Do people understand what goes into making a video game?

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Originally Posted by ImaNihilist

They buy a dev kit, and then they put money in it. A dev kit is like a soda machine. You put in money, press some buttons, and a game comes out.

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That's how I've always understood the process goes. I don't know what the heck the rest of you are complaining about.

It really depends what your developing ... i wish i could be a games tester ... that would be a sweet job

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Originally Posted by wh666-666

It really depends what your developing ... i wish i could be a games tester ... that would be a sweet job

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I'm a game tester. I just don't get paid.

I test websites too. Once again though, I don't get paid.

I like to think of myself as a non-profit charity. Feel free to donate to me. All the money goes to me so I can continue my work. God bless.

Lol i do both of those unpaid as well ... id just like to be paid a good salary so i could do it full time 24/7 to play video games making notes all day long ... having a beer and some chips afterwards ... perfect job!

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Originally Posted by wh666-666

Lol i do both of those unpaid as well ... id just like to be paid a good salary so i could do it full time 24/7 to play video games making notes all day long ... having a beer and some chips afterwards ... perfect job!

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I'd get bored playing games all day long. I'd rather review pornography.

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Originally Posted by wh666-666

i wish i could be a games tester ... that would be a sweet job

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Being a games tester would actually not be a very good job at all imo. Pretty much by definition, your job would be to play games all day that they EXPECT to totally glitch out and screw up. As in, you HAVE to play screwed up games to make money. Then, when the game crashes or glitches or whatever, you have to make notes about what happened, when it happened, what part of the game, what phase of combat, etc., then try to recreate the circumstances to see if the glitch repeats itself or if it was a one time thing.

Could you imagine spending a full 8 hour workday replaying the first 10 minutes of Titan Quest OVER AND OVER trying to find out what caused a certain glitch?

Admittidly it could be frustrating at times but it would be tremendously stimulating in an anylitical sense ..

**whispers** Also hopefully the testers might get freebies on the finished release ;)

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Originally Posted by wh666-666

Admittidly it could be frustrating at times but it would be tremendously stimulating in an anylitical sense ..

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unless your testing something like kim possible on the gba or something

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Originally Posted by PointlesS

unless your testing something like kim possible on the gba or something

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Shut up. Kim Possible is an awesome show. And hott too. Rawr!

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Originally Posted by PriMaTe

I said that a $60 video game was still a bargain considering some games take millions to make. I tried to explain to my friends that some games take a couple of years to make with 10's, or maybe hundreds of people working on them for the duration.

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What you say about production costs is certainly true. But consider this, the average movie costs about 100 times more than the average game, yet the DVD will cost around $20

$60 for the game really is no bargain.

Umm, yes, as a matter of fact I do know! I've actually worked on a few games (nothing special). I find texturing and skinning to be fun and challenging. I haven't actually been paid for any of my work so maybe I'm justified in not buying games, lol.

I haven't done any game per say "we'll maybe a couple of text adventures in BASIC a long time ago. But I have done 3d models for flight simulator and other programs and it is a lot of work. Even though I disagree with the tone of vairox's post, there is a grain of truth in there. People will compare one entainement expense to another. As such, in terms of complexity of programming the game makers have their work cut out for them. They have to keep upping the amount of code, but charge more or less the same as they have been.

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Originally Posted by monroeski

Being a games tester would actually not be a very good job at all imo. Pretty much by definition, your job would be to play games all day that they EXPECT to totally glitch out and screw up. As in, you HAVE to play screwed up games to make money. Then, when the game crashes or glitches or whatever, you have to make notes about what happened, when it happened, what part of the game, what phase of combat, etc., then try to recreate the circumstances to see if the glitch repeats itself or if it was a one time thing.

Could you imagine spending a full 8 hour workday replaying the first 10 minutes of Titan Quest OVER AND OVER trying to find out what caused a certain glitch?

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I think testers just bring the problems to the devs attention, they wouldnt try to diagnose it I would think.

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Originally Posted by [PinPals]Apu

200 mil movies are generally more profitable then games. After theatre sales, theres the DVD sales, sales to the cable/satellite companys etc. The studios have tons of ways to offset the huge costs. Game companies dont really. You buy the game for 50 or you dont give em a dime where if i go to a movie in the theatre ill prolly buy the dvd and if i really like it the special edition dvd a year later.

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Yea that's what I'm thinking with the comparison. Video games are a smaller market, so the price has to be higher because you don't have the volume. Also, with a movie you spend the money, and get 2 hours of entertainment which is the same exact thing every time you watch it no matter what, and there is no interaction between you and the movie. A short game is still 8 hours long, and then you can replay it and do things differently, not to mention multiplayer.

I stand by my previous statement, even if a movie doesn't have a $200 mill budget...even a run of the mill $20 to $40 mill flick, still $9... heck, lame-mart sell them 2 for $9

way way less games will be sold than any given movie, thats why they have to sell them for $50+ one million games sold is like a super ultra mega success...