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 After completing work on their book, Game Industry Career Guide (part of the Game Development Essentials series, published by Cengage Delmar Learning), Jeannie Novak and Michael E. Moore both took some time to expand on the book’s final chapter, “Future: Employment & Growth in the Game Industry.” What follows is their short list of the top most exciting changes we see taking place in the industry in the near future . . .
The V-Team
Let’s start with the economy. Yes – we’ve seen a rash of layoffs and firings during the last few years. Even game industry veterans found themselves out of work. But simultaneous to the consolidation of larger game companies, a slew of small consultancies and game development studios have cropped up – some run by those very veterans, and some by relative newcomers with the entrepreneurial spirit. Some of these studios are saving a great deal on overhead by hiring employees from around the country (and even the world) to participate on what is being known as “virtual teams.” Mark Soderwall, former Senior Art Director at Atari and LucasArts, is a firm proponent of this new “virtual studio” movement: “The benefits of building a virtual production team is that you’re able to hand-pick specialized resources and talent from all over the world without a large internal overhead. Take SARF Studios, whose game production team is distributed among Canada, India, and the United States. Each location and talent is tasked with specific responsibilities that take advantage of their unique strengths, tools and experiences.” Although this virtual game development studio structure is fairly rare today, we believe it will continue to grow in popularity as studios make use of online project management tools such as Qtask and Groupsite. Jeannie Novak led a team of over 50 in 2007 to develop an ambitious online game using the Second Life multi-user virtual environment that ran like an online course. Tom Meigs and Heather Chandler, full-time instructors at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division, have both led virtual student teams developing games for entry into the Independent Games Festival (IGF) at the Game Developers Conference (GDC). If this can be done in the educational environment, it can most certainly be done within the game industry.
Career Opportunities:
In the “virtual studio” of the future, in-house staff will consist primarily of producers overseeing production, a designer/director who maintains the overall vision, and some programming and art staff for touch-up work. With cloud computing firmly established, live streaming will soon become a reality. Virtual studios will require staff familiar with the workings of broadband -- such as streaming, compression/decompression, and server farm maintenance.
Quadruple “A” Bypass?
We have come to expect ever higher standards in 3D art. With the advances in computing performance (which have continued to prove Gordon Moore right), the time it takes from next-gen to become current-gen has also decreased tremendously. Will polygon limitations eventually become a thing of the past? Take a look at the photo-real synthespian, Emily, who debuted at SIGGRAPH 2008; a year later, Emily put on her “game face” at CES and is now being rendered in real time. What about all the seemingly unlimited advances in graphics? Limitations can help enhance creativity; too many options can be stifling. As a recording artist, Jeannie used to tinker with all the latest recording gadgets (Synclavier, anyone?) – but she always felt somewhat limited when if options increased exponentially. That’s why she gladly returned to her roots, the plain old analog piano, from time to time.
Career Opportunities:
As the game industry becomes more “hyper-real,” art skill requirements will actually become more narrow as people specialize in one area of 3D art production. The role for technical artists who combine art and technical skills will also increase. More cinematography skills will be required for framing scenes in 3D environments. The introduction of 3D-capable TV sets will allow for even more realistic characters and environments, making development even more difficult developers will have to worry about a brand-new dimension (traditional games simply fake 3D in a 2D plane). Lighting will have to improve to feel even more lifelike; so you need good mathematical models allowing lighting artists to be more effective and efficient.
Mobile Revolution: Redefining “Casual”
At the same time our console and computer games continue to dramatically increase in visual quality, a simultaneous drive toward more functionality and style (with much less concern for quality) is currently taking place – tied to ever smaller hardware: handhelds and mobile phones. With the success of the iPhone, Android-based smart phones, and other mobile devices, the market for mobile games has increased tremendously – and it’s taking on a life of its own. Not only have mobile games helped the casual audience expand rapidly, they have provided an alternative to the AAA games we’ve come to expect from the console (and even computer) gaming world – helping to kick off a surge of small game development studios with very low overhead (compared to traditional third-party developers) that focus exclusively on the mobile market. The games that win out are those that push the envelope on style rather than realism –refreshing, to say the least.
Career Opportunities:
Will mobile phones merge with handheld platforms (Nintendo DS, Sony PSP) and laptop computers as CPU speed increases? There is currently a rebirth of 2D and 2-1/2 D artwork for platformers and other “old school” games on mobile phones. Once the handhelds merge, they incorporate better GPUs for 3D graphics and physics The current interfaces for handheld platforms are still fairly clunky, so eventually new methods for interfacing with the machine will have to be created; touch screens are still inadequate for a whole range of genres, such as first-person shooters (FPSs). There will be lots of creative work available for firmware engineers – and even interface designers/artists.
Nomadic Socialites
”My cell phone is my 6th sense. That’s why I needed a smart phone, not a dumb phone,” says Luis Levy, Account Executive, The Bohle Company. Imagine your cell phone, which you carry around like there’s an umbilical cord attached to it. Already, you might find that you use your cell phone as an “appendage” to perform some game-related tasks; this can be especially useful in RPGs and MMOs, where you might want to check your stats or make quick adjustments while you’re away from less portable computer. This use was predicted several years ago – that is, before social games made a big splash. Now cell phone users are updating their “status” while checking on their “stats” – thanks to Facebook, LinkedIn, and countless other social networks.
Let’s integrate the cell phone with the physical environment and see how social games can expand even further. Why be tied to a web site such as Facebook when you can scope out prospective “friends” in your local coffee house or at an industry conference? Consider alternate reality games taken to the next level using augmented reality (AR) apps such as Wikitude and Layar; by holding up cell phones and scanning the area, it’s possible to locate people who have just tweeted, the nearest pizza parlor, and historical buildings listed on Wikipedia. At a recent game networking event at a local restaurant in Santa Monica, Jeannie was able to visually scan the crowded bar – trying to find the business contact who had invited her to the event. Her husband mused about using the GPS on his T-Mobile G1 to find her colleague; he already uses the Augmented Reality app to locate landmarks simply by pointing his cell phone in their direction. Why not use it to find people? Of course, this could have many applications unrelated to business; social networking and matchmaking services would have a field day with this! What if we were sitting in a club – scoping out the dance floor with our phones? As long as everyone had their cell phones on them and had entered any profile information they would like prospective “mates” to see. Expand this into the LARP and ARG communities, and game applications abound. Perhaps the time has come to mix RL (Real Life) with cyberspace – now that cell phone use has finally hit critical mass, and consumers aren’t balking at using them for games as well as communication. The “social game” atmosphere on Xbox Live and through family-friendly consoles such as the Wii will continue to grow and become refined. New ways to interact – and new groups with which to interact – will increase.
Career Opportunities:
Imagine playing trivia games (or the newest incarnation of The Dating Game) in a crowded bar – on surface of the bar itself or a private table -- to find someone to approach. You might say this is a new way of breaking the ice for nerds – but this is for everybody. If this trend were to make enough money, there’s a good chance that it will be taken over by broadcasting and telecommunication giants as a new way for people to interact with one another -- both nearby and at a distance. We may see ads for DJs, talk/game show hosts, and even Dear Abby types appearing on Gamasutra!
Evolution (and Death?) of the Physical Interface
Primary game systems (computer and console) are getting smarter all the time; we’ll eventually have no need to interact with them using the common physical interfaces of today (“controller” for consoles; keyboard/mouse for computers). Why not bypass this idea altogether and go directly to brain à game machine interaction? The latest research in bio-medical sciences has already proven that it can be done; it’s just a matter of cost. Perhaps we can finally stop talking about that Star Trek: TNG invention known as the “holodeck” and actually experience it! We see the physical interface as a temporary “patch”; the Wiimote, Project Natal, and motion capturing devices have given us a glimpse at a more “representational” form of human-computer (or game system) interaction. And what about the visual interface? We will eventually get out of the flat, 2D space and move through three dimensions. Flat surfaces will be a thing of the past. We envision a new form of interface design involving both physical objects that can be utilized within the game environment (a stop-gap until direct brain communication is possible) and more sophisticated visual heads-up displays (HUDs) that might appear as personal overlays. (You wouldn’t want to see anyone else’s HUD if you’re all playing physically in the same environment!) Already, industrial and product design principles have become intertwined with physical interface design; this trend will continue to grow. In the meantime, physical interfaces such as Microsoft’s Surface and the UI on Apple’s iPad can act as a more natural, tactile controller; it can even be used as an exercise pad at gyms and help launch a board game “renaissance” where players can change the environment of the game and interact with it. (A note on gyms: What’s taking them so long to catch up with Konami’s gyms in Japan? We don’t know about you, but we would certainly be shaping up quickly if we had that kind of technology available in the U.S.)
Career Opportunities:
New forms of controllers will be designed for specific games, akin to Guitar Hero. Perhaps there will be a phaser controller to play Star Trek games. What about a direct brain-computer interface – where the computer follows the player’s eyes and changes what appears on the screen -- or a neural net cap that reads mind waves and reacts without having to need of a controller/keyboard (à la Strange Days and Avatar)? Electrical engineer and firmware designers will be needed to make this happen. We can envision a college degree program focusing solely on interface design – covering both traditional keyboard/controller and future interface links. Perhaps teams will hire neurologists and other medical specialists to help!
Say Hello to Your Little Friend
While we imagine physically walking into a game environment, let’s consider another entity from our world who could be joining us there: the oft-feared (or loved, depending on whether you’re culture is traditionally Western or Eastern) robot. Yes, the robot – representing a link between the cyber and real world. Like a cell phone, which is a mechanical object that can be brought into a virtual space, a robot can enter into a set environment (computer/console/hologram). Another way to look at it is to see robot taking over all D3 activities – dull, dirty and dangerous. We saw the beginning of this trend when robots started assembling cars in the late 1970s. According to biotechnologist, game engine developer, and robotics aficionado, Dr. Pete Markiewicz of Indiespace and the Art Institute: “Since we can't make objects out of light collide, we have to have physical things in the holodeck. A likely possibility is generic robotics -- either with textures painted across them from an external source, or generated directly on some sort of "smart" surface. The only alternative would be to fake the holodeck by making people wear a body suit, and have it offer resistance when we encounter things in the virtual world. The most likely scenario is the latter: Our ability to make microdevices today (in things like multimirror TV reflectors) implies that in the future we'll able to adjust surface texture on a robot at the level of the width of a light wave. This would be very much like the T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which in fact was "liquid metal" composed of millions of micromachines. In fact, the T-1000 is a good candidate of the kind of robot needed to make a holodeck work.” Another bot that will most certainly show up in your daily life (and may very well extend into the game world) is the virtual agent, an entity that can get things done when you’re not around. We already see glimpses of this concept with search technology and even within an email service such as Gmail. It’s like getting “a little help from your friends” at Google when you tip your hand by searching for anything. Currently, searches might be met with general listings and ad-sponsored content – but a more “human” or “personal assistant” style of response might be: “Ahem, excuse me – but I couldn’t help but noticing that you typed the words ‘Denmark’ and ‘flights.’ Would you like me to find you the cheapest flights to Denmark? I know that saving money is a priority for you.” Eventually, that virtual personal assistant entity might actually pose as you to help you get things done, so you’d better be nice to it! As casual MMOGs continue to grow in popularity, these entities could really come in handy – helping you rack up points and popularity while you’re off enjoying RL for a while. And with the increase in the revenue value of virtual goods, your little friend could be making a lot of money for you as well.
Career Opportunities:
A robot can perform more actions than cell phones, so it could move from place to place, hand out clue objects, or pretend to be a character in the real world. Robots can be programmed to show emotions so that they seem more and more real -- having their own “uncanny valley” issues. Perhaps we’ll see real-world MMOs (i.e., theme parks) where robots are actors (shades of Westworld) that tag along with players to provide clues and help during combat. Nanotechnology offers many possibilities, perhaps assisting in brain-computer interfaces and being incorporated into game accessories, such as light swords or wizard’s gloves that glow when the player casts spells.
From Creativity to Education: New Genres & Applications
Let’s move on to a more in-depth discussion of genre. In addition to the new-ish concept of “social games,” we’ve seen a growth in music-rhythm games (not monopolized by Konami, as originally predicted, but by Harmonix – thanks to the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises). In addition to the convergence of indie music with games due to Rock Band Network, we predict other music genres and instruments on the horizon. At the Digital Music Forum in 2009, Jeannie questioned her fellow panelists about the lack of a keyboard (as in piano/synthesizer) controller or pedagogical elements in either of the top-selling music/rhythm franchises; these questions were met with agreement and hints of things to come. (Speaking of pedagogy and music education, let’s come up with another moniker for “Serious Games”!) Moving to the more “traditional” game genres (including the RPG, FPS, and RTS three-letter acronym variety), we think wishfully about other forms of fantasy and environments that have yet to be touched. Along with influx of new smaller developers will come some long overdue “out of the box” thinking.
Career Opportunities:
There will definitely be more integration of sociology, psychiatry, and psychology within game teams. We can see companies designing and developing real-world MMOs for simulated experiences too expensive or dangerous to accomplish in reality (e.g., catastrophes, floods, earthquakes) -- allowing city planners, emergency medical teams and even the public to play out these experiences safely. More companies that require specialized skills are likely to turn to simulators to let new employees learn the basics without requiring the expensive equipment. Will the process of making games be simplified enough so that anyone can make them without requiring extensive technical skills? The perfect game developer will create the art and handle all programming skills so that the customer can design freely and plug-and-play to get game to work.
Game Grads
Let’s come back full circle to the economy. First, we’ve seen a marked rise in the number of colleges and universities starting game degree programs or tracks; this was one of the assumptions behind the creation of the Game Development Essentials series, so it’s nice to see that this trend is experiencing such growth! We expect more educational institutions to add online divisions or start online-only programs – an economic decision allowing for comparatively low overhead. Game-based education is already becoming more inclusive; initially, game programming was a primary focus – but art, design, and production are now becoming well integrated into most curricula. We expect a rise in content related to other game-related careers – including audio content (including sound design, composition, and voiceover production). Testing/quality assurance is another area that will continue to get more attention at the college level, as it becomes more professionalized. For example, Microsoft’s compliance testers are affiliated with the programming team and must have computer science degrees. In a small survey conducted for Game QA & Testing, part of the Game Development Essentials series, Luis Levy and Jeannie Novak determined that all members of the production testing teams surveyed had Bachelor’s degrees; the notion of testers working as temps while in high school (or just after high school graduation) is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Game-based education will be more multidisciplinary – resulting in a cohesiveness and understanding of all aspects of game development.
Career Opportunities:
There will be a need for more highly specialized courses that focus on specific skills rather than general knowledge. Trade schools might be formed where industry workers can study a few classes related to specialized skills – such as writing dialogue, in-game physics optimization, and database management across multiple platforms. Colleges and universities need to catch up to the real needs of the industry and begin teaching advanced courses in multi-threading and cloud programming, lighting effects, and quaternion math. Game companies need to work with game schools to teach courses in the advanced subjects they need.
These are just a few of our thoughts. Hopefully, some of them have sparked some ideas of your own. Where do you think the industry is going next?
Game Industry Career Guide (part of the Game Development Essentials series) takes the reader step by step through the process of starting a successful game industry career. The authors share insights on writing a solid resume, building a quality portfolio, and navigating the job hunting and interview process. The book concludes with a glimpse into the future of the game industry with emphasis on growing game technology, education, design, and production trends. Game Industry Career Guide is a valuable asset for anyone who wants to joint he fastest-growing area of the entertainment industry.
Michael E. Moore is a 25-year game industry veteran who began his career designing, developing, and producing mass market, role-playing, and military simulation board games. Michael then began designing and producing video games at Infocom, Activision, 3DO, Sierra, and ASCII Entertainment. He is currently at DigiPen's Game Software Design & Production department, where he has served as Department Chair and Full-Time Faculty Member. Michael received a double BA in English and Communication Arts from St. Mary's Unviersity and an MA in Communiction Arts from Southern Illinois University.
Jeannie Novak is Lead Author & Series Editor of the widely acclaimed Game Development Essentials series, with 14 published titles in the marketplace. In 1994, she founded Kaleidospace, LLC, which oversees a game education consulting division and Indiespace -- one of the first web sites to promote and distribute interactive entertainment. She has developed and taught game courses at UCLA, Art Center College of Design, DeVry , Westwood College, ITT, and the Santa Monica College Academy of Entertainment & Technology -- and she was Director of the Game Art & Design and Media Arts & Animation programs at the Art Institute Online. Jeannie has consulted for several educational institutions and developers such as UC Berkeley Center for New Media and Alelo Tactical Language & Culture. She is ANIMIAMI's Game Conference Chair, a SIGGRAPH 2010 session chair -- and an active member of the Game Education Summit advisory board, IGDA-LA steering committee, and AIAS Online Excellence and Multiplayer Awards panels. Jeannie holds a BA in Mass Communication from UCLA and an MA in Communication Management from the Annenberg School at USC -- and she is also an accomplished composer and performer (piano/voice).
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