This book is a fast-paced look at the next two decades of the games industry with a focus on game design, the evolution of gaming markets around the world, the future of technology, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, crypto-currency, and the art and business of creating and publishing hit games.
The book contains interviews with a dozen veteran games industry luminaries, who have collectively created many of the greatest hits of the last twenty years and grossed tens of billions of dollars in revenue for companies like Electronic Arts, Facebook, Apple, Activision, Microsoft, Amazon, Supercell, Netflix, Warner Brothers, and others.
Game Development 2042 is meant for game developers, anyone with a financial interest in the games business, and for gamers who want to know what the future holds. Mobile, console, PC, web, free-to-play, play-to-earn, and other businesses are discussed in depth with specific examples.
Author(s): Tim Fields
Publisher: CRC Press
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 331
City: Boca Raton
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Game Development 2042
INTRODUCTION
Hardware Advances in CPU Power, Input Accessibility, and Battery Power
Pervasive Machine Learning and Autonomy Fueled by Vast Increase in Data
Ubiquity of High-Speed High-Capacity Data Networks
Network Effect of Social Networks and Human Connectivity
Increases in the Amount of Leisure Time Available for Humanity
A ROADMAP
Who Is This Book For?
NOTES
Chapter 1 A Global Community of Players
GAMING LIGHTS THE WORLD
POPULATION GROWTH
United States and Canada
Europe
Russia
South Korea
Japan
China
ON EMERGING MARKETS
Purchasing Power of Markets by 2050
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
Vietnam
India
INTERVIEW WITH ZAID AZMI: INTERACTIVE FICTION FOR THE WORLD
Latin America
Brazil
Mexico
The Middle East and Africa
Saudi Arabia
INTERVIEW WITH HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE FASIL BIN BANDAR: THE BRIGHT FUTURE OF GAMES
CONTINUING IN THE LEVANT
Turkey
Egypt
Israel
The Rest of Africa
ZOOMING OUT
Conclusions Based on this Research and Demographic Data
How to Tailor for a Region
NOTES
Chapter 2 How to Reach the World
HOW TO REACH THE WORLD?
THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISM ON GAME DESIGN
DISTRIBUTION MECHANISMS
USER ACQUISITION
BUILDING COMMUNITIES
HOW TO REACH THE WORLD, THEN KEEP THEM PLAYING
INTERVIEW WITH AARON LOEB: THE FUTURE OF COMMUNITIES
CONCLUSION
How to Reach the World, Then Keep Them Playing
NOTES
Chapter 3 The Evolution of Game Design
QUALITY IS KING
WHY DO PEOPLE PLAY?
A FEW THINGS ARE DIFFERENT…
DEEP SOCIAL
VISUALS
ACCESSIBILITY
CAPABLE DEVICES EVERYWHERE
CROSS PLAY AND DEVICE AGNOSTICISM
AI AGENTS
VR, AR, IMMERSION, METAVERSE
AR AND REAL-WORLD GAMING BLENDS
VR & AR COMBINED MAKE… THE METAVERSE?
NIANTIC AS METAVERSE
ROBLOX AS METAVERSE
TENCENT AS METAVERSE
EPIC’S FORTNITE AS METAVERSE
NVIDIA AS METAVERSE
FACEBOOK AS METAVERSE
MICROSOFT AS METAVERSE
METAVERSE WRAP UP
USER-GENERATED CONTENT
MODS AS UGC
THE WORLD WANTS TO PLAY FOR FREE
APPOINTMENT MECHANICS
EVERYTHING IS AN RPG
GACHA, NEAR MISS, FOMO
REAL-MONEY GAMING AND WAGERING
PERVASIVE COMMUNITY
THE NEED FOR SOCIAL SHEPHERDS
Q AND A WITH JEFF MAHER
NON-GAMING ACTIVITIES IN GAMES
Q AND A WITH GAGAN AHLUWALIA OF GLOBALSTEP: THE FUTURE OF SERVICES
EDUCATION AND GAMING
WRAP UP IN THE FUTURE OF GAME DESIGN
NOTES
Chapter 4 Web 3 Gaming: Crypto, Play to Earn, NFT
CRYPTO-CURRENCY, DECENTRALIZED FINANCE, NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS, AND GAMING
NFT BASICS
NFTS AS THE FUTURE
NFTS AS SNAKE OIL OR DIGITAL DUTCH TULIP CRAZE
AXIE INFINITY
PLAY TO EARN
INTERVIEW WITH SIMON DAVIS “THE MIGHTY BEAR OF SINGAPORE”
CONCLUSION
Wrap Up
NOTES
Chapter 5 Devices and Platforms
MOBILE DEVICES
PLATFORM AGNOSTICISM
GAMING ECOSYSTEM OF DEVICES
FORM FACTOR & FOLDABLE
Mobile Devices as More Than a Phone: Watches, Glasses, Wearables
CONSOLES
MULTIPLATFORM
PC GAMES
SETTING AND CONVERGENCE
CLOUD GAMING
ON BANDWIDTH
STREAMING SERVICES AND THE CONVERGENCE OF LINEAR AND NON-LINEAR MEDIA
INTERVIEW WITH MIKE VERDU: THE FUTURE OF PLATFORMS
WRAP UP
Wrap Up on Devices and Platforms
NOTES
Chapter 6 Input and Feedback Mechanisms
MOUSE AND KEYBOARD
CONTROLLERS
GESTURES
EYE TRACKING AS INPUT
Q AND A WITH ANAND SRIVATSA OF TOBII: THE FUTURE OF INPUT MECHANISMS
CAMERAS
DRONES
FINGER TAPS
MORE ADVANCED ANATOMICALLY INTEGRATED INPUT
THOUGHT CONTROL
SPEECH
HAPTIC FEEDBACK
DISPLAYS
GLASSES AND VR HEADSETS
CONTACTS AND RETINA PROJECTION
WRAP UP ON DEVICES AND INPUTS
NOTES
Chapter 7 Business Models
RETAIL DISTRIBUTION OF GAMES
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION OF GAMES
FREE TO PLAY
IN APP ADVERTISING
CARRIER BILLING AND REGIONAL PAYMENT SYSTEMS
REGIONAL AND SACHET PRICING
eSPORTS
REAL MONEY GAMBLING
PAID TO PLAY
PLAY2EARN
THE VALUE OF PLAYER DATA
THE BUSINESS OF CREATION
THE EVOLUTION OF GAMING LEGAL MATTERS
INTERVIEW WITH KIMBERLY CORBETT: PUBLISHING FOR THE FUTURE
Publishing for the Future
REGULATIONS AND WRAP UP
The Effect of Regulations on Business Models
NOTES
Chapter 8 Data and Analytics
DATA GATHERING
DATA PROCESSING
DATA ANALYSIS IN REAL TIME
DATA —> AI BEHAVIORS AND RESPONSES
DATA VISUALIZATION
INTERVIEW WITH ROB FINK: THE FUTURE OF DATA
DATA OWNERSHIP
Data Ownership: People, Corporations, Governments, DAOs
Who owns data?
Using Big Datasets to Create Content
Procedural Content Generation
Using Data to Generate Music
AI Helping Write and Find Bugs in Code
AI and ML to Aid Game Content Design
Helping Artists Make Art
Using Games to Train AI
WOW Event with a Contagion “Corrupted Blood Incident”
Data and Analytics Wrap Up
The Coming Impact of Big Data
NOTES
Chapter 9 Artificially Intelligent Characters
VIRTUAL CHARACTERS TAKE OVER THE WORLD. SOON
ON AI CHARACTERS
BUILDING AI COMPANIONS
The Character Visuals
The Dialog
TEXT TO SPEECH
INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM REAL HUMANS
AVATARS
THE FUTURE OF AVATARS
ARTIFICIAL AND INTELLIGENT CHARACTERS WRAP UP
NOTES
Chapter 10 The Future of Game Development
THE ACT OF CREATION
CROWDSOURCING AND NFT SALES
INTERVIEW WITH MAURICO LONGONI: THE FUTURE OF USER-GENERATED CONTENT
HITS
Hits vs. Games
INTERVIEW WITH THEA CHOW: BUILDING THE BEST IN THE WORLD
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
Better Engineering Too ls
Content Creation Tools
Increasing Competition for Talent
Increasing Competition for Licenses
Distributed Teams
Independent Contractor and Unionized Models of Talent
DAO
INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDRIA SEPULVEDA: THE FUTURE OF REGULATION
INCREASED COMPLEXITY
Increasing Complexity of Publishing and Distribution
Localization & Culturalization
Adherence to Local Custom & Regulations
Local Publishing and Community Management
Forecasting
On Bots and ID
Wrap up on the Future of Game Development
NOTES
CONCLUSIONS
INDEX
