Online game development

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Online game development
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Outline of the presentation

• important terms
• brief history
• status quo of present day online gaming
• Case studies
• Runescape
• Habbo Hotel
• IGE.com
• Future development
• Why should we be interested?
• Opponents turn, QA

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Important terms

• Online gaming
• MMOG
• MMORPG
• Avatar
• Virtual reality a.k.a. VR

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Online gaming

• An online game is a form of entertainment where
  users interact over an LAN network or the
  internet. (from Wikipedia)
• Virtual social behaviour with entertaining
  elements. Communication with real people attracts
  the users.

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MMOG

• A massively multiplayer online game is a type of
  computer game that enables hundreds or thousands
  of players to simultaneously interact in a game
  world they are connected to via the Internet.
  Typically this kind of game is played in an
  online, multiplayer-only persistent world.
  (wikipedia)
• Examples
• Halflife Counter-strike
• Warcraft 3
• Battlefield 1942 Multiplayer

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MMORPG

• Special type of MMOG, typically concentrates on
  adventuring the virtual world with an Avatar,
  socialicing, performing game tasks and improving
  the avatars statistics. A modern version of
  role-playing game.
• Big names on MMORPGs
• Everquest
• Asherons call
• Ultima Online
• Runescape (browser based)
• Second life

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Avatar

• An avatar is an icon or representation of a user
  in a shared virtual reality. MMOG and especially
  MMORPG are based on user avatars.

Avatar of a runescape player. Avatars have
certain statistics which list their abilities in
the game environment.
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Virtual reality (VR)

• Computer simulated environment, first systems
  found in the 80s
• Gives the user the ability to interact with the
  virtual surroundings
• Big hype, results were not convincing
• Virtual reality goggles, gloves

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Brief history of online gaming

• BBS -games 1970 1990
• MUD 1979 - 1990
• Modem based gaming, deathmatches (early 90s to
  present day)
• Doom
• Quake
• Half-life Counter-strike
• Modern online games
• Ultima online (1997)
• Everquest (1999)
• New innovations
• Advanced games (usually MMORPGs)
• Trade of virtual items avatars

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BBS Bulletin Board System

• A bulletin board system is a software which lets
  users to dial and connect to the system over a
  phone line, perform functions like downloading
  files, reading news, participating to discussion
  forum and playing games online with other users.
• Era of BBSs lasted from the late 1970s to the
  early 1990s.

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L.O.R.D.

• Legend of the red dragon, played in
  BBS-environment, text based.

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MUD

• Used in BBSs and academic networks

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Status Quo of online games

• After the golden age of online games (1999-2002)
  we are now in the times of hard competition.
• Game developers are pushing new online games to
  the market, and everyones fighting for their
  share.
• Separation to different genres
• MMORPG
• FPS multiplayer
• Simulations (Flight simulators, The Sims (2),
  Strategic)

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Status Quo of online games

• New products are coming to the market, consoles
  are coming into the business as well (XBOX live).
• Most of the new releases have a multiplayer
  possibility.
• Big players (read Microsoft) are desperately
  trying to get their share, which means that money
  is to be made.

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Status Quo of online games
A big number of MMORPGs are already on the
market, and even more are coming. This form of
gaming is relatively new, and has some really
interesting aspects, so well next look into it
more deeply.
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Case study - Runescape

• Browser based (No cd needed, the game engine can
  be downloaded for free)
• Uses JAVA and OpenGL platform
• The virtual world is a 3D medieval scenario with
  some fantasy elements.
• Users control a character which developes during
  the game play. The development is measured with
  levels and stat points.

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Case study - Runescape
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Case study - Runescape

• Launched in January 2002 by a small software
  company called Jagex
• Reached 50 000 registered members by June 2003
• Skyrocketed to 100 000 registered members in July
  2004
• The game is free for everyone, although only
  registered members( paying customers) can use
  certain special skills and enter certain areas of
  the virtual world.

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Case study - Runescape

• Registered members pay 5 per month for the game.
• With the user amount of 100 000 (last July and
  still growing rapidly) Runescape generates 500
  000 a month income.
• In addition to this, Runescape.com sells
  advertising spots to the site.

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Case study - Runescape

• Points to be considered
• No reproduction costs (users download the
  application with their browser)
• Low starting level (Hey, this game is for free!)
• High addiction rate (the fanatics play it a few
  hours a day just to keep up with their friends)
• Content is partly created by the users (Dueling
  of the avatars, creating items, selling them,
  adventuring together, socializing, forming of
  User guilds)
• Great site for advertising (hundreds of thousands
  of users per day!)
• Considerably low maintenance costs

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Case study - IGE.com

• Each MMORPG is characterized by its own unique
  virtual economy. IGE's core business is the
  making of secondary markets for the buying and
  selling of the virtual currencies and property
  used by players of multiplayer online games.
  (company mission statement)

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Case study - IGE.com

• Arranges player auctions, where players can
  sell their valuable in-game items or game
  accounts.
• Sells in-game currency for real money, for
  example 20 million Ultima Online gold coins
  for 157,92! (120 EUR)

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Case study - IGE.com

• Estimated 880 000 million dollars are going to be
  spent on Secondary market (which means
  transactions of in-game items) during 2004.
• The market is getting larger all the time, as new
  MMORPGs are released (Star Wars galaxies, Sims 2)

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Future development

• MMOG will be a popular form of social interaction
  a natural step of evolution from chatrooms to a
  virtual reality.
• In-game advertisement.
• In-game item sales and design.
• Game advertisement
• Movie games
• Ikea expansion pack

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Why should we be interested?

• There is money and jobs in the gaming industry.
• We know the tools Habbo Hotel is based on
  macromedias Director and Java. 3D design is a
  big part of MMOGS.
• The trend seems to be towards online
  entertainment early bird catches the worm!

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Villes turn! QA