Can small gaming companies suceed in todays gaming market

[Charley]

Too bad the underdog never wins anymore--industry bullies, megacorporations such as Electronic Arts, Ubi Soft, and Infogrames, take no prisoners and give no quarter to any up-and-coming publishers or developers.

They have a stifling presence, sapping the creativity and innovation right out of an industry that was founded on such principles. But games are a business now.

They're not about fun; they're about the bottom line!

[vysakh]

depends on the game. If the people have good opinion of the game, their friends and relatives will come to know about it and they will start buying it. So it spreads

[DKant]

It happens everywhere, in every industry. Where creativity is replaced by protocol, formulae and routine. Heck it happens in schools and colleges too. The reason is we as humans like inertia. We like predicatbility, we like thinking that we can control the future. Which ultimately leads to money churning machines like EA.

Look at Ion Storm. These are the guys who gave us Deus Ex and Thief (though I haven't played it, I heard it was about as good as DX). And look at where they are now...

seems like it

[ctrl_alt_del]

Talking about small gaming companies, what do you guys think about Raptor Enetertainment from our very ow country? How many of you will be willing to go in for the game, "Eextreme Forces"?

[bharathbala2003]

@ctrl_alt_del.. i never knew our country has a game manufac and neither knew they released a game.. will google on it n try gettin screenshots.. n will post my views..

[ctrl_alt_del]

I will save you the trouble. Here is the link:
http://www.raptorentertainment.com
Now these guys need our solid support if we wish to see India on the World Gaming map.

And here is something more on the global scale:
http://www.igf.com/about.htm

Btw, those who scoff at the small companies never making it big, read through the history of Croteam, the makers of much loved "Serious Sam" games.

[NikhilVerma]

Well...

If the companies have a really good idea of a game they can earn millions...

Like the guy who invented "The Sims"...
Just for inventing one popular game he's so rich now that he doesn't need to earn for the rest of his life....
'twas shown on gamer TV...

[bharathbala2003]

thnx for the link@ ctrl..
hmm graphics not bad.. but also not too good.. its ok.. like in one of da screen shots the roads wer like too sharp.. the edges aint lookin too real.. anyways nice one 2 start off with for INDIA

[ctrl_alt_del]

Well, they still have time to wrokon the graphics. I have been in touch with some of the team-members who post at Skoar! They are confident that the game, when it is done, will be able to showcase the best that any other game can offer. The screenies are too early in the dev cycle. SO expect bigger and better things from them.

[rajesh]

Didn't DIgit carry an article about this very company about 2-3 months back?

It was mentioned that they have created their own Graphics Engine for this.

If it comes out, I will surely buy atleast for support

[Darthvader]

Ya digit did carry the article.
Good buld up by the way
IRRATIONAL Games are making the greatest games nowadays starting from sys shock 2 to freedom force.....

[enoonmai]

Can small game companies flourish? Hmm, I seem to remember one small game company called CryTek that beat two biggies called id and Valve at their own game? Has anyone else heard of them?

Like I always say, you put in hard work and get it upto the standard quality, there's no way you're not gonna get noticed.

[Serial_Killer]

ya Crytek did do a very good job and I donno if starbreeze studios is a small company but chronicles of riddick came out of nowhere and beat doom3 and hl2 both gameplay and gfx wise .

[ctrl_alt_del]

Starbreeze has a few titles under its belt before it came out with TCR:EFBB. Those are:
Enclave
Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade.

And this is what Starbreeze like sto say about itself:

Starbreeze develops computer games on pre-financed assignments from major game publishers. The publisher usually owns the rights to the production and carries the financial risk. If a game does well in the marketplace Starbreeze obtains additional sales-royalties after the pre-finance amount has been covered for the publisher.

Starbreeze strives to become one of the most attractive development partners in the industry. This is accomplished by cost efficiency, innovation and, the ability to deliver games with high entertainment value - on time.

A leading position in the gaming industry can only be reached by maintaining state-of the art competence in the technological and creative fields. At Starbreeze the in-house game engine is subject to constant evolution. We are also committed to creating an attractive working environment by creating a stimulating and creative environment for our employees.

Source: http://www.starbreeze.com/index.jsp

[borg]

Man what does "small" company mean?. Last time I checked, Id software consists of 20 employees

[ctrl_alt_del]

By small companies, I guess it means, those with limited fundings, or those who are just fresh off the line in this trade.