"Junction Point Studios, Inc., founded in January of 2005, is an independent
developer of innovative console and PC games that focus on player-driven,
improvisational gameplay in the context of strong, traditional narratives. The
company's goal is to tell stories with players, not to them, allowing them to
craft their own, unique experiences through in-game choices." [Emphasis
theirs.]

"The key for me is letting players explore those little narrative chunks on
their own. I'll determine why it's important that you get through the door, but
how you get through it, what happens, and whether you kill, talk to, or ignore
everyone on the other side belongs to you."

"... the first act is to set the scene, introduce the characters and the basic conflict. And by the end of Act One, you have to get the hero -- or player -- up a tree, get him into trouble. Act Two is to throw rocks at the hero, really make the problem worse. And then, in Act Three, the hero gets out of the tree through force of will or through direct action. And then there's a little epilogue where you wrap up all the loose ends."

1. What companies basically follow this model?
   
   I suspect, besides the beforementioned Wideload / Gamecock, there are other companies already following this model. I suspect Critical Mass Interactive ("both a video game (or 'interactive entertainment') developer and an outsource provider to developers and publishers") follows this model.
   
   And if it's not the model Foundation 9 Entertainment is following, it seems like it should be (and could be an awesome double threat, when partnered with the consistent, high-caliber core and ancillary skills those attached development studios could provide each other).
   
   And then there are companies like The Animation Farm, who both employ this model (at least to a degree) in their outsourcing downstream, and are in turn a piece of the asset feed upstream for development houses or publishers who employee this model.
   
2. How do the models compare?
   
   Much like there are varying applications and flavors of development methodologies or philosophies (scrum, Agile, RUP, ad nauseum), how does, say this model compare and contrast to the The Animation Farm's model, compare and contrast to the Wideload model, compare and contrast to ...
   
3. Are there challenges with and concessions from development methodologies / philosophies?
   
   Speaking of various applications and flavors, are there challenges with this model in the context of scrum / Agile development methodologies (and other iterative methodologies in particular). If so, what are the concessions (either to this "Hollywodian" development model, or to the scrum / Agile development methodology, or to the asset provider model, etc.)?

Nintendo owners: "Wiiiii! Wii just got 'Zelda'!"

360 owners: "WTF? Root Beer Tapper?"

• Opening up the platform to include peer payments (maybe even analogous to the "Donate with PayPal" option in the PC ShareWare world)
• Tiered (peer) voting that advances XBLA/XNA Express games into "regular XBLAnd", or to maybe the upper tier of games "available to all XBLA Creator club folks" (as opposed to Friends list participants), or to a new category

Cream rises to the top.

"The European PS3 will feature the Cell Broadband Engine™, 60 GB hard disc drive, Blu-ray Disc player, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, SIXAXIS™ wireless controller. It also embodies a new combination of hardware and software emulation which will enable PS3 to be compatible with a broad range of original PlayStation® (PS) titles and a limited range of PlayStation®2 (PS2) titles."

• How does that get released to Sony?
• What does the certification process look like?
• How do they do interoperability testing?
• Since you can't test every permutation of every development house's application of your library in the SDK, how are bugs reported back to you?

Or, on the licensed IP front:

• What's the percentage of original to licensed IP that you do?
• What's the ratio of development budgets for a licensed versus non-licensed IP?
• How does profit sharing differ?

Or, on revenue models:

• Yeah, I'm sure it seems frustrating that you don't get to share in as high a royalties return when the publisher does well, but by choosing to take money up front (and assuming you stay in scope / schedule / budget) you're guarateed a more stable revenue / profit model, regardless of whether the publisher markets the game adequately.

Or,

• So how are independents doing now that they're a part of Foundation 9 Entertainment?

Don't know why I wasn't having these conversations before. Probably because I didn't want to scare folks off from hiring me as "just" a voice actor; but, whatever, they're not hiring me for that.

And it was validating that I know my stuff, and it applies to other vertical markets. Now to just get them to admit that.

As an aside, Jo's Coffee is a nice little venue on that reclaimed West side of 2nd street. I hadn't been there before. Nice digs.

"...when you're planning your product roadmap for next year, you can still throw
$10 million at Squad of Heroes V, and $25 million at Trolls 'n' Treasures
Online, but also toss in a million here or there for something more offbeat;
just think, if that low-budget game turns into a hit, the ROI will be
incredible!"

• Click left and right sticks: Crouch and zoom -- just like H2, although there is a "toggle crouch" option, so that you can stay crouched until you click the stick again.
  
• B: Melee attack. Note: B may also be used to activate a subtle, but nifty context-sensitive feature. [Adam: Cover mechanic? OR maybe pick up, a la Crackdown.]
  
• X: Activate mysterious new feature which on the cool scale falls somewhere between "crouch" and "activate Fantanas on speed dial." [Adam: Again, cover mechanic, or something similar?]
  
• LB: Cycle grenade type (you have at least three types of grenade now, so they must be cycled rather than switched).
  
• RB: Pick up weapon / activate stuff / reload / use turrets and so on. [Adam: Replaces old X.]
  Note: If you hold LB while standing over a dual wieldable weapon, you'll pick it up in your left hand -- a huge improvement over the "Y" button in Halo 2. This doesn't affect grenade cycling, because you can still tap LB to cycle grenades, but you can't toss 'em while dual wielding anyway. So it's moot. After about ten minutes of play, it feels incredibly natural, with the lone downside that you have trouble adjusting when you go back to Halo 2. But more vitally, LB reloads the weapon in your left hand, individually when you're dual-wielding. [Adam: Independent R and L reloads? Nice!]
  
• BACK: Calls up the Multiplayer "player menu" -- where you can mute jerks, see gamer data and so on.
  
• START: Pause menu (which is translucent so you can adjust controls without losing track of what's on screen) and one or two other significant goodies we haven't revealed yet. From here you can also end or quit a game, naturally. [Adam: Like drop-in / drop-out co-op? Please?]
  
• D-PAD: ... currently used to activate team chat, but that's very provisional. This is being given a lot of care and attention and is tied to other matters, such as your default settings and how team chat and proximity voice work.

For the full list of tentative Halo 3 controls, check out the latest "Weekly Update".

UPDATED: Looks like there's no cover mechanic, based on this exchange between Game Informer Magazine and Bungie Studios (requires Unlimited Access):

Gamers everywhere can give related Valentine's to those they ignore for Marcus Fenix, Master Chief, MissingNo, etc. Bummer the quality's a little jacked:

• http://www.joystiq.com/photos/valentines-day-07/

VG Cats has some higher-quality Valentine's.

And then there's the holiday-themed comics from VG Cats and Penny Arcade:

• http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/02/14
• http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=226

Now go love someone besides yourself ...

My friend and I were walking down the street Sunday and I was telling him how much fun Crackdown was. Then, absent-mindedly I said, "Come over later tonight and we can play co-op!" "Can I do that?" he said? I looked at him in astonishment, and realized no. We couldn't just hang out at my house and play. He would have to buy a copy, own a X360, and go back to his house to play.

Dear Paul Eibeler:

The "Hot Coffee" scandal. Grand Theft Auto. Take-Two Interactive.

You're company is not exactly known as a paragon of virtue in the gaming community. However, a lot of the industry and popular frustration with Take-Two is not just in opposition to your right to make "edgy" content.

It's in response to the damage you've done to the game industry, its perception in the mainstream culture, and the work you've caused other people fighting battles -- battles you made tougher because of your poor decisions. It's about you stepping up and being more accountable and professional and responsible.

I have an industry colleague who doesn't work for you, but was wearing a GTA T-shirt at last year's E3. He had things thrown at him. This was from people within the industry.

To be fair you've made (or at least published) some good stuff I've enjoyed over the years. I don't even have issues with GTA, per se.

And while I'm totally looking forward to titles like The Darkness, your stunts make me wish the game had a different publisher. If a top-tier game like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion arguably suffered unnecessarily as fallout from your antics, I hate to see shining star Starbreeze Studios put at risk.

So, just be really careful with this whole Manhunt 2 thing.

I mean, you need to be careful, anyway. But the timing -- and your track record -- makes your handling the timing and release of the title even more important.

From a recent forum post of mine onTeamXbox.com:

"We're at a tough place in gaming, and we're getting nailed constantly in the
mainstream press and court system for being violently or sexually explicit. And
now, our greatest advocate and president of the ESA, Doug Lowenstein, is
stepping down."

On his way out, Mr. Lowenstein had some tough words for you. Though he never named Take-Two, GTA, or "Hot Coffee", only the obtuse don't know he was wagging a finger at you.

I'm not saying you shouldn't make the game, necessarily. I am asking you to handle it carefully.

I'm glad you're "proud to announce Manhunt 2", but keep in mind, you're actually going to release a game that uses fodder for snuff films as its schtick during the onramp to an election year. Some of the likely contenders for the presidential and other races have a history of attacking video games. Add to that your targeting Nintendo as a platform -- a platform with an inarguably heavy family market connotation -- and your care and handling of this title is critical.

I'm a gamer. I'm a responsible enterprise software professional. I'm a media professional and active proponent of First Amendment rights.

So, I'm one of many asking you to do a 180. Reverse some of the damage you've done to your colleagues, and become an actively supporting member of the ESA and ESRB efforts.

And stop choosing to hurt the industry of which you're a part.

'Anyone who’s played MP on Xbox Live knows the following is true: Teenagers, plus anonymity, plus microphone = idiot.... The "A-Hole Button" in Halo 3 lets you exact instant, silent vengeance. These kind of vocal buttmunches, as it turns out, are exactly as fun to play against as normal people, as long as you can’t hear them. So now, you simply press a button (back button, for the moment anyway) and up comes the score list with everyone’s tag on it. The right stick lets you highlight the miscreant and you can then instantly mute them for the rest of the game. These morons continue smacktalking anyway because they can’t help themselves, but if you don’t have to listen to it, you can simply enjoy killing them over and over again, knowing that as their Ritalin wears off and their frustration builds, it’s less and less fun for them.....Any muted player you have selected in your Xbox Live account overrides Halo 3’s new system, but that should actually enhance the choice of maroons you’re editing out of your gameplay. Best of all, it means fewer wasted or frustrating gameplay sessions. We’re doing our best to come up with lots of smart solutions for stuff like this, but honestly, we can’t be parents to some of these poltroons. We’re much more concerned with giving you guys the tools you need to silence them.'

"Owners of Xbox 360s with the BenQ drive have reported significantly quieter
operation and slightly quicker load times."

• WizKids Announces Halo ActionClix Collectable Miniatures Game

"You have been banned for the following reason:
Snapple

Date the ban will be lifted: Never"

"Adios"

"Aaah...I love it when Pikachu gets his detective skills on.

*bans snapple*

I'm hungry. What to eat?"

"It was just a lot of snapple babble."

"Hi,
It says your account was successfully linked to a known perma
banned
user. There is nothing that can be done.
Thanks"

"Ah...now I remember. Snapple."

At least he's consistent.