“There’s only one good reason to get in [video game development] and that’s because you can’t imagine yourself doing anything else.”

This was what game development guru Chris Natsuume told hackenslash the first time he was asked what would be the primary reason for anyone to get into game development.

Natsuume, co-founder of casual game development firm Boomzap (www.boomzap.com), was in the Philippines to speak to game developers about the game development industry.

During his talk, Natsuume touched on some misconceptions about game development.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

IF there were any great equalizers in new digital media, it would be video games and piracy, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology Co-Director for Comparative Media Studies Henry Jenkins III.

In an interview with hackenslash at the recently held Games Convention Asia (GCA) in Singapore, Jenkins said video games have converged different entertainment platforms that allowed producers of these contents to exercise new ways to stretch the viability of their intellectual properties. Jenkins refers to this as “transmedia strategies.”

Though video games started out as a stand alone entertainment platform, with stories and characters of their own, they eventually became a convergent platform. There are now tie-ups among movie studios, book and comics publishers, and music recording companies with video game developers to come up with convergent content.

Jenkins said that this trend will continue on as more people who are seeking specific content find out releases regarding their favorite material, be it books, music, movies, TV series, video games, and even toys.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

SINGAPORE — Game developer Peter Molyneux, known as one of the pioneers in the “god game” genre of video games urged developers here to continue pushing the envelope of game development.

Having been credited for making god games like the seminal Populous, Molyneux shared his past experiences, his thoughts about today’s development trends, and his company’s new project that he claimed will be a big surprise for gamers.

Molyneux has been in the business of creating “god games,” which lets players act as a divine or omniscient entity controlling the creation of an entire world that can affect units in a make-believe, virtual world.

Speaking during the Games Convention Asia 2008 here, the soft spoken Molyneux said he has seen a lot of changes in the way games are developed — not just on the programming but also on the business aspect of developing games. [Read the rest of this entry »]