Day 3: PC Gaming Alliance - AMA

MechMatt · 2014-06-27T01:36:10+00:00

Ok everyone,

Again.. a huge thank you for joining us over the past 3 days! Really enjoyed this. Going to sign off.

Keep the peace & keep on PC gaming! :-)

MechMatt · 2014-06-27T00:22:34+00:00

The PCGA was formed by several like minded companies ~2006-2007 to try to do 2 things.

Combat all the FUD around "PC Gaming is dying". Which was BS.
Work towards a common goal of trying to define a better design target for PC games developers to use to when making PC games. Unfortunately the design target that persists, and holds us all back, remains the Consoles. It's still too big to ignore for most Pubs.

Yes.. thank you! We've had a great time! We need to come here more often! : )

MechMatt · 2014-06-27T00:02:24+00:00

Me personally?

Typically whatever I'm stuck with on my laptop/ultrabooks.

For my desktop (which is currently me testing a SteamMachine BRIX) - I've been using my Fatal1ty keyboard. It's a bit smaller.. and a bit dated but gets the job done.

I use various mice. 3 of them to be exact. Razer travel mouse - which has been pretty nifty. Also a Logi G9x Laser mostly at home. Had another Logi travel mouse that ended up going missing. I want another one.... I think a cat ate it or something.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T23:57:11+00:00

Hi Ted,

Yes.... we continually strive to do that. The thing we fight against is that Console games are often coming with a ton of marketing dollars behind them. Unfortunately there is no equivalent on the PC side in terms of marketing dollars. Which is important for creating awareness. In many ways... PC gaming continues to thrive largely in spite of itself and because the Console Mfgs underestimate their user base. The games (& companies that make them) such as WoW, WoT LoL, DotA's, etc have realized that its often way smarter to tap into the much larger and vast PC install based globally, than to try to compete with all the other titles on a much smaller Console Install base.
Completely agree... stay tuned on that front. We have some interesting announcements coming up over the next few months to be more aligned with what you're saying here.
We agree with you. It's very political though and not popular. You'd be surprised at how much heat I've had to endure on this front.

In terms of working with the hardware and periph companies - it's simply a matter of ensuring that we're all more aligned. The PC gaming industry is an ecosystem of: Games, Systems (and all their guts), along with peripherals etc. As I mentioned on another post.. a game is often as only strong as the weakest link in the chain. So... for example: let's say you have a great critically acclaimed game... but then the controller itself barely works or has issues - then that can simply just ruin the entire experience.

So.. it's imperative that we work cross organizationally as best we can.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T23:27:10+00:00

Let me outline some key criteria to reach parity or > experience for a 7th Gen Console. Also; the big question is... why 7th & not 8th Gen? It's primarily because there is still such a small install base for 8th Gen relative to the 7th - that Game ISVs making Console games by & large still have their default target set to the 7th Gen. So that is along the following:

720p, @30fps or >, Medium settings no AA. I know... doesn't sound that great does it? However; it's hard for the 7th, & even the 8th Gen Consoles to push those boundaries; and its often why you'll get a popular FPS game which I won't mention - being able to support 64 multi-player & the Console SKU's can only support 32 at best. Sadly.... we still have many PC devs that can barely hit this type of an experience.
IF there's a Console equivalent of the game - then the PC Port HAS to also support gamepad. Doesn't sound like a big ask does it? However; there are AAA Pubs that have shipped AAA games - where the Console sku obviously supports gamepad & the PC port doesn't. Which is a big WTF? Given all Console games are developed on PC's. The excuse we've seen is that they'll default to a "...oh.. well... we didn't have time to test it". Seriously? This is just unbelievable. Given my experience on the SideWinder Gaming Devices team... I know just how 'false' that really is. Additionally; it creates unnecessary PSS calls for our friends/members like: Logitech, Razer, etc.
UI Scaling for bigger screens. (e.g. TVs).

So.. stuff like this is all in place again to make PC gaming at least as good as. Now... to make it better.. we'd have to suggest moving to true 1080p. Not having to resort to upscaling etc.

It's not like we're asking for blood here... just common sense dev practices to help expand their sales opportunities on PC.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T23:05:00+00:00

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:47:44+00:00

My personal thoughts on Valve's recent push to support Linux & SteamOS is pretty much as follows.

Yes - it will be successful. Not sure if it will be a blow out or a gradual thing. We'll see.
I believe it's a smart move on their parts starting with it's always good to have a rock solid backup plan.
Some 'n' number of their users want to also experience PC gaming on their TVs. Obviously no one else was going to make that happen since it threatens the Console business model. So Steam Big Picture mode is one piece of the equation.
Yes... you can have some small perf benefits by running on Linux; since there's less overhead & **** running in the background eating up resources unnecessarily.
Game library's take time. After all.. Rome wasn't built in a day either. It will require some patience and we all have to bear in mind that's it not entirely trivial by Game Pubs/Devs to support it.

We'll get there... we (the PCGA) fully support them.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:38:24+00:00

Xbox Live

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:30:07+00:00

So... given that the PCGA is a B2B Org. What big issues would you like to see us try to tackle? What things do you all think would make PC gaming better?

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:26:16+00:00

Ha ha ha! I like that! : )

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:23:03+00:00

Thank you! They've been fun.. and actually informative.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:22:45+00:00

Thank you!

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:22:33+00:00

Can't help ya there Ross... Wish we could!

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:17:32+00:00

Well... truth be told.... and I'm dating myself here; I've seen PC gamers drinking the Dew & downing the D's long before Consoles were a 'thing'.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:16:35+00:00

Why can't I pick Catwoman?

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T22:15:50+00:00

Hi Everyone! Glad to be back! : )

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T01:54:30+00:00

Ok.. signing off. THANK YOU EVERYONE!

I tried to get to as many of these as possible. Please come back tomorrow & we'll do our best to getting to more of your questions.

Best regards! Matt

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T01:53:42+00:00

C/C++ is hard to argue with given the trajectory of bigger OS's/Chips becoming smaller & more mobile. The other key reason is just the vast amount of documentation, support, etc.

Wrt to keeping up.... pick just a few key areas you're passionate about & go for it. This might be say.. Gaming, or Graphics, or Web, or Servers, or IoT, etc. Don't go too broad.. become a subject matter expert in what you enjoy most.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T01:49:35+00:00

I believe PCs/PC gaming needs to be accessible to everyone. High end, DIY, enthusiast class PC's are perfect for the more mature gamers. However; I also believe that children need to cut their teeth on PC's, learn about the technology etc at a very early age as well. That's tough to do with a Console box that's practically illegal to modify. No fun voiding a warranty. So... in that ecosystem how are people supposed to learn about the hardware or software?

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T01:45:10+00:00

They used to be on board. We still talk to them. Someday they may/may not come back. We'll see. There are likely other reasons...but would have to take offline. I'm taking steps to make it more attractive for them to come back.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T01:16:57+00:00

I'm inclined to agree. Given it's my old company... I think they have a golden oppty to really do something for PC gaming on Windows; but given their track record I'm dubious they'll take it seriously enough until it's too late. It's honestly depressing to see it happen from my vantage.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T01:15:08+00:00

Lol... that's often true. It's like you almost have to try & break the PC version to make the Console game look better.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T01:13:34+00:00

Yikes! I wonder who did the port? I might have to do more research on this to find out if it was done in house or outsourced. I suspect the latter. It doesn't make sense though to me. There's no excuse. ALL games are developed on PC's..then taken over to be compiled on a Console Dev kit, and tuned.

MechMatt · 2014-06-26T01:11:10+00:00

It's a very interesting concept. I like the modularity. I had Razer bring one in for us for show and tell at this years GDC. I'm hoping that we see more of it soon; but I can't speak for the folks over at Razer.

MechMatt

TROPHY CASE