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January 2005 Volume 12, Number 1

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January 2005 Volume 12, Number 1 >>PRODUCT REVIEWS ALIENBRAIN STUDIO 7 * DELL PRECISION 670 J ANUARY 2005 THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE >>2004 FRONTLINE AWARDS >>QUALITY OF LIFE? >>ASPYRATIONAL THE VERY BEST TOOLS MAKING A HIT TITLE DIVERSIFICATION FOR FOR MAKING GAMES IN 40 HOURS A WEEK SMALLER PUBLISHERS POSTMORTEM: AVOIDING SEQUELITIS IN THE SIMS 2 . TRYMEDIA AND THE TRYMEDIA LOGO ARE THE PROPERTY OF TRYMEDIA SYSTEMS INC Get real about , game security. ACTIVEMARK © 2004 Combating piracy takes strength and skill. That’s why leading developers trust Trymedia’s ActiveMARK for secure digital distribution — on disc and via download. Plus, ActiveMARK is easy to integrate and consumer-friendly. Learn all about ActiveMARK at GDC 2005, Booth 224. And don’t miss “Inside The Hacker Mind” and other Trymedia sponsored sessions. trymedia.com/gdc05 for info. THE SOLUTION FOR SECURE DISTRIBUTION []CONTENTS JANUARY 2005 VOLUME 12, NUMBER 1 FEATURES 10 FRONT LINE AWARDS What tools are your key weapons when on the development front line (read: deadline)? Game Developer’s seventh annual Front Line Awards recognizes eleven tools for their excellence, and inducts one indispensable tool into the Hall of Fame. Determined by a panel of industry pro judges, the winning technologies stand a head above the rest for enabling developers to do what they do best 10 more precisely, effectively, creatively, and gratifyingly. 18 MAKING GREAT GAMES IN 40 HOURS PER WEEK The Blue Fang gang discusses its methods and philosophies for balancing overtime, crunch time, and sick time, while still shipping its games on time. 38 By Hank Howie 18 26 CUSTOM SOLUTIONS FOR SALE POSTMORTEM Aspyr Media, one of the smaller, surviving, and independent studios creating original 38 AVOIDING SEQUELITIS IN THE SIMS 2 content, has been in the game (business What works once can’t possibly still work the second time around—or that is) since 1996. Founder Michael Rogers can it? After three-and-a-half long years in development from concept spoke with Zack Stern about the company’s to final, Maxis has tweaked and toned its sequelized brainchild in evolving business process, including how search of equilibrium between old and new. Seconds, anyone? Aspyr interacts with larger publishers and retailers. By Lucy Bradshaw with contributions from Matt Brown, Tim LeTouneau, and Paul Boyle By Zack Stern 26 DEPARTMENTS COLUMNS 2 GAME PLAN 44 THE INNER PRODUCT By Sean Barrett [PROGRAMMING] Treading Lightly Optimizing Pathfinding Part II: Modeling 4 HEADS UP DISPLAY 49 PIXEL PUSHER By Steve Theodore [ART] One EA spouse and the IGDA confront developers’ deteriorating How the Other Half Lives quality of life; DS launches, and more. 52 NECESSARY EVIL By Christopher Paetsch [BUSINESS] 7 SKUNK WORKS By Tom Carroll and Spencer Lindsay Intellectual Property Agreements Alienbrain Studio 7 and Dell Precision 670 workstation 53 AURAL FIXATION By Alexander Brandon [SOUND] 64 A THOUSAND WORDS Top Ten Game Sounds Valve’s HALF-LIFE 2 54 GAME SHUI By Noah Falstein [DESIGN] What Trumps Fun COVER ART: THE COVER WAS CREATED BY BOB ROSSMAN AT MAXIS WWW.GDMAG.COM 1 GAME PLAN www.gdmag.com [] CMP Media, 600 Harrison St., 6th Fl., San Francisco, CA 94107 t: 415.947.6000 f: 415.947.6090 YOU CAN REACH US AT [email protected] EDITORIAL EDITOR Alex Handy [email protected] DEPARTMENTS EDITOR Jill Duffy [email protected] ASSISTANT EDITOR Brandon Sheffield [email protected] ART DIRECTOR Cliff Scorso [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Sean Barrett [email protected] Alexander Brandon [email protected] Noah Falstein [email protected] TREADING LIGHTLY Steve Theodore [email protected] ADVISORY BOARD Hal Barwood Designer-at-Large WORKING ON THE FRONT LINES OF GAME Ellen Guon Beeman Monolith Andy Gavin Naughty Dog development is tough, made more complex with Joby Otero Luxoflux countless issues to trip, ensnare, or otherwise truly innovative. The XGameStation is an Dave Pottinger Ensemble Studios George Sanger Big Fat Inc. impede the unwary game creator. Along the assembly language hobbyist’s dream, with Harvey Smith Midway lines of tools, 2004 saw more than its fair share Erector Set-like construction, but also an eye Paul Steed Microsoft of software point releases and upgrades. Toss in for the future, as a completely open-source ADVERTISING SALES NATIONAL SALES MANAGER the hype around an increasing number of hardware and software hacking tool. Taito’s Afton Thatcher e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6217 SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER, EASTERN REGION & EUROPE available platforms—from Nintendo’s DS to Type X brings Windows PCs and global Ayrien Machiran e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6224 mobile phones—and we’re left wondering, “How networking into the arcade sphere, a major step ACCOUNT MANAGER, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA & MIDWEST does one keep up?” In 2004, ethically- in the company’s plan to, as stated in its most Susan Kirby e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6226 ACCOUNT MANAGER, WESTERN REGION & ASIA questionable game content was formally recent financial results report, “be the one and Nick Geist e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6223 challenged by several state law makers. And only company in the amusement industry.” ACCOUNT MANAGER, GLOBAL EDUCATION/ RECRUITMENT & TEXAS chronic controversy over unremitting work Aaron Murawski e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6227 hours doesn’t seem to dissuade thousands each ALL WORK AND NO PLAY ADVERTISING PRODUCTION ADVERTISING PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Kevin Chanel year from pushing their foot in the game Extended work hours (to put it lightly) and REPRINTS Julie Rapp e: [email protected] t: 510.834.4752 development door. reduced “quality of life” are the most pressing GAME GROUP MARKETING Although Game Developer certainly doesn’t have issues for many game developers today. Can DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS STRATEGY Michele Maguire a cure-all for these industry ills, we can at least you reconcile a job and family that you love, a DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Tara C. Gibb MARKETING MANAGER Scott Lyon point to some solutions we see others using social life, and an 80-hour work week? Hank MARKETING COORDINATOR Yukiko Grové successfully, both technical and logical, which Howie’s “Making Great Games in 40 Hours Per CMP GAME GROUP may help you ship your next AAA game without Week” (page 18) confronts the ruckus over work VP, GROUP PUBLISHER APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES Philip Chapnick pulling your hair out or forgetting the names of hours in the games industry by detailing how his CONFERENCE DIRECTOR, GDC Jamil Moledina ASSOCIATE CONFERENCE DIRECTOR, GDC Susan Marshall your loved ones. employees manage deadlines and overtime EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, GAMASUTRA.COM Alex Dunne while still hitting their ship dates on time. And MANAGING EDITOR, GAMASUTRA.COM Simon Carless TOOLS MADE TO WIN flanking Howie's article, we’ve got some Heads CIRCULATION At the top of each new year, we present the Up Display coverage of the “ea_spouse” CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Kevin Regan e: [email protected] CIRCULATION MANAGER Peter Birmingham e: [email protected] Front Line Awards (page 10), another analytical controversy—the open testimony of one game CIRCULATION COORDINATOR Jessica Ward e: [email protected] slice from the ever-expanding world of game developer’s spouse who has had enough of so- SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES FOR INFORMATION, ORDER QUESTIONS, AND ADDRESS CHANGES tools. The question is: How, with such a diversity called “abuses” in the industry. t: 800.250.2429 or 847.763.59581 f: 847.763.9606 of small and large aids to creating games, do the After the right tools have been utilized, and e: [email protected] Front Line Awards objectively compare products crunch times navigated with a minimum of INTERNATIONAL LICENSING INFORMATION Mario Salinas with massively different scopes in the same overtime and divorced significant others, what e: [email protected] t: 650.513.4234 f: 650.513.4482 general field? The answer is that it's do you get? EDITORIAL FEEDBACK tremendously difficult. [email protected] CMP MEDIA MANAGEMENT Our panel of expert judges in the thick of game SIMS SEQUEL PRESIDENT & CEO Gary Marshall development selected a winner or winners in This month’s Postmortem voices the struggles EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CFO John Day EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & COO Steve Weitzner seven categories—game engine, programming, and successes of the teams and leads alike EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE SALES & MARKETING Jeff Patterson middleware, art tool, audio tool, hardware, and responsible for Maxis' PC title THE SIMS 2(page 38). CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Mike Mikos book—the tools they felt were the absolute finest, The sequel has sold more than one million copies SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS Bill Amstutz SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES Leah Landro whether for their brilliance in a particular almost instantly, likely on its way to similar multi- VP/GROUP DIRECTOR INTERNET BUSINESS Mike Azzara application, or a wide-ranging suite of tools that million sales figures as its Will Wright- VP & GENERAL COUNSEL Sandra Grayson VP, COMMUNICATIONS Alexandra Raine work together serendipitously. masterminded predecessor. Whether you PRESIDENT, CHANNEL GROUP Robert Faletra appreciate vomiting babies, shadowy Grim PRESIDENT, CMP HEALTHCARE MEDIA Vicki Masseria VP, GROUP PUBLISHER INFORMATIONWEEK MEDIA NETWORK Michael Friedenberg BLEEDING EDGE Reapers, or just its deliriously sardonic take on VP, GROUP PUBLISHER ELECTRONICS Paul Miller Technology moves quickly, but not always in a little computer people, THE SIMS 2's sandbox VP, GROUP PUBLISHER NETWORK COMPUTING ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE
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