Theescapist 077.Pdf

Homeless Articles over the last few goldberg part, which was solid, and the months – and this one is no exception. first article, which made some good points). it reads like what people who This week, Bruce Woodcock shares his know only about other gaming platforms We hear from a lot of people on a weekly experiences and preferences for playing would write about mobile. i guess it basis wishing to write for the magazine. a female in online worlds. Joe Blancato might be a good read for some people, ITo The Editor: Tonight i finally found Some just like the magazine’s style and discusses with the founders of Troika the but for people who are actually in the the time to read the mobile edition of the want to be involved. Sometimes, they’ve ideas behind the company, and mobile trenches it was largely escapist, which i was looking forward to, already looked at our editorial calendar eventually, the fall of one of the most disappointing. knowing the nice articles you usually and have an issue in particular for which original and often underappreciated have. they’d like to write. And some come game developers. Phillip Scuderi - Jeff Valadares, Production Director, forward with fully fleshed out pitches or explores Maxis’ sim games and their Digital Chocolate (Sumea) Have to say that i’m really disappointed. articles, great ideas, but not at all mark, not on just the gaming world, but related to our calendar. for those who’ve played them, their In Response to “Going ‘Home’ for Somehow, the issue kinda missed most mark on our understanding of the world the Holidays” from The Escapist of the mobile point (except for the eric It is these orphan articles which cause us around us. Gearoid Reidy uncovers the Forum: the most difficulty. You see, we’re unsung heroes of the game industry: the suckers for a great article, but we have localizers. And Erin Hoffman offers, in designed, and love, our editorial her article, that parents might just be calendar. It is the foundation upon which the best game developers. Enjoy these the whole of The Escapist is articles and more in this week’s The built. However, we have learned in our Escapist. first year of publishing The Escapist that sometimes it is best to Cheers, have a little flexibility built into the mix.

It is this need for flexibility that has brought forth the recurring Editor’s Choice issues you’ll find scattered throughout the calendar. These issues are literally a mix of some of our favorite This gave me some pretty severe warm years to match each detail. Everything fuzzies. Almost made me wish I could from the parents that believe retail find an MMO that I could put up with for stores are daycare centers to the long enough to experience this sort of frustrating, incompetent teenage help thing. Oh well. I’m still holding out for was present in my own personal outing World of Starcraft. in the retail business.

- Bongo Bill I will never understand the passionate anger that people feel while waiting on In Response to “’Maajh, Ladies’” line. Most people browse the store for a from The Escapist Forum: half hour or more; but when it comes to Is this some kind of a x-mas joke? I waiting on line time becomes precious. mean, ok, your grandmother (when she does exist, anyway) plays mahjong. And I just hope that people that read this what? What’s the higher meaning? Or article will, if they don’t already, treat the connection to the (electronic) retail employees with more respect and gaming? patience during the holiday season. I still love the holidays, but work is ...gee, next time i am going to write significantly more taxing. There can’t about the terrible chess trials with my always be enough cashiers to fill every granddad...and terrible they were... register, and there aren’t always enough salesmen to assist each sale with the Carc detail that they would normally offer at any other time of year. In Response to “Christmas Behind the Cash Register” from The Escapist Forum: -Blaxton

This article describes the Holiday retail experience accurately. As the store was described I was constantly bringing up images in my head from the past two Hello, my name is Bruce, and I like to among my peers and lacked the adequate play female characters in online games. social skills to communicate effectively in the real world, let alone a virtual one. But It wasn’t always this way. I had my first in those virtual worlds were girls, real exposure to internet gaming in 1989, girls, and they actually wanted to talk to while I was attending Purdue University. me. At least, they did until I fell into the Oh, I had been playing computer and hidden, precarious traps of social videogames for years before then, and I communication, the plethora of unknown had even done my share of time in the and unavoidable faux pas that inevitably BBS scene, but the revelation that the led to making a bad first impression. Still, internet allowed me to connect, in real I muddled through and actually did time, with complete strangers thousands manage to make some friends and even of miles away, for free, was truly find romance, in the wild whirlwind of staggering. My discovery of the various those early days. Soon, I had even tools of early net communication become involved in the practice of progressed rapidly, from email to Usenet TinySex, a TinyMUD version of what later to finger to talk. By 1990, I had fully internet generations would call “cybering.” immersed myself in the growing phenomenon of TinyMUDs, an offshoot of But there was one woman, in a virtual the original line of Multi-User Dungeons world named Islandia, who enchanted that had started back in 1978 with me more than any other. Her character Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw. We went by the name Faerie, and she was didn’t care that we were limited to just everything a man could want: mystery, text. We were making virtual worlds! We beauty, charm, intelligence and were engaged in a cyberspace revolution! devastatingly sharp wit. And if the rumors were true, she was the best of My early characters were universally male the best when it came to TinySex. I was and, perhaps out of ego, usually looked completely smitten with her, but due to just like myself, albeit an idealized and my earlier social fumbling, she would empowered version of the computer geek have nothing to do with me. She had I actually was. But like many nerds of many other friends on the MUD, though, that era, I was a social outcast even including a few from real life who went to the same college, and one of them And thus, Lorianna was born, and in due would check the list of accounts again, had recently changed his character’s in- time she and Faerie had become quite looking for who was logging out. After game gender from male to female. I was the item, just as I had planned. We were only a couple of nights, I had narrowed partly to blame for it; since MUDs were both enjoying each other’s company, and the list of potential candidate logins to text-based, when you entered a room of Lorianna had become quite popular just one: Trip. people all you saw was a list of names, MUD-wide. But I was not prepared for not each individual description of each how those virtual experiences were I was shocked. Was Islandia’s most character, and I had kept mistaking him becoming increasingly substantive. Could renowned femme fatale actually a guy? It for female since he had a very feminine- I actually turn our virtual relationship was almost inconceivable. Sure, the high sounding name. We all had a good into a real one? What if she had a frequency of virtual cross-dressing had laugh, and he adopted the female boyfriend? Would she still accept me become an accepted fact on TinyMUDs by persona in game as his “sister.” once I told her my terrible secret? What then, but Faerie? After days of nervous chance would a long distance tension, I couldn’t take it anymore – I Faerie, as it turned out, actually preferred relationship between two teenagers had to tell Faerie the truth, and the whole the company of the fairer sex, and with have, anyway? I had to find out more truth. That night, we had a long talk my recent exposure to the idea that men about who Faerie really was. online, wherein I revealed to her who could actually pretend to be women in really was, and what I had done, and how the game, I began to hatch a plan. I I put my newly acquired internet-fu to I had discovered who she really was, too. would create a new, female character, work. I knew that Faerie’s real life And then she told me about her player, one that would not have the historical friends and fellow MUDders went to Trip, and how he enjoyed playing female baggage my male character had. I would Berkeley, and so I began my search characters, and how this sort of virtual carefully craft her to behave and act like there. Back in those early days, the gender bending was just another exercise just the sort of woman Faerie would lust UNIX finger command could be used to in roleplaying. after. She was designed, specifically, to see who was logged into a machine, seduce Faerie, and to allow me to even from across the internet. I got the Trip and I remained friends, both online experience a new social relationship I names of a few undergraduate machines and off, for many years thereafter, and I would never have otherwise been able to at Berkeley and began monitoring them. even got him a job where I worked. But enjoy. I decided, for the sake of ethics, Whenever Faerie would log into the MUD, as a result of that early experience, I that I would not lie about my new I would see what accounts were logged began to play female characters more character’s player; I would simply say I in on the servers, paying close attention and more frequently, and my male ones preferred to keep it a secret. to which ones that had just recently less and less. With the rise of Massively done so. When Faerie would log out, I Multiplayer Online Games in 1996 and sponsored by 1997, virtual worlds had finally become sexy girl on the cover of your retail box graphical, and once again I dived right can help sell your videogame. And it’s in. But I soon found that there were not just games like Tomb Raider and noticeable differences in how male and Dead or Alive – look at the box covers female characters were treated in online for the MMOGs EverQuest, Lineage II, games, even when everyone knew there Guild Wars and World of Warcraft, not to was a good chance the female’s player mention those notorious Anarchy Online was really a guy. ads. Who doesn’t want their character to look good? As one fellow player once put Female characters are often given free it to me, “If I have to stare at an ass in stuff, either from males looking to game for hours and hours every day, it impress them, or from females looking to might as well be a female ass.” And don’t help out their own. They’re more likely to the game developers know it. This year receive help and assistance in game when at E3, while playing the upcoming MMOG they ask, and less likely to get ganked by title Soul of the Ultimate Nation from fellow players. Male characters, on the Webzen, I was positively giddy to other hand, are often viewed with more discover that the half-skirt on the female suspicion by females, and as a Elementalist character actually flips up competitive threat by their fellow males. when she jumps into the air, exposing And there are other forms of more subtle her shiny panties underneath. Talk about gender discrimination. The true extent of your fan service! these elements in virtual worlds, and their psychological origins, are a subject Of course, playing a female character in of frequent debate. I can only speak for an MMOG is not without its drawbacks. myself when I have found them to be Sometimes I have to fend off the clumsy, generally true in my experience. amorous desires of young males with no social skills – the very same sort of But there are other, far more visible people I once was, so many years reasons for males to play female before. More frequently, though, I have characters in modern graphical MMOGs. to deal with the accusation by a fellow Let’s be blunt – female video game player that I’m really male. How to characters are frequently hot, and a handle such situations? Trying to take the high road and claim you want to masking makes it difficult to understand keep your real life private or that real life what the other person is actually saying. shouldn’t matter only makes your status even more questionable. A protest of But still, I soldier on, playing my female innocence and a little white lie about characters and enjoying every minute of one’s true gender can work in some it. Oh, sometimes I like to switch things situations, but is it ethical? Often up and play a studly male Paladin, but requests for proof can escalate, from more often than not, I’m watching the questions about bra size to solicitations virtual world from behind a shapely of pictures to requests for phone calls. feminine form. And I am not ashamed. And a straight-up admittance of the truth But the next time you wonder if that girl can just as frequently lead to jibes, in your party is really hot irl, do insults, and bruised emotions. everyone a big favor and don’t ask.

And virtual cross-dressing is becoming Just sit back and enjoy the view. ever more difficult. Many guilds now use third-party voice software to coordinate and communicate during their raids, and Bruce Sterling Woodcock is a computer an increasing number of MMOGs are and videogames industry analyst, shipping with integrated voice chat. Will researcher, consultant and author, fellow players accept the busty dark elf focusing on massively multiplayer online babe who sounds like Pee-Wee Herman? games. He is best known for his ongoing For how long will the response “Uh, I tracking and analysis of MMOG don’t have a microphone” be an subscription numbers on his web site, acceptable excuse? Perhaps I can lie and MMOGCHART.COM. He enjoys going to claim I’m a mute. Some people have the mall, cuddling, and long walks along pointed to voice masking as the answer, virtual beaches. but unless voice masking is mandatory, people can still request that you turn it off for proof of real gender. Not to mention the fact that a lot of voice When I discovered Troika Games, I had of multiple bad decisions; make allies never heard of the company’s three and betray them; and ultimately choose founders, Leonard Boyarsky, Jason between trying to save every vampire in Anderson and Tim Cain. I didn’t know the city, or to control them. I couldn’t they were legends in the gaming field, stop playing. Just four hours into the responsible for Interplay’s Fallout. I just game, I was addicted. knew they blew up my computer. I’d already prepared my fake cough to Troika’s last game, Vampire: The call in sick to work the next day when it Masquerade - Bloodlines, was modeled happened: As I was navigating Los after the World of Darkness universe Angeles, trying to gather some created by tabletop developer White Wolf, intelligence on a vampire with too high a and a game within that universe, Vampire: profile, I heard something inside my The Masquerade, was my first real computer click. The click turned into a introduction to what gaming could be. grind, and then my computer shut down and wouldn’t turn back on. At all. My cousin, visiting from college one summer, inundated my 10-year-old head By the time I’d replaced all the parts that with words like Malkavian, Caitiff, Prince went blooey, it was December, and the and Diablerie. Every night during his first thing I did was re-installBloodlines - stay, we’d sit hunched over a table in a along with a newly-released patch. room lit only by a candle, and he’d weave a story where I could influence It was January before I’d finished my the world, grow powerful, even stop a first go through the game, and after minor god from destroying the world. coming up for air, I headed over to Until that point in my life, I’d played Troika’s official site to see what else they nothing but sports games; participating had planned. Despite the computer in a story was entirely new to me. nuking, they had earned themselves a very loyal customer. I was shocked to Bloodlines was love at first install. The learn that they had laid off all but their game perfectly captured Vampire’s spirit, three founders, although in hindsight I demanding your avatar to make the best suppose I shouldn’t have been; the last patch they released for Bloodlines was about it, and that they were making a lot into offices rather than cubicles, had a the final official bit of code Troika would of bad decisions that would destroy the lounge with couches and console games, ever produce. company. We were about five or six a big screen TV, game nights, etc.” years early on that, but we saw the “Great Ideas. writing on the wall. If Baldur’s Gate Somewhere in there, they managed to Never Enough Testing.” hadn’t hit big, Interplay might well have get work done on their first game, Boyarsky, Cain and Anderson’s creative imploded much earlier, but we left about Arcanum, an isometric-view, non-linear vision first came together at Interplay. a year before BG was even released.” steampunk RPG. Think Fallout with Together, the three worked on Fallout, monocles and zeppelins. The game, the critically-acclaimed, post-apocalyptic And so, Troika was formed. They each which released in 2001 to good reviews RPG that has lived on in the hearts and shared the CEO title, which worked for a (though many complained of niggling minds of PC gamers as a sterling while because “we each had our specialty,” bugs), came straight from Boyarsky, example of gaming done right. Cain was Anderson says, “Tim being a talented Anderson and Cain’s skunkworks, says credited as Producer, Boyarsky as Art programmer, Leonard a talented artist and Boyarsky: “For the initial design of Director and Anderson as a Lead Artist. I have a knack for technical things Arcanum, it was just Tim, Jason and allowing me to develop ways for the myself for five months until we landed a Work began on a sequel, but the three programming and art to merge together.” contract.” The contract they secured was “were unable to come to an agreement with Sierra, which let them expand the with Interplay as to how our next team The company they describe sounds like a company to 12 people. should be structured,” says Jason slice of dot com era heaven. “Our basic Anderson. The three also ran into a lot goal in leaving [Interplay] was to create Expecting a team of 12 to crank out a more corporate attention after Fallout’s a company that felt like ‘old Interplay,’” fully-featured game with a homemade success, Leonard Boyarsky tells me in a Boyarsky says. Anderson described the engine is fanciful, to put it lightly. separate interview. Between that and workplace to me: “We had a casual Keeping things small was “a decision that Interplay’s growing pains - the environment, open hours, kept the fridge would cost us a great many nights and company’s expansion was turning the and kitchen fully stocked with sodas and weekends,” Boyarsky says, and it would culture bad - Anderson, Boyarsky and snacks, had weekly lunch catered in (or mean the company was nearly in a Cain struck out on their own. BBQ’s on the patio), took everyone to constant state of crunch mode (a movie premiers, matched their development state in which workers put Boyarsky says, “Interplay had been a retirement plans a full 3 percent with no in well over the standard 40 hours per great place to work, and we felt that it vesting period, had very competitive pay week to meet deadlines). “The process was losing a lot of what we felt was great scales and put most of the employees of taking an idea from the design doc all sponsored by the way to a ‘polished’ feature involves a But that’s how things are for the low man Developing Bloodlines was troublesome lot of iteration to be done correctly, as on the totem pole, especially when big for the company. They found themselves even the greatest ideas on paper may publishers are concerned. Boyarsky was having to wade through nearly fall flat when implemented. Since we hoping Troika could avoid constantly government-level red tape to accomplish were in crunch mode so much of the being the “new guy” from the onset. anything. Compared to the relative time for any number of reasons, some “Troika’s original goal had been to just be freedom they had with Arcanum, “design, due to things we should have done exclusive to one publisher, kind of their by necessity, had to become a lot more differently, and some completely out of external RPG dev team,” he says, “so we structured in a game like Vampire, where our control, we would end up trying to wouldn’t have to always be scrambling for we had to run everything not only by iterate features before they were fully contracts. At first, Sierra seemed to be White Wolf but by the publisher as well.” implemented,” he tells me. “We always that publisher – even when they weren’t On top of that, they were using a felt like we were under the gun.” sure about an Arcanum sequel, they had prototype of the Source engine, one that us working on something else. But then didn’t yet have Valve’s high-class AI built And they were. During Troika’s seven- Sierra had its own problems, and that in, and Troika’s AI code didn’t play very year existence, they never worked with was the end of that.” nice with Source. the same publisher twice, and the company was constantly criticized for When Sierra went under, Troika found Activision, fearing their license was in releasing inspired but bug-ridden work. quarter at Infogrames/Atari, working on jeopardy, advanced Troika more money Running with such a small team was The Temple of Elemental Evil (ToEE), a in 2003, to allow the ToEE team to move partially to blame, but Troika also ran computer remake of a famous Dungeons over to work on Bloodlines, hoping Troika into a lot of problems with their & Dragons story module, in 2001. The would be able to complete the game by numerous publishers. “One of our titles game released in 2003, and like 2004 by sheer force of mass. was even pulled out of our hands so that Arcanum, was buggy (this one ran a it could sit in a box for four months while chance of clearing your hard drive), but Troika managed to push the game out in [the publisher] finished translations. All reviewers praised Troika’s adherence to time for its November 16 release date, we could do was work on the patch the original module’s story and the but at a severe cost in man hours. during that time. Adding insult to injury, game’s faithfulness to the 3.5 Edition According to Anderson, “It might be a final production copy was leaked out D&D rules. Cain was the lone founder on better to think of [Bloodlines’ and passed around on the Usenet for the project; Anderson and Boyarsky had development] in terms of non-crunch those four months,” Anderson says. recently won the license to Vampire and time. Arcanum had about a year of non- were already at work on my beloved crunch time and Vampire about one or Bloodlines, to be published by Activision. two months. I am not kidding,” he says. The game took nearly four years to Troika’s existence was ‘crunch mode’ develop. That means the team was with important decisions being made on working normal hours for roughly four the fly without the time needed to fully percent of the development cycle. assess the impacts of those decisions.” Comments in the source code provide a glimpse into the late nights the team had Before Bloodlines even landed in stores, to work: “#TJP: SEPT 15th I’m drunk. Troika was feeling the final effects of Hasn’t this game shipped yet?” having to develop by the seat of their pants over seven years. Boyarsky (now And, in form with their previous two the sole CEO) and team were unable to releases, Bloodlines made lasting secure new deals with Activision or other impressions on all who reviewed it. It publishers, presumably due to what had was again praised for the subject matter then become a track record of great but slammed for all the bugs. Like the design with poor implementation. They one that killed my computer. This pitched a variety of ideas to a few recurring theme is, in Anderson’s mind, different publishers, Anderson’s favorite what led to Troika’s downfall, though he being “Dreadlands, an [MMOG] set in contends most of the blood is on the mythical mid 19th century Eastern publishers’ hands. “Right or wrong, we Europe.” The team was also working on just needed more time to test and polish the spiritual successor to Fallout, but the games, and none of our three couldn’t find anyone willing to bite on the publishers were willing to give it to us. end of their line. Each and every game was pulled out of our hands before we were through with After two waves of layoffs, Troika was down it. In all fairness, I have to say that we to just its founders before New Year’s 2005. were late and over budget, but that still In February of ‘05, they officially closed the does not justify giving the public an company’s doors for good. unfinished product.” Looking back, Anderson says, “Publishers Boyarsky offers a bit more insight into aren’t interested in games from what was happening inside Troika’s developers that consistently turn out B doors: “As I said before ... a large part of titles. Unfortunately, although our games had depth and vision, we were never did at Troika. Instead of talking about though probably not, next time, as able to release a game that had been making games or trying to convince company owners. thoroughly tested and rid of bugs. The people to play (or publish) my games, I large quantity of errors in our product am doing what makes me very happy - The Escapist, a shadowy flight into the automatically rendered them B titles.” making games.” And Anderson is in dangerous world of a man who does not Additionally, both echo the sentiment Phoenix with his significant other, selling exist. Joe Blancato, a young Associate that they found their management roles real estate, though he’s “getting the itch Editor on a crusade to champion the unfulfilling. “We should have found to return” to games. cause of the innocent, the powerless, the someone to run the business aspect of helpless in a world of criminals who Troika,” Boyarsky says, “so that Tim, While they might not still be working operate above the law. Joe Blancato, a Jason and I could have focused all our together, their collective influence has lone crusader in a dangerous world. The energy on the games.” carved a deep mark into gaming. world ... of The Escapist. Bloodlines is a perennial resident on my They both say they went after funding hard drive, and a third Fallout is in the the wrong way. “After the lessons we works at Bethesda (when I asked learned on Arcanum, I think a better way Boyarsky what he thought about to go would have been to get Interplay selling the rights, he said, “It independent financing for the bulk of the felt as if our ex wife had sold our dev cycle for a game, and then bring it children that she had legal custody of,” to publishers when it was more than half but he admits to being very “possessive” finished to help bring it to market.” of the property), which was the talk of Boyarsky tells me, but since all of their E3 2006. Additionally, Interplay has games released in the midst of the dot- returned from the depths and recently com bust, game production wasn’t really announced a Fallout MMOG. a seller’s market. That alone seems like it could be a And now, the three have scattered in the rallying cry for the three to return wind. Boyarsky works in the industry, triumphant to their very first baby. When but wouldn’t say where on record. Cain I asked Boyarsky and Anderson if they’d is also in the field, and told me (through consider getting the band back together, Boyarsky): “I am staying in the industry they both said they would “love to,” but keeping a much lower profile than I From simulating human cities and ant watch as the ants scurry and writhe; a colonies to the evolution of planets and tweak of the gene-pool on one continent, the genesis of life itself, let no one claim a meteor impact on another and see Maxis Software has lacked for range or whether life persists. Leave the profundity. At the very mention of a simulation running for an hour while you classic Maxis title — SimEarth, say — my shower and eat, then return to see how eyes are known to slip their focus as my well the world has managed on its own. mind wanders back and forth across If scientists were giants, this is how they billions of years of game-time. In such would play. moments of fervor, I like to think Will Wright’s hands are magic, but in fact, While Maxis has moved on to newer and the salient charm of Maxis’ games is even more successful franchises, we still more akin to science. have much to learn from these early games. They suggest a way in which we Wright and company won their early should live our lives: as oriented fame by making games that built on outward, not inward. They embody environments or natural biology and attributes of reverence, learning, whimsy erected a framework of rules, within and humor, and they are appropriate which the player had complete freedom aids for addressing the central human to experiment. 1989’s SimCity was the problem of how we fit in the world we first of an esteemed line, and it laid the inhabit. foundation upon which a legacy of outstanding games would build. In a Manual Instruction burst of creative output, Maxis published “SimCity is the first of a new type of a slew of simulations in the succeeding entertainment/education software, called years, including SimEarth (1990), system simulations. We provide you with SimAnt (1991) and SimLife (1992). In a set of rules and tools that describe, simulations such as these, the create, and control a system.” These experimental mode of thought comes calm, inauspicious words at the fore of easily. A little food spilled here, a quick 1989’s SimCity’s instruction manual spray of pheromones like so, and then illustrate the stark simplicity of Maxis’ approach to games. The classic Maxis say that the company’s early market titles stimulate gamers to incorporate seems equal parts game manual and simulations are certainly impressive for niche was educational games. These studying with their playing. textbook. It contained detailed their realism and attention to detail, but days, when “educational” is applied to explanations of ant anatomy, behavior more important to their success is their computer games, it indicates the For example, SimCity’s manual contains and communication; retellings of ant- infectious enthusiasm for knowledge. antithesis of fun (and perhaps more to a lengthy essay by Cliff Ellis entitled “The related myths from cultures around the There is a reciprocal relationship the point, the antithesis of History of Cities and City Planning,” world; dozens of quotes from famous between what one knows of the world marketability). But the market climate which explains everything from the writers and poets on ants; a discourse and what one can learn about it from a that existed in the late ‘80s and early original motivations behind city-building on the relationship between ants’ Maxis game: As either increase, so, too, ‘90s was more congenial to titles that in prehistoric times to the peculiar emergent intelligence and computer- does the other. encouraged (or on occasion even economic and social concerns of the based AI systems; and a thorough required) players to engage in old- modern industrial city. None of this glossary explaining such technical terms Considering the common non-fictional fashioned book learning in order to information has any direct bearing on as stridulation and trophallaxis. The theme of Maxis’ run of hits, it’s fair to excel. Indeed, the very instruction how to play SimCity; it is only present as latter consists of one ant transferring manuals to the early series of Maxis a matter of topical interest. There follows food to another by direct regurgitation or an extensive scholarly bibliography and a defecation into the mouth, thereby suggested reading list for children, the resolving the enigmatic exclamation on latter comprised of both fiction and the back of the box: Experience the joys nonfiction books. Today, it would seem of trophyllaxis! silly to suggest that reading should go hand-in-hand with gaming, but Maxis went In the early ‘90s, it was common for to great lengths to make sure its player companies to publish long, lovingly base knew what made their games tick. crafted game manuals. But even in an era of big manuals, Maxis’ devotion to For SimAnt, Maxis’ Michael Bremer edification was outstanding. By no saturated the game’s manual with means was it necessary for a player to entomological knowledge. Rather than read external sources in order to simply including a distinct educational understand or enjoy Maxis’ games (nor essay in the rear of the book, Bremer even to read the manuals themselves, so incorporated relevant real-world intuitive were the interfaces), but Maxis information on ants all throughout the took every opportunity to reinforce the book’s 176 pages. The resultant tome value of doing so. After all, the deeper the rabbit hole, the grander the promise simulations show how intrinsically In the end, whether one enjoys a of reward — and for many gamers, the chaotic factors can operate within simulation of many individuals promise is what matters most. overarching, orderly constraints. In one cooperating as a social unit, or a light, the juxtaposition is gross; in simulation in which individuals are Art and Artist United another, it is sublime. The player cannot rendered inconsequential, there is no Of course, it would be misguided to think decide what’s more impressive: the choice but to surrender the sense of SimCity provides a thorough examination sheer complexity of the world or the fact one’s own individuality to the game. To of the structure of human societies, or that humans have begun to grasp it. The play these games is to receive a fuller that SimLife explains the details of marvels of the universe become mirrored sense of oneself as part of a greater evolutionary biology any better than a in the player’s own face, its very laws whole. Our race is building toward rudimentary textbook. In fact, Maxis’ grasped as tools in hand. something, even if it’s only a more games teach little in the way of complete knowledge of the universe. traditional, propositional knowledge. One noteworthy contrast between the As Bertrand Russell wrote, “It is in Their educational value is not in explicit Maxis games relates to their conceptions such profound instinctive union with theories or formulae, but in the of perfection as a goal. SimCity and the stream of life that the greatest joy motivation for further study that they SimAnt presuppose certain attributes as is to be found.” instill in the player. Sometimes, the desirable: the efficient layout of a power motivation to learn can be very simple: grid or design of an ant burrow, for Phillip Scuderi writes for Gamers With The player has fun considering certain example. Some designs are plainly not Jobs, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. rules of biology in the game, and so as effective as others, and these will lead in philosophy at the University of South begins to associate biology with fun. But to an unhealthy and unappealing society. Florida. Beyond this, his loyalties the early Maxis titles are often more SimEarth and SimLife are of a different remain uncertain. stirring than that to the player’s soul. At kind, since the large-scale features of their best, the games take on the aspect entire planets and ecosystems do not of art, with all the heady implications usually involve any kind of social order. that word has come to entail. Decisions here come down to aesthetics, and it’s hard to tell whether a jungle Like the gardens at Versailles, in which landscape is more beautiful than vivid plants grow within rigidly permafrost or if reptiles are lovelier prescribed geometric designs, Maxis’ than birds. When was the last time you read a book an eight-month wait for companies to translated into English, watched a movie release an English version of a surefire with subtitles or listened to foreign hit like Mario Kart 64. Now, we live in an language music? For the vast majority of international gaming world – a world consumers, that answer is “never.” But where a Japanese-developed hit like gaming is dominated by non-English Zelda: Twilight Princess appears in language companies - and the average English two weeks earlier than the customer couldn’t seem to care less. Put Japanese version. simply, foreign games sell in a way that foreign movies, books and music just don’t. Publishers have finally awoken to the reality of the global marketplace – but For this global industry to overcome the most gamers still know nothing about fate of the Tower of Babel, there is a the process that turns zany Japanese small army working behind the scenes. nonsense into the latest best-seller. These are the localizers, the unsung heroes who make modern gaming Word for Word possible. Yet good localization is The average English-speaking gamer is something that’s only appreciated when much more likely to encounter a it’s missing. Get it wrong, and the best Japanese to English conversion than any you can hope for is to live in infamy as other. But converting Japanese to English Gamers are rarely considered the butt of another internet joke – a is, linguistically and technically, one of enlightened. With the unthinking fanboys world where a winner is you, and all your the most challenging processes in the and swearing racists, the hardwired base are belong to us. But get it right, translation field. Japanese and English brand loyalty and the willingness to suck and a good localization can turn an are just about as different as two up EA’s latest Slightly Updated Sports otherwise obscure Japanese niche title languages can be. Roster 2007, gamers are not exactly like Katamari Damacy, Phoenix Wright or known for their sense of culture. Animal Crossing into a beloved “There are a lot of differences between worldwide hit. English and Japanese,” says Ben Judd of But gamers are enlightened in one point, Capcom. Currently a producer at one that makes gaming almost unique As early as two generations ago, Capcom’s headquarters in Osaka, Japan, amongst the art forms: its lack of localization was an afterthought. In the Judd is also responsible for the creation English-language bias. dark days, it was commonplace to have of Capcom’s new internal localization team - as well as being the voice of DS “Sometimes, there just aren’t good lawyer Phoenix Wright. “[Japanese] solutions to these problems,” says Judd. polite language has multiple levels “Oftentimes, we don’t get the luxury of hidden within levels and is certainly not footnotes in games. Handhelds often limited to ‘please’ and ‘sir.’ There are have insane space restrictions and ritualistic expressions that just cannot be manuals cost per page, so usually we translated into English and vice versa: can’t even use that real-estate to help ‘itadakimasu,’ ‘God bless you,’ usage of non-anime users understand. You walk a the word ‘sorry.’” fine line and you can never forget to shoot for the middle ground.” Take a simple word like onigiri. For a Japanese speaker, it’s an everyday word. Location, Location, Location Spanish and a researcher in the field of It’s a rice snack with about as much Easier said than done. Localizers also videogame translation. “Many hardcore variation as a hamburger. But good luck have to consider just who is standing in gamers prefer that the games remain as explaining onigiri in the middle of a that middle ground. Japanese as possible. Other casual dialogue-heavy videogame. Do you gamers would prefer that everything is translate it into some awkward “The baseline for localization work is to localized and explained to them.” Culture Shock construction like “rice balls”? Do you, as instill in the localized product the same Even if it were a simple task, localization the Pokemon cartoon infamously did, look and feel as the comparable local “You can’t please everyone,” says Judd. is far from mere word-to-word translation. ignore reality and call a ball of rice a product,” says Minako O’Hagan, a “On one hand, we have the ‘1337 donut? Or do you, like anime fansubs, lecturer in Japanese and a researcher in gaming purists.’ They want games to feel “What do you do when you have a leave the Romanized word and add a translation technology. “At the same like art, and they want to know the character that speaks incredibly polite two-line footnote describing it as a ball time, with some Japanese games, games have been unaltered. It’s a fine Japanese?” asks Judd. “How about of rice containing fillings like salmon, overseas fans may like the game line, but localization is, by its nature, dialects? Humor? Most of these areas do wrapped in nori. Blast, now you have to because of its Japanese flavor, [and] going to end up altering the base not translate directly into another explain what nori is, too! therefore the translation should not kill content. Some will shout, ‘Why is he not language, so you cannot rely on the unique cultural touch.” called Rockman? That was a perfectly translation to get you by. That is where Now, multiply this by the 100,000 or so good name!’ Others might have said, ‘localization’ comes in. You need to rely words you might find in a text-heavy “This is a complex issue,” says Carmen ‘Why do they call him Rockman if he on your own sense in all these issues in game, and you have an idea of what the Mangiron, a translator who works on doesn’t have a guitar? That blue suit is order to create content based on the average game localization looks like. converting the Final Fantasy series into hardly rockin’!’” original without being constricted by it.” Any liberties taken with the source material children’s cartoons, even Japanese- the founder of Media Sunshine, a are a gamble. Minako O’Hagan gives the developed titles like Resident Evil 4 and videogame consultant firm. You can have following example from Final Fantasy X. Dead Rising often have their violence a team of translators working on it, but it toned down for the Japanese release. will still take about 30 days, because one “The last scene shows the main female translator would have to read through it all. and male characters, Yuna and Tidus, O’Hagan says, “When Crash Bandicoot bidding farewell. They had developed a was being localized into Japanese, at the “Leaving the task of translation to the strong affectionate feeling toward each insistence of the Japanese side, [the end is going to put the rest of the other, but all Yuna says to Tidus in the outsourced localization team] had to localization behind schedule,” she says. original is ‘arigato’ [thank you]. This was change the main character from having “Once you receive the translated text, translated into ‘I love you’ for the three fingers and a thumb to having four you need to get it integrated back into American version, because the American fingers and a thumb. One can speculate the game. You also have to schedule translation team felt ‘thank you’ just did this had to do with the association with time for recording localized voiceovers – not do it, and also that ‘I love you’ fit Japanese mafia, which is often which means time for auditioning and better with the lip synch for the original represented by gang members missing a casting actors, recording the lines, Japanese sound. Interestingly, however, finger as a result of ritual punishment. putting them in the game. Then you there was a reaction against this decision need to spend several weeks from the fans, who realized that the “Such cultural issues are likely to have linguistically testing the game.” original was more in keeping with the gone completely unrecognized if the way Yuna had been portrayed as a localization company had not consulted The localization process is complicated reticent Japanese girl.” their Japanese counterpart. These issues even further by the need to work across are beyond the matter of translating different platforms and several different Every country has its own cultural what’s there and call for an astute languages, all for simultaneous release. fixations. The U.S. is notoriously gun- attitude to hidden cultural traps.” happy yet sex-shy. Japan is quite the “Releasing simultaneous localizations can opposite: While there’s no problem with Technically Speaking be very challenging,” says Chandler. sexualizing schoolgirls or transvestites in “If you are working on an RPG with “Each language requires a team of 100,000 words of text, it is going to take translators, voiceover actors and testers. one translator about 50 days to translate Some companies are now working on up it,” says Heather Chandler, the author of to 10 simultaneous localizations. When The Game Localization Handbook and you add in multi-platform releases, this and English, the Japanese versions offer “The translation of Final Fantasy VII into Gearoid Reidy is a journalist working in greatly increases the workload.” a rare insight into the localizer’s craft. European languages is notorious for the Asia. His website is www.gearoidreidy.com bad quality of its translation,” says - but don’t come! Don’t come! The process of videogame localization is “Phoenix Wright was a fantastic and Mangiron. “One example commonly far more technically complex than a utterly frightening game to work on, quoted is that ‘party,’ which refers to the movie or TV show. because let’s face it, Phoenix Wright is group, was localized as ‘fiesta’ in Spanish.” all about the text,” says Judd, who “Videogames are, by nature, interactive, worked on the game. “Fortunately, they Localization, Localization, Localization allowing for player variables to fit in the allowed us ample time to determine While the slip-ups are still funny, the days predetermined text strings,” says different speaking styles for the when bad translations were something to O’Hagan. “Many games allow players to characters, names and even touch up be expected are thankfully behind us. make up the name of a character. Then, some of the graphics to fit the U.S. Alex the name has to appear every time it is Smith, genius that he is, offered us And while it’s the producers that get the mentioned and may be embedded in a many great suggestions. Of course, high-profile interviews and the artists phrase or a sentence. Similarly, the Takumi Shu’s base text was also that get fans salivating, it is the player may choose to go down a exceptional – it never hurts to have localizers we have to thank for bringing particular path by inputting their quality base text to work off of.” us the games we need – and for that, selection, which needs to be understood localizers, we salute you. by the game software, in turn affecting But as a brief look at the wonderful the translation of the predetermined text Audio Atrocities makes clear, even high- A hero is them. strings. This can be particularly profile titles still slip through the net. challenging with highly inflected Roman languages with gender distinctions and “I guess the bar on quality has increased gender agreements of nouns and verbs.” over the past few years so there really aren’t as many examples as before,” Highs and Lows says Judd. “Of course, Resident Evil 1 For a translation master class, check out will live in infamy for its poor voice Phoenix Wright on the DS, which acting and awkward sentences. I have to features the work of one of the industry’s admit the ‘Don’t come’ [Japanese: Kuru foremost translators, Alex Smith. With na] voice in Sega’s House of the Dead 2 the ability to switch between Japanese still cracks me up to this day.” Parenting and politics are two things you be stepping up to the plate for families don’t talk about in polite company for the benefit of theirgames . because they reach down into the core of human issues that provide driving forces And they should. Parents tend to be in our lives. These two topics have only more in tune with target game begun to germinate in the gaming world, demographic trends, enforce saner and it’s a sure bet that they start fires development practices that provably wherever they go. improve reliable product delivery and keep a project focused to achieve goals In a recent Slashdot discussion faster – so that they can go home. We responding to a student who asks ought to be talking about this, and we whether he should get a Master’s degree also ought to be talking about how in game development or computer game developers make some of the science, one commenter notes that best parents around. “[t]he fact of life in the videogame industry is that once you been in the Trend Setter, Bellwether industry for 10 years and/or over 30 Gamers and kids have an intuition for years old [sic], you’re no good to the what’s “in” that borders on being a sixth cheap bean counters who run a lot of sense. Developers are frequently these game companies.” working way too hard to keep up with all of the latest games, much as we try. Ask This sentiment runs deep through game around - the number of years a person development, and with over half of has spent in the industry will be developers expecting to leave the inversely proportional to the number of industry within the next 10 years, a new titles on their shelves, unless that frightening mass exodus has already developer has kids. We “free agents” try, begun. While many studios are working and we’re always aware of the big ones, to deliberately create a family-friendly but no one knows trends like a tween, environment for the benefit of their and parents absorb that knowledge family-minded game-makers, no one through sheer (often unwilling!) osmosis. really talks about why studios ought to Kids typically figure out games faster Developers with kids also provide access real world involves human beings, and and play games more thoroughly than to enthusiastic instant test groups. human beings make mistakes, so even adults. Simply by virtue of having been There’s a lot to be said for growing with the best team on the best project, raised on the technology, children are technology, but for sheer fun value, you some crunch is inevitable. Our bodies adapting with startling quickness to new need a “testing unit” that can smile, crunch; when the going gets tough, your forms of gameplay and game control; we laugh and roll its eyes at you – pssh, suprarenal glands fire a shot of are witnessing another phase in Mom, that’s so yesterday. (Yep, we get epinephrine into your blood, and away intellectual evolution in the rapidness family to do testing. And we get their you go. And that’s what crunch is: It’s a with which they take up new friends, too.) Much as we’d like to think shot of adrenaline. The problem is technologies. Defender was a challenge a gamer stays young forever, the adrenaline also addles your brain. It back in the day, but now? I stand in awe inescapable truth is that the target impairs judgment. And if you keep going, to think of the future capacities of a kid demographic mojo starts rolling off of keep burning on adrenaline and nothing raised on Gradius V. you somewhere around 14 and has faded else, your heart explodes and you die. away entirely by 25. Tobi Saulnier, CEO of 1st Playable Saying “I’ve got to pick up my daughter” Productions, notes that kids have an But being an unthinking barometer for is untouchable. It’s a magic phrase. No edge on creativity. “Young children have what’s hip is only the tip of the parenting one on Earth is going to say, “No, Bob, a way of keeping you creative since they iceberg. I’m sorry, but you can’t pick up your see things without as many layers of child.” No one. Developers at hard- rules: as my daughter once speculated: Setting the Bar edged workplaces get guff for everything ‘A long time ago people didn’t have cars Families make us saner. Families are a from deaths in the family to long planned and roads, so ... they had to fly “safe” obligation no one can challenge. honeymoons, but not for taking care of This mystical priority allows developers their children. This is a double-edged everywhere!’ Hearing the way your kids an “honorable retreat” from crunch mode, sword in that some workplaces will have look at things helps stimulate your putting the brakes on a process that can the audacity to discriminate against imagination and be willing to disregard all too easily get utterly out of control. interviewees by asking about their convention.” Kenneth Yeast, Director of marital or family status (and developers Engineering at Los Angeles-based 7 It’s been said before, and it’s true: should be well aware of their rights - Studios, agrees; having kids, he says, Crunch mode itself has value. In an ideal such questions are illegal). But parents gives developers “a place to see play in a world, we would all have exactly the in the studio bring so many benefits that way that they don’t see it in the adult amount of time we need to make they ought to be actively pursued, not environment.” fantastic games, and no more. But the shied away from. Some are actually bothered by the In the case of crunch, on an immediate Setting baselines for working practices is parenting “silver bullet.” There really level, some silver bullet is better than no slowly percolating through the industry. isn’t anything inherent that makes a silver bullet, because the fact is, going It starts simple; in adverse conditions, parent’s time more valuable than a single home is good for the game. Yeast says. “Very quickly, productivity person’s. But socially, it is acceptable – begins to decrease, and there’s a point even expected – to stick up for one’s Don’t Make Me Turn This Game Around at which it dives. I guarantee you, if you children where it isn’t as acceptable to We know going home is good for our take away the weekend for people, that’ll stick up for a planned ski trip, no matter ultimate productivity. It’s been kill it.” Like everything else, managing how long it’s been in the works or how established in software engineering for productivity becomes part of a large long you’ve gone without a vacation. years. But we hate to admit it. It’s strategy that must remain flexible, but counterintuitive in a sense (“What? baselines are key, Yeast says, as a metric Parenting, more than perhaps any other Leave? Right now? But we’re so to measure your working strategy against. profession, also requires flexibility. close!”) - and especially when you’re Saulnier says, “As a parent your kids are riding the adrenaline wave, it seems like Making the call to go home is great, but always throwing you curve balls that you the sensible thing to keep going until the real problem needs to be solved long just need to adapt to. ‘Hey mom, I the job is done. in advance. Because parents have a missed the bus and I need a ride’ or stake in going home, they tend to be ‘Your child is sick, come get him from The problem is you’re never “so close” more likely to enforce reasonable school.’ You get pretty good at re- when you think you are. You’re usually development practices, such as code planning and adapting to what happens, about six hours from “so close,” and that reviewing, continued learning (including even if in games it might be ‘the movie curve becomes exponential with shared technology and techniques) and has been moved up three months’ or exhaustion. Despite knowing this, unit testing. You know, the stuff we ‘the lead artist’s hard disk crashed and despite being rationally aware of it, no really ought to be doing all along. The we need to rebuild the machine’ or ‘we one wants to be the one to send people passionate, fiery, bravado-stuffed code need 10 screenshots by end of day for home. Yeah, it’s stupid, but it’s the way cowboy will scoff at such things: no, we Marketing!’” So the unpredictability that things go - even though most of us have don’t want to use someone else’s code! pulls parents out of the office is often a had the strange and heady experience of We’ll build it ourselves! We don’t have not-so-disguised asset; when bad things suddenly realizing the answer to a time for unit testing! Commenting code happen, the parents are the least problem that’s been plaguing our (fuzzy, takes too long! You should be able to surprised. sleep-deprived, shut down) minds for understand it by looking at it! the last several tens of hours once we get a shower or a little rest. I’m harsh on programmers, but this the input from the team, the licensor, not a college degree, discovering new The industry is progressing through a attitude is everywhere, and it is plain publishing partners, the particular algorithms or even the number of years critical maturation process, and can come and simple immaturity. Enter the challenges, creative and technical. So, worked - it’s the number of titles through it in full bloom with careful effort. parents. Not only are they practiced in like kids each grow differently, and have shipped, as many a breaker-in laments. You hear that, you kids? foresight, they’re also practiced different strengths and weaknesses.” It’s experience, because “Oh, I’ve seen specifically in countering impatient that before, it’s like this” is a musical, Erin Hoffman is a professional game attitudes. Parenting leaves no room for Yeast adds: “When you’re doing work magical phrase. And it is a catastrophic designer, freelance writer, and hobbyist illusions; because they have a very real and you’re being productive and trying hypocrisy that we are systematically and unflinching stake ingoing home, to make decisions, trying to be wise driving out those that possess the most they’ll be on the lookout for better ways about your decision-making, you have a of the one thing we’re always looking for. to make the development process broader perspective on things, and you smoother. Find a game with low ratings end up making some wiser choices. You It is long past time for the last barriers and you will have found a game that can look at [a project] and realize what between parents and the game industry spiraled into (or started from at the you need to get done and what you can to fall, because we need each other, and outset) deathmarch and out-of-control cut away.” we make each other stronger. The management every time. And process toward change will be like rock increasingly, find where the parents are A game developer parent, by sheer climbing: arduously inching up the happy – find where they’restaying – and definition, is going to be in an older age mountain with sherpas like Seven you’ll find studios reliably delivering games. bracket, and that usually means they’ve showing the way. Lone studios practicing spent more years directly in the game development methods with baseline Yeast and Saulnier both agree that the industry. Any software engineer quality of life standards, in addition to greatest asset a parent brings to a team anywhere can tell you that an attracting parents, will allow developers is perspective. Knowing when to let go is experienced programmer is worth any as a whole to be more discerning in their a major, if sometimes painful, part of the five - ormore - junior programmers. choice of workplace. And with a growing parenting process. Saulnier says, “It’s Both have their place; the most cutting body of studios placing their focus on corny, but as a parent you learn to care edge development methods balance the positive work environments, Yeast says for what evolves, even if it is not what strengths of youthful energy and the community will look back and realize, you would do. You appreciate your kids flexibility against experienced gravity one hit at a time, that inhuman working for what they are growing into and enjoy and wisdom, but there’s no question that conditions were peripheral, not integral, the process of seeing how they grow and most coding nightmares come from lack to the process of making great games. the people they turn into. This is very of experience. Historically, when hiring similar to a game title for me - with all new developers, the barrier to entry is EDITORIAL PRODUCTION BUSINESS Executive Editor Producer Publisher Julianne Greer Jonathan Hayter Alexander Macris

Content Editor Layout Artist Director of Advertising Joseph Blancato Jessica Fielhauer Susan Briglia Russ Pitts Jason Haile Chairman of Themis Group Contributing Editor Lead Web Developer Thomas S. Kurz JR Sutich Whitney Butts

Research Manager Web Developer Nova Barlow Erik Jacobson Tim Turner Contributors Joe Blancato IT Director Erin Hoffman Jason Smith Gearoid Reidy Phillip Scuderi Bruce Sterling Woodcock

Issue 77, © 2006. The Escapist is published weekly by Themis Group, Inc. Produced in the United States of America. To contact the editors please email [email protected]. For a free subscription to The Escapist in PDF format please view www.escapistmagazine.com