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[Jesiatha]

Right now what's the current process you have to go through in order to get an indie game on XBL Arcade?

If you attend any major trade shows, our business development team is there. OB1, feel free to PM me with info on your game and I can get you an appropriate contact.

Thanks to everyone for the praise in this thread - very cool. We should be announcing the launch portfolio very soon (I think within a week or two), as well as pricing details and some other goodies. Almost everyone that posted in this thread should be pleased .

 

[jetpacks was yes]

Well that's the thing, GG didn't actually make the game, an indie dev that liscensed Garage Games' engine made the game. And this is the exciting part. GG is at the forefront for empowering indie developers with their super cheap liscensing of the Torque engine ($100/liscense which is peanuts for what you get). This had made them the biggest indie dev community which means TONS of support and documentation, for a professional grade engine. Now, what this announcement means (and some other stuff I've read) is that the Torque engine has been ported to 360. This is awesome because devs can just code for the Torque engine like normal, and if their game is good enough then I'm sure an agreement will happen with the GG guys who'll then port their game to the 360.

I don't know the details and whether or not GG will supply dev kits to the developers, or how the whole porting relationship will work, but GG has shown that they've very reasonable. I'm extremely excited and interested to see just how well XBA does in regards to selling indie games, because if they make a lot of money out of it, then there'll be far more incentive for indie devs to make their games even better. And with the potential of increased revenue, will hopefully be easier to find funding for their projects.

Ah, well that makes sense. Still, I wonder how those Wik guys ported over their game to the 360.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Click for movies

Somebody PLEASE find the MDickie guy so he can do a proper wrestling game on XBL.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Licensing for XBox 360 development is not part of the "standard" TGE/TSE Indie or Commercial licensing agreement, but it is available via a separate license. If you are seriously interested in developing for the XBox 360 (please keep in mind that there are many requirements that GG does not control which are directed by Microsoft), you should contact GarageGames directly via telephone or email (Benjamin Bradley or Jay Moore should be your primary points of contact, with Josh Williams or Davey Jackson as secondary).

http://www.garagegames.com/news/8876

 

[Jesiatha]

If you attend any major trade shows, our business development team is there. OB1, feel free to PM me with info on your game and I can get you an appropriate contact.

Thanks to everyone for the praise in this thread - very cool. We should be announcing the launch portfolio very soon (I think within a week or two), as well as pricing details and some other goodies. Almost everyone that posted in this thread should be pleased .

Also, as far as having an "Arcade XDK" - look for the document that's been around about how to make a PC game that can be easily ported to Xbox. Basically, use DirectX, design for a controller, etc.

Also - all games will be able to fit on a memory card. However, once you buy a few Arcade games, you'll need multiple memory cards or will be redownloading each time you want to play a different one.

At some point, I'll probably make a XBLA Q&A thread. Today is not a good time - probably once the launch portfolio and pricing is announced.

 

[jetpacks was yes]

Awesome, thanks for all of the info! So games must fit onto a memory card? That's what, under 64MB then?

 

[Ecrofirt]

Also, as far as having an "Arcade XDK" - look for the document that's been around about how to make a PC game that can be easily ported to Xbox. Basically, use DirectX, design for a controller, etc.

Also - all games will be able to fit on a memory card. However, once you buy a few Arcade games, you'll need multiple memory cards or will be redownloading each time you want to play a different one.

At some point, I'll probably make a XBLA Q&A thread. Today is not a good time - probably once the launch portfolio and pricing is announced.

Yes, but programming a game for the PC that can be easily ported over to Xbox is not the same as actually programmnig for the Xbox.

I'd want to work directly with things like XBINPUT_GAMEPAD Xbox specific things that I can't do with a PC.

 

[rastex]

I'd want to work directly with things like XBINPUT_GAMEPAD Xbox specific things that I can't do with a PC.

Why?

It's all about abstraction man. What's important is that your game design be useable with a controller, meaning don't have 50 functions mapped to the keyboard.

 

[rastex]

Ah, well that makes sense. Still, I wonder how those Wik guys ported over their game to the 360.

From another forum I go to

Ben Garney (GG Employee) said it was easy to make:

The port was easy. We took TSE, wrote a 360 backend for it, and poof, marble blast on 360. Hard part was updating the art, retuning the gameplay, integrating with the XBoxes features, etc. etc. etc. All in all it was a super-fast project, and TSE has performed with flying colors.

 

[Jesiatha]

Yes, but programming a game for the PC that can be easily ported over to Xbox is not the same as actually programmnig for the Xbox.

I'd want to work directly with things like XBINPUT_GAMEPAD Xbox specific things that I can't do with a PC.

Assuming you have a reasonable abstraction for input, changing over the XBINPUT_GAMEPAD should only take a days work. In the forseeable future there will not be a "mini XDK for Arcade".

A great game on the PC (even if it's only a demo) is what you need to be signed as an official Arcade developer.

 

[Ecrofirt]

And assuming I were to make a great PC game, what would it cost me to become a Live Arcade developer?

 

[jetpacks was yes]

From another forum I go to

Cool, much appreciated.

 

[rastex]

And assuming I were to make a great PC game, what would it cost me to become a Live Arcade developer?

Definitely not close to what it would cost you to make a great PC game.

 

[Ecrofirt]

Definitely not close to what it would cost you to make a great PC game.

That can be interprited(sp) two ways.

1) It will cost less
2) It will cost more

I'd imagine you mean it would be more, as you can develop PC games for free, but again, I'm not sure.

 

[rastex]

I meant, Arcade devkits will probably cost a lot less than it would cost to develop a great PC game.

 

[ZeMMiK]

Phatsags...many thanks for the video's!!!! awesome.
Geometry Wars is downloadble from launch??

 

[lethial]

Looks wicked rad, Marble Madness is a personal favorite of mine.

 

[LAMBO]

They need a really really good game thast you can only get by buying it online. Not Halo though, it sells alot of live subscriptions already.

Also allowing you to rent games via downloading them it the smartest thing MS(or any company) could do right now, totally take all the rental cash for yourself. Get people to rent them over and over, and buy.

Nintendo is kinda doing this. Nintendo should spend less on graphics and more on a big ass hardrive and allow downloading even n64 and GC games. Also it would be easy and smart to make some better streaming software than the 360 has(plus the rev is wireless so i don't even to have to run a wire to it, i hope one of these new systems is good at streaming video, maybe it'll be ps3).

 

[DCX]

This great! This stands as one of the many reasons why Xbox 360 seperates themselves from the pack. 360 is just going to offer gamers features. A robust online gaming community, and great PC compatibility.

Ps3 is going to offer the latest in gaming technology and HD movie viewing.

Revolution is going to be the family/party console. The quick fix for casuals ranging from young to old and some extremely deep and satisfying experiences for the hardcore Nintendo fans.

Each system seems to cater to a different kind of gamer. The next gen of gaming is going to offer choices my friend. It's not about just gaming like it was in the 16 bit era. It's like having a running, hiking, basketball and casual shoe than just using one shoe for all....welcome to the next generation of choice...enjoy your stay.

DCX

 

[Jesiatha]

And assuming I were to make a great PC game, what would it cost me to become a Live Arcade developer?

If you have a great enough game that can be demoed on the PC, somebody will publish it.

 

[Blimblim]

Geometry Wars is downloadble from launch??

Yes.
IIRC, the one bundled with PGR3 will a full version but with a 5 minutes gameplay limitation so it's more of a challenge for the competitive players. The better you play, the harder the game gets during the 5 minutes, and the more point you make.
The XBLA version won't have a time limitation and so will be more like the first GW where people could play for hours to make a high score.
That's what I understood at the X05 presentation, but it was so noisy I'm not sure I got everything right.

 

[GashPrex]

interesting....

 

[FiRez]

Yes.
IIRC, the one bundled with PGR3 will a full version but with a 5 minutes gameplay limitation so it's more of a challenge for the competitive players. The better you play, the harder the game gets during the 5 minutes, and the more point you make.
The XBLA version won't have a time limitation and so will be more like the first GW where people could play for hours to make a high score.
That's what I understood at the X05 presentation, but it was so noisy I'm not sure I got everything right.

:/

 

[----]

Can you really play all of the Xbox Live Arcade games with the remote control or do you need the analog stick for some of them?

Is there a full list of Xbox Live Arcade games available anywhere? I wonder how Xbox Live Arcade will compare to GameTap?

 

[Blimblim]

:/

And your complaint is?

 

[StoOgE]

Someone needs to find the good people who mad A.R.C. The greatest multiplayer freeware in the history of the internet. So much fucking fun.

Last count I had they went to popcap games, so I doubt they want to stop lining their pockets in order to port it, but I could dream.

Also, if Midway can get MK2 with multiplayer support on XBLA I would be in heaven.

 

[FiRez]

And your complaint is?

Isn't obvious?
with PGR2 you got the full version geometry wars, In PGR3 you have the time limit if you want the full version you have to pay for it.
Oh well maybe this time they will not charge for the DLC to compensate this

 

[Blimblim]

Isn't obvious?
with PGR2 you got the full version geometry wars, In PGR3 you have the time limit if you want the full version you have to pay for it.
Oh well maybe this time they will not charge for the DLC to compensate this

You get GW plus GW2 with the time limit, both as a free bonus what should already be an awesome game. And it's just a manner of a different challenge, the game content stays exactly the same (afaik). One version forces you to play as fast as you can, the other is more relaxed.
And anyway, just buy GW2 on XBLA, you get the "full" game and you do not have to pay forPGR3 this way. You just kept 30 or more dollars thanks to my sound advice

 

[fse]

I have PGR2 but no GW...?

edit:
nm :x

 

[Blimblim]

I have PGR2 but no GW...?

Go in your garage, use the first person view to go to the arcade machine. Enjoy.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

Screw XBL Arcade. I just want downloadable game demos, and they better be free.

 

[KAOS]

I love Mutant Storm! I wish they had a psp version.

 

[Jesiatha]

Can you really play all of the Xbox Live Arcade games with the remote control or do you need the analog stick for some of them?

Is there a full list of Xbox Live Arcade games available anywhere? I wonder how Xbox Live Arcade will compare to GameTap?

-Some games will require the controller, some will be playable via the remote
-There is not a list of games yet, but the full launch lineup should be out within a week or two.