The computer/console games industry is in a state of flux at the moment. The games are simply too expensive to produce, which is stifling the traditional creativity that comes from smaller developers (where have you heard that before?). We may, however, be about to move out of the stagnant period into a…gasp…new era.

First, Microsoft announces the XNA set of initiatives which appear to be geared towards making game development easier. Second, we’ve started seeing tools like the free Softimage XSI for the Half-Life 2 engine start to appear. Anything which makes it easier to create the visuals and give more time to developing gameplay and AI has got to be a good thing, right? Wait a couple of years and then we’ll see.