Online Games SIG/2007WPSB/index

International Game Developers Association

  The contents of Online Games SIG/2007WPSB/index are in-development. Please be patient while changes are formulated. Thank you!

Welcome to the 2007 Persistent World White Paper Project. The 2007WPSB section of the Wiki is the development sandbox for this ongoing project. We welcome new volunteers and contributors. To find our more about taking part in the project, please contact James Hursthouse (james at onlinegameservices dot com). We would ask that you do NOT make any direct changes to these pages before volunteering as a member of the team. Thanks!!

If you have any comments or suggestions pertaining to a particular section, please use the 'Discussion' tab at the top of the main page for that section. Section Coordinators are monitoring those pages for ideas relating to their section.!!

Thanks!

James Hursthouse - Editor-in-Chief

Project Admin

• 2007 Persistent World White Paper Contributors
• Project Team Meeting Notes
• Project Action Point Tracking
• Project Scratch Page / Brain Dump Receptacle

• Getting Started as a Contributor
• Style Guidelines
• Sample Article Templates

Introduction

Mission Statement

Welcome to the 2007 IGDA Online Games SIG Persistent World Whitepaper - a work in progress that aims to take advantage of the interactive, fluid nature of the Wiki format to develop a central canon of knowlege created by and for the community of online game developers on the art, craft, and science of online game development.

This will be a combination of 'approved' texts on the core aspects of our industry from committee-approved contributors, and a forum for deeper discussion related to the various topics.

For each topic covered, you will find three sections:

• Core Texts have been written by key experts in the industry and are designed to provide the reader with an immediate understanding of the issues relating to that particular aspect of the industry. These texts have been reviewed and approved by the 2007 Whitepaper Advisory Committee.

• Further Reading sections assume that the reader has either read the Core Text or was already familiar with the subject in question, and offer a deeper, perhaps contradictory view of the topic in hand. These texts have been reviewed and approved by the 2007 Whitepaper Advisory Committee.

• Springboard sections combine links to our Online Game SIG forums with user contributions and discussions on each topic, along with links to pages created by users and external reference sites relating to a given topic. This is the most fluid section of the project.

Audience and Scope

The articles in this Whitepaper Project are written BY game developers FOR game developers. Our aim is to help a game developer taking his or her first steps on the road to online game development to avoid (or at least be aware of) the pitfalls and traps encountered by those who have already gotten their boots muddy on the path. Journalists, analysts, investors, publishers, parents, and politicians will also have something to gain from reading at least our Core Texts.

Any reader seeking a general overview of the Online Games industry will be well served by reading the Core Text sections of each topic that we cover. The more advanced reader will find further development of each topic within the Further Reading sections, and resources for further research in the Springboard sections. We encourage the community of online game developers to contribute to this project as an evolving canon of information - to develop a canon of best practices that metamorphosizes to meet the changing requirements of the marketplace and the audience.

Definitions

We use a common definition set for this white paper that closely, if not identically, mirrors industry definitions. Definitions of these terms can be found in the Glossary.

Disclaimer

This information is intended strictly for informational purposes. If you include it in a business plan or any business process, you are responsible for its use and any successes or failures resulting from this report.

Sections

The Past

The history of online gaming is surprisingly rich for those who have recently entered this field. This section covers the massively multiplayer games that were first available prior to the 2004 launch of World of Warcraft.

• The Past

The Present

This section outlines current major trends in the MMO space. It also provides an overview of the state of major and emerging markets around the world.

• The Present

The Future

What will the future of online gaming look like? This section is a series of predictions for the year 2010 from a series of contributors. mirroring many of the sections in 'The Present' section but casting forwards three years. How will the industry develop? What will technology advances do to our industry? These are some of the topics addressed in this section.

• The Future

'How To' Guides

Concept, story, team, funding, client, servers, network, operating systems, art, physics, voice, animation, music... persistent worlds are arguably some of humankind's most complex technical systems. This section provides insights into key aspects of working in the persistent world space through a series of 'hands-on' articles.

• 'How To' Guides

Industry Directory

The Online Games SIG White Paper Industry Directory is a comprehensive repository of all the major players in the online gaming space.

• Industry Directory

Release Information