“WHAT’S NEXT� FROM THE GDC by Bryce Carroll

A Closer look at the GDC told us about the future of gaming (April 20, 2006)

Once again the blinding rush that is the GDC has come and gone. For those of you not hip to game developer lingo, the GDC stands for the Game Developers Conference. The GDC is an annual conference where game developers and aspiring game developers alike unite together to celebrate, cultivate, and inspire one another. From artists to programmers, producers to designers, this year’s theme of “What’s Next� was meant to unite all. In an industry that’s driven by technology, it seems this theme could be recycled yearly, but this year the theme seemed especially appropriate.

Like every year, the industry has grown in leaps and bounds. This growth becomes overwhelmingly apparent at developer gatherings such as the GDC. The San Jose convention center has been home to the GDC many years and used to fit the event quite nicely, but now it feels like a glove that’s a couple sizes too small. Along with the increased number of people in the industry of course follows money and corporations. This article isn’t about how corporation is killing innovation in the industry though, that’s an endlessly debatable topic you can argue with people in a forum of your choice. This article is more about what can be taken away from the GDC as being “what’s next.�

This is the fourth GDC I’ve attended in as many years. I’ve found there’s several ways you can experience the GDC, and it’s been a little different for me each year. The conference features an expo floor, which is full of both large established companies and small hopefuls. The GDC is quite a different scene than E3, featuring products aimed to improve your game and game development rather than actual games and booth babes. In the GDC expo there’s an almost endless supply of free tee-shirts, mouse pads and other stuff you probably don’t need but will take for the shear fact of showing off. There’s also manned booths from most major companies that may, if you’re looking and very lucky, turn out to be an “in� to getting a game job.

Another large part of the GDC is the series of lectures, panels, and round tables. These are great sources of information on every discipline in the game world, and are a great way to learn how the pros really do things (very few of the hundreds of books out there that make this claim deliver anything close to what the GDC can offer).

An often unrecognized part of the GDC is the IGF games finalists. Every year there’s more independent games submitted to this worldwide competition, and it seems the games industry as a whole takes about one more minute to look at them. The IGF games at the GDC are to games somewhat like what Sundance is movies; before Sundance became popular and mainstream. The IGF game developers are usually starving developers that believe in their art and their idea, and give everything they have to turn their idea into a game. Unfortunately, IGF games are usually quite lacking in the polish department, which may be why they tend to go unnoticed.

Perhaps the most popular and common reason developers tend to be drawn to the GDC is the social aspect. Now this isn’t just in reference to the parties, which are many. The social aspect also has to do with networking. In an industry where the average developer has worked at three different companies, networking is vital. This constant movement may have a little to do with general social changes in society that have made professional job changes more common, but it has more to do with the economics of the game industry in general. The games industry is a project-to-project industry. The games industry is an entertainment industry. The games industry is a hit industry. In an industry where working 40 hours a week is a novelty and mass layoffs aimed to increase a company’s stock value is a reoccurring theme, everyone wants to be a part of the next great game. And developers don’t want to feel like another cog in the corporate wheel. That’s why we all got into the industry and stay despite the long hours and other associated problems. We love games and want to be a part of making them.

The games industry has evolved rapidly. Long gone are the days when a game can be developed by a small team in a matter of months. Even portable games are requiring larger teams and larger budgets. There’s no fooling ourselves, games have become a high-risk money-making industry, and daring entrepreneurs and investors alike are looking to cash in. The truth of the matter is that a majority of the money made comes from a small minority of hit titles. There’s a lot of money to be made, but when a game is a new IP (Intellectual Property) or it breaks the proven successful gameplay molds, the chance that the game will make money is often as predictable as a roll of dice. Thus the common saying in games: “sequels rule.� There is reduced risk in proven gameplay. Of course this makes sense when you think about it; investors want the best odds possible of making money.

While looking at “what’s next� it may appear that it follows the slogan “show me the money,� but that’s not necessarily the case. Despite the apparent lack of innovation available to higher budget games, the rise of casual games has caused resurgence in games where gameplay is king. While it’s fun to dive into epic battles like Halo from time to time, a simpler gamplay experience like Zuma has shown to be quite popular as well. Casual games in fact have become a rather large part of the games industry; and their effect could be seen in all the aspects of the GDC. Casual games tend to be small budget, and as such they are net yet controlled by money or large companies. Casual games are also finding a large and untapped older audience that the industry hasn’t targeted in the past.

A majority of the games being developed in the games industry are aimed towards men of the age group 16-24. The truth is there’s a huge market of potential gamers out there that aren’t in the 16-24 age group; in fact few game developers fall under this age range themselves. This casual games crowd is a large and varied segment of people that currently or someday, will enjoy playing games. They tend to not have the time required to learn and play the available non-casual games, or maybe they just don’t want to devote the time to playing games. In either case, the complexity of available games appears to be a deterring factor. These casual gamers have been shown to be people who, when given the opportunity enjoy the unique challenge that can only be provided by a game, will spend money.

I’ve always enjoyed retro games a lot; probably more the then average gamer. I grew up around Atari, Nintendo, TurboGrafx-16, and other ancient (by today’s standards) consoles. I enjoyed my share of epic quests in my day as well, but something I’ve learned even more since, is that I enjoy a great game mechanic. I enjoy gameplay that is somewhat simple to learn, yet has hidden levels of complexity. A lot of retro games had this. They were built around simple yet surprisingly fun and deep gameplay.

A great gameplay mechanic, for the most part, is exactly what casual games are. And because they’re simple to create, casual games aren’t limited to being created by only the corporate machine; any passionate game developer can make a casual game. You can kind of lump Indy games into this mode as well. Indy games tend to push unique gameplay (though in Indy games “unique� doesn’t necessarily mean good or fun). Also, Indy games don’t tend to sell as well as casual games, and their complexity level can be quite a bit higher then casual games. The expansion of both casual and Indy games means more fun and addictive gameplay mechanics to the consumer: more easily start-able and playable games for everyone. Despite a diminishing amount of time people tend to have as they grow older and gain more responsibility, the fun gameplay experience games provide doesn’t necessarily have to diminish as well. This is what I took away from the GDC this year.

With all the opportunities available, the industry is growing and expanding. “What’s next� can in fact imply multiple things. As a developer it means a new GDC yearly, with opportunities to learn, explore, and socialize. It also means risk, with all the probable associated possibilities. As a game player, it may appear to mean more of the same. More shoot‘em ups, more recycled concepts, more sequels to sequels. Personally, I’m starting to see something different in “what’s next.� I’m starting to see something exciting, something revolutionary. To me “what’s next� means more gameplay, more variety, and more fun; and in the end isn’t that why we make or play games?

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By: Bryce Carroll
Posted: Thursday April 20, 2006