Game Development

 
 
 

Vocabulary

scene	suit (2)	behind the scenes
detail	sketch	mission (2)
lineup	in-house	take off (3)
rapid	found (2)	complicated
native	switch (2)	headquarters
trend	console	worldwide
ability	model (3)	timeframe
extra	revenue	structured
mortal	figure (3)	thoroughly
afford	break (2)	balanced (2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 
 
 
 

Transcript

It takes super natural powers to play the online fantasy game Ion.

But behind the scenes is a team of mortals who plan out every mission, and sketch out every detail of the online characters.

Online games have really taken off in recent years.

The Gameforge company has some twenty games in its lineup; most of them in-house productions.

Eva Schmitt, Gameforge Product Director: “Some games are produced quickly — five or six months, while many games need one-and-a-half years because they’re very complicated.

And when you add sound and everything, it can turn into a really big production.”

Founded ten years ago, the German online game provider has seen rapid growth.

Nowadays, four hundred-and-fifty people work at Gameforge headquarters in Karlsruhe, developing even more new cyber-games for the world.

Carsten van Husen, Gameforge CEO: “We’re in more than seventy-five countries, and we work in more than fifty languages. For every language, we have a native speaker sitting here with us.”

They’re the ones who manage the worldwide gaming communities. And in every country, more and more players are switching from PCs to other devices.

Carsten van Husen, Gameforge CEO: “A big trend for us in the gaming industry is the ability to go mobile. People used to play games on their PCs or consoles in their living rooms.

But with today’s new terminals, you can play on your telephone or tablet. And that opens up a whole new timeframe.”

And new business models.

Playing online games is mostly free — at first sight. Gameforge creates revenue by offering virtual goods . . . extras for the game figures.

That brings in more than €100 million a year for the company.

But first the goods and the games are thoroughly tested.

Carsten van Husen, Gameforge CEO: “If I were a user, I had never seen this before, is it clear to me? Is it well structured? Is it well balanced, meaning does the thing suit the game? Or is it too strong or too weak?

It has to all fit nicely into the game.”

If the players answer “yes”, that means more revenue for Gameforge.

Even so, the company can hardly afford to take a creative break in this fast moving industry.

Questions

1. It takes a lot of thinking, creativity, and hard work to develop and create a computer game. True or false?

2. Does Gameforge have a lot of experience in video game production? What is its track record and history?

3. They usually can create a new game in about a month. Is this right or wrong?

4. How do they describe trends in the online game industry and market? What two trends are mentioned in the online games industry?

5. They only develop and market games for the German market. Is this correct or incorrect?

6. Does Gameforge require people to pay in order to play their games?

7. When they create a new game, do they simply launch it online?

 

A. I love playing computer games. Yes or no? My friends all love playing video games. Is it very popular in your town or city?

B. Do you know anyone who is involved in the design, development, distribution and selling of computer games?

C. Are video, computer and online games a very big industry? Is it a very lucrative market?

D. All my friends and I want to become game developers.

E. What will happen in the future?