Clipse
12-13-2007, 01:25 PM
Having established Xbox Live Arcade as the leader in downloadable content for consoles, Microsoft is looking to be the first to successfully deliver episodic and user created content as the next evolution of the service.
With retro, brand new IP and advergames already part of the offering, David Edery, worldwide games portfolio planner for XBLA, has told GamesIndustry.biz about a number of options that the company is actively pursuing to keep ahead of competition from Sony's PlayStation Network and Nintendo's Wii Ware.
"We have some really big initiatives going on right now and I can say that everyone internally is really excited about user created content," said Edery.
"Multiple internal groups are trying to think about the best way of supporting it on the console and I can tell you for sure that things are happening, I just don't know if we'll see any of them in the next 12 months," he said.
While Microsoft is working on internal architecture to deliver user generated content – whether to support its XNA Studio creations or something more playful like Sony's LittleBigPlanet – it's also encouraging potential Arcade developers to look at the true potential of episodic gaming.
"We're really excited about trying to bring episodic content to XBLA," enthused Edery. "We haven't really done it yet and we're trying to think of the best ways to do so.
"The Penny Arcade guys are going to be bringing their episodic game to Xbox Live Arcade but I think of that as only the beginning – it's just one model for episodic and there are lots of different models."
Conceding that the market hasn't yet seen episodic content in the same context as episodic TV – half an hour to an hour long shows delivered weekly – Edery says that as soon as the right quality titles come along, Microsoft wants to continue to push the boundaries of digital delivery.
"It's an obvious statement but we don't want to put out bad content. We need to see a really, really good episodic franchise before we go ahead and throw a bunch of half an hour or hourly gameplay episodes on our service.
"The day a developer comes to us with that is the day we'll sign it. We're making it clear that we're very open to this sort of thing," he said.
Edery also accepts that new delivery methods are going to be met with a little bit of trepidation, at least until they can be proven to be a reliable and convincing route to market.
"Game developers are not used to thinking and designing in this way, it's a fundamentally different process and I think it's just a learning thing where developers and ourselves need to experiment and figure out what works and what doesn't.
"There's also a certain amount of fear, frankly. If you're an independent developer betting your company on this, something that has never been done successfully before, it's scary when there are literally no good examples of successful episodic gaming," he concluded.
Source: GameIndustry.biz (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=31484)
Yes, I can finally make my XNA remake of Porky’s Revenge and include multiplayer online! No seriously though, this is great news for XNA developers. Here’s the full release:
New XNA Game Studio 2.0 From Microsoft Enables Creation of Online Multiplayer Games Using LIVE
Popular game development software now includes support for Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows – LIVE
REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 12, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. today marked the next step in its initiative to democratize game development and unleash the creativity of the community with the release of the XNA Game Studio 2.0, the next generation of the popular game development platform for Xbox 360 and Windows. The new version builds upon XNA Game Studio Express, released one year ago, and includes the ability to create online, cross-platform multiplayer games for Xbox 360 and Windows using Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows — LIVE, respectively. XNA Game Studio 2.0 adds more than 15 new features and is available for download from http://creators.xna.com.
“When building XNA Game Studio 2.0, we wanted to offer everyone the opportunity to utilize the rich gaming environment of LIVE used by AAA developers for titles such as ‘Halo 3’ and ‘Gears of War,’” said Chris Satchell, general manager of the XNA organization at Microsoft. “We accomplished our goal with this new toolset, and, best of all, it remains highly accessible to students, hobbyists and pros alike.”
Many of LIVE’s best features are supported by XNA Game Studio 2.0 with minimal to no coding necessary to activate them — features like matchmaking, which uses LIVE to find the best games for you to play based on your location and internet connection. Additionally, XNA Game Studio 2.0 fully supports game development with all versions of the Microsoft Visual Studio product line.
XNA Creators Club Academic Trial Memberships Now Free to Qualified Students and Faculty
Since its release last December, XNA Game Studio has been an incredible success, with 750,000 downloads, adoption by more than 300 universities worldwide and at least nine textbooks on the tools in development. In subjects from computer science to fine arts, introductory courses to graduate and research projects — XNA Game Studio is helping faculty members and students explore the boundaries of applied gaming technology in education. Along with XNA Game Studio 2.0, Microsoft will also provide a free academic trial membership in the XNA Creators Club beginning in January, allowing faculty members and students to use XNA Game Studio 2.0 and Xbox 360 for instructional purposes.
Time to Dream-Build-Play Again
From more than 4,500 entrants from around the world, four community games were awarded Xbox LIVE Arcade publishing contracts in this year’s Dream-Build-Play game development competition. Microsoft will once again challenge aspiring game developers to create their dream games for a chance to win more coveted publishing contracts. This week Microsoft kicks off registration for Dream-Build-Play 2008 with the Silicon Minds Warm-Up Challenge. Registration begins on Dec. 14 and winners will be announced at the Game Developers Conference where details of the main challenge will be announced. Run in partnership with Microsoft Research’s Machine Learning Group in Cambridge, England; Rare Ltd.; and Lionhead Studios, prizes for the Warm-Up Challenge will include the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interview for an internship with one of those organizations.
“Artificial intelligence is so important to the games we make at Lionhead Studios, and we are very excited to see what the community can come up with in this Warm-Up Challenge to Dream-Build-Play 2008,” said Peter Molyneux, managing director at Lionhead Studios. “We are always on the lookout for the best talent and believe that XNA Game Studio 2.0 will be a great platform for contestants to showcase their skills on.”
Source: The Bit Bag (http://www.thebitbag.com/index.php/2007/12/12/xna-20-allows-xbox-live-online-multiplayer-game-development/)
With retro, brand new IP and advergames already part of the offering, David Edery, worldwide games portfolio planner for XBLA, has told GamesIndustry.biz about a number of options that the company is actively pursuing to keep ahead of competition from Sony's PlayStation Network and Nintendo's Wii Ware.
"We have some really big initiatives going on right now and I can say that everyone internally is really excited about user created content," said Edery.
"Multiple internal groups are trying to think about the best way of supporting it on the console and I can tell you for sure that things are happening, I just don't know if we'll see any of them in the next 12 months," he said.
While Microsoft is working on internal architecture to deliver user generated content – whether to support its XNA Studio creations or something more playful like Sony's LittleBigPlanet – it's also encouraging potential Arcade developers to look at the true potential of episodic gaming.
"We're really excited about trying to bring episodic content to XBLA," enthused Edery. "We haven't really done it yet and we're trying to think of the best ways to do so.
"The Penny Arcade guys are going to be bringing their episodic game to Xbox Live Arcade but I think of that as only the beginning – it's just one model for episodic and there are lots of different models."
Conceding that the market hasn't yet seen episodic content in the same context as episodic TV – half an hour to an hour long shows delivered weekly – Edery says that as soon as the right quality titles come along, Microsoft wants to continue to push the boundaries of digital delivery.
"It's an obvious statement but we don't want to put out bad content. We need to see a really, really good episodic franchise before we go ahead and throw a bunch of half an hour or hourly gameplay episodes on our service.
"The day a developer comes to us with that is the day we'll sign it. We're making it clear that we're very open to this sort of thing," he said.
Edery also accepts that new delivery methods are going to be met with a little bit of trepidation, at least until they can be proven to be a reliable and convincing route to market.
"Game developers are not used to thinking and designing in this way, it's a fundamentally different process and I think it's just a learning thing where developers and ourselves need to experiment and figure out what works and what doesn't.
"There's also a certain amount of fear, frankly. If you're an independent developer betting your company on this, something that has never been done successfully before, it's scary when there are literally no good examples of successful episodic gaming," he concluded.
Source: GameIndustry.biz (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=31484)
Yes, I can finally make my XNA remake of Porky’s Revenge and include multiplayer online! No seriously though, this is great news for XNA developers. Here’s the full release:
New XNA Game Studio 2.0 From Microsoft Enables Creation of Online Multiplayer Games Using LIVE
Popular game development software now includes support for Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows – LIVE
REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 12, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. today marked the next step in its initiative to democratize game development and unleash the creativity of the community with the release of the XNA Game Studio 2.0, the next generation of the popular game development platform for Xbox 360 and Windows. The new version builds upon XNA Game Studio Express, released one year ago, and includes the ability to create online, cross-platform multiplayer games for Xbox 360 and Windows using Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows — LIVE, respectively. XNA Game Studio 2.0 adds more than 15 new features and is available for download from http://creators.xna.com.
“When building XNA Game Studio 2.0, we wanted to offer everyone the opportunity to utilize the rich gaming environment of LIVE used by AAA developers for titles such as ‘Halo 3’ and ‘Gears of War,’” said Chris Satchell, general manager of the XNA organization at Microsoft. “We accomplished our goal with this new toolset, and, best of all, it remains highly accessible to students, hobbyists and pros alike.”
Many of LIVE’s best features are supported by XNA Game Studio 2.0 with minimal to no coding necessary to activate them — features like matchmaking, which uses LIVE to find the best games for you to play based on your location and internet connection. Additionally, XNA Game Studio 2.0 fully supports game development with all versions of the Microsoft Visual Studio product line.
XNA Creators Club Academic Trial Memberships Now Free to Qualified Students and Faculty
Since its release last December, XNA Game Studio has been an incredible success, with 750,000 downloads, adoption by more than 300 universities worldwide and at least nine textbooks on the tools in development. In subjects from computer science to fine arts, introductory courses to graduate and research projects — XNA Game Studio is helping faculty members and students explore the boundaries of applied gaming technology in education. Along with XNA Game Studio 2.0, Microsoft will also provide a free academic trial membership in the XNA Creators Club beginning in January, allowing faculty members and students to use XNA Game Studio 2.0 and Xbox 360 for instructional purposes.
Time to Dream-Build-Play Again
From more than 4,500 entrants from around the world, four community games were awarded Xbox LIVE Arcade publishing contracts in this year’s Dream-Build-Play game development competition. Microsoft will once again challenge aspiring game developers to create their dream games for a chance to win more coveted publishing contracts. This week Microsoft kicks off registration for Dream-Build-Play 2008 with the Silicon Minds Warm-Up Challenge. Registration begins on Dec. 14 and winners will be announced at the Game Developers Conference where details of the main challenge will be announced. Run in partnership with Microsoft Research’s Machine Learning Group in Cambridge, England; Rare Ltd.; and Lionhead Studios, prizes for the Warm-Up Challenge will include the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interview for an internship with one of those organizations.
“Artificial intelligence is so important to the games we make at Lionhead Studios, and we are very excited to see what the community can come up with in this Warm-Up Challenge to Dream-Build-Play 2008,” said Peter Molyneux, managing director at Lionhead Studios. “We are always on the lookout for the best talent and believe that XNA Game Studio 2.0 will be a great platform for contestants to showcase their skills on.”
Source: The Bit Bag (http://www.thebitbag.com/index.php/2007/12/12/xna-20-allows-xbox-live-online-multiplayer-game-development/)