Anyone Can Have Metrics Like Halo 3
Aug 22, 10:42 AM
So, Wired magazine just posted an article called How Microsoft Labs Invented a New Science of Play. It’s about the metrics on Bungie’s upcoming Halo 3. I’ve actually had the privilege of seeing some of their metrics behind the scenes, and I’ve spent a fair amount of time talking to gameplay metrics folks both at Bungie and at Microsoft Labs. First things first: these guys are definitely doing more gameplay metrics than anybody else out there. And that’s really cool.
My take on it is this: not everyone in the game industry has access to the amount of money that Microsoft can spend on a project. Most game companies are struggling with their budgets just to make their games. At Orbus, we’re trying to make these kinds of metrics affordable to any company that wants them.
Just take a look at our Quake III heat maps from yesterday. They’re very similar to the heat maps in the Wired article. After integrating our metrics middleware into the game (which took about a day), just one programmer put those heat maps together in two days. Come to think of it, our heat maps are cooler, since they work natively inside the level editor :)
I was thinking of calling bullshit on that article in a blog post, but I guess beside MMOs and that Gamebryo sub-division, Clive was right in signifying how important what they’re doing with metrics is. Of course, its up to you, Darius, to hit up Clive and let him know you’re democratizing it.
Still the phrase “how Microsoft Labs invented a New Science of Play” really bugged me with its hyperbole. That and that claim that Flow is the essential function of gameplay. (There’s also Phantasm, which is equally important.)
— Patrick · Aug 27, 03:04 PM · #