Game Development in Uncertain Times

The big names of the gaming industry came together at the Game Developer Conference this August to share ideas and find solutions to the existing hardship the gaming world struggled with. One of the more interesting subjects tackled was that of using licensed concepts in an economically unstable time or not.

Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart and Disney Interactive Studios Senior Vice President of Global Production Jean Marcel Nicolai came to speak on behalf of the creative and technical aspects of game-making, while Bioware Austin Director of Marketing Leo Olebe and the moderator of the group, EA Mythic Senior Director of Marketing Eugene Evans, discussed the fate of each choice. Different companies have different strategies. Using a licensed idea to develop a new product offers some guarantee regarding its success.

It's less of a risk, but it has slimmer chances of becoming a genuine success. It's also easier for the marketing division to form their strategies and rap their heads around an idea they have, if not being familiarized with the past, at least having a general idea about it. Both Obisidian and Disney Interactive executives called out to developers to not forget that the driving force behind the making of a game must be creativity, not leeching the fruits of past labor.

A brand-new idea is exactly the other side of the coin. It has a smaller chance of success, since the audience won't have anything to relate the title to. There is no precedent by which they can make estimations. The amount of work is also overwhelming in comparison with this. Everything needs to be build from the ground up. The universe, the laws that apply to it, the characters and the plot. The marketing department, which is solely responsible for generating the hype behind the game also has a far more difficult task. The new idea that the game is based on needs to be delivered in such a way that it would appeal to an audience as vast as possible. Unexpected success of mixing existing universes that gave birth to a new one were also given as examples of viable solutions. Kingdom Hearts and Lego Star Wars were such games.

As a final warning, Leo Olebe tried to make developers understand that, "You can let your passion drive quality, but you can let your passion drive insanity, also." Often, personal desires cloud the judgment, and dissolve the bigger picture video games must deliver.