 Play!
The most exciting part has arrived! Community Games are fully integrated into the
New Xbox Experience. Gone are the days
of getting a creator code, downloading a title player, and hitting an X to get into the special section of Marketplace. Xbox LIVE Community Games are open to
everyone on Xbox LIVE now.
Download and play
To get and play a community game, sign into your Xbox 360
console. Community games are in the Game Marketplace.
After selecting Game Marketplace, select the Community Games store front. Although it is not shown in the following
screenshot, you'll be able to browse the community games by Most Popular, Most
Recent, Title, and other filters.
As you can see, your box art is prominently displayed. Also note that we have added a Community
Games banner to your box art. You do not
have to create this. You can drill into
the details of a game by selecting it.
Here you'll see that all community games have a trial
version that is free. This enables the players to try before they buy. Do you remember the game information you
submitted? Your screen shots, game
capabilities, and description also show up in this area.
After you download the game, you can either Play Now directly or play it from the
Game Library. Just as in Marketplace,
Community Games have their own area within the Game Library.
Trial version
Every community game will have both a timed trial and full
version of the game. A splash screen tells
you the trial is over. The screen gives you the option to unlock the full game.
Game invites and rich presence
Of course, integration wouldn't be integration without
cross-game invites and rich presence information.
Cross-game invites enable you to join other
players in their community game even if you are not currently playing the
game. Below, RumbleMasterII has invited
me to join his game!
If you do not have the game, you are invited to download the
game from LIVE Marketplace.
In addition, XNA Game Studio 3.0 enables rich presence
strings in your game. Not only can you
now see which community game your
friends are playing...
...but also, what they are doing!
Last, but not least, once your games are on Xbox LIVE
Marketplace, you can buy them from Xbox.com, and even put them on your Xbox 360
download queue from the Web!
As you can see, Community Games are treated as first class
citizens in the console and on Xbox.com.
A few exceptions do exist, however.
Notably, community games do not support achievements or leader boards.
|
Printer-Friendly Version
There's always a catch. Without achievements and leader boards XNA content will continue to be treated as the tragically less loved step child to the can do no wrong favorite son that is XBLA.
And btw, any real programmer can get used to C# in a pretty short time (as he can be used to any language out there). There are plenty of game studios already using C# for their tools or even in their AAA games.
My real concern is more from the consumer standpoint. I believe consumers will be less likely to latch onto Community games if they perceive them to provide a reduced on-line experience from what they have grown accustomed to and frankly what the 360 does best with Xbox Live. Achievements and Gamer Score may seem like a small thing but consider that pretty much every gamer who has both a PS3 and 360 will always choose to buy a retail game for the 360 every time when it is available on both platforms unless there is some major 360-specific issue exposed in a review. The reason is clearly for the achievements and to invest further in their Gamer Score; the multiplayer game play they can get on either platform.
BTW Well said Vicente! The C++ snobs should get over themselves. Their complaints about managed code are the same complaints the C coders had about C++ (and I'm sure assembly coders had about C). There are always tradeoffs. To me, a nominal performance hit is a worthwhile tradeoff for getting my game to market quicker, and/or with fewer staff.
The limitations of XBLCG are so minimal when you consider this is a platform for the masses of hobbyists, enthusiasts, and up-and-coming game studios looking for that start-up opportunity to get into the game development business. XBLCG offers this opportunity with very little upfront investment beyond that required developing the game.
I did see a comparison in a previous comment between XBLCG (Xbox Live Community Games) and XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade) making the statement that because there were features available in XBLA there is no excuse why these features should not be available in XBLCG. One glaring difference between XBLA and XBLCG is that every single game that goes into XBLA passes an extensive Microsoft certification process which includes a direction relationship with a Microsoft account representative. XBLCG on the other hand requires very little if any Microsoft involvement when adding a new game.
http://www.casininio.com
Gucci Shoes
Louis Vuitton
UGG Boots
Louis Vuitton Handbags