Gamesplanet Lab Combines Kickstarter and Steam

Following the massive number of users on Steam and the success of Kickstarter campaigns in recent months, indie game distributor Gamesplanet has teamed up with crowdfunding site Ulele to join digital distribution with user-generated funding in the form of Gamesplanet Lab.

Gamesplanet Lab will allow developers to seek funding for potential projects, but will also provide tools and support for actual development. Once a game is completed, it can be sold through Gamesplanet Lab, and backers can have their pre-orders fulfilled directly, without the need for an additional distribution platform. Backers will also be able to check in on a game’s progress while it’s in active development.

All games will be checked by Gamesplanet Lab to verify that they’re up to expected standards and that “reward fulfillment, community communication and more is conducted professionally and honestly.” Devs will also have to agree to a 10-point charter, including providing clear information, maintaining a clear timetable, guaranteeing the delivery of rewards, prioritizing customer experience for DRM and more.

Gamesplanet stresses that all developers will retain control of their creations, saying in a statement that “This is not a publishing house. No matter what support Gamesplanet Lab offers, developers retain full control and copyright over their ideas. Gamesplanet Lab is also committed to putting the gaming experience first, by demanding not only good results but a gamer friendly approach to the issue of DRM.”

The first two Gamesplanet Lab projects are Day One, an adventure game featuring dark comedy by developer Pendulo, and first-person shooter Magrunner: Dark Pulse from developer 3AM Games. More information about both projects, as well as more details about Gamesplanet Lab itself, are available on the Gamesplanet Lab official site.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Nintendo Talks About Censoring Miiverse

Concerned about 'smear-campaigns' against products, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has spoken to CVG about the balance between free speech and moderation for the Wii U’s Miiverse service.

Miiverse will be Nintendo’s virtual community for its next console, and will allow users to post their opinion of games. Nintendo is concerned that this could lead to “negative campaigns on the internet in which false opinions are deliberately posted to ruin the reputation of a product.”

But Iwata has acknowledged the inherent danger of censoring negative comments, saying:

“It is very difficult to tell consumers' real complaints from those that are posted as part of a negative campaign. If we were to delete anything negative about our games, it could constitute a suppression of free speech and you would not able to believe in even a good reputation.”

Furthermore, Iwata is confident in the community of Miiverse to limit the scope of these malicious campaigns, stating that a “…number of users with fair opinions exist, opinions posted just for the purpose of a negative campaign will be gradually overwhelmed by the majority of posts of fair impressions.” This will in part be done by allowing users to flag inappropriate comments.

In his closing remarks Iwata also raises the point that they cannot totally rely on the community to make the right choices:

“We cannot afford to always act on 'the ethical doctrine that human nature is fundamentally good.' At the same time, however, we would like to believe in the possibility of 'the wisdom of crowds,' which could create a very interesting and fascinating world, and make efforts for the services to realize it in one way or another.”

Nintendo already has plans to use several techniques to moderate and control content posted by users in Miiverse. Besides allowing users to flag content, Nintendo will also employ a moderation team to approve images and normal posts, which could result in a delay of upwards to 30 minutes before content appears online.

Thanks, CVG.

Source : ign[dot]com