Game Engines and Publishing

So I've been playing with the Unreal 2 engine (Awakening), not doing much else than setting up a room, some boxes and lights, a player and getting the thing to run from the game menu. It was a thrilling few seconds anyways, running around this box, shooting the other (floating) boxes in the hastily wallpapered room... If you can make your stuff out of boxes, its rather easy to get started, with a simple environment. Later on I will try importing my own models and animated things and see how that goes. But I started thinking, what if I want other people to play the stuff I make (later on!)?

Hmmm.. Well, for one thing, they'd have to install the Unreal 2 engine, and not just from any game (like say Brothers in Arms), but they'd have to install Awakening. Each Unreal Editor version is tailored to the game it ships with, and these small differences are enough to make stuff made on one incompatible on another. So that's the thing about making mods. Naturally there's also the OS to think about... And the OS would also be an issue with some of the affordable engines out there, which are for the most part PC tailored (the exception being Unity 3D, which can run on PC but makes games for MAC, IPhone and Ipod). I haven't yet looked into the free engines, so I'll skip them for now. The good thing about having your own engine thing is that you create a self contained installer, so the players don't need other software to run your game.

Some interesting bits I learned at the game convention is that making games for the Iphone and the Nintendo DS is not necessarily expensive nor hard, although becoming an OFFICIAL Nintendo developer might be... But... I found a little program online called DS Game Maker, which though not visually too intuitive, probably works out well for the more hardcore nerdish type (or maybe I didn't play long enough with it). Becoming a developer for the Iphone also requires passing some approval of sorts for putting the App on the store, but other than nudity or something easily termed offensive, is not a huge deal. The great thing about these two platforms is the distribution, particularly for those looking to use the IPhone shop as an additional income (and from what I gathered, can bring in a bit more than "spare change"). The great hurdle there is for newcomers without any kind of fan base or followers, as otherwise it is hard to compete with the 8000+ Iphone games already posted. And the Ds? Well, the wonderful world of emulators and R4 cards can be a big help in getting your game out, but it means more work for the player, and I am not sure what the future for HB apps will be with the newer DS model.

Another alternative would be publishing with the "live services" of consoles like the Xbox, but the last time I checked, you gotta like code to use the XNA developing system... about the other consoles.. I didn't check, but I do know that if you really make games for a living, game publishers are always on the lookout for PS(x) and Xbox stuff, although mainly they want the "AAA" blockbusters. Specially developers for the PSP are favored by the comparatively minimalistic competition, and some smaller publishers can do more experiemtnal things with it. And what about Nintendo? Well, despite how many machines they've sold, it sesm like the barrier is high in terms of getting approved and the pricey license. Nintendo does premium marketing for their own games, not for those of other publishers. Games which make good use fo the special controllers do have a better chance.

And last but not least, it looks like the future of... everything, is the internet... so browser based games are the thing, whether for mobile phones or computers. I did a quick search on what is out there and found too much stuff that I didn't know of, so that'll have it's own post coming up. My eyes are melting.