It’s been a relatively quiet week in the
games industry this week with very few goings-on and very little “big news”
headlines, the biggest of which is Valve’s Steam Early Access. There’s also
controversy surrounding Shroud of the Avatar designer Richard Garriott’s recent
comments and change to the way a developer approaches Kickstarter.
Lets start with the main news of the week, Steam Early Access (I mentioned Steam this time: happy, Greg?). It was
launched this week with a series of popular games that can only get more
popular now that they are on Steam. The buzz around Early Access is that the
games that are available in this section of Steam are all “alpha build”,
meaning they are not considered a complete game yet. This means that they are
being worked on and updated while you play them, giving you that chance to
provide feedback and let the developers know what is good and bad about the
game. The “playable alpha builds” model is becoming increasingly popular in
recent times and proving to be beneficial to both the developers, who are
getting feedback and, in some cases, revenue from the game they are working on,
and the player, who gets access to this game early instead of having to wait
for the complete game. There are a few large titles already in Steam’s Early
Access, including Arma III,
Prison Architect, Kerbal Space Program and -
my personal favorite - DrunkenRobot Pornography. In total, there are 12 games in Early Access, with
more to come. Although these games may seem expensive for alpha builds, bear in
mind that you are paying not only for the early access but also the full game
when it is released. Have a look at the full list of games here, as there are a few
up-and-coming gems to be found.
Shroud of the Avatar has recently reached its Kickstarter goal. The first
game designed by Richard ‘Lord British’ Garriott since ‘Ultima IV’ and has been
eagerly awaited by fans of the series. Having reached its $1 million goal, new
stretch goals have been set up, the first of which is at $1.1 million where
they will develop a pet system, and for only another $100,000 after that a
whole weather system will be implemented (emphasis on “only”!). Garriott has
also recently been in the news
relating to a matter other than Shroud of the Avatar concerning his recent
comments with regards to other game designers. He said,
"I've met virtually no one in our industry who I think is close to as good a game designer as I am. I'm not saying that because I think I'm so brilliant. What I'm saying is, I think most game designers really just suck"A bold statement to make and I would assume that with that comment he has made a lot of enemies within the industry. He stated that there are very few good designers in the industry, naming a few such as Peter Molyneux. His justification is that designers lack the required skills such as programming knowledge or artistic skill, and that most designers take a game they like and tweak it slightly because designers are "lazy". Garriott has responded saying the article was skewed and has released an official statement.
From one Kickstarter project to another: Train Fever, a railroad
simulator by Urban Game
Studios. Yes, okay, it is another simulator but before you stop reading
hear me out: it’s not the game that is the talking point in this case. Sure, at
first look it does not jump out as anything special. You get your typical
rewards depending on how much you donate: a cool T-shirt, your very own copy of
the game and maybe even a credit in the final version. But what is different
about this project is the rewards they offer alongside these typical rewards. It
may feel nice giving the developer money to help fund the project, but what
about the potential to make money back from the game? Well, that’s what Train
Fever is offering. Think of it like buying shares in the game: if you donate so
much then you receive more shares. This, in turn, will provide you with a share
of the profits. In Train Fever’s case, half of the revenue will be shared out
between its backers. This model is called “Equity Crowdfunding”, and although
it sounds good it come with a few problems. At this moment it is illegal in the
USA and Canada for the average Joe to invest in a project (you have to be a
qualified investor to do so), but this is about to change with new legislation.
This may open the floodgates for other companies to take the same route and
maybe one day you may be a shareholder in the next big thing, so it is
certainly worth keeping your eye out for.
A mixed bag of news this week for the games
industry, from controversial comments to early access. Keep checking back for
more updates and blogs from myself and other members of the Amber Glass
Broadcast team as we have lots of fun and exciting things planned.
Until next time!
Lee Gillespie
Amber Glass Broadcast
No comments:
Post a Comment