Company
Halfbrick Studios is bringing out a new title for Apple iOS devices called Machinegun Jetpack. It stars the familiar Barry Steakfries character who appears in their previous iOS games, Monster Dash, as well as Age of Zombies. The gameplay shares some familiarity to Monstar Dash in that it is also a runner game, so expect to be making your way through an endless, randomly generated level and avoiding all the enemies and trappings that come at you.
The big difference to Monstar Dash, however, is that you won't be spending most of your time running and hopping your way through. As the title suggests, you can gear up to keep yourself vertical with a jetpack or an anti-gravity suit. Coins can be collected to upgrade your gear or for use in the slot machine at the end of the game which provides a chance to win an opportunity to continue on or receive rewards for the next game.
Toucharcade were given a preview of Machinegun Jetpack at the Game Developers Conference at San Francisco this week which you can see below. Machinegun Jetpack is expected for a release in roughly three months time for the price of 99c...
Unimpressed
Look, I like Halfbrick. They've done some good stuff and they have comfortable couches. Even still, I am distinctly unimpressed. It seems they're intent on flogging this dead, one-trick pony of the Canabalt clone.
While I found Monster Dash a little unoriginal, at least they brought their unique style and added a little to the genre, which is more than some others. This, however, is a clearly derivative and exploitative game which allows for some asset and concept re-use and minimal investment in design. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, but the hands-on certainly hasn't given me much hope.
Nathan, Just so you are
Nathan,
Just so you are aware, some senior guys at studios who do hiring have been commenting lately to me that because of the comments on the forums they'd be hesitant to hire you.
For some reason a lot of your comments come off as quite negative. Also there is the fact that some experienced guys comments and you tend to attempt to override their opinion without much experience to back it up.
I happened to defend you a while back and I ended up getting about 5 guys who are commercial games developers commenting I shouldn't be doing so.
Disappointed but Unsurprised
Good day Anonymous,
Thank you, firstly, for being forthcoming and honest, it's refreshing. I am aware that my personality can be, shall we say, polarising.
Regarding my comments - many of them are quite negative. Usually this negativity is directed at trends or broader topics than a specific games, but nonetheless there is a lot in the Australian industry that deserves some negativity.
Nonetheless, I have never directed my negativity at an individual and have refrained from commenting with particular disdain on any one company. I am aware that people may be offended by this, but the men and women of the industry are professionals, or should be, and do not need to be spoon-fed niceties. If they object to my comments, they may feel free to criticise them similarly, but commonly I am only told I "can not" or "should not" say things, never a convincing case for my being wrong.
Developers in Australia are, regrettably, far too afraid to be critical of the work or processes undertaken locally. The industry is a very small community and offending the wrong people can be a poor career move. Personally, I feel the industry has suffered sufficiently at the hands of sychophants and nepotism and, on a personal note, I would rather be remembered as someone who had the courage and presence of mind to see and discuss the problems, than to simply pat everyone on the back. While I have no illusions as to my resulting popularity, I have received more than one job offer with my comments here referenced as a drawing factor, so there are pluses too.
Nathan
I am a different annon. No
I am a different annon.
No one says that you cannot say things.
However, it is simply not in your best interests to present yourself as being a polarising individual. Put simply, no games dev team wants such a figure. You give the appearance of an individual who would, if given the opportunity, enter a position and proceed to 'do your own thing', rather than open yourself up to learn whatever the studio wants to teach you. You appear to come packaged with an ego unsupported by a track record, and appear unashamed to polarise people. Games devs get burned by these types all the time.
I don’t know you. You might just be an open, honest guy trying to do right in this world. But that’s irrelevant. Your appearance is negative.
Back on track, I thought this game looked pretty good, I hope it does well. Halfbrick certainly seem to know what they are doing.
My Reply
Firstly, thank you for your feedback, both. That said, I hope you will not take it personally that I see no need to change. The industry has long asked for passion, and that is what I display here. Passion is not unabashed support for all things 'game', passion is a desire for the medium to grow and flourish.
I understand my criticisms may at times concern those in the industry, but they are never personal. My criticisms address the industry itself, and a business which cannot accept criticism from within will whither and die. If we don't look at how we can improve, mediocrity will reign and, in an industry based upon novelty, this is a death sentence. My ability to assess and analyse the processes within the industry is a strength, for which I have no regret or shame, demonstrated by the name above my words.
Tsumea is a forum in which the industry can interact and reflect. It is a site on which ideas may be exchanged and discussed. My strength of conviction and opinions expressed here do not reflect on an inability to work within a team environment. On the contrary, every team requires the ability to critique itself dispassionately and impersonally. To write me off on this basis would be quite wrong, as I work well in a team and enjoy doing so.
Finally, to those that would state that I have no credentials on which to criticise the industry I say simply: "How IS the industry fairing?"
The "Passion" that people
The "Passion" that people seek in employees is somebody driven to work on games, to the point that they attack their work with a ferocious desire to excel and prove their worth.
These individuals usually also have made a significant portfolio of high quality work in their own time, such is their desire to work on games.
Being able to objectively critique the work of other from a distance is also a valuable skill, but posting largely negative feedback on the Tsumea board is unlikely to result in developers taking note of the remarks, except perhaps to categorise the poster as an attention seeking douche bag.
A well written email to the developer is much more likely to achieve the desired goal.
Some people forget that not every game needs to break new ground or change peoples lives, there is no shame in taking a well proven genre or mechanic and attempt a fresh style or more highly polished take on it.
Further Douche-Baggery
I couldn't have said it better myself other anonymous - That is NOT passion, that is simply desperation for a job. Passion entails strong ideas and emotional attachment, not simply a desire to work there. Passion is evident in trying to improve, defending and otherwise supporting the medium, something that I find disturbingly absent in our industry-community.
Once our industry begins being criticised from "a distance" we have already failed. As an industry we need to accept criticism from within and seek constantly to improve ourselves. Rarely have I ever posted "feedback" on Tsumea. In this instance, which is the only time that comes to memory, I have. More commonly I address the problems we experience industry-wide and advocate actions, or at least thought, toward fixing these issues. If you, in your insecurity, wish to deem me an attention-seeking "douche bag", that's your perogative, but please excuse me when I don't take it seriously.
I see no purpose in writing emails to developers as I rarely address individuals, organisations or products. Certainly, I could have written this one opinion to Halfbrick, but felt no need to. It was simply my initial impression, expressed where it could be discussed. Instead I have been assaulted by a wave of defensiveness and hostility. I don't expect Halfbrick to break barriers every time they make a game, but that's no what this is. My opinion was that they brought a "fresh style" and "polish" to the "genre" in Monster Dash. This simply doesn't seem up to Halfbrick's normal standards, and I am concerned that it will negatively impact their image with consumers.
Nathan how come the website
Nathan how come the website for your "studio" is only showing some generic domain hosting placeholder? Shouldn't you have made some awesome games with your awesome talent by now?
Plans are in Motion
Good day additional Anonymous,
As you might be aware, starting a studio is quite an undertaking. There's a lot to organise, and measures to take in order to maximise the chances of success. I have no interest in rushing into the process in order to satisfy the apparent requirements for expressing an opinion on tsumea. Furthermore, the link to my "studio" from my tsumea portfolio is old and will in fact lead to an "account suspended" page.
That said, there is a new address that will take you to the generic domain hosting placeholder. The reason there is not currently a website at this location is that, only a week ago, the contract with a local artist and designer for corporate identity materials was finalised. These materials will need to be supplied to my web developer in the near future and I expect shortly you may all marvel at the website. Of course, as I have said, the studio is new and won't have any completed titles, so I expect it means little to you.
As for what I have personally completed - there are numerous titles, none of which I find particularly important to this discussion. Nonetheless, if you want examples of my "awesome talent" feel free to email me a request.
What is your problem? You,
What is your problem?
You, like many others on this page have done nothing but give shit and barely have any of you actually addressed what i consider to be the main point of the original comment.
Someone said to me after posting my F**K Australian Games “Care to justify your opinion? I assume you would since you cared enough to write that.” And I did, because I do and so should you all.
What has happened here is a lot of what i consider to be Fierce brown nosing, self-serving and spiteful commentary from people who whine about “proven track record” as its some barrier of entry to intelligent thought, Stop falling back on to that without telling us yours if you think it’s so important. I know that at least one of you here is an employee of HalfBrick and you, of all people should instead of getting defensive and angry that someone has concerns about your latest product and instead start acting like a professional and maybe (if you are able to) address the real question as to the strategy of making another game so soon that closely resembles it predecessor.
Is that not the real question here?
Well you might call it
Well you might call it desperation for a job, I rather think its the mark of people who would rather "do" than "say" and who reaslise that actions speak louder than words. In my games industry career all of the most inspiring and talented people have shared these traits.
As a designer, I do read feedback, comments and criticism on my work from fan forums and also industry portals. Occasionally you will find a gem of a comment from there but mostly it tend to be a bunch of people posting deliberately inflammatory statements in an attempt to extend their e-peen.
On the occasions I do get email feedback from fans (or via facebook/twitter from my peers) it tends to be much more constructive, thought provoking and thus useful. I think you are way off the mark if you think a well written email to a developer will be ignored, I always make an effort to reply but even when I don't I always read and consider the feedback.
In my opinion your current trend of posting is unlikely to achieve your stated goals. To me at least you come across as a know-it-all who isn't prepared to listen to the opinions/advice of others. That may well not be the case, but as somebody who only knows you through your comments on this site, its the opinion I have formed.
I do however wish you all the best with your start-up studio, and for your games industry career in general.
Emails and Opinions
Hello Anonymous,
I have written elsewhere in this thread that I am no longer going to continue the argument, so the majority of your post will be left unaddressed. Nonetheless, there is a small section which I believe relates to the intended topic of this page that it is worth answering. I wished to stress that I never implied that an email to a developer would be ignored, only that in the majority of cases it wasn't the appropriate course of action. This is the only time in recent memory that my comments apply solely to one developer and, in this case, they are simply an initial impression, not a detailed analysis or suggestions for improvement. Certainly I could do these things and email them to Halfbrick, but that was not my intention nor the result of my comments.
The mobile sector of the
The mobile sector of the industry (the sector in which Halfbrick operate) is actually doing pretty well.
Even if it weren't, that wouldn't magically give you credibility. You get credibility from a proven track record, not from the failures of those you're criticizing.
Merits
On that point I feel that you are wrong. Statements on a public dicussion forum should be assessed on the basis of their merits, not on your personal opinion or professional credentials of the poster. Additionally, so far in this thread I have the greatest credentials, by your reasoning, to make any sort of statement as I am the only poster with any form of identity.
Regarding Halfbrick, I have consistently used Halfbrick as an example of how things should be done. Regularly have I referenced them for this purpose and I have never criticised them wholely. In this case I criticsed a single preview of a single prospective product.
Mate, there's no rules as to
Mate, there's no rules as to how statements on a public forum should be assessed. People will assess your statements in whatever way they please. Like it or not, your credentials greatly affect how your opinions are received.
Considering Credentials
Credentials will and should be taken into consideration. That is, however, different from dismissing statements without considering their validity. If thi was the modus operandi for the whole forum, very little would be said or heard as most people post anonymously, therefore negating any credentials.
Great! I'm glad we've reached
Great! I'm glad we've reached consensus on the point that your track record really does matter.
I just hope that you are aware that harsh criticisms from an inexperienced outsider appear ignorant and even arrogant. If you're square with that, well, so am I :)
The distinguishing factor is
The distinguishing factor is whether you view me as an outsider, I suppose. You can view me as a contemporary professional and seek to discuss things in a reasonable manner, or you can view me as an outsider, in which case I represent a member of your primary market and perhaps you should take that into consideration at least on the subject of how a game is perceived.
Additionally, very rarely has anyone provided any sort of argument for my being wrong on any subject which I have posted. The industry does not have the "track record" to so easily dismiss advice about their business practices, for example.
You're missing the point
You're missing the point entirely. You're not wrong! Nobody said you're wrong.
We're saying you're *extremely negative*. This negativity, combined with your lack of experience, make you look ignorant, arrogant and downright unpleasant.
Take your original comment as an example. It's scathing. You're pinging the game on its originality, when it clearly isn't trying to be original. You're technically correct, but taking an extremely negative stance on the issue. I really don't think Halfbrick were trying to smash the mold with this one. Helen Keller could tell that originality is not the goal of this game. It looks more like they're just trying to maximize the profitability of one of their IPs. I think that's a good move that makes good business sense. Way to go brickers.
Agree to Disagree
I can see we are unlikely to reach a point of agreement on whether being right perhaps negates "ignorant", if not arrogant and unpleasant. As such, there's not much point in us furthering this particular vein of discussion, as there's enough nastiness and frustration here as it is.
To clarify: You're right
To clarify: You're right about the game being unoriginal. It's ignorant and arrogant to assume that's inherently a bad thing.
To Clarify
To clarify: I never said it was or would be a 'bad' game. I simply stated the reasons that I was not fond of it so far.
Right, you didn't say it was
Right, you didn't say it was bad, you just don't like it and you don't think it's up to Halfbricks normal standards. I can't believe I got so confused.
Topic
Don't worry, it's a bit hard to keep track of what this thread is supposedly about.
That was sarcasm. I was
That was sarcasm. I was insinuating that you were splitting hairs to the point of absurdity.
This is where you are wrong,
This is where you are wrong, the industry here does has had a good track record until recently due to economic circumstances.
The fact is games development is about as high risk an investment as you can get. Which is why its common for publishers to sign a bunch of games knowing in advance they will probably cancel some of them before they are complete. They make up the losses on the cut games by the ones that do succeed. Its like investing large amounts in shares, you don't put all of the money into one single company and hope for the best, you spread around that risk.
Its unfortunate that since the GFC publishers have had to cut back on funding, as well we're in a situation where the exchange rate is so out of balance that we now find it extremely difficult to compete with developers overseas that can do the same amount of work for a whole lot less. So we have less money coming in and what money we do get doesn't go as far. And its not just the games industry, there are a lot of export and tourism companies that are suffering the same fate. There is nothing wrong with their business its just the way it is, its not fair but tough luck because thats life.
You may like to accuse the publisher / developer funding model as being broken or whatever but its just the way the industry has always worked when it comes to big budget games. Being able to self fund and self publish your own games might be the holy grail of game development but thats usually only possible with either smaller games or strong financial backing. With such a high risk return its going to be make or break for a company to invest millions of dollars into a game that may not make back the initial investment. Usually a better way to go about it is to have a variety of paid as well as self funded work, that way if a project fails your whole company doesn't go under and you can still put together your dream game.
You seem to have an attitude that you will develop some really amazing games in the future and will not possibly fail. So everyone else should listen because something you might do in the future is not a failure and that they have failed before. You have exactly the same chance of failure as the rest of us if not more due to lack of experience.
People get better at things through practice, experience and taking advice from people who have been successful beforehand. I'm not about to go and hassle Leyton Hewitt for not taking my tennis tips because I don't have a track record and that he lost his last game which means he has a higher failure rate.
Of course you're just going to accuse my post as nepotism or whatever and keep criticizing the industry because you say its constructive but there is a level of criticism where its just someone trying to point out a flaw for the sake of making it look like they know better.
Self-Analysis
It seems that everone within the industry, or at least on tsumea, has some unspoken agreement that failure should be blamed upon external factors, and external factors alone. No-one here is going to dispute the riskiness of Game Development, and that is exactly the point. From day 1 all manager should be aware of the risk, and need to plan accordingly. Halfbrick did a good job of this, utilising the contract development model, but not relying on it solely. As such, when it dried up they continued to be successful, even more so in-fact.
The GFC had an impact, to be sure, but can we really sit here and blame our problems solely upon the economy? Did the economy cost EA the Batman license? Did the economy spend inordinate amounts of money on Blade Kitten, not to mention the Star Wars situation? Our dollar is about on parity with the US dollar and, to simplify, our studios should be able to produce similar results as the US. There are difficulties, but it is OUR job to deal with those, not ignore them and complain when we fail.
In the future I might produce some great games, I might not. In the mean-time, I'm intent on planning as well as is possible in order to improve my chances of success. If a first-year marketing student has an idea on how to improve that situation, I'll judge it on its merits. My ego is not so great that I feel threatened by the comments of someone who doesn't write my cheques.
Over time people get better at things, to be sure. Practice is good, but it does not make perfect. There are many, many talented developers in Australia, but development has rarely been our shortcoming. Business management and education are my gripes of choice, and we don't seem to be moving forward in leaps and bounds. Your post is not nepotism, in fact that makes no sense really. Perhaps, however, you need to consider why it is always the external that is to blame, and self-analysis the enemy.
Having the dollar at parity
Having the dollar at parity does NOT mean we can produce similar results as in the US. You've just shown how little you know about the exchange rates and purchasing power parity.
Read Please
As you may note, should you spend some time reading what I actually wrote, I noted that I was simplifying dramatically. On a very low-level basis, my statement will hold true. You are applying a number of higher-level assumptions that will, in most cases, apply.
How much time I spent reading
How much time I spent reading what you wrote is irrelevant. You just said that with the exchange rate at parity we should be able to produce similar work as in the US. I disagreed with this statement because of the current exchange rate in-balance. I was not applying any assumptions whatsoever, I was simply stating what is known as a fact. The PM was talking about this exact same issue recently before her trip to the US, our currency is causing major problems for a lot of industries here. Maybe you'd like to also say she is making some high level assumptions but of course on a low level basis she is somehow wrong and the currency is not a problem at all.