User interfaces are the root problem that holds back 3D MMOs from mass appeal – as in 300 million people playing them. Today’s interfaces were designed by 1st generation gamers who had limited research to support their designs and that have since been incrementally improved and expanded.
TG Daily reports that Microsoft’s share of the Internet browser market has fallen below 70% after peaking at almost 97% share in 2003. This massive shift in browser share over just that last 4 years has huge implications for video game companies that have any kind of web presence.
In a great presentation on the state of innovation in video games, veteran game designer and consultant James Wallis walks us through a brief history of modern interactive narrative and how it has influenced today’s video games including the MMO World of Warcraft and the recent FPS hit Portal.
It is going to be very hard to compete running your own video game server infrastructure when 1 petaflop clouds are common place. There will likely be more than 30 different petaflop or faster clouds coming online in the next 4 years.
10 ways for developers to bring their video game and virtual world design into the Web 2.0 world
¶
Posted 13 November 2008
† Ron Williams
§
Development § Free to Play Business Model § Marketing § Virutal Worlds
‡
°
Tagged: buzz generation, community management, design, free to play, Free to Play Business Model, Guitar Hero, iPhone, Marketing, MMO video games, Open Source, operations, Web 2.0
Microsoft has announced they are embracing Web 2.0 for their new Microsoft Live portal. While not surprising, the move does shine a spotlight on web properties and video games that are not Web 2.0 enabled today.
Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has been a case study in growing a user base leveraging the standard Web 2.0 template and tying it tightly with cell phones.
A look at how the lack of innovation in online services and social networking is damaging the profits of large video game publishers like EA, Midway, and SCi.
¶
Posted 31 October 2008
† Ron Williams
§
Game Companies
‡
°
Tagged: business, EA, Hitman, innovation, Internet, iPhone, Midway, online, SCi, Tomb Raider, Twitter, video games
