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An ASP Model For Serious Computer Gaming
By David HarrisonArticle Type: Commentary
Article Date: January 23rd, 2001
I read Peter Pawelek's recent article Indie Corner: Wargames here at COMBATSIM.COM with much interest. With the apparent exit from the scene of the big game development companies, I believe this segment of the industry is at a crossroads. It must evolve from its present state if it is to avoid degenerating to such an extent that the only games available will be on PlayStation with titles like Donkey Kong XXVII. That being said, I agree with Peter that there is hope and that it will start with this new breed of independent game developers. With this in mind, I would like to take up the theme of his article and expand upon how I see the future development of what I call the serious computer gaming industry.
I believe that the Internet holds the key to the future of computer gaming. Yes, I know that is not earth shattering news and it may sound as revolutionary as predicting that the sun will rise tomorrow but bear with me. The computer gaming industry as a whole must evolve into being one of the only truly Internet based businesses in order to: a) ensure its survival in the short to medium term, and b) to develop into one of the main mediums of entertainment for this society in the long term.
The first step in this evolution was the introduction of online gaming. However, what exists as online gaming now is only very limited in its scope. When I hear the term "online computer gaming", I think of games like Unreal Tournament, with multiplayer games consisting of groups of guys endlessly "fragging" each other in a nonsensical killing free for all. I tried it a couple of times - was terrible at it - and have not played online since. While I am an avid wargamer, I must admit that I have not participated in any head-to-head or PBeM (Playing By Electronic Mail) games, even though I can certainly see the attraction of them.
As I indicated in my opening paragraph, I believe that the online computer gaming industry and the computer gaming industry as a whole are inextricably linked. That is because I (along with a million other people) see the future of software development in general to be based on the application service provider (ASP) model of creation and distribution (although it really is access, not distribution). I am sure that most readers have heard the term ASP, but for those who have not, an ASP is a company that hosts and manages applications on behalf of a customer. The applications are hosted by the ASP and are paid for by clients on a recurring fee basis. I discuss below the main advantages that I see for serious gamers for this method of development and distribution in no particular order.
Increased Competition and Opportunity
A flatter distribution model would allow smaller game companies to flourish and compete against much larger companies on better terms than are possible at present. I am always appalled at the old, old Microsoft games that take up shelf space at my local computer superstore while I cannot find any sign of new games from smaller game companies. As everyone knows, it is pure negotiating power at play. Unlike the sale of say, pet food, online, if the consumer truly cannot get what they are looking for in the real world, they will shop online for it. Add to that the ability to play the game right away as well as a lower initial cash outlay and you have a viable distribution model.
Certainly some companies are doing a good job of working within the confines of the present system. Examples given in Peter's article were Battlefront and Shrapnel Games but there are still some holes. For example, I would have purchased Combat Command 2 recently from Shrapnel had it been one of the titles available for immediate download. However, I was unwilling to pay the US exchange and shipping fees as well as Canadian Customs, GST and PST (welcome to Canada, all my American friends reading this) to get the game. As a result, I settled for a copy of the entirely satisfactory Rising Sun from Talonsoft but would have preferred to give my business to an up and coming game company.
The ASP model of distribution generally bases its revenue model on time or usage. The customer pays less up front but more over time if the game they purchased the right to play holds their attention. Thus, good games will make pot loads of money for their creators while bad games will quickly die. This will then provide a much more efficient market as computer gaming companies will have to rely more upon the quality of their games than on their marketing and distribution muscle to make a profit.
Improved Artificial Intelligence
How many games have we all played where we have thought: "Great game, except for the way the computer's tanks do headlong charges/do pirouettes/ constantly expose their back armour," etc., etc.? Now what if the computer AI was constantly being tweaked to fix any problems and was improved by the experience of all the other players playing the game? Aside from being a bit creepy if game AI chimed-in like HAL saying: "I'm sorry Dave, I can't let you ambush my tanks like that," it would be a leap forward in computer gaming and would justify the expense for the gaming company of maintaining this AI development.
At present, online computer gaming means head-to-head or multiplayer. This is due to the fact that with the woeful state of AI in many games, dedicated gamers are inexorably drawn towards head-to-head or multiplayer as a way of getting a challenging game. Well, just like I don't always want to talk to people, I also don't think I always want to go online and play computer games with or against other people. All things in moderation, as they say. With an ASP distribution model, on the other hand, greater computing power can be harnessed to provide this next step in AI development and therefore greater choice.
Expansion of the Multiplayer Universe
On the multiplayer side of things, using this type of development model would lead more quickly to the type of massive multiplayer games about which there is frequent speculation. Now whether that is a good or a bad thing I don't know (probably bad, but to quote Homer Simpson when faced with the degeneration of society: "Yeah, but what are you gonna do?"). With voice recognition software, and the availability of massive amounts of computing power for relatively reasonable amounts of money and widespread deployment, the types and depths of online multiplayer games could be astounding, especially for simulations.
Faster, Cheaper Development and Distribution
With an ASP distribution model, there are no colourful boxes, with their attendant paper, printing and distribution costs. These are replaced by well-designed and informative web sites.
Marketing efforts (i.e. encompassing all of advertising, public relations, sales force creation and management etc.) would be reduced and much more focused on the places where gamers go to learn about new games. Personally, the only place that I learn about new games is from the Internet on websites such as CombatSim.com, Games Domain Review and the like. This type of marketing is much less expensive than trying to fight for shelf space or resorting to television advertising and would allow development companies to concentrate more resources on developing and improving games.
I would also expect the ASPs that would distribute games would have a fair bit of editorial content and advertising on their game access sites. The attraction to advertise on these sites would return (to an extent) as these are the places that gamers will come to buy access to and play games. That being said, the print magazines and online game information sites will always have their place as more objective sources of review and editorial content.
Better Quality Control
Imagine sending an email to a game company about an egregious bug in a game and to have that problem fixed by the next day as opposed to waiting a month (or months! or forever!) for a patch to become available. Yes, one day would be an extremely fast turnaround and some bugs would take longer to fix, but you get the idea. It is certainly possible though as an ASP model makes it much more cost effective for a company to fix bugs as they occur as opposed to waiting for a critical mass of bugs to accumulate before distributing a patch. The result would be a better gaming experience, better customer relations for the company and therefore a better chance for securing a long term (i.e., profitable) customer.
Diminished Software Piracy
This is a good or a bad thing depending on your point of view, I suppose. I am sure that there are maybe three gamers out there who have not used a so-called evaluation copy (wink, wink) of a game but it is a guilty pleasure at best and not good for the industry as a whole. Using an ASP model, it would be much more difficult (albeit not impossible) for widespread piracy of games. Hard on the pocketbook I know, but the only way to ensure a healthy computer gaming industry.
The Distant Future
I have read in some articles that the computer game industry will become the new movie industry in the future. I agree except to say that I would not limit it to movies. The computer gaming industry could become the new entertainment industry---that is, along with, or in some cases in place of, movies, television, live performances and the like. Further, just like in the movie and television industries, there will be those games that establish a solid franchise that people will pay to play for years and years (e.g., Star Wars, Simpsons), those that do well for a time but fall out of favour relatively quickly (many examples of those) and those that just, well, stink (e.g., Dude, Where's My Car? any Pauly Shore movie, The Family Guy). However, I believe that the first step in this thousand mile trek is the evolution of creation and distribution of games to being a truly online industry from start to finish.
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