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Australia To Vote On New R18+ Rating Bill Next Month

John-Shepard 16 Comments

Here in the US, we have the ESRB ratings for video games, which seems to work out fine.

But other areas of the globe are in dire need of an upgrade. Take Australia, for instance, a country that doesn't have a rating above 15 years of age for games. Hence, many titles that would receive the standard "M"-Mature rating here can't get a rating in the Land Down Under, which essentially means they're banned because retailers won't stock unrated products.

Obviously, this implies that games are only for kids and no, this isn't 1985, anymore. So next month, according to a GI.biz report , the Australian government is going to debate and vote upon the possibility of an R18+ rating. Previously, it was believed some cabinet reshuffling had delayed the upcoming discussion but that's not the case. The bill in question will still be decided in the country's first parliamentary session of the year, which is slated for February 7. If the bill passes the lower house, it moves on to face a final decision in the Senate.

To get a pass, the bill requires the support of at least two of five floating crossbench MPs, and it's believed there's enough support to see the bill through to the Senate. After that…one can only hope.

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Square Enix On What To Expect From Next-Gen Graphics

Ben-Dutka 52 Comments

What will the next generation bring in terms of upgraded visuals?

Well, the biggest leap will involve a sense of realism, according to Square Enix worldwide technology director Julien Merceron. He told VideoGamer that we can all expect a "big leap" in the graphics department when the next generation rolls around. Said Merceron:

"I think that we're still going to see a big leap in graphics. In terms of technology I think we'll see developers taking advantage of physically-based rendering, physically-based lighting. I think people will take advantage of global illumination, or at least some form approximation of global illumination, so that could have a significant impact on graphics quality."

This would imply that just about every production will benefit from enhanced technology, but specifically, games that strive for realism and authenticity might blow you away. Merceron believes there's plenty of "room for improvement" and rather than use past video game titles as examples, he opts to use movies:

"There's a lot of room for improvement, and consumers will be able to see that in future graphics innovation techniques. Now, if you take most of the Pixar movies from the last five to six years… do you see a big difference between one that was released five years ago, and one that was released last year? I'm actually not sure we see a huge difference.

But if you take a film like Avatar, there's a huge leap in the graphics techniques that are being used and the level of realism. The conclusion I would draw from that is we might end up seeing the difference way more in realistic-looking games, rather than those trying to achieve a cartoony look. At some point, with all these games [that are] going for a cartoony look, consumers might get the feeling that it's plateauing. But for games striving for a very realistic look, it's going to be easy to see all the improvements, all the time."

Personally, I'd like to speculate further but history holds me back. The bottom line is that we never really know what to expect. All the gamers were blown away when the Nintendo arrived; prior to that, the best we had seen was on systems like the Atari, Intellivision, and Colecovision. Then it just kept happening. At some point, every gamer alive would find themselves saying, "damn, not sure how it could get any better than this." But invariably…it always does. 😉

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Japanese Development Practices Are “Old-Fashioned”

Ben-Dutka 34 Comments

Japanese game developers have recently talked about the West vs. East debate from a design standpoint.

The latest is former Grasshopper Manufacture game director Massimo Guarini, who has recently started up his own studio, Ovosonico. In talking to GameSpot about Shadows of the Damned – which was received well by the critics but suffered mediocre sales – Guarini addressed other subjects of importance.

For instance, when asked about new IPs, Guarini said the launching of brand new titles "will actually be the industry of tomorrow." Despite all the sequels and spin-offs, he maintains that "no market in the world" can survive without a continuous influx of fresh, innovative products. Then he was asked about the differences between Western and Japanese development processes. Guarini replied:

"Based on my experiences, Japanese development tends to be characterized by a creative overwhelming chaos, where productions are often driven by a tyrannical single creative mind and development practices tend to be quite old-fashioned and, at times, extremely inefficient. On the other hand, Western development is generally characterized by an efficient, well organized, risk-averse sort of democracy; actual creativity and strong vision get diluted, if not sometimes completely lost, in endless brainstorming sessions driven mainly by market analysis rather than creators."

At the same time, he does say that both styles are "deeply complementary" and that both have their pluses and minuses. Guarini believes his new studio will be able to take the best aspects from each style and implement them in their projects…and that's something we'd love to see.

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Ubisoft Talks Balance Between Casual And Hardcore

Ben-Dutka 17 Comments

It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round. And if you want to maintain your big business status, you require mainstream appeal.

Hardcore gamers, veteran gamers, and "purist" gamers will bemoan the explosion of the casual market, claiming the new focus on fast, accessible, and oh so painfully stupid has a negative impact on the "real" games they love. However, Ubisoft says that rather than attacking the casual peeps, the hardcore enthusiasts should be thanking the non-gamers for all the extra monies.

Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot spoke to Gamasutra about a specific "balance" between casual and hardcore. While their Assassin's Creed and Tom Clancy franchises rake in the critical acclaim and do indeed sell extremely well, it's the casual hits like Just Dance 2 and Raving Rabbids that help pay the bills. Said Guillemot:

"It's a balance. It's not that we changed the way we do things. We integrated the casual on top of the core. This is helping us spend more money on the high definition titles and is helping us come with more high-definition games."

The bottom line is that with casual, simple hits for kids, senior citizens, and those who really don't call themselves "gamers," Ubisoft drags in more money. And with more money comes the opportunity to create bigger-budget hardcore titles. Remember, it's a bigger profit margin; as Guillemot says- "To make Just Dance, it's just 1/10th the cost of Assassin's Creed."

And besides, isn't it nice to see gaming be so widely accepted? If it had remained a hardcore, niche hobby, it would still be mocked by the majority. Well, we may have to put up with a gaggle of shovelware on the Wii but at least we're a mostly accepted group of hobbyists. …not in the eyes of NBC and The Today Show, of course, but whatever.

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Sony Looking Into Virtual Reality 3D

Ben-Dutka 30 Comments

Aw, remember the Virtual Boy? Man, that thing was cool. …didn't work so well but still.

Sony Worldwide Studios senior director Mick Hocking told Develop that his company is working on a prototype device to test virtual reality. At first, the unit just displayed in "high-end 3D;" the device features twin OLED screens – one for each eye – that eliminates information crossover problems. But further developments have allowed Sony to implement head-tracking, which might lead to a full virtual reality gaming experience. Said Hocking:

"At the moment it’s just a head-mounted display; the head isn’t being tracked – but that’s something we’re doing R&D on.

I have to say, what we’ve done in the R&D projects has just been fantastic. We’re working with a couple of games at Sony that are experimenting with virtual reality type experiences."

Right now, they're experimenting with a few games, including first-person shooters. There are no other details at this time, but it gets one thinking, doesn't it? Personally, I never really got involved in the whole 3D gaming thing; it just doesn't seem as immersive as I would've expected. But virtual reality…? Might be nutty.

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Limbo Developer: Bigger Companies Need “Safe Zones”

Ben-Dutka 12 Comments

Limbo won plenty of honors last year when it launched on the Xbox Live service, and it'll be coming to the PlayStation Network next week.

And with giant blockbusters typically following tried-and-true formulas for mass appeal, independent developers like Limbo 's Playdead recognize the pressing need for freshness in smaller packages.

Playdead CEO Dino Patti told VG247 that they were a little surprised at the number of people who loved their game. As for the unique style, Patti explains that his team wasn't going to avoid taking risks. Why? Because the bigger crowd-pleasing titles are just too familiar.

"It’s a deep question, but I believe that we humans too quickly get too acquainted with the past and things that have already been created – so much so that we sometimes lose the ability to think in new ways. I believe that many mainstream games are created by people where this phenomenon is more severe. You take what you know and change a few parameters and then measure it towards statistics when there are things that needs to be decided.

Especially in bigger companies where de-risking is a big part of the individual’s agenda, it’s all about not going too far from the ‘safe zones.’ Arnt Jensen, my working partner and game director of Limbo, just had a vision for the game, and went with his feelings, until Limbo was born."

These safe zones of which he speaks are commonly known to gamers, even if they don't readily acknowledge their existence at all times. But we've said it before and we'll say it again: while one can find innovation and even revolution in big-name games, one can discover freshness on a routine basis in the downloadable world.

Related Game(s): LIMBO

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