Sivu 18 |
OF oF TE TE STAY sTaY LA La p p ating demos. They organised demo parties and competed on the excellence of their demos. Skills grew. Computers advanced. Soon many computer nerds realised they were entrepreneurs. This is how Anima Vitae and many other Finnish game companies got started. Self-taught programmers created an industry that is now an engine for Finland's cultural exports. to be savvy. The game creators don't settle for the easiest solutions, they come up with something new and creative," Nisupulla says. By email, of course. Because the easiest way to reach gamers of high caliber is online. Gamers around the world can expect something new and creative from Remedy Entertainment's upcoming game Alan Wake. orror writer Alan Wake can't sleep, even though it is through his dreams that he comes up with ideas for his books. His dreams stopped when his bride vanished. Wake turns to a sleep clinic for help, but drifts into the centre of a nightmarish chain of bizarre events. He fights for his life while trying to figure out what is going on. Remedy Entertainment puts gamers in Alan Wake's place, in the midst of a thriller. Playing the game is like becoming a character in a TV show the likes of Twin Peaks or X-Files. "Alan Wake defines the thriller genre in games," Matias Myllyrinne, managing director of Remedy Entertainment, notes. Creating storylines and characters is Remedy's specialty. A small, independent game studio currently 50 employees builds brands out of the main characters in its games; brands that also spread to other entertainment like movies and books. For Remedy, the game is entertainment, not software. "We are constantly making bigger games, and we are balancing the demands of growth. We want to maintain the creative atmosphere," Myllyrinne says. The company is famous also for game ack to that ice arena: Once a year, for 18 years and counting, some 5,000 computer enthusiasts from around the world flock to Helsinki for an international youth computer festival. They play, they surf, they IRC and they rank demos in the dimly lit mega-arena. The event is called Assembly and is one of the biggest demo parties in the world. "The connection between today's game industry and demo scene is the unrelenting ambitiousness of the creators," figures one Finnish hard-core gamer who goes by the name of Nisupulla (a sweet coffee pastry) in gaming forums on the Internet. "The Finnish gaming community is proud of the country's game industry and its crown jewels," he says. They include e.g. Housemarque's Super Stardust, Frozenbyte's Trine, Redlynx's Trials, Bugbear's FlatOut and Remedy Entertainment's Max Payne. "The games of Finnish companies have a certain originality. They aren't about monotonous repetition; they require players B let's meet online H this spring: Step into a thriller graphics. For example, the ambient light in Alan Wake changes based on the time of day or night and the weather. So it's no wonder that gamers have waited for Alan Wake. Faithfully. The game has been in the works for more than five years and will be published by Microsoft in spring 2010. "A range of gaming enthusiasts, from occasional players to professionals, are really looking forward to Alan Wake. The confidence in Remedy is strong," says Nisupulla, who has been playing games since he was six. These days, he plays about ten hours a week but if he's really hooked on the game, he'll put in that many hours in a single day. "Right now, I have a steering wheel controller attached to an ironing board for driving in online races; that makes it just the right height when playing from an armchair. Sometimes I haul all the stuff to my friend's garage and we spend the weekend there playing," he says. Efficiency is a national trait What's the secret behind the Finnish game industry? Neogames, Centre of Game Business, Research and Development, lists the strengths of the Finnish game industry: Technology know-how is the best in the world. The price/quality ratio of game production is good. Efficiency is a national trait. Game companies are engaged in extensive product development, supported by state funding. Finland has educated game creators and a stable society. Finland has a solid gaming culture. This is a land where adult men can spend their weekends gaming in their buddy's garage. Games are an export engine. And part of the culture and lifestyle. Z 18
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
|
|
|
Why do I see this page ?
Your Flash Player is older than version 7 or Javascript is not enabled. What you see is the raw text of the publication.
To read this Digipaper-publication install/update your Flash Player from this link or enable Javascript.
|
 |
For proper operation Digipaper-publication needs Flash Player version 7 or newer.
Install the latest version of Flash Player from this link. |
|