IGDA Online Games White Paper Full Version
IGDA Online Games White Paper Full Version Presented at the Game Developers Conference 2002 Created by the IGDA Online Games Committee Alex Jarett, President, Broadband Entertainment Group, Chairman Jon Estanislao, Manager, Media & Entertainment Strategy, Accenture, Vice-Chairman FOREWORD With the rising use of the Internet, the commercial success of certain massively multiplayer games (e.g., Asheron’s Call, EverQuest, and Ultima Online), the ubiquitous availability of parlor and arcade games on “free” game sites, the widespread use of matching services for multiplayer games, and the constant positioning by the console makers for future online play, it is apparent that online games are here to stay and there is a long term opportunity for the industry. What is not so obvious is how the independent developer can take advantage of this opportunity. For the two years prior to starting this project, I had the opportunity to host several roundtables at the GDC discussing the opportunities and future of online games. While the excitement was there, it was hard not to notice an obvious trend. It seemed like four out of five independent developers I met were working on the next great “massively multiplayer” game that they hoped to sell to some lucky publisher. I couldn’t help but see the problem with this trend. I knew from talking with folks that these games cost a LOT of money to make, and the reality is that only a few publishers and developers will work on these projects. So where was the opportunity for the rest of the developers? As I spoke to people at the roundtables, it became apparent that there was a void of baseline information in this segment.
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