Topic: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

[NWR_pap64]

Latest chapter is up! Called "The Development", Jesse talks about how the development process for Gravitronix was like, and provides some sage word of advice for anyone with a dream.

Read more.

[vudu]

I'm still really digging this series!

I have a few questions for Jesse about the development and Medaverse Studios in general.  Is this your full-time job or a second job/pet-project?  How about the rest of the team?  Do you have an office in an office building or is it something less formal such as a space setup in someone's home?

[JLowther]

I'm still really digging this series!

I have a few questions for Jesse about the development and Medaverse Studios in general.  Is this your full-time job or a second job/pet-project?  How about the rest of the team?  Do you have an office in an office building or is it something less formal such as a space setup in someone's home?

We were all part time (which was another reason it took so long) and we leased a 160 sq ft office space to work in as a necessity, since Nintendo doesn't want development hardware sitting in people's home offices (a sentiment I agree with).

We worked it as a 2nd job. For the past two years, I basically went from my day job to the Medaverse office. I ate, slept and breathed the development of the game, really. It was kind of a jarring feeling when it was finally finished because I had had my mind buried in it for so long (like having dreams about school years later).

With all of the issues we faced, it's basically a miracle the game ever made it to market. Regardless of how well it was received, the fact that we were able to actually get it out the door was a victory in itself.

I'll be the first to admit that luck was involved in a number of places: we were lucky to start looking into Wii development so early.  We were lucky to find help on craigslist, including Jeff, the industry veteran who is helping to guide our development process on the next game as well. Right now, we're going through a process of him explaining how things are typically done in an actual development scenario and scolding us for jumping the gun and going nuts on concepts.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

I don't know why this flew over my head before, but I sat down and read all five articles in this developer diary today. Firstly, I just have to say that that it was been a very insightful read -- I'd like to give props to Jesse Lowther for giving these behind-the-scenes look at Gravitronix. It's refreshing to see a developer talk so freely and honestly about their game.

If you don't mind answering them, Jesse, I've got a couple of questions on this overarching topic.

I'll start with the subject lots of people are eager to know about. This is concerning Nintendo's involvement. I'm sure you frequently get these ones in interviews, but how closely involved were Nintendo on the project? How helpful were they in both the development and publishing phases? What is your opinion of the way release dates are handed out, the way the profitability policy works and the way the WiiWare service is managed in general?
This line of enquiry is common, I know, but I sometimes get the feeling developers aren't always giving their real feelings on the matter when questions like these are asked. You seem to be an honest, truthful guy, more so than most for sure, so I'd be interested to hear what you think based on your experience dealing with Nintendo whilst making this game.

My other question is more to do with the future of your studio. Do you have any other pipe dreams that you'd like to make a reality on WiiWare? After reading through this feature, I'm more intrigued about what else you and the rest of the Medaverse team could produce (I think the concept of Gravitronix is sound, but the reviews put me off, I'm afraid). The pages about 'The Mistakes' and 'What We Did Right' tell me that you've learned well from your debut effort, which is more than I can say about certain big-name developers. If you have more ideas as unique as Gravitronix, and you can learn from the errors of the past to make the execution better, I can guarantee that I'll be keeping an eye on anything you announce in the future.

[JLowther]

I'll start with the subject lots of people are eager to know about. This is concerning Nintendo's involvement. I'm sure you frequently get these ones in interviews, but how closely involved were Nintendo on the project? How helpful were they in both the development and publishing phases? What is your opinion of the way release dates are handed out, the way the profitability policy works and the way the WiiWare service is managed in general?
This line of enquiry is common, I know, but I sometimes get the feeling developers aren't always giving their real feelings on the matter when questions like these are asked. You seem to be an honest, truthful guy, more so than most for sure, so I'd be interested to hear what you think based on your experience dealing with Nintendo whilst making this game.

In total honesty, WiiWare devs are treated like any other 3rd party, and it's for the best. There's no special or restrictive treatment involved. Release dates are on the basis of "when it's ready, it gets released" (or a date is found for it, at least). Nintendo answers basically any question you ask of them and is always ready to point you in the right direction if you need them. I think the pricing structure works fine. In fact, my only complaint about the entire process is that the Wii's market is still incredibly hard to read. I've heard of WiiWare games that have received some very good reviews across the board having terrible sales and games that get terrible reviews have had great sales. Seriously, "My Aquarium" hasn't left the top 5 in months. What gives?

But yeah, we had total creative freedom, just like any other 3rd party would.

My other question is more to do with the future of your studio. Do you have any other pipe dreams that you'd like to make a reality on WiiWare? After reading through this feature, I'm more intrigued about what else you and the rest of the Medaverse team could produce (I think the concept of Gravitronix is sound, but the reviews put me off, I'm afraid). The pages about 'The Mistakes' and 'What We Did Right' tell me that you've learned well from your debut effort, which is more than I can say about certain big-name developers. If you have more ideas as unique as Gravitronix, and you can learn from the errors of the past to make the execution better, I can guarantee that I'll be keeping an eye on anything you announce in the future.

That's pretty heavily in debate right now. I have piles of unique ideas, but we're a bit wary of developing another "unique" idea at the risk of releasing a game that people once again don't get from looking at it. Unless people can get a basic understanding of the game from single screenshot, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to develop it. This is actually one of the reasons I'm so psyched for WiiWare demos and why I hope they arrive soon. I'm sure Gravitronix would be doing much better, if only people could try it for themselves to see if they like it. As the reviews have shown, it's a game that divides people, so much so that I'm wary about recommending it to people because I still have no idea why some reviewers give it 2s while others give it 7s. That's a huge divide, so again, I hope to see demos soon for this exact reason. At that time, we'd probably be more likely to bring out a unique idea because people could try it via demo and see how they like it.

Given the size of our studio and the fact that we still lack funding of any kind, we'd be looking at a minimum of a year to do a proper job developing a game, and then we have to look at the Wii's lifespan. If our development time ran long, we might be looking at the end of the console's life (I have no actual idea. I'm just speculating). Bottom line, we're just not sure right now. We're taking a hard look at platformers and what we might be able to do with one of those, but it's all still very much up in the air.

[NWR_pap64]

In fact, my only complaint about the entire process is that the Wii's market is still incredibly hard to read. I've heard of WiiWare games that have received some very good reviews across the board having terrible sales and games that get terrible reviews have had great sales. Seriously, "My Aquarium" hasn't left the top 5 in months. What gives?

This is true. Many WiiWare games get trashed to no end, yet somehow become HUGE hits. My Pokemon Ranch is another example. It's basically an interactive app for Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, but people won't stop buying it. Pong Toss is another game that got a lot of sales, but it was mainly due to the controversy surrounding the game. Yet, NyxQuest, which got excellent reviews, was selling for a week or two, then dropped like a rock.

I agree that the WiiWare audience is weird to figure out.

[Mop it up]

The funny thing about my case is, I would actually be more likely to buy WiiWare games if they were released on disc. That's right, I'm one of the proud few who purchased the retail version of Groovin' Blocks despite that it cost twice as much.

[Flames_of_chaos]

The funny thing about my case is, I would actually be more likely to buy WiiWare games if they were released on disc. That's right, I'm one of the proud few who purchased the retail version of Groovin' Blocks despite that it cost twice as much.

You have to realize that a retail disc is a lot more expensive (as in production costs) when compared to digital download games. Companies like Medaverse simply don't have the funds to release a retail game and when dealing with publishers can be a tricky thing.

[NWR_pap64]

Right. If Gravitronix was published by a third party, Medaverse Studios would have less control over their product. Even if they would likely gain more help in advertising they would be forced to act according to the publisher's needs. In other words, Medaverse's decisions would have been made for them most of the time. No doubt it would have likely made the product better, but at the cost of their creative freedom, and the learning experience would have been stripped from them.

[Mop it up]

I know all of that, I just thought it was funny is all.

[Jonnyboy117]

WiiWare demos are out this week... has Nintendo offered any information about this program to developers in general? Are you now planning to make a Gravitronix demo, or is that even feasible?

[JLowther]

WiiWare demos are out this week... has Nintendo offered any information about this program to developers in general? Are you now planning to make a Gravitronix demo, or is that even feasible?

I've heard nothing about it personally. My guess is that they went for games that had good reviews across the board and asked those devs to make demo versions.

[NWR_pap64]

Well, the way I see it, they said that they were going to TEST if the demos were effective and generated more sales. Save for World of Goo, those games received excellent reviews, but sales were poor. I think Nintendo believes that if they do well thanks to demos then they will fully implement demos for all releases.

[JLowther]

I'm hoping this happens, ASAP.

I long for the day when I can say "Go try the Gravitronix demo now!"

[NWR_pap64]

Well, the demos will be up till the end of January. Maybe if the initiative pays off it will become permanent.

[NWR_pap64]

After a one week hiatus, Jesse returns with the final entry in our Developer Diary special, called The conclusion.

Read more.

[Jonnyboy117]

This has been a truly fascinating feature. Thanks to Jessie, Pedro, and James for making it happen.

Jesse, I don't know much about game development, but I know some things about project management and system engineering that I think probably apply as much to games as anything else. Namely, it's much easier and less expensive to correct mistakes in the beginning than at the end. Be really thorough in pre-production, as you design the game and plan out all the different aspects that will have to be fully realized in production. Use mock-ups and prototypes whenever possible to anticipate problems before they become intrinsic to the project. Be brutally honest about the level of effort and cost associated with everything you want to do, and if a particular area looks to be extravagantly expensive or difficult, think about how to change that. Build time and cost margins into your plan, because things never go perfectly. Once you begin full production, the project should have major inertia to resist any significant changes, because those are especially problematic late in the process. As you go, compare the unfinished build to your initial goals to determine what is working and what isn't. Don't compromise on your original goals, because they are why you got into this in the first place.

These tenets are not mine. You can find them in any basic textbook on project management or system engineering, and I recommend doing so to anyone who has to lead a large, complex project that will take a long time to finish. As for specific game development resources, attend GDC if possible, and keep an eye on Gamasutra as well as unrelenting developer diaries like this one.

[JLowther]

This has been a truly fascinating feature. Thanks to Jessie, Pedro, and James for making it happen.

Jesse, I don't know much about game development, but I know some things about project management and system engineering that I think probably apply as much to games as anything else. Namely, it's much easier and less expensive to correct mistakes in the beginning than at the end. Be really thorough in pre-production, as you design the game and plan out all the different aspects that will have to be fully realized in production. Use mock-ups and prototypes whenever possible to anticipate problems before they become intrinsic to the project. Be brutally honest about the level of effort and cost associated with everything you want to do, and if a particular area looks to be extravagantly expensive or difficult, think about how to change that. Build time and cost margins into your plan, because things never go perfectly. Once you begin full production, the project should have major inertia to resist any significant changes, because those are especially problematic late in the process. As you go, compare the unfinished build to your initial goals to determine what is working and what isn't. Don't compromise on your original goals, because they are why you got into this in the first place.

These tenets are not mine. You can find them in any basic textbook on project management or system engineering, and I recommend doing so to anyone who has to lead a large, complex project that will take a long time to finish. As for specific game development resources, attend GDC if possible, and keep an eye on Gamasutra as well as unrelenting developer diaries like this one.

This is all completely correct and it's what we're doing this time around. We're already experimenting with flash prototyping (we're using Kirby as a placeholder sprite, which is the 2nd time he's been used as such, heh) and we're going to make sure we have a lot more ducks in a row before we set out to build the game.


With Gravitronix, we truly were flying blind. This time, I'm hoping that having a plan alone will help a great deal.

[NWR_pap64]

Thanks Johnny! It was great working with my first NWR feature.

Jesse: I don't know if this will help at all, but if you feel bad, imagine how the guys at Over the Top (Nyxquest) are feeling now. Their game received Nintendo's blessing as one of the best WiiWare games, it's an ambitious platforming game with great graphics, a storyline, some inventive uses of the Wii Remote and received incredible reviews from sites, and it didn't stay long on the best sellers list.

Worse, it seems the recent demo scared away potential customers because the game didn't receive a sales boost in any of the regions, especially when Bit. Trip, World of Goo, and Darklord saw some sales boosts.

They definitely created a great game that went largely ignored by the consumers. Hopefully, Super Meat Boy doesn't suffer the same fate.

Speaking of which, their game first started as a flash game. Maybe what you could do is create the flash prototype, then have fans playtest it online for free and gather thoughts from it. Like Johnny said, it is easier to gather data then than when the game is nearly finished and about to ship.

Just a suggestion, though.

[IceCold]

Jessie - thanks for becoming a part of our community.
I'll pick up and try out the game just for that.

...just pray I don't regret it though...

He was always part of our community... have people still not figured it out after, what, 3 years?

[vudu]

IceCold, you just blew my mind.

[ModestMr.Green]

Hello there.  This has been an incredibly insightful feature, and I really do wish you the best of luck in the future.  I've wanted to create games my entire life, but I still haven't managed to really create anything interesting at all.


I don't really post around here (in fact, I don't remember the last time I logged in), but I thought I should leave a comment here.  You said in 'The Conclusion' that success may come down to 'luck' in the marketplace, and that perhaps it would be better to focus more on what you want to create than what the customer wants.


I strongly disagree with those sentiments, and I really feel compelled to see if you might reconsider.


I think that while there is an element of unpredictability in the marketplace, there are many indicators and processes that can help you find your audience from the beginning.


I know nothing about you, so perhaps you've seen this before, but Sean Malstrom has written extensively on the topic of consumer-based products and services and how implementing techniques such as Blue Ocean Strategy at the earliest stages of development can be incredibly useful as you try to build software that will both sell and will still allow you to test out experimental gameplay on WiiWare or on other platforms.


In the above paragraph, I've linked you to Malstrom's blog, but his articles are much more extensive and can be found here.  In addition, there is a small, separate community of like-minded individuals that can be found here.  Please feel free to join us there and participate in some of the conversations.


Every single one of us (those who agree with Malstrom or otherwise) wants great content, and there are many holes within Wii's library that can be filled by small developers such as yourself.  I really hope you find this useful or otherwise thought-provoking.


Thanks for reading and please stay healthy.  Hope to see you around!


--Clayton M.

[JLowther]

Hello there.  This has been an incredibly insightful feature, and I really do wish you the best of luck in the future.  I've wanted to create games my entire life, but I still haven't managed to really create anything interesting at all.


I don't really post around here (in fact, I don't remember the last time I logged in), but I thought I should leave a comment here.  You said in 'The Conclusion' that success may come down to 'luck' in the marketplace, and that perhaps it would be better to focus more on what you want to create than what the customer wants.


I strongly disagree with those sentiments, and I really feel compelled to see if you might reconsider.


I think that while there is an element of unpredictability in the marketplace, there are many indicators and processes that can help you find your audience from the beginning.


I know nothing about you, so perhaps you've seen this before, but Sean Malstrom has written extensively on the topic of consumer-based products and services and how implementing techniques such as Blue Ocean Strategy at the earliest stages of development can be incredibly useful as you try to build software that will both sell and will still allow you to test out experimental gameplay on WiiWare or on other platforms.


In the above paragraph, I've linked you to Malstrom's blog, but his articles are much more extensive and can be found here.  In addition, there is a small, separate community of like-minded individuals that can be found here.  Please feel free to join us there and participate in some of the conversations.


Every single one of us (those who agree with Malstrom or otherwise) wants great content, and there are many holes within Wii's library that can be filled by small developers such as yourself.  I really hope you find this useful or otherwise thought-provoking.


Thanks for reading and please stay healthy.  Hope to see you around!


--Clayton M.

I agree with what Maelstrom has said, but the issue I've seen and the one I mean to illustrate in my conclusion is that no amount of quality can guarantee sales, nor can any lack of quality ensure a lack of sales.


There are thresholds of course, but right now, there are titles in the WiiWare top 5 that have been rated horribly and titles like Nyx Quest and Bit.Trip that aren't selling as well as they should be for the reviews they've received.


Obviously, I don't mean to suggest that developers should aim low with their quality thresholds. We certainly didn't (I challenge anyone to get Gravitronix to crash), but all I mean to say is that there are no safe bets so you might as well develop something you feel truly inspired to develop.

[Mop it up]

Obviously, I don't mean to suggest that developers should aim low with their quality thresholds. We certainly didn't, but all I mean to say is that there are no safe bets so you might as well develop something you feel truly inspired to develop.

It's just too bad that more developers don't share that sentiment, but the problem is, it is more apparent what will sell now than it was 10-20 years ago when games were more artistic. That's why we get stale games like the sixth iteration of Call of Duty instead of something fresh.

[JLowther]

It's just too bad that more developers don't share that sentiment, but the problem is, it is more apparent what will sell now than it was 10-20 years ago when games were more artistic. That's why we get stale games like the sixth iteration of Call of Duty instead of something fresh.

Making Gravitronix was enjoyable for many reasons, but one of them was definitely because it was a game concept none of us had ever played before so we were sailing into uncharted waters. How do you determine if a FPS has reached the necessary fun threshold? People have fun shooting the other players. Determining when Gravitronix had reached that same threshold was tricky to say the least, though more exciting as a result.


But I also can't help but feel bad for known developers who get forced into sequel after sequel. From what I've heard, Hideo Kojima has wanted to do something other than MGS for a long time now and Will Wright spent years making Spore, only to have a lot of people complain that it was nothing like the Sims.


Some might say that the money from making these games would make up for it, but I personally don't think it would. It's a hard situation to be in because sequels nearly always sell, but I can't help but imagine that every designer making sequels has countless other projects they'd rather be working on but can't because their publisher A) wants to make what sells and B) doesn't want to take a risk on something that might not.


I think sequels should only be done when necessary, like when there's more ground to cover or if you've created something that operates as a series and should logically have many sequels/episodes. I'm excited to develop all of the game ideas we have, but if someone told me to continuously make sequels for any one of them, that would be what I'd classify as a living hell.