Halo

Unsure of what to write about this week, I was browsing through a few videos I had favorited on Youtube when I came across this little gem. It's really worth watching to the end if you've got a moment as a true testament to the time and effort put into crafting the worlds we regularly stain with alien guts and zombie giblets. This video inspired me to speak on a subject that has been a long time coming for me.

I'm a big Halo fan.

Halo has become somewhat of a punching bag among gamers. The series has been accused of being stale, unoriginal, milked, and responsible for the rise and domination of first person shooters we see today. There are plenty of good arguements on this side and I'm not here to try and disprove or devalue any of these opinions/accusations. I'm just here to defend one of my favorite franchises to the best of my ability.

The Player-Funded Development Process

If this were a popular blog with readers and not a personal writing exercise/portfolio, I'd apologize for the lack of recent updates due to end-of-the-semester projects. This summer I should be updating once a week on Wednesdays.

If you want to develop a game independently with no intention of seeking out a publisher, any expenses are likely going to come from your pocket. It can be a great investment, especially if you manage to create a huge hit like Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Hell, now you can apparently get a grant for your game. Even still, independent game development is a tough business that can easily result in lost time and money.

The good news is that with more and more professional development tools becoming easier to access, the indie games scene is growing every year. Indie developers are finding new ways to fund their development. Two developers have taken a new approach to getting the funding they need by allowing players to pay to play early builds of the game before it's released. It's basically beta testing that requires a credit card instead of an application with your computer specs attached.