OUYA
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An OUYA Story
Adventures on the Ground Floor In the summer of 2012, I was down the pub after an Android meetup, talking to this guy who reckoned OUYA was a big deal. This was two or three weeks into their kickstarter campaign and whilst I’d read about it, it had kinda passed me by up till that point. Next day, I gave it a lot of thought, properly checked out their kickstarter campaign and decided to give it a shot. Back then, I’d already been an indie game developer for over a year, struggling away making a game for Android in my own home-built java/openGL engine. Yes you may laugh, but I’d…
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A Year of OUYA
Exactly one year ago, I got my hands on a shiny clear plastic OUYA devkit. Through making a game for the new console, I learned a lot about game development and the wider games industry. In the Beginning… In fact, my OUYA journey started in November of 2012. I’d gone indie straight off the back of a computer science degree a couple of years before, but the game I’d been working on in that time was a master class in how not to design a game. (Hopelessly large scope and flawed core mechanic). I’d backed OUYA on kickstarter at the developer tier, quite late in the campaign, and in doing…
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Devkits for All
Dedicated devkit devices are overkill, and their cost puts off many developers in a world where competing platform holders strive to attract content creators I previously blogged about how even if you don’t play the games, owning a retail console or device for your target platform can have many benefits. Now, consider a devkit and retail kit come as a single package, at a price that ordinary consumers can afford. That represent really good value for money for developers looking to see which console they want to target. Add in free software development tools such as Unity3d and it’s even better! Devkits are usually more than just a retail box,…
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The Revolution is Dead
The revolution is dead OUYA was born out of the frustrations of gamers at the end of a console cycle that had grown particularly stale. Now the arrival of a new generation of consoles is imminent, and Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are collectively pushing to diversify their game portfolios by courting the quirky and colourful indie gaming scene. The original reason for OUYA’s existence has largely evaporated. It has no future as a rebel console, indie champion or alternative to PS4/Xbox One. Instead But it does have a future as a console for kids and party gaming. Bar the novelty-feature motion controller, the OUYA has all the ingredients that made…
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Console Wars: The Battle for Indies
The big three console manufacturers have all been making lots of noise recently, espousing their indie credentials and how they are now open to all comers. Having just successfully released my first game on the OUYA, I was keen to find out how genuine a contender for title of “most indie friendly” they each were. Both in competing with OUYA, and as possible targets for my own game heading cross-platform. So last Friday, I headed down to London, to the headquarters of UKIE, for the “Indie Collective” event, where each console maker set out their respective stalls and pitched their platform to the 100 or so assembled indie devs. (I…
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Indie vs Retail
Can indie developers breath new life into flagging video game retailers? I decided to try and find out It should be obvious to all that bricks and mortar stores selling video games must adapt or die in the face of digital distribution. To make those physical spaces justify the overheads they generate, there need to be reasons for people to come into the store and spend their money in person, rather than simply going online and having their purchases delivered to their front door or downloaded straight to their gaming device of choice. One possible avenue is to get indie game developers into the stores to demo their games. This…
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Rebranding Always Online
Games that require always on internet provide immense benefit to both game developers and customers, but the case for their use is not being made The recent controversial tweeting by one Microsoft executive about the prospect of an always online console was not what lost him is job, but rather the attitude it displayed. It is one reflecting a deeper frustration amongst those in the game industry with consumer resistance to games and platforms that require a constant internet connection. There are of course a multitude of excellent reasons why game developers would want or require an internet connection for single player games, or those that do not use the…
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Making of a Killer
Killer apps are rarely identifiable ahead of time. OUYA needn’t be worried yet A common criticism of the OUYA is that it lacks a killer app. Something that people can point to and say “This is reason alone to buy the console.” Of course it somewhat misses that most killer apps are only regarded as such in hindsight. It can often take years for such things to emerge and be truly appreciated for what they are. That doesn’t mean OUYA should sit back and wait for such an app to naturally occur. Instead, OUYA should work to maximise the chances of it appearing and make every effort to create the…
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Finishing Service
What Indie developers really need is a finishing service Another take away from Richard Nash’s excellent (if rather long) take on the state of the literary/book publishing industry is that publishers (especially editors) actually perform multiple roles that add value, and while some of those roles are now obsolete, others are absolutely still relevant. Perhaps even more so in a world flooded with digital content. Chief amongst the tasks of an editor is ensuring that manuscripts are up to standard and ready for market. In other words, that they are polished and have had all their rough edges smoothed out. Translating this to games, I’m not talking about finding bugs…
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Perception War
The OUYA community is unwittingly participating in a perception war, and in danger of getting burned out as a result I played Eve Online for many years. It’s a game that ostensibly, like all MMO’s, you can’t lose. Even if your ship is destroyed, you can respawn and buy another. Even if your clan loses all of its territory, you can wage guerilla warfare and make life so miserable for the new residents that they eventually give up and leave. The only thing you can truly lose is the will to fight, to continue the struggle. In-game battles are just the ammunition for the real battle of perception. Eventually a…