Dr. Dobb's | Buena Vista Builds Video Game Dev Platform

Buena Vista Builds Video Game Dev Platform

With the new platform, the interactive entertainment firm will focus on streamlining workflow processes.

October 11, 2006
URL:http://www.drdobbs.com/architecture-and-design/buena-vista-builds-video-game-dev-platfo/193300130

Buena Vista Games Inc. is building a proprietary platform for video-game development for its Propaganda Games studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and has licensed Gamebryo Element to integrate with the system.

Calabasas, Calif.-based Emergent Game Technologies' Gamebryo Element, a cross-platform rendering and animation system, will assist BVG build game titles for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360.

"The platform will be for content creators, such as artists, designers, animators, and designers," said Jorge Freitas, director of technology for Propaganda Games, a wholly owned BVG startup developing a first-person shooter game. "Our main goal is to create a technology that's cross platform geared toward next-generation systems that allows artists to work independently from engineers."

With the new platform, the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Co. will focus on streamlining workflow processes. It will ensure artists and animators can easily upload content into game platforms without engineers stepping in, which slows down the process to build games.

As budgets continue to increase, cutting excess steps in development processes becomes more important, said Billy Pidgeon, gaming analyst at IDC.

"With HD capabilities required for the next consoles, it will cost much more and take an increased number of staff to produce a game," Pidgeon said. "That's one reason game prices continue to rise."

In the 8-bit days during the 1980s, development costs ranged between $250,000 and $500,000 per high-end. Pidgeon said the cost today runs between $15 million and $20 million to produce one high-end video game for an XBox 360, Playstation 3 or Wii.

Prices rose in the past year, but not painfully for Devin Dawson, software engineer at Supplyframe Inc., an interactive B2B search engine. "I've seen prices rise in the past year to about $60 each, up from $50," Dawson said, who admits sitting in front of his television or PC monitor for hours at a time.

"I'm game driven. I'll wait for a game to come out I really want to play, and then buy the console to play it on," Dawson said. "It's really the least expensive form of entertainment, if you think about it."

Development costs are one reason game prices continue to rise. Video game platforms and software have become more sophisticated. Among the reason for higher prices that many may not consider, console makers Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony actually manufacturer the games.

And each want a cut of the royalties for games geared toward their console, said Supplyframe CFO Mike Placido, who once served as COO at video game distributor Electro Source LLC.

"Buena Vista might develop the game, but I'll bet between 5 and 7 percent of the royalties on each game goes to the console makers," Placido said.