UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS

Before launching into the specifics of how to break into the games business or get your dream game project off the ground, it is important to understand the basics of how the business works and who does what in the game development process. This chapter will walk you through the following two sections — each of which contain essential knowledge for anyone wishing to make games for a living:

The Platforms: An overview of the machines on which games are played and how video games, computer games, coin-operated games and handheld games are really four different, but overlapping businesses.

The Players: A description of the types of companies that make up each of these businesses.

THE PLATFORMS

The first concept that anyone interested in games must understand is that of "platforms." Platform is the term the industry uses to describe the actual machines, or hardware, and associated operating system software, upon which games are played. The games business is really four overlapping businesses broken down by the following four major categories of gaming platforms:

• Video game consoles

• Personal computers

• Coin-operated arcade machines

• Handheld gaming devices

Although we will continue to refer to all four businesses collectively as "entertainment software" or just plain "games," it is important to understand how each of these businesses is both similar and different from the others, and how these distinctions continue to evolve and blur with each new platform introduction.

VIDEO GAME CONSOLES

Probably the most important and certainly the most popular gaming devices in the world are the video game consoles. Video game consoles are single-purpose computers, connected to your television, designed from the ground up to enable the playing of interactive games. Video game consoles are also referred to simply as "consoles." Past consoles include Nintendo's SNES and NES, Sega's Dreamcast, Saturn, Genesis and SegaCD, Atari's Jaguar and 2600 along with the short-lived 3DO and Phillip's CDi. As of the writing of this book, the main consoles are Sony's "Playstation 2," Nintendo's "GameCube" and Microsoft's "Xbox."

Video game consoles have come a long way since the first major console game and machine, Atari's home version of Pong, was released. That machine was hard-wired to play only one game, Pong, and featured extremely limited processing power and memory. Since the release of the first Atari home machine, every few years a new generation of video game consoles has emerged with more power and new features.

These consoles usually cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars, when they are first introduced, to less than a hundred dollars at the end of the platform's typical four- to five-year life cycle. They are usually played in the living room or family room, about three to four feet from the television, with a six- or eight-button joypad (and other peripherals) connected to the game machine. Unlike personal computers, consoles are used exclusively to play games. They are designed and engineered to provide the best gaming experience possible. Perhaps this is the reason why the demand for game consoles has exploded over the past decade.

Although technically video game consoles are becoming as powerful as personal computers, the gaming experience on a console is quite different from that on a PC. Playing a game with a joypad three or four feet from a television is a fundamentally different experience than playing a game with a keyboard and mouse one or two feet from a computer. This may be why certain gaming genres that involve complex interfaces (such as strategy games) have made a poor showing on the console and why more "twitch" oriented genres from the early Mario and Crash Bandicoot to the sports games (Madden Football) and fighting games (such as Soul Caliber) have done better on the consoles.

The newest generation of machines offer even faster processing power and all have the capability of Internet connectivity.

The following is an overview of the key features of the current crop of video game consoles:

PLATFORM XBOX GAMECUBE PLAYSTATION 2
COMPANY MICROSOFT NINTENDO SONY
MEMORY 64 MB 43 MB 38 MB
PROCESSOR 733 MHZ 485 MHZ 295 MHZ
SOUND 256 CHANNELS 64 CHANNELS 48 CHANNELS
UNIQUE FEATURE HARD DRIVE, BROADBAND MODEM BACKWARD COMPATIBLE

Although video game consoles are sometimes referred to as "set-top boxes," that term usually refers to multipurpose boxes which sit on your television and enable not only games, but also the playing of music and movies and the offering of Internet access. Early attempts at a multipurpose box have not been successful (Phillip's CDi machine being the most recent example) because it is very difficult to make a competitive game machine which also works well for general applications. Of course, there are also lots of other complications revolving around technology, standards, government regulations and corporate turf battles that have hindered the successful launch of a set-top box.

Many people believe the most likely companies to succeed with a multipurpose set-top box are the game companies — because, in many ways, it is more difficult to make a great game machine than it is to make a machine that can play movies, music or simply connect to the Internet. In fact, some people believe the Playstation 2 may be the first step towards a Sony set-top box and that the Xbox might be serving the same strategic purpose for Microsoft.

PERSONAL COMPUTERS

Microsoft's original mission statement promised a computer in every home and on every desk in the workplace. To a great extent, it has succeeded in its mission. From virtually zero personal computers (PCs) in the 1960s, PCs are now ubiquitous. Although there are many more PCs than video game consoles, not all PCs are used to play games. This may surprise hardcore PC gamers, but the PC gaming business is actually much smaller than the video game business.

While not all PCs are being used to play games, the quest for better computer games is the single most important force in computer chip development and adoption. As Intel would be the first to admit, it is computer gamers' thirst for better graphics, faster frame rates and better multiplayer capabilities that not only drives chip enhancements but actually drives sales.

There are many reasons why the PC gaming market has not been as successful as the video game market. PCs are considerably more expensive than video...