dassbaba
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I wrote this little editorial a few weeks ago, or longer, and i thought i'd publish it finally
Why Half-Life 2 will be King
Half-Life 2 is due out in a few months. Why are we wasting our time, looking at screenshots, and drooling over every video bit of HL2 that valve grudgingly releases. What other game do you know, has mods for it, when the game hasn’t been released. In this brief but thorough article I’m going to take apart the half-life upbringing and give a better look as to why Half-Life 2 will be successful.
What is a computer game? It’s a thing that’s used for fun and enjoyment that we can put on our computers; which we use for just about everything these days. Since the advent of computer is passed and gone, and the long golden age of technology has just started, computer games are no longer “a little thing that we can have for those times when we are bored and have time to kill”. For some of us, computer games are a big part of our lives, and for many teens, preteens, and even some adults, they are practically our lives.
Naturally the businessman recognizes an opportunity here, but once he takes a big look into the industry and process of making a winning computer game, he shrugs off the notion of making a “semi-quick computer-game money making project” because of the complicated process and requirements for making a computer game that makes money. “Leave it to the experts” they say. Let’s look at what these experts have done to the computer gaming industry.
What do you need to make a computer game that makes money?
You need something that will sell or have an audience, and development costs proportional to income from the game. There are other ways as well. Producing another computer-game, that’s a follow up to another game and already has an audience. It’s the basic “product with people that will buy it thing”, that you learned in your economics class or marketing class.
That’s the first and underlying reason that Half-Life 2 will be a success. But don’t get me wrong, just because there is an audience that will buy HL2 like a pr0n star fem-bot just off the production line, doesn’t mean it’s going to sell. There are other things as well, like the need for the game to actually be good… Or is there a need?
Let’s take a trip to Best Buy, my favorite place to shop for stuff if I don’t buy it online. Looking at the game section we see a variety of econo-games ranging from “Extreme Rock Hunter” to “1000 Super Duper Puzzle Games”. I asked myself, “Who buys these games!?!” until I realized that there are people who will buy anything, and there are certain parents that might say “This game looks educational! I don’t want my child hunting people or animals! Rocks are educational.”
What’s the price of a snazzy cover and the right screenshots on the back of the game box? It would be maybe $1000 at the most. Get a good freelance graphics designer and you have an award winning cover. What’s the price to make this game? I would think it would take 2 months development for a team with 10 or less members. Even if the game doesn’t sell, they are going to make money. The moral of the story is people will buy anything, especially if the cover looks cool, or there is the slightest bit of anything appealing for a game.
On the other hand, there are games which are meticulously produced and tested over and over again, until perfection is achieved. The end result has all of the good stuff of the “cheap 2 month production game” plus a great game which keeps you playing and serves as a happy memory in the back of your head. Perhaps there is a multiplayer option that you would keep using, until you get tired of the game. *This type of game requires lots of money and time poured into it, and usually lots of money comes out of it.
Why Half-Life 2 will be King
Half-Life 2 is due out in a few months. Why are we wasting our time, looking at screenshots, and drooling over every video bit of HL2 that valve grudgingly releases. What other game do you know, has mods for it, when the game hasn’t been released. In this brief but thorough article I’m going to take apart the half-life upbringing and give a better look as to why Half-Life 2 will be successful.
What is a computer game? It’s a thing that’s used for fun and enjoyment that we can put on our computers; which we use for just about everything these days. Since the advent of computer is passed and gone, and the long golden age of technology has just started, computer games are no longer “a little thing that we can have for those times when we are bored and have time to kill”. For some of us, computer games are a big part of our lives, and for many teens, preteens, and even some adults, they are practically our lives.
Naturally the businessman recognizes an opportunity here, but once he takes a big look into the industry and process of making a winning computer game, he shrugs off the notion of making a “semi-quick computer-game money making project” because of the complicated process and requirements for making a computer game that makes money. “Leave it to the experts” they say. Let’s look at what these experts have done to the computer gaming industry.
What do you need to make a computer game that makes money?
You need something that will sell or have an audience, and development costs proportional to income from the game. There are other ways as well. Producing another computer-game, that’s a follow up to another game and already has an audience. It’s the basic “product with people that will buy it thing”, that you learned in your economics class or marketing class.
That’s the first and underlying reason that Half-Life 2 will be a success. But don’t get me wrong, just because there is an audience that will buy HL2 like a pr0n star fem-bot just off the production line, doesn’t mean it’s going to sell. There are other things as well, like the need for the game to actually be good… Or is there a need?
Let’s take a trip to Best Buy, my favorite place to shop for stuff if I don’t buy it online. Looking at the game section we see a variety of econo-games ranging from “Extreme Rock Hunter” to “1000 Super Duper Puzzle Games”. I asked myself, “Who buys these games!?!” until I realized that there are people who will buy anything, and there are certain parents that might say “This game looks educational! I don’t want my child hunting people or animals! Rocks are educational.”
What’s the price of a snazzy cover and the right screenshots on the back of the game box? It would be maybe $1000 at the most. Get a good freelance graphics designer and you have an award winning cover. What’s the price to make this game? I would think it would take 2 months development for a team with 10 or less members. Even if the game doesn’t sell, they are going to make money. The moral of the story is people will buy anything, especially if the cover looks cool, or there is the slightest bit of anything appealing for a game.
On the other hand, there are games which are meticulously produced and tested over and over again, until perfection is achieved. The end result has all of the good stuff of the “cheap 2 month production game” plus a great game which keeps you playing and serves as a happy memory in the back of your head. Perhaps there is a multiplayer option that you would keep using, until you get tired of the game. *This type of game requires lots of money and time poured into it, and usually lots of money comes out of it.
, p.s. Worst article ever.
