Tag: gaming

5 Tips for Building your Gaming PC, Continued

Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post that outlined 3 things to consider when looking building your own gaming PC. Part 2 of this article covers the two remaining tips for constructing your PC and getting it up and running.

Part 4: Setup and construction of your PC. You’ve now picked out your parts; you have your core components unboxed and are ready to create the monster that will be your gaming PC. The most important first step that many people skip over is making sure all of their ordered parts work, specifically before you begin to put your parts into your case. It is extremely important to take this first step because it is much easier to test and swap out non-working parts before they are secured into your case.  Important side note: make sure to ground yourself to avoid harming your computer parts with electrostatic discharge. In addition to this, anytime you are connecting or disconnecting parts, unplug your power supply from its electrical source, and ensure that the switch on the back is in the “off” position.

The next step is to connect your core components to your motherboard. This includes your processor, heatsink, video card, RAM, primary hard drive, and power supply. For your processor, make sure you read the instructions and set up your processor in the correct pin slots. Similarly, there are specific slots to put your RAM sticks in. All motherboards are different, so consult your included motherboard booklet to find the correct ones. For your PSU, make sure you run power to the 24-pin connector, and the 8-pin power connector to your mobo, as well as the power connectors on your graphics card.

With everything set up outside of your case, it will look something like what is picture above. In order to make sure your parts work, you will need to close a power circuit on your mother board. You can use the end of a screwdriver to do this, closing the circuit and connecting the two points on your motherboard panel titled “power switch.” I have included a picture here to show you what the two power pins look like in the mobo booklet as well as on the mobo itself, which are highlighted in red.

Note that there are only two pins you should be connecting, and the panel is located on the lower right corner of your motherboard. After you touch the metal end of a screwdriver to these two points, your computer should start up. You’ll notice the heatsink fan, PSU fan, and GPU fan all begin to spin, as well as various lights on your motherboard coming alive. If any of the fans are not spinning, turn everything off by flipping the switch on the back of your PSU and recheck the connection of your cables and parts.

Once you ensure that all of your parts are working, you should disconnect your entire out-of-case setup, except for the processor/heatsink, and begin to put your parts into your case, starting with the motherboard. Once the motherboard is in and secure, you can connect your PSU, GPU, RAM, hard drives, DVD drive, case fans, and case buttons to your motherboard. All motherboards differ from one another, so if you are unsure of where or how to connect a certain part, consult your motherboard user manual. Additionally, you can leave a comment on this article and I will do my best to address your concerns myself.

You’ll want to take your time in hooking everything up to ensure proper cable management. This will help prevent your parts from heating up and improve your case airflow. As often as you can, run your cables through the back panel of your case to reduce clutter around your core components. Once you have all of your parts in, put those case panels back on and hook up your mouse, keyboard, and monitor(s). Before you’re ready to game, there is one last step you need to take.

Part 5: Get your machine running. Once your computer is up and running, you’ll need to get all of your vital programs installed and running. For newer machines, you’ll want to install a 64-bit version of Windows. If you opted to get an SSD, make sure that you select to install the Windows OS on your SSD and not your internal hard drive. Once Windows is installed, you will be to install important drivers and BIOS. Your motherboard should come with a CD that has all of the software you need. Be wary of installing all of the software that is included on your disc, as some of the programs aren’t needed. All motherboard drivers differ, so if you’re unsure of what a specific driver does, Google your motherboard manufacturer with the driver name to find out more information. On top of your motherboard drivers, make sure to install the latest graphics drivers for whatever GPU you use. While your GPU may come with an installation disc, the driver in there will likely already be outdated. It’s also important to mention that if you are installer a newer graphics driver, you should completely remove the previous driver before installing the new one.

Once you have your important drivers installed, you can begin to put on software that will enhance your machine. For Antivirus software, I like to use Microsoft Security Essentials, as it is a low memory anti-virus that is free for Windows users and performs phenomenally. Additionally, you’ll want to install Malwareytes and Spybot: Search and Destroy. Both are great programs that should be run every two to four weeks to ensure that your computer stays spybot and malware free.

The other software you should put on your computer depend on your personal computing habits. When you are looking to install all of your software, unfortunately, it can be difficult finding all of the correct installers from each respective website. A great tool to use in order to easily install numerous software programs is Ninite. In a nutshell, Ninite is an installer aggregator: you select which programs you would like to install and Ninite then makes one simple installer, which will include everything you’ve chosen. Note that in order for your Ninite installer to work, you will need an internet connection.

Once your software is set up, it’s time to game! If you have any experience with gaming at all, you’re likely familiar with Valve and their gaming portal, Steam. If you aren’t, Steam is a one-stop-shop where you can buy, download, and play almost any PC game available. What’s great about Steam is that you can take your account with you anywhere, enabling you to log-in to your Steam account on any computer and download/play your games.

You are now a PC gamer; congratulations! Take solace in the fact that you can play almost anything, and at any point can upgrade your system to enable a better gaming experience. If you have any questions about setting up your PC or would like recommendations on parts to get, let me know in the comments.

Happy Gaming!

5 Tips for Building your Gaming PC

What Not to Do...

Launched by Pong 40 years ago, home gaming has become a staple in millions of households worldwide. Whether you’re a mobile, console, or PC gamer, the evolution of technology will continue to make all forms of gaming available to the masses.  Newer, better technology will also become cheaper, which will enable a wider audience of gamers to really immerse themselves in their hobby of choice.

While the points can be argued until the end of time, I believe best way to really experience and immerse oneself into a game experience is through a PC. Contrary to popular belief, PC gaming is not dying, and PC gaming provides a more customizable experience in terms of settings, and ease of use. In addition to this, the graphical capabilities of PCs far outweigh those available on current (and most likely future) generation consoles.

Building a gaming PC is tough, with many different parts that are combined to breathe life into a gaming monster.  Along with providing a sense of do-it-yourself satisfaction, building your own gaming PC is one of the most rewarding experiences for any hardcore gamer or technology enthusiast. Since there are many intricacies involved in creating that perfect gaming PC, I’ve created a list of 5 tips to help everyone, from budget buyers to PC aficionados, in making their perfect PC.

Step 1: Know your budget. There are a million different parts you can buy for your PC gaming machine, which makes for millions of different combinations. The great thing here is that building a machine on a budget is totally possible. I recently helped a friend build a mid-tier gaming machine for around $700, while on the flip side I built a top-of-the-line machine with literally the best parts I could buy via newegg.com just for fun. The cost? A cool $7,299.91. I did this just to prove how vast a difference there is with what you can build.

Another important thing to consider for your budget is whether or not you already have a mouse, keyboard, and monitor. A good gaming mouse and keyboard combo can cost around $120, and a single 23” LCD monitor will run you around $160, but these are one-time purchases that will last around 3-5 years or longer if cared for properly. When you are next upgrading your PC, you will likely continue to use the same mouse, keyboard, and display.

Step 2: Pick your pony (company). There are two companies that manufacture central processing units (CPUs): Intel (Integrated Electronics Corporation) and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). Techradar has a great interview article that very thoroughly looks at the Intel vs. AMD debate.  Personally, I have always gone with Intel processors, which are more expensive but are better for overclocking. AMD CPUs are great processors at a cheaper price than most comparable Intel CPUs. In the end, it usually comes down to personal preference and who has come out with the latest CPU. No matter which one you pick, make sure you pick the corresponding motherboard (mobo).

Just like CPUs, there are also two companies to choose from when looking at graphics processing units (GPUs a.k.a. video cards): NVIDIA and AMD. NVIDIA cards focus on providing a 3D gaming experience to gamers via additional hardware. While 3D can seem like a gimmick to some, I was extremely impressed by Batman: Arkham Asylum at this year’s GDC using NVIDIA 3D. NVIDIA also just released their Kepler series video cards, which currently beat out AMD’s 7990 series as the fastest video cards in the world and for the first time allow 3 independent displays to be run from one NVIDIA card. AMD cards, on the other hand, offer something called Eyefinity through their software, which allows gamers to plug 3 monitors into one card and get a 180-degree view of whatever game they choose to play. While setting up Eyefinity can be difficult, it provides a one-of-a-kind gaming experience that really immerses you into whatever you are playing. Flying a jet in Battlefield 3 and seeing an enemy flank me through the periphery of a side monitor was a jaw-dropping experience.

In the end, it comes down to personal preference and budget. Certain NVIDIA cards are cheaper than their AMD counterparts, and vice-versa. Remember, too, that if you want to fully utilize your video card, you will need 3 displays for your AMD card to run Eyefinity, and a 3D compatible 120Hz monitor for your NVIDIA card to run 3D. 

Part 3: Pick your other parts. Since we have already covered CPUs and GPUs, we want to also look at other core components that make up computers. The most important part of a computer after the CPU and GPU is the Motherboard. As mentioned before, you’ll want to get a mobo that corresponds with your chosen CPU, be it Intel or AMD. Another thing to check is that your chosen mobo has the same socket number as your processor. For example, Intel has LGA 1155, 1156, and 1366 sockets, among others. If your CPU is an LGA 1155 socket, then you want to be sure your mobo supports an LGA 1155 socket. Other than that, ook at the SATA (Serial ATA) speed of your mobo. Most new boards will be SATA 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s. In very simple terms, the SATA number is the speed at which your hard drives will communicate with your motherboard and thus the rest of your computer. The higher the SATA Gb/s number, the faster things will run. Additionally, if you plan on using more than 1 GPU, make sure your mobo has enough PCI-e slots to run your GPUs. Asus and Gigabyte both make quality mother boards that are a great value.

Talking about SATA types brings us to the next vital part of your gaming PC: the hard drive. There are current two main types of hard drives, Internal Hard Drives and Solid State Drives (SSDs). Internal hard drives have moving parts, which can cause a lag when your computer performs certain operations. Internal drives are also relatively inexpensive, and are standard in most pre-built desktop computers and laptops. Solid State Drives have no moving parts, and thus much faster than internal hard drives. Most new ultrabooks (laptops that are extremely thin and fast, like the MacBook Air) come stock with SSD drives. Going from using an internal hard drive to an SSD is like night and day in terms of how much faster your computer speed and response rate will be.

My tip for building the best gaming PC is to buy a 60-120GB SSD to run your operating system (OS). This makes it so that all of the main tasks completed by your computer will be done much more quickly. Since you will be limited on space, you can then buy an internal hard drive to store your music, movies, and other large files. Make sure to get an SSD3 drive as they are the newest and fastest SSDs available.

When building your gaming PC, a big decision to make is what size case you want to have. The main difference between case sizes is not only size, but cable management and air flow. While significantly larger, full tower cases provide better airflow for your parts that are likely to become very hot, like your CPU and GPU. If you’ve got the space and extra funds, I always recommend getting a full tower case.

For power supplies (Power Supply Unit, PSU), there are a few things to consider. A regular PSU comes with all of the connection cables already attached, whereas a modular PSU comes with fewer cables attached, but enables the users to attach additional, included cables, should they need to. Newegg has a very handy Power Supply Calculator which you can use to figure out just how much power you need for your new system. There are a lot of cheaper PSUs that look nice but don’t perform well, so stick with brands like Cooler Master, NZXT , Thermaltake, and XFX to ensure you are getting a quality PSU.  If you’re going to be running more than one video card or any additional cooling, it’s better to have a higher wattage for your power supply.

The last parts you need to complete your gaming PC are Random Access Memory (RAM) and a CD/DVD Drive. RAM is additional memory your computer uses to perform intensive tasks. If you plan on doing any heavy photo or video editing with your machine, I would recommend grabbing 12GB or 16GB of RAM to ensure a smooth experience. For gaming, 8GB of Corsair Dominator or Corsair Vengeance will do the trick. Make sure your RAM frequency is compatible with your chosen mother board to avoid an unnecessary headache. Additionally, if you ever opt to upgrade from 8GB to 16GB, make sure the second 8GB you buy is the same make and type of the first 8GB you bought.

While they are becoming more obsolete, for desktop PCs I think it’s still important to grab a CD/DVD reader/burner for when you do get the occasional physical copy of a game to install. In addition, it’s important to get an aftermarket CPU Fan (heatsink) or liquid cooling for your CPU if you plan on overclocking your PC. A heatsink is like a radiator for your CPU, and while all CPUs come with a stock heatsink, these cannot handle the massive heat generated from an overlocked PC. If you try to overclock your CPU without a heatsink or liquid cooling, you could damage and possibly ruin your CPU.

That’s it for steps 1 to 3. Check out the follow-up article with steps 4 and 5: how to assemble your PC and how to get yourself up and gaming.

 

Attracting the Non-Gamer

Last week, while chatting around my kitchen table with a friend, she pulled out her phone and proceeded to play a round of Temple Run while we continued our conversation. Taking a cue from her, I whipped out my phone and began playing as well. And there we sat, talking as we individually played our games; eyes on our phones, concentration focused on not running into a tree or getting attacked by demon monkeys. As a non-gamer (I am reluctant to identify myself even as a casual gamer), this was an extremely unusual situation for me to be in. I have never connected with friends over Xbox LIVE or hung in on a Friday night playing Mario, but I am increasingly finding myself in situations where I am bonding and interacting with my friends over an iOS game.

I have never, ever, been a “gamer.” I may have dabbled with some Sims or Guitar Hero, but prior to installing Temple Run I had gone years without repeatedly playing any videogames. While a love of videogames was something I could conceptualize, comparing it to my love of books, it was never something that I personally experienced. I blame that on my horrible hand-eye coordination.

There are roughly 100,000 games currently available in the App Store. The mobile gaming market has grown exponentially in recent years, garnering attention from people who have never owned a console or handheld gaming device, but who own a smartphone. The smartphone has quickly captured a previously untapped market of gamers, getting Dad — who hasn’t played a video game since Centipede at the arcade — to spend spare moments slinging birds at pigs. Recently, the success of mobile gaming has even sparked discussion on the end of handheld devices.

As an iPhone owner for years, I still was never attracted to the games that entertained my friends, using my phone primarily for email and, well, phone calls. There was a gaming revolution occurring around me, but I was primarily immune to the draw of the game. What about Temple Run changed it all for me? As a self-proclaimed non-gamer, I base my addiction on its quick and consistent gameplay. I can pick it up on my two-minute subway ride or do back-to-back runs for an hour and it’s the same enjoyable game. Graphics are irrelevant to me. As someone who has never consistently experienced the almost life-like animation of certain console games, the visual gaming components are not high on my list of importance. Instead, it is the extremely simple, repetitive, yet exciting gameplay that keeps me starting up the only game I have on my iPhone. And small allusions to my childhood fictional idol — Indiana Jones — didn’t hurt at all.

Temple Run breaks taken while writing this blog post: 5

*Imangi, the studio behind Temple Run is a TriplePoint client.

Couples Who Game Together Stay Together

There’s something you’re forgetting… What is it? It’s right there – on the tip of your tongue…are you getting that sinking feeling yet? Yep! It’s Valentine’s Day! We know some of you out there probably waited until the very last second to get your cards and gifts. You might be scrambling around like a crazed lunatic trying to think of the most romantic present possible for your loved ones. Chocolate? Jewelry? Flowers? Dinner at a fancy shmancy restaurant? What about something a bit more original? Perhaps sharing the satisfaction and experience of destroying some zombies or shooting down enemy forces with shotguns and sniper rifles could top the list this year!

We’ve all seen the viral videos of girlfriends taking a hammer to their boyfriends’ beloved PS3s or Xboxes. There’s a stereotype out there that video games are for little kids and people in serious relationships should have outgrown them. While it’s true that a handful of gamers may over-indulge in screen time, it is also true that a healthy and balanced level of gaming between couples can actually strengthen relationships!

In an issue of Women’s Health Magazine, LA-based social psychologist Susan K. Perry, PhD, stated, “Playing video games allows you to bond and learn how to problem-solve as a team.” Whether you’re teaming up against others or battling each other, video games are a great way for couples to spend time together and to develop mutual respect in a new dimension of their relationship.

Plus, it opens up a new world of gift-giving. Maybe your significant other will get really excited about an upcoming RPG, first-person shooter, or social game – all great gift opportunities! So, this Valentine’s Day, why not start a new tradition?

If you need some ideas for starters, here are a few games I’ve enjoyed playing in a team of two. They don’t exactly scream “hard-core gamer” but they are definitely ways to ease a newbie into gaming! Guitar Hero, Lego Star Wars or Harry Potter, Mario Kart, and Little Big Planet.

 

MIT BiG Recap, Part One: Social vs. Hardcore

Last week TriplePoint attended the 3rd annual MIT Business in Gaming conference in Boston. This series will break down some of the biggest and best ideas into tasty, digestible morsels.

Are you a hardcore gamer or a casual player? With each passing year, more and more people fall into at least one of these categories. To some extent, the console wars still rage on as players debate graphical prowess and the price of getting online. However, the fanboyism of the last two decades has fallen to the wayside as gamers take up arms in an even larger battle, one that pits Volvo-driving soccer moms against Mountain Dew-swilling video game fanatics. There’s been a great deal of discussion surrounding social vs. hardcore gaming, and this panel put forth some lofty ideas.

Gaming's a BiG deal.
Gaming's a BiG deal.
  • Social gaming is dead …or at least the term “social” is becoming increasingly irrelevant. As social elements such as matchmaking, leaderboards and the automatic “I just trumped your score” pings from Geometry Wars 2 work their way into more hardcore games, their presence will be less notable. Features like the Autolog competition-between-friends system in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is destined for all upcoming Criterion releases. These are both clever ways to make that million-player leaderboard relevant to you and your gamer buddies. So even when you’re alone, you’re still playing (asynchronous) multiplayer.
  • Play with your buddies, not just their scores. Synchronous gaming is on the rise; this occurs any time players are all participating at once, rather than just watering one another’s crops whenever it’s convenient. Gazillion’s Nik Davidson went so far as to say that synchronous gaming is “fetishized” by the industry, and that a hybrid of the two makes the most sense. Letting players take their character on the go means the game is always in mind and close at hand. More engaged = more likely to spend.
  • Whatever you call it, it’s growing fast. Casual games that make money hand over fist, like Ravenwood Fair, are popping up like weeds. IGDA NY President Wade Tinney points out, “With each passing month comes a new MMO or casual title that changes all the rules.” This ongoing evolution is drastically outpacing all other entertainment markets.

The boys and girls of the NES Generation are now becoming parents, and the game industry’s growth will continue to accelerate. As more and more of the populous understands game mechanics and is willing to invest in gaming entertainment, this social/hardcore/whatever industry has quite a sunny future.


Speakers included:

  • Nik Davidson – Gazillion/The Amazing Society
  • Nabeel Hyatt – Zynga Boston
  • Daniel Witenberg – Lego Universe
  • Wade Tinney – Large Animal Games & President IGDA NY

NY Videogame Critics Invade NY Gaming Meetup, GotY Still at Large

Last night, over one hundred video game players, journalists and scholars braved freezing temperatures to convene in downtown Manhattan and discuss their hobby of choice. December’s NY Gaming Meetup hosted the NY Videogame Critics Circle, a group of journalists committed to establishing an East Coast presence on the global gaming map. Moderated by industry veteran (and group leader) Harold Goldberg, the critics waxed philosophical on the highs, lows, and gooey centers of the 2010 year in gaming. Rising above the ranks of petty fanboyism, the critics touched on a wide range of topics:

  • While 2010 was a good year for gaming, it may not have qualified as a “great” one. With an abundance of sequels, many developers played it safe. Blame the struggling economy for the dearth of new IP’s.
  • The battle between indies and majors rages on. AAA titles like Call of Duty are reliable earners, but rarely grab the attention of this particular crowd, who often favor smaller games with shoestring budgets, games that have not been “developed by a focus group.” One glowing exception was Mass Effect 2, a blockbuster which is sure to get a lot of attention in the annual Game of the Year debates.
  • Some independent games like Super Meat Boy and TriplePoint client LIMBO got love from the critics, illustrating the fact that the burden of proof differs greatly between indie games and titles from major studios. This also scraped the surface of the “rigidity in video game pricing” debate, a complex topic that deserves its own post.
  • Red Dead Redemption was a great game, no contest. It was also responsible for Alan Wake’s disappointing sales. Chock this up to a marketing failure; for future reference, literally no other games should be pitted against a release from Rockstar Games.
  • Red Dead was also a sterling example of the ways that DLC can not only bolster a game’s staying power, but also explore an entirely unique timeline or reality. Undead Nightmare was far more than just a bandwagon-inspired cash-in. Mass Effect 2 was similarly praised for giving players a complete disk-based experience, with DLC that provided a unique spin on familiar characters and settings. If nothing else, 2010 was the year that cemented downloadable content as an unavoidable part of a game’s development and marketing lifecycle.
  • Borrowing the microtransaction model wasn’t the only way that 2010’s console releases were inspired by their social brethren. Players are becoming just as accustomed to in-game payments as they are to maintaining and upgrading virtual real estate. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood offered gamers a chance to rebuild Rome, just as they’d expand an online farm or browser-based pet shop. Expect to see even more cross-promotional games like Gunslingers, the free (hype-generating) Facebook game that lead up to Red Dead’s proper release.
  • Minecraft was considered the year’s Cinderella story. The baffling title came out of left field to build a userbase over 2 million strong. More importantly, over a quarter of those gamers actually paid $13 to play a game that’s still in its alpha stage infancy.

That was the year in games, summed up (and hotly debated) in 90 minutes. Let’s hope that 2011 delivers even more unique gaming experiences and spreads them out across the entire twelve month calendar.

To keep up with the motley crew of Gaming Critics, follow them on Twitter.

Harold Goldberg –  Russ Frushtick – Evan Narcisse – Tracey John – Andrew Yoon – Not pictured: Stu Horvath Host: Brad Hargreaves

Fantasy University Opens – Schools Facebook Gaming

Too late for back-to-school news?  We don’t think so.

Facebook – meet Fantasy University, the latest project from veteran development team Simutronics.  Since 1987, Simutronics has been entertaining millions with games such as GemStone IV, the longest-running commercial MUD in the world.  If CEO David Whatley and company could turn text-based games into entertainment enjoyed by millions, imagine what they could do with Facebook.  Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Fantasy University.

Fantasy University combines snarky humor, endless pop culture references, and the FUBAR (the game’s form of virtual currency) with solid, RPG gameplay.   Facebook, a platform that has been subject to mounting criticism by gaming journalists (and sometimes ignored altogether), is now host to emomancers,  slackninjas, mathemagicians, cheermongers, and dodgebrawlers.

There’s plenty to say about F.U., but sometimes game art speaks louder than words.

We’ll be playing right along with you – don’t be late for school!

(“Facebook Credit” – get it?)

How Rockstar Rocks It

Rockstar is justifiably one of the most well-regarded publishers and developers in the industry. The company has tremendous positive equity with both consumers and the gaming press, delivering one critically-acclaimed AAA title after another. Many of the reasons Rockstar is such a powerhouse are relatively evident. To name a few: technical excellence, engaging gameplay, “it’s not done till it’s perfect” development cycles and judicious choices of games to produce. But one thing that may not be so evident is the studio’s strategic focus.

Rockstar is strategically innovative in gameplay development and feature implementation such that it suggests awareness, if not pursuit, of Blue Ocean Strategy. At the most basic level a Blue Ocean Strategy, which was set forth by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in the 2005 book, focuses on value innovation such that a company is able to create an uncontested, new market of customers. While this is not what Rockstar has done (they still compete in an existing market for existing gamers) the company seems to nonetheless incorporate certain tenets of Blue Ocean Strategy into their game design.

Here are a few of the ways Rockstar seems to be strategically pursuing some of the precepts of a Blue Ocean Strategy, intentionally or not:

1.     In-game Entertainment

Rockstar has become well known for offering in-game entertainment: the radio and TV stations in Grand Theft Auto IV and the short movies in Red Dead Redemption are the most recent examples. In a Blue Ocean strategy that is also delineated in the college-favorite article Marketing Myopia, Rockstar is rethinking who their customer is and what they want. Condense it down far enough and Rockstar is in the entertainment business – so they offer additional, in-game entertainment for players. Rockstar is adding value for players and fulfilling additional needs not normally covered by an average game.

GTA IV has optional, non-interactive entertainment, such as comedy shows by Ricky Gervais

2.     Following Trends to their Natural Conclusions
One of the pathways to a Blue Ocean is following trends and becoming involved with an eye to where the natural conclusion of that trend would be. In other words, being involved but not taking extreme risks. This is another area Rockstar excels in. Take mobile and social gaming, two of the fastest growing segments in the industry. In both cases, Rockstar is there prominently, with Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars their latest mobile release (the first mobile GTA game was released for the PSP in 2005) and Red Dead Redemption Gunslinger on Facebook. Rockstar clearly looks beyond their games and at what is happening in the industry.

3.     DLC Excellence
DLC is certainly a trend as described above, but Rockstar has demonstrated such expertise in the development and release of DLC for Red Dead Redemption that it deserves a special mention. In Rockstar’s hands, DLC is a tool to make money, generate press and engage players. By offering substantial DLC “packs” that are frequently and consistently released, the company ensures that each release generates additional press coverage and serves to further engage players – string them along in other words – by adding value over time, keeping each new addition fresh and exciting.

4.     Multiplayer – a Result of Reaching Across Strategic Groups?
It’s also worth briefly mentioning GTA IV’s and, especially, Red Dead Redemption’s multiplayer. Another pathway to a Blue Ocean is implementing features from strategic groups in an industry. In the case of these two games, features from MMO games are integrated into the multiplayer experience, resulting in a richer multiplayer experience and a more unique product.

Read Dead Redemption
Read Dead Redemption's posses are streamlined versions of MMO guilds

Rockstar may not have reached a Blue Ocean –yet? – but there is clearly deep strategic thought going into their game design. While a Blue Ocean Strategy is much more detailed and technical than described here, it appears that Rockstar’s strategic thought in game design is consistent with a focus on value innovation as described in Blue Ocean Strategy. And yes, that’s one of the ways Rockstar rocks it.

25 Brain Games from the Social, Mobile and Casual Space

Back to school already? Here are 25 games that will get your brain in shape before you know it. Even if you’re not headed back to the classroom, we can all use a good mental push up (and a fun distraction) from time to time.

Frisky Mongoose has compiled a list of 25 top titles for “brainstream” gamers both young and old. Did your favorites make the list? poweRBrands and Empire Avenue are 2 of our favorites, simple because they offer something totally unique and relevant for PR and marketing folks like us. Several – if not most – of these social, mobile and casual games are free, so put on your smarty pants and play learn your hearts out!

Facebook games:

poweRBrands by Reckitt Benckiser – “The first Facebook game of its kind, designed to test players’ marketing and business abilities, teach strategy and decision-making skills, and introduce users to the culture and challenges that face the company’s marketers every day.

Brain Buddies by wooga – Brain Buddies offers its users a playful way to determine their brain weight. The game is focusing on a contest among friends to find the one with the heaviest brain. A large set of mini games as well as entertaining graphics make the game fun to play for a long time.

Who Has the Biggest Brain by Playfish – A series of mini games test your abilities in 4 brain areas: Calculation, Memory, Logic and Visual. The combined score from each of these categories add up to your overall brain rating. A great opportunity to settle the debate, who really does have the biggest brain? After playing you are awarded a ranking – one of 27 different ‘Brain Types’ used to rank you and your friends.

Two other studious selections to try from Playfish are Word Challenge and Geo Challenge.

DumbVille by GSN – Tackle quirky questions and puzzle your way through mindless mini-games to rise through the ranks from Village Idiot to Mayor of Dumbville. Every time you succeed AND every time your friends fail, you’ll win Oodles – redeemable rewards that you can use to purchase sweepstakes entries and prizes on GSN.com.

Scrabble by Electronic Arts – A new version of the original board game includes built-in chat and dictionary, multiple word lists, dynamic animations, and multiple speed settings for public games. An easy-to-use interface lets you play with anyone who loves the game!

Online games:

Empire Avenue – Reap the benefits of expanding your online influence while buying and selling virtual shares in your best friend, your favorite blogger or that pizza joint down the road – anyone, for free. Connect with other people who like the same things as you, find interesting bloggers to follow, or unearth a cool new business in your home town! This Internet thing is pretty useful, you know, and Empire Avenue helps you find the people and businesses that are relevant to you.

Risk: The Game of Global Domination on Pogo.com – Establish your military objectives, take command of your army and begin your campaign to rule the world. Based on the classic board game of strategic conquest from Hasbro, Risk comes to life online where the object of the game is simple: Global Domination! Risk is a turn based game with each player starting with their own controllable army in an attempt to capture territories from opposing players and control the entire map.

Word Whomp on Pogo.com – This freebie challenges you to whomp adorable gophers and spell as many words as you can from a given set of letters before the clock runs out. Gophers will dig up veggies and bonuses as you unscramble words. Reach the carrot to enter the bonus round and score big!

Jeopardy on GSN.com – Test your trivia knowledge, just like the actual game show. Select a question from one of the six game categories by clicking on a dollar value under the category of your choice. When the question appears, you may choose to either “Respond” or “Pass.” If you choose to respond, you will have 15 seconds to answer a multiple-choice question. The game will end when you don’t have enough money to play on.

Wheel of Fortune on GSN.com – You can compete for cash and prizes, just like contestants on the actual game show, with 5 turns to solve the word puzzle. Correctly identify consonants or “buy a vowel.” Each successful guess gives you an additional free spin, but the faster you solve the puzzle, the higher your time bonus! When you choose to solve the puzzle, if your answer is correct, you’ll play in the Bonus Round. If not, you’ll lose a turn.

Tiny Planets – “Targetting kids aged six to 14, this game is based on the Tiny Planets animated TV series, and offers six ‘planets’ for users to visit consisting of simple games, web videos, social networking, a virtual world, goods, and currency, and, of course, learning opportunities. Tiny Planets is rich with entertaining and educational activities that focus on space, conservation, science, creativity, and critical thinking skills.”

FitBrains.com – Provides scientifically developed brain games targeting the five major brain areas: memory, problem solving, concentration, visual spatial, Language. Focus on one brain area or play all the games to give your brain a complete workout. Brain games are a fun way to exercise your brain and an important pillar in living a healthy life. Try your luck and test your skills in games like Travel Quest, Sum Snap and Uber Brain.

Fantage.com, a TriplePoint client – A next-generation destination site for children that offers games and adventures to entertain, delight, and promote positive social interaction in an engaging, exciting, safe environment that both kids and parents love. Fantage also provides an age-appropriate, safe social networking experience within a fun virtual world.

iPhone & iPad games:

The Oregon Trail by Gameloft – Assume the role of a wagon leader in a side-view journey where your strategic decisions must ensure the safety of your party along the treacherous Oregon Trail. Overcome the perilous journey to Oregon in America’s Wild West. Just like the real pioneers, experience the decision-making, problem-solving, and role-playing fun of this historical event. A unique strategy/educational game relating the first pioneers’ journey to Western American.

THINK by TriplePoint client, Ravensburger Digital – 16 exercises spread across four distinct categories, all designed to give your mind a rigorous workout in different areas of thought. THINK is currently available in English, Spanish and German. Could your brain use a boost?

RedFish Puzzle by Fresh Planet – “Fun games for smart people.” Fresh Planet offers several brain games on various platforms, including the RedFish series of learning apps for young children on the iPad. RedFish Piano 4 Kids is another good one to check out.

Words with Friends by Newtoy Inc. – Turn-based crossword gaming in your pocket! Not much else to say, besides this game is Scrabble in your pocket, with your friends, in real time… and it’s as addictive as they come.

HexaLex by TriplePoint client, Nathan Gray – Takes the classic, easy to learn but hard to master crossword game and adds a new dimension. Hexagonal tiles let you play words in three directions instead of two. Words interact in new and interesting ways. But have no fear, you’ll be up and playing in no time, thanks to the tutorial and detailed, built-in help. If you’ve ever played Scrabble, Lexulous, or Words With Friends you’ll feel right at home!

Word Warp by MobilityWare – Word game fans rejoice! Similar to Text Twist, Word Warp is a challenging anagram type of word game in which you try to form as many words as you can out of the six letters you are given before time runs out. You will receive points for each correct word, but in order to advance to the next level you must come up with at least one word that uses all six letters.

Word Scramble 2 by Zynga – Scramble is the fast fun game of finding words in a jumbled grid. Quickly slide your finder over letters next to each other to make words! Compete with friends and play live with fellow word game fans.

Nintendo games:

Big Brain Academy (Wii and DS) by Nintendo – Weigh Your Brain! With 15 activities that challenge your brain in single-player Test and Practice modes, Big Brain Academy Wii sees how you measure up in five categories: memory, analysis, number crunching, visual recognition, and quick thinking.

My Word Coach (DS) by Ubisoft – Developed in collaboration with linguists, helps players improve their verbal communication and vocabulary in a fun way. Practice need never get boring with six different exercises to choose between. Players can input missing letters from words, spell out the answers to various definitions, choose which word matches a particular definition, form specific words with Scrabble-like tiles, and more. Three levels of difficulty are available, and the game includes a built-in dictionary of over 17,000 words.

Personal Trainer: Math (DS) by Nintendo – Makes learning fun with fast-paced, high-speed arithmetic problems that keep your math basics fresh, from addition to subtraction and multiplication to division. As your calculation speed improves, earn medals in each exercise to prove your mathematical mastery!

My Virtual Tutor: Reading Kindergarten to 1st Grade (DS) by Mentor Interactive – By combining the kid-friendly Nintendo DS with a proven reading curriculum developed and tested at the University of Colorado, My Virtual Tutor: Reading makes learning reading skills fun, affordable and portable. Through interactive books, school age and grade relevant phonics instruction and fun quiz modes, your child will learn the comprehension, phonics, fluency and vocabulary necessary to become an expert reader, all while having fun with their Nintendo DS.

Brain Age (DS) by Nintendo – The title is a series of minigames designed to give your brain a workout. The 17 engaging activities are all designed to help work your brain and increase blood flow to the prefrontal cortex. Whether you’re playing simple songs on a piano keyboard or monitoring the photo finish of a footrace, you’ll love your new mental workout!

This article was originally published by Kate Hancock on Frisky Mongoose.

Social Game Distractions: PR Advice for a Generation Constantly at Play

It’s soapbox time again over at the ‘Goose – enjoy (and add your 2 cents in the comments below)!

Know why I prefer writing on the weekends? Because all the noise dies down around me – our unrelenting 24/7 news cycle doesn’t stop, but it slows down long enough for a person to clear their head…. During the week, we’re lucky to have time to think about how all the news “pieces” of the day fit into the bigger puzzle – not just in the tech & gaming industry, but anywhere.

Everyday we’re bombarded with new games, new features, new partnerships, milestones and announcements of all shapes and sizes. I’m speaking from experience in 3 crucial game industry roles: PR (public relations), journalist (news editor), and most important for the advice that follows, gaming/tech consumer.

You may be wondering… what makes consumer experience most important when you’re handing out PR advice? Everything. For example, the “corporate stuff” does not matter at all to 95% of consumers. Most people could care less about *who* develops, publishes, promotes or profits from a game, as long as it’s fun, and it’s a good value for their time and money. If you lose sight of that – from any business level, you’ve got an unenviable, uphill battle ahead. That’s not to say corporate announcements don’t have their place, so long as you’re telling consumers what it means for them in the end.

Anyway, speaking of fun –

Back to reasons I like writing on the weekend. It’s easier to pick out the cool, fun, unique stuff (from the weekly news noise) when you’re actually *playing* games and doing things IRL (in real life) that you *enjoy*. The distracting, buzzing news machine is all but silent when you are doing (or writing) something because you want to.

I haven’t logged into FarmVille or Cafe World in weeks. I’ve been busy this summer, traveling too much for any successful harvest schedule. I have been social gaming though – here’s some of what I *have* played lately: Rock Band, The Gig, Wii Sports, LEGO Universe, foursquare, Words with Friends, Bejeweled Blitz, HexaLex, DizzyPad, Pure Hidden, Spot the Difference, Poker, Tennis, Mini-Golf, Bowling, Bean Bag Shuffleboard, Ping Pong, Beer Pong, Name That Tune – well, you get the idea ;) And I’m not alone –

Social and casual games are fighting for the time, attention and money of a generation constantly at play. Everywhere we turn there’s a game-like distraction to pass the time (or sell us something). Why pay when we can get great game experience for free? I imagine that’s a developer’s eternal conundrum, but that’s another topic, another post…

For journalists, it’s getting harder and harder to report anything new in Facebook gaming. I’m tired of pretending to care about new virtual goods. When did microtransactions become the end-all be-all for social games? I realize the freemium model can be somewhat limiting for innovative revenue options, but all these collectibles, gifts, power-ups and digital doo-dads are starting to feel like deja vu all over again.

Ditching the distractions

Pro tips are always common sense once you’ve heard them, so try this on for size: If your pitch is newsworthy, it will write itself. If you are just sending an announcement to try and drum up news or sales during development downtime, you’ll find yourself stretching for a “hook”, and you won’t fool anyone. I’m not being cynical, jaded or bitter, and I know the rest of the world (and industry) is still spinning when you aren’t, but just be patient. Wait for the *right* times and get the *right* stories out there – don’t make your game/name another distraction – make it a hot topic. The biggest news, best promotions, most important business moves, and most unique pitches/campaigns are the easiest and most fulfilling to pull off. More importantly, they generate the best impact and results. In other words, BE news to make news.

(duh)

Here in the social gaming news space, so far, we’ve been pretty darn open to distractions. Everything from new in-game items and UI tweaks, to free gifts and fan bonuses, gets plenty of play in all social game blogrolls (including the ‘Goose)… But as more games come to market, Facebook users are slowing spreading out across a multitude of titles.

Too big for their britches?

If your game isn’t in the top 25 leaderboards (aka, has 7+ million MAUs), or growing like a weed in in the top gainers category, you’ll be hardpressed to get coverage on your new line of virtual goods. (#justbeinghonest) Unless, of course, you’ve partnered with X top brand (a la Zynga – 7/11), will support a well-known charity by donating some significant portion of virtual good sales, or are giving away large sums of cash in an exciting contest, tournament or event… But that all goes back to *being* news to *make* news, in the end.

Even still, the top 25 developers and other social game superstars are starting to find less bang for their buck *because* the increasingly diversified industry has become too big and too busy. It’s simply not possible to cover every individual update, even top titles are becoming a newsfeed distraction for straying users. On the bright side, this diversifying market should eventually yield more loyal players, who play more often and don’t need/want a barrage of third-party news. These loyal fans already know about new items, and want to hear something new – something more. They want to be heard, be connected, be a part – not just the end-user. Give players major real world news that brings them back to your game – they want culture and they want it now!

Your turn – Where do you draw the line between social and casual gaming, and how do you intend to drown out the distractions?

LEGO Universe and HexaLex are TriplePoint clients. This article was originally published on Frisky Mongoose.

Oceanopolis Making Waves and Offering Real World Rewards for Virtual Play

This week, the folks at Greenopolis are proud to unveil Oceanopolis, a new social game on Facebook that offers an innovative approach to recycling and conservation – make it fun and rewarding through the vehicle of social gaming!

Referred to by TechCrunch as a “Facebook Game With a Mission,”   Oceanopolis combines the engaging experiences found in today’s top social games with real world calls-to-action for recycling and conservation of natural resources.  With the ultimate goal of building a long-term sustainable community, Oceanopolis players are encouraged to maintain their environment through the in-game actions of converting waste into treasure by recycling. The team over at Greenopolis have done a fantastic job in summarizing what players can expect when the game, currently in open beta, receives a full rollout in the coming weeks.

Oceanopolis is not your standard social game,  as it connects the real world with the virtual world by offering  real life rewards for in-game actions such as retrieving and recycling plastic and glass bottles, steel and aluminum cans and cardboard boxes. Since 2008, Greenopolis, a subsidiary of Waste Management, the largest recycler in North America, has developed new ways for consumers to participate in acts of recycling and conservation.  Through blogging on Greenopolis.com and by physically bringing in recyclables to on-street Greenopolis Recycling Kiosks, people have been able to collect points in exchange for their efforts in fighting pollution and promoting conservation.  These points can now be combined with those earned by playing Oceanopolis and redeemed for rewards or discounts from thousands of restaurants, theaters and other retail establishments.

The Greenopolis team, currently at Casual Connect, is celebrating the Oceanopolis beta launch with a Twitter event which started yesterday and will continue into tomorrow.  The Greenopolis Foundation will donate $1 for the first 25,000 people who tweet the following message during the three days of Casual Connect:

“Make waves. Fight ocean pollution with http://apps.Facebook.com/Oceanopolis #Oceanopolis”

All proceeds will go to Ocean Aid, a 501c3 non-profit that will fund research into pollution-filled ocean gyres through an annual benefit concert.  Every person who tweets the message will also be entered to win two tickets to the Ocean Aid concert.

We hope you will join in the cause to raise ocean awareness through social gaming and check out the game for yourself at http://apps.facebook.com/oceanopolis/.

Better Off Flying Solo? Joe Danger and the Risk/Reward of Self-Publication in Downloadable Gaming

A recent keynote at the Develop conference by Hello Games’ Sean Murray cast a harsh light on the realities of publishing downloadable games on home consoles like Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade, Sony’s PlayStation Network and Nintendo’s WiiWare Channel. He purports that self-published games like his recently-released critical darling Joe Danger (which sold 50,000 units week one on PSN) are both more successful and more profitable than those of major studios.

Joe Danger, breaking all the rules.

Arguably the most popular digital download channel, Apple’s App Store offers an extremely low barrier to entry – just $99 for a dev-kit and a revamped review process that sees new apps approved or denied in as little as three days. While a few iPhone gaming giants have emerged, there’s still plenty of room for a basement programmer to strike it rich (or at least make the “What’s Hot” list). In contrast, console gaming depends on the distribution models established decades ago by the book publishing industry. In order to get a disk-based game into players’ living rooms, developers must partner with a publisher who sets up the distribution (including dubious deeds like retailer exclusives). Self-publishing a game with a box and a manual is borderline impossible. But even when it comes to the zeroes and ones that comprise downloadable games, Murray perceives major developers as more of a burden than an asset to young development studios.  According to his research, casual card, puzzle and word games make up 31% of the offerings on console download services but less than 5% percent of the sales. This flies in the face of the notion that casual players fuel the download market.  In fact, it’s the long-time, hardcore gamers that are driving downloadable game sales, as evidenced by the top three selling XBLA games of 2009 (multiplayer-only FPS Battlefield 1943, oldschool-inspired beat-‘em-up Castle Crashers, and controller-crushingly difficult dirt bike platformer Trials HD). While the EA-published Battlefield may owe part of its success to the series’ long history, the other two titles were created (and published) by tiny development teams.

Murray argues that big publishers offer very little to developers in the downloadable games market, and this stems from both lack of experience and lack of effort or interest.  As he puts it, the person in charge of the digital download services at most publishers “is not necessarily the biggest deal for the overall structure of the publisher.” For the time being, Joe Danger is exclusive to PSN – Sony makes their development tools readily accessible, unlike Microsoft and Nintendo. As a passive rebuttal to the PSN Store, Microsoft created the Xbox Live Indie Games channel (née Xbox Live Community Games), and while it’s relatively easy to get a title published there, the games are incredibly difficult to locate, let alone market and promote to fans.

So what’s a developer to do? For PlayStation games like Murray’s Joe Danger, the money saved through self-publishing could be spent on a high-caliber PR agency (ahem) to spread the word and boost downloads. For a game destined for XBLA or WiiWare, write your local congressperson! And be patient. As consumers become more and more comfortable keeping their entertainment in the cloud, the move toward online stores will pressure companies like Microsoft and Nintendo to revise their strategy.

There’s one other major stumbling block – NPD sales data for downloadable games is between difficult and impossible to obtain.  As a result, publishers can’t use existing titles as a reference point to gauge the risk and potential profit of developing a new game.  If the console giants would relinquish this information and break down other barriers to entry, publishers both great and small could bring more creatively adventurous titles to market. With this capitalistic system, gamers would enjoy all types of new options, from big-screen versions of the $.99 bite-size games that dominate the App Store to $30 small entrées that don’t fit the current pricing/distribution mold. With vibrant, fun-focused games like Joe Danger, the reign of the murky brown über -macho FPS may be coming to a close. It’s simply up to us, as the nerdy masses, to e-vote with our digital wallets.

Clap Twice for Pizza: Gesture Recognition Makes this Dream a Reality

It’s no secret that, when it comes to home entertainment, we’re in the midst of a distribution revolution. Content once tied to broadcast airwaves is now being ravenously consumed on the internet via computers, video game consoles and set top devices.

TriplePoint has the privilege of working with some of these new media startups. PlayOn (which recently made the jump to iPhone; CNET link) streams Hulu and other web video onto PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, without the need for a costly Hulu+ account. For those without a video game console, Softkinetic is providing a Microsoft Kinect-like experience to a massive install base via their set top box gesture recognition system.

With two cameras and a powerful microphone, Kinect knows who’s in front of the TV. For games like Dance Central, the technology will track all the poppin’ and lockin’ you can throw at it. But as an entertainment hub, a Kinect-enabled Xbox 360 will change the way that marketers convey their messages. Advertising is the backbone of media, providing the funding for programming and keeping content free for the viewer.

Softkinetic and Microsoft face a major challenge with these user-recognizing innovations. The product must find the right combination of allure, cost and ease-of-use, or at least hit two sides of this triangle. Kinect is rumored to cost $150, putting it well above the $99 impulse-buy sweet spot and closer to the price of a new game console. Softkinetic, on the other hand, will have less features but will also enjoy wider adoption, since the system will piggyback onto cable boxes and not require additional equipment.

As these devices become a fixture of the entertainment centers in dens and rec rooms around the world, ultra-targeted advertising will be commonplace. In order to frame this in a positive light, marketers will highlight the family-friendly aspects of these targeted ad systems.  For instance, “No R-rated movie previews if children are detected,” or, similarly “no beer commercials until the registered account holder turns 21.”  Of course, there are many aspects of these targeted ads that appeal to advertisers, too.  For instance, gender-specific commercials can now be tied to the actual gender of the viewers, rather than the network making educated guesses about the viewing audience based on the channel, program and time of day

Interactive ads are not far behind. Many of today’s preroll web video ads ask if you’d prefer to interrupt your show with 3 traditional thirty-second commercials, or watch a 90 second long-form ad before the show begins.  By giving the viewer a choice, marketers engage the audience and have a better change of holding their attention.

With mics and 3D cameras in place, these ads will evolve into mini-games – how many on-screen Pepsi bubbles can you “pop” by waving your hands, before the time runs out? Sponsored gameshow-style quizzes are also possible, since the systems can detect multiple voices in the room. First one to finish this jingle gets 10 points on their gamerscore!  “Plop plop, fizz fizz…”

Social media integration is already built into modern game consoles.  In the future, before the new Top Chef episode streams, you’ll be prompted to invite other online friends who ‘like’ that show on Facebook to join you and watch together, virtually.

During the show, ads will feature music by artists from your Last.fm account that you’ve “favorited.” Local advertisements will pinpoint your self-identified exact location and give you offers that are relevant to your tastes.  For instance, the Italian restaurant below your apartment is offering double-pepperoni for the price of cheese, and they’ll be open for another 45 minutes.  Since your credit card is on file with your Xbox Live or PSN account, you can literally say the word and have hot pizza at your door before Padma calls the chef’testants to the judge’s table. Are you watching solo, or did you invite the whole gang over? Accordingly, you’ll get promotions ranging from personal-pan pizza to the ultra-jumbo feast.

There’s a great deal riding on the success of these gesture- and user- recognition systems.  Their main strength is in eliminating the “input middleman,” giving users greater control over their own entertainment. They also give marketers new ways to reach consumers. While this new technology is exciting on many levels, it will also present unseen obstacles and take years before adoption is truly mainstream. Only time will tell if the universal remote can survive this Minority Report future.

Recipe for an E3 PR Spectacle: Jessica Chobot, Frederik Wester and a Hair Clipper…

The Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) is one of those rare trade shows where with a little bit of effort, the stars can align to produce something spectacular.  With nearly every major company in the gaming industry vying for attention at the show, breaking through the clutter and noise of the West and South Halls is no small feat.  It requires thoughtful planning, timely execution and well, a CEO who is willing to shave his head to fulfill a bet.

Continue reading Recipe for an E3 PR Spectacle: Jessica Chobot, Frederik Wester and a Hair Clipper…

Game Journalists Leave Natural Habitat, Spotted AFK. Quote of the night, “Most old games suck” – Stephen Totilo.

It’s not uncommon to get a journalist’s perspective – after all, they’re paid to write down their thoughts, feelings and opinions. In the case of most game journalists, their primary task is to let the game-loving public know which titles are worth playing, in what boils down to a glorified “Buy It, Rent It, Skip It” rating scale. But last night on the NYU campus, a few prominent game journalists discussed their craft itself as part of the Game Center lecture series. Stephen Totilo of Kotaku, Leigh Alexander of Gamasutra and Jamin Brophy-Warren of Kill Screen (a new gaming print publication, gasp!) gave their take on a variety of highbrow video game topics like gender, violence and the death of print.

The three industry vets spent a good deal of time discussing the difficult nature of writing for such a niche audience. As Totilo pointed out, games are experienced quite differently than movies, and are thus a lot trickier to cover. Because modern games are both expensive and expansive, a journalist can’t assume readers have a “high gaming literacy.” That is to say, even with an extremely popular game like Modern Warfare 2, a writer can’t take for granted that players have beaten the single player campaign or that they’ve shared the same overall experience. This makes games journalism far more nebulous than film criticism, a field where it’s safe to assume that everyone has viewed the same movie in essentially the same way. It may take a player a few days to beat a game, or that quest may be stretched out over a year. Plus, as gaming becomes increasingly popular, the sheer number of must-play games can overwhelm even a dedicated nerd’s gaming time. Case in point – Totilo Beat 30 games last year, but played over 100. This abundance of games is one of the biggest hurdles for the PR industry.

Another hot topic was the divide between mainstream and enthusiast games press, which has increased steadily in the past years. But as the writers were quick to point out, some the most compelling pieces of prose stem from outlets like the New York Times, who approach their rare game coverage as a Times’ piece first and a gaming piece second. In short, the range of games coverage is as diverse as the quality of the games themselves.

From a PR perspective, the takeaway here is a bit muddy. At TriplePoint our goal is to connect with journalists and secure coverage in a wide variety of outlets, spanning the gap between the fanatically enthusiast and the widest-reaching mainstream press, preferably through a mix of print, web and televised content. We have our work cut out for us, just as these three journalists have a difficult task before them. By keeping the communication lines as open as possible, all parties stand to benefit. But with so many games and just one Leigh Alexander, for instance, it’s vital to stay in tune with her thoughts and opinions via persistent reading and social media monitoring. Because when the day comes when we’re working with an amazing new JRPG, I want her to be the first to know. As Jamin Brophy-Warren, points out, “When it comes to movies I just sit there and watch, but in games I’m the one making things happen.” That’s a very powerful experience – the glue that holds our industry together.