this is a list that my friends and I compiled of 'darling' technology companies over the past 25 years. these aren't necessarily the most successful companies of the year; they are the companies that generated the most hype. this list is based mainly on opinion and memory - not to mention that it's probably skewed in favour of gaming. I won't be offended if anyone wants to make suggestions or point out errors and omissions.
note that the links in this article are intended to shed more light on the history of the companies. therefore, many aren't links to the company's site.
1980 - Nintendo. 1980 saw the birth of Donkey Kong. it sold over 65,000 copies and was the most popular game of the year. the hype was well deserved as Nintendo continues to be an important player in the video game market.
1981 - International Business Machines. the release of the IBM Personal Computer turned out to be one of the most important moves in the technology industry. IBM abandoned their traditional proprietary hardware model and shipped the PC using mainly off-the-shelf parts. however, in an effort to hinder competition, IBM did use some proprietary hardware. IBM didn't dominate the personal computer market in the way that they wanted, but the company's stock is still a blue chip.
note: in 1981, Apple ran a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal welcoming IBM to the home computer business.
1982 - Commodore International. the Commodore 64 home computer was released in 1982. the C64 sold roughly 20 million units and is one of the best selling computers of all time. commodore was never able to match the success of the C64.
notables:
Coleco. Coleco released the Colecovision video game console in 1982. the console sold over 500,000 units in the five months of 1982 that it was available. Coleco has not been heard from since the Colecovision, but recent rumblings suggest that the brand name may surface again (see http://www.coleco.com/).
1983 - Compaq. after Compaq reverse engineered the IBM PC, they brought in over $111 million USD in their first year of shipping 'clone' PCs. in 1983, the Compaq IPO raised $67 million USD. Compaq continued to release new machines until they were merged with HP in 2002.
notables:
Motorola. the first commercial hand-held mobile phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, was released.
Novell. Novell Netware was introduced and dominated the network OS market for most of the 1980's. Novell's shine started to fade in the 1990s and the company was plagued with some high-profile failed acquisitions (e.g. WordPerfect and Quattro Pro).
1984 - Apple Computer. the Apple IIe was the gaming machine of choice (read: ya gotta love Rescue Raiders) and the Macintosh had just had its 'super' coming out party.
1985 - Nintendo. thanks to the Nintendo Entertainment System, the home video game market was revived after crashing in 1983.
1986 - Sun Microsystems Inc. the creator of the SunOS and Solaris UNIX-based operating systems went public in 1986. Sun has struggled over the years, but it continues to be an important player in the UNIX OS market.
notables:
Oracle Corporation. Oracle went public raising $55 million USD.
1987 - Microsoft. Microsoft and IBM released OS/2. Microsoft shares climb to $100 USD.
notables:
NeXT. this Steve Jobs project managed to raise some hype but in 1996, the company was purchased by Apple. however, as the Wikipedia points out, the innovations at NeXT were used heavily by Apple. therefore, some people referred "to the acquisition as 'NeXT getting paid to buy Apple'."
1988 - Creative Labs, Inc. the US subsidiary of Creative Technology Limited released the first SoundBlaster PC sound cards in 1998.
notables:
NASA (ok... it's not a private company). a space shuttle flies for the first time since the Challenger disaster.
1989 - Nintendo. in 1989 the original Game Boy was released. even today, the portable video game console is an important player in the market. in fact, the Game Boy is the most successful video game machine of all time - to date, Nintendo has sold over 100,000,000 units.
1990 - Microsoft. Windows 3.0 is released and sells 10 million copies in two years.
notables:
Sega. based on the success of Sonic the Hedgehog and the genesis, Sega was on its way to capturing 65% of the video game console market.
1991 - Industrial Light and Magic. in 1991 ILM created the first CGI main character when they brought the T-1000 to life for Terminator 2: judgment Day.
1992 - Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. in 1992, AMD had put a legal dispute with Intel behind them and the AMD Am386 chip had sold over one million units. AMD has continued to be a strong force in the microprocessor market.
1993 - Intel Corporation. in 1993 Intel released the Pentium microprocessor. the Intel chips have been so successful that Apple Computer announced in 2005 that they would switch from PowerPC chips to Intel.
notables:
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. during its glory days, Acclaim was developing and publishing games for many different platforms. for example, Acclaim was responsible for bringing the Mortal Kombat series to home consoles.
according to the Wikipedia, Mortal Combat was released on these platforms in 1993:
Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive (1993) - the Genesis/Mega Drive versions were censored, but entering a secret code (a-b-a-c-a-b-b) restored the full gore and fatalities from the arcade version. In 1993 a Sega CD/Mega CD version of the game was released with arcade quality sound, a grainy version of the famous Mortal Monday commercial and loading times. This version did not require a code to be entered and thus was given an MA-17 rating by the Videogames Rating Council.
Amiga (1993)
Game Boy (1993)
IBM PC (1993)
Sega Master System (1993)
Sega Game Gear (1993)
SNES/Super Famicom (1993) - Because Nintendo of America had a problem with the depiction of blood, the SNES replaces blood with "sweat" and all fatalities that involve decapitation or mutilation are modified or replaced (only Liu Kang's, Sonya's and Scorpion's are intact). A Game Genie code existed which could recolor [sic] the sweat pixels to be red, giving the slight appearance of blood, although this could not realter [sic] the fatalities to their original form.
1994 - id Software. with the release of the landmark shooter, Doom, there was good reason for gamers to be talking about id. id would go on to produce some of the most popular FPS games ever created (e.g. Doom II, Quake, Quake II and Quake III).
notables:
Sony Corporation. the PlayStation video game console was released in Japan. the hype was well placed as the PlayStation line still holds the most market share of all video game consoles.
1995 - Microsoft. the release of Windows 95 was a major milestone for Microsoft. investors poured money into Microsoft stock and made Bill Gates the richest man in the world.
notables:
Pixar Animation Studios. toy story was the first fully computer animated feature length film. Pixar's IPO brings in $140 million USD.
Nintendo. the Nintendo 64 was released.
1996 - Netscape Communications. the Netscape Communicator browser was great and it had huge market share. it would take many years for anyone to compete with Netscape. however, the company eventually saw its share of the market eaten away by Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser. AOL acquired Netscape in 1998.
notables:
Excite. raised $34 million USD with their IPO in 1996. Excite did not do well after the .com crash and filed for bankruptcy in 2001.
1997 - International Business Machines. IBM's Deep Blue computer becomes the first machine to beat a world chess champion when it won the last game of a rematch with Garry Kasparov.
notables:
Lucent Technologies. this AT&T spin-off saw its stock price rise from $7.56 to $84 USD. the company operates today with over 30,000 employees but once employed over 160,000.
1998 - Apple Computer. in 1998, Apple released the iMac computer. the sexy machine was seen frequently on TV (e.g. in a J-Lo video) and it was rated the “best desktop PC ever” by PC Magazine.
notables:
America Online. in 1998 AOL was bringing in millions of subscribers and the company acquireded Netscape Communications.
boo.com. the online UK fashion store managed to burn through $160 million USD before being liquidated.
1999 - VA Linux Systems. apparently, it's tough to live up to the biggest IPO gain in history. VA Linux never really did enough to justify their $7 billion USD dollar market capitalization. Red Hat also went public in 1999 (earning a $4.billionon USD market cap). most people would argue that Red Hat has proven to be the more influential company.
note: great quote from a 1999 CNN interview... "CNN: What do you consider the most overhyped aspect of the Internet? Charles Cohen: Definitely its cultural impact. Most of the things which people see as being culturally significant at the time don't turn out to be that big a deal in the long run. The Internet probably falls into this category."
notables:
Webvan. this online grocer reached a top value of $1.2 billion USD. webvan has been widely touted as the greatest .com failure.
2000 - Amazon.com. riding the .com bubble, Amazon was all the rage. how many covers could Jeff Bezos be on? over the years Amazon has survived and proven that the hype was in the right place.
notables:
Sony Corporation. the PlayStation 2 (PS2) was released in Japan. the PS2 holds the largest market share of any video game console and boasts some of the top grossing games of all time (e.g. Grand Theft Auto).
pets.com. in 2000, the pets.com IPO raised over $82 million USD. the hype was obviously not deserved as the company went belly-up in the same year.
2001 - Apple Computer. with the release of the first iPod, Apple was back in the news. while I didn't personally agree with those who seemed to believe that the original iPod was perfect, no one can argue that Apple wasn't back in the hearts and minds of tech consumers. since the release of the original iPod, a number of improvements have been made.
note: when the iPod was first reviewed, News.com ran a story called Apple's iPod stirs mixed reactions.
notables:
Microsoft. the first Xbox is released.
2002 - all outsourcing companies (yes, this isn't a company but it's well deserved). after the .com crash, there was a rush to find cheap labour anywhere on the planet. after realizing that the savings weren't black and white, a backlash against outsourcing started to surface.
2003 - Google. in 2003 Brandchannel named Google the "Brand of the Year." they also launched Blogger in 2003. although Google is clearly a successful company, only time will tell how many of their ventures will be profitable.
notables:
eBay. TV commercials for eBay start to appear and the entire world knows that eBay has gone mainstream.
Apple Computer. the iTunes music store opens in the United States.
2004 - Google. with a stock valuation that was through the roof and less profit than Yahoo, a 2004 Wired magazine article suggested that Google didn't deserve quite so much praise. however, in 2004 Google also topped the magazine's 'Wired 40' list and the company launched the popular Gmail web-based e-mail service.
2005 - Skype. many have argued (e.g. the BBC) that eBay's purchase of Skype for $2.6 billion USD was overpriced. only time will tell...
notables:
Blogger and other blogging sites </irony>. if there was only one blogging company, than it would have beat out Skype in this list. blogging is clearly a ridiculously popular activity. only time will tell if it will continue to be so popular and how many people can actually make money with a blog.
Microsoft. the Xbox 360 is the most sought after toy during the 2005 holiday season.
Apple Computer. Apple releases the iPod Nano and collaborates with Motorola to produce the first cell phone that works with the iTunes music player - the Motorola ROKR E1. the phone is widely criticized, but still makes a splash.
related articles:
CNET's Top 10 dot-com Flops
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
prometheus - the future of modding
the Prometheus (prom) application is being developed by the HaloDev team and it is shaping up to be the future of Halo modding. prom is a highly ambitious software project. according to HaloDev team member MonoxideC, “prom will take over and change modding forever. it will support all versions of Halo 1 and 2, and future games based on the same engine/file format. it’s a massive project and has been in development for over a year.”
will prom live up to the hype? it’s a relatively safe bet since the application is being developed by the creators of nearly all of the famous Halo modding applications. the team is led by Nick and currently includes big names such as Grenadiac, MonoxideC, CLuis, JamesD, Kornman, Talin64, rec0 and ViperNeo.
when I first received an alpha of prom, I was impressed with the functionality that the team had already coded. in typical modder fashion, the alpha build was time-bombed and my name was hard coded into the application title bar – a guarantee that I wouldn’t leak the application to anyone.
the tight security is not just to protect prom – a large part of the secrecy is meant to protect Halo. in addition to keeping HaloMods clean of cheater resources, the modding community has gone to great lengths to protect the integrity of the Halo series. for example, the prom team is spending many development hours ensuring that they protect Bungie's IP. a prom user will be able to use Halo content in their Halo mods, but they will not be able to export Halo content and use it for any other purpose. in other words, the HaloDev team wants to allow users to create mods, but they will not allow someone to use prom as a tool for misusing Bungie’s assets.
for more information about Prometheus refer to the HaloDev site.
will prom live up to the hype? it’s a relatively safe bet since the application is being developed by the creators of nearly all of the famous Halo modding applications. the team is led by Nick and currently includes big names such as Grenadiac, MonoxideC, CLuis, JamesD, Kornman, Talin64, rec0 and ViperNeo.
when I first received an alpha of prom, I was impressed with the functionality that the team had already coded. in typical modder fashion, the alpha build was time-bombed and my name was hard coded into the application title bar – a guarantee that I wouldn’t leak the application to anyone.
the tight security is not just to protect prom – a large part of the secrecy is meant to protect Halo. in addition to keeping HaloMods clean of cheater resources, the modding community has gone to great lengths to protect the integrity of the Halo series. for example, the prom team is spending many development hours ensuring that they protect Bungie's IP. a prom user will be able to use Halo content in their Halo mods, but they will not be able to export Halo content and use it for any other purpose. in other words, the HaloDev team wants to allow users to create mods, but they will not allow someone to use prom as a tool for misusing Bungie’s assets.
for more information about Prometheus refer to the HaloDev site.
Friday, December 16, 2005
game testers need cheaper TVs
thank goodness someone is starting to pay attention to an annoying trend. as the BBC reports, the new King Kong video game is terrible when viewed on a standard TV (note: I found this story through an entry on the news.com gaming blog). apparently, Ubisoft didn't test the game with an Xbox 360 and a standard TV.
the reason I'm happy to see this story getting some press is that I've found that some recent games have had similar issues even with HDTVs. I have an HDTV and when I bought Star Wars Battlefront 2, I was annoyed with how difficult it is to read the player stats - even the maps are terrible when compared with the first version of the game. I tried playing the game without the Xbox HD adaptor and the text became completely illegible.
I'm all in favour of games taking advantage of better displays, but if text is difficult to read on an HDTV then there's obviously a problem. the difference between Battlefront 1 and Battlefront 2 shows that game companies need to pay more attention to what they're doing. get those testers some cheap TVs!
the reason I'm happy to see this story getting some press is that I've found that some recent games have had similar issues even with HDTVs. I have an HDTV and when I bought Star Wars Battlefront 2, I was annoyed with how difficult it is to read the player stats - even the maps are terrible when compared with the first version of the game. I tried playing the game without the Xbox HD adaptor and the text became completely illegible.
I'm all in favour of games taking advantage of better displays, but if text is difficult to read on an HDTV then there's obviously a problem. the difference between Battlefront 1 and Battlefront 2 shows that game companies need to pay more attention to what they're doing. get those testers some cheap TVs!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
quick update dec 2005
well I made it back from a month of visiting Saint John, New Brunswick. I didn't have a reliable connection there so you may see a bunch of stale postings pop up. :P
other than my apartment getting flooded, the news is that The Black Art of Halo Mods is wrapping up and I'm talking to publishers about my next project.
well back to the sweet sound of the industrial dehumidifiers in my living room. anyway, I have my new house to cheer me up - although it was recently attacked by giant gummy worms...
other than my apartment getting flooded, the news is that The Black Art of Halo Mods is wrapping up and I'm talking to publishers about my next project.
well back to the sweet sound of the industrial dehumidifiers in my living room. anyway, I have my new house to cheer me up - although it was recently attacked by giant gummy worms...
Sunday, December 11, 2005
video game awards for actors 2005
I was watching Spike's video game awards yesterday and I couldn't help but notice that when people started trotting up to accept the awards, I wasn't able to spot anyone who actually developed a video game. I'm a fan of Spike tv, but I think that they need to reavaluate some aspects of the VGAs.
maybe they need to hand out some awards to celebrities just to boost their ratings, but this was over the top. if you compare the Oscars (probably the most prestigious award show) to the VGAs you'll see what I mean. instead of giving the award for the best movie to an actor, they give the award to the producers. when Spike gave out the award for best individual sports game, tony hawk accepted the award. I seriously doubt that tony managed the project or coded the engine in his spare time.
when a game developer did actually accept an award for God of War, I wondered if I was being too critical. but then it occurred to me that the reason this happened is that GoW might not feature any celebrity voices. it seems that spike painted itself into a corner where they actually had to give out hardware to someone who works in game development.
I gave up on the show at this point, so I didn't see some of the awards that seem like they should belong in a show about video games. I hope that whomever accepted the awards for things like best graphics was actually involved in the development process.
maybe they need to hand out some awards to celebrities just to boost their ratings, but this was over the top. if you compare the Oscars (probably the most prestigious award show) to the VGAs you'll see what I mean. instead of giving the award for the best movie to an actor, they give the award to the producers. when Spike gave out the award for best individual sports game, tony hawk accepted the award. I seriously doubt that tony managed the project or coded the engine in his spare time.
when a game developer did actually accept an award for God of War, I wondered if I was being too critical. but then it occurred to me that the reason this happened is that GoW might not feature any celebrity voices. it seems that spike painted itself into a corner where they actually had to give out hardware to someone who works in game development.
I gave up on the show at this point, so I didn't see some of the awards that seem like they should belong in a show about video games. I hope that whomever accepted the awards for things like best graphics was actually involved in the development process.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Northy's Grim Hearse mod
one of the modders who helped with Halo 2 Hacks (Northy from Team DeFiance) mailed me to let me know that he has released his latest Halo 2 mod. it's called Grim Hearse and it's a mod of Midship. I especially like the 'falling texture' (from the installation in Arbiter level) that gives the illusion that the level is plummeting through space. take a look at this video:
http://www.teamdefiance.la/vids/NORTHY/Video%20Clips/northy_grimhearse.wmv
his previous mods are located here:
http://www.teamdefiance.la/vids/NORTHY/Old%20Mods/
http://www.gxm-mirror.icon-clan.simgames.net/files/other/HEH1.0.rar/
and some of his vids:
http://useruploads.mythica.org/view.cgi?f=northy_lannage.wmv
http://useruploads.mythica.org/view.cgi?f=northy_beta_hengemhighway.wmv
http://www.teamdefiance.la/vids/NORTHY/Video%20Clips/northy_grimhearse.wmv
his previous mods are located here:
http://www.teamdefiance.la/vids/NORTHY/Old%20Mods/
http://www.gxm-mirror.icon-clan.simgames.net/files/other/HEH1.0.rar/
and some of his vids:
http://useruploads.mythica.org/view.cgi?f=northy_lannage.wmv
http://useruploads.mythica.org/view.cgi?f=northy_beta_hengemhighway.wmv
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
amazon spells my name correctly
after months of misspelling my name in the credits for The Black Art of Halo Mods, the amazon page has been updated.
BTW - this was probably not their fault, I've seen this sort of thing happen before. for example, when I started at Microsoft, no one asked me my real name - in their DB I was 'steve' the whole time that I was there. if anyone looked up my real name in the Outlook GAL, they wouldn't find me. sure, my friends call me steve and that's cool, but it's nice to be asked. for more formal things, I like to use my real name.
BTW - this was probably not their fault, I've seen this sort of thing happen before. for example, when I started at Microsoft, no one asked me my real name - in their DB I was 'steve' the whole time that I was there. if anyone looked up my real name in the Outlook GAL, they wouldn't find me. sure, my friends call me steve and that's cool, but it's nice to be asked. for more formal things, I like to use my real name.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
xbox 360 launch fake comic
to celebrate the release of the xbox 360, I have a fake comic for you. I found the comic generating script while working on my latest book. kudos to xzzy for this fun distraction.
click for full size image
Note: from xzzy.org "This image is stolen without regret from chick.com."
click for full size image
Note: from xzzy.org "This image is stolen without regret from chick.com."
Sunday, November 20, 2005
halo 2 hacks on bungie.org
halo 2 hacks is featured on bungie.org. the page includes video samples of some of the hacks found in the book. e.g. the soccer ball easter egg and the sneaky way to get the beaver creek rocket launcher.
louis wu (the admin for bungie.org) helped write the foreword for the book.
louis wu (the admin for bungie.org) helped write the foreword for the book.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
halo on Xbox 360... nice
today is the anniversary of the Halo 2 release.
bungie has announced that Halo and Halo 2 will not only run on the Xbox 360, but they will look better too.
I'm especially pleased about the split-screen benefits for widescreen TVs.
bungie has announced that Halo and Halo 2 will not only run on the Xbox 360, but they will look better too.
I'm especially pleased about the split-screen benefits for widescreen TVs.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
halo 2 hacks - errata
these are the errors that have been reported for Halo 2 Hacks. if you find something that is not listed in this post, please notify me.
1. on page 19 there is a repeated sentence. (reported by XIU)
"The capture card was connected to the Xbox using the original style High Definition adapter for the Xbox. The capture card was connected to the Xbox using the original style High Definition adapter for the Xbox."
2. the ADI "Raw Data Editor" has always been operational, you just have to have a sbsp, mode, bitm, or snd! tag selected. on page 109, there is an incorrect note that reads "As of this writing, this feature had not been implemented yet." (reported by The Swamp Fox)
3. "Xboxes" should be "Xbox systems." this error occurs in the preface (page XX) and chapter 6 (page 105). it may appear in other places as well.
4. in the credits, "The Swamp Fox" should be "Robert Spychalski (The Swamp Fox)."
5. on page 156 (chapter 8) "Warption" should be "Warpion".
6. on page 103 (chapter 5, hack #49), "continue at its set pace hit the vehicle" should be "continue at its set pace and hit the vehicle." (reported by SkaNCellFonePong)
7. on page 206 (chapter 11, hack #89) the URL to download the Hex Tutorial is out of date. Hex tutorials are available on HaloMods.
8. on page 30 (chapter 2, hack #13) the Envy skull is described; it has been suggested that the Getting Above Delta Halo hack (hack #33) should not be used to get the Envy skull because the skull will not spawn unless you follow the proper map path. although this comment implies that the book wasn't clear enough, this isn't a factual error. the text reads "In addition, if you use the Grunt Birthday Party skull or the Getting Above Delta Halo hack, you will find the first section much easier to complete."
this is accurate because one can skip the first section of the map and still get the Envy skull. if you try to skip everything before the temple, you will not trigger the spawn point for the skull. but you can go around the first building and thereby skip the entire first fight - allowing you to bypass numerous elites and snipers. just make sure that you go down the cliff before the bridge (where you get the scorpion). (reported by aRampagingDuck on the o'reilly network)
1. on page 19 there is a repeated sentence. (reported by XIU)
"The capture card was connected to the Xbox using the original style High Definition adapter for the Xbox. The capture card was connected to the Xbox using the original style High Definition adapter for the Xbox."
2. the ADI "Raw Data Editor" has always been operational, you just have to have a sbsp, mode, bitm, or snd! tag selected. on page 109, there is an incorrect note that reads "As of this writing, this feature had not been implemented yet." (reported by The Swamp Fox)
3. "Xboxes" should be "Xbox systems." this error occurs in the preface (page XX) and chapter 6 (page 105). it may appear in other places as well.
4. in the credits, "The Swamp Fox" should be "Robert Spychalski (The Swamp Fox)."
5. on page 156 (chapter 8) "Warption" should be "Warpion".
6. on page 103 (chapter 5, hack #49), "continue at its set pace hit the vehicle" should be "continue at its set pace and hit the vehicle." (reported by SkaNCellFonePong)
7. on page 206 (chapter 11, hack #89) the URL to download the Hex Tutorial is out of date. Hex tutorials are available on HaloMods.
8. on page 30 (chapter 2, hack #13) the Envy skull is described; it has been suggested that the Getting Above Delta Halo hack (hack #33) should not be used to get the Envy skull because the skull will not spawn unless you follow the proper map path. although this comment implies that the book wasn't clear enough, this isn't a factual error. the text reads "In addition, if you use the Grunt Birthday Party skull or the Getting Above Delta Halo hack, you will find the first section much easier to complete."
this is accurate because one can skip the first section of the map and still get the Envy skull. if you try to skip everything before the temple, you will not trigger the spawn point for the skull. but you can go around the first building and thereby skip the entire first fight - allowing you to bypass numerous elites and snipers. just make sure that you go down the cliff before the bridge (where you get the scorpion). (reported by aRampagingDuck on the o'reilly network)
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
modding Halo considered harmful?
note: this article was cross-posted to the o'reilly blog and has been stirring up some fierce emotions.
my latest book, Halo 2 Hacks, hit the shelves recently. in this book, Halo 2 players can learn all about gameplay tricks, Halo 2 Easter eggs, glitches, and more. but what's caught the attention of some is a commonly misunderstood aspect of gaming: modding.
modding is the act of altering a game so it behaves differently from the way its developers intended. it can be as simple as altering the sprites in an Atari 2600 game or it can be as complicated as creating a whole new level for Halo 2.
with the help of game makers such as id Software and Valve, mods have been created for numerous PC games. for example, Counterstrike began its life as a mod of Half-Life. Half-Life is an easy game to mod because all of the modding tools you need are provided for you. some games, such as Halo 2, don't make it as easy. a big part of this is the fact that Halo 2 runs on the Xbox. for a variety of reasons, Microsoft does not condone modifications to the console or the games that run on it. however, their primary reason for this stance is that mod chips have been used for game piracy.
unfortunately, altering the Xbox to enable mods was used to open the door to a huge problem: online cheating. I share the animosity people feel toward cheaters on Xbox Live. just like every other Halo 2 fan, I was annoyed when my online rank was wiped out by people who cheated with standby, spoofing, and mods.
however, modding is not the same as cheating. many folks from the modding community contributed to this book and the modding community certainly does not support cheaters. for example, anyone who posts a question about cheating to HaloMods.com is instantly banned.
in addition to misunderstandings about the difference between a modder and a cheater, some of the negative comments about Halo 2 Hacks stem from confusion regarding the title of the book. o'reilly is aware that the term hacking has a bad reputation. the press use it to refer to someone who breaks into systems or wreaks havoc with computers as their weapon. among people who write code, the term "hack" refers to a "quick-and-dirty" solution to a problem, or a clever way to get something done. the term "hacker" is taken as a compliment, referring to someone as being creative, having the technical chops to get things done. the Hacks series is an attempt to reclaim the word, document the good ways people are hacking, and pass the hacker ethic of creative participation on to the uninitiated.
look inside Halo 2 Hacks, and you'll see plenty of cool things you can do with Halo 2 that don't involve mods: Easter eggs, vehicle stunts, glitches and much more. we also spent a lot of the book discussing the impressive user-created maps such as Zentation and All H#ll Breaks Loose. these maps can only be experienced with a modded Xbox. what you won't find are ways to cheat on Xbox Live!
the long and positive history of modding is based on the fact that many game developers openly support the practice of developing creative adaptations of their games. while Bungie may not publicly support Halo mods, they did support mods for their Marathon games. the reason for this is that many people understand that modding is a creative outlet for hardcore fans and future game developers.
my latest book, Halo 2 Hacks, hit the shelves recently. in this book, Halo 2 players can learn all about gameplay tricks, Halo 2 Easter eggs, glitches, and more. but what's caught the attention of some is a commonly misunderstood aspect of gaming: modding.
modding is the act of altering a game so it behaves differently from the way its developers intended. it can be as simple as altering the sprites in an Atari 2600 game or it can be as complicated as creating a whole new level for Halo 2.
with the help of game makers such as id Software and Valve, mods have been created for numerous PC games. for example, Counterstrike began its life as a mod of Half-Life. Half-Life is an easy game to mod because all of the modding tools you need are provided for you. some games, such as Halo 2, don't make it as easy. a big part of this is the fact that Halo 2 runs on the Xbox. for a variety of reasons, Microsoft does not condone modifications to the console or the games that run on it. however, their primary reason for this stance is that mod chips have been used for game piracy.
unfortunately, altering the Xbox to enable mods was used to open the door to a huge problem: online cheating. I share the animosity people feel toward cheaters on Xbox Live. just like every other Halo 2 fan, I was annoyed when my online rank was wiped out by people who cheated with standby, spoofing, and mods.
however, modding is not the same as cheating. many folks from the modding community contributed to this book and the modding community certainly does not support cheaters. for example, anyone who posts a question about cheating to HaloMods.com is instantly banned.
in addition to misunderstandings about the difference between a modder and a cheater, some of the negative comments about Halo 2 Hacks stem from confusion regarding the title of the book. o'reilly is aware that the term hacking has a bad reputation. the press use it to refer to someone who breaks into systems or wreaks havoc with computers as their weapon. among people who write code, the term "hack" refers to a "quick-and-dirty" solution to a problem, or a clever way to get something done. the term "hacker" is taken as a compliment, referring to someone as being creative, having the technical chops to get things done. the Hacks series is an attempt to reclaim the word, document the good ways people are hacking, and pass the hacker ethic of creative participation on to the uninitiated.
look inside Halo 2 Hacks, and you'll see plenty of cool things you can do with Halo 2 that don't involve mods: Easter eggs, vehicle stunts, glitches and much more. we also spent a lot of the book discussing the impressive user-created maps such as Zentation and All H#ll Breaks Loose. these maps can only be experienced with a modded Xbox. what you won't find are ways to cheat on Xbox Live!
the long and positive history of modding is based on the fact that many game developers openly support the practice of developing creative adaptations of their games. while Bungie may not publicly support Halo mods, they did support mods for their Marathon games. the reason for this is that many people understand that modding is a creative outlet for hardcore fans and future game developers.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
black art of Halo mods status
a few people have asked about the status of The Black Art of Halo Mods. I guess the fact that I haven't been writing in my blog is a good indication of the current workload. most of the content has been written and the editing phase is in full swing.
if you're wondering why this book isn't under my name on Amazon, it because it's currently listed under 'Steve Cawood.' the publisher is working on correcting this error.
if you're wondering why this book isn't under my name on Amazon, it because it's currently listed under 'Steve Cawood.' the publisher is working on correcting this error.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
mod chips legal down under
in an article on G4TV.com, Wade Steel writes that an Australian court has ruled that mod chips are legal. this particular case centered around the Sony PlayStation console. Sony argued that mod chips violated their copyright protection. however, the court ruled that this is not true.
if you read through the article, you'll see that the determining point in the case was the fact that "since no full copy of the 'unauthorized' game is actually created in the console's memory when the game is inserted into the console, then no actual copyright infringement happens."
this is great news for game modders. after innumerable accusations of supporting piracy, modders are starting to get support from the legal system. the fact is that a lot of people buy mod chips for legal uses. for example, using their Xbox console as a media center.
if the console makers are concerned about mod chips because the chips can be used to run pirate games, then they should target the piracy - not the chips. for example, they could require that an authorized DVD is in the console's drive before the game launches. I'm not saying that this is the answer, but it's an example of measures that the hardware manufacturers could try. it's just one example of a solution that wouldn't persecute the legit modding community.
if you read through the article, you'll see that the determining point in the case was the fact that "since no full copy of the 'unauthorized' game is actually created in the console's memory when the game is inserted into the console, then no actual copyright infringement happens."
this is great news for game modders. after innumerable accusations of supporting piracy, modders are starting to get support from the legal system. the fact is that a lot of people buy mod chips for legal uses. for example, using their Xbox console as a media center.
if the console makers are concerned about mod chips because the chips can be used to run pirate games, then they should target the piracy - not the chips. for example, they could require that an authorized DVD is in the console's drive before the game launches. I'm not saying that this is the answer, but it's an example of measures that the hardware manufacturers could try. it's just one example of a solution that wouldn't persecute the legit modding community.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Insolence - funny error message
this one can be filed under 'daily smile' or, better yet... 'what software should be like.'
I was playing around with the Insolence Halo modding app today. when I attempted to use an invalid path to a map file, I received this error:
<click image to see full-size version>
kudos to tjc2k4 for not taking his software too seriously.
I was playing around with the Insolence Halo modding app today. when I attempted to use an invalid path to a map file, I received this error:
<click image to see full-size version>
kudos to tjc2k4 for not taking his software too seriously.
Monday, October 10, 2005
interview with Xbox 360 Force
I recently chatted with Northy from the Xbox 360 Force Forum. we talked about some of the Halo books that I've worked on, the Xbox 360 and the video game console scene.
Monday, September 26, 2005
exits from microsoft article
the current cover story of business week is:
Troubling Exits At Microsoft
Once the dream workplace of tech's highest achievers, it is suffering key defections to google and elsewhere. What's behind the losses?
(you can read the full article online if you complete the free sign-up process)
this article has prompted a fair bit of discussion amongst me and my friends. one of my former colleagues at microsoft summed up the points that he found to be insightful:
- Google now has a Kirkland campus. this is a brilliant business strategy.
- students are flocking to Google and Yahoo job fair booths.
- bottom-up collaborative approaches are the most satisfying for engineers.
- a "have and have nots" culture is demoralizing.
although the article touches on an important issue, it tends to skirt around what the writer is trying to explore. take these lines... "Google ... embarrassed Microsoft in October, 2004, by coming out with software that lets users quickly search the files on their Windows desktop before Microsoft released its own version" and then goes on to say "Adding to employee frustration is the company's bureaucracy." the decision to cut the search bar (I have seen the original specs so I know that they were written well before Google's version) is part of the bureaucracy, but the article separates the two. one problem that I've seen is that decisions about what to cut aren't always made the right way.
another problem I have with the story is that references in these types of articles to monopolies continue to annoy me. for example: "Its twin monopolies, the Windows PC operating system and the Office suite of desktop applications." I love how these comments show up in articles that simultaneously talk about how Apple, Linux, and other open-source programs are cutting into MS revenue. reporters can't have it both ways - no matter how badly this writer wants the company to be split up :)
getting back to the topic at hand... contrary to the official microsoft position, I think that they better change something or they will be heading towards a staff morale issue - and it's not just about Google. there will always be some hot new upstart company that is drawing in talent. I used to work with a guy that had left MS to join an online recipe company (note that he went back when the bubble burst).
I think the bigger issue for microsoft is the way that they are treating their staff. MS has never boasted about its salaries - a large part of the compensation came from fancy benefits. however, instead of maintaining the stereotypically attractive software company benefits, they have moved to a model where most teams operatete more like a government office (note that Bungie Studios has thankfully been kept away from the large corporate culture). I only worked at MS for 3.5 years, but in that time I saw benefits disappear. for example, I was there when the stock options were changed to stocks awards (a blatant acknowledgement that stock options were no longer a compelling benefit) - oh ya... and the whole towel thing.
part of the changes were included in a giant 1 billion dollar cutback (according to the article, it went even further). sure it was noble for MS to try and cut its expenses, but what was the cost to the employees? this was one point that the article nailed. in the end, the actual value of the damage to employee morale is moot because the whole program was a giant flop. it didn't affect the stock price and I can't remember a single significant piece of good PR that it generated.
so while MS continued to increase its profit margin, employees were losing little incentives to stay. I can remember when I worked for a startup and another local tech company was giving out company holidays to the tropics. my manager said "you have to be careful with things like that because you may have to take them away - then you're employees are pissed."
microsoft is a very strong company, but they better show their employees some love.
Troubling Exits At Microsoft
Once the dream workplace of tech's highest achievers, it is suffering key defections to google and elsewhere. What's behind the losses?
(you can read the full article online if you complete the free sign-up process)
this article has prompted a fair bit of discussion amongst me and my friends. one of my former colleagues at microsoft summed up the points that he found to be insightful:
- Google now has a Kirkland campus. this is a brilliant business strategy.
- students are flocking to Google and Yahoo job fair booths.
- bottom-up collaborative approaches are the most satisfying for engineers.
- a "have and have nots" culture is demoralizing.
although the article touches on an important issue, it tends to skirt around what the writer is trying to explore. take these lines... "Google ... embarrassed Microsoft in October, 2004, by coming out with software that lets users quickly search the files on their Windows desktop before Microsoft released its own version" and then goes on to say "Adding to employee frustration is the company's bureaucracy." the decision to cut the search bar (I have seen the original specs so I know that they were written well before Google's version) is part of the bureaucracy, but the article separates the two. one problem that I've seen is that decisions about what to cut aren't always made the right way.
another problem I have with the story is that references in these types of articles to monopolies continue to annoy me. for example: "Its twin monopolies, the Windows PC operating system and the Office suite of desktop applications." I love how these comments show up in articles that simultaneously talk about how Apple, Linux, and other open-source programs are cutting into MS revenue. reporters can't have it both ways - no matter how badly this writer wants the company to be split up :)
getting back to the topic at hand... contrary to the official microsoft position, I think that they better change something or they will be heading towards a staff morale issue - and it's not just about Google. there will always be some hot new upstart company that is drawing in talent. I used to work with a guy that had left MS to join an online recipe company (note that he went back when the bubble burst).
I think the bigger issue for microsoft is the way that they are treating their staff. MS has never boasted about its salaries - a large part of the compensation came from fancy benefits. however, instead of maintaining the stereotypically attractive software company benefits, they have moved to a model where most teams operatete more like a government office (note that Bungie Studios has thankfully been kept away from the large corporate culture). I only worked at MS for 3.5 years, but in that time I saw benefits disappear. for example, I was there when the stock options were changed to stocks awards (a blatant acknowledgement that stock options were no longer a compelling benefit) - oh ya... and the whole towel thing.
part of the changes were included in a giant 1 billion dollar cutback (according to the article, it went even further). sure it was noble for MS to try and cut its expenses, but what was the cost to the employees? this was one point that the article nailed. in the end, the actual value of the damage to employee morale is moot because the whole program was a giant flop. it didn't affect the stock price and I can't remember a single significant piece of good PR that it generated.
so while MS continued to increase its profit margin, employees were losing little incentives to stay. I can remember when I worked for a startup and another local tech company was giving out company holidays to the tropics. my manager said "you have to be careful with things like that because you may have to take them away - then you're employees are pissed."
microsoft is a very strong company, but they better show their employees some love.
Friday, September 16, 2005
next gen revolution
I wonder if the Sony people are brainstorming new names for their next generation console yet?
yesterday, 1up.com ran a story about the Nintendo Revolution controller. it's apparent that Nintendo is actually trying to take a bold step with their new system. they are aiming at revolution (like the Rio), not evolution (like the iPod).
Microsoft has announced some interesting new features for their Xbox 360. but the true tie-ins with the "360" name haven't really been announced yet (sorry, I promised them I wouldn't print what they told me, so don't ask).
the upshot of all of this is that Sony seems to be the only player that doesn't have any semblance of a revolution-esque story. sure they've talked about their new "cell" architecture but the only buzz that seems to have come out of that is that developers are worried how difficult it will be to port code to the PS3. since the Xbox will be out first, a number of games will be concieved for the 360.
the good news for Sony is that they have a little bit of time to adjust to what happens with the release of the Xbox 360. just like Microsoft did last time (remember the shipping issues with the PS2?) Sony will have the opportunity of learning from their competitor's mistakes... oh and work on a fresh name.
yesterday, 1up.com ran a story about the Nintendo Revolution controller. it's apparent that Nintendo is actually trying to take a bold step with their new system. they are aiming at revolution (like the Rio), not evolution (like the iPod).
Microsoft has announced some interesting new features for their Xbox 360. but the true tie-ins with the "360" name haven't really been announced yet (sorry, I promised them I wouldn't print what they told me, so don't ask).
the upshot of all of this is that Sony seems to be the only player that doesn't have any semblance of a revolution-esque story. sure they've talked about their new "cell" architecture but the only buzz that seems to have come out of that is that developers are worried how difficult it will be to port code to the PS3. since the Xbox will be out first, a number of games will be concieved for the 360.
the good news for Sony is that they have a little bit of time to adjust to what happens with the release of the Xbox 360. just like Microsoft did last time (remember the shipping issues with the PS2?) Sony will have the opportunity of learning from their competitor's mistakes... oh and work on a fresh name.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
halo 2 hacks is out!
Note: this book has nothing to do with cheating on Xbox Live - don't buy it if that's what you expect to find. the book covers tricks, glitches and easter eggs. the only modding discussed in the book is the positive and creative kind. refer to my post Halo Modding Considered Harmful? for more info.
Halo 2 Hacks is available for your buying pleasure. the book should be on your local bookstore shelves in the near future.
you can check out some sample hacks on the o'reily hacks series site.
o'reilly sent me a copy and I'm thrilled with their work - they did a great job on the book. this project only served to reinforce my opinion that o'reilly is a first-class publishing house that boasts quality editors and other staff.
this is the same project that I discussed in these interviews: MTV 969 interview and Urban Rush interview.
Halo 2 Hacks credits
Halo 2 Hacks errata
Halo 2 Hacks: original blog posting
Halo 2 Hacks is available for your buying pleasure. the book should be on your local bookstore shelves in the near future.
you can check out some sample hacks on the o'reily hacks series site.
o'reilly sent me a copy and I'm thrilled with their work - they did a great job on the book. this project only served to reinforce my opinion that o'reilly is a first-class publishing house that boasts quality editors and other staff.
this is the same project that I discussed in these interviews: MTV 969 interview and Urban Rush interview.
Halo 2 Hacks credits
Halo 2 Hacks errata
Halo 2 Hacks: original blog posting
Thursday, August 25, 2005
black art of halo mods - credits
my current project is The Black Art of Halo Mods for Sams publishing.
when I started working on this project, I expected that I would be doing a lot more modding. however, for various reasons my role in this project has been mainly writing and editing. I'm working closely with another former microsoftie Patrick "PC" Chin on this project.
Big thanks go out to Patrick Chin, Grenadiac and Nick for their help with this project. The Prometheus team bent over backwards to get their stuff submitted, so I am tremendously grateful for their help. Other groups – such as the Halo2CE team – put in a bunch of effort. As Bungie likes to say, they will be rewarded copiously in the afterlife.
These modders contributed to the book and helped with technical accuracy:
Grenadiac
Nick 8A5DA908D79014BB997EA957FAF130B0
NiTrOuSoXiDe
Justin Draper (MonoxideC)
Zachary Fleischer (Tiamat)
Sean Cooper (kornman00)
Kevin Cooper (Yomama)
JamesD
CMDR Reservoir
Some Random Guy
David Fontanez (Excalibur)
BansheeAce2
Wave of Lag
Robert Spychalski (The Swamp Fox)
Iron_Forge
XIU
Ian Jablonowski (Trip7)
Richard Evans (Snave)
PfhorSlayer
Luis Caicedo (CLuis)
Encephalitus
Jason Zimmer
IWTPH2
Orchid
Dmauro
Superfly
"Anxiety" multiplayer map:
Designer: Matt "Mothergoat" Cox
Artist: Jason "Mrs Doublefire" Keith
Hal02CE team:
NiTrOuSoXiDe
rec0
Kerr Halla
Farsight
Kornman00
ZexGX
Mrs Doublefire
Supreme Taco
JamesD
Stefander
Madrox
Cold Fusion
Lightning
00dave
These sites help make this book a reality:
http://www.halomods.com
http://main.halodev.org
http://wiki.fpsgamers.se
http://www.halo2ce.epgservers.com
http://www.halomaps.org
when I started working on this project, I expected that I would be doing a lot more modding. however, for various reasons my role in this project has been mainly writing and editing. I'm working closely with another former microsoftie Patrick "PC" Chin on this project.
Big thanks go out to Patrick Chin, Grenadiac and Nick for their help with this project. The Prometheus team bent over backwards to get their stuff submitted, so I am tremendously grateful for their help. Other groups – such as the Halo2CE team – put in a bunch of effort. As Bungie likes to say, they will be rewarded copiously in the afterlife.
These modders contributed to the book and helped with technical accuracy:
Grenadiac
Nick 8A5DA908D79014BB997EA957FAF130B0
NiTrOuSoXiDe
Justin Draper (MonoxideC)
Zachary Fleischer (Tiamat)
Sean Cooper (kornman00)
Kevin Cooper (Yomama)
JamesD
CMDR Reservoir
Some Random Guy
David Fontanez (Excalibur)
BansheeAce2
Wave of Lag
Robert Spychalski (The Swamp Fox)
Iron_Forge
XIU
Ian Jablonowski (Trip7)
Richard Evans (Snave)
PfhorSlayer
Luis Caicedo (CLuis)
Encephalitus
Jason Zimmer
IWTPH2
Orchid
Dmauro
Superfly
"Anxiety" multiplayer map:
Designer: Matt "Mothergoat" Cox
Artist: Jason "Mrs Doublefire" Keith
Hal02CE team:
NiTrOuSoXiDe
rec0
Kerr Halla
Farsight
Kornman00
ZexGX
Mrs Doublefire
Supreme Taco
JamesD
Stefander
Madrox
Cold Fusion
Lightning
00dave
These sites help make this book a reality:
http://www.halomods.com
http://main.halodev.org
http://wiki.fpsgamers.se
http://www.halo2ce.epgservers.com
http://www.halomaps.org
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