Attention Hog [Chris Basmajian via Water Cooler Games]

Steve Taylor's company, Wahoo Studios, alternates between contracting for publishers and producing self-published titles through their indie label, NinjaBee. He notes that working through online distribution portals is not much different from working with traditional publishers. "Portals and other distributions services impose their own rules and limitations. Supposedly indie-friendly distribution options like Steam and Instant Action still have subjective gatekeepers."

He maintains that the stark reality of remaining solvent often overshadows the dream of creative freedom. "If you want your game to make money, you have to consider what will sell, and this means adapting your pure creative vision to match the real world. Besides, do you really have the resources to achieve your ultimate creative vision? "

These fledgling entrepreneurs have also discovered their rebel status doesn't make them immune to piracy. With most indies struggling to make ends meet, they feel its impact directly in their own wallets. "Since we are a small developer that has a hard time getting attention, you would think we would have very little piracy," says Peeler. "Unfortunately, that's not the case at all. It's depressing how many sites are pirating Depths of Peril."

It's an interesting look at the transition and why people decide to make the leap (and sometimes do so unsuccessfully). Despite a look at some of the problems, the article is positive overall in terms of what these mainstream-to-indie 'rogues' are getting out of being their own masters.

Going Rogue [The Escapist]

Now Boarding [via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

During my practically nonexistent downtime, I wandered down to check out the offerings at the E3 installation of Indiecade 2008. Indiecade is, as the name implies, a celebration of a variety of indie games ranging from 'art games' to more mainstream-type titles. We've covered at least two of the games here on Kotaku — Jason Rohrer's Gravitation and The Odd Gentlemen's The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (begun as an MFA thesis at the University of Southern California). I had a chance to check out some of the games, talk to the people behind Indiecade, and watch the goings on — which included a surprising amount of hubbub and talent scouts from several companies lurking around. And there was more than just games: art prints were featured from various games (I even spied a screen from Blueberry Garden), plus videos of ARGs and installation games. My impressions and some pictures after the jump.

The playable games at this year's exhibition spanned an incredibly wide range:

• Bumper Stars, a Facebook app by Large Animal Games, described as "a deliciously addictive cocktail of pinball, pool, and fruit."
• Democracy 2 by Positech Games, a political simulation/strategy game.
• The Graveyard by Tale of Tales, "more like an explorable painting than a game" about an old lady who visits a graveyard.
• Gravitation by Jason Rohrer, about "mania, melancholia, and the creative process."
• ibb and obb by Richard Boeser, a cooperative game for two (and too damn cute).
• Jojo's Fashion Show 2 by Gamelab, a matching game (and one of the more mainstream titles).
• The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, a time-bending puzzle game featuring Victorian landscapes and mincemeat pie. And lots and lots of Winterbottoms.
• levelHead by Julian Oliver, which uses a solid plastic cube as its only interface. On screen, each face of the cube appears to be a room (all connected by doors) and players tilt and move the cube in an attempt to find an exit for the character.

As the list shows, Indiecade is dealing with a lot of different kinds of games — from the art games to the commercial games to all the types in between. I wandered around and had a lot of fun watching people play, especially the games with particularly unique mechanics (like levelHead). While my first visit down to the Indiecade corner of the exhibition hall was met with a reasonably subdued scene, it grew progressively more crowded through the day as more and more people gathered to take a look at the games.

One of the nice points about Indiecade is that you have a reasonably high likelihood of getting to chat with the game developers as you look at and play their games. I took the opportunity to talk at some length with Matt Korda (lead designer, lead artist and programmer) and Paul Bellezza (producer) about their game, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. Matt and Paul are both recent graduates of USC's Interactive Media MFA program, and P.B. Winterbottom started as a thesis project ('we wanted to combine Buster Keaton with Back to the Future'), but is now being shopped around to publishers. Having written about the postmortem of the game, I was curious to try my hand at it — I was initially struck by the resemblance to Braid, since it too features a sort of time mechanic presented as filming the action going on. As I worked further through the demo, though, I was pleased to discover the flexibility given to the player in game. In many respects, there is no one 'right' answer to the game; I got to chat about this (as well as game design, academia, the program at USC and a whole host of other issues) with Matt and Paul. Indiecade provides a really nice venue for this sort of interaction, one thing I think is really a plus about the whole event. It's nice to hear about a game from the horse's mouth, and not just via the written word.

I also took some time to chat with Sam Roberts, the Indiecade Festival Director (and former director of the Slamdance festival). We chatted about Indiecade, independent development, and where we may be in five or ten years. Indiecade is a chance to showcase a variety of independent games that are, in many respects, the 'best of the best' — interesting and creative mechanics, fresh designs, and faces different from the usual AAA suspects. The designers and companies aren't going to change the industry overnight, but definitely have a lot to add to the current and future scenes (even if they are flying under the radar in comparison to the 'mainstream'). These aren't just 'pie in the sky' concepts — the playable versions presented were solid and polished pieces of game design. Of course, not all the examples are gunning for mainstream publication (games such as Gravitation, for example), but I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see Winterbottom and others popping up on a console near you in the future. Talent scouts for major companies weren't lurking around simply for the hell of it.

One of the nicest points about Indiecade is the fact that it's impossible to pigeonhole the games into one category (beyond 'indie,' which is in and of itself a rather nebulous label): when I turned from Winterbottom, I was face to face with the casual and commercial Jojo's Fashion Show 2, which was right around the corner from the more experimental levelHead. A wide variety of mechanics, design styles, and purposes were on display, and it made for a really interesting experience. I didn't even play most of the games, preferring to stand back and watch the designers give their talks and walk interested parties through playable portions. One of my particular favorites was the charming two-player game ibb and obb:

A painfully cute game, the real charm is in the gameplay, which requires two players to cooperate through candy-colored levels to finish. It's cute, clever, and creative — that creativity was one of the hallmarks of Indiecade, no matter what sort of form it took. Several of the games offered interesting intermediaries between the oftentimes 'vapid' casual market and more 'hardcore' titles: pick up and play titles that offer more than, say, Bejeweled. For someone like me — who games in cycles, and frequently just doesn't have the time to settle in with hours and hours of playtime — it's nice to see more options popping up that don't involve match 3 or hidden object games.

If you have the chance to check out Indiecade offerings at an expo or show, definitely do so — it's a nice opportunity to check out what's going on in the indie scene and chat with designers about their games. There are going to be installations at the Penny Arcade Expo and E For All, among others, and it's definitely worth taking some time to see what's going on.

Indiecade photos courtesy of Adam Robezzoli.

... I also find The Count of Monte Cristo frustrating because the mechanic is such a bad form of interaction for the storytelling that is supposedly going on in the game. I would be a little more patient (I think) if the object searches were a little more relevant to the game's supposed narrative, but in the case of the Cristo game, we get to search for absurd things in various settings around Marseille.

(To give credit where due, the settings themselves are designed to be period French rooms — but that doesn't quite excuse the fact that apparently one of the damning bits of evidence against the villain is, in fact, a pine cone.)

She breaks down more successful marriages of literature and game, which mostly center on gameplay that actually seems to relate to the narrative. Personally, I find a lot of hidden object games to be the worst offenders in 'crappy casual games' — sure, there are some that are nicely put together, but many are eye-sores of poorly put together photographs that just look ... cheap — so I guess I fall into the same category as Short. And people are supposed to want to shell out money for these things? In any case, I'm always interested in Short's opinions on narrative design and applications to here-and-now games, and this article is worth a read. It's not enough to drape a mantle of 'classic literature' around a game — it's nothing but nice window dressing unless it's supported by gameplay (I would still love to see the FPS version of Wuthering Heights, however).

Playing the Reader [GameSetWatch]

365 days of free games [GamesRadar via IndieGames]

Prior to EA, Gray founded Heavy Iron, which was sold to THQ in 1999 and now serves as the primary studio creating the publisher's Pixar tie-in titles. Before that, Gray directed Parasite Eve for Square, and ran EA's software tools group and motion capture lab for the publisher during its original PlayStation era.

FerryGames says Gray will oversee not only its Secret Online franchise and upcoming expansion packs War of Heroes and Qin Warriors, but also its forthcoming casual products due summer 2009: the music, dance, catwalk and social network title codenamed Project Super, and massively online third person shooter codenamed X-Fire.

I'm personally very excited to see where the Chinese market is headed and how the gaming landscape is going to be changing over the next decade, both within China and on a more global scale. Little announcements like these aren't terribly exciting on a small level, but when rolled into the total sum of how the industry is doing, do portend some interesting things ...

FerryGames Gets EA's Steve Gray, Announces Line-Up [Gamasutra]

I've suggested before that for the videogames industry, the mass market is our long tail. The centre of cashflow in videogames are the hobbyists, the players who buy and play many games over the course of each year. Even with the outrageous sales figures that a mass market game can rack up (tens of millions, versus the old familiar game styles that top out at a few million units at best), the mass market doesn't look like an attractive option for most game developers: they don't know how to develop for it, they don't have a marketing spend big enough to skip over the hobbyists, and even if they made the perfect mass market product there's every chance it would sink without a trace.

The change at Nintendo is apparent: games are only part of Nintendo's focus now. What is less clear is what this change means for the rest of us. Because if this new wider market can only be hit by Nintendo first party software, which may be substantially the case, most developers would do better to continue to compete for a tiny share of a successful hobbyist marketplace, such as the first person shooter market, or the RPG market, even if most of the titles in these over-competed markets do fail miserably. And in that respect, the change in Nintendo is really 'business as usual' - because Nintendo's problem has always been that it can make and sell its own 'first party' software in large numbers, but third party developers struggle to make a profit on a Nintendo platform.

It does suck to be left out in the cold, and that goes for many of us — even those of us who don't have the time to game as we once did. Diversification isn't a bad thing, but it can be troubling at times.

The Change at Nintendo [Only a Game]

One of the most intriguing pieces of this new battle is how it brings the developers into the fray. Developers must choose between having exclusivity on one portal, potentially limiting their distribution, or fully distributing on all portals, and missing out on the rewards that exclusivity can bring.

There are certainly arguments that can be made as to which is the financially better approach, and certainly there is no clear path that is always financially more viable, but regardless of what path is chosen, developers are choosing a path that aligns them with one portal's approach or another's.

Developers are being unwittingly recruited into the battle and are at the forefront of the current skirmish, and as it true of all battles, those on the front lines are the most likely to be injured by the fighting.

Carroll notes that while exclusivity may be a positive thing for individual portals, it's bad for the industry on the whole; the developers are still losing out, since they're treading on uncertain ground when weighing the potential benefits of exclusive titles versus wide ranging distribution.

'Coopetition' - Digital Distribution's Enemy? [Gamasutra]

Bowja the Ninja 2: In Bigman's Compound [Pencilkids via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Hasbro Family Game Night will include Wii-friendly versions of Connect Four, Sorry, Boggle, Yahtzee, Battleship and Sorry Sliders.

The games are all played on a table in the Hasbro Family Game Night living room, which can be decorated with unlockable themes and items.

I had a chance to check out two of the games during the presentation.

In Connect Four you use your Remote to drop red or black checkers into plastic columns as you try to line-up four of the checkers before the other player does. While you can play with standard rules, the developers also came up with a twist that gives random checkers special power ups, like the ability to lock the other player from dropping checker in a column, or blowing up surrounding pieces.

Sorry Sliders, a new board game soon to be released in toy stores by Hasbro, players swing the remote to slide small Sorry pieces down the board. The object is to try and get the piece to stop as close to the center of the board as possible. Each player takes turns, trying to both slide their pieces into position and knock their opponents pieces away. Each round ends with players using the scored points to move their pieces to home.

I'm not sure if I can see a family gathering around a television to play classic board games, but Hasbro Family Game Night certainly has some potential and, at least initially, seems fun.

The game, created for 7 to 11-year-olds, may sound childish, but it looks to have the right mix of art-style, sense of fun and graphic muscle power to be a potential hit on the portable.

I sat down with the game for a short demonstration last week with UK's EA Bright Light studio. The devs told me that the game will push the DS to it's technical limits with scenes that boast a minimum of 2,000 polygons.

The stylus-driven game is broken down into a number of themed-worlds, each with it's own team of Zubo that you can befriend through tasks and mini-games to add to your team of three. All said there will be 55 different Zubo in the game and all of them will have unique attacks during combat.

Combat is performed through an elite-beat-esque rhythm game that has you first choosing your attack and then either carrying it out or failing by tapping the sliding across the screen with the stylus.

The demo I saw, while fun to look at, was in a setting to loud to really hear the music, and it's the music and how it syncs up with the on-screen action that can make or break this sort of game. The art-style, though, will certainly play with the age group, and even adult fans of plastic figures.

User generated content is something of a hot issue, with even universities like Stanford getting in on the game of how to make it easier and more intuitive for people to make their own stuff for games. At the recent Social Gaming Summit, a couple of industry types got together to talk about user generated content in virtual worlds, and why the model works for their games (such as Habbo Hotel or Puzzle Pirates):

"The more tools that you provide can lead to richer behavior, but often it's the simpler things that people enjoy most," began Daniel James, CEO of Three Rings. "As designing games constraints can lead you to designing better games, constrained environments can lead to more fun."

"The simplest games are the ones everybody can join in and play," expanded Ted Rheingold, founder of Dogster and Catster.

The panel also went on to discuss why we should think of 'virtual spaces' instead of 'virtual worlds' when looking at game design — design from the avatar up, not the 'world' down. Clearly this would not work for everything, but with casual MMOGs getting ever more popular, probably not a bad idea to go forward from for some developers.

Why User-Generated Content Matters For Games

It is very much a multiplatform, multichannel, multipartner business where our goal is to get our games anywhere they're going to be great, anywhere we can. If your fridge can make a great Bejeweled experience, by god, we'd have your fridge playing Bejeweled.

Zuma and Bejeweled had big game followings, but Peggle has overtaken the gaming community in a way that none of our games have ever really done that. It was dramatically sped up by Peggle Extreme, and we're trying to think of other things as well with Peggle and seeing if that works with other things. Some games... you couldn't do a mash-up of Bejeweled and Half-Life. That would only suck.

There's lots of talk about expansion into other marekts (mobile, console, etc.) and where PopCap is headed next. It's an engaging interview on the subject of one of casual gaming's biggest forces.

PopCap: The Complexity Of Being Casual [Gamasutra]

59 percent of the survey participants said that casual games offer a "positive distraction" from overeating, and 42 percent said it helps distract them from smoking. Smokers apparently prefer "hidden picture" games to other types, by the way. No surprise, either, that the survey results show that taking a little clicky-break to play a casual game helped them relieve stress.

I wonder why console publishers don't underwrite studies like these periodically, to show the positive impact games in general might have on their audience. Too much of a minefield, do you think?

Full study announcement after the jump.

SEATTLE, June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Billboards, TV ads and other campaigns seemingly bombard consumers throughout the year, calling out bad habits and suggesting various methods by which to quit. With smoking-related diseases claiming an estimated 430,700 American lives each year (American Cancer Society), and an ongoing nationwide fixation on weight-loss and obesity, consumers are beginning to ignore the fads and turning to healthier habits as a method for relaxation, distraction and stress-relief throughout their day.

A recent survey commissioned by RealGames(TM), the Games Division of RealNetworks(R), Inc., suggests that casual games — played online by about 200 million each month according to the Casual Games Association — are positively affecting consumer habits and lifestyle choices. The findings are telling:

Survey highlights:

— Of the 2,784 survey respondents reportedly watching their weight, 59 percent agree playing casual games provides a positive distraction from snacking and/or overeating, resulting in a reduced likeliness to overindulge.

— Of the 1,324 survey respondents who reported being smokers, 42 percent agree playing casual games provides a positive distraction from smoking, resulting in a reduced frequency of tobacco use.

— 28 percent of survey respondents who feel that playing casual games distracts them from eating reported using game play as a means to reduce their food intake.

— 42 percent of those who feel that playing casual games distracts them from smoking reported using game play as a means to reduce their smoking.

— Smokers typically play casual games on weekdays after work, before they go to sleep or on the weekends. This is often the time when they may have more freedom to take a smoke break (vs. while at work).

— Hidden picture games are the most popular among smokers. "Little Shop of Treasures" and "Mysteryville" are favorites in this genre.

— Participants most commonly report feeling "relaxed and relieved of stress" after a typical game break during their day. Casual games are the healthier break!

Survey Methodology

This international research was conducted by Information Solutions Group, http://www.infosolutionsgroup.com for RealNetworks. The results are based on online surveys completed by 4,537 respondents randomly selected between December 28, 2007 and January 11, 2008. With a sample of this size, sampling error is reduced to plus or minus 1.4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. This applies to all realarcade.com users age 18 and over. Smaller subgroups reflect larger margins of sampling error. Other sources of error, such as variations in the order of questions or the wording within the questionnaire, may also contribute to different results.

To try out Real's catalog of fun, family-friendly casual games or to purchase them online, please visit http://www.RealArcade.com or http://www.GameHouse.com.

ABOUT REALNETWORKS

RealNetworks, Inc. is providing ways for consumers to be entertained on any screen (PC, home entertainment system, portable device or mobile phone) anywhere. Its digital entertainment services include RealPlayer(R), the acclaimed Rhapsody(R) music service, one of the largest Casual Games destinations RealArcade(R), and a variety of mobile entertainment services offered to consumers by leading wireless carriers around the world. RealNetworks' corporate information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com/company.

RealNetworks, GameHouse, RealArcade, Rhapsody, RealPlayer and the Real logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, names of actual companies and products mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright 2008 PR Newswire

I think the Wii by Nintendo is getting games that once again are fun for people who don’t want to make a career out of figuring out how to run a 47-button controller... I think that the business right now should be much, much bigger than it is. If it were evenly spread over all demographics and age groups, it'd be huge. But it’s not. It's basically an 18 to 28 year-old male dominated business of about 15 million. That’s where most of the traffic is. Casual games on the net add to that, but they're all network-based.

Wait, wait, wait. Back up, Bushnell! A 47-button controller? Oh man, would we love to see that! (Playing it, well, that's another matter.)

Bushnell Interview [Next-Gen]

Well, it reads like an essay, but this piece by David Hayward is actually a transcript of a talk given at the "Under The Mask, Perspectives on the Gamer" event a few days ago (slides included!). It's a brilliant and somewhat lengthy piece on culture-with-a-small-c, as it relates to gaming (as, in Hayward's appraisal, just about everyone is a gamer these days by some definition or another). Games, despite coming off as a niche subculture at times, are worming their way into all aspects of society:

There are still people who fail to understand games and fear them, but with the publication of books like Grand Theft Childhood, dust is beginning to settle on the paranoid scare mongering so often stirred up by the anti-videogame lobby. Everyone is surrounded by increasing amounts of technology, and interacts with it more each passing month. People are primed to play games, and videogames are now going to keep spreading and adapting to new markets ....

I think our industry is progressing marvelously. I’m proud to be a gamer, I’m proud to work with games, and I can’t wait to see where else they go this century.

Definitely worth a read - it's long, but interesting and has some great points within.

Under The Mask: Games Culture [Functional Autonomy via GameSetWatch]

"A game is a game is a game" — are they? The plethora of popular card and board game adaptations — and their popularity — would seem to indicate 'yes.' Over at the Escapist, Scott Jon Siegel muses on the future and potential of adaptations on a number of levels. Especially when one considers the casual market, familiar electronic adaptations make for potential casual hits:

Any classic non-digital game has the potential to become a casual hit. The turn-based nature of these games makes for a slower, more relaxed play experience. A working knowledge of many titles allows players to approach with some degree of skill right off the bat, lowering the barrier to entry. Name recognition also goes a long way in promoting sales. Any non-gamer perusing the titles on Xbox Live Arcade will more quickly download UNO than Outpost Kaloki X, Monopoly than Mutant Storm Empire. Board and card games are inherently casual experiences, and the digital adaptation market can only benefit from the growing success of the casual cash cow.

He also talks about traditional board games being a training ground for game design, and the increasing popularity of adaptations like Scrabulous in social networking situations.

Simplified Systems [The Escapist]

Workers unable to visit social networking, dating, shopping and gaming sites on office time, PopCap said, have reduced staff efficiency and morale. The casual games company even brought in a Goldsmiths University Psychologist, Dr. Chamorro-Premuzic, to study the impact of personal internet bans on employee productivity.

Plus, the report suggests, the 71 percent of employees who sneak online to mess around when they're not supposed to probably feel "frowned upon," even resentful of their workplace. 47 percent of PopCap's survey subjects said they felt their boss would rather they take a five minute "fag break" (that's cigarettes, guys) than surf online.

So, demoralized UK workers, PopCap apparently calls on you to help your economy by playing some Peggle on the job! Steely-eyed supervisors relent!

UK businesses lose£4 billion a year due to 'office break' ban

A new report published today reveals that the current trend towards banning personal internet use in the workplace could be costing British businesses up to£4 billion every year<1> due to a resulting decline in staff productivity. The report by PopCap Games, proves that, far from distracting employees from their work, taking a 10-minute online break during the course of the working day serves to reduce stress while sharpening and refocusing the mind.

With seven out of ten companies - including Credit Suisse and British Gas - banning access to social networking sites<2> and many considering banning personal internet access altogether, The PopCap Break Report 2008 highlights the negative impact this could have on the UK economy. In fact research shows that a ban on e-breaks could actually serve to reduce staff efficiency and morale.

The rise in popular social networking, news, dating, gaming and shopping sites has resulted in 57% of workers shunning the traditional tea-break in favour of an office e-break in a bid to unwind during the 9-5. However, whilst taking five minutes out to make a cuppa is an accepted ritual in the work place, snatchingfive minutes online is frowned upon and 71% of employees admit to sneaking online while their boss isn't looking. Furthermore 47% of employees surveyed felt that taking a five minute cigarette break during work hours was deemed more acceptable by their boss than spending time surfing online.

The findings are based on psychometric trials carried out on a cross section of UK businesses under the supervision of Goldsmiths University psychologist, Dr Chamorro-Premuzic. The comparative effect of different types of online breaks on employees' performances<4> were tested and the results revealed that if bosses actively encouraged employees to take one ten minute e-break in the working day their overall productivity levels would increase.

"Tea-breaks and fag breaks have long been the most common types of break within office culture but the report shows that e-breaks are fast becoming the most popular choice of break for British workers", commented Dr Chamorro-Premuzic "The report proves that a ten minute e-break a day can have significant benefits but, despite this, many bosses are banning them in the fear that they distract employees. By factoring in a dedicated slot for an e-break bosses are fostering a more trusting working environment, boosting productivity and ultimately increasing their profit which surely makes good business sense."

In light of these findings PopCap is campaigning employers to introduce a ten minute e-break into their employees' working days. Employees who wish to anonymously lobby their bosses to establish an e-break into their office should visit www.popcapbreak.com.

The fact of the matter is, game genres by their very nature become established because games borrow mechanics, structural elements, and conventions from earlier games. To have a videogame genre is to recognise a recurrent pattern of plagiarism that draws upon the successes of earlier games as its bedrock. This is a good thing for players: few but the most grizzled gamer hobbyists can face learning entirely original game rules every time they play, most prefer to play something that (in broad strokes, at least) strongly resembles an earlier game they have enjoyed. It means they have less to learn, and it increases the chance that they will enjoy the later game.

As he later points out, "what would be considered plagiarism in other media is the backbone and lifeblood of the videogame industry" — clearly that's not such a bad thing, but it does make for some wild accusations at times.

Plagiarism in Videogames? [Only a Game]

In Oz, female gamers represent the largest growing sector of the population, although that's to be expected considering boys' long long history with games and the fact so many titles are written with male players in mind.

The story says that this comes mostly on the back of singing/music games, Wii titles, the Sims (EA says 60 percent of players are female) and games where violence and action is either nonexistent or not realistic. But for games there really isn't much that's comparable to the chick-flick segment in film.

Will that change? As the generation of girls who grew up with games gets older, will we see them eventually making the majority of entertainment choices in a relationship, much as they do with movies or rentals?

Game Girls [Sydney Morning Herald]

Mark will be in charge of all things casual and Ubisoft, from the My Coach line of games to the Petz series. Not sure how comfortable I feel having a man named Slaughter in charge of Petz, but any executive move that has me pondering the headline "Ubisoft Slaughters Petz" can't be all that bad.

Ubisoft appoints new head of casual [Casual Game News]

I don't think of it as casual. We were one of the first games that started to attract a broad audience. We were one of the first games that bought in women... To some degree The Sims is more of a toy than a game. People want to create characters, tell stories and explore relationships in a way that is maybe different from their real lives.

Some people may disagree with this statement, but frankly if there is one platform where most of the radical innovation in video game design is happening, that platform is the World Wide Web. For every innovative Wii game in the market, there are dozens of innovative Flash games.

It's not only because the barriers of entry and the production costs are lower, it's also a platform open for experimentation. You can throw something out there, discover that you wanted to change something, change it on your server, and boom, it's available for everybody else.

There are some other interesting bits of information contained within the article ('Don't spend more than $200K developing a game for XBLA!'), and some stats and predictions as well.

The State of Indie Gaming [Gamasutra]

In the new world of high profit margins, limited middlemen and free green lighting for all, innovation would inevitably flourish. And for the most part, once you account for Sturgeon's inevitable law that 90% of everything is crap, this is exactly what happened. More game developers poured into the market and some truly wonderful games were born.

Middlemen, however, were not eliminated. They merely evolved.

The rules of the game are simple... Start with nothing. Use a piece of visual art and a musical composition to "spark" the creation of a video game or play. "Spark" a new musical composition and piece of visual art as a new play or video game is created. Finish with a public showcase of your work and the chance to walk away with a cash prize! Don't forget to enjoy the toys that the HBMG Foundation gives you along the way: a budget, workspace, industry workshops, and equipment to help facilitate the process.

Sounds like an interesting concept, and I'm curious to see what will be produced at the end of this 12 week competition. Collaboration can be fun!

2008 ArtSpark Festival [HBMG Foundation]

Galloway has been served a cease and desist by the attorney representing Guy Debord's widow. It's too early to tell what will happen next ... Galloway's situation bears some similarity to that of popular Facebook app Scrabulous. The irony, of course, is the estate of a dead Marxist pursuing litigation over the exchange value of the name and image of its intellectual property.

The Revolution will be Litigated [Water Cooler Games]

"Simultaneity has been really hard to get right, unless you went with a download. Flash sucked for a really long time. Schedules that allow for multiplayer is also 'hardcore'. Scheduling for raids is just not something casuals understand or have the flexibility for."

Casuals get around this, he explained, by calling things "multiplayer" that may not be true multiplayer in the commonly-understood definition. "For example, Pogo.com has all these games where you play by yourself, 'with' people in a chat nearby. As they play, a common scoreboard updates. That's 'casual multiplayer.'"

It's definitely something to mull on, even if you're firmly entrenched in the 'hardcore' market: there's no doubt that casual gaming is gobbling up an increasing chunk of the market share, and it's reasonable to assume that effects will be felt elsewhere. These sorts of issues go hand in hand, I think, with the rise of free to play and less 'hardcore' imports from abroad, which even the most clueless of mouse clickers can figure out in a snap.

Nick Fortugno On The Rise Of The Casual MMO [Worlds In Motion]

David Solari, Vice President of Codemasters Online Gaming commented, "We are very excited to be partnering with one of the top developers and publishers of casual gaming content in the world. The LUXOR and 7 Wonders brands have seen enormous success at US retail, and we look forward to replicating that success across Europe."

Codemasters Online, MumboJumbo Team Up to Release New Casual Games Across Europe

European-wide distribution deal to launch 10 titles in April

April 4th, 2008 - Codemasters Online and leading casual game developer and publisher, MumboJumbo™, have joined forces to bring premium casual games to Europe. With the distribution partnership, the two companies will publish and market an initial catalogue of 10 premium casual games throughout the European market.

Set for release on April 25th, this new range of titles will be published under the Funsta label, building on the established online Funsta.com casual games portal, and reinforce Codemasters Online's ongoing commitment to the growing casual games market.

The initial launch of premium casual titles will consist of 10 games, including worldwide hits such as LUXOR and 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. The LUXOR franchise alone boasts over 65 million worldwide downloads and sold more than 700,000 units in North America retail since it originally launched in 2005.

David Solari, Vice President of Codemasters Online Gaming commented, "We are very excited to be partnering with one of the top developers and publishers of casual gaming content in the world. The LUXOR and 7 Wonders brands have seen enormous success at US retail, and we look forward to replicating that success across Europe."

"We are thrilled to launch our range of games with Codemasters Online, their expertise and in-depth knowledge of the European marketplace is invaluable and we think that the great titles we have to bring to the table will make for a very successful partnership," said Mark Cottam, CEO of MumboJumbo.

The full line of games being launched includes LUXOR 2, 7 Wonders II, Poker Superstars II, Slingo Quest, Gemsweeper and Jewel Quest for the PC. Additionally, LUXOR Pharaoh's Challenge, 7 Wonders of the Ancient World and Platypus will be made available across various consoles including the Sony PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS™, and Wii™.

The catalogue of games will be priced at £9.99 / €14.99 on PC and £19.99 / €29.99 on console.

Unlike previous competitions, all the games are available for perusal right now, and they're not doing individual blog entries to introduce the titles. Still, there's a nice spread and variety, so if you've got some time to waste, wander over and check them out.

Casual Gameplay Design Competition #5 [Jay is Games]

Games Girls Play [Forbes]

We're now in the beta of our second public version. Both versions were implemented as Firefox extensions that follow players as they surf the web. The players provide the game with access to their browsers; the game provides the players with weapons, writing instruments, a gifting system, and a self-generating RPG character.

We started out to make a casual, massively multiplayer online game that took place alongside the rest of a player's online life. To do that, we had to answer two questions. One: what kind of interaction that occurs alongside the Everyday can we provide to players that they'll accept? And two: how can the game provide players with a set of behavioral summations that they could reasonably attribute to their decision-making process?

It's worth a read through, even if you have no intention of throwing your hat into the PMOG ring.

Human Data as a Playfield: The Passively Multiplayer Online Game [Terra Nova]

New Stats Show Casual Explosion [Next-Gen]

The 1000:1 ratio is really, I think, the key takeaway of the article. Several people have grasped that and started applying it to different numbers in the industry, and the results are very disappointing.

Clearly, if we could always have a big gain from a fix that maintains itself, it is worth spending the time to fight piracy. However, since that isn't always the case, it can sometimes (often?) be pretty discouraging to try and stop piracy.

One of my favorite blogs deals with the issue of piracy relatively frequently, and I'm interested in the pirated goods market in Asia - but Mainland bootleggers are the least of some companies' worries. I think as long as people are selling things, there are going to be people out there trying to figure out how to get it for free; but I'd be curious to know what companies have found to be most successful in terms of trying to stem the tide.

Piracy & Casual Games - The Follow-Up [GameSetWatch]

I think, what it is, it's a nice gateway drug. It makes people understand the principles of gaming... I think it is a nice gateway drug. I think it is going to strictly expand the market, which doesn't scare me very much... Nothing on the scale of a Wii Sports, but again, Wii Bowling is like the ultimate gateway drug and God bless them for figuring that out because there is no barrier of entry. "Hey, can you go like that?" [swings arm] That's what you do in bowling, that's what you do in Wii Sports.

Just arrived at the Casual Games keynote, The Changing Face of Casual Games, which will be given by Chris Early, the studio manager for Microsoft Casual games. It should be interesting. I've increasingly felt that Microsoft has dropped the ball with their Xbox Live Marketplace. The game selection, to me, seems far too derivative and not nearly as innovative as I expected it would become when they first announced it.

The talk should be starting in just a tick. Hopefully Early will have something interesting to say. Hit the jump to follow along.

Early: As we heard yesterday, players are changing. The casual gamer... that's different now. Everyone's playing casual games now and they're playing games in places where we never expected to play games before.

Early is taking a quick look at games over history. The consistent factor, he points out, are that they involve people and fun. People and fun were the innovators in ancient games.

Early: What kind of a platform are you going to design for, because it has an effect on the game you make.

When Microsoft introduced a graphic operating system and included games, it wasn't about fun, he says, it was about training. Solitaire was all about drag and drop and Minesweeper was all about point and click.

This was a change in games spurred by education.

Now he's talking about Facebook games, which are essentially just text. Many of the games are asynchronous, you can play with friends and there are leaderboards.

He's moving on to PuzzleQuest, one of the great casual games of 2007.

In this case they've taken the fun of matching three in a row and put it in a meta game. The game also has persistence of data, leaderboards and the mini-games means that you have a lot of chances to win.

Car Racing, is a free game in Korea. You can buy add-ons for your car from better motors to oil slicks. The game again is really just about playing with your friends and includes leaderboards and persistent data. It also adds the ability to pay cash for items.

Bioshock, not a casual game, but built into it is a casual game. If you're successful with this casual game you can unlock things that help you out. This is an example of how casual play can improve the core game.

Rock Band, Wii, Guitar Hero, what did we learn from them. They all include an aspect of physical play, they let you collaborate with your friends.

You need to think about where you are, who you are designing for, which innovative concept are you going to build in your game better than the last thing you saw. What you can't forget is the fun, the rest of it you can even call artifice.

Donkey Kong who was the hero? Jump Man, they called it Jump Man because they spent so much time perfecting that one element. After they made that fun, they made a whole series around that concept.

What are my favorite innovative concepts:

Asynchronous Play
Persistence of Data/Character
Meta Game/Value System
Casual Play Benefits Core Game (I'd love to stand at the bank and do my Bioshock Flow game and have it matter)

If you think that's interesting I think you should go see our keynote tomorrow morning where you will see a little of this announced for the first time. That's all I'm saying it's vague enough that I won't get in trouble.

Ohh, that's a juicy tip. Annnnd it's over.

Electronic Arts today announced nine Hasbro games that will be hitting a variety of platforms over the next year.

Littlest Pet Shop and NERF "N-Strike" are both set to come to the Wii and DS this fall, with Littlest Pet Shop also making its way to the PC. Scrabble, Monopoly Here and Now and Yahtzee Adventures are all being developed for mobile phones. Electronic Arts is also developing Yahtzee, Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition, Trivial Pursuit and Operation for their online casual gaming service, Pogo.com.

"EA and Hasbro want to give families new ways to enjoy games; we want give them a new way to come together, connect, spend time and have fun around the TV or online," said Chip Lange, Vice President and General Manager of EA's Hasbro Studio. "Bringing the spirit of these games to life as video games has allowed us to create really unique and creative experiences for families and friends of all ages to enjoy together at home or online."

"We are thrilled that together we are bringing our great toys and games to life in the digital world and providing consumers with new and dynamic ways to enjoy our amazing brands," said Mark Blecher, Hasbro's Senior Vice President of Digital Media and Gaming.

EA will be showing off a number of the games at the upcoming Toy Fair in New York later this month. Hit the jump for the full release with game descriptions.

EA ANNOUNCES FIRST HASBRO TITLES IN DEVELOPMENT — PLAYERS CAN COLLECT, BLAST, DEAL OR SPELL THEIR WAY TO VIDEO GAME FUN!

LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, MONOPOLY and YAHTZEE among First Franchises to Hit a Variety of Game Systems, Online and Mobile under EA and Hasbro Agreement

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - February 11, 2008 - EA Casual Entertainment today announces its first step in transforming the interactive family entertainment landscape with its initial slate of Hasbro games in development on a variety of game consoles, mobile devices and for online play. These games provide new ways for families to build relationships through digital entertainment with some of world's greatest brands. The first Nintendo Wii and DS titles that will be available this fall are LITTLEST PET SHOP, and NERF "N-Strike," both in production at EA's Salt Lake Studio. EA also is developing new MONOPOLY and SCRABBLE ®(in North America) titles for multiple platforms, as well as other titles that will be announced later this year.

Mobile gamers can already experience the fun of SCRABBLE (in North America) and YAHTZEE DELUXE on their phones. Starting this spring, EA Mobile will introduce the next generation of classic Hasbro titles. The first games in this exciting new expansion include MONOPOLY HERE & NOW, TRIVIAL PURSUIT®, RISK, and YAHTZEE ADVENTURES, a re-invention of the classic dice game.

For online web play EA's Pogo.com is developing engaging, authentic online experiences for MONOPOLY and YAHTZEE as fun, multiplayer experiences. Trivia fans can look forward to the much anticipated launch of TRIVIAL PURSUIT this fall. Additionally, Pogo.com is launching two connected downloadable titles, OPERATION and PICTUREKA, which can be played offline or players can connect online on Pogo for bonus features and the social experience of playing the game with others. With more than 13 million visitors a month, the pogo.com community delivers a unique online experience for family and friends to connect and play these hugely popular Hasbro games together in the virtual world.

"EA and Hasbro want to give families new ways to enjoy games; we want give them a new way to come together, connect, spend time and have fun around the TV or online," said Chip Lange, Vice President and General Manager of EA's Hasbro Studio. "Bringing the spirit of these games to life as video games has allowed us to create really unique and creative experiences for families and friends of all ages to enjoy together at home or online."

"We are thrilled that together we are bringing our great toys and games to life in the digital world and providing consumers with new and dynamic ways to enjoy our amazing brands," said Mark Blecher, Hasbro's Senior Vice President of Digital Media and Gaming.

At Hasbro's Toy Fair showcase in New York February 17-19th, EA will unveil LITTLEST PET SHOP on the Wii and DS, NERF "N-Strike", and EA Mobile's SCRABBLE, YAHTZEE ADVENTURES and MONOPOLY HERE & NOW.

EA HASBRO TITLES IN DEVELOPMENT INCLUDE:
LITTLEST PET SHOP for Wii, DS and PC, scheduled to ship Fall 08
LITTLEST PET SHOP brings the magic of owning your own pet shop to your home. EA brings the quirkiness and cuteness of the popular Hasbro girl's brand to life in a new digital world. Players can explore three unique environments as they unlock new pets, playsets, accessories and more.
Players will discover magical moments of delight as they build relationships with their pets. This game is the next must-have addition to fans growing Littlest Pet Show collection. Add to the ultimate Littlest Pet Show collection with three different versions of the Nintendo DS game; each with unique pets.

NERF "N-Strike" for Wii and DS, scheduled to ship Fall 08
Become the master of mayhem in the first NERF blaster action game. In a world created to be the perfect landscape for NERF pandemonium, players can wreak havoc and perfect their blasting skills or challenge friends to clashes with both single and multi-player game modes. With the brand new custom NERF blaster, players can then take the action outside as their controller transforms to fire actual NERF darts!

EA MOBILE
SCRABBLE® for mobile phones, currently available in North America
This exciting update of the classic board game now includes flexible difficulty levels, built-in word list, dynamic animations, scrolling and full-board views. Easy-to-use controls allow for alone play, a challenge with computer in a phone, or enjoy pass 'n play with a friend. Easily keep track of game scores and statistics. Fun new features appeal to both wordplay mavens and casual gamers. Test word wits with SCRABBLE!

MONOPOLY HERE AND NOW for mobile phones, scheduled to ship in March 08
Monopoly Here and Now, a modern makeover of the world's most popular board game. Buy and sell destinations around the U.S. as you compete to own it all and win! Unique player icons, sound effects, vivid graphics and easy-to-use, one-button controls deliver all the excitement of the beloved game.

YAHTZEE ADVENTURES for mobile phones, scheduled to ship in April 08
Play the treasured dice game on your phone. Travel the globe, meet new characters and challenge them to a game, roll the colorful dice and be the first to score a YAHTZEE! Enjoy Classic, Duplicate, Rainbow and Battle modes. Pass 'n Play with your friends, or try your hand at a Yahtzee single-player adventure. Dynamic, exciting gameplay, easy controls, automatic scorekeeping deliver terrific mobile entertainment for you, your friends and family.

POGO.COM GAMES
YAHTZEE for online play: scheduled to release Summer 08
Shake, Score and Shout YAHTZEE with family and friends online! There are two ways to win in this fun and addictive game from Pogo.com. Compete for the top score on a real-time leader board as you and up to 19 people roll the dice in a series of timed rounds. Show your team spirit as you collaborate with other players to advance your team goal and earn bonuses for scoring YAHTZEE together. Take the YAHTZEE fun online!

MONOPOLY HERE & NOW: WORLD EDITION for online play: scheduled to release Fall 08
Risk it all to own it all online! Jet set across the globe and buy and sell property in the most desirable cities in the world. Play alone or wheel and deal with up to 3 people using one of three sets of rules or make the game more challenging by customizing your own game. The unique player icons, sound effects and graphics deliver all the excitement of the beloved game. Will you be the next the next online billionaire?

TRIVIAL PURSUIT for online play: scheduled to release Fall 08
Get your daily dose of trivia fun online! Challenge your daily trivia knowledge with an easy to access, interactive online trivia game. Answer the trivia questions correctly and earn points towards your wedges in pursuit of completing your pie collection by the end of the week. The player with a full pie wins! Not a trivia expert? Take a stab at it. There's something in it for everyone!

OPERATION downloadable game for the PC: scheduled to release Fall 08
The medicine is madcap and YOU are the M.D. as the ER goes arcade-crazy in OPERATION. Your role: emergency surgeon. Your challenge: diagnose and treat patients by successfully performing operations, each one a mini-game. Resources are limited and the clock is ticking, so you've got to heal 'em up and move 'em out.... Do well, and you earn points and upgrades for your hospital. Do poorly, and you'll face malpractice lawsuits from angry plaintiffs with glowing noses. Either way, OPERATION will have you — and your patients — in stitches!

EA's Hasbro games in development are part of the newly formed EA Casual Entertainment Label within Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:ERTS). The Casual Entertainment Label is focused on creating and delivering fun and appealing casual entertainment experiences for a mass audience. With simple rules and engaging designs, these games are easy for a new player to learn but difficult to master. EA's casual games portfolio include such titles as recently announced BOOM BLOX, and currently available SmartyPants™ for the Wii™, Tetris® for mobile phones and the online gaming destination Pogo.com™.

Blueprint games will leverage the growing online communities of social networks—to use Facebook, for example, as a pipeline to consumers. Young tried something vaguely similar with 2001's Majestic, a title that connected with gamers with the title's story through e-mail, AIM, phone, online, and fax. The subscription-based game was discontinued less than a year after its launch due to limited consumer interest.

Sources say talent agency Creative Artists Agency is also participating in the efforts of Blueprint, contributing its substantial resources of talent as well as its connections with funding sources to ramp up the division's output.

I guess this means we have more crap to look forward to in Facebook news feeds and application requests. Joy! More announcements about this secretive little division will be made at a later date, but it looks like quite a lot of talent and funding are going towards a segment of the market that is getting increasing attention from both inside and outside the industry.

Stealth EA Division Creating Games—Social Net Mash-up [Gametap]

As far as we're concerned, puzzle games never lost any credibility. I think the resurgence you're seeing now with things like the Wii and casual games in general is really just the natural state of things... as with computers and the internet, their early phases were dominated by geeky hardcore early-adopter types, but later they became much more mass market and universal in their use and acceptance. Why shouldn't video games be the same way? It makes no sense for them to remain a ghetto exclusively for twenty-something males who like shooting imaginary aliens.

Zing! It's a great little interview and well worth a read through if you've got the time.

PopCap on Casual, Peggle & Valve [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Let's say you want to make a game today. Where would you start? Assuming you want to share the game with your friends, the consoles and handhelds are virtually off-limits due to their strict distribution rules. Microsoft's XNA Creators Club for the Xbox 360 is about as flexible as you get, and even after buying into the service, you can only share your games with other members of the club. The PC and cell phone aren't a bad way to go, but conquering the installation process on systems with such varied hardware is hard, even for a professional. Your best bet is probably the web, which leaves Adobe's Flash, which is installed on 95 percent of today's PCs. But even Flash is fairly complex, and the development environment is expensive. Really, it's very difficult for a novice to strike out on his own.

I suspect in future years, we'll be seeing a lot more attempts to let everyone get in on game design, beyond RPG Maker.

What If Everyone Could Make Videogames? [The Escapist]