Commentary – Page 39

Use Process to create Progress and Success

Dismissing that failure as losing the “app store lottery” (meaning that success or failure is out of your control) dodges important questions. Among pundits (and would-be pundits), luck seems to be the only route to success. All games and all apps are created equal. And the success of one over another is a mystery. Except … Continue reading “Use Process to create Progress and Success”

Dismissing that failure as losing the “app store lottery” (meaning that success or failure is out of your control) dodges important questions.

Among pundits (and would-be pundits), luck seems to be the only route to success. All games and all apps are created equal. And the success of one over another is a mystery.

Except that it probably isn’t.

I remember reading an article about an approach to getting a job from the point of view of a ‘person of religion’. To get a job you must:

Perform religious ritual
Research the job and the company
Perform religious ritual
Prepare yourself for interview
Perform religious ritual
Present yourself for interview, in your best attire.

It doesn’t matter which religion was involved, the process was the same. The obvious logic is that there were probably a few steps that could be removed from this process to get the same result (considering that some atheists have jobs).

This is relevant because there are also points in the process which are not mumbo-jumbo. There are elements in the process which, if not carried out, will cause the process to fail. This is the same with the App Store process. To succeed there are steps you must carry out and there are steps which are entirely voluntary. The danger is when you mix them up.

Write your process for your software release. Use a tool like Planzai to document your process and make it repeatable. And make sure you peer review, make sure you adapt it to each new market and, out of all, make sure you follow it.

The religious rituals in this case are entirely optional.

What is a fair price for entertainment?

Jonathan is a Game designer, previously of Braid, now of The Witness. Partner in IndieFund. Dear iOS devs: please make some games I want to seriously play. If you do this you are allowed to charge money. Preferably at least $5. — Jonathan Blow (@Jonathan_Blow) August 11, 2012 The economics of selling games is complex. … Continue reading “What is a fair price for entertainment?”

Jonathan is a Game designer, previously of Braid, now of The Witness. Partner in IndieFund.

Dear iOS devs: please make some games I want to seriously play. If you do this you are allowed to charge money. Preferably at least $5.

— Jonathan Blow (@Jonathan_Blow) August 11, 2012

The economics of selling games is complex.

Developers give away games to get up the charts, to gain users, to get reviews. But they need to earn a crust too. Jonathan seems to be asking for developers to make games worth paying for. While I applaud the concept (and it is but a concept because there will always be dreck on the stores), it does little to resolve the core issue. What is a fair price for entertainment?

…and all because Twitter was being a dick

We did it. — Dalton Caldwell (@daltonc) August 12, 2012 As you can see, App.net just hit their $500,000 funding threshold. They were crowdfunding their start-up cash because they plan to run the service at $50 a year. You sign up, you get your username and they’re permitting folk to port over from Twitter too. … Continue reading “…and all because Twitter was being a dick”

We did it.

— Dalton Caldwell (@daltonc) August 12, 2012

As you can see, App.net just hit their $500,000 funding threshold. They were crowdfunding their start-up cash because they plan to run the service at $50 a year. You sign up, you get your username and they’re permitting folk to port over from Twitter too.

And Twitter needs to realise that a competitor just got funded with half-a-million dollars. And this wasn’t from some venture fund or seed fund, this was from the very people who made Twitter the success it became. They’re the alpha geeks, the encouragers, the networkers, the influencers. And they just sent a half-a-million dollar message to Twitter: U R A DICK.

Twitter started being a bit dickish by buying up some of the best third party clients for Twitter and then killing support for them. They continued by cutting support in those clients for useful services like TwitLonger. They then started plopping adverts into your stream. Then they revamped the iOS client and added a pointless “Discover” tab which drew the ire of everyone. They all but discontinued the best Mac client for Twitter. They’re doubling down on irritating developers and demolishing third party client support and still, after all of this, they’re still struggling for a decent business model – so much so they’ve decided to just sell all of us to the highest bidder.

App.net might make it. They might not. They need to add all sort of things, they need to get new users and they’re going to have a hard time convincing the rank and file out there to part with $50 a year when Twitter is “free-ish”. They need some kick-ass clients out there, they need to be developer friendly and they need to convince the alpha geeks to fork out the extra cash to get family and friends on there. They need to make the mobile web version work really well and they need to make the Android clients sing. They need to integrate as much as possible with existing APIs out there, they need to entice us with easy ways to share our content and, bottom line, provide ways where everyone can win, including third party developers. Give us the permissions to build app.net messages into our games, to protect ourselves from online predators and also to allow us to build micro-communities of interest.

They’ve already got my $50. You can give yours in here.

TShirt

This needs to be made into a T-shirt and given out at the completion of the GCSEs. From @elainwalton:: Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons and after you’ve finished, read a book. Your town does not owe you … Continue reading “TShirt”

This needs to be made into a T-shirt and given out at the completion of the GCSEs.

From @elainwalton::

Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows,
learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick,
study your lessons and after you’ve finished,
read a book. Your town does not owe you
recreation facilities and your parents do not owe
you fun.

Who cares about the used-games market?

From Gamasutra:GameStop to Game Devs: Please Love us We have all been into a GameStop store and been offered a new release, used, sold at $5 lower than the new price. The company insists this is a tiny percentage of its business and, in reality, happens rarely. People generally hang on to new games for … Continue reading “Who cares about the used-games market?”

From Gamasutra:GameStop to Game Devs: Please Love us

We have all been into a GameStop store and been offered a new release, used, sold at $5 lower than the new price. The company insists this is a tiny percentage of its business and, in reality, happens rarely. People generally hang on to new games for at least six weeks, the execs say.

The problem with the used-games model is that consumers will try to save the $5 and publishers are trying to stop this by including single use DLC codes and, in some extreme cases, including a single use license key which requires online activation and tying to your email address.

The problem is that the used games market is killing revenues for more obscure games. People might buy COD Black Ops and never trade it in because they value the game. They bought it full price and they keep it. But maybe a game like “Resistance” which has an extensive single-player campaign gets traded in (because the multiplayer, compared to COD Black Ops, is quite weak). More people buy this then as a used-game and play it. Who gets this revenue from the second purchase? Not the game developer. It’s a massive percentage of the cover price but all of that money goes into the used-game retailers pockets.

Is it therefore any wonder that game developers and publishers are increasingly moving to a digital download model and bypassing the used-game market with online accounts, online distribution and licenses that are tied to your identity.

Paul Gregg notes:

Which is a very fair point indeed. And I can see Valve allowing you to trade in your games for pennies on the dollar so you can buy more games. Valve’s store, STEAM, it must be noted, has extremely draconian DRM – orders of magnitude worse than Apple’s App Store. This would get them out of the way of EU legislation on property but it’s unlikely to make anyone happy about the result. And I doubt that Apple or Valve or Blizzard (or even Google) will hand over their decryption keys to GameStop to make it easy for them to be a broker of digital content.

Even the idea of “re-use” of digital content is somewhat ludicrous, especially when you consider the heinous amounts of DRM that would have to be implemented in order to protect the rights of IP holders. What’s to stop the average punter taking their DRM-free copy of a game and giving it to another retailer or even just posting it on the internet for download? The enforced scarcity of plastic disks (and tapes) and their primitive copy protection from the 1980s (anyone remember the colour reference sheets used to unlock games?) has had to be replaced by restrictive DRM in order to just make sure that creators get paid.

On the other hand, games on the App Store and Steam are already really cheap and it makes me wonder whether people are really concerned about the pennies.

I don’t see why anyone should do GameStop (or any second-hand games retailer) any favours. They’re part of the machine that is killing the industry, driving prices up and restricting innovation and creativity in game development. A single copy of a great (but niche) game might be sold once brand new and then sold 2-3 times more in the used-game market. The vast majority of that money goes to the retailer and only a tiny fraction to the developer/publisher. Now, if you were the developer/publisher, what would you want to do to get fair access to your dues? Is it any wonder the big publishers are taking the market away from the used market? Is it any wonder that everything is trending towards online activation (or online distribution)?

Now, if you will excuse me, I must go and play Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare III or Call of Duty 4: Black Ops II or FIFA 13 or any number of a series of safe sequels.

France in the year 2000. Through the eyes of 1899.

Steve Moore (@steve4good) tweeted: This is lovely. France in the year 2000. As imagined in 1899… http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/… And lovely it is. So, think of our next century. Old people like me might make it. Related posts: Four years for economic recovery? Yowza iPhone sales predictions To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but … Continue reading “France in the year 2000. Through the eyes of 1899.”

Steve Moore (@steve4good) tweeted:

This is lovely. France in the year 2000. As imagined in 1899…
http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/…

And lovely it is.

So, think of our next century. Old people like me might make it.

Wireframing

Code is being written, multi-player being worked on and today I did some UI wireframes. Follow @ConquestDynamic for more. Related posts: EAGLE LAKE cultureTECH: What I did… Kirkisms: Funding by Numbers part 1 RubyCocoa – to_i and to_s

Code is being written, multi-player being worked on and today I did some UI wireframes.

Follow @ConquestDynamic for more.

Dear Tim of Apple

This iPad charging cable was the one I got with my new iPad in 2012. The new iPad. So in about three months, general wear and tear produced this. This is not the first time. And I’m sure I can find hundreds more people out there who feel the same. And £15 for a replacement … Continue reading “Dear Tim of Apple”

This iPad charging cable was the one I got with my new iPad in 2012. The new iPad. So in about three months, general wear and tear produced this.

This is not the first time. And I’m sure I can find hundreds more people out there who feel the same. And £15 for a replacement cable is utterly ridiculous.

Disappointed.

UK City of Culture Transport Woes

A little while ago, I suggested that every bus and train with the word “Derry” on it should be free during the 2013 UK City of Culture. It was in order to help people get there. To open up the City of Culture to people who might be socially or economically excluded. So far, the … Continue reading “UK City of Culture Transport Woes”

So far, the government has responded that even doing a “study” to determine whether this would be a good thing would be too much money. And, besides, they intend to close the railway line between *everywhere* and Derry during the 2013 calendar.

“The project will require the complete closure of the railway line between Coleraine and Derry~Londonderry from July 29 until spring next year. All work is planned to take place during sociable hours… – Source: Derry Journal“

I mean, if you were going to close the line at any time of the year or day, you would think that during the City of Culture year would be the worst possible time.

from the banks, to the politicians’ expenses, to the phone hacking, to the banks (and possibly the politicians) again

The title, taken from this Guardian piece: Britain gets the bankers, press and politicians it deserves tells you everything you need to know about British society. And, if you’re interested, scratches only the surface of what goes on in Northern Ireland society. So why do we give these people this sort of power over us. … Continue reading “from the banks, to the politicians’ expenses, to the phone hacking, to the banks (and possibly the politicians) again”

So why do we give these people this sort of power over us. We rely on journalists to tell us the news (if not the exact truth). We give our money to bankers (and in a 21st Century society, only a very few can survive without doing this). We put our trust in elected representatives that they will, in their positions of responsibility, do the right thing.

While I may not have voted in a few years (a lot of years), I believe wholeheartedly in democracy. The people absolutely get what they deserve.