Pinoy-made video game turns 'Super Mario' into a villain

The advent of home console gaming over three decades ago saw millions of people worldwide falling in love with a heroic plumber who needs to navigate his way through pipes and a variety of creatures to save a kidnapped princess.

Now, in a twist that movie producers would love, the hero has become the villain. Instead of guiding the plumber through various worlds and missions, one game has chosen to make a parody, where the plumber has to be killed.

In an interview on ANC's "Future Perfect," Bari Silvestre, one of the game designers of "Kill the Plumber," said he collaborated with a Russian game developer to develop the game.

A parody of the popular Super Mario game, the game's objective is to kill the plumber using several methods.

According to Silvestre, the first version of their game faced copyright issues due to its similarities to the original game.

"Kasi masayado siyang similar noon, as in red and blue 'yung costume niya, and then, masyadong crossing the line na siguro, so na-ban siya sa Apple, pero na-release namin sa Google Play."

Upon receiving recognition from gaming blogs, websites and conferences, Silvestre and his Russian collaborator decided to improve the game, and to make it more available to a wider audience.

"Inimprove namin siya eh, kasi nagkaroon siya ng maraming recognition, features sa mga websites at conference. So sabi namin, we have something na kailangan nating i-improve, and siguro, one more take na i-submit ulit sa Apple. Version 2 na itong nakikita niyong Kill the Plumber," Silvestre said.

Kill the Plumber is available for $5 in Steam and $3 in both Apple App Store and Google Play Store. - Future Perfect, ANC, Feburary 10, 2015

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How to become a game developer

The advancements in cellphones over the past decade have led to a huge market for apps especially mobile games. This TWT Report gives us a glimpse of the game development industry and what it takes to become a game developer. - ANC, The World Tonight, May 27, 2015

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How PlayStation changed gaming forever

Twenty years ago, a small grey box of electronic tricks made its debut in Japan, heralding the birth of the global gaming phenomenon that changed the entertainment landscape, launching titles that now outstrip sales from Hollywood's biggest franchises.

The original PlayStation, which hit stores in early December 1994, brought revolutionary graphics, engrossing gameplay and the kind of complex virtual worlds that had only previously been available in an arcade.

"When we arrived, the video game was seen as a niche hobby. One of our achievements is to have succeeded in making a legitimate cultural object, like music or cinema," Jim Ryan, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, told AFP.

The launch was Sony's first foray into computer games and pitted the company against the established giant of the sector, Nintendo, whose character-driven two-dimensional offerings like Super Mario had wowed children.

But unlike the 16-bit cartridges that powered the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Sony's PlayStation opted for cheap-to-produce CD-ROMs, a technology that allowed vast tracts of data to be stored.

The discs' convenience and powerful graphics in the original 32-bit machines lured game developers and players into a world where, suddenly, 3-D was in reach.

And it wasn't just the insides of the machines that Sony had re-imagined; they shunned the plain rectangle controllers of the SNES in favor of an ergonomic device that sat neatly in a player's hands.

Titles such as Tomb Raider, Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy spurred console sales and launched what became multi-billion dollar franchises with legions of loyal fans.

Global blockbusters like Grand Theft Auto joined the PlayStation world, as well as other platforms. The latest installment took $1 billion in its first three days of sales, putting even huge cinematic hits in the shade.

Sleek design

In March 2000, PlayStation 2 burst onto the market, leveraging the mega-capacity of DVDs before the format was standard storage.

The trademark controller remained, but with additional features like vibrations and a sleek new design featuring a black tower with clean lines that had the grace of a designer's touch.

The company shifted around 150 million units worldwide, and the PS2 remains the best-selling console of all time.

Although addicts got a handheld PSP in 2004, it would be another six years until the main console got an update with the PS3, a Blu-ray equipped and Internet-ready device that allowed gamers in different continents to play against each other.

Where gaming had once been largely a solitary activity or done among friends close to home, there was now a global community of like-minded players.

Unlike the ever-contracting windows of release for mobile phones and tablets, gaming consoles have retained their strung-out lives, with engineers packing as much hardware and spare capacity into them as they can.

"In every generation, Sony has tried to bring an innovation in its machines to make the difference," said Laurent Michaud, head of consumer electronics and digital entertainment practice at Digiworld Institute/IDATE.

Acolytes had to wait until 2013 for the PS4, an ultra-powerful machine with 4,000 times the memory of the original and processing capacity orders of an ever larger magnitude.

The 13.5 million units Sony has sold in the last year allow users to play games straight from the Cloud in a universe that now includes compatible smartphones, televisions and tablets.

Sony is now introducing a cable-style television service in the United States delivered through PlayStation3 and 4 consoles, called "PlayStation Vue."

The PS4 symbolizes Sony's strategic move for future growth, as the product positions itself for a Cloud-based future where consoles might even disappear, said Yu Okazaki, analyst at Nomura Securities.

"PlayStation4 is selling well. The product shows Sony is looking at five, 10 years down the road. The number of consoles sold and their network capacity make it extremely promising," Okazaki said.

To mark the 20th anniversary, Sony Computer Entertainment is releasing a special, limited edition PS4 in the original grey, which will be offered to 12,300 fans worldwide.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Gaming brings out Amazon's gentler side

SAN FRANCISCO - Amazon.com Inc, a company known for its ruthless drive, is courting the free-wheeling coders and dreamers of the gaming industry with a lighter touch as it seeks to break into an arena now dominated by Apple and Google.

The online retailer, infamous for undercutting rivals and pressuring suppliers, hopes that making nice with game developers will help it build a vibrant app platform on its new Fire TV and gain ground in an area where it severely lags the competition.

For example, Amazon last year contacted London-based developer Ashraf Hegab out of the blue. In contrast to the sink-or-swim style of Apple's and Google's app stores, Amazon promised to promote his game actively if he brought it to its platform, he said.

"With Amazon, it feels a lot more intimate and personal," said the founder of eight-month startup Playir. "With Apple, you get feedback, but it's a more formal Q&A. You feel like you're being judged."

Gaming is the top revenue generator and one of the top five activities on smartphones and tablets, and to catch up, Amazon must compete with rivals Apple and Google for users and developer time.

Last week, Amazon doubled down on its gaming strategy with Fire TV, a palm-sized $99 streaming device that also allows users to play games on their televisions and, executives hope, will help displace some of the millions of costlier Microsoft Xboxes, Sony Playstations and Nintendo Wiis in households.

For nearly 20 years, Amazon - a company that Chief Executive Jeff Bezos nearly named Relentless.com - has been anything but friendly in its drive to offer customers the lowest possible prices on everything from kitchen knives to diapers.

But game developers say Amazon has forged a bond with developers over the last two years by offering marketing support, feedback and other perks. It is building credibility by hiring respected veterans for its in-house gaming studio.

It has offered discounts on Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing service used by a majority of startups. And in some cases, it is even giving them money to test its ad services.

"We obsess about making that easier and easier – the tools that we provide, the support we give through our business development teams," Mike Frazzini, vice president of Amazon Games, told Reuters in an interview.

Some remain skeptical of the Fire TV's ability to go head-to-head with Apple TV, or edge out the top-selling PlayStation4.

Developers expect Apple to bring gaming to its streaming box. Its iOS platform already commands a large contingent of mobile app developers, a handful of whom have built billion-dollar companies.

There has yet to be a breakout game title or company from the Amazon platform like Finland's Supercell, whose two main titles - Clash of Clans and Hay Day - made $2.4 million a day in revenue last year. The Internet giant hopes to change that.

Amazon "has pissed off a lot of book publishers and others in e-commerce, but not developers as much," said Zaw Thet, a partner at Signia Ventures, which backs a number of game startups. "I don’t think Amazon really cares about making money through game revenue. They care about capturing your attention and up-selling you all of the products that have to do with that."

WILLINGNESS TO COLLABORATE

The iPhone's arrival in 2007 created a population of gamers addicted to affordable or free games played in bite-sized chunks of several minutes. Amazon thinks there's a market for the same sort of more casual game on the living-room TV, away from time-intensive "hard-core" console titles like "Call of Duty."

But it's unclear how strong demand will be. Ouya began selling its $99 Android game console last year but has had disappointing sales.

The startup is now working on taking its Ouya software as an app to set-top boxes and TVs, Chief Executive Officer Julie Uhrman told Reuters last week.

"The big question is where is the consumer demand for that because it's so easy to access those games in so many different ways," said David Cole, an analyst at DFC Intelligence.

Others warned not to dismiss the company that in two years has captured a significant share of the tablet market. Amazon has data on consumers' buying habits and their credit cards on file, making it easy to make in-app purchases, executives said.

"They understand customer relationships and one-click shopping and if you put in the technology section, there are lots of interesting capabilities to disrupt the space," said Kent Wakeford, chief operating officer of social and mobile game developer Kabam.

Developers designing games for Fire TV or considering it hope their apps will catch on with Amazon's estimated 240 million users. More than 800 million Android devices were sold in 2013 and because Amazon's platform is based on Google's software, it does not take much effort to adapt games to Amazon's app store.

Amazon has successfully jumped into new sectors before with the Kindle e-reader in 2007. By then, it had earned a reputation among book sellers for its ruthlessness.

Game developers say Amazon has so far demonstrated nothing but a willingness to collaborate and promote their games in ways Apple and Google do not.

Amazon recently gave some developers $500 to test its ad campaign tool, said VNL Entertainment founder Lucius Yu. They also gave him free Amazon coins for users to spend on purchases made within its "School of Chaos."

Amazon seems "more personable at the moment," said Tony Pereira of Flashman Studios, which helps developers market their business.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Can PH become center of animation and gaming services?

MANILA, Philippines - Can the Philippines become the next prime destination for animation and gaming-related services?

Industry groups, Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI) and the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP), certainly think so.

"The country’s animation and gaming sectors carry a large potential for the Philippine information technology and business process management industry. By training our future leaders, they can strive to lead the next generation in building up the Philippines as the next prime destination for animation and gaming-related services,” said ACPI president Grace Dimaranan said in a statement.

Alvin Juban, president of the GDAP, said the Philippines' partnerships with other countries will allow the two sectors to market to potential clients.

Recently, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority established a partnership with the South Korean government to train Filipino animators and game developers. Under the program, two Filipino animators and two game developers trained in Paju, Gyeonggi province for two months.

"We hope to have our game developers and animators penetrate the global market and take a bigger slice of the global market. Immersing them in a successful and technologically-adept country such as Korea have surely given them the skills and training that they needed,” Juban said.

Research firm MarketsandMarkets said the global animation and gaming market is expected to grow to $242.93 billion by 2016 from $122.2 billion in 2010. India dominates the industry with 40% of the estimated $1.5 billion global animation and game development market, follwed by South Korea with 15% share and the Philippines with 10% share.

Nelson Udaundo, one of the animators who trained in South Korea, said the Philippine and Korean industries share similarities.

"Both industries practice Western-style animation having had decades of experience in Western production projects as well as setbacks... But we can learn from how the Koreans brought back their industry to life through the creation of original content, which led them to carve out a respectable niche in the global animation suppliers market," he said.

ACPI and GDAP are working closely with IBPAP to lead their respective sectors in conquering the global market. IBPAP consists of 300 industry and support-industry members, including five associations — the ACPI, GDAP, Contact Center Association of the Philippines,Healthcare Information Management Outsourcing Association of the Philippines, and Philippine Software Industry Association.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Phones, tablets transform handheld game market

LOS ANGELES — Smartphones and tablet computers are expanding the market for handheld video games and challenging traditional devices, forcing game developers to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape.

Executives at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) held this week in Los Angeles said the industry — long focused on generating blockbuster titles for PlayStation, Wii or Xbox 360 — are taking a new look at portable platforms.

The new market includes not only die-hard gamers but more casual players, the kind who tap the touchscreens of their iPhones or Android devices while riding the train or waiting for the dentist.

Olivier Pierre, of the game publisher BulkyPix, said there is room for both segments to grow.

“Mobile is a new platform, as is Facebook. And these new platforms do not cover the same audience as console games,” he said.

“I don’t see a real competition between smartphones and consoles so far. Maybe in the future, but that’s not the case right now.”

But some analysts say the rise of smartphones and tablets is threatening to crowd out handheld consoles like Nintendo’s 3DS and the Sony Vita.

A survey by ABI Research shows some 38 million handheld gaming devices from Sony and Nintendo are expected to ship in 2013, down from a peak of 47 million in 2008.

The report said smartphone and tablet use for gaming continues to expand, providing increased competition in the handheld market.

“Mobile devices will compete with dedicated handheld gaming devices, but select consumer segments like core gamers and those individuals who do not want or have a smartphone or tablet will still provide some demand,” ABI analyst Michael Inouye said.

Jack Buser, senior director of PlayStation Digital Platforms for Sony, said growth in mobile games is good for the market.

“Because of the prevalence of digital devices, (users) are discovering that, yes, they are gamers,” he told AFP.

“This is a trend that is extremely healthy for the industry, and we will embrace it. We are all for the evangelization of electronic games to the broadest audience possible.”

Mobile gaming is a unique market, with games that are either free — financed by advertising — or costing just a few dollars.

This represents a change for classic developers, which invest millions of dollars in major franchises and sell games for around $60 apiece.

“The game should be designed for mobile,” said Eiji Araki, head of the social games studio GREE.

“The mobile player is different from the console game player. They are always online and they can play games all the time… so the game should be designed for three-minute sessions, for minimum times.”

Mobile is a hot topic at E3, a major gathering for the gaming industry.

New mobile game releases are coming from GREE, social games maker Zynga, and industry heavyweights like Electronic Arts.

A mobile version of the auto racing game “Need for Speed,” the arcade game “Tiny Troopers” and the romantic comedy “The Act” are all on display at E3.

Araki, whose company has seen rapid growth in recent years, said the mobile space is special: “The games are getting simpler and easier as the casual audience grows.”

source: interaksyon.com