The seismic velocity of moonrock is close to that of cheese.
Zoom in all the way at Google Moon and you'll find out why. ;)
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Laro
I got a tour yesterday of Laro Corporation Philippines from COO Nobuhiro Fujii and programmer David Uy. Only two years old, Laro (Filipino for "game") is one of only three game development companies I know of in the Philippines. A PS2 game Laro worked on made #3 in Japan.
Fujii-san, a programmer on Final Fantasy IX, regaled me with stories of his work at Square Enix, the origins of ATB, Japanese gamer tastes, and Hironobu Sakaguchi's powerful aura at work. David showed me an all-Filipino team surrounded by topnotch technology, game design textbooks, Leithold (may he rest in peace), anime figurines, and original-language manga.
What really sticks in my mind is the reason Laro's founders choose the Philippines. According to Fujii-san, the big game development houses in Japan suck up all the talent, so there isn't much left for smaller players. The Philippines, on the other hand, has a vast pool of untapped game development talent -- a pool Laro has been swimming in for two years now.
Hope to see more companies like Laro playing in the pool.
Fujii-san, a programmer on Final Fantasy IX, regaled me with stories of his work at Square Enix, the origins of ATB, Japanese gamer tastes, and Hironobu Sakaguchi's powerful aura at work. David showed me an all-Filipino team surrounded by topnotch technology, game design textbooks, Leithold (may he rest in peace), anime figurines, and original-language manga.
What really sticks in my mind is the reason Laro's founders choose the Philippines. According to Fujii-san, the big game development houses in Japan suck up all the talent, so there isn't much left for smaller players. The Philippines, on the other hand, has a vast pool of untapped game development talent -- a pool Laro has been swimming in for two years now.
Hope to see more companies like Laro playing in the pool.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Stage Select
A Korean gaming professional I met for breakfast last week opines that the Philippines is nine years behind Korea in game development -- but only two years behind in publishing.
He also shares that, in Korea, gamers listen to word of mouth, and cafés listen to gamers on what games to install. As such, game publishers there don't need huge salesforces to push games to cafés. Perhaps as the Philippine market matures and gains a voice, publishers here can adopt more cost-effective marketing tactics.
For enterprising Filipinos looking to leverage our strength in publishing and empower our markets with choice -- and savvy Filipino gamers looking to tell local publishers where to get the games they want -- check out this directory of 204 Korean Game Companies.
He also shares that, in Korea, gamers listen to word of mouth, and cafés listen to gamers on what games to install. As such, game publishers there don't need huge salesforces to push games to cafés. Perhaps as the Philippine market matures and gains a voice, publishers here can adopt more cost-effective marketing tactics.
For enterprising Filipinos looking to leverage our strength in publishing and empower our markets with choice -- and savvy Filipino gamers looking to tell local publishers where to get the games they want -- check out this directory of 204 Korean Game Companies.
The Rise of Korean Games Explained
Just came across a fascinating whitepaper by the Korea Game Development and Promotion Institute detailing The Rise of Korean Games from multiple perspectives.
Chapter 1: Policy and Industry
Chapter 2: Market Focus
Chapter 3: User Focus
A government that creates a "Council of Gaming Culture Promotion" will probably get the gamer in-jokes in the new parody Flash film The Decline of Video Gaming 3.
Chapter 1: Policy and Industry
Chapter 2: Market Focus
Chapter 3: User Focus
A government that creates a "Council of Gaming Culture Promotion" will probably get the gamer in-jokes in the new parody Flash film The Decline of Video Gaming 3.
Call for Papers on Gaming
Blame Terra Novan Ren Reynolds for posting this at the last minute. Fortunately, the US is half a day behind the Philippines.
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Jul 29, 2005
Michigan in October
OK, if you want to speak at this conference, you better get your skates on as the deadline for abstracts is 31 July 2005. No, that is not one of my usual typos, that is indeed in several hours time, but hey, they are “considering” abstracts and who hasn’t one of them up to the wire.
The three themes of Future Play 2005 to be held at Michigan State 13-15 Oct 05 are:
1. Future game development, addresses academic research and emerging industry trends in the area of game technology and game design.
2. Future game impacts and applications, includes academic research and emerging industry trends focused on designing games for learning, for gender, for serious purposes, and to impact society.
3. Future game talent, is designed to provide a number of industry and academic perspectives on the knowledge, skills, and attitude it takes to excel in the games industry.
See you in East Lancing (that’s middle of the hand).
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Jul 29, 2005
Michigan in October
OK, if you want to speak at this conference, you better get your skates on as the deadline for abstracts is 31 July 2005. No, that is not one of my usual typos, that is indeed in several hours time, but hey, they are “considering” abstracts and who hasn’t one of them up to the wire.
The three themes of Future Play 2005 to be held at Michigan State 13-15 Oct 05 are:
1. Future game development, addresses academic research and emerging industry trends in the area of game technology and game design.
2. Future game impacts and applications, includes academic research and emerging industry trends focused on designing games for learning, for gender, for serious purposes, and to impact society.
3. Future game talent, is designed to provide a number of industry and academic perspectives on the knowledge, skills, and attitude it takes to excel in the games industry.
See you in East Lancing (that’s middle of the hand).
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