1. Regarding 2a, is there a period of time you're restricting your analysis here? I think Second Life would actually be a better starting point if we're talking about UGC in general, but definitely understand if you're going for a more curated angle.
2. For 4a, I think a bigger point to bring up for Google Stadia in particular is its lack of a good value proposition compared to its competitors because you must purchase license to play the games exclusively on its platform, which is a bit worse off compared to compared to Microsoft and Sony's offerings that allow for a Netflix-like model or Nvidia's offering that allows you to play with your own accounts. However, the points you bring up are excellent and apply to all.Regarding the payment model, that's actually gotten Nvidia into hot water (https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21161469/nvidia-geforce-now-cloud-gaming-service-developers-controversy-licensing)
3. (4B) A lot of the user-focused research is under way, but it can be a bit hard to find because academia has not done a great job in focusing on which areas it applies to, so there's a massive spread in the conferences that papers are being submitted to. I also feel that there's a bit of a potential conflict of interest when giants like Oculus/Facebook are directly funding some of the research, but that's a separate point.
4. (5A) Game engines as a solution are definitely looking more attractive, especially with the latest releases of the SDKs, but I'd caution against labeling the proprietary engines as legacy overall, especially when EA's Frostbite engine continues to deliver as an example. I think this might also be a good place to talk about the legal challenges that Unreal have faced against Apple and the battle between Unity and Improbable.
4. (5B) Labor issues in the industry are unfortunately rather cyclic when it comes to public perception (EA Spouse, Team Bondi), but I am hopeful that this round will make things more interesting, especially with the rise of mainstream advocates like Jason Schreier. Unions are still a bit of a mixed bag if we consider the usual model for labor unions, as the most widespread industries of traditionally non-unionized professionals have been sounding the horn, but not succeeding as well in forming.
I love that you've organized this into a great introductory guide, and looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks for your insightful response. Always great to hear from someone so invested in the space. I agree with most of your comments - it's hard to summarize everything... each topic can be a blog in itself.
2a) Not restricting time period. I mentioned Minecraft and Roblox because I consider them the first successful/commercialized UGC platforms.
4a) Stadia has a long way to go before becoming "netflix" of games. Business model is a huge pain (or leverage) point for game studios.
4b) That's awesome. I am actually super pumped about AR/VR and always looking to read more.
5a) I didn't mean legacy in a bad way. These internal engines are great and optimized for the specific games they were developed for. However, they are not accommodating for new genres or games. Frostbite wasn't very successful with open world games:https://www.usgamer.net/articles/ea-frostbite-engine-history-bioware-ea-sports
5b) I don't think unions are going to solve labor issues within the gaming industry, even though a lot of developers are championing it.
Definitely agreed, and excited to see what you'll be exploring in the future.
2a) Good point in terms of the mass market context.
4a) Yeah, and I was also unclear there. I think that Sony's offering is much closer in terms of the model, meaning pay monthly but access anything on the service. Stadia actually has a good service proposition if it gets to leverage exclusives to use all of their compute power, but we'll have to see where that goes. If anything, Apple Arcade is probably going to be the "netflix" at the moment with its selection without the cons of the cloud.
4b) I'll send some papers your way from what I remember of some of the research I was doing.
5a) Definitely, and I think going forward we'll see where bespoke engines thrive. I'd hazard a guess that companies like EA and Nintendo especially will keep up with their own due to the restrictions that Unreal and Unity impose on physics, for example. Bethesda might be a good fit given how messy their open world games are with that fork of Gamebryo, but from conversations I've had they're a little stubborn.
5b) I'm very happy that labor unions have entered the mainstream given my background there, but I also agree that unions are most likely not the way. Guilds would be a better fit, and there's a reason we don't really have as many of those nowadays, especially in the form that fits this industry.
Hey there, great primer so far. A few comments:
1. Regarding 2a, is there a period of time you're restricting your analysis here? I think Second Life would actually be a better starting point if we're talking about UGC in general, but definitely understand if you're going for a more curated angle.
2. For 4a, I think a bigger point to bring up for Google Stadia in particular is its lack of a good value proposition compared to its competitors because you must purchase license to play the games exclusively on its platform, which is a bit worse off compared to compared to Microsoft and Sony's offerings that allow for a Netflix-like model or Nvidia's offering that allows you to play with your own accounts. However, the points you bring up are excellent and apply to all.Regarding the payment model, that's actually gotten Nvidia into hot water (https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21161469/nvidia-geforce-now-cloud-gaming-service-developers-controversy-licensing)
3. (4B) A lot of the user-focused research is under way, but it can be a bit hard to find because academia has not done a great job in focusing on which areas it applies to, so there's a massive spread in the conferences that papers are being submitted to. I also feel that there's a bit of a potential conflict of interest when giants like Oculus/Facebook are directly funding some of the research, but that's a separate point.
4. (5A) Game engines as a solution are definitely looking more attractive, especially with the latest releases of the SDKs, but I'd caution against labeling the proprietary engines as legacy overall, especially when EA's Frostbite engine continues to deliver as an example. I think this might also be a good place to talk about the legal challenges that Unreal have faced against Apple and the battle between Unity and Improbable.
4. (5B) Labor issues in the industry are unfortunately rather cyclic when it comes to public perception (EA Spouse, Team Bondi), but I am hopeful that this round will make things more interesting, especially with the rise of mainstream advocates like Jason Schreier. Unions are still a bit of a mixed bag if we consider the usual model for labor unions, as the most widespread industries of traditionally non-unionized professionals have been sounding the horn, but not succeeding as well in forming.
I love that you've organized this into a great introductory guide, and looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks for your insightful response. Always great to hear from someone so invested in the space. I agree with most of your comments - it's hard to summarize everything... each topic can be a blog in itself.
2a) Not restricting time period. I mentioned Minecraft and Roblox because I consider them the first successful/commercialized UGC platforms.
4a) Stadia has a long way to go before becoming "netflix" of games. Business model is a huge pain (or leverage) point for game studios.
4b) That's awesome. I am actually super pumped about AR/VR and always looking to read more.
5a) I didn't mean legacy in a bad way. These internal engines are great and optimized for the specific games they were developed for. However, they are not accommodating for new genres or games. Frostbite wasn't very successful with open world games:https://www.usgamer.net/articles/ea-frostbite-engine-history-bioware-ea-sports
5b) I don't think unions are going to solve labor issues within the gaming industry, even though a lot of developers are championing it.
Definitely agreed, and excited to see what you'll be exploring in the future.
2a) Good point in terms of the mass market context.
4a) Yeah, and I was also unclear there. I think that Sony's offering is much closer in terms of the model, meaning pay monthly but access anything on the service. Stadia actually has a good service proposition if it gets to leverage exclusives to use all of their compute power, but we'll have to see where that goes. If anything, Apple Arcade is probably going to be the "netflix" at the moment with its selection without the cons of the cloud.
4b) I'll send some papers your way from what I remember of some of the research I was doing.
5a) Definitely, and I think going forward we'll see where bespoke engines thrive. I'd hazard a guess that companies like EA and Nintendo especially will keep up with their own due to the restrictions that Unreal and Unity impose on physics, for example. Bethesda might be a good fit given how messy their open world games are with that fork of Gamebryo, but from conversations I've had they're a little stubborn.
5b) I'm very happy that labor unions have entered the mainstream given my background there, but I also agree that unions are most likely not the way. Guilds would be a better fit, and there's a reason we don't really have as many of those nowadays, especially in the form that fits this industry.
Looking forward to more posts!