Additional Thoughts From the Folio

PJ Foley from the Foleyfolio had some very interesting additional thoughts on the issues brought up in the gamer's manifesto. He writes:

"Here's a thought along similar lines... the new consoles should allow for downloadable games. Games with all the goodness we know now and more--and, even better, they don't have to end! Chapter after chapter of a game can be released as time goes on. Why do I bring this up? Well, now a videogame can have the same economic structure as a TV show: Pitch an idea. Sound good? Good. Give it a pilot. (For this to REALLY work, you'd need a pilot and episode "1") Have people play the pilot version--level 0, chapter 0, map 0, whatever. Want to play more? Pay for chapter 1. Want more? Micropayments await. Games that are winners get more and more maps, levels, chapters. Games that no one will pay for get dumped. Games that are partially viable get a smaller team creating content for them.
The benefits are many-- more games more quickly for players; developers get to kill a bad idea before it sinks 'em."

Now I actually like this idea. The biggest benefit is it puts a dent in the huge budget currently required for an entire game and allows some return before completing forty levels on the salaries of 40 highly paid staff. It also leads to the expectation rather than dissapointment at two or so hours of play. Games like Devil May Cry and Onimusha come in at around three or four total hours to complete. They happen to be popular, but what a relief to developers when you actually set out to only do two hours as a pilot to a much larger game world. Smaller staff, smaller overhead and less art demands for characters and environments.

This would eliminate a good portion of that "risk" everyone is saying keeps innovation out of the modern game world.

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PLAYING GAMES?

There is some very interesting video games news floating around about the state of the industry. As you know E3 was just a couple of weeks ago and while everyone was wowed by the incredible graphics of next generation systems, no one really talked about the economics of creating games on such a massive scale.

"As recently as 1992: games cost 200K. Next generation games will cost 20m. Publishers are becoming increasingly risk averse. Today you cannot get an innovative title published unless your last name is Wright or Miyamoto. Who was at the Microsoft keynote? I don’t know about you but it made my flesh crawl. [laughter] The HD era? Bigger, louder? Big bucks to be made! Well not by you and me of course. Those budgets and teams ensure the death of innovation."

That is a quote from a very interesting game developers blog found by clicking here.

In another place they speak of comparisons to the movie industry which has TV, DVD, film festivals and indies. The problem is distribution. Well, that is the problem for many of us who create our own content as well. The game world suffers from from even more narrow opportunities to get product from the creative team's mind to the players hand. Well, and see a return on it. It's well worth reading.

But what about the content itself? I am sure many of us know that games have become monotonous. A system of franchises and sequels and cost has driven the garage game developer out of the market. But are the big guys giving gamers what they want. Well, this humorous list here has a little something to say about that.

I've been out of the game world since EA killed Westwood Studios where I happily worked in Las Vegas. Much of the problems found there can be said of many systems of entertainment though. We want to create original content, right? We want to tell our stories our way and, if possible, see a return on it. Yet there appears to be gatekeepers who desire to maintain a status quo and keep the rest of us out. We've been hearing about revolution for such a long time and yet it seems like the charge has not yet been sounded. In order for that to happen, somebody has to really make something. I mean really make something.

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Reasons to always have a camera

So I am just getting settled in my new place and I lie down to bed when I hear what sounds like the ultimate calamity outside my window. Tires screech, glass shatters and things bang together. I thought for certain the building was coming down. Yet I look outside my window and see nothing. All seems calm. Still, I notice a couple of people, seeming to have also been awakend, walking the street.

I get dressed and go outside, yet still see nothing. I follow the first wanderers across the street and down a bit. First I notice a grassy area seems to have been disturbed. There is debris everywhere, but it is not all grass and leaves. Among the debris are car parts. Then I see a car door wrapped around a nearby tree. Following the trail of debris strewn for yards, I finally see what remains of a black car.

The response time of police and fire is amazing. They arrived immediately as I and a small crowd of neighbors, some still in robes, approached the wreckage. Before long at least four patrol cars and two fire trucks and host of police and firemen had gathered. They walked the area putting together the pieces of the puzzle, asking bystanders if they saw anything.

Somehow this vehicle went off the street, skidded through a grassy area, hit a tree, and maybe a few poles, and spun it's way into a bank sign. How fast it must have been going. It's a Memorial Day weekend. How the driver could have walked away from such a wreck is amazing by itself, but that is apparently exactly what the driver did. The driver was nowhere to be found.

ROBOTS OF DOOM

I can see it now. It's like we're setting ourselves up for a bad science fiction movie. It can't be too long before one of these little robots causes great havoc or starts the chain reaction that is the harbinger of our doom. From the site:

"Interestingly, when they're doing demonstrations, they have found that the AI in QRIO is so strong that if you haven't been friendly with it before hand, for examples, by not kicking back a football it kicks to you, it will refuse to do what you ask it in the demonstration. Effectively it is expressing its annoyance...."

Don't you see it?! It's clear where all this is headed. It's a tragedy in the making. As of late last year there were over 100 of these machines in existence worldwide. Soon there will be more... many more. If you are still unconvinced, here is a video demonstration of the robot doing Tai Chi.

Sony Robot Does Tai Chi

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Getting the Fire back

I touch the fire and it freezes me... ;-)

OK I won't go there, but I have been thinking for sometime about what it was like to make my past shows. When I did Understanding Chaos, there was a fire that went into making it which I have not so felt since. There was something similar when I did Shadowskin, but even then, it was not quite the same. I think a large part of the reason for the loss of that fire, is pretension.

I watch a lot of shows, speaking of anime, and I read a lot about the business, both of making and selling these shows. It is is bound to have an effect, but how much should I let that guide my own creativity? I think I have let a lot of the technical, aside from the social and political, get in the way of just making something cool.

I don't mean social and political on any wide scale. I am simply talking about shows that try to "say something" or stand apart for whatever reason. Nothing wrong with this at all. I think many directors feel quite strongly about the material they tackle. But that is the key. The works of Satoshi Kon all exhibit this and it is believable.

That fire must come from the elements which move the artist to create the show. Or maybe it is the characters or the world or the situations. Whichever it might be, that has to be found. It could be a cool premise, or even just a scene that is the genesis of something greater. This fire is essential to entering into such a long term project as animation and sticking with it until it is done.

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BACK ONLINE!

I wasn't totally painless, but a quick visit from Charter Communications and I am back online. I don't have everything quite setup as I would like, but at least it's all up and running.

In other news, I had some strange anime dreams last night. I don't think so much that the content was as important as the idea that I need to make something and soon. That is precisely what I intend to do. Harkening back to a time when I mentioned a split schedule for breaking up the monotony of working of one thing only, I will move forward with that old plan and get some drawing done! Look for stuff here very soon!

MOVING

My computer has been transported to a new location. It is off the net, disconnected, alone...

If all goes well today, a visit from the cable company will see Studio ArtFX connected again at a new location. Then the updates to the webpage will continue and finish. Until then, know that ideas have been swimming and gaining momentum and production will actually resume very soon.

Moving gives me more time on my schedule, removing a horrible commute. With that time, I can refocus on what really needs to be done. There will be images here soon...

REDESIGN

You heard about a site redesign some time ago and only now does it seem to be happening. In fact, this all began on my Japanese page until everything was worked out to my satisfaction. Now that I that I have the look down, adding material will be fairly easy.

You may notice among the projects section that there is a title or two you haven't heard of. More information on that will come very soon. I tried to make the projects pages a bit more explanitory of what I am working on and what the goals of the project are.

The main focus of these new pages was to eliminate the use of frames and other less common HTML devices that usually are not visible to hand held devices, primarily the PSP™. Speaking of which, the PSP™ link goes nowhere currently, but I am far from done with the idea of original content for this machine. That is, in fact, beginning to top my list of things to do. More on that in the coming days as well.

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Movies or Games?

I thought that this article from Gamespot was well worth posting about. Could this be the beginning of something big?

Lionhead's The Movies will be an unusual game that will let you play as the owner of a major motion picture studio. You'll make films all throughout the 20th century and beyond by employing temperamental celebrities, costly writing teams, and your own ingenuity.

Indie moviemakers are already primed, it seems, to use this software as a possibly cheap means of creating animatics for their own films, or even creating content to pitch their ideas. I can't be certain where it will all lead, but I will say that, at the very least, it should be an interesting gaming experience.

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RSS FEED

An RSS Feed has been added to this blog now!

...this will apparently not work until I redo my sites. For this reason, all my sites will be redone this weekend. In addition, my all new PSP site will emerge!

Prey For More!

There's an article on CG Channel, though it is far from new, about a short film made entirely on green screen using digital sets. Star Wars, Sin City, this concept isn't new either, but I want to talk about the negative reaction to it.

You will find that these dissentors who are saying these movies should never have been made, will always call problems such as how acting is static and lifeless compared to movies where the actors have elaborate sets and props to work with. Well let's leave all that aside and analyse this situation for a moment.

If the people who do these films had the money to build elaborate sets or fly to Thailand to shoot in real temples etc. they wouldn't need to make green screen films. This shouldn't even be a consideration. It is a new way of making movies, a way that makes it possible for the masses to some degree. The problem is that all these guys who are against it, are those who can raise millions easily and can build elaborate sets and get the biggest actors and all that. It sounds to me like they want to protect their own interests because the little guy is encroaching on their multimillion dollar territory for no money!

Could it be bigger than that though? I would go further to say that the concern is that the big studios who give them millions will stop because they will say, "Why can't you do it green screen like this indie guy who did it for 5% of your budget?" Think about it. It may not be so today, but the time will soon come when the general public won't be able to tell the difference between a movie done almost entirely on computer with actors on green screen, and a huge film done real like Kingdom of Heaven. It's going to happen. Depending on the type of film, thinking sci fi, the public probably can't tell right now.

So I say let the all green film fest continue. I intend to make one one day soon. (Don't worry, I have plenty of anime to do first) I hope more people make them and make them well!

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