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 The
annual Game Developers Conference was just a few weeks ago, so it
is fitting that we look at the trends in the gaming industry and
the tools that are pushing the envelope for the new game platforms
and technology advancements.
Tools
for game development have gotten significantly more sophisticated
over the past three years, and there are several reasons for that.
First, the games industry itself has become a multi-billion dollar
industry, with estimates for 2000 reaching well over $10 billion.
This is no longer a cottage industry, but in fact is now outpacing
the film industry in annual sales. As a result, game developers
and publishers alike are spending more money to develop, market
and distribute games than ever before. And as the market grows,
so too does the consumer’s level of sophistication for advanced
graphics, game play and interactivity.
Now, the
latest game consoles are hitting the market, with last year’s launch
of the Sony Playstation2, and the upcoming launch of Microsoft’s
Xbox and Nintendo’s GameCube. These new systems give games the cinematic
quality of movies with real-time capabilities. These systems are
more powerful than the super computers of the past and have the
graphics complexity to drive military simulations – all for under
$300. So how does this impact the development tools for games?
Animation
Packages
Professional
animation packages have progressed from being strictly used in film
and video markets to making up the core of game development.
The primary
animation packages that are in the games market are:
·
3D Studio Max - Discreet
·
Maya – Alias/Wavefront
·
Lightwave - Newtek
These
packages have specifically addressed the games market by extending
their core functionality to better meet the needs of game developers,
such as advanced character animation. Because of 3D Studio Max’s
open architecture for third party plugins they have had a strong
lead in vertically positioning Max within the games community and
as a result they currently lead this in the games space with over
65% market share.
They also
are starting to work more succinctly with game engines. In the case
of 3D
Studio
Max, Discreet has released gmax, the company’s licensable game development
platform. Alias/Wavefront has also released an game development
SDK for Maya.
Game
Engines
What exactly are game engines used for? Game engines help bridge
the animations and scenes built by the animation packages into extensibly-linked
data sets that can keep track of all the data in real-time for fluid,
seamless game play.
Game engines and middleware tools have become increasingly important
for game development. In the past game developers wanted to do it
all, program the game, build the tools, create the artwork, and
design the game play. However, with development cycles lasting upward
of 18 months to create one game, developers are looking more and
more to off-the-shelf development tools. Some of the top game engines
and middleware tools include:
·
RenderWare – Criterion
·
Lithtech – Monolith
·
Netimmerse – Numerical Design
·
Quake II Engine – id Software
·
Unreal Engine – Epic MegaGames
·
Intrinsic Alchemy – Intrinsic Graphics
Mike
King, VP of Marketing at Criterion explained, “It’s because we've
tried to scale back a bedroom game development operation into a
$20 billion process and surprise, surprise it doesn't scale. Game
development needs professional project and process management, and
a key part of that is middleware technology.”
Multiplayer
Games that have multiplayer functionality are becoming more and
more common, and there are a number of tools that support multiplayer
development. For example, at GDC WildTangent announced their Web
Driver platform. The new multiplayer capabilities will allow Web
developers to design Web pages in Java or JavaScript that communicate
in real-time across a corporate LAN or over the Internet, allowing
them to create real-time games as well as collaborative applications
for the Web.
Many of the game engines also support multiplayer functionality
which is becoming more and more a necessary component for a successful
game.
Hardware
The 3D hardware of these machines is really quite incredible when
you realize that game systems only cost several hundred dollars.
Nvidia has been lighting the way in the hardware space for the past
year. Where others have fallen in decay, Nvidia seems to have propelled
itself into the Golden Age. The company has had two record quarters
even given the state of the industry at the moment. Having partnered
with Microsoft on the Xbox was a big boost for the company, aside
from the graphics being nothing less than stunning. One of the smarter
moves by Nvidia is that they created early driver support and development
tools for their hardware, making it easier for developers to develop
for the Xbox.
The list of top graphics companies continues to shrink as the market
becomes now dominated by only a few players. Even since the last
Game Developers Conference the number of hardware players has been
whittled away. 3Dlabs acquired Intergraphs’ graphics division, Nvidia
purchased its archrival 3Dfx and ATI acquired the FireGL line from
SonicBlue.
Audio
The audio market for gaming has been the last area of development
to get any notice, however there are exciting trends progressing
within the audio market. Today, game developers are more aware of
the impact quality audio can have on a game. More time is being
spent up front during the design process to build in the audio component.
Audio designers are very excited about finally having a little more
flexibility to add more compelling audio to their games. They are
creating more audio on every level, from background noise, to original
music scores and interactive dialog, there is a real awakening of
the role audio has to maximizing the overall game play of a first-rate
game.
Additionally, support in the developer community is growing for
surround sound, with Dolby Laboratories and DTS being the beneficiaries.
Other audio tool vendors making headway in the games space include
Sensaura and Staccato Systems.
So, how do all these technology advancements impact
the gaming community?
Well, game development has reached an extremely high
level of complexity. With the multiple game platforms, real-time
functionality and cinematic graphics, game developers are looking
for tools to better support their development process, not bottleneck
it. The complexity of game development will continue to escalate
over the coming years and as a result, the games market will continue
to be a thriving market for game developers or tool vendors alike.
Wanda Meloni
M2
Research
Wanda@m2research.com
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