1st Edition
Game Development 2042 The Future of Game Design, Development, and Publishing
This book is a fast-paced look at the next two decades of the games industry with a focus on game design, the evolution of gaming markets around the world, the future of technology, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, crypto-currency, and the art and business of creating and publishing hit games.
The book contains interviews with a dozen veteran games industry luminaries, who have collectively created many of the greatest hits of the last twenty years and grossed tens of billions of dollars in revenue for companies like Electronic Arts, Facebook, Apple, Activision, Microsoft, Amazon, Supercell, Netflix, Warner Brothers, and others.
Game Development 2042 is meant for game developers, anyone with a financial interest in the games business, and for gamers who want to know what the future holds. Mobile, console, PC, web, free-to-play, play-to-earn, and other businesses are discussed in depth with specific examples.
Introduction
1 - A Global Community of Players
Gaming Lights the World
Population Growth
United States and Canada
Europe
Russia
South Korea
Japan
China
On Emerging Markets
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
Vietnam
India
Interview with Zaid Azmi: Interactive Fiction for the World
Latin America
Brazil
Mexico
The Middle East and Africa
Interview with HRH Prince Fasil bin Bandar: The Bright Future of Games
Turkey
Egypt
Africa
Zooming Out
How to Tailor Games for a Region
2 – How to Reach the World
How to Reach the World
The Impact of Globalism on Game Design
Distribution Mechanisms
User Acquisition
Building Communities
How to Keep Them Playing
Interview with Aaron Loeb: The Future of Communities
Conclusion
3 – The Evolution of Game Design
Why Do People Play Games?
Quality is King
What’s Different
Deep Social
Visuals
Accessibility
Capable Devices Everywhere
AI Agents
Cross Device Play
VR, AR, Immersion, Metaverse
AR and Real World Gaming Blends
Metaverse Exploration
User Generated Content
Mods as UGC
Free to Play
Appointment Mechanics
Everything is an RPG
On Gatcha
Real Money Gaming & Wagering
Pervasive Community
The Need for Social Shepherds
Non-Gaming Activities in Games
Education & Gaming
The Future of Game Design
4 – Web 3 Gaming: Crypto, Play to Earn, NFT
Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance, Non-Fungible Tokens, and Gaming
NFT Basics
Axie Infinity
Play to Earn
Interview with Simon Davis: The Mighty Bear of Singapore
Conclusions on Web3
5 – Devices and Platforms
Mobile Devices
Platform Agnosticism
Gaming Ecosystem of Devices
Form Factors & Foldable
Watches, Glasses, Wearables
Consoles
Multiplatform Gaming
PC Gaming
Setting & Convergence
Cloud Gaming
On Bandwidth
Streaming Services and the Convergence of Linear and Non-Linear Media
Interview with Mike Verdu: The Future of Platforms
Wrapup on Devices and Platforms
6 – Inputs and Feedback Mechanisms
Mouse & Keyboard
Controllers
Gestures
Eye-tracking
Interview with Anand Srivatsa of Tobii: Advanced Eye Tracking
Cameras
Drones
Finger Taps
More Advanced Anatomically Integrated Input
Thought Control
Speech
Haptic Feedback
Displays
Glasses and VR Headsets
Contacts and Retina Projection
Wrap Up on Devices and Inputs
7 – Business Models
Retail Distribution of Games
Digital Distribution of Games
Free to Play
In App Advertising
Carrier Billing and Regional Payment Systems
Regional and Sachet Pricing
eSports
Real Money Gambling
Paid to Play
Play2Earn
The Value of Player Data
The Business of Creation
The Evolution of Gaming Legal Matters
Interview with Kimberly Corbett: Publishing for the Future
The Effect of Regulations of Business Models
Wrap Up
8 – Data and Analytics
Data Gathering
Data Processing
Data Analysis in Realtime
Data to AI Behaviors and Responses
Data Visualization
Interview with Rob Fink: The Future of Data
Data Ownership
Using Big Data to Create Content
Procedural Content Generation
Using Data to Generate usic
AI Helping write & fund bugs in code
AI & AL to aid game content design
Helping artists make art
Using Games to train AI
The Corrupted Blood Incident
Data and Analytics Wrap Up
The Coming Impact of Big Data
9 – Artifically Intelligent Characters
Virtual Characters Take Over the World. Soon.
On AI Characters
Building AI Companions
Indistinguishable from Real Humans
Avatars
AI and Intelligent Characters Wrap Up
10 – The Future of Game Development
The Act of Creation
Crowdsourcing & NFT Sales
Interview with Maurico Longoni: The Future of User Generated Content
Hits vs. Games
Interview with Thea Chow: Building the Best in the World
Tools & Techniques
Better Engineering Tools
Content Creation Tools
Increasing Competition for Talent
Increasing Competition for Licenses
Distributed Teams
Independent Contract & Unionized models of talent
Interview with Alexandria Sepulveda: The Future of Regulation
Increased Complexity of Publishing and Distribution
Localization & Culturalization
Adherence to Local Custom & Regulation
Forecasting
Local Publishing & Community Management
On Bots & ID
Wrap Up on The Future of Game Development
Conclusion
Biography
Tim Fields has been making and operating games and leading game publishing companies for more than 25 years. Along the way he has been a part of bringing games to life in franchises like Call of Duty, Halo, Marvel, Disney, Need for Speed, Fast and Furious, Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons, and many more, winning multiple Editor’s Choice and other awards, and generated billions of dollars in earnings. This is his fifth book on the games industry. He recently served as the CEO of mobile game publisher Kabam and currently works at Wizards of the Coast, bringing beloved franchises to life as digital games.Tim also runs an AI focused research company called MainBrain.AI.
