Amateur programmers have been given a great opportunity. They can upload games to Microsoft’s Xbox Live network and earn money from their efforts. It’s a move that benefits many bedroom coders and something which harks back to halycon days of the 1980s when a bit of programming knowledge and a good idea would turn into a potential money spinner for the developer.
The big boys at Redford created a program called XNA Game Studio Express in 2006 and it has, to date, been downloaded more than 800,000 times. It is in use in around 400 universities across the globe and it’s set to be – as Peter Moore promised at the time of the XNA unveiling – “a YouTube for videogames”.
Up to now, any games created using the tool have not been able to be shared. In the Spring, that will change and Microsoft believes around 1,000 amateur-produced games will be on the service by Christmas, all ready to be snapped up by Xbox Live Arcade’s 10 million worldwide users.
As you can imagine, it will be difficult for Microsoft to scrutinise every game that is submitted and so it is, in part, going to rely on fellow developers to help out. Each game uploaded will be scrutinised by a programmer’s Xbox Live peers. The titles’ content will be checked to ensure they don’t break any decency rules and only then they will be uploaded to Xbox Live Arcade and take their chances alongside other games, all of which can be purchased and downloaded. The programmers will receive a share of the revenue either through download sales or advertising that appears alongside free versions. The precise details of the payment system, however, are still being considered.
“There are tens of thousands of developers out there chomping at the bit,” said John Schappert, corporate vice president of LIVE software and services at Microsoft. “We need to unlock that potential.”
All that is needed is a PC running a Windows operating system. XNA Game Studio Express is free and, once downloaded, it’s simply a matter of getting your hands dirty actually creating the games.
Hobby developers will have to pay a $99-a-year subscription for the XNA Game Studio software or else be an XNA Creators Club member. But that’s the extent of the outlay. As if to show its commitment, Microsoft has already lined up seven games, created using XNA Game Studio 2.0, to be available immediately for Xbox 360 users to download from the Xbox Live marketplace. It also said that game developers will be able to build games for the software maker’s Zune digital media players. It’s a shrewd move – and one that Nintendo nor Sony currently have planned.
By removing the need for developers to spend up to £20 million to being a game to market, amateurs can instead concentrate on the basic need to come up with great, simple ideas. It’s as if the industry has turned full circle and is trying to tap into the undoubted talent that was harvested during the videogame boom of the 1980s.
At that time many now-established names were finding their feet, among them The Oliver Twins – aka Andrew and Philip – the creators of the phenomenally successful Dizzy series. They had a flourishing relationship with Codemasters, run by coders Richard and David Darling and then went on to form Blitz Games which continues to produce games today, primarily for consoles such as the Xbox 360.
“I encourage any efforts to turn computers games into a constructive hobby as it used to be in the early 1980s,” says Andrew. “Many of us would spend lots of time playing games like Pac-Man, Frogger and Space Invaders but we’d also spend a lot more time trying to learn how to program so we could make our own games.
“It was computers like the Sinclair Spectrum that helped accelerate the industry in the UK by getting so many hobbyists learning to make games. They kick-started the independent game developers scene.”
Blitz Games runs open days at its studios in a bid to help students get their foot on the videogaming ladder. Not only does this help the company to see what talent is out there but it also gives students a feel for what is needed to create a game. With the Microsoft opportunity, they’ll be able to crack on and unleash their creativity – then see their efforts stand toe-to-toe with games produced by large development teams.
It doesn’t, after all, take a massive team to come up with pearls such as Tetris (created by Alexy Pajitnov) or Miner Willy (produced by Matthew Smith).
Andrew says: “The first computer that I learnt to make games on was the Mattel Dragon 32, with BASIC written by Microsoft in 1982. It made it easy to write simple games and I applaud Microsoft for any efforts in this direction.
“With the right tools and the power of computers and consoles today, it should possible to create an easy environment in which to create games.”
Even though it may seem difficult to comprehend why mainstream publishers would welcome Microsoft’s move, they do indeed support it. The argument that more homebrew games on Xbox Live could mean fewer people buying commercial releases seems to be giving way to a general consensus that the games market is broad enough to support both expensive and home-produced titles.
Many believe that homebrew can be an ideal breeding ground for fresh talent, with the best brains ready to be picked off by the big boys and placed on massive projects.
“Xbox Live Arcade is a great platform and a great place in which people can test new ideas,” says ex-Codemasters boss David Darling. “It’s working well and it is possible that developers and publishers will spot some great talent.”
Certainly British universities have begun to see the benefits. University of Hull lecturer Rob Miles is an expert in C# and the first to use XNA Game Studio Express tools in his teaching. The university is hoping it will add an extra dimension to the games subjects it teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
He said: “In the same way that music creation software and the internet makes it possible to record a CD and then release it, it would be nice to think that Xbox Live Arcade will do the same thing for games programmers. There is still a skills barrier to writing game code even when targeting Xbox Live Arcade but perhaps many people will have a go and that can only be a good thing.
“This is not to say that the proper approach will be naturally picked up by self taught programmers using the likes of XNA Game Studio Express, but with the right education alongside the game creation process they can pick up some very good techniques.”
By comparing the new initiative to YouTube, Microsoft has invited some scepticism. There is a major difference between using a mobile phone to film a quick scene of someone falling over and spending days and months producing a game. We’re not going to see tens of thousands of games suddenly appear out of nowhere, it is argued.
Atari spokesman Graeme Struthers says: “Mr Moore’s comparison between Microsoft’s new scheme and You Tube is just a nice marketing soundbite. But Xbox Live and the consumer XNA tools will open up an audience for some people and possibly bring them to the attention of a development studio.
“Fresh talent in the industry always has an opportunity. Development studios, whether internal to a publisher or independent are always searching out new people to join.
“Having said that, the risks inherent in development and the scale of investment required [in creating a game] does create a difficult transition from home brew to full development. In the end, it is like any walk of life and the comparison would be similar to a DIY car design verses Honda or Ford.”
The creation of an Xbox Live Arcade title by professional coders is not cheap (although cheaper than full-price retail development). The scale of the costs involved depend on the ambition of the game – whether it is simple or complex – and whether or not it proves sufficiently playable for people to want to buy it. Jeff Tunnell, an employee of US-based GarageGames, which created Marble Blast Ultra for Xbox Live Arcade, says creating a Xbox Live Arcade game takes between six months to a year and costs from £53,000 to £160,000. But with the quality bar continuing to be raised, so the costs are likely to shoot up accordingly.
But amateur programmers can be surprising and it’s not beyond the realms of possiblility that someone will pour blood, sweat and tears into the creation of their game and end up with something innovative and good looking enough to make a name for themselves.