Don

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Dont Mess With Great Gameplay!How Wipeout
Innovated On PSP

• Clark Davies, Designer
• Studio Liverpool

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• There are very few brand new concepts. Often it
  is a case of arranging old pieces together in new
  and different ways. Communication to the player
  is key.
• - Tetsuya Mizuguchi

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Introduction

• The Need For Player Empowerment

• Focus On Hardware

• Creative Tools / Customisable Features

• Building The Community

• Wrap-up

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The Need For Player Empowerment
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How Games Innovate Over Time

• 99ers

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How Games Innovate Over Time

• Sea changers

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How Games Innovate Over Time

• Evolvers

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How Wipeout Evolved Over Time

• PlayStation era

• Anti-grav racing, speed classes, airbrakes,
  weapons

• Energy system, pitlanes

• Boost mechanic

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How Wipeout Evolved Over Time

• PlayStation 2 era

• Off-road sections
• Surface locked ship handling
• Upgrade system
• Zone mode

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How Wipeout Evolved Over Time

• PlayStation Portable era

• Refocus

• Handling and mechanics

• Graphic design

• Track building

• DLC

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Number 2 on Metacritic PSP
1 million sales
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Evolution For Wipeout Pulse

• Improve accessibility

Handling model refined
AI difficulty introduced
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Evolution For Wipeout Pulse

• Implement new features

Structured solo game
Online play
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Evolution For Wipeout Pulse

• Responding to feedback

• Focus group test results

• Novice gamers needed safe introduction

• Solo events given prominence

• Zone mode as emergent tutorial

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The Next Step
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Focus On Hardware
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Hardware Strengths New Features

• Multiple file format support

MP3 music playback
JPEG photo mode
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Hardware Strengths New Features

• Upgradeable firmware

PLAYSTATIONNetwork support
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Hardware Strengths New Features

• Wifi data sharing

• Built in web browser

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Handheld philosophy

• Bite size gameplay
• Short races, shallow menus
• Automatic saving and loading
• Every gameplay session is positive
• Loyalty points
• Customisable controls

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Creative Tools For Players
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Ship Skin Editor

• Flash application
• Simple interface
• Outsourced
• Cut and paste features

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Custom Grid Editor

• Create your own single player campaign
• Additional functionality
• Larger grids
• Custom tournaments
• Adjustable targets
• Share grids over wifi
• Fansites

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Building The Community
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The Online Fan Base

• Wipeoutzone.com
• Forums
• Manual leaderboards
• European fan-meet
• Ad-hoc play
• Pulse announced

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Wipeout-game.com

• 8 month timescale
• PSN integration
• Profile upload
• Team allegiance stats tracking
• Ongoing project
• Relaunch for HD

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Moderation

• Ship skins
• Online moderation
• In-game moderation
• Website
• PSN integration

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Wrap-up
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Feature comparison
Wipeout Pulse NFS Pro Street Crazy Taxi Burnout Dominator Test Drive Unlimited Juiced 2 Sega Rally
Ad-hoc multiplayer X X X X X X X
Online multiplayer X X X X
MP3 playback X X
Photo X
PlayStation Network X
Community website X
Data sharing X X
DLC X X X
Customisation X X X
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Conclusions

• Innovation doesnt have to be driven by gameplay
• Applying existing features to the handheld space
  is valid
• A player-centric philosophy is a suitable
  replacement for narrative

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• Thanks for your time!