A lengthy but good read with some discussion from various PC developers on what windows 8 means for them
Full Article here: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/75lGzh...-for-windows-8GamesIndustry International recently polled other PC developers as well to get their respective takes on Windows 8
Money quote:
Microsoft sees indie gaming as a serious threat to their console business. It doesn't surprise me that they should make every underhanded attempt to stifle indie devs for their own profit."Jon Blow wrote an excellent article recently about how stupid the whole system is - every developer forced to spend weeks working on requirements like the save system warning messages, Xbox controller support, title safe area etc. And there was also the case of Fez recently having to choose between a $40,000 fee to release a patch to their game, or leave in a save game corruption bug that affected 1% of all users. What kind of company thinks it's acceptable to charge developers $40,000 to patch their game? Microsoft. They are such a massive company that they just can't help themselves introducing layers and layers of bureaucracy that just make it harder to reach the customer and harder to release a product."
Jonathan Blow, when asked, didn't have much to say. He hasn't really looked at Windows 8 yet, but he did comment that "it doesn't sound like a good idea to me, though."
Delay continued, noting that Microsoft's policies are only causing more hard work for indie developers.
"It took us three years to design, produce and release Darwinia and we had two developers. Darwinia+ for Xbox Live Arcade took four years and we ended up with more than ten staff by the end. For a port! That is the direct impact of Microsoft's requirements on a small indie game developer," he lamented. "Not to mention the PC was founded as an open platform - literally anyone can make a program or a game and put a download up, and anyone else can install it and run it. As a core principle that is incredibly powerful, and I'm convinced it's a major factor in the PCs success, and the fact the PC continues to live on and grow over decades, where other devices and consoles come and go."
Last edited by Sparafucil; 08-07-2012 at 02:00 AM.
Gods forgive me, but I agree with this. When it comes to Microshaft ,everything is about profit. Profit is great I have no problems with companies,people making money but when you sacrifice your integrity and dont give a toss about your customers thats when it becomes a problem.Originally Posted by Sparafucil
Indie gaming is a threat to MS because most indie games are hella cheap when compared to the mass market titles and on top of that they think outside the box and gamers like that and we will pay for it and not the dribble MS feeds us. So yes thats threatening to them.
**** Microsoft! Burn in hell with EA!
I hate ms to extent too but isn't this a bit over the top.
AFAIK win 8 isn't released yet.
To my understanding these requirements are for games and apps released through Windows marketplace.
Has Microsoft stated officially that all apps and games have to be installed through this?
Last edited by EsPeHil85; 08-07-2012 at 04:53 AM.
The RTM is available on August 15 to MSDN and Technet subscribers. I'll be checking out the final then.
I think Microsoft is making all the right decisions. Windows 8 is unbelievably fantastic. I decided a challenge was necessary in my dull life as Windows 7 was simply too stable and decent to hold my attention. Indeed, I was growing bored. After installing Windows 8, never before have I had so much fun solving puzzles and cryptic riddles while using an operating system.
Random Chrome crashes that I never experienced before? What a joy to troubleshoot! Those pesky SLI options I had in Windows 7 used to clutter up my screen. But thankfully 80% of the time there are no SLI options at all in my Nvidia control panel while using Windows 8. It's a site to behold having 3 GPU programs open just to make sure my PC games are taking advantage of the $1000 worth of videocards I purchased. Why 3? Well, what fun is it to have only one open when you can have 3 that randomly and intermittently crash, forcing a triple threat of accuracy and frustration? It's as if the fun never ends.
Admit it, you always hated Microsoft's desktop. I found it cumbersome to click on icons smaller than a tablet to open programs related to things like "Finance," "Camera," and "Music." And who the hell wants to be taken to this unspeakable "desktop" after clicking the windows key in a game anyway? I'd MUCH rather teleport to the magical and androgynous place ironically called "metro." A place that conveniently adds an extra step to get to the area you have become familiar with for about 2 decades.
Thank you Microsoft.
Last edited by Acupuncture; 08-07-2012 at 10:02 AM.
I think MS should tread carefully, this could be the beginning of a backlash, and with the next gen' consoles creeping closer and closer, the last thing they need is devs dropping support for them. That's what developers need to remember, they are the ones with the power, a new console lives or dies based on it's software catalogue, if enough devs refuse to pay their extortionate prices, they'll soon change their tune.
Hopefully Linux gaming will finally capitalise on this faceplant from MS, it's certainly ready for the challenge now.
OpenGL 4.3 has just been launched, bringing feature parity with DX11 (and even arguably exceeding it with ASTC compression support), Nvidia already have drivers ready, and Source 2 could potentially be the first engine to run with it.
Oh that would be so sweeeeet. It would be a dream come true to see OpenGL take off again, it really does boggle the mind why more devs don't use it, given the extra freedom that comes with it.
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