Microsoft's Xbox Live Community Arcade

[Kefkataran]

1Up (http://www.1up.com) has a rather good article up exploring the implications of Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express announcement and their desire to create a "Community Arcade" space that provides a "You-Tube like experience on Live for community-created games." From the full article (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3152832):

With the upcoming XNA Game Studio Express release, users will be able to connect their PC to their Xbox 360 and port their game to the console to play -- but they won't be able to upload it or transfer it to their friends via the Live network. They will, however, be able to email their game files to friends, or download the game to a memory stick and take it to a friend's house where it can be loaded on to the PC and then ported on to their Xbox 360.

Luke goes on to point out that there are still a ton of logistical issues to consider about how this is going to work. Nevertheless, it's pretty exciting stuff. I would love to see this span out.

[bapenguin]

This is something I knew was coming for a while. This was talked about before the release of the 360 even. And even then they were trying to figure out the logistics of how it's going to be regulated..if at all. Can't wait to see what the community cooks up.

[Kefkataran]

The idea of a YouTube for games just blows my mind. I mean there's so much potential there. And think about it from the perspective of wanna-be developers. This is THE PERFECT way to break into the industry. You can't tell me Microsoft and many other publishers wouldn't be watching something like this and picking up the people who created smash successes.

[Norse]

I'm glad that MS are taking it slow and careful. With no control this could easily get out of hand and become a total mess.

[Frogleg Special]

Making video is easier than programming games. You can make a crap video in Youtube, but there can't be a crap program or else it won't compile from the beginning. There are learning curves on how to program correctly with the framework (C# or VB.NET I reckon) and not to mention time spent in making games, so there has to be incentive in sharing your games. Pay-per-share must be instituted in the near future.

[Mdot23]

The incentive is that a wide amount of people play your games for free. If a game is crappy, nobody will DL it, but if it's getting good reviews, put it on the 360 yourself and give it a try. I think the big thing here is that you have to go out of the way to find a game, then put it on the console yourself. Its not just like you can scan the marketplace and find random shit that people uploaded, in turn dilluting the space. I don't see how this is a negative thing at all.

[Roc Ingersol]

Has 1up been totally bitchslapped by the internet today, or what?
I haven't been able to get jack outta them all morning.

[soco]

from what's described thus far, at the moment there's not gonna be any of this, not even using a memory card. i'm sure it's in their plans, as they've hinted about it for a while now, but at the moment it seems it never gets stored on the 360, and is just transferred every time.

they even have some tools available for people who don't program much, which can be seen in this screenshot (http://images.xboxyde.com/gallery/public/3871/572_0004.jpg). there was also the talk of the garage games stuff, which i guess people could use as well, which other than their engine, includes a lot of small-fee-to-use art assets. (like 25$ a pack).

maybe we'll get something like Devil Dice out of it, which was the only semi-popular game to have come out of Net Yaroze.

[phantomhitman]

I cannot wait for pron doggies, I would pay 1200 points for it.

[Wonka]

Glad to see MS is working on this. Of course they HAD to be, its an easy choice for them. It's hard to implement this safely without some control over what people in the PC space use, (so it will be an extra big challenge for their competitors), and it's also a wickedly cool feature for a console to have.

[Borys]

This is awesome in some ways (never done before on consoles sans Net Yaroze for Playstation 1) and not awesome in others - pigeoning (spelling?) home developers to use only MS sanctioned tools & apps.

I think MS' hatred for the open source community is even bigger than my towards Xbox.

[Montolio]

Velocity Girl lives!

[Norse]

This is awesome in some ways (never done before on consoles sans Net Yaroze for Playstation 1) and not awesome in others - pigeoning (spelling?) home developers to use only MS sanctioned tools & apps.

I think MS' hatred for the open source community is even bigger than my towards Xbox.

Why on earth do you hate a console? Did it steal your unborn child or something? Hating a console sounds like something you should see a psychologist for..

[agentgray]

NOTE: We're all going to have to pay $99 a year to play and share these games if I read it right.

There is nothing FREE about it. The software is not free if you have to pay $99/year to use it.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10458

[cppcrusader]

The software is free. The $99/year, or $45/4 months, opens the door to the 360. It could still be used just for the PC.

[Borys]

Why on earth do you hate a console? Did it steal your unborn child or something? Hating a console sounds like something you should see a psychologist for..

Hint: PC gaming.

[King Drewsky]

This You-Tube for games concept sounds like what has been going on at http://newgrounds.com/ for the past couple years. If done in a similar fashion, XBLA will definately be a great place for time wasters and indy gems.

[GWhite]

There is nothing FREE about it. The software is not free if you have to pay $99/year to use it.


No. The software is free, the distirbution channel and community is a hundred dollars a year.

[agentgray]

No. The software is free, the distirbution channel and community is a hundred dollars a year.
Ok. What will the software do for you without community/distribution?

Things will have to be distributed manually?

[King Drewsky]

I imagine it would let you test out the software and actually create a game before you drop down the cash to distribute it.

[cppcrusader]

Ok. What will the software do for you without community/distribution?

Things will have to be distributed manually?

The software is just a development platform. Everything will have to be distributed manually as there is no distribution channel over XBL. They say there will be one in the future, but not when this launches. Without the Creator's Club subscription you could still use the XNA platform to develop a game on the PC.

And apparently a new style sheet is being tested right now.

I don't like it.

[absolut taco]

Hint: PC gaming.
The Xbox isn't destroying PC gaming. Piracy is.

[soco]

Hint: PC gaming.

get over yourself and enjoy games as games, no matter what platform they're for. it's not like every game is better suited for a PC or a console. if you're spending time hating in threads on evil avatar, then obviously you're missing something on the PC :D

from what the FAQ says, the 99$ is, for now, the price you have to pay to develop your games for the 360. it's a yearly fee. the distribution stuff is still unclear. you can develop for the PC for free, and apparently XNA is like a much more programmer-friendly DirectX. ie, you now no longer have to have seperate input handling code for the xbox and the PC or even wrappers, for the most part.

and i wish people would stop bringing up the whole open-source thing as part of this. it's C#. i'm betting that only the last stage in linking has to be done with their tools, such that it signs with the new key, assuming they're even signed at all. they're not preventing anyone from open sourcing their application, in fact, they're encouraging it, in a rather awkward way. the way that, the distribution in the beginning will be only by giving up all of your source and assets to friends :D

[Draft]

This is awesome in some ways (never done before on consoles sans Net Yaroze for Playstation 1) and not awesome in others - pigeoning (spelling?) home developers to use only MS sanctioned tools & apps.

I think MS' hatred for the open source community is even bigger than my towards Xbox.Yeah, fucking MS forcing people to use like the best possible development tools they can get their hands on.

Hate on MS for their shady business practices, monopolization of the PC market, "killing" PC games, or whatever. But for all their ills, MS has always had a great reputation with developers and development software, and if any company has the chops to turn a homebrew community into a place where design can flourish, it's Microsoft.

[Draft]

Seriously, if you are hating on this, you are a fanboy and it burns you up to see MS do something very cool. This has a lot of potential, and only someone with blinders on couldn't see that.

[Frogleg Special]

Obviously Borys lives under the sun of Microsoft. Why does he get all those MS certifications if he despises MS so much?

He just loves Windows gaming and dislikes Xbox getting too much publicity. It's kind of like those VB.NET guys hating C# because Microsoft has given so much publicity on it recently.

And it just so happens VB.NET and PC gaming color is Blue. C# and Xbox color is Green. :D

[gojira]

I love the idea.

Unfortuntately this CNN article says the initial tools (service?) will be very primative, only allowing the simplest of games to be created.

Maybe I don't understand the full complexity of the development tools, but just give me a C++ compiler, a remote debugger, and stand well back. I don't need no stinking hand holding, thank you.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/fun.games/08/14/microsoft.game.software.ap/index.html

[Borys]

Obviously Borys lives under the sun of Microsoft. Why does he get all those MS certifications if he despises MS so much?

I'm forced to do them. BTW I'm a MCP now :)

He just loves Windows gaming and dislikes Xbox getting too much publicity.

Exactly.

It's kind of like those VB.NET guys hating C# because Microsoft has given so much publicity on it recently.

Nah, I love all MS tools. Can't wait for Vista and Axapta 4.0 (Dynamics AX).

And it just so happens VB.NET and PC gaming color is Blue. C# and Xbox color is Green. :D

Borys SMASH Xbox!