DC Exercise 3: Competitor Analysis

[Incognita Nom de Plume]

Analysis your 'real world' competition

3 comptitors : for each:
• name,

• url

• brief description of company

• description of competing product -- incl:
* features (what users can do)
* its 'edge'
• Specify the specific similarities between their product and your project.

• market (who it's aimed at)
* how it's marketed (publicity)
* how it's distributed

[Mohd Shazwan Noorazman]

Team : Space Bacon
Members : Alexandra Lester, Mohd Shazwan Noorazman, Nigel Dunne

[Jeffrey borroni]

team: IDK
members: john gibbs, jeff borroni, dave bishop & will leonard


Introversion software- located in the UK

http://www.introversion.co.uk/darwinia/

Introversion software is a company from the UK that creates Procedural generational games using up to date programming techniques. They are a small business but are leasing the way in the latest ways to produce games.

Darwinia is a game set in a virtual themepark/ city in which the life forms are procedurally generated and evolve during the game. The world is then taken over by a virus which has gone our of control. Your task is to destroy the virus. To destroy them you can create things like squads and engineers using the Darwinia’s (the populist controlling the planet) to destroy them. It is set in a games style similar to either Sim City or the very old game Ascendancy.
The edge of this game is that all the objects and levels (apart from the darwinia’s) are procedurally generated during the game. Therefore everytime you play the game (and while your playing it), the levels and buildings will always be different and something new and interesting to look at.
This is in competition to us because when creating cities like ours, if you can procedurally generate the city there would be no need to model and create the cities and build them all. You would just program it giving us all less work to do.

The games at the moment are aimed at programmers (because the games are mostly based on programming and don’t look the best) or someone looking for the latest beta games.. The games are becoming more popular though as the models and game play are updated giving a better visual impact.

Although the game is not so well known at the moment, it is picking up publicity because it is the main game pointed to when introducing people to the new world of Procedural generation.

The game is distributed separately on-line or as a package containing the four games the company has made so far in this field. It is made for PC only.



Valve Software

http://www.valvesoftware.com/

Valve Software is a games company based in Washington America which was founded in 1996. It has created award winning games such as Half-life and Counter-strike.

Counter-strike and Half life are FPS games in which you fight your way through fantasy cities fighting wars and killing of mutants. Your job is to rid the world of the enemy and creatures and become the hero. In counter strike you can also join forces with other soldiers and fight your way through the levels. Multi-player is also very popular for this game.

It is a competition to us because they have built many great looking city levels in their games and are rather the leaders in this design as earlier FPS were either set in space (doom) or in a World War setting (medal of honour. Wolfenstien). This takes away a bit from our originality in level design for a city level. The levels also have a good layout design which makes the game play very interactive and interesting. This is something we are trying to achieve with our game.

Valves games are aimed at any age although they are mostly played by teens and people in their twenties. This is mainly because of the violence in the games. The games are for anyone looking for a challenge and also a experience in a creepy/ war situation.

Counter strike was originally a mod that became very popular for its game play and style and therefore built up its own reputation. Half Life then went on the popularity of counter strike because people saw there games and a fun way to spend some free time and play against there friends. It was heavily marketed as a multi player game being one of the first games giving you this option.

Counter strike was originally distributed as a mod and then became very popular so they released them as proper games, under STEAM, which sold a lot of copies in PC format. Half life was then released on the popularity on other platforms like XBOX all over the world.

Rockstar San Diego/Angel studios

http://angelstudios.com/">http://web.archive.org/web/20020723031050/http://angelstudios.com/

Rockstar San Diego (formerly Angel Studios) is one of the development studios under the Rockstar Games umbrella. The studio pioneered open world racing games with the Midtown Madness and the award-winning Midnight Club series. It is also responsible for the game Red Dead Revolver. The studio also developed the R.A.G.E engine which is used in almost all Rockstar Games including Grand Theft Auto IV.

Their games are aimed at teenagers mostly, but many of their games are played by about 10 and up, while they have the success of GTA series, they also have many racing genre based games which have also gained in popularity other than midtown madness series, they also include smuggler’s run series, midnight club and test drive off road.

Because angel studios/rockstar San Diego have the publication of rockstar as well, so them getting the game out weren’t as a daunting as for other indie companies trying to get their game to a major publishing company.

Then once mass produced its then just sold as any other game would normally be sold.

[Kai Adam Isaac Lynk]

• Mini Ninjas

• http://www.minininjas.com

• From the guys who brought you Kane and Lynch: Io Interactive, a company who has previously been involved in a lot of gritty realistic adult-oriented games

• description of competing product -- incl:
Mini Ninjas, A child friendly soft cartoon style ninja game.

* features (what users can do)
-Three characters
-each with separate abilities and styles of play.
-Action
-Comedy

* its 'edge'
-Wildly marketable while retaining action.
• Specify the specific similarities between their product and your project.
-Ninjas
-Comedic take on feudal japan

• market (who it's aimed at)
Kids, male teens, upto about 25 years old

* how it's marketed (publicity)
Internet.
Steam.
Magazines

* how it's distributed
Online (Steam), Game stores.

• Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven

• http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/tenchuwrathofheaven

• Acquire http://www.acquire.co.jp/index.shtml

• Realistic Ninja stealth game
* Stealth assassination
* Straight out combat
*
* its 'edge'
Being true to the era, highly strategic, ninja experience.
• Specify the specific similarities between their product and your project.
Stealth features
Japanese setting
• 16-29 year olds
* TV commercials, game magazines, posters in game shops
* Distributed via game stores.

• Way of the Samurai 2

• Acquire (again) http://www.acquire.co.jp/samurai2/top.html

• See above

• True to era fuedal Japanese setting
* Dynamic story interaction, Parry based sword combat, social interaction with variety of characters.
* Representing its era and involving the user intensely in the story without the main character saying a word.
• Similarities
Character interaction and social aspects. Combat system.
• 16-29 year olds
* TV commercials, game magazines, posters in game shops
* Distributed via game stores.

[Jane Nathania Gandadjaja]

Team: BlackBox
Members: Mandy Yong, Jane Gandadjaja

Attached is the file.

[Tristan C-B]

(collaborated by Tristan and Harry)

name:
Tower Defense

url:
http://www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/game.asp

brief description of company:
Single developer, Paul Preece.

description of competing product:
The player must stop a set number of enemies, known in the genre as "creeps," from reaching a set point on the playing field. This is accomplished by building and upgrading towers that shoot at, damage and kill the enemy creeps before they are able to reach their objective.

features:
-Flash game - easy to run from the browser, low requirements.
-Free
-Strategy emphasis
-Fairly abstract

edge:
"Creeps" will alter their path around the towers and try to find weaknesses in your defenses.

similarities:
We also choose to focus on building such a defense to ward off waves of intruders, and allow new defenses to be raised during lulls.

market:
Fans of original tower defense and other similar games.
Casual gamers.
Stressed people?

how it's marketed:
It's run straight on it's own website. Some kind of upgrade to the game can be obtained for a fee.

how it's distributed:
See above.



LEFT 4 DEAD

name:
Left4Dead

url:
http://www.l4d.com/game.htm

brief description of company:
"Valve Corporation is an American video game development company based in Bellevue, Washington, USA that was founded in 1996, and made famous by its first product, Half-Life, which was released in November 1998."

description of competing product:
Released on PC via Steam and retail, released on Xbox via retail. Co-operative focus on the zombie survivor genre.

features:
To quote the official site:
- Multiplayer, co-op and single player modes.
- 4-on-4 Versus mode, Zombies vs. Survivors.
- AI Director ensures dynamic re-playability.
- 4 deep cinematic 'movie' campaigns.
- Matchmaking, stats, and achievements.
- Behind-the-scenes Designer's Commentary.
- Powered by the Source engine and Steam.


edge:
Was released at a time when co-operative play was very popular with the release of games with co-op mode such as Gears of War.
Found a niche in co-operative zombie "survival" gameplay, in which it appears to be unrivaled to this day...

similarities:
Waves of enemies attacking, enemies have little or no ranged attacks, have to overcome the waves.


market:
First person shooter market, as well as fans of horror games like resident evil, or fans of co-operative games.

how it's marketed:
Heavy emphasis on co-operative play, relatively realistic arsenal to appeal to FPS crowd, popular "rabid" or "fast" type zombies as seen in most contemporary zombie movies.

how it's distributed:
Via Steam, and on shelves. Given it is Valves' own game, L4D recieved heavy advertising and promotion on Steam.

Age of Empires III
Name: Age of Empires III

• url: www.ageofempires3.com/

• Brief description of company: Microsoft Games is an affiliate of a large multinational corporation with a large budget to buy ideas..

Features:
- Able to progress through the times to the point of managing a large successful civilization using economics and warfare strategies to win.
- Multiplayer duels with other players online
- Rounds
- Single player storyline
Its 'edge': A wide range of tools available to help the player plan their success depending on how they want to win rather than restricting them to one goal.
Specify the specific similarities between their product and your project: We focus on defending the base and providing the players with tools to focus on planning how to establish their base and eliminate threats.

Market (who it's aimed at): At players who wish to reenact scenes from popular texts or fables
How it's marketed: Marketed as an action packed real time strategy game that promises to have the player feeling successful with all the power at the end of the game
How it's distributed: Through general game stores with posters advertising of the achievements that you can gain throughout game play

[Nadav Tossia]

Nadav Tossia s3162770
Andrew Milton s3162487
Jonathan Leong s3159598

[Nikola Kovacevic]

Kaitos (Bamboo Studios)

[Anthony Pietrosanto]

Team : PPP, Urban Bloodshed
Members : Anthony Pietrosanto, Dat Do, Felix Serrano, Martin Au.

[James Caudwell]

Compilation of Maps project
James Caudwell

[Michael Boettcher]

DC Exercise 3: Competitor Analysis.
Please view attachment...

[EeLing Tan]

Team : By A Thread
Members: Lawrence Katsipidis, Timothy mark Grulke, EeLing Tan, Fraser

[Hamish Lockwood]

Team:
Red Pill

Members
-Felicity Trembath - s3164612

-Dimitra Lainas - s3164472

-Nicole Collis - s3164885

-Hamish Lockwood - s3138084