Game Development Insights

Do you think you have what it takes to be a world famous game creator? Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio 2.0 is the ticket for you, allowing you to conjure up magical worlds where people will be able to indulge in their gaming habit while you lap up all the critical acclaim. This is the latest initiative by Microsoft to let gamers make games that they themselves want to play, although I must admit game studios in the past have done a pretty good job so far - with one gem in say, 10 titles while the rest are turkeys? Anyways, Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio 2.0 would be made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

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While Xbox 360 sales might have slowed down a Wii bit (hehe), Microsoft is filled to the brim with optimism for the year 2008, and they have the necessary plans to back it up. Announced at GDC 2008, here are some top news that will profoundly affect the console for the better in the coming year. First off, we have one of the most important announcements - the Xbox 360 exclusive “Gears of War 2″ will be released this coming November, so it is time to paint the town red as everyone celebrates the return of this ultra-realistic gaming title on their HDTVs.

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Big Huge Games will take up the task of developing the second expansion pack for the Age of Empires franchise, and the title of this expansion will be known as Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. The finished product will arrive on Windows XP and Vista platforms sometime this fall, giving players the chance to partake in making history with Asian civilizations while introducing a bunch of new gameplay features that the developers hope will breathe new life into this fan favorite franchise.

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You know how those annual games which are pretty much lacklustre in terms of gaming experience are normally released earlier than the numbers found in the title itself? Just like all those shovelware from EA (FIFA, Madden, Tiger Woods Golf, the list goes on), we now have Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 that will make its way across all consoles sometime in October this year, although proud owners of the Wii will just have to wait. That’s right, the Wii version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 will be available (drumroll, please) sometime next year. I suppose that has something to do with tweaking the graphics since programming for the Wii takes a totally different angle and certainly more time than the developers expected.

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Looks like we have more skinny on Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, courtesy of the folks over at DS Fanboy. Since FFTA proved to be a pretty impressive game all by itself, FFTA2 has some pretty big shoes to fill, and everyone knows that Square Enix fans are a notorious bunch who are extremely hard to please. FFTA2 is said to retain plenty of charm from the first outing, although it will not come with great and fancy usage of the touchscreen and WiFi connectivity that most DS owners look forward to with each game.

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As the almighty Nintendo DS Lite and Wii have shown, the casual gaming market might be laidback in approach, and it is anything but casual when it comes to sales numbers and money in the bank. This paradigm shift has caused Lifetime Television and RealNetworks to tap into this very same demographic, aiming to bring advertising-filled, pick up and play titles which will be made available on the RealArcade platform. In fact, the first game of this series will be Sally’s Salon that gives gamers the opportunity to run a simulated beauty salon without dishing up a single cent as investment or training.

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Sid Meier is back in his groove, and Civilization Revolution will be his first game built specially for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 as well as handhelds (namely the DS and PSP). Rest assured that this won’t be a Civilization IV port but a title that is built from ground up. It remains to be seen whether a top PC title can bring over its idea to the console department without diluting the experience, but I have faith that Sid Meier and his cohort have the talent and ability to do so.

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Mention Sonic and what’s the first thing that comes into your mind? Chances are you’ll throw around words such as blue, hedgehog, fast, spinning, rings, Tails, Sega, and Dr. Robotnik. What about experience points and leveling up? Those words are surely out of place for a platformer - or are they? Looks like our blue spiky friend (I suspect Sonic and Phoenix Wright would make a pretty tight pair should they ever meet) has left his platform roots to avail himself to Canadian RPG maestros BioWare in order to appear in an RPG.

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According to Shaun Himmerick, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon on the Wii will be impotent when compared to editions on other consoles. This is due to the fact that the Wii’s version of the ultra violent beat ‘em up won’t come with any online functionality at all, which will definitely be a big letdown. This comes across as a surprise as previous versions of the game on the Xbox and PS2 came with online play. Looks like a case of one step forward, two steps backwards. Apparently the developer’s wishes to include online play were not complied by Nintendo, lending more weight to whispers in the corridors of the gaming world that Japan’s gaming giant is hell bent on limiting online functionality in their gameplay to first party developers only.

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While everyone loves the Simpsons as a cartoon, use of the family’s creative license when it comes to games have been a hit or miss affair over the years, dating back all the way to the 8-bit era when the NES was still king. Electronic Arts wants to make sure that no matter what type of console you proudly own, you will be able to get a taste of the hilarious Simpsons family on the PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS platforms when the Simpsons Game is released later in autumn this year. Hopefully the movie will do well to drive the sales of the game, else a negative movie experience might translate into poorer game sales.

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