Background of Rockstar
o Rockstar Games was founded in NY City in 1998 by: Sam and Dan Houser, Terry Donovan, Jamie King, and Gary Foreman
- Rockstar is considered to be a global institution – list all of their studios and when they were acquired by Rockstar.
o Rockstar Japan -- 2005-present
o Rockstar Leeds -- 2004–present
o Rockstar Lincoln -- 1999–present
o Rockstar London -- 2005–present
o Rockstar New England -- 2008–present
o Rockstar North -- 1999–present
o Rockstar San Diego -- 2003–present
o Rockstar Toronto -- 1999–present
o Rockstar Vancouver -- 2002–present
- What other titles are Rockstar famous for?
o Grand Theft Auto
o Max Payne
o The Warriors
o Bully
o Manhunt
o Midnight Club
o Red Dead
- What has been their most successful game?
o Grand Theft Auto IV
- What controversies have surrounded Rockstar in the past?
o The violence in the games, ranging from the early Bully up to the more recent GTA IV. Also, the fact that the character broke in to cars hit the news. People though that they would influence children.
- What has made them so successful?
o Hot Coffee Mod
- Discuss the development and importance of H.A.V.O.C.
o Havok Physics is a physics engine developed by Irish company Havok. It is designed primarily for video games, and allows for real-time collision and dynamics of rigid bodies in three dimensions. It provides multiple types of dynamic constraints between rigid bodies (e.g. for ragdoll physics), and has a highly optimized collision detection library. By using dynamical simulation, Havok allows for more realistic virtual worlds in games. The company has also released the product Havok Animation, which provides efficient playback and compression of character animations in games, and features such as inverse kinematics.
- Discuss the importance of franchises to Rockstar.
o The previous games released by Rockstar, such as the Grand Teft Auto series, have set a high reputation for Rockstar, allowing them to produce a game knowing people will trust the brand.
- Discuss how Rockstar is an example of vertical integration.
o Rockstar uses their studios to cover the required regions, for example Rockstar Lincoln covers Quality assurance and Rockstar Vancouver covers development.
- Why is vertical integration important for developers?
o Allows them to overview each stage and place their game higher in importance.
- Discuss the oligopoly of the games industry and the implications for Rockstar.
o When Rockstar buys out a company to make them part of the Rockstar brand, it can benefit both. It benefits the smaller developers as it means that they have a longer life time to succeed, with the ease of Rockstar managing them.
