Gaming and Culture

At GDC Thursday, Kristian Segerstrale, CEO of PlayFish, one of the most successful publishers of games for Facebook and MySpace, talked about five lessons he thinks the mainstream games industry can learn from social games.

(Credit: PlayFish)

SAN FRANCISCO--While Nintendo's Wii continues to outpace expectations and certain games are making fortunes for their publishers, a strong argument can be made that the hottest segment of the video games industry is one that is still in its infancy: social games.

These titles, which are popping up by the bushelful on platforms like Facebook and MySpace, as well as on Apple's iPhone, are garnering user numbers that would previously have been thought impossible. And in a deep recession, when even the strongest console manufacturers and biggest game publishers are being forced to shut down projects and lay off workers, people have no choice but to sit up and take notice.

At the Game Developers Conference on Thursday, Kristian Segerstrale, the CEO and co-founder of PlayFish, one of the most successful publishers of social games, upped the ante, stating his case for how the mainstream video games industry can learn from his side of the business.

In his talk, "Five lessons from social games that matter to the rest of the games industry," Segerstrale argued that while the nature of the social games business differs significantly from that followed for many years by the more traditional, retail-oriented publishers, times are changing, customers' behaviors and expectations are shifting rapidly, and the winning model may well be the new one.

PlayFish's roster of games, including the mega-hit Who Has the Biggest Brain is illustrative of the popularity games can achieve on services like Facebook. Segerstrale said PlayFish has had 60 million players, averages about 25 million monthly users and 5 million daily players, and currently has 5 of the 10 most popular applications on Facebook. And by itself, Who Has the Biggest Brain has been played a total of 500 million times by 15 million people, he said.

With numbers like that, it's clear why Segerstrale feels he has some lessons to teach the rest of the games industry. And while the traditional retail games model has been relatively unchanged for decades and remains strong today, he said he sees signs that the Electronic Arts, Activisions, and Take-Twos of the world, not to mention the countless other game developers and publishers out there, may need to rethink their methodology.

One harbinger of that need for change is evident even within the traditional games business itself, he pointed out. He said that Nintendo established the Wii as a sleeper hit by exploiting a wide range of people's desire to be social with friends and family. And he explained that Nintendo itself is well aware of this, as evinced by ads for the Wii that show groups of friends playing gleefully. Yet the real estate in the ads devoted to showing the games themselves is minimal; it's the image of the social activity that sells the Wii.

"This is about you and your real-world relationships," Segerstrale said, "which is ultimately much more important than anything that happens between you and your screen...That's why you're playing. You're playing together, not because you're trying to beat the boss in level 10."

The annual Game Design Challenge at GDC tasked contestants with coming up with a game about "your first time." It seemed that most computer- or game-oriented terms could be considered risque.

(Credit: Katrina Glerum)

SAN FRANCISCO--In an industry dominated by men, leave it to women to come up with the winning idea in a contest to create a concept for a video game about losing one's virginity.

On Wednesday, at the Game Developers Conference here, the two-woman team of Heather Kelley and Erin Robinson won the Game Design Challenge with just 36 hours of preparation, while their competitors had weeks to come up with concepts for a game about "your first time."

This was the sixth straight year of the design challenge, hosted annually by New York-based game developer Eric Zimmerman. The contestants are generally top-tier game designers like two-time winner and Spore and The Sims creator Will Wright, Deus Ex lead designer Harvey Smith, or 2008 winner and Leather Goddesses of Phobos creator Steve Meretzsky.

The contestants are generally given several weeks to come up with a concept for a game based on some sort of unusual challenge posed by Zimmerman. Past themes have included a game about love, a game based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson, and a game that could win the Nobel Peace Prize.

"We are in a medium that is just incredibly plastic," Zimmerman said. "We can put anything up on the screen...Still, we find every year that most of the money being put into games is put into a relatively narrow (set of) genres" that tends to include monsters, dragons, and the like.

Zimmerman added that the purpose of the challenge is "to think about how we can create games that really break away" from what's been done so many times before.

Sex and autobiography have been constant themes in literature, film, and theater, Zimmerman argued, pointing to "Lolita," the work of Henry Miller, Chaim Potok's novel, "My name is Asher Lev," and the films of Fellini and Woody Allen.

But while Zimmerman touted the widespread historical acceptance of the theme of autobiographical sex, he noted with some dismay that veteran game designer Kim Swift, who works for Valve and who created the award-winning Portal, had originally been slated to be among the contestants but had eventually been pressured by Valve to withdraw due to the theme.

"I'm saying this as a fan of Valve," Zimmerman said, "but I do find it frustrating and disturbing that Kim would be pulled from the panel."

Still, he said, after word got around about Swift's withdrawal, Lapis designer Kelley and independent developer Robinson volunteered to step up and compete.

The two ended up facing off against Meretzsky, on hand to defend his crown, and Habbo Hotel lead designer Sulka Haro.

And in the end, while all three submissions were well-received, the duo of Kelley and Robinson were judged by the audience to have very closely beaten out Meretzsky.

The two women came up with a concept for "Our first times," and presented it as a two-level game, one level for Kelley's experience and the other for Robinson's. They imagined a series of mini games that could be played on Nintendo's Wii, or possibly on Apple's iPhone.

Kelley began by explaining that her game would commence with the player having to pick an outfit for a date that was intended to conclude with their deflowering. It would have to be the least complicated outfit possible, she said, nothing with zippers that get stuck, or too many buttons or ties.

An artistic rendering for a mini game that was part of the winning concept at the Game Design Challenge at GDC.

(Credit: Katrina Glerum)

Then, there would be a mini game in which players would have to shave their legs, making especially sure not to miss the all-important spot "by the knees." Next up, dinner, and making sure to remove all the garlic from the meals, something the main character--clearly a female, since the game was presented from a woman's perspective--would have to do because of the general cluelessness of the boyfriend in question.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata opened the Game Developers Conference Wednesday in San Francisco with a keynote address about the company's design philosophy. He didn't announce much in the way of news, however.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET Networks)

SAN FRANCISCO--In a keynote address short on news, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revved up a packed Game Developers Conference house here Wednesday morning with tales of the company's design strategies.

Nintendo had been mum in advance of the speech, leaving many in attendance hoping that the company would announce something big, along the lines of a hot new game or even a piece of new hardware. In the end, though, Iwata's revelations were limited to three new games and a new storage infrastructure for the Wii virtual console.

The games included Rhythm Heaven, an American version of a rhythm game for the Nintendo DS that Iwata said had already sold 1.7 million copies in Japan. The company got the capacity crowd excited by giving everyone in attendance a copy of the new title.

In addition, Nintendo will also be releasing a new Wii Ware game called Rock 'n Roll Climber that lets players use their Wii controllers and a Wii Balance Board to simulate the motions of climbing a rock wall. The rock and roll element seems to come into play only in the sense that when they complete a wall, players get to pick up a digital guitar and shred for a moment or two.

The last game Nintendo unveiled during the keynote was a new Zelda title for the DS called The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. It should be out later this year, Iwata said.

Finally, Iwata said that Nintendo has released Virtual Console Arcade, a selection of arcade classics, as well as a series of Final Fantasy titles for Wii Ware: My Life as a Darklord: Final Fantasy Chronicles; Final Fantasy IV: The After Years; and the original Final Fantasy, for Virtual Console.

One game Nintendo announced during its Wednesday GDC keynote was Rock 'n Roll Climber, which allows users to employ their Wii controllers and a Wii Balance Board to simulate climbing a rock wall.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET Networks)

And the last piece of news of any note from the speech was an announcement of the Wii System Menu 4.0, an upgrade to the existing Wii Ware menu structure that also features the ability to save on and load games directly from high-capacity SD cards, which should be able to store up to 240 titles each.

At the beginning of his address, Iwata said that worldwide Wii sales have now exceeded 50 million units, making the hit console the fastest-selling video game device in history. Further, the DS has now sold 100 million units worldwide.

It was clear that many in the audience were hoping for more. However, there was also an unmistakable love affair between the thousands of developers on hand Wednesday and the Nintendo president, who, in a classy gesture, thanked them for their hard work supporting Nintendo over the years.

The other notable announcement from the Nintendo keynote was a new feature for Wii Ware which will allow users to store up to 240 games on a single high-capacity SD card. They will also be able to auto-load the games straight off the SD card.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET Networks)

Most of Iwata's talk revolved around a summary of the design philosophies of legendary Nintendo game maker Shigeru Miyamoto. Those, boiled down to bullet points, Iwata explained, are personal communications, a prototype stage, the use of small teams, simultaneous work on multiple projects, an acceptance of trial and error, and finally a mass production stage.

Iwata joked that it's well-known that Miyamoto's games usually stem from his personal hobbies. For example, Iwata said, when Miyamoto got a dog, the hit game Nintendogs soon followed. Similarly, his interest in gardening led to the sleeper hit Pikmin. And Miyamoto's devotion to exercise directly contributed to the creation of the massively successful Wii Fit.

Alluding to non-disclosure agreements that are common in the games industry, as well as in many others, Iwata joked, "I have asked (Miyamoto) to stop talking about his hobbies when he's not at work."

Iwata also talked about a perception that Nintendo's deep pockets create an unfair playing field for third-party developers making games for the Wii or the DS. He said that while the company acknowledges the issue, he thinks that third parties have amply demonstrated their ability to succeed on the platforms. For example, he said, 75 third-party Wii games from seven publishers have sold in excess of 1 million copies.

And that said, he urged the developers in the room to keep on doing what they've been doing.

"The future of video games is in your hands," Iwata said. "And I cannot wait for you to show us your surprises."

The OnLive system will be shown with 16 games from a series of major publishers during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week. OnLive is aiming to upset the traditional video game business model.

(Credit: OnLive)

SAN FRANCISCO--Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, look out. Your traditional video game console business model may be in danger.

It's too early to tell how much danger, of course, but a start-up called OnLive announced a brand-new game distribution system Monday night that, if it works as planned, could change the games game forever.

OnLive, which was started by WebTV founder Steve Perlman and former Eidos CEO Mike McGarvey, is aiming to launch a system--seven years in the works--that will digitally distribute first-run, AAA games from publishers like Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Ubisoft, Atari, and others, all at the same time as those titles are released into retail channels. The system is designed to allow players to stream on-demand games at the highest quality onto any Intel-based Mac or PC running XP or Vista, regardless of how powerful the computer.

The system will also stream games directly to a TV via a small plug-in device, and players can use a custom wireless controller as well as VoIP headsets in conjunction with it.

The OnLive system includes the ability to use wireless controllers similar to those available for standard console systems like the Xbox or PS3. It also has a small micro-console that will allow games to be streamed directly to a TV.

(Credit: OnLive)

Based here in San Francisco, OnLive timed its formal unveiling to this week's Game Developers Conference, where it will be showcasing the technology and 16 initial games it will launch with.

The service is currently in a closed beta, but is expected to go into a public beta this summer, and to launch this winter.

According to Perlman, OnLive's technology will make it possible to stream the games in such a manner--high quality, no matter what kind of system the user has--by virtue of a series of patented and patent-pending compression technologies. And instead of requiring users to download the games, OnLive will host them all and stream them from a series of the highest-end servers. Users will have only to download a 1MB plug-in to get the service up and running.

OnLive is hoping to capture a significant portion of the video game market share. In February, the industry posted one of its strongest months ever, with total sales of $1.47 billion, up 10 percent from a year ago. And in February, the Xbox, PS3 and Wii accounted for total sales of 1.42 million units.

The OnLive system aims to bring cost-efficient instant and high-quality video games streamed to Macs and PCs.

(Credit: OnLive)

An intended benefit of this infrastructure, Perlman and McGarvey explained, is that users will be able to play streamed games via OnLive with no lag, so long as their Internet connections meet minimum thresholds. For standard-definition play, that would mean a minimum 1.5 Mbps connection, and for high-def, 5 Mbps.

That's obviously an essential feature, as it's hard to imagine anyone paying for a service like OnLive, no matter what games are on offer, if the user experience is inadequate. But the company promises that as long as users have the requisite minimum hardware, operating systems, and Internet connections, they should be able to have seamless play.

The upshot of this infrastructure model, Perlman said, is that OnLive is somewhat future-proof, meaning that players won't have to upgrade anything to keep on playing games on the system years into the future. Instead, the upgrades will happen on the back-end, with the company regularly boosting the power of the servers it uses to host and stream the games.

And while demos always have to be taken with a grain of salt, CNET News did see a real-time presentation of OnLive on at least two different computers and on a HD TV. Game play was as smooth and lag-free as advertised

So far, OnLive has yet to make its business model public, but what seems likely is some form of subscription service, where players will pay a monthly access fee and then pay additional costs, depending on whether they want to play games once, or buy them for permanent play.

The company also said that it will probably offer free trials of some or all of the games it offers, allowing consumers to decide whether they want to buy. OnLive recognizes that some players may use those trials as a way of deciding whether to buy such games from traditional retail stores, but Perlman and McGarvey suggested that as long as people are interacting with the OnLive system, they'll be happy.

It's clear that OnLive is modeling its system at least somewhat after Microsoft's hit Xbox Live service. So fans of multiplayer games won't be on their own. Rather, they'll have full access to multiplayer features of games built for them. And another interesting social feature is one that will allow users to digitally watch others play games in real time. The company thinks that users will find it exciting to watch the best players in action, even if they themselves are only kibitzing.

Perlman said that the concept of spectating in online game systems is, in and of itself, not new, but that OnLive presents the first time players will be able to look in on what others are playing without owning the games themselves.

Another social feature in the Xbox Live mold is what are called "brag clips." These are essentially 15-second replays of game action that players can share with friends if they want to show off their prowess. This is possible, Perlman said, because OnLive is continually recording the last 15 seconds of action.

The OnLive system includes social features such as 'brag clips,' which allow players to share 15-second videos of game action they want to brag about.

(Credit: OnLive)

All told, McGarvey said, OnLive offers a full suite of standard social features including friends, clans, rankings, leader boards, tournaments and more.

From the outset, OnLive isn't partnering with any of the first-party publishers--Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, meaning that franchises like "Halo" or "Zelda" won't be available. And that makes sense, since those companies are hardly likely to want to sign up with a company whose very technology may obviate their longstanding business models.

That means, Perlman and McGarvey acknowledged, that many players who sign up for OnLive's service will still maintain their consoles, and continue to buy games for them. At least for the rest of the current generation of machines, they said. But come the next generation, all bets are off, they said.

And for the nine--to date--third-party publishers who have committed to being involved, McGarvey said, OnLive presents a much more efficient and profitable distribution model than the standard retail structure. That's because the system is all digital, cutting down on physical distribution costs, and because it is designed to eradicate piracy and second-hand sales, both of which are banes of the publishers' existence.

Indeed, McGarvey said that OnLive has gotten strong commitments of titles from the nine publishers. That means, added Perlman, that the planned launch this winter could be accompanied by the most titles of any new gaming system launch in history.

In addition, McGarvey said publishers are eager for the kind of raw data that OnLive can provide about players' usage of the games, including whether they like or dislike games, how much they play, how they play and so on. That data is hard for publishers to collect with traditional consoles, he argued.

Clearly, OnLive has set an ambitious goal: dethroning the console makers as the game industry's kings. And as is always the case with brand-new and publicly unavailable technology, it is far too early to know whether the company or the service can live up to that goal. But if its demo is any indication, OnLive is definitely onto something, and given that the company has been in stealth mode for so many years, it's possible that the console makers will be caught off guard.

SAN FRANCISCO--For Brenda Brathwaite, a longtime video game designer who avoids flying, the annual Game Developers Conference is such a can't-miss event that she is driving cross-country, from Savannah, Ga., to San Francisco (and back again) in order to be there.

GDC, as it's known, kicks off Monday with a series of two-day topic-specific summits and begins in earnest on Wednesday. And while there may not be too many people driving 5,400 miles round-trip to attend, there is no shortage of people who, like Brathwaite, see the show as indispensable.

"It's the mecca of the game development networking industry," said Brathwaite, a professor of game development and interactive design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. "This is where everybody goes. Every other conference has some fraction, but this is where everybody goes."

While the video game business is growing and may even be recession-resistant, it certainly hasn't escaped the wrath of the downturn, with a series of studio closings like those at ACES, the Microsoft division that made the Flight Simulator franchise, game productions shutting down and people losing their jobs. So as what may well be the world's largest gathering of game developers, GDC could not be more important to those in the industry right now.

And though thousands of game developers will flood GDC's Moscone Center halls for keynote addresses and talks by the likes of Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, The Sims and Spore creator Will Wright, Fable creator Peter Molyneux, and countless others, many say the conference really matters most because there is no other place on earth they can network with more of their peers, talk about jobs with more decision makers, or reunite with more of their friends.

"It's the best place both to get business done, as everyone is here, and to keep an ear to the ground to help gauge where the industry is heading," said Kim Pallister, a business planner on Intel's Larabee project. "These are tough times, especially for some studios that have had publisher funding cut and the like...For those affected, it's a time to scramble for new ground by striking deals, finding new work, or leaning about alternative platforms."

Pallister said this year will mark his 16th GDC, and there are many who see the conference as an annual pilgrimage. But it's also seen by many veterans both as a chance to pass the torch to the next generation of developers and to check in with peers about the state of the industry.

"The core of GDC is about making better games," said Robin Hunicke, the lead designer on Electronic Arts' MySims. "For younger developers and students, it's a chance to meet some of the best minds in the business and learn from them. For developers who have been going for years, it's a time to share war stories, swap best practices, and communicate about what makes life as a developer so challenging--and so fun."

This year also marks a changing of the guard for GDC. Longtime behind-the-scenes organizer Meggan Scavio is heading the conference for the first time after former director Jamil Moledina left for Electronic Arts. But while there will clearly be thousands in attendance this week, Scavio faces a challenging environment.

In an interview in February, Scavio told CNET News that she expected GDC 2009's attendance to be about 18,000, roughly on par with last year. But asked last week about rumors that ticket sales were down, she acknowledged that things have slowed, hardly a surprising development given that many conferences are seeing smaller-than-usual populations.

Still, she said, sales are "strong considering the current economic downturn."

And for people like Ron Meiners, a veteran community manager who recently was laid off from a position in Los Angeles, GDC could not be more important, both as a place to explore possible future employment opportunities and to meet more of the industry's leading thinkers.

"As a consultant or job seeker, the ability to make new ties, or explore existing ties, is key," said Meiners. "I think we're happiest when we have a sense of (who someone is), so we can offer or recommend a job to them. It's a frontier industry still, and there are always very exciting new developments that are hard to understand. The conference gives us a chance to explore them and learn from successful practitioners, those who have made the next great innovations we'll all be talking about for the next year."

Added Meiners, "I think most important, really, for me, (GDC) gets me inspired again about games, about the social aspect of games, about games as a world-changing force and about games as a potentially important part of people's lives."

For many outside the industry, GDC may not have the name recognition of E3, the annual blowout at the Los Angeles Convention Center famous for its ear drum-shattering displays, huge parties, and booth babes.

But over the last few years, E3 has gone through a serious identity crisis, first scaling way down from a 60,000-person free-for-all to a 7,000-person, invite-only show focused on press and analysts. Now, for 2009, E3 looks ready to resume its massive scale, but to some, it may have lost some of its edge.

"We're thinking of vastly scaling down our presence at E3," said Jane Pinckard, a business development analyst for game developer F9. "GDC remains our most important show, in terms of business development...Part of it is, of course, the density of clients and partners and the ability to really focus on meeting them. But also, it's a show that celebrates development qua development. More than E3. So in terms of PR and perception, it's important that we are involved...GDC has credibility."

Asked to quantify GDC's credibility, Pinckard said, "We just look at new business opportunities we can generate by the end of the week. And for GDC, that has historically been really high. Publishers are there to meet with developers specifically. Whereas, at E3, for example, there's some of that, but there are other distractions for them."

Pallister agreed.

"E3 is still trying to find itself following the 'E3 Supernova' of a few years back," Pallister said. "Even in its heyday, though, E3 was a very different show than GDC. E3 was aimed at showing the industry's upcoming wares to the channel and to the customers who would buy them. GDC has always been about developers, about making games."