Reflections on the Australian Games Industry

I wrote a little article for The Age's Screen Play blog about the Australian games industry. Check it out here.

UPDATE 2009/12/01 - My contribution was judged the best of the month, and I won a PS3. Thanks Jason Hill!

A Question of Promise: Digital Comic

A Question of Promise: Digital Comic is the DS homebrew adaption of the first issue; complete with music and sound effects! Now you can play and carry around A Question of Promise on your Nintendo DS (as long as you have a flash cart, such as a R4 Revolution).


Instructions: unzip the .NDS file, copy it to your flash cart, and load. You'll be reading the comic on two screens in no time!

Download game (9MB)

Pip'n Xbox

Just a quick post - I made a parody of an Apple/Bandai Pippin promo video by replacing every reference from Apple to Microsoft. It's on Youtube, and it was mentioned at Destructoid.

DDGC - Aussie Football: Glory in September

So I've finally got around to making a new game. It's a turn-based rock, paper, scissors game based on Aussie Rules Footy (AFL). I made this one as a Flash Actionscript learning project, and in that respect, it was successful (that is, now I know some). The game's not particularly interesting, but it's complete and it works. So, feel free to give it a five-minute try.

Aussie Football: Glory in September

Pokemon Diamond

Finished it. Well, became League Champion and watched the credits - haven't completed the Pokedex yet.

The winning team was: Luxray (Lv.59), Dialga (Lv. 59), Staraptor (Lv.68), Rapidash (Lv.65), Bibarel (Lv. 66) and Empoleon (Lv. 64).

Total playing time: 30 hours, 45 minutes... time which I really should have spent studying... but in my defence, many hours were played while I was waiting for my computer to compress another wedding video.

Transformers Jump!

Here's a physics and highlight reel using Atari's Transformers game which I made years ago but only now decided to share with the interweb. I guess you could call it Machinima, though quite unlike Bookstore 2 or 3 (see sidebar for links).

Why is it called "Jump"? Well, I guess you haven't heard of the famous Warthog Jump video (which you really should watch, even if you don't like Halo).

Apologies now for using the most-overused song in stunt videos (Blur's "Song 2") and a Michael Mann track (I was listening to Soulwax at the time)...

DDGC - Fanboys, Four Points To Note

Gamers of the world, can we get four things clear?

1. Nintendo is not in trouble. Any company whose share price is over $US100, makes a healthy profit regularly and sits on a billion-dollar warchest is not going out of business.
2. Stop citing Final Fantasy VII whenever a discussion about emotion in games arises. Flower Girl's death (for that is what I named her when I was given the chance) has the same emotional impact as the dogs bursting through the windows of Resident Evil.
3. No more complaining about new/updated models of consoles. Who cares if the Nintendo DS lite is 'better' than your old 'crappy' Nintendo DS? In every other industry, they make multiple models of the same product. But no matter what, they do fundamentally the same thing. Remember - you PAY for the extras.
4. Do not accept a game's worth by its cult status. Shadow of the Colossus and its inferior predecessor Ico are not perfect games. Neither is God of War, Katamari Damacy, Halo or GTA. If a game's perfection requires you to overlook its flaws, then it is not perfect.
   

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have other things to preach about in the future.

DDGC - Introducing Phoenix Wright Turnabout Trivia

Phoenix Wright - Turnabout Trivia is the latest addition to the Desert Dog Games Channel. It's another multiple-choice trivia game with a slight twist - there are trick questions mixed in with real questions. So OBJECT!

On a related note, I forced my girlfriend to play the first episode of Phoenix Wright the other day. It only takes about 20-ish minutes to get through, and she did it with only one hint from me. She must have enjoyed it, because when I got home that night, she told me that she continued onto the second episode - only to get stuck during the Courtroom Battle. I would have thought the Investigation bit would have been more difficult... Anyway, love the game. It's available for Nintendo DS now.

Play Phoenix Wright - Turnabout Trivia here!

DDGC - The Atari Situation Part 3

Before I finish The Atari Situation, I'd like to note that while I am an ex-employee of the company, I am not a bitter ex-employee. I am a disappointed ex-employee, who thinks things could have been / should be done a lot better.

Atari is a company that makes a bit of money on the publishing side but not so much money on the developing side. The people who make the money get to make the decisions, because after all, they're smart enough to make the money that pays everyone else. So, Atari is run by marketing people and accountants. They are good at projecting profits. They are not good at managing development studios. They only see the bottom line. This is why they spend something some ungodly amount on DRIV3R - partly based on the money that the Driver series has made, and the fact that the game had sucked up 3-ish years of development costs which had to be recouped. In the same way, they paid $47 million for Shiny (or rather The Matrix license) because the two Matrix film sequels looked like they were going to be massive blockbusters. Notice that they don't actually care about quality or even have faith in the team's abilities (the latter is somewhat of a blessing for the studio involved though, as they continually rake in cash without any need to actually show anything for it). Another point to note: Enter the Matrix was originally supported by Microsoft, who withdrew for quality reasons...

So the bigwigs at Atari continue to look for "the big buck". If the money isn't made, it's a lost cause and it is abandoned like an unwanted pet at Christmas. They don't care about how much money was spent making the game in the first place, nor do they care about the experience and technology gained in the process. Of course, this may not be entirely their fault - after all, they have been constantly in debt since the massive millennium expansion. Their focus was never to make good games, but to instead make the payments on their loans. Atari, Infogrames, probably bit off more than they should have. In any case, the fact remains: their priorities were wrong. Had they focused on pushing the good quality titles that Atari made during the past couple of years, as opposed to all-or-nothing bets on high profile turkeys, they might have built a reputation for solid games instead of over-hyped buggy non-starters. And as Nintendo (amongst others) has shown, quality can make you a lot of cash.

I hope Atari pulls out of this mess, for the sake of my ex-colleagues at Melbourne House. But it ain't gonna happen unless they really change their approach to this thing called Games. They just don't know what they are doing, or even have an ideology on which to base their decisions.

DDGC - Path of Neo Highlights

Everyone loves to diss Shiny/Atari's Enter the Matrix, but I was one of the 6 million people who bought a copy and played it through to the end. It never pretended to be anything more than a game for non-gamers - people who bought it to watch the then-exclusive footage from The Matrix Reloaded. Therefore, it was easy - easy to do cool Matrix-moves, and easy to get through to watch said footage. I liked it.

That said, I wasn't interested at all in The Matrix Path of Neo. I believed (and later found out to be true) that it would have one or two must-play levels (the scenes from the films) and the rest of it would be slow and dull (based the stuff that wasn't interesting enough to be in the films). But I did eventually play it, some months after its release, when I learnt that the game had a new ending compared to The Matrix Revolutions' ending. As a fan of films, any mention of 'alternative ending' always peaks my interest.

Path of Neo is better than Enter the Matrix, but not by much. Gameplay-wise, it's okay. Not earth-shattering, but enjoyable enough. But there are two specific bits in the game that I must write about, simply because when they happened, I was amazed/intrigued/speechless. It's the same feeling you get when you play any Metal Gear Solid game - a weird combination of, "That's cool!" and, "WTF??!"

SPOILER ALERT!

1. The boss fight against Seraph. As Neo, you fight Seraph in the room with the long tables. At a certain point in the fight, both of you go through a wall. On the other side of the wall is a cinema, and you have just made a hole in the movie screen. Guess what movie is playing? The Matrix Reloaded. Guess which scene is playing? The fight between Neo and Seraph. You continue the boss fight in front of the movie screen as a guy in the audience shouts MST3K-esque quips.
2. The last boss fight. You're fighting Smith on the street with the rain falling and the other Smiths lining the sidewalk (the almost-last scene from The Matrix Revolutions). You defeat Smith. A cutscene plays. Two chairs appear and two 2600-style pixel characters sit down: the Wachowski brothers. A funny conversation follows, where basically they explain that they had to think of a new ending for the game because the movie ending (where Neo "dies") wasn't cool enough for a video game. So what is cool in a video game then? Two words: Mecha Smith. When you defeat Mecha Smith, the credits scroll to the tune of Queen's "We are the Champions" - THIS IS NOT A JOKE.
   

In the end, I enjoyed Path of Neo in the same way that I enjoyed Enter the Matrix - it wasn't a great game, but experiencing the aforementioned moments was worth it.

DDGC - Movies Looking Like Games

I can't (won't) believe the Sony hype machine when it comes to the life-changing PS3. It's a console. It will do more than previous consoles did. It'll probably look a lot like the Xbox 360 when it comes down to it. I don't really care - I quite enjoy pixels.

I watched a Japanese film last night called Shinobi, starring the delicious Yukie Nakama. There's a scene in that film where the one of the main characters takes out about 30 ninjas in 30 seconds. He raises his hand, sending an orange light forth which freezes his enemies, and then proceeds to hack through every one in order.

My God, I thought, this is the Kamui technique from Genji!

Sony promises that the PS3 will deliver movie-quality graphics. Considering that the PS2 couldn't render Toy Story in real-time, I doubt the PS3 will be able to render Final Fantasy Advent Children. But, if someone (a prankster, or indeed a Sony rep) wanted to play a big joke on the Internet, they could simply grab this scene from Shinobi, dirty the image a little (perhaps record it via a phone camera in a darkened room secret-presentation-style) and BAM! A leaked video from the PS3 version of Genji.

Who knows, it might even be the fanboys' next hot topic of debate, after they've finished with Killzone PS3...

DDGC - Reflections on Game Design

To change subject from the Atari Situation for a day or two, I'd like to talk about game design. As you may know, I've made a trivia game based on Transformers. Trivia games, by their nature, are the definition of 'casual gaming'. The gameplay is simple: I ask a question, you answer. You get it right and you score a point. Everyone in the world understands this (gamer or not), because this is the basis of normal communication.

The best thing any developer can do is get someone else to play their game. When you're neck-deep in code-art-design, you tend to miss things. The assumptions that you made during development may not be true. When other people play, they see the things you don't. When they tell you about it, you make the decision to accept it and change where appropriate, or disregard it and call them an idiot.

As a 'gamer', trivia games are too simple for me. So, in making Transformers Broken Destiny Trivia Battle, I added a fancy scoring system which rewards players for speed, consistency and perseverance. In response to this, I received this piece of feedback. To paraphrase, the scoring system was 'buggy' because you can get a higher score by rapidly selecting the same answer option (being multiple-choice) for each question over and over than actually taking your time to answer the question properly.

This is what I thought when confronted with this criticism:

• At first, I thought the 'rapid clicking' was stupid. What is the purpose of a trivia game? To test one's knowledge. Why then would you blindly click at the same answer over and over just to get a higher score? It was then that I realised that the score is meant to be a reflection of your performance. In a trivia game, your performance is your correct knowledge of the subject. Thus, a faulty score inflated one's performance, and made one out to be a bigger brain than one actually was. This is unfair (not Counter-Strike unfair, but similar). So, I changed the numbers I used to calculate the bonus scores. This stops people from using the Time Remaining bonus to offset the points they lost from answering incorrectly - thus putting the focus back on answering the question.
• Is the scoring system buggy? In a technical sense, no. But from an audience perspective, it is indeed strange. My scoring system was a way to make a casual game more interesting to a hardcore gamer. But I forgot a simple fact: a casual game primarily attracts a casual audience. An audience who cares little (if any) about my hardcore scoring setup. So, I added a simple "you got x out of 50" score, because after all, it's a test - you want to know how many you got right (looking back, I'll admit this was a major failure in my design process).
  

Hope this sheds a little light on the nature of game design.

DDGC - The Atari Situation Part 2

Publishing games is a far more lucrative business than developing games. In publishing, all one has to do is find a completed game, buy the rights, and put up the money for manufacture and distribution. As long as one chooses a good/popular game, there's easy money to be made. In Atari's case, getting the publishing rights to Dragon Ball Z (from Bandai et al.) was a godsend. DBZ games have been one of their highest sellers for Atari for the past couple of years. They would have paid a pretty penny to get the rights, but at least they didn't have to pay for the development. Better to pay a little for a game that will sell than pay a lot to make a game that might not.

Let's talk about another case - the cult-favourite Ikaruga on Nintendo Gamecube. Sounds strange that Atari, of all people, would publish the game internationally, right? It was Melbourne House that got that ball rolling. In fact, I was in the room during one of the 'suitability' sessions. After a rather sorid battle between Melbourne House and Atari Japan, the game was eventually published by the Japanese office much to the surprise to many a Treasure-fan. The 'battle' I mentioned resulted in someone leaving the company (ousted, if you will). Anyway, guess how much the Ikaruga publishing rights cost? About as much as I make for one year - pretty damn cheap. And while Ikaruga may have not been a bestseller, it did make Atari 'cool' for a brief moment in the eyes of the hardcore/old-school gamer.

Here's what I believe is why Atari is in the state that it is currently in. As I said in Part 1, Atari is better at publishing than it is in developing. It is used to making money quickly without much work. They approached development in the same way that they approached publishing, and that doesn't work. While we may cry out against the sequels and franchises that make up 90% of the titles on the market, the fact is, you need franchises both in a monetary sense and also a development sense. You need to invest in your titles; think of them as a series of games, not as a one-shot (which Atari does). Grand Theft Auto wasn't the cashcow that it is now until GTA3, some several years after the series first appeared (and GTA1 wasn't that great a game). If Atari had had GTA, they would have abandoned it after the first game; passing up on any chance of improvement via iteration. They don't see the long-term picture unless money is made from the get-go. You can do that in publishing - it just doesn't work in development.

DDGC - The Atari Situation Part 1

My new posts about video games are partially inspired by Atari's current financial woes and their plan to sell off their internal studios. See, I used to work at one of these internal studios, Melbourne House. I spent 5 years there before being poached/headhunted, and I have to say that this intended sell-off is not suprising - perhaps even expected.

Before I get to the nitty-gritty, I'd like to explain how Atari got into the position that it is in now. Infogrames, a French games company who started back during the 8-Bit computer days, borrowed a lot of money around the turn of the millennium and proceeded on a binge of developer and distributor acquisitions. This got them very big, very fast. During this binge, they bought, amongst others, Melbourne House (Australia's oldest developer) and Hasbro Interactive - the latter of whom owned the Atari name. Originally intending to brand their 'premium' titles under the Atari banner, they instead decided to rename the entire company and ride the publicity and brand recognition train. Note that Atari is a U.S. subsidary of Infogrames, which does not trade under the Atari name in France.

Now, renaming oneself to cash-in on a brand is a fairly good business decision, especially when people have difficulty remembering your name ("Info-games?") The problem is that Atari just had a bad run of luck. I mean, who was to know that The Matrix Reloaded would ruined the entire franchise? That's the risk you have when you do a movie tie-in. And the sour taste that DRIV3R left behind should have buried that series too.

It's more than luck, however. The simple fact is, Atari is better at publishing than it is at developing. And it's this publishing success that tainted the way they went about doing internal projects.

DDGC - Xbox 360 Kiosks Available in Australia

Took a trip into Games Rush at Highpoint Shopping Centre (Melbourne) last night where they were setting up a brand-spanking-new Xbox 360 demo kiosk. I'd be excited, except for the fact that my company's already got one and I walk past it several times a day. No one is playing it because:

• The four games we have suck (Call of Duty 2, FIFA, GUN & Most Wanted)
• The step-down transformer isn't pumping out enough watts, causing the Japanese 360 to reset after 10 minutes - it's not the famed overheating 360 power supply problem
• The wireless controller's batteries have run out and no one's bothered to change them

I've pass on 3 separate chances of getting myself a 360 from Japan, as because of the exchange rate, I'd be saving about $150 on the Australian retail price of $650. Reason? Would have to buy a better step-down transformer, which would be $100-ish anyway.

The Xbox 360 will be released in Australia on March 23 2006.

Desert Dog Games Channel

Introducing the Desert Dog Games Channel! As you may or may not know, I make video games for a living. For fun, I also make games in my spare time. They are simple casual (mostly) Shockwave-based time-wasters that can be played free online. Check them out and leave a comment if you like them.

Game List
"Transformers Broken Destiny"
DDGx04
A turn-based RPG/Strategy game based on Transformers (Hasbro). This game is the unofficial sequel to the Melbourne House/Atari TF game for Playstation2.

"Transformers Broken Destiny Trivia Battle"
DDGx05
A trivia game based on Transformers (Hasbro). Test your reflexes and knowledge in a series of multiple-choice questions about all things TF.

"Phoenix Wright - Turnabout Trivia"
DDGx06
A trivia game based on Phoenix Wright (Capcom). Object your way through hundreds of multiple-choice questions based on and around the Nintendo DS game.

"Aussie Football: Glory in September" NEW!
DDGx07
A turn-based rock, paper, scissors game based on Aussie Rules Footy (AFL). Select an action, choose correctly and score! My first Flash game.

TF Trivia Battle WIP

Inspired by the rather cool Buzz game for PS2, and the observation that I cannot create complex games by myself, I have whipped up a trivia game based on Transformers. Feel free to play it here, but it's a work-in-progress. More questions are being written by myself and some fine fellows at the TAAU forums; and points-tuning and balancing is ongoing. Consider it an 'open-beta', to use a MMO term. I'll put up a proper link when it's finished...

Broken Destiny

Production Date: October 28th 2005
Game and Story by: Thuyen Nguyen
Synopsis: When Optimus Prime has a vision of the destruction of Cybertron and the extinction of the Transformers, he enlists the help of... Megatron?
As Cybertron dies, the Autobots and Decepticons search the galaxy for the answer. But even with the threat of total annihilation, the battle between good and evil continues...
Can the Transformers put aside their differences and work together to overcome their greatest threat before it's too late?
Game Information:
1 Player
RPG-lite (Active Novel)
Windows
Based on Transformers Armada
1-2 hours playing time
Minimum tested system requirements:
Windows 2000, 256MB RAM, PIII CPU, Mouse, DirectX Video card, 50MB free disk space

Download trailer (2MB)

Download game (27MB) from Rapidshare

Broken Destiny Goes Gold

My Transformers-inspired game Broken Destiny went gold last night. For those of you who don't know, the term 'gold' is used when a game is finished and ready to be sent off to the factory for manufacture. Obviously, the latter doesn't apply to my game.

More info to come, including the official trailer.

Happy 20th Birthday Mario!