This presentation was given September 6, 2011 at CEDEC, the game developer conference in Tokyo, Japan. It details game engine and middleware use in the West as per several game technology surveys I conducted, in 2009 and 2011.
2. Summary
• The U.S. game market
• Game engines
• Licensed middleware
• Future directions
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
3. Game technology surveys
• Data from 2009 and 2011 game technology leader surveys
– “Traditional” game developers
• Platforms they are working on:
PS3 75.7%
X360 73.9%
PC 66.1%
Wii 20.0%
Mac 14.8%
3DS 10.4%
Vita 7.0%
NDS 7.0%
PSP 6.1%
Linux 3.5%
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
4. Sectors
• Traditional
– Consoles and handhelds
– Sometimes called “Core” or “AAA”
• Mobile
– Smartphones and tablets
• Social
– Largely Facebook
– Sometimes called “casual”
• MMO & F2P
– World of Warcraft
– League of Legends
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
5. The U.S. game market
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
6. Game sales vs. economy
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000 U.S. GDP $B
6000 U.S. SW Sales $M
4000
2000
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Source: NPD Group
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
7. The rise of digital
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000 U.S. GDP $B
6000 U.S. SW +Digital $M
4000
2000
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
2009: 20% 2010: 24%
Source: NPD Group
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
8. The rise of social
• Social/casual games not hugely popular pre-
Facebook
– Facebook platform launches May 2007
– Free games with micropayments
Source: appdata.com
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
9. The rise of mobile
• iPhone sparks mobile app revolution
– App Store launches July 2008
– 99c and freemium/micropayment models
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
2008-08
2009-04
2009-12
2010-08
2011-04
2008-06
2008-10
2008-12
2009-02
2009-06
2009-08
2009-10
2010-02
2010-04
2010-06
2010-10
2010-12
2011-02
2011-06
2011-08
Source: 148apps.biz
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
10. On MMOs
• Or, World of Warcraft
• Unsuccessful MMOs go F2P
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
11. On indy
• Independent game development
– Small teams, self-funded, self-published
• Sep 2003 – Valve’s Steam launches
• Dec 2006 – Xbox Live Indie Games (XNA)
– PSN, WiiWare, DSiWare
• Direct download (Minecraft)
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
12. Business models & distribution
• Traditional: Console/PC and Handheld
• Mobile: Smartphones and tablets
• Social: Facebook
• MMO & F2P
• Indy
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
14. Democratization...?
• Since my talk at CoFesta 2007...
• Games are more available
• Games are easier to distribute
• Games are less expensive to play
• Games are on more platforms than ever
• Good news / bad news
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
15. Traditional games cost more
• The rise of F2P and 99c games eats away $60
desire
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
16. Kids love iPhones
• The rise of 99c mobile games impacts
handhelds
• ... And kids games
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
17. Fewer, bigger AAA games
• Each advance in technology increases
development costs
– PS1: $2M - $5M
– PS2: $5M - $12M
– PS3: $10M - $25M
• With each new generation, must sell more
copies per game, or sell for a higher price
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
18. Minimizing risk
• Multi-platform, multi-region titles
• More outsourcing
• Less risk-taking
• License or reuse game engines
• Use more middleware
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
20. Use of licensed engines
• Percent using a licensed game engine on
current project
– Licensed: 58.7%
– Custom: 41.3%
• 2009: 55.0%
Licensed engine Custom engine
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
21. Do we have to?
• Preferred way to build game technology
– Use a suite of middleware: 38%
– Purchase a game engine: 22% (9% in 2009)
6%
22% 38%
MW Suite
Custom
Engine
34% Engine+MW
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
22. Engine market consolidating
• Fewer different engines being used. In 2009...
• High-fidelity
– idTech, Source, Unreal Engine, CryEngine, Digital
Extremes
• Mid-range multi-platform
– Infernal, Trinigy, BlitzTech, Vicious
Engine, Gamebryo
• Casual
– Unity, Torque, ShiVa
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
23. Most used game engines
• In 2011:
Unreal 27.8%
Trinigy 19.6%
Unity 11.4%
CryEngine 8.2%
Gamebryo 6.5%
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
25. Important engine practices
1. Provide source code
2. Live preview on target
3. Access to builds in development
4. Integrate with other middleware
5. Resource management easily overridden
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
27. Most used middleware
1. Autodesk’s Scaleform
2. RAD Game Tools’ Bink
3. Firelight’s FMOD
4. Nvidia’s PhysX
5. Audiokinetic’s Wwise
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
28. The middleware market
User Interface
Scaleform GFx
Video
RAD Game Tools' Bink
CRI Movie
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
29. The middleware market
Artificial Intelligence
Autodesk Kynapse
BabelFlux NavPower
PathEngine
Havok AI
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
30. The middleware market
Physics
Havok Physics
Nvidia PhysX
Bullet
ODE
Audio
Firelight FMOD
Audiokinetic Wwise
RAD Game Tools' Miles
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
31. The middleware market
• Animation
– Face: OC3 FaceFX, Annosoft LipSync
– Body: Havok Animation/Behavior, NaturalMotion
Morpheme, Rad Game Tools’ Granny
3D, Autodesk HumanIK
• Rendering/Lighting
– SpeedTree
– Autodesk Beast
– Geomerics Enlighten
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
32. The middleware market
• Networking
– Demonware, Quazal
– GameSpy
– RakNet
• Scripting
– Havok Script (Lua)
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
33. Niche middleware
• Networking: RakNet
• Occlusion culling: Umbra
• Global illumination: Geomerics Enlighten
• Special effects: FxStudio
• Particle systems: Fork Particle
• LOD Generator: Simplygon
• Patcher/launcher: Solid State Networks
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
34. 3D Art Tools
Maya 71.7%
Zbrush 54.3%
3dsmax 45.7%
Mudbox 23.9%
Blender 13.0%
SketchUp 10.9%
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
36. Language for tools
C# 71.7%
C++ 69.6%
Python 32.6%
Lua 10.9%
PHP 8.7%
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
37. Script languages
• 44.7% use Lua (51.3% in 2009)
• 31.9% use a visual script language
• 50% rated "live preview of scripting" a 5, or
most important
• “It’s a shame that almost no engine in the industry fully supports this yet.
Fast iteration time is the most important factor for any kind of tool
development we do in-house.”
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
38. Continuous integration
• Jenkins, CruiseControl, etc
• Casual: 12.4% use
32.6%
Use
67.4% No use
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
40. ON INDY GAME DEVELOPMENT
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
41. The impact of indy
• Increase in open source technologies
• Innovation in ease of use tools
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
42. Open source tech
4.3%
6.4%
17.0%
Tools & libraries
Tools only
72.3% None
Libraries only
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
43. Open source
• Engines: OGRE, Irrlicht
• Scripting: Lua, Python
• Audio/video tools: Audacity, Virtual Dub
• Libraries: Boost, zlib, SDL
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
44. Ease of use
• Engines: Unity, Torque, ShiVa, GameSalad
• Art tools: SketchUp, Blender, Gimp, Sculptris
• Services: Xtranormal, Mixamo, Evolver
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
45. FUTURE OF GAME TECH
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
46. U.S. games market future
• 24/7 services
• Digital distribution
• Free to play
• Social/mobile convergence
• Push/pull to social
• What is the future of console and handheld?
– Console versus cloud
– Dedicated handheld versus smartphone
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
47. Consolidation and divergence
• Technology channels
– Havok
– Autodesk
– Epic Unreal Engine 3
– Crytek CryEngine 3
– Unity 3D
• Rise of small middleware
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
48. In Mobile
• AAA engines moving down-market
• Increased power of tablets bringing
middleware
• Social/mobile crossover
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
49. In Social
• Flash Stage 3D (Molehill)
• HTML5 / JavaScript / WebGL
• Native Client
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
50. Conclusion
• Lots of tech available: licensed or free
• Waves of development and then consolidation
into larger players
• It’s a great time to be a game developer – if
you can decide what platform to develop for!
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
51. Thank you!
• Mark DeLoura, mdeloura@satori.org
– Twitter @markdeloura
Mark DeLoura September 6, 2011 – CEDEC 2011
Notas del editor
In this talk I'll give you an idea of the state of the U.S. game market, the important game engines and technologies used and current middleware trends
Here is what we’re going to coverGive you insight into the state of the US games marketThe goal of the talk is to give you data so you can make decisions betterAnd perhaps introduce you to a few tools you haven’t seen before that you might use in your own development
2009 survey 1:1 traditional/casual2011 survey 1:3 traditional/casualThe information I pulled for this presentation is all for “traditional” developers
A chart here would be good – eating away at the traditional market
PS3/Xbox360/PC AAA title, North America + Europe (EFIGS)Development: $20MMarketing: $10MTitle MSRP $50, to retailers at $35Platform manufacturing and royalty: $10= $25/unit to publisher$30M outlay, $25/unit requires 1.2M unit sell-through
Console: Consolidation of primary middleware, slow boutique growth (lighting, occlusion, navmesh, LOD, etc) $$ here support all sorts of thingsEvolution of middleware market in generalDCC tools: Moving to higher-level toolsScriptingTools languageCross-plat, Multi-plat etc
Mobile: Massive 3D coming, engines gaining popularity, lots of monetization and viral middleware continues to grow. $ here encourage open source use and royalty-based models for engines.
Social: Early days, transitioning to 3D, Molehill, WebGL. $ here ... do what? Merging in with mobile