GDC08: Microsoft announces "community arcade" and XNA Zune games

By Corris
in Xbox

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Corris Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted (edited)

Joystiq

GDC08: Microsoft announces "community arcade"

At Microsoft's GDC 2008 keynote address, the company announced a "community arcade" allowing user-created games to be distributed to Xbox 360 owners worldwide. "Now, 10 million people on Xbox Live get to play your game," said Microsoft Game Developer Group General Manager Chris Satchell. Free trials of these community created games should be available on Xbox Live "immediately" according to Satchell.

"For the first time, community games will be distributed through Xbox Live," Satchell said. "'Xbox Live Community Games will give creators a huge audience to share their creativity with. Game distribution will be democratized, allowing the community to control the content. Create, Submit, Peer Review, Play are the four key steps ... We want creativity to flow through this pipeline.

Users will be able to upload games using a Gamertag-like "creator identity" which will keep track of your game creation history. Creators can use descriptive sliders to describe a game's content, and peer reviewers can also evaluate the content for appropriateness.

At the keynote, Satchell showed off a short demo of user-created game Jellycar (pictured below), featuring an adorable bouncy, 2D car that drives along on a sketchpad, bouncing up and down on a cartoon road.

I guess it really was a "youtube for gamers" and not a shroud behind that curtain. :p

Sounds really cool. :D

And Also XNA gaming on the Zune

GDC08: XNA games coming to Zune

Microsoft's Chris Satchell just announced that XNA Game Studios games can also be made for Zune. He showed off a brief demo of Zauri ? a topdown shooter. XNA Zune games can also support custom soundtracks (this is an MP3 player after all). Satchell promises that you'll be able to take games from Windows, to Xbox, to Zune. No word on the availability of this functionality on Zunes; more as we know it.

Joystiq

And more info Here

Edited by Corris
Veteran

IceBreakerG

Posted
Posted

Yes they are. Now, if i could stop being lazy and finally make my XNA games (2 in mind, no I'm not telling you what they are lol).

Veteran

Deathray

Posted
Posted
I thought the XNA stuff was for licensed developers only. Don't you have to pay to get this dev kit?

I think students at universities have one year access or something along that. A new initiative. Don't know where that link on neowin is.

Grand Master

Brandon Live Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

The XNA tools are free to download. You can download them and start writing games that work on Windows today.

If you want to run your games on an Xbox 360, you need to pay the $99 / year fee for the Creator's Club. My understanding from the XNA FAQ is that you will need this subscription in order to submit games to the Community Games service for others to download. In all, I don't think $99 is too high of a barrier to entry for developers, and assuming they offer a service by which you can sell your games - I think that fee can be easily recouped. I also think it'll help weed out spammers and such, encouraging a higher quality bar as the developer will have to invest at least that much into the game before submitting it.

Users will not need to pay the Creator's Club fee in order to download / purchase games written by Creator's Club members via the service.

What I don't know is if there will be other distribution mechanisms for non-CC members. For example, whether I could e-mail you a copy of my game instead of having to upload it to the service, wait for peer review, etc. My guess is that initially the answer there will be no. But I could be mistaken, all I know is what they've posted in their FAQ and via their announcements.

how may good games will come from this? i cant imagine a lot.

I'm betting there will be a lot of cool things just like you see on the web - a la Line Rider and such. I'm also hoping that with the added benefits of being on a console (big market, game controls, Live networking, easy local multiplayer) that you'll see lots of great stuff coming out of it.

In fact, I bet you'll see a lot of indie studios doing things like you currently see on Live Arcade, but with an expedited release cycle and lower barrier to entry.

I think you may also Live Arcade games become more focused on bigger names / studios and such.

Grand Master

Corris Veteran

Posted
  • Author
  • Veteran
Posted
You forgot one of the best parts! With XNA 3.0, developers can target the Zune devices!

Xbox Live games coming to Zune

Someone posted it in back page news so I didn't really see the need, but since you asked I can add it onto the bottom of the post.

Grand Master

Kushan

Posted
Posted

I am really happy about this, it's a PERFECT opportunity for budding developers such as myself to get noticed. I'm certainly going to be making a few games for this, although mine will most likely be remakes of old classics rather than something really original.

Mentor

blackhorse

Posted
Posted

FYI A number of games are already available on XBL for download and play. You need to download the XNA game launcher and then go to My Games tab and from there you can access the games.

I have been playing JellyCar past half an hour and its kinda cool!

Grand Master

spenser.d

Posted
Posted

Heh. I'll definitely be trying this out tomorrow evening (I have two exams tomorrow...). But if this stuff takes off, I don't even know if Sony could come up with something to match it. They're development SDK's aren't exactly new-user friendly so far as I've heard :p

Xbox will be the franchise of choice for new developers :yes:

-Spenser

Mentor

blackhorse

Posted
Posted
Heh. I'll definitely be trying this out tomorrow evening (I have two exams tomorrow...). But if this stuff takes off, I don't even know if Sony could come up with something to match it. They're development SDK's aren't exactly new-user friendly so far as I've heard :p

Xbox will be the franchise of choice for new developers :yes:

-Spenser

Yup and if MS can come up with a nice revenue sharing model, then Indie devs will show much more interest in the platform.

I already know a couple of friends who want to do something new with XNA for their college projects!

Grand Master

PL_ Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted
FYI A number of games are already available on XBL for download and play. You need to download the XNA game launcher and then go to My Games tab and from there you can access the games.

I have been playing JellyCar past half an hour and its kinda cool!

Mine keeps saying I need to buy a subscription before I can get in :/

how may good games will come from this? i cant imagine a lot.

although i could well be pleasantly surprised...

Portal was made by a bunch of university students ;)

Grand Master

PL_ Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Well, I got it working in the end (insert something about Europe getting screwed). I've only downloaded 2 games so far and I love them both :D

JellyCar - A very interesting little game. Nice, cute art style. Easy to get to grips with. Pretty fun and a nice challenge :D I liked the option to change the art style a lot, I thought that was really good. I'm not too sure about it's long-term appeal, though. I think it needs a few more gameplay elements to make it something a bit meatier but still accessible and fun.

The Dishwasher - This I wasn't expecting. For some reason, when I think violence and gore I think ultra-realistic COD4-style. The Dishwasher is nothing like that. The art style reminded me of those Pon and Zi comics, but much darker, in a weird kinda way. The way the story is told thrugh comics helps enhance the visual style, whilst providing a smart way of avoiding ballooning the file size with cutscenes. Beautifully drawn, deliciously gory, satisfyingly horrible finishing moves. This just became my most wanted XBLA game (Y)

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Google's new hand-wave reCAPTCHA can be bypassed with a stock photo

      By Jdoe25 · Posted

      google, meta, microsoft, true cancers of modern society
    • TeraCopy 4.0 Build 28

      By Copernic · Posted

      TeraCopy 4.0 Build 28 by Razvan Serea TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, also providing you with a lot of features. Copy files faster. TeraCopy uses dynamically adjusted buffers to reduce seek times. Asynchronous copy speeds up file transfer between two physical hard drives. Pause and resume transfers. Pause copy process at any time to free up system resources and continue with a single click. Error recovery. In case of copy error, TeraCopy will try several times and in the worse case just skips the file, not terminating the entire transfer. Interactive file list. TeraCopy shows failed file transfers and lets you fix the problem and recopy only problem files. Shell integration. TeraCopy can completely replace Explorer copy and move functions, allowing you work with files as usual. TeraCopy is free for non-commercial use only. For commercial use you need to buy a license. The paid version of the program includes the following features: Copy/move to your favorite folders. Save reports as HTML and CSV files. Select files with the same extension/folder. Remove the selected files from the copy queue. Features added since version 3.17: Enhanced speed graph. New multi-threaded copy engine. Support for copying to multiple targets. Queue system for managing multiple copy operations. Support for receiving files via the LocalSend protocol. TeraCopy entry in the modern Windows Explorer context menu. Integrated toolbar in the title bar. Why receive LocalSend transfers with TeraCopy? Handle file conflicts: Skip, overwrite, or rename files when a file with the same name already exists. LocalSend always creates another copy, which can waste time and disk space, especially when resuming an interrupted transfer. Filter unwanted files: Apply ignore lists or remove files manually before accepting a transfer, so unnecessary files are not downloaded. Better performance on fast networks: In tests over a 10 Gbps connection, TeraCopy received files several times faster than the standard LocalSend app on Windows. TeraCopy 4.0 Build 28 changelog: Fixed a bug where Overwrite behaved as Overwrite All during same-drive move operations. AdvancedInstaller fixed the installer’s security vulnerability: EXE Bootstrapper resolved the %appdata% location incorrectly for the System account. Download: TeraCopy 4.0 Build 28 | 14.6 MB (Freeware, paid upgrade available) View: TeraCopy Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Microsoft finally launches WSL Containers in public preview

      By BlueScreenJunky · Posted

      First exciting thing to come to Windows in a long time ! This is the kind of things they should focus on, instead of cramming as much AI as they can in everything.
    • New AMD graphics driver fixes install issues and FSR 4.1 crashes on RX 7000 GPUs

      By TarasBuria · Posted

      New AMD graphics driver fixes install issues and FSR 4.1 crashes on RX 7000 GPUs by Taras Buria AMD is rolling out yet another graphics driver. Version 26.6.4 is now available for download, bringing two important fixes. One is for those still using Windows 10 and having trouble installing driver 26.6.2. In fact, this patch is coming from the recently released hotfix, so it is not new if you are already running version 26.6.3. The second fix is for RX 7000 owners. AMD recently brought FSR 4.1 support to the previous-gen graphics cards, but there was a bug with certain games crashing when using FSR 4.1. I experienced this issue with Forza Horizon 6, so today's driver should take care of that. Here is the official changelog: Intermittent install issue seen when installing AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.6.2 on Windows® 10 systems for Radeon™ RX 7000 series and above graphics products. Intermittent application crash may be observed in some games with AMD FSR Upscaling 4.1 enabled on Radeon™ RX 7000 series graphics products. Known issues include the following: Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing Battlefield™ 6 on AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. AMD is actively working on a resolution with the developer to be released as soon as possible. Texture flickering or corruption may appear while playing Battlefield™ 6 with AMD Record and Stream on some AMD graphics products. AMD FSR Upscaling and AMD FSR Frame Generation may show as inactive in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition while playing Battlefield™ 6 when enabled on Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics products. Failure to install may be observed while installing AI Bundle components in some regions with limited access to HuggingFace and GitHub. Model flickering or rendering failure may be observed in Maxon Cinema 4D and Blender on Radeon™ RX 7000 series and above graphics products. Users experiencing this issue are recommended to install AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.3.1. Intermittent application crash may be observed on some models while running Blender on Radeon™ RX 7000 series and above graphics products. Users experiencing this issue are recommended to install AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.3.1. You can download the AMD Radeon driver 26.6.4 from the official website here. Full release notes are available on the same page.
    • Amazon may use OpenAI and Nova models after Anthropic reportedly raises costs

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Amazon may use OpenAI and Nova models after Anthropic reportedly raises costs by Karthik Mudaliar Amazon is reportedly considering to use OpenAI models and even its own Nova family of AI models after Anthropic raised the cost of using Claude inside Amazon services. According to a report from The Information, Amazon is weighing its options to reduce costs under a new arrangement with Anthropic. But back in April, Amazon said it would invest $5 billion more in Anthropic, with the possibility of adding up to another $20 billion if certain commercial milestones are met. That investment actually came on top of another $8 billion Amazon had already put into the Claude maker. Anthropic, meanwhile, committed to spend more than $100 billion over 10 years on AWS technologies, including Amazon’s Trainium chips. Amazon isn't just a customer of Anthropic but also one of the most important backers and cloud partners. This is why it makes it interesting that Amazon is considering other alternatives to handle its internal workloads. Although Amazon has been building its own options for a while now. Its Nova family of AI models was announced in late 2024 for Amazon Bedrock, with models aimed at text, image, and video tasks. Amazon pitched the model around cost and latency at that time. With that said, OpenAI has also become a more realistic option recently for AWS customers as well as for Amazon itself. Earlier this year, OpenAI brought its latest models and Codex coding agent to Amazon Bedrock, after changes to its previously more restrictive Microsoft cloud arrangement. This allowed AWS to serve even those customers who wanted other alternatives from Claude, without having to move workloads out of Amazon's cloud. Evaluating alternatives could also be due to commercial pressure and not necessarily a sign of a damaged partnership between Amazon and Anthropic. Whether or not Amazon is actually considering switching entirely to OpenAI's models or its own Nova models remains unknown at this moment.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Conversation Starter
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      536
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      269
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      150
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      97
    5. 5
      macoman
      61
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!