Valve has rolled out a new update for Steam that bumps up the size requirements for banner images. The changes were made to help developers “show off their game in the best light,” particularly on high-res monitors and the Steam Deck OLED.

The OLED was further cited as the first place where the new size would be most noticeable, as the smaller sizes stood out on the updated handheld.

Under the new template, assets for the Steam store (small, header, main, and vertical capsules) and library (header) will doubled in size. New high-resolution asset usage will roll out over the next few months, while the previous sizes lose support on November 1.

Until that date, Valve is accepting asset uploads with the previous size to avoid “disrupting developers that are in the process of building and shipping games.”

For previous releases, developers aren’t required to update graphical assets with the new size. Past capsules will remain supported even after November 1.

Valve has already posted the latest asset templates, along with a detailed overview of the new specifications.

Sega’s Entertainment Contents division, which houses its video game operations, “exceeded expectations” during the first quarter of the fiscal year due to strong full game and DLC sales.

As noted on the company’s fiscal report for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, net sales across the segment increased by 34 percent to 72.5 billion yen ($496.6 million). Operating income rose to 11.8 billion yen ($80.8 million), an upswing on the 4.3 billion yen reported this time last year.

Full game unit sales for the quarter totaled 5.8 million units, comprising 710,000 sales from new releases and 5.14 million sales from catalog titles. That’s an increase on the 4.87 million units sold in Q1 last year, but Sega explained full game sales remained “slightly below expectations.”

Despite that, the company praised Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance for its “favorable” performance after the title topped 500,000 sales in three days. Older titles such as Unicorn Overlord and Persona 5 Royal (Remaster) made similarly noteworthy contributions.

The Japanese publisher also lauded “strong” revenues related to its Sonic movie franchise.

Sega acknowledged its acquisition of Rovio in August 2023 helped deliver positive results, with its latest results including sales and profits from the Angry Birds maker.

“The increase in profit from the same period in the prior year was also due to the inclusion of Rovio Entertainment Corporation, which was acquired in August, 2023,” Sega added. “Although the impact on profits caused by the amortization of goodwill, other intangibles was immaterial, Rovio Entertainment Corporation contributed to the Group’s profit with its post amortization profit.”

Looking ahead, Sega expects free-to-play releases such as Sonic Rumble and catalog sales to establish a “solid performance basis” throughout the rest of the fiscal year. It’s also expecting a bump from the release of new titles such as Sonic X Shadow Generations and Metaphor: ReFantazio.

The company is forecasting net sales of 335 billion yen and operating income of 38 billion yen within its Entertainment Contents business for the full-year ended March 31, 2025.

]]> https://winjourney.org/game-sales-slightly-below-expectations-at-sega-despite-some-favorable-performances/feed/ 0 https://winjourney.org/training-the-game-designers-of-tomorrow-part-3-of-5/ https://winjourney.org/training-the-game-designers-of-tomorrow-part-3-of-5/#respond Tue, 13 Aug 2024 11:28:42 +0000 https://winjourney.org/?p=72406 State of play

A common mistake among game designers is underestimating the importance they should give to marketing.

« Why should I care about marketing? How am I affected by the communication strategy? My responsibility is to design a fun game! Marketing and communication are the responsibilities of the publisher. »

Yes, but no.

It is true that the marketing teams of the publisher or studio, if the studio self-publishes its game, are responsible for setting up communication campaigns. But they are not responsible when design choices weaken the game’s interest in the eyes of the media and players.

The very large-scale distribution of media and social networks has led to hyper-abundant information, and communicating about a good game is no longer enough to attract attention.

The situation is made even more difficult by the plethora of games on offer, many of which are free and easily downloadable.

A game designed without marketing in mind risks being a commercial failure. The design team must, therefore, ask the right questions right from the concept phase.

What are they? Let’s start with the most important question: What is my game’s USP, the Unique Selling Point?

Sniper Alley

The USP is the feature of the game concept that must be original enough to attract attention. Developing a concept around its USP is probably the best advice we can give to a game designer, junior or senior.

The USP can apply to any aspect of the game: Its gameplay or mix of gameplays, its game modes, its aesthetics, its narrative theme, its control interface, its atmosphere, its use of an IP, its distribution platform, etc.

The USP has two functions:

First,  to differentiate your game from the countless other titles that saturate the media and social networks. Nothing is more attractive than the promise of a new experience. This is how a USP works: It promises players new sensations, it stimulates their curiosity, it offers them unknown challenges.

The second function of the USP is to become the pillar of the communication strategy that will be implemented during the marketing campaign. A basic rule in communication is to develop a strong, distinctive, and simple “message” concerning the product you wish to communicate about. “Strong” means talking about something likely to generate a lot of curiosity. “Distinctive” means that the product must not be confused with any other. Finally, “simple,” tells us that the message must be understandable through an image, a title, or a slogan.

It becomes clearer why game designers are concerned with marketing from the concept phase: They must design it around a real USP.

So what advice can we give for finding a good USP?

The answer varies depending on the studio’s profile: Is it a small indie studio or a large structure developing a game around an IP?

In the case of the indie studio, here are the best practices:

In 2015, Timecode studio decided to develop a Match-3 mobile game to ride on the global success of this genre. But the market was crowded with many Candy Crush clones. The designers then had the idea of differentiating the game by offering traditional match-3 gameplay but in a completely different format: Players had to align three objects, no longer on a grid, but by rotating two circles.

The result was stunning. It had exactly the same gameplay as traditional match-3 but in a completely new graphic style. The graphic differentiation was accentuated by the simplicity of shapes and colors, which was very far from the garish style of many match-3 games. The game stood out visually from its competitors, which was the USP that Timecode was looking for.

My recommendations are different in the case of a large structure developing a game around an IP.

Indeed, the IP itself is often the USP, but the latter is perhaps not enough to make the game exciting: The IP will attract the attention of players and the media, but if the gaming experience appears to be too classic, you will then have to innovate.

As creative director, I was confronted with these issues while contributing to Wanted – Weapons Of Fate.

Published by Universal, the producer of the eponymous film, Wanted – Weapons of Fate was to be released alongside the feature film; deadlines were particularly tight. We therefore took little risk on the core gameplay based on third-person shooter mechanics. But to bring a touch of novelty and stick to the franchise’s specificities, we added a complementary curved shot mechanic. It provides a challenge, is very rewarding to use, and fits the film perfectly.

However, it is not central to the gameplay and is not essential to confronting enemies. If this mechanic had proven too complicated to develop, we could have easily “removed it” from the game.

To be continued …

In the next part of this publication, I will discuss two other aspects of marketing that game designers must consider.

Link to part 1

Link to part 2

Pascal Luban

Game designer & creative director, freelance

28+ years of experience serving game developers and publishers

www.gamedesignstudio.com

Shapez 2 will launch in Early Access on August 15th, bringing the relaxing, shape-cutting factory builder into 3D.

In a new post, its lead developer has laid out what to expect from Early Access. In the main: a polished, 40 hours-or-so experience with no known major issues, and a post-release roadmap waiting to be defined by player feedback.

“We’ve spent a lot of time polishing the game already and are really happy how it turned out. We believe it’s in a great state and is meant to be played,” says the post. “With 4 game modes, there’s plenty of content to be explored. There should be at least 40 hours of content but it’s easy to get over a hundred hours or more, as our playtesters have proven already.”

Tobspr Games – which has grown to eight people, rather than the mostly solo project of the original – has been working with patrons and the series’ Discord community since development began. In that time they’ve run regular playtests, but also canvassed their players as to what features are most important to them, which proposed art style they prefer, and more. That relationship will continue into Early Access.

“I don’t like launching with a roadmap immediately, especially not for early access. If the roadmap is already predetermined, what impact do players actually have?”

There’s also no pre-decided amount of time that Shapez 2 will spend in Early Access, because “it could be years in theory” and depends on how well it sells.

“Our dream goal would be to keep updating the game for many years while it finances the development. However, as the game industry is unpredictable, we don’t want to promise something we can’t keep.”

One of the central ambitions of Shapez 2 was to improve performance over the original, according to the post.

“Performance was a frequent complaint [in Shapez 1], but there was nothing left to optimize. Shapez 1 is written in JavaScript, so it’s literally just a website. There is no support for efficient rendering, memory management or proper multithreading and the language itself is at least a magnitude slower than C++ or C#.”

Shapez 1 would begin to lag for players “starting at around 5,000 – 10,000 buildings”. By comparison, in Shapez 2 “everything should currently run very smooth until 100,000 buildings, pretty smooth until 250,000 buildings and depending on your setup somewhat smooth with 500,000 buildings (30 fps on a higher end setup).”

There’s no hard limit on how many buildings players can create, and in testing some players have constructed factories with “1.25 million buildings and above”, but experienced “significant lag.”

I played Shapez 1 for the first time last week, for a fun few hours. It’s a factory builder in which resources are unlimited, buildings are free, and there’s no threat or time pressure. That makes it pretty perfect for pairing with some dumb-as-rocks episodes of Criminal Minds on a second screen. My few hours with it were enough to make me certain that I wanted to try Shapez 2 when it launches next week.

Submissions for the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant 2024 are officially open, and that’s good news for puzzle game developers from underrepresented backgrounds.

Successful applicants will receive a grant worth $15,000 to support production on a ‘thinky’ puzzle title currently in active development. Applicants must have a playable prototype and should ideally be an “early-career or under-the-radar developer” who is part of an underrepresented group within the games industry.

“These grants are intended to support creators who are under-invested-in within today’s game industry or who do not receive much support from the existing structures,” explains the Draknek website. There are no geographical restrictions to applicants.

Draknek defines a puzzle game as any title that is “primarily about thinking/logical reasoning–and not primarily challenging due to execution/timing elements.”

“Puzzle games cover a wide range of subgenres, e.g. Patrick’s Parabox, ElecHead, Myst, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Opus Magnum are five games with very different gameplay, which would all be considered relevant,” it adds. “However, while Tetris is a phenomenal game, it is not an example of what we’re looking for due to its reliance on reaction speed. If in doubt, please apply.”

Developers who have already secured the backing of a publisher or are fully funded might not meet eligibility requirements, but those who have so far only received a microgrant or incubator support will likely clear that bar. The studio will hand out six grants and explained the money can be spent on “anything.”

“From development tools to rent, the grant money is intended to help people interested in creating puzzle games in whatever way makes sense for the individual,” it added. The grant will also provide mentorship opportunities, but won’t burden recipients with specific deadlines or milestones.

“We want you to feel involved in the cohort and the community, and you’ll be invited to present your progress at the end of the year. The key is your satisfaction and growth, not rigid timelines or predefined goals,” added Draknek.

“If you don’t finish your game by the end of the grant period, it’s not a problem. We understand that creative projects can take unexpected turns. We don’t want you to feel pressured to continue with something that no longer inspires you or makes sense for your development.”

Click here to learn more about the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant, including how to apply. The deadline for applications is 23:59 PST on October 7, 2024.

A new studio by the name of Chamo Games has formed over in Sweden. Founded by ex-IO Interactive COO Zoher Toutanji and Plarium creative director Roberto Schiavulli, the team is spread out remotely across Europe, Brazil, Canada, and North and South Korea.

Financially, Chamo has backing from major firms such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Sisu Ventures, and Lakestar.

In addition to its founders, fellow staff include CTO David Lind, executive producer Stephanie Pecaoco, designer Bastian Wendzinski, and art director Sylvia Dybiec. The former three worked at Massive Entertainment, and Dybiec at Crytek and Square Enix.

The studio is already at work on its first project, a “non-lethal” first-person shooter. Its overall mission statement is to make games that focus on fostering a “supportive and positive environment” for developers and players alike.

Schiavulli further underlined this in the press release, affirming the team would “make games that prioritize player enjoyment and team well-being.”

Currently, Chamo Games is not hiring for specific roles, but encouraged interested parties to apply.

The weekend bears down on us like a host of hissing, barrel-throwing psychics, but there is yet time for some brief updates on Remedy’s Control 2, which Remedy say is coming along nicely. The same is apparently true of the multiplayer Control spin-off Project Condor and the Max Payne 1 & 2 remakes, on which Remedy are collaborating with GTA and Max Payne 3 developers Rockstar.

As passed on by VGC, Remedy reveal in their latest financial report that Control 2 has “progressed to the production readiness stage”, following the delivery of “a build of the game showcasing several important features in playable form”. They’re now “scaling up” for full production. Teaser trailer with target visuals anytime, Remedy. I have yet to hear a telekinesis sound effect as gratifying as the one in Control.

The Max Payne 1 & 2 Remake, meanwhile, has “progressed from production readiness to the full production stage”. According to Remedy, the development team is currently working towards a version of the game that is playable from beginning to end. As for Condor – in which you seemingly join a scrappy group of federal agents, marooned within the Oldest House – “the development team has worked on multiple maps and different mission types, and we have organized a growing amount of internal and limited external playtesting for feature validation and feedback.”

In February this year, Remedy acquired the rights to the Control franchise from 505 Games, giving them sovereign say over how and when Control games get published. Remedy also cancelled a Tencent collaboration codenamed Kestrel in May, freeing up resources and people for their existing franchises.

Since then, the latest financial release explains, they’ve been “weighing self-publishing and related business models, as well as discussing different partner publishing opportunities” for both Control and the Alan Wake series. We can apparently expect to hear more “towards the end of the year”. Here’s my pitch for the future of Control: make a spin-off series based on CTRL+ keyboard shortcuts. CTRL+F could be a detective simulation, for example, while CTRL+O could be an open worlder, and CTRL-Alt-Delete is a special minigame I play with Alan Wake 2 as and when the raytracing gives my PC a seizure.

Sometimes I want to play a video game, and sometimes I just want to assemble a quiet little Dutch town with iron bridges, fountains and dinky trams bustling about like bumble bees. The project in question is Tramstertram. Aside from being a terrifying feat of punmanship, it’s a browser-based building toy from Matt Stark, creator of the really rather lovely Viewfinder.

Released a few hours ago, Tramstertram gives you a rotatable 3D scene with a choice of tiles to plonk down – townhouses, streets, tram rails, and parkland, all of which coalesce into larger structures when you slot them together. It’s a homage to Townscaper, but not nearly as elaborate, just a small gift left on a digital windowsill for any passerby who, for whatever reason, might need to lose a few minutes enjoying the sight of a tramcar sparking and trundling along a row of trees.

Tramstertram comes with a small selection of prefabricated towns, including a fourth map that gives away the alchemy behind the tile combinations, and the ability to copy-and-paste a world code to share your creation. If you’re not so keen on trams, Stark has extensive prior for this kind of thing. He’s made similar building toys involving treehouses, fishtanks, and mining carts.

Nice note to end the week on, I think? If you need a bit more meat on these bones, keep an eye out for the “whimsigoth” cottage builder Tiny Glade, due for release this year – Kiera loved it.

I’m only a few hours into Carrotcake’s cozy forest exploration/gardening sim, The Garden Path, but I’m already impressed. I have whatever gene it is that makes games of this nature connect on a deep synaptic level: on my Switch alone I’ve played well over 2500 hours of the original Cozy Grove (itself a sort of “Animal Crossing with crafting and more story”), and close to that in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There’s something deeply appealing about this style of game for me as a sort of warm-up to my day (and nice place to check in on and chill out with during the work day), and thus far, The Garden Path is scratching that itch well.

It’s much more Cozy Grove than anything else in cozy sim territory, but with a fairly different tone and much more emphasis on gardening vs. other kinds of crafting. We have the requisite chill questing on behalf of cute characters, lots of checking up on plant life, foraging, fishing (though there is a different minigame afoot for actually catching them) and here, the gardening. But there’s one particularly wonderful design decision that caught my eye the second I encountered it: the way the game rewards your progress. Instead of a cute journal or notebook like the aforementioned games, your achievements are marked by stars in the sky.

The Garden Path to the stars

The first time I brewed a cup of tea at a forest firepit (itself an adorable system that has gameplay value), the camera turned up towards the sky and showed me my first star, awarded for making that first cuppa. Stars are linked in constellations, lending cottagecore vibes that fit well with the game’s aesthetic and evoking the best part of camping or spending time outdoors on a summer night: looking up at the cosmos. Other games of its ilk have hinted at the universe above: sky reflections and star fragments, objects with astronomical flair, and so on. But I do very much want to look up and star gaze when I’m in these peaceful worlds, and this gives me the chance to do just that.

It also evokes a certain brilliant and perhaps forgotten aspect of Super Mario 64, where earning a star (in a less literal sense) came with a sometimes-vague hint about how to grab another one (or a few others, depending on how you go about the game). The Garden Path uses the system to hint at other star achievements, in a way that feels satisfying and even a tiny bit mysterious, like a lightly signposted adventure game puzzle. It’s charming, it’s effective, and it keeps me invested in this game’s beautiful world.

Time will tell if The Garden Path will worm its way into my heart with quite the same intensity as Cozy Grove. But as I write this, I feel the itch to go check in on my garden—and on the stars above it.

Everyone loved Half-Life yet no one in 1998 was brave enough to say: “Okay, but what if this was an early access crafting survival game voiced by a bunch of New Zealanders?” Those 90s cowards. Abiotic Factor is the courageous game that has been correcting this historic oversight. It’s fun, and the fun just got funnerer. The “Crush Depth” update, released yesterday, adds a heap of new areas to the game’s messed-up scientific facility, including a dangerous Security Sector and a vast reservoir zone called the Hydroplant. On top of that there are new weapons, tools, workbenches, drivable vehicles, fishing rods, and quite a bit more. It’s all shown off in the trailer below.

Watch on YouTube

That was very dramatic for a crafting sim with a pooing minigame. But still, it nicely shows off the new places you can explore, plus a skipload of smaller features. The jetpack will let you reach awkward heights. A fishing rod lets you fish not only in water but also, it seems, in the toxic sludge that appears in some parts of the facility. The laser katana will cut off zombie heads at a considerable distance (see the other video linked below). And the SUV will let you drive around underground car parks and presumably run over your friends “by accident”. Good. Good. These are all very useful objects, scientifically speaking.

The way temperature works in the game has also been overhauled so that the effects of hot and cold environments on your delicate boffin’s bod are now clearer (a frosty effect at the edge of the screen and suchlike). Alongside that there are new ways to deal with the most extreme temperatures, such as slurping coffee to warm up or eating ice cream to cool off. And on a side note, there’s a new deployable item called the Moisture Teleporter, which basically creates water from thin air. Very handy, considering that up until now I’ve been watering all my tomato plants by walking around the offices looking for untapped water coolers.

There are a lot of other tweaks. The game previously added some hideous “weather” types in another recent update – sinister fog, sickening spores, and radiation leaks. But the fog turned out to be “too foggy” and has now been “reduced in intensity, just a bit”. The developers also spent some time optimising performance in some of the wonkier areas. “We tore apart some of the Sectors and put them back together in a way that allows smaller chunks of the areas to load,” say Deep Field Games in the update post. “We can’t promise we fixed all of the optimization issues some scientists have experienced, but we can guarantee one thing: we gave it a pretty good shot!”

So yeah, those are the highlights. The game’s community manager has edited together a helpful and enthusiastic video covering the most significant changes and additions. For people who hate to hear a human voice that is not the screaming one inside their own head, there’s also the full patch notes on Steam.

For me the update has perfect timing. I’ve been (slowly) playing the retro-styled science ’em up with some buds, and we have a playdate set for this week. Of all the best survival games I’ve tried in recent years, Abiotic Factor has the most heart. It knows how ridiculous it is to craft usable weaponry from duct tape and metal scraps, fully leaning into the absurdism of its own genre. Maybe my friends and I will get further than the opening sectors this time. I’m sick of that annoying security mech in the lobby. Just who does it think it is? Bloody robots.