1 of 41 The Future of Indie Games By: Bret Wardle August 20 th , 2006
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The Future of Indie Games
By: Bret Wardle
August 20th, 2006
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Table Of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………… 3
Overview……………………………………………………………. 3
Delimitations………………………………………………………… 3
Definition of Terms…………………………………………………. 4
Abbreviations…………………………………………….…………. 5
Assumptions…………………………………………...……………. 5
The Purpose Statement………………………………………...……. 6
Hypothesis………………………………………………….………. 6
Literature Review…………………………………………………………. 7
Methodology……………………………………………………….………. 11
Overview……………………………………………………………. 11
Instruments…………………………………………….……………. 11
Subject Population…………………………………….……………. 12
Data Collection………………………………………………..……. 12
Results………………………………………………………………………. 13
Overview……………………………………………………………. 13
Conclusion…………………………………………….……………. 15
References…………………………………………………………..………. 17
Appendix……………………………………………………………………. 19
Sample Survey………………………………………………………. 19
Detailed Survey Results…………………………………………..…. 23
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Introduction
Overview
Ten to fifteen years ago the independent film industry was a newly experienced medium
for most people. Over a span of about eight years that industry became a major contributor to the
film market share. With lower production costs, and equal quality this drove some of the major
movie distributors under. I intend to predict the independent game industries future. Will the
lower cost of these games drive some lesser distributors out of the market? Will the quality of
these games rise to the level of their big money predecessors? All of these questions are
important to anyone involved in the industry. It is a major determinant of job security, job
openings, and industry pay. For anyone looking to get into the industry, and major companies
alike this study could shed some light on where the exploding game scene is headed.
Delimitations:
- This study will not be focused on any specific genre of games.
- This study will focus on the next five years of development for this industry
- This study will attempt to predict the industry in terms of market share, not player
satisfaction or any other subjective categories.
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Definition of Terms:
Future: For the scope of this study the researcher is considering the future of the industry
as a five-year period, the calendar years from 2006 through 2011.
Video Games: This is considered any platform of game played with a video feedback to
the consumer. It includes PC games, Console Games, Internet Based games, and any type of
virtual reality games.
Independent: when used in reference to the industry this means a developer that produces
games without a major publisher behind them. The developer serves as the designer, publisher,
and distributor of the game. Will, in some cases, also be referred to as “Indie”
Wii: A seventh generation video game console made by Nintendo. Intended for release in
the Fall of 2006.
Xbox Live Arcade: A feature of Xbox 360 Live in which users can pay to download
casual arcade style games and play them live with users from around the world. This platform is
regulated by Microsoft but upon approval is open to independent developers.
Core Gamer: short for hardcore gamer this term is used to describe a type of video game
player whose leisure time is largely devoted to playing video games. Generally prefers the
longer, more complicated titles.
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Casual Gamer: A video game player that focuses his/her attention to simple games. Plays
a game more as a way to pass time than a mission to complete.
Abbreviations:
IGF: Abbreviation for Independent Games Festival
FPS: Abbreviation for First Person Shooter (game genre)
RPG: Abbreviation for Role Playing Game
NES: Nintendo Entertainment System
SNES: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
PS3: Playstation 3
PDA: Personal Digital Assistant
XLA: Xbox Live Arcade
Assumptions:
The first assumption is that the game industry in whole will continue to grow on par with
the five years previous to the study, and not suffer a “crash” as was the case in the past.
The second assumption is that technology behind the game industry will not drastically
change in the next five years, and will keep its current rate of advancement.
The third assumption is that the production cost for independent games will remain the
same in comparison to published games for the period being evaluated.
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The Purpose Statement
The purpose of this research is to predict where the emerging independent video game
industry heading in the next five years. I will be using a quantitative research design for my
study. Specifically I will be using a survey research design. I intend to use a simple survey that I
have created surrounding some of the topics I have found relevant to this subject. It is intended
for casual and core video game players alike. The survey questions are based off of some of the
ideas I have found from articles and interviews I have read. The questions are intended to
evaluate the style of play that a gamer uses. The purpose of this is to determine the amount of
time and money is spent on gaming, as well as what types of habits these gamers have. Are these
players spending money on systems or games? Are they playing free games or published games?
Overall the purpose of this study is to attempt to track the habits of video game players,
and with that information predict whether the indie video game industry will become a major
contributor to the overall video game market share over the next five years. This will be useful to
anyone working in the industry, and can help give an insight as to where a fast moving
technology driven industry will be headed.
Hypothesis
My hypothesis is that the data found will show strong signs of the industry becoming a
major contributor to market share in the video game industry. With the gaming industry already
becoming huge (surpassed the film industry in total revenue for the first time ever in 2005) I feel
that independent developers will have more opportunity than ever to get a great release of a
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game. I also believe that with the many independent game festivals and competitions out there,
little known developers will be able to break into the semi-mainstream of gaming and be able to
fund future projects.
Literature Review
Indie games are defined by Wikipedia as a game of any sort that is created independently
of the financial backing of a publisher (Indie, 7). Most of the games you and I have heard of are
not this type of game. Generally big publishing dollars account for the familiarity of a title. This
is due to the fact that advertising is meant to create a buzz around a title or character. Indie
games are strongly linked to casual games (Indie, 7). They are also generally distributed via
shareware or freeware versioning. Are the trends in current video game habits leading away from
this fact? Could the indie game scene be making a shift towards the more mainstream, and in
turn higher revenue, distribution channels? According to my reading there are four distinct areas
that will drive the indie gaming scene over the next five years. These are: Seventh generation
consoles advancing in technology, an increase in market share for the casual game industry, the
availability of legitimate game engines and technology, and the progression of independent
gaming festivals.
At the current time there are 3 seventh generation video game consoles in the works. The
Microsoft Xbox 360 is the only console that has been released to the public at the time of this
publication. The Nintendo Wii has a tentative release date of Fall 2006, and the Sony Playstation
3 has a tentative date of Spring 2007. There is much to be found in regards to these systems via
the Internet, but due to the fact that the Xbox 360 is the only one available we will focus on it.
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The major technology behind this system as far as the indie gaming scene goes is the Xbox Live
Arcade. This feature allows a user to download and play games of many types on their system.
The games on XLA are generally old classics that have been redesigned for a new audience. This
kind of game is far less expensive to make due to its simplicity, and “tried and true” likeability.
For these reasons it lends itself perfectly to the independent game developer. Arthur Humphrey,
in an interview with Joel Brodie is quoted as saying: “As Xbox Live Arcade continues to blur the
lines between casual and core games, we also wonder if indie master pieces such as Darwinia
will start to cross over” (Brodie, 1). This idea that core and casual games are becoming closer
and closer is potentially huge for the indie game market. Core gamers account for a much higher
market share than casual gamers, due mostly to the time dedicated to playing video games. Any
sign that core gamers are starting to pay for and enjoy casual style games is a big indicator of
what might be to come. Another technology that is being talked about surrounding this console is
Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio Express. In a Gamasutra.com article Frank Cifaldi mentions the
following:
“The most infamous new development, of course, was Microsoft's
announcement of user-created Xbox 360 game content, via the GarageGames-
developed XNA Game Studio Express. XNA Game Studio Express will
"democratize game development" by allowing users of all caliber and experience
to create original game content using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, along
with managed C# code. Games can be created and shared for free on the
Windows platform, though content sharing and downloading on the Xbox 360
console – according to Microsoft’s online FAQ - may only occur if all users
involved are part of Microsoft's "creator's club," which requires a $99 annual
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membership fee.” (Cifaldi, 5)
This technology would allow users, for only $99 a year, to publish their homemade games via
the Xbox 360 to the world. In theory this could make it possible for independent developers to
not only cover the costs of development but most likely turn a profit as well.
Over the past few years’ casual games have been made increasingly popular. This is due
in large part to the success of many game portals. A game portal is a website that hosts casual
games. Some of the most popular portals include: Big Fish Games, EA’s Pogo, Gamehouse,
GameXtazy, Gamezone, Playfirst, Real Arcade, Shockwave, TryGames, and Yahoo Games
(Hietalahti, 6). These portals have made it easy for a developer to publish his game to a well-
known site. In return you will usually just pay a royalty to the hosting site for each registered
version. Another reason for an influx in well-known casual games is the Causal Games
Association, or CGA. Jessica Tams created this organization, and when asked about its purpose
responded, “Our purpose is to bring together developers, publishers, and distributors in order to
achieve our common goal of growing the global casual games market” (Brodie, 2). By growing
this market they are expanding a channel for independent developers to flourish. One
demographic that has gone fairly unnoticed until recently is women. According to Tams, “If
you’re a casual game developer or publisher, you should be very interested in a woman’s
perspective because so many of your users are women” (Brodie, 2). This demographic is creating
revenue that was previously unaccounted for due to the overwhelming number of male gamers.
The technology behind independent games is far less complicated than their published
counterparts. This is due mostly to the fact that the cost of making these games has to be
significantly lower than a published game. One technology that is making it easy for independent
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developers to get their hand on a simple yet effective toolset is the Torque Game Engine. This
engine is built from the ground up and allows the user to create any style, genre, or complexity of
game. According to wikipedia.org a user can obtain a copy of this game engine for only $100, if
the user is not employed by a game company with an annual revenue greater than $250,000
(Torque, 10). This is an unbelievable difference from the cost of the Unreal Engine 2, which has
a licensing rate of $350,000 for the engine alone (Torque, 10). These costs can be a huge barrier
to entry for the independent developer. The lower they go the stronger you have to assume the
industry will get. With these costs lowering each year many game enthusiasts are learning to
create games in their basements as a side project. Take for instance Peter Stock, the
designer/developer for the independent game Armadillo Run. These types of projects are small
scale and very low budget. According to Peter, “If the project totally failed, pretty much the only
loss would have been my time. While this attitude might be counterproductive for established
studios, I think it is pretty sensible for small-time chaps like me” (Stock, 8).
The early days of independent gaming was limited to the campuses of high-tech colleges
like MIT and Berkeley, or to the basement programmer who would distribute his new game to
friends in a Ziploc bag (Brown, 3). Now we have the Internet, and with that the possibility of
distributing a project across the world in just the click of a mouse. With this technology a natural
progression was formed. Much in the same way that the Sundance Film Festival was formed for
independent films, the Independent Games Festival was formed in 1999 for video games. It was
intended as a way for unknowns to get some attention, and an attempt to fix some of the “same-
old, same-old” feeling among game enthusiasts (Brown, 3). This and other festivals have given
the independent developers a platform to compete on without being bullied around by their big
money counterparts. And due to this fact there are games coming out of these contests with
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enough steam to make their presence known. One company that has had the honor of winning an
IGF award was Techland. They won the Best Visual Arts award for their game Crime Cities. In
response to that award one member of the crime cities team said, “[we] have created a game that
won a peer voted prize… It is one of the major prizes available in the industry, not influenced by
advertising, sales figures, brands, PR agencies, politics, or anything else” (Brown, 3). The
significance of these festivals and award contests is the idea of building a name for your
development team. If you have taken home one of these awards you are more likely to have a
low level sponsor, or return buyers in the future. These kinds of awards have lead to the demand
for sequels, which are a form of guaranteed revenue.
Methodology
Overview
The research method used was a quantitative study. A survey research design best fit this
research problem. After reviewing literature I developed a survey that included questions to
develop ideas about video game player habits. The focuses were time, money, and overall
interest spent in this industry.
Instruments
The instrument used to create the survey used was Survey Gold software. This software
allows you to easily Define survey questions using a familiar Explorer interface instead of
a proprietary editor. You can conduct the same survey online, over-the-phone or in-
person. Questions can be fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice, ranking or pick-list (Survey,
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9). A sample survey can be found in the Appendix of this survey. I used the web-based
survey option. This allowed me to reach the most respondents is the least amount of time.
I also focused on simple sampling to try and gain the most respondents possible, and not
segregate the respondents by ethnicity or salary
Subject Population
The primary sample population in this study consisted of subjects who were directed to a
Web-based survey after viewing a post in a video game discussion forum. The forum sites used
were various discussion threads on the OhMyGamer.com discussion forums, as well as
MySpace.com Video Game “Groups”. The survey was also distributed via word of mouth
throughout the Digital Entertainment and Video Game Design Department of the Salt Lake City
ITT Technical Institute campus. This survey was not demographic specific. There was a “Sex?”
question included to try and determine what percentages of women were playing certain games
as opposed to men. After reading that I had done many industry professionals had hinted on the
idea that women were a quickly growing demographic in the casual game industry. The money
spent on video games in any month was not calculated in a percentage of salary due to the fact
that I am seeking to predict overall market share in revenue, not market share as a percentage of
player’s salary. The population of respondents included people of all ages, genders, races, and
educations. The majority of the respondents were males in the age range of 19-25.
Data Collection
The data collection process occurred over the course of three weeks from July 30, 2006 to
August 19, 2006. The total number of respondents for this time span was 20. The responses were
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entered into the Survey Gold software and evaluated. This software allows you to produce charts
and graphs of the responses, as well as evaluate specific answers against each other. For example
you can evaluate what percentage of respondents claimed they have heard of the Unreal Engine,
as well as the Torque Engine. Detailed results can be found in the Appendix of this report. The
results of this survey were evaluated to determine the playing habits of video gamers in the
present day. Using this information and the opinions of industry professionals regarding the
future of the indie video game scene I will get a gauge for what might be possible for this
industry in the future.
Results
Overview
The results of my survey were analyzed and I found three statistical areas of interest:
Video gamers computer/internet habits, familiarity with video game engines, and game console
type and usage statistics.
100% of my respondents answered that they owned a personal computer, 70% of these
respondents stated that the Internet was the primary use for this computer. With the PC, and
more specifically the Internet being the largest distribution network for indie games this would
seem to make the outlook for these games positive. Only 15% of the respondents said that they
do not play free games over the Internet, and all of those same respondents cited
design/publishing as the primary use for their systems rather than gaming or the Internet. 60% of
those surveyed purchase games to play on their PC, and 85% of those people have heard of the
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term “Indie Games”. These numbers strongly suggest that many gamers, core and casual alike,
are playing and in turn buying independently developed games.
I included two survey questions regarding the familiarity of some fairly popular game
engines. 60% of the respondents have heard of, or used the Torque Game Engine, for a system
that is not bundled with any game that is very high. The Unreal Engine was even higher at 70%.
This is most likely due to the fact that it ships with the updated version of the Unreal:
Tournament 2004 game. This familiarity towards these engines helps to build a community
around the products, as well as a huge documentation base for beginning users. That makes the
learning curve for these particular software packages very small. Which in turn makes the
barriers to entry for the video game design industry shrink. The more independent designers
there are, the more independent games there will be.
The statistics for console and spending habits were particularly interesting to me. 60% of
my respondents said that they spend under $20 a month on gaming. The average cost of a
published game is $40, and the average time to pass a published game is 15 hours. This means a
core gamer has more than a month of down time between games based on their average playtime
according to my survey. 60% of the respondents also claimed to own two or less consoles. With
the monthly expenditures as low as they are and the cost of games as high as they have been I
believe the players are spending a lot of time playing free games. They are also being very
selective about the cost and playability of their systems. Without features like downloadable
game demos, cheaper titles, and great replay value a console will most likely not flourish in the
future.
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Conclusion
After evaluating the numbers established by my survey I feel that my hypothesis has been
validated. Conversion rate is often used as the standard for determining the success of a game in
the casual market (Carroll, 4). This calculation is a percentage of users who purchased a game
after trying a demo. In today’s casual game market a 1% conversion rate is considered a success.
This means that out of every 100 people that play your game if only one of those players pay the
money to own it your team has done an adequate job. I predict the lesser cost of the independent
games alone being able to raise that conversion rate to at least double in the coming years. If
conversion rates were still considered the standard measurement of success, than a 100%
increase would have to be considered a success in the industry. And that is a low end estimate of
increase.
Many of the comments in my survey were about games reaching peaks, and having to go
back to basics as far as what makes them enjoyable. This only adds to the fact that players are
less willing to pay $40 for a game they are done with after only two weeks of play. I tend to
believe a game for $10 that can be played and enjoyed over and over will win out. Even if the
graphics and technology are inferior to the more expensive game I feel that the replay value
alone is enough to push these games above their more expensive counter parts as far as units
sold.
The new mediums in the works right now will only add to these numbers as well. With
Microsoft’s announcement of XNA Game Studio Express people of all skill levels will have a
way to get their games to the public. This will give gamers a choice as to what they want to buy.
Before you were faced with a choice of a published game, or another published game, both
costing a fairly large amount of money. But now you not only have the choice of an independent
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game but you get to try it before you buy it. The availability of the lower end game engines will
also add to this flood of gaming choices. Players will now have a broader choice of which games
to purchase and this will in turn eliminate poorly made games from sub-par publishers.
In conclusion I feel that the independent gaming industry will be able to grow their
market share by about 150-300% in the next five years. These technologies will be the driving
force of the next generation of video games. We saw the rush of the independent film industry a
decade ago and it is now a major competitor in the over all film industry. My findings and
research throughout this problem lead me to believe that the independent game industry will do
the same if not more in its respective industry.
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References
Brodie, Joel. “Interview with Arthur Humphrey: Last Day of Work.” August 2006. Gamezebo.
14 August 2006.
<http://www.gamezebo.com/2006/08/interview_with_arthur_humphrey.html> (1)
Brodie, Joel. “Interview with Jessica Tams.” June 2006. Gamezebo.
14 August 2006.
<http://www.gamezebo.com/2006/06/interview_with_jessica_tams.html> (2)
Brown, Damon. “From Underground to World-Renowned: Following Up on the First Annual
Independent Games Festival Finalists.” October 2000. Gamasutra. 14 August 2006.
<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20001023/brown_01.htm> (3)
Carroll, Russell. “Beyond Conversion Rate: Further Numbers to Improve Casual Game Sales.”
July 2006. Gamasutra. 16 August 2006.
<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060711/carroll_01.shtml> (4)
Cifaldi, Frank. “An Update From Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Vision Camera Technology.” August
2006. Gamasutra. 17 August 2006.
<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060818/cifaldi_01.shtml> (5)
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Hietalahti, Juuso. “The Basic Marketing Plan for Indie Games.” May
2006. Gamasutra. 17 August 2006.
<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060519/juuso_01.shtml> (6)
“Indie Gaming.” August 2006. Wikipedia. 13 August 2006.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_gaming> (7)
Stock, Peter. “Indie Postmortem: Armadillo Run.” June 2006. Gamasutra. 14 August 2006.
<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060619/stock_01.shtml> (8)
“Survey Gold.” August 2006. Survey Gold. 10 August 2006.
<http://www.SurveyGold.com> (9)
“Torque Game Engine.” August 2006. Wikipedia. 13 August 2006.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque_Game_Engine> (10)
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Appendix
Sample Survey
Instructions:
Answer questions as they relate to you. Check the box most applicable to you or fill in the
blanks.
1. Are you familiar with the term "Indie Games"?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
2. How many video game consoles do you own?
[ ] 0
[ ] 1
[ ] 2
[ ] 3+
3. Which of the following consoles do you play most often?
[ ] Xbox
[ ] Xbox 360
[ ] Playstation 2
[ ] Gamecube
[ ] PC/Mac
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4. Do you own a computer?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
5. What is the primary use for your computer?
[ ] Word Processing
[ ] Internet
[ ] Gaming
[ ] Design/Publishing
6. Do you purchase games to play on your computer?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
7. Do you play any simple free games over the Internet?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
8. Are you familiar with the Unreal Engine?
[ ] No
[ ] I have heard of it
[ ] I have used it
9. Are you familiar with the Torque Engine?
[ ] No
[ ] I have heard of it
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[ ] I have used it
10. Are you familiar with the Xbox 360's Live Arcade feature?
[ ] No
[ ] I have heard of it
[ ] I have used it
11. Have you heard of or played any of the following games: Darwinia, King of Dragon
Pass, Seiklus, Perfect Cherry Blossom?
[ ] Haven't heard of any of them
[ ] Have played or heard of one
[ ] Have played or heard of two
[ ] Have played or heard of three
[ ] Have played or heard of them all
12. In your opinion where do you see the video game industry going in the next few years
(revenue, games, breakthroughs, etc.)?
Open Ended Question
13. Sex?
[ ] Male
[ ] Female
14. Age?
[ ] 0-13 Years old
[ ] 14-18 Years old
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[ ] 19-25 Years old
[ ] 26-35 Years old
[ ] 36+ Years Old
15. How many hours a week do you spend playing games?
[ ] 1-3
[ ] 4-7
[ ] 8-10
[ ] 11+
16. How much money a month do you spend on gaming?
[ ] Under $20
[ ] $21 - $50
[ ] $51 - $75
[ ] $76 +
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Detailed Survey Results
The following is a graphical depiction of the responses to each survey question. Additional
comments provided by respondents, if any, are included after each graph.
1. Are you familiar with the term "Indie Games"?
Yes
No60.00% (12)
40.00% (8)
Mean: 1.40
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2. How many video game consoles do you own?
0
1
2
3+
10.00% (2)
35.00% (7)
15.00% (3)
40.00% (8)
Mean: 2.85
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3. Which of the following consoles do you play most often?
Xbox
Xbox 360
Playstation 2
Gamecube
PC/Mac
20.00% (4)
10.00% (2)
20.00% (4)10.00% (2)
40.00% (8)
Mean: 3.40
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4. Do you own a computer?
Yes
100.00% (20)
Mean: 1.00
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5. What is the primary use for your computer?
Internet
Gaming
Design/Publishing70.00% (14)
5.00% (1)
25.00% (5)
Mean: 2.55
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6. Do you purchase games to play on your computer?
Yes
No60.00% (12)
40.00% (8)
Mean: 1.40
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7. Do you play any simple free games over the Internet?
Yes
No
85.00% (17)
15.00% (3)
Mean: 1.15
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8. Are you familiar with the Unreal Engine?
No
I have heard of it
I have used it
30.00% (6)
20.00% (4)
50.00% (10)
Mean: 2.20
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9. Are you familiar with the Torque Engine?
No
I have heard of it
I have used it
40.00% (8)
40.00% (8)
20.00% (4)
Mean: 1.80
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10. Are you familiar with the Xbox 360's Live Arcade feature?
No
I have heard of it
I have used it
50.00% (10)
35.00% (7)
15.00% (3)
Mean: 1.65
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11. Have you heard of or played any of the following games: Darwinia, King
of Dragon Pass, Seiklus, Perfect Cherry Blossom?
Haven't heard of any of t
Have played or heard of
80.00% (16)
20.00% (4)
Mean: 1.20
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12. In your opinion where do you see the video game industry going in the
next few years (revenue, games, breakthroughs, etc.)?
CAUTION: DUE TO THE NATURE OF AN OPEN ENDED QUESTION SOME
LANGUAGE MAY BE CONSIDERED INNAPPROPRIATE.
Becoming more mainstream in pop culture then movies and television (Anonymous)
Better AI powered animation and NPC bots. It may cap as far as finances due to the fact that
most industries start out as many little companies but soon they get taken over by bigger
companies. The Wii may build a more diverse and new genus of games. (Anonymous)
Better graphics, more interactive/larger environments, more games targeted at older users.
(Anonymous)
Four ways: pushing forward with next generation technology (though Wii will allow the greatest
innovations), mobile game technology will hopefully take a leap forward in the U.S., Indie
Games will flourish particularly from the casual game standpoint and many developers will
continue to build games for older systems. (Anonymous)
Games will become more and more complex and I will not be able to play them anymore
(Anonymous)
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I believe the game industry is close to its peak. Only thing I see happing is better graphics. I
think holographic games are as far as they can get. (Anonymous)
I believe that the indie market will blow up in the next few years with Xbox Live Arcade and
with the Wii virtual console. I believe that those games will soon get a larger part of the market
as more and more people play them. (Anonymous)
I really see the Wii changing how consoles are going to be used. (Anonymous)
I see it slowing down because of the wait of PS3 and the Wii. But it will pick back up
afterwards. (Anonymous)
I see revenues skyrocketing... and I also think that the technology behind games will grow
tremendously. (Anonymous)
I think Nintendo is going to do well with their Wii technology. (Anonymous)
I think the video game industry will be a huge part of our lives. It will be everything we eat,
sleep, shit, and breathe! (Anonymous)
I'm sure it will keep on rising in trends and popularity. It seems every year they have a new and
better games system (Anonymous)
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It’s going to dilute itself- unfortunately. The access to game design is so widespread and more
and more people are gaining the knowledge to take on their own endeavors in the industry. There
will be too many "worker ants" producing mediocre games that are going to flood Internet
gaming. Other independent gaming consoles are going to continue to overcharge and try to wow
us. Game systems are going to become advanced on PDA's and such. (Anonymous)
Kickin’ Ass and takin' Names, byte by byte! (Anonymous)
More connectivity to other players. (Anonymous)
More realistic graphics and controls, Darker-feeling games, less cartoon-ish upbeat style.
(Anonymous)
Tails from the Sonic The Hedgehog series will get a solo game and kick the blue bastards ass
(Anonymous)
The mindless automatons at EA with keep poisoning our children with the same Madden 09
bullshit that they have been forcing on me for the last 10 years. While the RPS’s get more and
more devoid of game play. In short, in my opinion; the games that are being created now are
getting better to look at, and less fun to play. I think this is a trend are willing to accept, so long
and we can burn 6 hours a week on a game that really doesn't change (did anyone notice that
halo made the brilliant decision of putting all of there games in a circle so that they could make
every room exactly the same). Editorializing: when I use the term peak, I am referring to fun
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rather than looks. The peak of RPG’s was on SNES, even though some may argue that FF7 on
the PS was better than FF3 or Lufia, I would disagree. The peak of first person shooters was the
N64. Side-scrollers are just too big of a genre to pick a best platform, having said that I pick
SNES because of Super Metroid. (Anonymous)
With the development of the Wii I see a breakthrough into an audience that would have
otherwise not been tapped. With the release of PS3 and the 360 I think the HD industry will see
a surge and be given the opportunity to introduce some products earlier than they would have
otherwise. I.E. 1080p and HDMI etc. (Anonymous)
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13. Sex?
Male
Female
90.00% (18)
10.00% (2)
Mean: 1.10
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14. Age?
14-18 Years old
19-25 Years old
26-35 Years old
36+ Years Old
10.00% (2)
75.00% (15)
10.00% (2)5.00% (1)
Mean: 3.10
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15. How many hours a week do you spend playing games?
1-3
4-7
8-10
11+
40.00% (8)
25.00% (5)
20.00% (4)
15.00% (3)
Mean: 2.10
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16. How much money a month do you spend on gaming?
Under $20
$21 - $50
$51 - $75
$76 + 60.00% (12)25.00% (5)
10.00% (2)5.00% (1)
Mean: 1.60