The XBLA Pitch: Ten Developers, Ten Games, Ten Minutes

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Dan Webb

It’s a simple premise: we gave each Xbox Live Arcade developer at this year’s Microsoft’s Spring Showcase a minute on camera to tell us all about their game and essentially pitch it to you, the consumer.

That’s 10 minutes, 10 arcade games.

It was a showcase full of great Xbox Live Arcade games as well, including Trials Evolution, Minecraft 360, South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge, Fable Heroes, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, Bloodforge, and Deadlight, all of which had devs on hand to pitch their game.

Hello Games’ Sean Murray was on hand with Joe Danger The Movie, as was Valve’s Chet Faliszek talking about Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Portal co-creator, Kim Swift talking about her new project with Airtight Games, Quantum Conundrum.

If you want one to watch, keep an eye out for Deadlight, which we’re billing as Shadow Complex versus Left 4 Dead.

Here’s what the 10 developers had to say… Which ones took your fancy?

Comments
60
  • Second guy reminded me of captain haddock
  • @1 I dont know if thats better than First or not? I'm still a bit unsure on the whole 1600 MSP for Minecraft thing. :S
  • People need to stop bitching about Minecrafts price, it's 26$ on the PC, and now its gonna be 20 on the xbox, it's like it's going on sale, but it's too expensive? That doesn't even make any sense.
  • The Red Lynx guy was really excitable - he makes me more excited for Trials Evo! The Bloodforge guy scared me a little...
  • There are so many games coming out that I want, and I don't have the money for them. Hell, I don't even have Warp yet and I've been meaning to get it.
  • This is like the speed-dating approach to game development... Somehow it reminds me of MOLYJAM ...games based on Tweets. It would be difficult for me to sum up any of my favorite games in a minute... and impossible if we were discussing anything BUT Arcade games. Most of these descriptions are not entirely new IPs, they build on established predecessors. I'm eager to play many of these.. I like the ideas =-) What's most encouraging to me is the variety. Quantum Conundrum, Fable Heroes, Deadlight are on my list!!
  • It's time like this that I am glad I have a job.
  • Here are my opinions about these games: 1. Yes 2. Hell yes 3. Fuck no 4. Fuck yes 5. Oh yeah 6. Oh yeah baby 7. Fuck yeah fuck yes 8. Gay 9. Ohhhhhhhhh yyyyyyyeeeeahhhhh!!!!! 10. Squirt !!!!!
  • Trials and Southpark
  • #9, i just read you comment with randy savages voice for some strange reason. lol well i might not make enought money, none really but atlease there's trail versions.
  • Nice video! I'm looking forward to a few of these and one or two more now after watching the video!
  • the one guy w/ the blue and whit plaid shirt wierded me out hardcore,I thought he had some sort of Down Syndrome. I personnally was convinced from alot of these speed quotes!!!
  • Looking forward to Deadlight. If it's anything like Flashback and Another World like the guy says, that would be awesome! I loved those games back in the day :)
  • @4 MineCraft on the PC is $27 you were close, also the point in people bitching is the thought that M$ will make more games 1600, that would otherwise be 1200,or less.
  • Personally, I just don't think any arcade game is worth more than 800msp. Is minecraft going to be two times better than most arcade games?
  • @16 Not to me, but to many, and probably most, yes. There are lots of games worth the 1200MSP price. Unfortunately, most games with a 1200 price tag don't deserve --- on the flip side though, most games that do deserve a 1200 price tag, are 800.
  • Why are some people ripping on their personal appearances? Like it even matters what they look like as long as they're bringing out the titles, lawl. Looking forward to quite a few of these. Bring it!
  • Quantum Conundrum is an downloadable title? I was interested in the game but i was unsure if it would be worth the 60 dollar price tag. I'll definitely be picking it up now :) Kim swift is awesome. Also, south park and counter strike are going to be awesome.
  • Cannot wait for counter strike: global offensive!
  • Damn man, what we lack in exclusive retail games Microsoft sure makes up for it with the Arcade Games. I recently purchased Staking and Torchlight, gonna buy Joe Danger as well next week. Now I can add Trials, Counter Strike and maybe Minecraft to that list.
  • @4: Both versions of Minecraft are too expensive.
  • Trials Evo is an instant buy. It will probably be the only XBLA game I buy without trying the trial version first. I want to get SP, Conundrum, Bloodforge, CS:GO, Deadlight, and Tony Hawk, but those depend on what I think of the demos.
  • MineCraft is well worth the 1600 msp tag. I'd say we're lucky to even be getting it at all.
  • it's good that notch put out minecraft for xbla att 1600msp, beacuse if some one needs more monys, it's notch! yeah, but no -.-
  • Does Minecraft actually have a single player campaign or is it just the LOL MINING/MAKE YOUR OWN WORLD stuff? And regardless, it's still a lot even at the discounted price because you're missing the whole pull of the game, which is most of the user generated content and mods that will not be available to 360 owners. My biggest beef with it being $20 is the fact that it could mean more XBLA titles at $20, and as it is, a lot of games are $15 and are simply not worth the asking price. Of most of the 1200 MSP titles I either bought at full price or on sale, barely any of them can I say were actually worth $15 of my money, and this isn't just because "oh lol, digital releases", they just weren't $15 worth of content. I have a hard time spending $60 on games that generally do not amount to $60 either. Most games simply aren't worth their asking prices these days at all. Obviously some definitely are worth it, or are worth more than the asking price, but few and far between, usually. I just don't want to see this as a trend. In any case, I do want Minecraft potentially, but I simply can't set aside $20 for it by the time it's out. I have a ton of other things I need to worry about.
  • More arcade games need to take the endless/open approach that Minecraft achieves pretty decently.
  • Minecraft and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for me. Nothing else quite tickles my fancy.
  • @16 grow up- there are plenty of arcade games worth more than 800 MSP. You do realise 800 MSP is only £6.80 right?
  • We may be lacking in the retail exclusives department this year but shit do we have a load of great xbla games coming soon
  • Oh Webb you so sexy.
  • Awesome video. It may not seem like it, but I like the fact that this is kinda unique. Give the developer 1 minute to explain their game. Better than listening to them ramble on about things that many people would not care too much about. Counter-Strike's mode sounds amazing. The rest of the games sound really cool as well. Can't wait to try them out and possibly buy most of 'em as well.
  • Its not that Minecraft isn't worth the extra $$, its that they are setting a precedent here that could have repercussions down the line. The only arcade game that I purchased, that I felt was well worth the money, was 'From Dust'. Fantastic game. But oh, look, it was from Ubisoft too. At least there will be more gamerscore offered for the price increase...
  • Minecraft is worth the 1600, its one of the better arcade titles. And the 1600 is cheaper than PC anyway.
  • "One of the gods who tricked you into killing your wife" Why does he look back so suspiciously after saying that... Anyway there's quite a few games that seem interesting.
  • All barr Bloodforge for me me thinks, Can't wait for Trials, Minecraft and Quantum Conundrum especially.
  • I will say $20 is too much for MC, no matter what platform. All there is is building and mining, no story, and absolutely no creative directive other than what the player is putting into it.
  • @22 Considering the lazy programming and that its run in Java, yeah
  • @4 and I bought it when it was still $15 on the PC... soooo yeah.
  • I think that a lot of people are completely missing what Minecraft is doing for XBLA. From all the information I've read about Minecraft coming to the 360, it seems that Microsoft is streamlining the way that games will be certified and updated. XBLA developers have been very vocal about the long, drawn out certification process, the extreme cost of updating or patching a title, and Microsoft's inflexibility and lack of support in general when trying to bring games to the service. To land the ever-expanding and mod-friendly Minecraft as an exclusive, Microsoft have finally had to rethink their whole development system and fix it to make it way more update friendly. I truly believe that Minecraft is ushering in a renaissance for XBLA in terms of a more developer friendly environment for releasing games, to a greater variety and flexibility in what developers will be able to implement in upcoming games. Minecraft is the headlining title for Arcade Next, the next step in the evolution of XBLA titles, and in my opinion, the perfect game to do so based on all the work Microsoft had to do to make it possible. So, for everybody complaining about Minecraft's release being pushed back 2 months, a lot of behind the scenes updates to XBLA are coming along with it. To people who are complaining about the price, again, Minecraft is bringing a lot of new tech with it. And it's still cheaper than the PC version. Anyhow, that's my take on the whole situation. Sorry if I came off kind of ranty.
  • Looking forward to Bloodforge, Deadlight and South Park. Will be trying trials of Fable, Minecraft and Quantum Conundrum. I have Minecraft on PC, but the split screen coop and playing with a controller appeals to me. Minecraft is fun, but I get carpel tunnel from PC games after a few hours. Minecraft is one of those games where you want to build a lot before you stop. The new update plan for Minecraft is promising, and I want to support the large amount of patches to improving the game. Higher frequency of patches should be encouraged, not discouraged.
  • Really interested in Fable Heroes, Deadlight, and Quantum.
  • The guy who talked about minecraft is a bit of an idiot
  • lol 00:16 , counted 10 twice, with one hand.
  • Tony Hawk's and Bloodforge!
  • @7 well you don't get much more than a minute to pitch your game idea to publishers so this is pretty good practice for designers and developers.
  • Trials Evolution, Bloodforge and Deadlight for me. As for the 1600msp tag for minecraft, it could start a wave of games that will come with that price tag, and any game with more than 200g. Who knows for sure yet. People can bitch about Minecraft price, but you will get an epic game. If I could afford it I would get it. For now though, I'll stick with Total Miner:Forge as its a damned good clone. In closing, I have to admit, Arcade download games are getting better all the time.
  • reverse gun game sounds like alot of fun...id like to play it on mw3 i bet it would get really crazy...
  • MineCROFT.LOL. Freak englands.
  • Minecraft and Tony Hawk for sure. Will probably get Trials because the original was so good, but I don't know bout counter-strike. All my competitive arcade game multiplayer time gets tied up by Gotham City Impostors.
  • You compare Minecraft to the PC Version. This Minecraft will be behind on updates. It can't connect to the PC servers. These are the two reasons I will NOT be buying it.
  • @#42 100% I agree with you... i love pc games... but man wasd or up down left right keys... my fingers/hands hurt after a bit... i know some pc games alllow for gamepads.. and you can dl little freeware appz that allow you to map keys to gamepads and whatnot.. but to play a game like minecraft with a controller/gamepad is priceless... to me anyways... and well worth the price of admission... considering i got minecraft on pc for free... i'll shell out for the xbox version.. price is just right... I played the heck out of total miner because its on xbox and u can use the contoller... you can even dig deeper in that game.... i think. dont quote me on that.. I know some pc enthusiasts are gonna hate me for these comments.. and rate me down.. but i don't care how well you aim with the mouse.... games like diablo, civilization, starcraft, and others are pc styled... i actually prefer first person and 3rd person games on consoles... the down side is graphics and mods.. I'd go on a whole nother tirade about graphic whores.. but i'l just leave it be and say in real life.. do you focus on the blurry thing in the background when you look at something, or are you looking at an overall view? same for looking at games on screens...
  • I don't really see the big deal. I can mine in Skyrim all day long...
  • @42 More frequent patching should only be encouraged if said patches are actually expanding/updating content. In reality all this will do is lead to rushed releases and broken games and we already have enough of that in the retail sector. Whilst day one patches are appreciated as they allow you to actually enjoy your game they shouldn't be used as a replacement for proper QA. A lot of indie developers have more potential/talent then some of the big studios and one rushed/broken release with a "we'll fix it later attitude" will be more than enough yo ruin there name permanently.
  • #9 sounds like my exgirlfriend
  • I look forward to play minecraft:) it's a funny game, I've played that for a little 2 years now and it's just fun:D
  • Deadlight,minecraft and maybe the new trial! Can't wait for these especially deadlight!
  • If the guys behind Tony Hawk HD really did some research, then they should have noticed that pretty much everyone wants the original soundtrack back from THPS 1+2...
  • @59... You realize that that's a licensing issue, right? They aren't choosing to exclude songs just fot the fun of it.
  • Is that Darksiders 2 in the background of the last interview?
  • Bloodforge - A tale of revenge, where you are chasing one of the gods who tricked you into killing your wife... It's almost like I've heard this before... I wonder if there will be a downloadable Kratos skin... I'll probably still play it. I'm just sayin'.
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