Next Gen Games
Last night I browsed through atleast fifty new next-gen titles. High resolution graphics are not dead!! Their has been a common misconception that graphics in video games are as good as they get. This is simply not true! Looking at the upcoming titles I envisioned what the games would play like based on a shear picture. While the price for the PS3 is still out of this world, I would by no means regret putting a down payment on it.
The XBOX360 has also recently made an impact on the Japanese industry at the Tokyo Game Show 2006 (the E3 of Japan). Releasing one hundred ten titles and several RPGs (myself being a big fan I’ll defiantly jump on checking out the details once I get home from work). The wii is also something I would love to own or give a test drive. This being the case I am strongly considering purchasing all three and trying to write it off as a tax deduction for educational purposes.
Also I’ve found another great place for news on the industry. GameIndustry.Biz is an invaluable resource for news and information on the game industry.
XNA
Have you read the news lately?
Count how many times Microsoft is mentioned in the technology section. XBox, XBox360, Vista, Zune, and it doesn’t stop there. A few years ago Microsoft introduced the .Net framework which officially replaced COM and COM+. For those less geeky readers I’ll quickly explain what .Net really is since I had to go through the trouble of learning some of it right around March this year.
The Dot Net framework is a fancy word for describing a very large collection of modules that help define Windows. This includes everything from protocol handling (how you view the web, check your mail, or download p2p). Basically these are complete functions which support Windows XP from ground up and were originally known as COM and COM+ (for NT). I’m not going to get further into detail on the subject but you can imagine how fast and easy it becomes to design new software when the hard part is already done for you.
ASP.NET is the server side of the framework which allows web developers to utilize all the power of dot net and than some. ASP.NET is also very attractive as it is almost syntax insensitive. What I mean by that is that ASP can be coded using C++, C#, VB, and even JScript (Microsoft’s JavaScript). It also comes with a prepackaged developing environment that while expansive is by far the best out there. I took the time to learn Visual Studio and it is one of the most customizable, flexible programming environments I’ve ever had to deal with. In fact if your good enough you could write your own plugins to help make the software suite your own needs. You could even customize it to work with PHP, and Lua (see VSLua) with very little effort. Using this technology, one could deploy cell phone applications with the simple download of an API. Heck their is even a Robotics department at Microsoft that has designed a package for hobbyist and professionals to easily program and build their own robots. This environment is very similar to that of making video games, in fact so simular that Microsoft has introduced XNA.
XNA is Microsoft’s answers towards game development. Allowing for full fledged games to be built using the same environment as other Microsoft applications. Using C# and the same tool kits one, according to Microsoft, could publish their own indie games at a much faster rate with more professionalism. I’m defiantly going to check it out since LearnXNA has already released four free chapters of tutorials to get you started.
GDC ‘07 doubles in size to become the new E3
The Game Developers Conference is to take the torch once help by E3, and become the largest trade exhibition for the worldwide gaming community.The size of the show floor is to be more than doubled for the event in order to incorporate the growth of attendees, due to take place at the Moscone Convention Centre in San Francisco next March.”
As GDC enters its 20th year, it emerges as the event with the largest gravitational pull of any other game industry-only event,” said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the GDC.”While it remains our primary goal to serve the game development community and ensure that the session-based half of GDC remains unchanged, we also believe it is time to dramatically upgrade the range of expo opportunities.”"The result of our expansion is that GDC becomes the natural choice for all companies in the game industry ecosystem to exhibit and conduct business,” added Moledina.The new show floor will be built around a core of existing GDC expo suites and a networking lounge, surrounded by company’s ranging from publishers and developers to mobile games firms, peripheral manufacturers, outsourcing specialists and international consortia.Booth spaces, expo suites and meeting rooms will be available for vendors, while the new Game Demo Theatre will showcase upcoming games from developers and publishers.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
The GDC is planned to be my first Game Expo, and I’ll be applying for as a helping hand in November. If I’m lucky I’ll be able to bring back some pictures and souvenirs.
One hundred ten
Step 1.
Send in an application to FullSail and fill out FASFA.
Step 2.
Get accepted to FullSail, take out loans, and apply for an apartment.
Step 3.
Review C++ and flex those programming muscles with a simple card game.
Step 4.