innovative. The chance to develop your own game...without the need for programming skills! I have applied for the Closed Beta, and I really hope to get in and give my thoughts on this. Time will tell whether this turns out good or bad, but I for one want to see how it does turn out.

You can find the press release over (http://www.411mania.com/games/news/69630/%5BPC%5D-Sims-Carnival---Closed-Beta.htm) on 411!

Love

The game ‘Love' by Eskil Steenberg got unveiled quietly at the GDC…or if not unveiled then at least it was brought to the attention of Jim Rossginol from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. I don't think I can really do the game justice by any ramblings of mine. All you need to know is that the premise is, to me, quite spectacular. What it will turn out when it is released who knows, but for now read Jim's entry about it here and check out the site for the game itself here.

Awards!

(You can see how much of a messed up week it has been, especially with my internet down-time. Missed out this news on the two big award ceremonies at the GDC!)

Firstly we have Portal taking home numerous awards in the Game Developers Choice Awards! Thanks to Ramon who posted the full list of winners here but a quick rundown on some points from me is needed.

Portal rightly got the bulk of awards including the top prize for Game of the Year as well as many others. However to lose out on the best writing award is a shame. While Bioshock had a great story for the most part, it was only for the most part. The writing in Portal was brilliant throughout and for me, that should have gotten the award. I must say I was also disappointed that Peggle didn't win anything, but then again some great games did pick up awards in its place.

Secondly there were the Independent Games Festival awards (RPS have some good coverage here) which were for me the highlight of what came out of the GDC, recognition of some great indie games and a sign of the quality in the PC. While I would have loved World of Goo to have cleaned the house in all the awards it was nominated for, sadly it didn't. However I must be honest that all of the winners are very deserving of their awards. I have already talked about AudioSurf and World of Goo here on 411 so check out what I wrote on them for my take.

Ken Levine

Ken Levine, the man who penned Bioshock has been the focus of two article on Rock, Paper, Shotgun where they provide in-depth analysis on what they think he was saying in his speech at GDC, and whether he was contradicting an interview he did with Kotaku. Both are great pieces, read John Walker's view here and Alec Meer's take here.

Far Cry 2

Tech video from the GDC for Far Cry 2:



Portal 2 and Steam!

As covered on halflife2.net Portal 2 seems to have been accidentally confirmed by Kim Swift. I can't complain as if this is true (please god let it be true!) then we will have more Portal goodness! And I love Portal so that will make me a happy chap!

Over on Tom's Games (linky) they have a chat with Doug Lombardi who reveals some interesting stuff…

Rob Wright: So what's next for Steam this year? Are you looking at different types of content?
Doug Lombari: We're looking at more casual games and international games. And we're also looking at other types of content like video and music. We're definitely having those conversations and meetings, and we're reaching out to folks with other types of digital entertainment. I think before the end of the year, you'll probably see some pilot programs with other digital entertainment on Steam.

Steam expanding to other media? Hmm….as long as the gaming doesn't get ignored then I am a-ok with it.

APB

(again going back to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, but didn't get round to covering it myself so gotta do it!)

All Points Bulletin or APB a game from the man behind Lemmings, Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown got some big exposure with Dave Jones (the man behind aforementioned games) speaking about APB. Two videos of the game so far follow:





Your best bet is to read the Rock, Paper, Shotgun low-down on it here to get the low-down.

GDC Closing

For any further GDC information just check out Jim Rossignol's humorous piece here

EA -> Take-Two

Big industry news has EA trying to take over Take-Two and, presumably, steal the riches of the Grand Theft Auto franchise! Check out Ramon's news pieces here and here.

My quick take – Take-Two should hold off until GTAIV has been released, force EA to up their offer to $30 a share and see what happens then. If EA continue with their apparent new way of running, de-centralised etc. then this wouldn't be too bad for Take-Two. Still, I would rather Take-Two remain on their own.

Red Faction III
More (great) new details have emerged regarding Red Faction III Guerrilla. According to CVG the game is going to take the game to the third-person perspective and bring in amazing destructive environments and open-world gameplay. It has also been revealed that the game will return to Mars with a new Red Faction movement fighting against the Earth Defense Force.

"Red Faction: Guerrilla expands the signature destruction elements of the series and pushes the boundaries of next-gen gaming on a massive, terra-formed Mars where gamers can literally tear down the enemy EDF presence brick by brick," Mike Kulas, president of Volition - the game's developer - says.

"With a new third- person perspective, a full cover system that allows for guerrilla style tactics and a diverse planet to explore we're excited to revitalize the gripping world of Red Faction for high-definition platforms."

Quite intriguing and interesting, certainly sounds like Volition have some promising plans for this one. Going back to Mars with the EDF and Red Faction movement is a great move, hopefully the horrible memories of RF2 can be erased.

[CVG]

Chris Taylor on Piracy

Chris Taylor the head honcho behind Supreme Commander has claimed that piracy on the PC is causing developers to turn over to consoles, and that is why we are seeing a spate of RTS games appearing on the 360 and PS3 in the coming year.

IGN: Recently there have been many attempts to bring the RTS genre over to the console. Do you think what people learn from that will affect how the PC RTS is made in the future?

Chris Taylor: Well, yeah, because if there's success on the console, people are going to stop making them on the PC because of my earlier point, what's happened on the PC with piracy. The economics are ugly right now on the PC. You're not going to see these gigantic, epic investments of dollars on the PC when it just doesn't work. The economics have to work. You're going to see those investments made on the console side and it's going to become a more console-centric investment. And then you're going to see them ported back over to the PC and that creates a different experience on the PC.

Right now it's up in the air, but right now the PC market is kind of voting with its dollars, if you will.

Read the whole thing here.

To see the humble RTS, a genre that is for me a core part of PC gaming, be predicted to follow the trend of console-led development is frightening and worrying. While I cannot agree that piracy is the sole reason for this shift, it has certainly played a large part in it. I would hate to see piracy being the cause of even more developers moving away from the PC, I really would.

The long-standing argument that games cost too much is really bull. PC games are now (in the UK at least) much cheaper than any of the games coming out on the 360/PS3. People can no longer argue that point. That people also claim to pirate then buy a game if they enjoy it or if it works on the PC, well fine, but the vast majority won't even do that, they will just download the game and not bother to buy it even if it is a great game than runs perfectly on their PC. Really there is no basis in that argument either, demos are so prevalent nowadays and internet speeds are getting faster and faster that people should just grab the demo, see if it works on their PC and if they enjoy it. If they do then go and buy it.

It really disgusts me to think that piracy (among many other reasons) is causing developers to leave the PC in droves and focus on the consoles. Piracy is one of the few things we ourselves can control, we can't control the rate and price of new PC components coming to market or crap games, but we can stop piracy ourselves, in the gaming world as it is today there is no need whatsoever to pirate. I may have pirated a few games in the past, but that was before I became aware of the wider impact it was having. These days I will go and grab a demo and gather my thoughts on a game before deciding whether to lay down the cash for it.

My simple message to pirates - don't do it if you care at all for the PC as a platform and for many developers. I would hate to think that games like World of Goo, AudioSurf and hell, even Portal weren't being made primarily for the PC, or even coming to the PC at all just because of pirates.

Give it up, you are killing the industry I, and many others love.

Cliffy B and ‘idiot' – Rein

Remember Cliffy B commenting the other week that PC Gaming was dying? Well Mark Rein thinks he is an idiot for saying this! Speaking to Tom's Games regarding the PC Gaming Alliance Mark explains his view and talks about much more.

TG: But then you have Cliffy B come out and say that PC gaming is in disarray and...

MR: Oh he's an idiot [laughing]. No, he's a great guy. Cliff makes console games though, right? He's on a console team that makes what is primarily a console game.

This is a great little interview regarding the PC Gaming Alliance and Rein's views on the PC at the moment. Find it here.

Hellgate London

Bill Roper, boss of Flagship the studio behind Hellgate London has admitted that they didn't meet expectations when it came to the game which arrived badly bugged and experienced a rocky launch. CVG have excerpts from his upcoming interview with PC Zone, and even in these small pieces of the interview he is frank about the game.

"...we simply tried to do too much with the game", Roper says in retrospect. "Vista, DirectX 10, being both a single-player boxed product and a multiplayer online game, a simultaneous launch in seven languages across Europe, the US and South East Asia, and creating our own fully-featured online destination on top of all that."

However he refuses to put the blame squarely on the publishers and admits that Flagship will continue working to improve the game. Worth checking it out here.

Tide's Reach – Mod

Word has reached me that Tide's Reach has been officially unveiled! Being created by Pi Mu Rho and his small group of followers Tide's Reach is an episodic mod based on the Source engine.

Space is a no man's land; pirates, scavengers and private military roam the galaxy preying on a strewn and divided humanity. A living is made on the derelict freighters and cargo vessels, stripped to the bone by the needy and the desperate. For two brothers an innocuous salvage job turns out to be more than it appears and they are thrust into a growing conflict that see's them pitted against vastly superior forces in an increasingly hostile galaxy.

Engage in a unique and innovative episodic adventure as a Terminal Operative. Work seamlessly with your brother's combat support and use limitless systems to level the playing field in a growing conflict across the galaxy.

While the mod has been in development for quite a while now, it is only these past few days that Pi has come out and announced the name and launched the site a proper.



More on Tide's Reach soon, and hopefully an interview with Pi too.

Closing

Wow…..over 3,000 words!

D:

Final thing – Half-Life Short Stories mod got interviewed by me, check it here.

Phew! I'm all done, see you all soon!