Ok, so it isn’t really week 11. I thought, however, that I need to get back to the weekly postings. The past few months have been exceptionally busy with my work, and unfortunately the thing that got cut out in the long weeks were my extra projects, like my coding. The good news is that while my coding in iOS has gone down, my experience with software development has gone up!
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m working on discovering what it takes to launch a social game on the scale of FarmVille or Tap Zoo. I’m completely unfamiliar with the games and their mechanics, but I have an idea for a social game similar to these based on both my current work environment, and one of my favourite games from when I was younger.
I found a few interesting links about the history of development of FarmVille, including one at Graphics.com saying the development team was 10 people, but a budget of $40 million dollars. Using this as a reference, I could never afford it, but there’s an escapist article describing the process as a much quicker and leaner development. Given the history of FarmVille, I guess it is possible this was the first iteration, instead of the full launch.
Setting my sights on FarmVille may be a tad too high, and there are some similar games that may be a better case study.
For example, Zombie Farm was developed in 5 months by one guy, doing everything. I’ll never do that because I have neither the technical nor artistic abilities. Plus, I’d like to develop a team of either developers or contractors I can go to in the future. Finding the appropriate funding will take some time.
Until I find out more about everything, it’ll be hard to estimate what I need to have in place. Until then, I’ll just work on the design doc, i guess.
Update: Found the GDC chat by Zynga at Slideshare that mentions 6 developers, 2 artists, and 3 producers/designers. Hm.
Resistance 2 continues mankind’s desperate attempt to defend the United States from an alien invasion. Sound familiar? That’s because it is.
Grab your chainsaw gun and get ready for fun because Gears of War 2 is bringing another ten shit tons of locust killing action into your living room.
For anyone suffering from symptoms of medical drama withdrawal, a trip to the digital O.R. is needed in the latest addition of the medical franchise, Trauma Center: New Blood.
The greatest success of Assassin’s Creed isn’t its intricately detailed world, or its amazingly agile hero or its intense chases. No, its greatest success is creating a game where even the most mundane missions are always different, and always exciting.
Pokemon meets Tim Burton in the supernatural action role-playing game Folklore for PS3.
Even without the game’s promise of cake at the end, the Orange box is one of the most satisfying first-person shooter experiences period. From single player to online, from horror to comedy, there’s something in the box to satisfy any shooter fan’s taste. Continue reading
The game that sold an estimated 30 million copies when it was released for the original Gameboy is back on the DS. Now, twenty years later and half-a-dozen new modes more, Tetris is the best puzzle game on the market.
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Remember the scene in Jurassic Park, when Dr. Grant peers through the glass of his vehicle, in the pouring rain, as the king of the dinosaurs, the tyrannosaur rex, steps through the electrified fence, closing a 65 million year gap between one of the world’s largest predators in history and modern day man? This scene of terror is not what Operation Genesis is about, at least not ostensibly.
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