It in video game industry Essay

Video Games were once a simple simulation of pong using two lines and a dot for imaging. They were played and mastered by a minority group of individuals most commonly referred to as â€Å"nerds†. Since those days in 1975 the video game industry market has gone through an exponential growth. With the revolutionary changes in technology and the social changes in product demand the gaming industry has transformed into a thriving market with a quickly growing casual gamer demographic. The success of this development in the gaming industry would be little without information technology. Information technology is a fundamental part of the gaming industry. Technology is used to handle information in the gaming industry in both the retail business side as well as the development aspect. When it comes to selling video games there used to only be the store but with the installment of new online technology, games for consumers have been easier to access. Companies like Gamefly enable users to buy and rent games online. Games also can even be instantly purchased over internet through gaming consoles. Microsoft is one company that has taken the most advantage of this concept. From personal experience using Microsoft’s console Xbox 360, the console offers users the ability to create an online account through Xbox Live. From the Xbox Live membership, users gain access to a wide online market of games, videos, and other additional products. The online market is extremely active with some games generating 100,000 trial downloads and 30,000 sales (Garcia, 2011). Despite the quick and easy access these technology features give to gamers the online world is also a threat to the security of games. Copyrights can be cracked, and sometimes games will be distributed over the internet to game users. The security risk the internet plays on games has been tackled by developers who believe cloud computing is the key. In 2009, video game developer Denis Dyack proposed during a panel discussion at GamesBeat that cloud computing would change the industry model of games depending on consoles to games depending on resources that only can be accessed over the internet (Bhanoo, 2009). By holding onto vital resources game developers can prevent the illegal distribution of their game content because the game’s central assets are not downloaded. It would be a good model except one obstacle would be the probability that every game consumer has access to the internet which is highly unlikely, but it is growing to be common in today. These client-to-server concepts and ideas for the retail game industry would all be cases when information technology is used and needed. The gaming industry has a large amount to protect when it comes to distributing its product because unlike other products games are essentially data which is where the real information technology comes into play. The reason why video games are so vulnerable to piracy is because the data in them is not a physical entity but rather information that can be copied and released. Video games essentially can be viewed as an organized system of data and information technology which reacts to input from a user, simulating some type of an event. A look at one popular Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) Game made by Blizzard known as World of Warcraft (WoW) can help demonstrate how complex these transfers of data and information are. Before the user can even begin playing they have to go through an entire sequence of account access authentication and communicate with a server to be verified of account access, and game access as well (Wilson). Once verified that the client computer is the account user and that account user has paid for the ability to the play the game the user selects the server there character is on or a server where they would like to make a new one (Wilson). 4 After character is selected the game play begins. All the data and information about the game graphics and environment are stored on the client’s computer but the server is what does the communication of what gets to be displayed. A more detailed explanation would be the user’s character interacts with picking up an rock once the object is picked up the server communicates to the client’s computer as well as other clients that the rock is no longer there (Wilson). 4 This client-to-server communication is simulated in many aspects of the game such as displaying other clients to the user and simulating a battle. When a client begins to fight with a creature the clients computer communicates both characters’ stats to the server which then uses mathematic algorithms to calculate damage, healing, and any other real-time effects (Wilson). 4 This type of system requires a huge amount of backbone to perform. WoW is estimated to using about 20,000 computer systems and employs more than 4,600 people to keep its gaming experience running (Brice, 2009). While the server communication model used in WoW exhibits its simulation, it is not entirely the same for every video game. Not all games are like WoW, each one can vary with how it stores data and information. It really depends upon how game designers and programs architect the framework of their information technology systems. Systems like Blizzard’s are not on every game and that is because the programs designed to run the games are limited to the company (Wilson). 4 The program and framework of their information systems is the product of a company in the gaming industry and it is something that must be kept secret if the company wants to maintain business. Keeping secrets however, isn’t enough sometimes to stay in the business of the gaming industry. Other competitors can always challenge game developers’ business. The casual gamer is becoming the real market to making business in the gaming industry. There is still a high demand from the hardcore traditional gamer but when it comes to making video games, it is easy to agree it costs less to attract casual gamers with cheaper games. The app era with social networking sites and new technology such as the iPad is becoming a huge thorn to game developers, such as Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, believing that cheap game apps are devaluing the industry (Morris, 2011). With game apps gamers no longer need to spend money as much money for entertainment unless they would like something with a little more depth. The rise of these game apps could be linked to the demand for cheaper products, especially when the economy is still trying to recover. Some developers argue back that the new app technology is not hindering the industry just changing it to a new way that expands the option to the casual gamer who only demands a simple game for entertainment (2010). It is not step back but instead a new branch to be explored and developed. Game apps do play some part in devaluing games but at least they have provided an opportunity for anxious developers to be involved in the game developing community. Either way it’s pursued game development is still a serious business which requires some serious skills with manipulating information. A deeper look into the development view of video games gives a better understanding of the how data and information technology relate to the industry. To understand the development process it is best to start looking at the model used to develop games. When broken down a game is really one big huge project broken down into many others. It starts with the Prototype, then Pre-Production, Production, Beta, and finally the Live finished product (Hendrick, 2009). Now with each of these projects the developers must initialize, plan, execute with monitoring and controlling, and then closing up and finishing (Hendrick, 2009). 8 These projects involve a variety of stages, from concept development to debugging. To be a part of this development process a game developer must be highly trained in whatever aspect they are adding to the project. A game programmer specifically must be able to meet a certain knowledge base criteria with computer languages, the most common one being C++. According to game programmer, Chad Stewart, it is essential that you â€Å"Know Your Stuff† and understand how to think out loud with programming and create program models that can solve real-time problems and game mechanics (Stewart). When being interviewed he states that sometimes you will be presented with problem and must quickly illustrate on a white board how you would approach the problem (Stewart). 10 He also adds that it is important to not be discouraged if you fail the problem and show that you have a willingness to learn and it looks like there is plenty to catch up on (Stewart). 10 From the outside game development can look like a fun job but it is still a job that requires hard work. It can be nerve racking to imagine the amount of knowledge needed to be successful in the gaming industry. There is so much required to build and distribute a single game. That can especially be said for game programmers because they are required to update and learn new technologies. In the gaming industry it can be hard to find an expert that does it all, but one noticeable fact of life to remember is that people are always learning. Works Cited † Programmer – Computer Games – Skillset. † Welcome to Skillset – Skillset.http://www. skillset. org/games/careers/profiles/article_4727_1. asp (accessed October 10, 2011). Bhanoo, Sindya . â€Å"Cloud Computing May Curb Video Game Piracy CIO. com. † CIO. com. http://www. cio. com/article/486979/Cloud_Computing_May_Curb_Video_Game_Piracy (accessed October 10, 2011). Brice, Katherine. â€Å"Blizzard reveals full scale of World of Warcraft operation. † GamesIndustry. biz. http://www. gamesindustry. biz/articles/blizzard-reveals-full-scale-of-world-of-warcraft-operation (accessed October 10, 2011). Garcia, Louis. â€Å"Making money in Xbox 360 indie game development: Is it possible? | Bitmob. com. † Bitmob. com. http://bitmob. com/articles/making-money-in-xbox-360-indie-game-development-is-it-possible (accessed October 10, 2011). Hendrick, Arnold. â€Å"Project Management for Game Development  « MMO Tidbits. † MMO Tidbits. http://mmotidbits. com/2009/06/15/project-management-for-game-development/ (accessed October 10, 2011). Morris, Chris. â€Å"Are Apps Killing the Video Game Industry? – CNBC. † Stock Market News, Business News, Financial, Earnings, World Market News and Information – CNBC. http://www. cnbc. com/id/41988262/Are_Apps_Killing_the_Video_Game_Industry (accessed October 10, 2011). Stewart, Chad. â€Å"Chad Stewart Game Programmer.† Chad Stewart Game Programmer. www. chadpluspl. us/? p=110 (accessed October 10, 2011). â€Å"Video Game Industry 2010: Reinventing the Games Business. † Game Industry News, Interviews and Videos | Game Theory. http://gametheoryonline. com/2010/07/28/video-games-industry-gaming-business/ (accessed October 10, 2011). â€Å"Video Game Rentals: Rent/Buy Wii,PS3,PS2,Xbox,360,PSP,DS,3DS,GC,GBA Games. † Gamefly. com. http://www. gamefly. com/ (accessed October 10, 2011). Wilson, Tracy V.. â€Å"How World of Warcraft Works. † HowStuffWorks â€Å"Electronics†. http://electronics. howstuffworks. com/world-of-warcraft6. htm (accessed October 10, 2011).