Game Design, Programming and running a one-man games business…

Three pronged game development strategy

cliffski

We hear a lot about how the PC market is on the way down, Dell are making less money, Microsoft keep making stupid decisions (someone sack ballmer and put in someone with a clue as to what they are doing please). and meanwhile everyone’s favorite tax-dodger apple is making more money than any sane human can imagine. Desktop PC’s are out, and tablets are in. Mobile is king. Just look at any number of crazy charts etc…

I suspect that although desktop PC gaming may not be as healthy as it once was, it is still pretty healthy, and I suspect laptop PC gaming is probably stronger than ever before. Laptops always used to be an executive, wealthy-persons PC, with the majority of us putting up with big beige boxes whilst the high fliers had a Sony Vaio. These days, laptops are cheap as chips, and have more than enough horsepower for gaming.

Personally, I still do 95% of my gaming on my desktop. This is to be expected for a developer, because I have 9as I keep reminding people) a darned comfy office chair and a nice office. I’m perfectly happy gaming in my office. However, the reality for people not working like me is that PC use might increasingly be on a sofa, in the garden, on a kitchen table with a laptop, wherever.

I’m hoping to steer positech in a bunch of different directions over the next few years. here uis my grand strategy marvel/laugh at its genius.

LAPTOP GAMERS

Democracy 3 is aimed at you. I will try to minimize it’s file access and CPU usage to ensure it doesn’t drain your battery, and I pledge to playtest it on laptops at least as much as desktops. D3 is a thinking game, one you might prefer to play lying on a sofa with a laptop.

TABLET GAMERS

Redshirt is aimed at you (it will also be on mac/pc). We plan to get this game out on ipad as it really does look the part in ipad format. Plus it’s relatively low system resource usage means it actual fits in ipad RAM :D.

DESKTOP GAMERS

Gratuitous Space Battles 2 will be aimed at you, if/when it gets made. In fact it will be seriously ninja-aimed at you, trying to squeeze every ounce of processor capability that I can.  Possibly supporting big picture mode for TV’s and I hope to experiment with multi monitors too. bwahahahaha.

This is my plan. Annoyingly, there is still only one of me. I must rectify that somehow.

5 thoughts on Three pronged game development strategy

  1. GSB2?! Cool, I look forward to that. I would still love to see GSB as the combat resolution for a 4X.

  2. Sounds Kewl Cliff.

    Just wondering when you will fit in the merger of Planetry Defence / Starship Tycoon…..

    If you are doing a GSB2 / GTB2 – Any thougts on a Kudos 3 ?

    On the whole PC / Laptop / Tablet thing…

    I am mainly a desktop player as I like the grunt factor this gives me with HD resolution / Multi screen and the input power of the keyboard mouse combo etc.

    Laptops are okay but I tend to use these in bed which causes issues with overheating as the vents get blocked by the duvet – Also don’t like the small screen / naff mouse control.

    I use a tablet but the worst thing I find about these in “live” action (rather than turn based) is either the loss of screen res for control panel or it’s annoying to cover the screen or poor object selection when you want to select / move something (Neomech on the iPhone is prone to this….)

    So PC’s are still the thing for me…

    There was an interesting study saying the issue with tablets vs PC’s is that PC’s don’t really need to evolve anymore as they have the grunt to preety much do everything they need so people are holding on them longer and tablets are also extending the purchase life of laptops.

    I think it will interesting over the next few years to see what happens in this space as the keyboard as a communications tool has been with us for a very long time and I just don’t see it going away….

  3. I use desktop for basically all gaming. With laptop I have played only when travelling for work and bored at the hotel room I now have a Windows 8 phone which I would play more with on the couch when waiting for my girl to fall
    , but haven’t found a brilliant turnbased game that is easy to quit and return the next evening. Kudos 3 would work there ?

  4. I think you are right about PC’s. people focus a lot of PC sales declining, but PC usage is probably still pretty big. Especially if you lump laptops and desktops together.

  5. Quote- “This is my plan. Annoyingly, there is still only one of me. I must rectify that somehow.” –

    You know they are now doing cloning experiments? :) Of course, there is the 3 extra mouths to feed after you get them all home and coding. Not to mention where is everyone going to sleep!!

    I tell you what, why not skip the cloning thing, and just, you know, hire out. :)

    -Teal

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