INTERVIEW: CREATOR NAOTO OHSHIMA

VOL16NO10NOVEMBER2009

THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

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POSTMORTEM CONTENTS.1109 22 5TH 'S VOLUME 16 NUMBER 10 SCRIBBLENAUTS is a pie-in-the-sky concept come to life, and there's a lot for developer to be proud of. Plus, in a game where the object is to write anything and have it come to life on the screen, what could go wrong? A whole lot, of course—from QA to localization DEPARTMENTS to controls, all facts are laid bare. By Joseph M. Tringali 2 GAME PLAN By Brandon Sheffield [EDITORIAL] To Be Continued FEATURES 4 HEADS UP DISPLAY [NEWS] 7 GAMING IN THE CLOUD Good Old Designs, Sense of Wonder Night 2009, and more. Companies like OnLive and are promising the gaming world on a platter with cloud computing-supported game services. But 34 TOOL BOX By Zoltan Erdokovy and Bijan Forutanpour [REVIEW] how viable is it, really? Programmer Jake Cannell takes a look at the Luxology's Modo 401, and Real Time Cameras book technical and financial logistics behind this emerging space. By Jake Cannell 38 THE INNER PRODUCT By Mick West [PROGRAMMING] Jump To It 13 THE GAME DEVELOPER 50 In concert with our advisory board, we've highlighted 50 important 42 PIXEL PUSHER By Steve Theodore [ART] achievements of the last year-or-so, and associated them with specific Most Likely to Succeed persons in order to acknowledge individual work. It's no easy feat to distill the work of many into a few names, but we attempted it here. 46 DESIGN OF THE TIMES By Damion Schubert [DESIGN] By Brandon Sheffield, Jeffrey Fleming, and Simon Carless The Art of Fun

50 INTERVIEW: NAOTO OHSHIMA 49 AURAL FIXATION By Jesse Harlin [SOUND] Ohshima is best known as the character designer for SONIC THE The Magic of Misdirection HEDGEHOG and director of , and here we investigate his motivations, thoughts, and his fascination with time. 56 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT By Matthew Wasteland [HUMOR] By Brandon Sheffield Stack Trace Industry Detective

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0911gd_toc_v4jm_REV.indd 1 10/21/09 11:25:08 AM GAME PLAN // BRANDON SHEFFIELD www.gdmag.com Think Services, 600 Harrison St., 6th Fl., San Francisco, CA 94107 t: 415.947.6000 f: 415.947.6090

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES FOR INFORMATION, ORDER QUESTIONS, AND ADDRESS CHANGES HEADLINETO BE CONTINUED t: 800.250.2429 f: 847.763.9606 RETHINKING PLAYER DEATH e: [email protected] EDITORIAL PUBLISHER ARCADES HAVE BROUGHT US A LOT OF SIGNIFICANT are conceptually relevant. So many games employ Simon Carless l [email protected] advances over the years. From the industry's outlandish sci-fi or fantasy scenarios that it seems EDITOR-IN-CHIEF beginning through the mid-90s, arcades were still death could be explained away in simple terms—or Brandon Sheffield l [email protected] where you’d find the best game graphics, and the even better, with some entertaining gameplay. PRODUCTION EDITOR Jeffrey Fleming l [email protected] best multiplayer experiences. A great many excellent Continues and their progeny are usually not a ART DIRECTOR design rules and guidelines were forged in these nuisance, they just seem unnecessary—evidence of Joseph Mitch l [email protected] fires. Every so often though, I notice a trope carried the early framework around which games have evolved. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jesse Harlin l [email protected] over from the arcade days that just doesn’t seem When a developer intends it, player deaths can be Steve Theodore l [email protected] to fit anymore. One of those is the concept of lives, entertaining, they just need to be given weight. If you Mick West l [email protected] continues, and player death. don’t care if you die, the stakes of play seem rather Soren Johnson l [email protected] Damion Schubert l [email protected] The thought occurred to me while playing TEENAGE minor. In LEFT 4 DEAD, you feel like you’re letting your ADVISORY BOARD MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: TURTLES IN TIME RE-SHELLED for teammates down, so death has weight. But in GEARS OF Hal Barwood Designer-at-Large Live Arcade. I played with three friends, and aside WAR, which I otherwise like very much, death is just an Mick West Independent Brad Bulkley Neversoft from none of us being able to tell which character annoying setback, and I have to watch cut scenes again Clinton Keith Independent we were about 75 percent of the time, I noticed that and traipse back across the same shattered landscape Bijan Forutanpour Online Entertainment Mark DeLoura Independent the game defaulted to unlimited continues. Playing just to get killed again by the same stupid Troika. Carey Chico Pandemic Studios essentially amounted to mashing the attack button We’ve had articles in the magazine (see “Press A and hoping for the best, with no real consequences to to Jump,” Game Developer, October 2009) that cite ADVERTISING SALES GLOBAL SALES DIRECTOR death, though the game did keep a tally of who among death as a good time to provide positive feedback Aaron Murawski e: [email protected] my friends had died the most times. for players, and add tutorial hints. Considering the t: 415.947.6227 It really stuck with me—in a scenario in which fact that games are meant to be won, the player is MEDIA ACCOUNT MANAGER John Malik Watson e: [email protected] death essentially means nothing, why have death at essentially invincible in the grand scheme of things, t: 415.947.6224 all? Granted, this was a port of an , but a requiring, again, nothing more than perseverance GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGER, EDUCATION number of kids’ games operate under a similar basic and the occasional GameFaqs hint. Why not try AND RECRUITMENT principle. Dying either places you right back where to create a game that contains similar challenges Gina Gross e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6241 you were, or it does so until you run out of lives, and to standard games, but completely avoids death? COORDINATOR, EDUCATION AND RECRUITMENT then you continue and start at the beginning of the If the end result is the same, and meaningful (or Rafael Vallin e: [email protected] , lives fully restocked. The game is basically humorous) consequences aren’t built in, why is death t: 415.947.6223 testing your ability to complete the same actions even part of the equation? It isn’t really death, after ADVERTISING PRODUCTION again and again, rather than your skill. Except in all, it’s really just the proverbial “flesh wound.” PRODUCTION MANAGER outlying cases, it’s testing your willingness to These days we have a buffer against death in Robert Steigleider e: [email protected] persevere, and not to adapt. games anyway—most first- and third-person shooters REPRINTS have regenerative health, whether it makes sense for WRIGHT'S REPRINTS RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE the world or not. Once the player’s regenerative health Ryan Pratt e: [email protected] » This extends in a mild way to the checkpoint is depleted, they crumple to the ground momentarily, t: 877.652.5295 systems in modern games. Most AAA games have only to have time magically rewound, with players THINK SERVICES rid themselves of the idea of continues, or even the finding themselves transported to a very familiar CEO THINK SERVICES Philip Chapnick concept of limited lives, but death is still not so much (usually identically instanced) checkpoint save state GROUP DIRECTOR Kathy Schoback CREATIVE DIRECTOR Cliff Scorso a punishment as it is a setback—you simply lose a from their recent past. CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Anthony Adams few minutes’ playing time, and probably learn some strategies in the meantime. So why represent this as THE DEATH (OF MY INTEREST) AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT “death,” rather than in some other way? It could well be Of course if you’re not careful, alternate methods GROUP DIRECTOR Kathy Henry » e: [email protected] because we’ve always done it that way, rather than for of “death” can be even more annoying. Lengthy LIST RENTAL Merit Direct LLC t: 914.368.1000 any reason anyone spent time thinking about. resurrection sequences (in fact cut scenes of any MARKETING DEMON’S SOULS is going to be a hot topic discussion kind) will take the player out of the action. Death- or SERVICES MARKETING COORDINATOR Laura Robison among alternative journalists and academics for some loss-related need to be fun and relevant. e: [email protected] time, perhaps rightly so—the way that game deals Almost any time not playing the game is time waiting with death is well thought out, and actually has an to play the game—and that’s generally time wasted. UBM TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT in-world reason behind it. If you die, your (weaker) Innovative ways of dealing with player death CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David Levin CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Scott Mozarsky soul must go out in search of demon souls with which aren’t just for the wacky indies, or the fringe David Wein to reclaim your physical body. In ASSASSIN’S CREED, titles—which is why I deliberately didn’t mention any. CORPORATE SENIOR VP SALES Anne Marie Miller SENIOR VP, STRATEGIC DEV. AND BUSINESS ADMIN. Pat Nohilly “death” is explained as a de-syncing of the player from High-end games are starting to change the way they SENIOR VP, MANUFACTURING Marie Myers his host body in history. In PREY, players must fight deal with what lies beyond, and it seems high time their way back from the valley of death, to reclaim that more developers start to confront their own (in- their place among the living. Even ’ game) mortality. drawn-out resurrection sequences in —Brandon Sheffield

2 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009 WWW.CMPGAME.COM

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All trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. Adobe screen shot reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated. HEADS-UP DISPLAY sense of wonder 2009 At the 2009 , CESA held the second Sense Of Wonder Night, showcasing 10 presentations from creators of interesting, innovative experimental games. This year saw 65 worldwide submissions, with ten games picked for creating a "sense of wonder" by a judging committee that included noted shooter creator Kenta Cho, Enterbrain’s MAKER series producer Kenji Sugiuchi, KATAMARI DAMACY creator Keita Takahashi, Vector’s Takashi Katayama, IGDA Japan’s Kiyoshi Shin, and the writer of this article (IGF Chairman and Game Developer publisher Simon Carless).

BALL CARRY on the shadow of an object, the PHOTO BY JERIASKA (TAKUYA ONO / JAPAN) physical object is moved. They BALL CARRY from Takuya Ono noted, if you “use shadows for was an experimental title made physical objects... when you in a week, where you roll a change the light, you change ball toward a goal by pressing your entire world.” multiple keys on the keyboard to make depressions in the ground. INCOMPATIBLE BLOCK To move the ball from the left to (JUN FUJIKI / JAPAN) the right, you press the A button, Jun Fujiki, creator of the PSP then the S button, then the D and PS3 downloadable title button. Ono wanted to make an ECHOCHROME, has produced augmented reality game, but it a number of interesting was “very troublesome” to use prototypes using similarly such complex peripherals and Escher-styled concepts, and instead settled on the keyboard, showcased one in particular— saying, “It’s not necessary to INCOMPATIBLE BLOCK. In it, the come up with new devices to user can drag blocs around create a new experience.” the screen from a certain player goes through emotional outfit Lexaloffle showed SWARM versions of RPG titles and other perspective and stack them. experiences by going through RACER 3000, his alternative games could be an avenue of HAZARD: THE JOURNEY these multiple stories at one top down . In it, exploration and that multiple OF LIFE YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE time.” In addition, you can edit you control an entire swarm of players could cooperate across (ALEXANDER BRUCE / (MARCUS RICHERT / SWEDEN) the conversations in the game via characters, and you can control the network to collectively AUSTRALIA) Marcus Richert, a Swedish a webpage—a unique version of the size of the swarm while create optimum "replays." Alex Bruce presented HAZARD: journalism student showed user-generated content. you try to pick up gems. He THE JOURNEY OF LIFE, an abstract YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, a cheeky noted: “The entire game is about TRANSCEND UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3 mod conceptual title that is available ECOLPIT learning to control the size and (FISHBEAT / UNITED STATES) about “philosophy, player in 25 languages. It features a (MISI / JAPAN) movement of your swarm.” Fishbeat’s Zach Aikman showed expectations" ... and learning single level, certain failure, but Misi showed ECOLPIT, a top- off TRANSCEND, an evolution of through experiences in which a massive amount of game down 2D title with bug-like PARA RAIL the IGF Student game-winning the player makes choices that over screens that tell a story characters eating food and (KUNIAKI WATANABE AND SYNAESTHETE, which is currently result in a moral or life lesson. of the player after death. Keita fighting with each other. You can ONITAMA - ZENER WORKS INC. in development for Xbox Live For example, the player can try Takahashi said that he liked the either defeat or outgrow all the AND TEAM ONIKU / JAPAN) Arcade. In the title, you have to to jump over a pit that is not “corniness” of the game. other characters to complete The creators at Zener Works avoid enemies and attack them initially make-able, despite an each level. His “truly foolish” and Team OniKu presented PARA by tapping in time to the beat, exhortation to "jump." The player HIS AND HER AI nonetheless has a massive RAIL, a vector-style ASTEROIDS- creating a music . The must fall down to learn how to DISCONNECTED memory, recalling when other looking spacecraft that is not abstract title included circles of get up and keep playing. CONVERSATIONS bugs shot at them, and retaining directly controlled. In fact, trees attacking and giant dancing (HIMO / JAPAN) that hostility for a long period all you can do is increase or mushroom bosses in a lush visual SHADOW PHYSICS The Kyoto-based developer of time. They will also develop decrease the amount of games atmosphere, with a bright trance- (ENEMY AIRSHIP / UNITED behind HIS AND HER DISCONNECTED hostility toward characters being played simultaneously like electronica soundtrack. STATES) CONVERSATIONS, Himo, showed an that attack their friends, and by deleting any game that is Steve Swink and Scott Anderson interesting Japanese-language camaraderie is also built up about to end in Game Over. KATAMARI creator Keita Takahashi of Enemy Airship then presented title in which couples are over time by each of these odd- The makers explained: “You said pointedly that the titles on SHADOW PHYSICS, which stars a discussing things with each other looking bugs. don’t actually manipulate show at the second Sense Of character that only exists in a in text boxes, and you have one and play the game, yet still Wonder Night were “games that shadow world, and must clamber minute to decide which couple SWARM RACER 3000 get the feeling of enjoyment.” the people here were not forced over shadows of real objects to matches another by reading (JOSEPH WHITE AND LEXALOFFLE They suggested some future to create, but games that they reach level completion. The duo what they are saying to each GAMES / JAPAN) applications to this experiment, really wanted to create.” showed that when you push other. The creator noted: “The Joseph White of veteran indie arguing that parallel universe —Simon Carless

4 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_hud_vIjf.indd 4 10/20/09 6:18:49 PM Good Old Designs Spotlight on David Siller

DAVID SILLER IS THE CREATOR OF AERO THE ACROBAT, AND WORKED WITH SUNSOFT’S U.S. OFFICE FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE CONTRIBUTING DESIGN to (through publisher Universal), and then MAXIMO and other titles with . In those days, he was part of the Japanese/Western collaboration experiments, analogous to STI and ’s work on SONIC 2. Recently, he’s been showing some of his old designs via his page—we’ve been trying to convince him to keep a repository of this stuff, but for now, we’ll highlight a few pieces of his work on MAXIMO, still done the old fashioned way, with pen and paper. —Brandon Sheffield november calendar INDEPENDENT GAME CONFERENCE WEST 09 IGDA LEADERSHIP FORUM Marriott Marina Del Rey, Marina Del Rey, CA San Francisco Airport Marriott, Burlingame, CA November 5–6 November 12–13 Price: $119–$325 www.igcwest.com Price: $400–$1,750 www.igda.org/leadership

PROJECT HORSESHOE NETGAMES 2009 Canyon of the Eagles, Lake Buchanan, TX University of Paris, Paris, France November 5–8 November 23–25 IGDA Leadership Forum Price: $1,995–$2,195 www.projecthorseshoe.com Price: EUR175–EUR375 http://netgames2009.lip6.fr

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CLOUD COMPUTING HAS COME INTO ITS OWN IN RECENT YEARS. UNLIKE MOST BUZZWORD CONCEPTS, IT REALLY does represent a true shift in the computer industry, from the devices and services users purchase to how they are designed and operated. With the rise in sales dominance of cheap laptops, the announcement of Google’s plans to turn Chrome into a web operating system, and the general shift to software as a service, it should come as no surprise that some see the game industry heading in the same direction. But streaming a fully interactive in real time is a very complex problem, far more so than typical web-based applications, and surely still far off into a future world featuring a faster, more reliable internet. Or is it? Just this year at GDC, newly-unveiled startup OnLive announced that it will be bringing that future into the present this year, with its fully cloud-based microconsole system, which immediately brought a competitor out of hiding in the form of David Perry’s new venture, Gaikai. These two aren’t alone: start-up Otoy is partnering with AMD to create large render farms that can be used for gaming, and several other start-ups are working on streaming games over existing cable set top boxes.

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0911gd_cloud_gaming_vIbs.indd 7 10/20/09 6:23:58 PM If OnLive or one of its competitors overcomes the determined that the measurable delay threshold is around 100–150ms. It’s obviously a fuzzy myriad technical and economic hurdles to launch a viable number, but as a rule of thumb, a delay of under 120ms is typically unnoticeable to humans. The system, the impact on the industry over brain has a massive number of neurons and connections (billions and trillions respectively), the years ahead could be transformative. It could be the but signals propagate across the brain very slowly compared to the speed of light. For reference end of the console cycle. Almost everyone has something I highly recommend Consciousness Explained by Daniel C Dennet. Here are some interesting to gain out of this change. Consumers gain the freedom timescale factoids from that book: and luxury of instant, on-demand access to ultimately all of the world’s games, and the ability to try before they buy or rent. Publishers get to cut out the retailer » saying, “one, Mississippi” 1000msec middle-man, and avoid the banes of piracy and used » umyelinated nerve fiber, fingertip to brain 500msec game resales. » speaking a syllable 200msec But the biggest benefit ultimately will be for developers and consumers, in terms of the eventual » starting and stopping a stopwatch 175msec game development cost reduction and quality » a frame of television (30fps) 33msec increase enabled by the technological leap inherent to cloud computing. Finally developing for one » fast (myelinated) nerve fiber, fingertip to brain 20msec common, relatively open platform (server-side PC) » basic cycle time of a neuron 10msec will significantly reduce the complexity in developing » basic cycle time of a CPU(2009) .000001msec a AAA title. But going further into the future, once we actually start developing game engines specifically for the cloud, we enter a whole new technological era. In the time it takes the "press fire" signal to travel from the brain down to the finger muscle, Its mind-boggling for me to think of what can Internet packets can travel roughly 4,000 km through fiber (light moves about 200,000 km/s be done with a massive server farm consisting of through fiber). This is about the distance from Los Angeles to New York. thousands or even tens of thousands of densely- Each component of a game system (input connection, processing, output display networked GPUs with shared massive RAID storage. connection) adds a certain amount of delay, and the total delay must add up to around 120ms Engines developed for this system will look far beyond or less for good gameplay. Up to 150ms is sometimes acceptable, and beyond 200ms the user anything on the market today and will easily support experience rapidly breaks down as every action has noticeable delay. massively multiplayer networking, without any of the But how much delay do current games have? has a interesting article about this usual constraints in physics or simulation complexity. (see Resources). There, Mick West measures the actual delay of real world games using a high Game development costs could be cut in half, and the speed digital camera. He finds a “raw response time for GTA IV of 166 ms (200 ms on flat panel quality bar for the big budget AAA titles could close the TVs).” This is relatively high, beyond the acceptable range, and GTA has received some criticism gap with feature films. for sluggish response. And yet this is the grand blockbuster of video games, so it certainly shows But can it work? And if so, how well and when? that some games can get away with 150–200ms responses and the users simply won’t notice Skeptics such as Richard Leadbetter (see resources) or care. Keep in mind this delay time isn’t when playing the game over OnLive or anything of that doubt that the fundamental obstacles of Internet sort: this is just the natural delay for that game with a typical home setup. latency, limited bandwidth, and real-time video In the modern era, a typical network ping to a server is in the range of 30 to 60 ms. So now compression are close to solvable. And even if they are, you can imagine that lengthening the input and video connections out across the Internet is not the cost of all the server hardware and bandwidth could as ridiculous as it first appears. It adds additional delay, which you simply need to compensate for be astronomical. Some have also doubted the true value somewhere else. added for the end user: even if it can work technically How would a server-based rendering system compensate for this delay? The idea for existing and economically, how many gamers really want this? games is simple: You can just run the game at a much higher FPS. Controllers and displays add some latency, but the bulk of the delay comes from the game engines themselves, which LATENCY typically internally buffer 3–4 frames of data for pipelining between the numerous processors of » The Internet is far from a guaranteed delivery modern systems. Running at 30fps, every full frame buffered costs a whopping 30ms of delay. system, and at first the idea of sending players’ inputs If the PC version of a console game runs at 60 FPS, and it still keeps 4 frames of buffering, the across the Internet, computing a frame on a server, internal delay is reduced from 120ms to 60ms. If you combine that with a low-latency controller and sending it back across the Internet to the user and TV, suddenly it becomes realistic to play a game in Los Angeles from a server residing in sounds fantastical. But to assess how feasible this San Jose. In fact, with a fiber connection such as FIOS and good home equipment, you could is, we first have to look at the concept of delay from conceivably play from almost anywhere in the U.S., in theory. The key is that many console a neurological perspective. A user presses the fire games have already maxed out the maximum delay (when running on the console), and modern button on a controller, and some amount of time later, GPUs are many times faster. In the future, engines designed to support server side rendering can the proper audio-visual response is presented in the further reduce the delay by reducing or eliminating internal buffering. form of a gunshot. If the firing event and the response event occur close enough in time, the brain processes VIDEO COMPRESSION AND BANDWIDTH them as a simultaneous event, like two expanding and » Clearly latency alone is not a final obstacle to cloud gaming. A server can not send a raw, reverberating ripples of thought that merge together. uncompressed frame buffer directly to the user (at least, not at any acceptable resolution on today’s Beyond some threshold, the two events desynchronize broadband). For practical streaming video, compressors need to squeeze those frame buffers down and are processed distinctly: the user notices the to acceptably tiny sizes, and more importantly, they need to do this rapidly or near instantly so as not delay. A large amount of research on this subject has to introduce additional delay. Is this possible? What is the state of the art in video compression?

8 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_cloud_gaming_vIbs.indd 8 10/20/09 6:24:07 PM All modern video compressors, such as H.264, from Cavium Networks. I can’t say that their compression quality at low bitrate is good are based on two key techniques: intra (within) frame enough for cloud gaming, or that they are cheap enough to deploy in massive scale, but it's compression using whole image techniques such as interesting nonetheless. JPEG, and inter (between) frame compression using What is clear is that cloud gaming demands video of high quality, low bitrate, near latency, motion compensation, which compresses image chunks and cheap encoding. A tall order, but clearly not impossible, given what's doable today with H.264. similar to previous chunks by encoding a motion offset OnLive in particular has proclaimed a multi-patented revolution in zero latency video compression and a residual difference. There are upcoming alternatives implemented on custom hardware, with a maximum bitrate of 5 Mbps for 720p, and 1.5 Mbps for such as wavelets that may eventually give H.264 a run for 480p, and an average bitrate of about half of that. General consensus at the moment is that the its money, but they all work on the same general principle quality is quite variable, usually good but noticeably blocky under heavy motion or poor Internet of combining state-of-the-art image compression conditions. Impressive, but again in line with what's possible with H.264. with motion compensation, getting 10–30 times the Not to be undone, David Perry recently posted a video and more details about Gaikai on his compression rate of image compression on its own. blog. He hints that his company is using flash for playback (which itself is H.264 based) and thus Because of their use of motion compensation, requires no plugin download. Its a little difficult to predict what the end quality will be like from video compression systems have a large variation watching a compressed video of Perry playing a compressed video stream, but from what I can in their instantaneous bitrate. Good H.264 encoders gather the quality looks decent but the games are running in lower resolution, possibly 480p. can achieve reasonable quality for 720p at around a He claims a bitrate of 1–2 Mbps. Perry can not resist taking a little stab at OnLive, saying "We 2 Mbps average bitrate, and even around 1 Mbps is don’t claim to have 5,000 pages of patents, we didn’t take 7 years, and we do not claim to have passable. However, the instantaneous or maximum invented 1 millisecond encryption and custom chips. As you can see, we don’t need them, and so bitrate can spike up to 10 times this, which happens our costs will be much less." on scene cuts or rapid camera motion when full frames must be sent. SERVER ECONOMICS Using JPEG for comparison, about 1 bit per pixel is » As OnLive, Gaikai, Otoy, and other cloud gaming services have now demonstrated, the dream a reasonable benchmark for whole frame compression. is at least technically possible and the real question comes down to one of economics. How At this rate a 720p frame would take up a little under a expensive are these data centers going to be, and how much revenue can they generate? megabit. Even if compression took no time, with a 5 Mbps There are two key parameters that determine the cost scaling: the peak occupancy and the connection, that problem frame would take 200ms to just average occupancy. A full on-demand service such as OnLive must provide enough hardware and send across the pipe, followed by dozens of much smaller bandwidth for the peak occupancy. A paying customer who turns on his microconsole only to see frames as motion compensation kicks in. That’s not a a “sorry, try again soon” message is not likely to be paying much longer. It's difficult to get a good estimate, but some data from the IGDA suggests that gamers average roughly 10 hours per Ultimately, the real opportunity of a cloud computing week overall, and 20 hours per service lies in exclusive titles which take advantage week for MMOs. This translates to about 5–10 percent average of the unique networked server hardware to create a occupancy depending on the game. Looking at published beyond next gen experience. peak concurrent users and subscriber numbers from EVE problem for a web video player, such as flash, because ONLINE and , I estimate 20 percent for peak occupancy. If the servers can be it can buffer up dozens or even hundreds of frames and fully virtualized, this can help tremendously, as you could then scale framerate based on player then leisurely play them back at a smooth framerate. But load. In times of peak occupancy, providing a somewhat lower fps experience is probably cloud gaming requires ultra low latency, so buffering is better than providing no play experience. not an option. Fortunately, the difficult frames are exactly The main costs are bandwidth, server hardware, and power. The first two scale with the peak the frames that will experience the most motion blur occupancy, and the latter scales more to average occupancy. due to camera movement, so reducing the resolution or To be viable, a cloud gaming service will have to buy bandwidth in bulk in what are known as quality some in these cases and allowing it to smoothly transit arrangements. A little Google searching reveals that wholesale mass transit bandwidth blend in over several frames is a reasonable trade-off to can be found for around $10 per Megabit/s per month in most US locations (comparable to end reduce latency and smooth out the framerate. broadband customer cost, actually). Further searching suggests that in some places like LA it The final consideration for any cloud gaming can be had for under $5 per Mbs/month. This is for a dedicated connection or peak usage charge. service is the CPU cost to compress all this video, as Thus outgoing bandwidth roughly costs $8–$15 per connected user per month for 1.5 Mbps each user logged into the system needs their own video, or $25–$50 per connected user per month for 5 Mbps video. These prices have been live feed. The highest quality H.264 encoders, such steadily falling year after year. as the x264 software encoder, can compress in real- For server hardware, a cloud gaming service can potentially be more net efficient, as each time on a modern Intel quadcore system, using all connected user only needs a few CPUs, some RAM, and a GPU. Storage can be achieved with 4 processors. Even faster H.264 encoders are now shared network RAID drives to reduce costs. If full GPU virtualization is achieved, one fast GPU possible on the GPU, but the fastest and most cost could even render multiple game instances. Even ignoring that, at this point in time the basic effective compression would use custom hardware. components to run modern games at 60fps can easily be had for under $360 on pricewatch, Some low-latency hardware H.264 solutions already with a real high-end system costing about $720. Spread over three years, that’s just $10–$20 exist, such as the PureVu family of video processors per connected user per month, cheaper than the cost of bandwidth. As explained above, I’m

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0911gd_cloud_gaming_vIbs.indd 9 10/20/09 6:24:10 PM EVEN IF YOUR COMPANY BUDGET EQUALS YOUR CREDIT CARD LIMIT, your game can be Unreal.

No matter what size your budget. No matter what type of game. Unreal can be your . Email Mark Rein at [email protected].

Epic_Unreal_Budget_7-75x10-5.indd 1 9/14/09 4:38:33 PM assuming the video compression is handled with cheap dedicated hardware, but even using extra , , and already have. Here CPUs to do it is not completely unrealistic. Gaikai’s entry strategy of focusing on playing PC games This finally leaves us with power and cooling requirements. A gaming PC’s typical full power in the browser makes some sense. This may fit a more load draws about 50 percent of the power supply’s rated maximum, around 150W for a typical immediate (if less ambitious) real world need, as no 300W gaming PC and 300W or so for a 600W maximum high end rig. However, based on the one likes the hassle of downloading and installing a peak/average occupancy model, the servers are idle about 50 percent of the time (mainly at multi-gigabyte demo and its patches, just to play it a few night and in the mornings), so the continuous power draw per server averages 75W–150W over times and then delete it. the month. From what I’ve gathered, every watt of power requires about a watt of cooling, so But the true drivers of the game industry are the we can double the base cost to get a net total of roughly 150W–300W per server. With power at mega hit blockbusters which customers will go to great about $0.10 per kilowatt/hour, and 720 hours in a month, we get roughly $10–$20 a month per pains to play. So ultimately, the real opportunity of a server in power and cooling costs. cloud computing service lies in exclusive titles which In total this works out to a range of about $50–$100 per server per month, much of which will take advantage of the unique networked server be bandwidth (clearly video compression is a key differentiator in the near term). Only if all the hardware to create a beyond-next-gen experience. This customers get HD and high end hardware is it closer to the latter number. Finally, we then apply is where OnLive, Gaikai, or OToy would be wise to woo the time-sharing, as each server is shared amongst a number of subscribers. Factoring in a peak key developers. Imagine, for example, if Blizzard decided occupancy of 20 percent (one server for every 5 subscribers) this works out to $10–$20 per month to release their next game exclusively on a cloud service. per subscriber, or $5–$10 per month for 10 percent peak occupancy. At even $20 per month, cloud As they are still PC-focused, it could allow an easy entry computing can be cheaper than running the equivalent hardware at home, because of the time into the console space, and a single Blizzard title could sharing. The user’s high end gaming rig sits idle most of the time. make a system. Another interesting candidate would be . The company’s latest engine, 5, THE GAME INDUSTRY POST-CLOUD is based around the premise of massive quantities of » Based on the rough estimates above, it would seem that cloud computing could be economically unique compressed texture data, which is having trouble viable in terms of the per-user costs. However, to truly compete with , , and Sony, fitting on standard . Id could easily release a special a cloud service would have to scale up very big. The size and quantity of the datarooms required version for a cloud service such as OnLive that uses to support even just the U.S. gaming population is quite staggering. We are talking about billions terabytes of data instead of gigabytes to achieve much of dollars invested in perhaps millions of servers across a dozen different data center locations, higher quality. Interestingly, id has already invested into drawing the combined power of an entire nuclear power plant. And that’s just for the U.S. It would the idea of on demand gaming with QUAKELIVE. be like a fully subsidized console launch. However, we already have a very successful example of a Out of all these potential players, Microsoft and Sony company that has organically built up a massive distributed network of roughly 500,000 servers in will likely make the next important moves. And although over 40 data centers. both companies now seem focused on capitalizing on Yes, that company is Google. Nintendo’s recent success, they both have much at To challenge the current consoles, the cloud upstarts will have to an even bigger and stake. Microsoft in particular is in a good position to more massive network. But to support such a massive investment will require a deep content move into cloud gaming. The company already has a library to attract customer revenue. And that presents something of a problem. large install base, beating out Sony in this generation, At the end of the day, the games themselves are all that really matters. And here is where and could make a transition to server-side computing OnLive’s ambitions to compete directly with the consoles may run afoul with reality. The initial without having to sell any new hardware. Furthermore, excitement of playing a game with Microsoft’s general software model is already focused only a dumb terminal quickly fades. on chasing Google into the cloud. Most of OnLive’s lineup consists of The longer-term advantages are clear, and the current resources current generation console games, costs of compression and bandwidth will only go down. RICHARD LEDBETTER and even though OnLive will probably So it seems likely that gaming is headed into the cloud. www..net/articles/gdc-why-onlive- run them at nominally higher fps, this But when? The real shakeout will play out over the next cant-possibly-work-article is mainly to compensate for latency. several years, as Microsoft and Sony finalize their plans Video compression over the Internet for a new console generation. With Intel’s upcoming RESPONSIVENESS will result in an end user experience Larrabee chipset, CPUs are becoming like GPUs in order www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3725/ that is no better, and often worse, to reach higher parallel performance, just as Nvidia and measuring_responsiveness_in_video_ than simply playing the console ATI’s GPUs are becoming like CPUs because they can now .php?print=1 version. OnLive’s one high end PC afford to be more general. We are moving into a world title—CRYSIS—is probably expensive where any high end computing tasks, including video DAVE PERRY’S GAIKAI INTRO for them to run, and will be seen as compression, physics, or rendering, can run efficiently in www.dperry.com/archives/news/dp_blog/ somewhat inferior to gamers who virtualized form across a sea of processors somewhere gaikai_-_video/ own high end rigs and have played out on the cloud. This spells the demise of the home the game locally. It will be more like console’s long standing ace in the hole: cheap, dedicated, the console version of CRYSIS. But high performance hardware, trumping it with cheap, on- unfortunately for OnLive, Crytek’s already working on that itself. I think Nintendo of America’s demand, high performance service. In this strange new president Reggie Aime said it best: world, anything is possible, and only one thing is certain: "Based on what I’ve seen so far, their opportunity may make a lot of sense for the PC game much will change. industry where piracy is an issue. But as far as the home console market goes, I’m not sure there is anything they have shown that solves a consumer need." JAKE CANNELL works as a graphics programmer at Pandemic Studios, To be clear, cloud services will immediately solve some consumer needs. On-demand gaming, and has been creating graphics engines and demos at work and home the ability to instantly start playing a game on any device, then decide to rent or purchase it for about ten years. He maintains a blog to speculate on such matters later, will surely have an impact on the industry, even moreso than download services such as at www.EnterTheSingularity.com. Email him at [email protected].

WWW.GDMAG.COM 11

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2 4 54 MasterBrand_gamer developer_267x197_e.indd 1 10/7/09 6:30:31 PM BRANDON SHEFFIELD, JEFFREY FLEMING, AND SIMON CARLESS

We spend a lot of time focusing on companies in this industry, and sometimes not enough on the individuals. While it can often be difficult to attribute the achievements of a game to one to one particular person, we have attempted just that— mentioning leads where necessary, and independent accomplishments whenever possible. If possible, where leads are mentioned, teams should interpret this as a group honor. And so, this is our list, compiled by the editors and our advisory board, of 50 important accomplishments of the last year (give or take) as filtered through the specific people attached to them, in the categories of art, design, programming, business, and evangelism. Within each category, there is no ranking—names are ordered alphabetically. Thanks to all the below for doing what you do, and keep striving for future excellence!

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0911gd_gd_50_vIbs.indd 13 10/20/09 6:20:19 PM characters like The Spy The MISADVENTURES OF P.B. borderless digital artists Mickail Labat »ART stand out by a mile. In the WINTERBOTTOM began life that move effortlessly fast-paced environment of as a USC student project, between graphic design, Jakub Dvorsky TF2, differentiating units and the school’s film fine art, film, music, and The world of PRINCE OF on the battlefield swiftly is studies orientation made fashion. His work on PERSIA had become a critical for player survival. a deep impression on -Games’ PlayStation comparatively dark and Games from Jakub Thus, Valve’s smart art its design. Referencing Network downloadable grungy place, rather Dvorsky’s Amanita Design direction also has a crucial the look of German game PIXELJUNK EDEN at odds with its One have a distinctly European role in helping players expressionist films of as both composer and Thousand and One Nights look that combines recognize the unique visual the 1920s, the game’s art director presents inspired origins. What a the sadness of a faded signature of their team and art direction by Matt a thoroughly modern pleasant surprise it was, daguerreotype with flashes opponents. Korba and Matt Clausen aesthetic that mixes then, to step into the of sly, post-modern humor. (with an additional nod to minimalist pop art with newest Mixing collage, hand- Kareem Ettouney illustrator Vidal Perez) is gently pulsing techno. and find blue skies over drawn art, and animation, a clever metaphor for its As games move further perfumed gardens—a games like SAMOROST and deconstruction of linear into the mainstream of game that seemed to the recently released Most video games look like time. The main character’s popular consciousness, be an oasis far from the have a complex ... well, video games. But comically villainous façade these kinds of blurred death encrusted space patina and visual density Kareem Ettouney’s richly also helps to support his distinctions between marines that critics charge that seems to transcend textured, handcrafted nefarious quest to steal all media will become more are so prominent in the their Flash origins, but show visuals for LITTLE BIG the world’s pies. important, but as an current generation. Ubisoft their Czech animation roots PLANET are far more Etsy artist who happens to Montreal’s Mickail Labat Jouji Kamitani have done a game-related is to be commended for VANILLAWARE project, Baiyon is a great leading the charge on exemplar. creatively reimagining this Proving that 2D games long running franchise. still have a place in the Ryan Lesser hi-def world, Vanillaware HARMONIX Dan Paladin. has perfected its craft across three console In creating THE BEATLES: generations. By making ROCK BAND, Ryan Lesser a total commitment to its and his team of artists aesthetic of painstakingly at Harmonix faced an realized 2D graphics, unusual challenge: How Amanita Design's the studio has evolved a should one respectfully MACHINARIUM. distinctive house style that portray the Fab Four in a Dan Paladin is instantly recognizable, video game? Particularly in ways that speak to a and Real Simple than and transcends regional when The Beatles’ faces country with its own, rarely cathode ray tube. Not only classification. Kamitani and personalities are Dan Paladin’s work on seen visual aesthetics. is LBP’s constructed look is art director, but also so deeply etched on the 2D hits a perfect fit for the game’s the president of the hearts of music fans? and is a Dhabih Eng, concept of user generated company, and his claim Their approach, which welcome reminder that Jeff Ballinger, and content, but it gives that the studio is “100 avoided the obvious pitfalls form follows function. Jason Mitchell the PlayStation 3 what percent artists” shows of photo-realism as well His chunky, clean line VALVE might be its first broadly how seriously he takes as the easily dismissed style is perfectly tuned recognized visual brand the artistic side of “kiddie” look of cartoon to indie developer The Valve’s TEAM FORTRESS 2 is a identity. The multitudinous Vanillaware’s games, caricature, struck an Behemoth’s brand of prime example of how art awards the title over the with titles like MURAMASA elegant balance between instant gratification game direction can support game last year have vaulted re-interpreting classic the two extremes. Lesser design. Rather than trying design to create a smoother Ettouney and his team to Japanese legends in and his team show that a to crowbar over-designed PHOTOS BY VINCENT DIAMANTE experience for the player. the top of the visual heap. beautifully abstruse ways. tasteful eye combined with graphics into the relatively First and foremost, TF2’s lots of research and the low-spec environment art direction scores for its Matt Korba and Matt Tomohisa Kuramitsu traditional skills of hand- of Flash or XBLA, Paladin whimsical retro vs. space Clausen (AKA Baiyon) animation is the surest plays to the strength age bachelor pad vibe, THE ODD GENTLEMEN PIXELJUNK EDEN way to connect with an of these platforms by with clever cinematics audience’s emotions—and creating art that is bright and characterization The Odd Gentlemen’s Baiyon is part of an a little psychedelia goes a and eloquently simple. making potentially generic soon-to-be-released game emerging class of long way. His art also lends itself

14 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_gd_50_vIbs_REV.indd 14 10/21/09 11:36:00 AM well to more humorous experience. Chen’s design long-term. In PVZ, Fan’s scenarios—it’s not often for FLOWER has sparked no take on the alternately you see poop-prone deer end of critical discussions, hardcore or faceless genre jetting across the screen. design debates, and of “tower defense”/strategy GDC topics, and has is cleverly personalized Lee Petty inspired other designers and masterfully iterated, to look further into the without alienating the more fun of experiential and strategy-minded players. BRUTAL LEGEND is as much experimental gameplay. about the look of heavy Chen’s well-spoken Nate Fox metal as it is the sound, philosophical ideas and INSOMNIAC and under Lee Petty’s theories have cemented Rocksteady's : art direction, the music’s his position as one of the The whimsical cartoon ARKHAM ASYLUM lowbrow high fantasy more forward-looking world of was album cover art comes designers in games. Sucker Punch’s bread combat, to the silent including BALDUR’S GATE I to life. Beyond simply and butter during the takedowns, ARKHAM ASYLUM and II, as well as KNIGHTS bringing Joe Petagno’s Todd Coleman PlayStation 2 era, but with manages to make cautious OF THE OLD REPUBLIC and Orgasmatron cover into KINGSISLE the transition to latest gen play enjoyable, without . Ohlen 3D, Petty incorporates consoles, the competition being slow. is currently heading THE a wealth of fantasy art KingsIsle lead designer has gotten altogether OLD REPUBLIC, BioWare’s influences into BRUTAL Todd Coleman has claimed darker in tone. Sucker Tom Leonard entry into the MMO space, LEGEND. From Frazetta’s for years that MMOs can Punch’s response was to VALVE ensuring that the tricky rough-hewn figures and be successful targeting update the proven action franchise—on a massively Brom’s leather strapped smaller niches. His first elements from their well- LEFT 4 DEAD and its sequel multiplayer scale, of fetishism, to Beksinski’s attempt, the free to crafted franchise with a reinvigorated cooperative course—is properly cyclopean forms, the Tim play/subscription hybrid modern, open-world design multiplayer games in infused with the studio’s Schafer-headed game PC WIZARD and edgier art direction. such a logical way that brand of thoughtful play. presents a vast canvas of 101, merges a little Harry The resulting is it seems astounding fantasy art history. Potter, a little POKÉMON, the perfect intelligent fix it wasn’t done before. Hirotoshi Shiozaki and a little Magic: The for an audience that grew Players stick together IV TEAM Gathering into a boutique up with cartoons, but now and help each other out MMO that just snared its craves more adult fare, because the enemy AI is STREET FIGHTER IV brought »DESIGN five millionth registration. and gives the PlayStation designed in such a way lapsed The youth and tween space 3 another much-needed that you’re a fool not to. players back into the fold, for MMOs is a crowded one, system exclusive. You actually want to work and even created some but Coleman and company in partnership, instead new fans. This was a have proved that specific Sefton Hill of being forced by the old marketing win, to be sure, targeting and clever game ROCKSTEADY “you need two people to but the design of the game design, rather than generic open this door” gag. By for lower-level play lowered catchalls, can be a formula Hill is the creative director forcing most of the large the barrier of entry such for success. of Rocksteady, a company scale battles to take place that players were less which came from relative in motion, rather than from daunted. The challenge George Fan obscurity to create the single defensible positions, modes also served as Jenova Chen. POPCAP greatest Batman game Leonard and his Valve a tutorial for the yet made (BATMAN: ARKHAM colleagues have created system, teaching players Jenova Chen The entire PopCap design ASYLUM). Rather than a new variant of co-op how to link certain moves THATGAMECOMPANY team has done much to turning the hero into that has captured the together. Shiozaki and the legitimize “punching batarang ” as imagination of many. folks at Dimps and Capcom Chen and colleagues at design by producing so many developers have have paved the way for a Los Angeles studio TGC titles that combine easy before, Hill and company James Ohlen resurgence of 2D fighting this year released PSN title accessibility with deep created a thoughtful, BIOWARE games in general. FLOWER to great critical play mechanics. Recent stealthy combat-oriented acclaim. Not only does the releases such as PLANTS VS. game, with well-designed Most people know BioWare Shuntaro Tanaka and game play differently from ZOMBIES demonstrate the levels, clever tricks, for “the doctors”—Ray Ryutaro Nonaka others, it eschews violence PopCap style of creating and scads of new ideas Muzyka and , and many traditional play games that are deceptively throughout. From Batman’s but James Ohlen is a key mechanisms in order simple on the surface, but “detective ” to the design brain behind many Strategy RPGs have to create a new sort of remain rewarding over the flowing combo-oriented of the BioWare classics, traditionally been a hyper- PHOTOS BY VINCENT DIAMANTE BY VINCENT PHOTOS

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0911gd_gd_50_vIbs_REV.indd 15 10/21/09 11:36:18 AM niche genre, beloved by Chris Hecker. create that environment. 3D engine, in, both from a gameplay its adherents and almost Kristján Jónsson’s team Lauha is at the cutting and technical standpoint, inscrutable to outsiders. on EVE ONLINE continue edge of making 3D work on is admirable. Perrier’s tech Into this hidebound form to impress technically by low spec machines. So it work, building the engine stepped producer Ryutaro delivering a consistent should be no surprise that and the tools that support Nonaka and director universe on a vast scale, he managed to get complex it, helps lead a team that Shuntaro Tanaka with ever more eye-opening rope-wrapping working in is creating realism without , a game because of the game’s Secret Exit’s iPhone hit ZEN sci-fi or post-apocalyptic that put a fresh, youthful growing subscriber base, BOUND. He’s also gotten scenarios to fall back on (and blue skied) face on now over 300,000. ragdoll physics working for “It’s supposed to look the typically grognardian in the device in the form like that” excuses. elements of small unit fire Rob Knopf and of a port of his 2006 title and movement tactics. Nyung Chul Kim STAIR DISMOUNT, which is not Adam Saltsman Massive sales didn’t »PROGRAMMING CN FUSIONFALL TEAM yet released, but is fully FLIXEL necessarily result, but playable. Lauha makes the perhaps when the franchise Chris Hecker The has list for his continued pursuit Austin-based Saltsman is a moves on to the PSP it EX-MAXIS jumped into the free-to-play of power in small places. prolific creator, will introduce even more MMO space with FUSIONFALL, probably best known for players to the pleasures of At Maxis, Hecker was a new web-based game built Taku Murata Flash and iPhone roof- tactical games. responsible for pushing on the game engine SQUARE jumping game CANABALT. forward the procedural and incorporating Cartoon But he exemplifies a animation, character Network characters. The ’s custom-built sharing trend among tessellation, and rendering project is a great example engine has indies that’s great to found in SPORE, which, of how smart, low-cost only recently gotten to behold. During the course regardless of the game’s technology can give step into the limelight with of developing his games overall success, did some media companies an easy playable demos of FINAL Saltsman built up a library spectacular technical path to their increasingly FANTASY XIII, which bring of custom ActionScript Captain Forever. things. Hecker is also the connected audiences. In the the company’s signature 3 files called Flixel that cofounder of the original browser space, 2D is much baroque visuals to real time, takes a lot of the grunt Jarrad Woods Indie Game Jam, of which more common, and for an in incredibly high fidelity. work out of Flash game CAPTAIN FOREVER there are now multiple MMO, even that is difficult. As the general manager of creation. Flixel provides international derivations, Taking it to 3D and keeping R&D at the company, Taku handy implentations for CAPTAIN FOREVER developer inspiring indies to the “massively” bit intact is Murata has spent years collision, particles, parallax Farbs has had about eight collaborate and work what puts Knopf (at Cartoon shepherding the Crystal scrolling, sound utilities, years of commercial together in new ways. Now Network), Kim (at Korean Tools framework, and tile maps, fast rendering, game development that Hecker is once again developer Grigon), and the despite long development and more. The best part? experience at companies independent, one can only FUSIONFALL team on our list. times, Square Enix’s lush In the true indie spirit, he like BigWorld and 2K anticipate what technical engine, on display in real- provides everything for Australia—on either (or, indeed design!) Jetro Lauha time for all to see at Tokyo free at flixel.org. canceled or unreleased delights he may create SECRET EXIT Game Show, appeared a games. But in his free with his “free time.” genuine wonder to behold. Eskil Steenberg. time he started making As a past and present Summon, anyone? independent games, Kristján Jónsson Finnish demoscene coder, and the fascinating and CCP GAMES and as part of the team that Jean-Charles Perrier transgressive ROM CHECK created the first licensable QUANTIC DREAM FAIL—which mashed up Running a gigantic MMO classic arcade games in on a single server carries Few companies in the cheeky ways—was just a host of difficulties— entertainment sector of the start, a Grey Album for from latency issues games are doing more to Eskil Steenberg games, if you will. His new and player capacity to pursue visual realism than QUEL SOLAR PHOTOS BY VINCENT DIAMANTE project, and his first as time synchronization. French developer Quantic a full-time indie, CAPTAIN However, when having Dream with PS3 exclusive Swedish indie developer FOREVER, just won the IGF a large, persistent HEAVY RAIN. Though the Steenberg is in a class all China Best Game award universe is the primary viability of realism as a his own. His multiplayer for the top Asian-Pacific selling point for a game, method of expressing online FPS, LOVE, was indie title. using a single-sharded artistry in games can be created entirely from architecture is the debated, QD’s singular scratch, engine and tools only way to effectively Secret Exit's ZEN BOUND. focus on what they believe included. And Steenberg

16 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_gd_50_vIbs_REV.indd 16 10/21/09 11:36:31 AM Game Developers Conference® March 9–13, 2010 | Moscone Center, San Francisco www.GDConf.com

Learn. Network. Inspire.

GDMag0910_GDC2010_HouseAd_green+blue.indd 1 10/7/09 12:40:25 PM did it all himself. The has been dealing with planning the service, visuals are gorgeous motion of and interactions the miniscule barrier to procedurally-generated between human bodies for entry means that the next impressionistic artistry, some time. The developer iPhone game rags to riches the world builder is is known for its wrestling story is only just around amazingly involved and titles, but with UFC the corner. detailed, and he’s been UNDISPUTED 2009, a large extremely open about the step forward was taken in Peter Moore whole project. Steenberg body interpretation. The EA SPORTS is one of those rare games human body isn’t easy programmers that just to deal with, because the CEO and bona fide biz doesn’t seem to realize user knows how it should personality Moore left the he’s doing it the hard way— work, and how it shouldn’t, Xbox business in 2007, because to him, it isn’t. and it’s especially joining EA Sports as its tricky for close-contact president not much later. titles like MMA. That EA’s sports brands have the UFC team managed long been successful for to do chokeholds and the company, but the kimuras so convincingly 2009 release of EA Sports is a testament to their Active was not only a great skill, and the depth of success for the sports Steve Swink (right). experience they have with imprint, it was EA’s best the subject. Satoru Iwata. launch ever. With smart Steve Swink and moves into the fitness and Scott Anderson profile and revenue, with experiments don’t cause even MMA areas as some ENEMY AIRSHIP cut-price bundle deals Nintendo to stop trying “evergreen” franchises like »BUSINESS and even a “pay what you risky things, and Iwata’s MADDEN wilted marginally, SHADOW PHYSICS is an like” policy for the game, development and iteration- EA Sports’ ability to adapt intriguing prototype that Ron Carmel and allowing players to pay 1 centric leadership is a big and innovate has certainly takes the 3D lighting Kyle Gabler cent and up for a normally part of the firm’s continued increased under Moore. effects we take for granted 2D BOY $20 game. Experiments massive business success. in games and uses the like this embody the indie Rob Murray technology to create a These two ex-EA indies spirit of business and Steve Jobs FIREMINT new spin on traditional formed 2D Boy, and are entrepreneurship—and APPLE platforming challenges. creators of the peerless actually work, too. Melbourne-based Firemint Based on the idea of WORLD OF GOO. But we’re Apple revolutionized album is pointed to as one of the manipulating objects in the awarding them for Satoru Iwata and single purchasing big winners in the iPhone foreground in order to cast business savvy, since the NINTENDO with its iTunes store, and development scene, and shadows that become the duo have been very vocal for a long time, games rightly so. While the studio actual playfield, SHADOW (Carmel especially) about As the Wii and DS suite of looked longingly at the has done work-for-hire for PHYSICS is thinking outside DRM as a pointless way consoles take the world by resulting shift in music publishers in the past, it’s the light box, and is a to stop piracy. Running storm, Iwata and Nintendo . Then really starting to break great showcase both for with a 90 percent piracy continue to play a game along came the iPhone out with original IP. The Flashbang’s Swink (also rate on PC, as many of patient business and and the , and company has two games working on 3D web games other games do, Carmel design innovation. The Wii within weeks, it was clear that have apparently for the Blurst ) and employed every trick in was the last console to take that another paradigm grossed over one million full-time mainstream the book to maximize a price cut, and the release shift was born, this time dollars, in two very industry participant of the new DSi, though a in gaming. Though it’s not different price brackets Anderson, as well as Ron Carmel. small hardware upgrade, without its problems— and categories. There’s the the role of technology was very successful. Of particularly regarding casual, pick up and play PHOTOS BY VINCENT DIAMANTE in indie iteration and course, not all attempts monetization—the 99 cent FLIGHT CONTROL experimentation. to shift boundaries were service is tremendously (now over 1.5 million quite so successful, as Wii successful, both for sales!), and the bigger Hiroki Ueno Music proved that Nintendo Apple and for select game budget 3D, fully optimized YUKE’S doesn’t simply print money developers who get on REAL RACING, which has with every effort. But the board at the right time. sold for $6–$10. CEO As executive technical important lesson is that Most excitingly, as Jobs Murray has successfully director for Yuke’s, Ueno these less successful perhaps imagined when diversified his game sizes

18 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_gd_50_vIbs_REV.indd 18 10/21/09 11:36:43 AM since it’s very uncommon good games, certainly, Firemint's REAL RACING. for a publisher to put a full but it’s that ability to get marketing push behind the games—like XBLA an original DS title from a hits THE MAW and ‘SPLOSION smaller developer. For this, MAN—in front of the eyes WBIE and president Martin of customers that keeps Tremblay deserve credit. them going, so they can make more good games. Paul Thelen and Announcing your new Jeremy Lewis game as an April Fool’s . BIG FISH joke sent to a host of game journalists (as Wilford and Founder Paul Thelen and team did with ‘SPLOSION CEO Jeremy Lewis of Big MAN) isn’t a bad idea, either. and revenue streams in a members of the Glu Mobile Fish have been growing smart way, and it seems to family branched off to dive their casual games be paying off. into the world of social business for seven years, gaming, launching titles based on one of the most »EVANGELISM Mark Pincus like PET SOCIETY. Initially dominant portals in the PC ZYNGA the newest in a long line casual game biz, a solid Jason Della Rocca of redheaded stepchildren foundation of in-house PERIMETER PARTNERS Mike Krahulik. Now that everybody and of the gaming industry, quality games and canny their grandmother has a the space, especially in international expansion. As the executive director for developers, and their Facebook account, social Facebook games, has This past year has seen of the IGDA from 2000 Expo is an networks are looking like grown by leaps and the launch of the casual through early 2009, Della undeniable nerd haven. the new Gold Rush country. bounds. Increasingly MMO FAUNASPHERE, and Rocca has played a key But they also promote Quality games and ruthless complex, artistically the inking of a partnership role in advocating for the goodwill of gamers user aggregation tactics relevant titles are being with Harlequin Enterprises game developers and the and developers alike will be the differentiating twinned with impressive that will allow for games games industry in general through their Child's factor between VC money revenue numbers, thanks based on the book on a multitude of issues. Play charity, which sinkholes and long-term to application of Web 2.0- publisher’s romance series His strong leadership donates money, games, success. In competition style concepts and iteration as well as tie-in novels to on elements such as and toys (to the tune of with companies like fellow to the gaming space, and Big Fish’s games. Even if quality of life issues $1.4 million in 2008) honoree Playfish, former Playfish is one of the the company was one of and game crediting was to children’s hospitals Tribe.net supremo Mark companies at the forefront. the main participants in important in growing the in the U.S., Canada, and Pincus is positioning the potentially developer- IGDA by a massive factor elsewhere. Their good work Zynga as the dominant Martin Tremblay catastrophic PC casual during his tenure. While reflects well on all of us, player, with efficient, WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE game price war—well, his departure—to run partially because we are well-advertised titles ENTERTAINMENT they’ve come out on top, a consultancy devoted participating directly in like FARMVILLE, MAFIA haven’t they? to counseling local and their successes. WARS and YOVILLE in the Warner Bros. has made national governments company’s lineup. Social multiple attempts to enter on attracting game Dennis McCauley network gaming shouldn’t the game industry, but development talent—was EX- GAMEPOLITICS.COM be underestimated, it appears that this time, surprising, his selfless work despite some skepticism it’s actually working. The deserves both mentioning Before McCauley, there of business model and acquisitions have so far and honoring here. were no journalists design chops from the been smarter to outside dedicated specifically to

conventional game biz, and observers (Monolith and Twisted Pixel's THE MAW. Jerry Holkins and the intersection of games, given reports of 9 figure TT Games both have their Mike Krahulik censorship, social issues, yearly revenues at Zynga, it strong suits), and the Michael Wilford PENNY ARCADE and politics. With his site behooves everyone to pay licensing more canny, as TWISTED PIXEL GamePolitics.com (which attention. the company’s work with As far as evangelists he recently left to pursue Eidos on BATMAN: ARKHAM Austin-based independent within the community, non-journalistic avenues), Kristian Segerstråle ASYLUM was one of the more developer Twisted Pixel, Holkins and Krahulik are McCauley essentially PLAYFISH celebrated games of the like The Behemoth, is one practically bar none. Their created a vital news beat year. What impressed us of those indies that really discussion of games is all of his own. Though the In late 2007, Segerstråle more than that was WBIE’s knows how to make the intelligent and relevant, web site was purchased by and several other early marketing of SCRIBBLENAUTS, business work. They make if occasionally too spiky game consumer advocacy PHOTOS COURTESY PENNY ARCADE OF PHOTOS

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0911gd_gd_50_vIbs_REV.indd 19 10/21/09 11:36:58 AM group the ECA in October Tim Schafer. 10 minutes in which to which would promote “murder/smut simulator” 2006, and McCauley is no present their games to an exchange of ideas, stigma which at times has longer involved in running a global audience. The as well as Japanese threatened to seep into the still-extant outlet, cultural sharing and companies’ tendency the industry’s pores from his work in documenting networking gleaned from to solve the same popular opinion. and reporting on the this event is not to be problems separately. legislation (and Florida- undervalued. Wada and CESA—through Derek Yu based lawyers!) that affect outlets like Japanese TIGSOURCE, MOSSMOUTH games, and the information Tim Schafer Tommy Tallarico and developer conference that allows game DOUBLE FINE Jack Wall CEDEC and Tokyo Game An active indie developer developers and players to VIDEO GAMES LIVE Show roundtables—are himself, Yu’s games, get involved in shaping the BRUTAL LEGEND is the result serious about helping the from DIABOLIKA to IGF course of our own industry, of a strongly-realized Tommy Tallarico and Jack Japanese industry reclaim Award-winning AQUARIA has been vital. vision by Tim Schafer and Wall have been very active some of its lost luster. to , provide crew, but more important in promoting their traveling inspiration for the for the industry, Schafer worldwide concert, Video Will Wright independent games makes games look cool. Games Live, for several STUPID FUN CLUB community. But we’re Not just his own game, years now. The show honoring him here for with its mass of big stars brings game scores to the Though he no longer running TIGSource, which with cultural cache, but masses via live orchestral works at Maxis, where he is a wonderfully random through his humorous and and rock performances, created SIMCITY and THE and helpful indie game personable appearances highlights and features SIMS, and has moved on community. Not only has in the public eye, most on stage the creators of from working exclusively Derek and the site been notably on Late Night with many of these scores, and on games, Will Wright may active in helping defend Jimmy Fallon on NBC, helps to keep game music now glow even brighter indies when they get Petri Purho (with monocle). Schafer has managed to from being relegated to as a beacon for electronic raked over the coals for Petri Purho make game developers background noise. Indeed, entertainment. Freed from unexpectedly fragrant KLOONIGAMES look like real, funny, witty the Brazilian government the burden of SPORE, he issues (see the Edge people. While Will Wright subsidized the group’s can innovate anew, and Games controversy), For a sustained period, holds up the supernerd show in the country as anyone who can discuss the regular TIGSource Finnish indie creator end, Schafer pushes furthering the artistic games and Russian competitions birth Purho made a game every forward the personable development of students. space technology in the often brilliant games single month. Purho’s and sociable side. Anything that advances same breath is helping to on startlingly esoteric efforts have not only popular and governmental elevate games from the topics. inspired further indies, Kiyoshi Shin recognition of games as an but his theatrical, whip- IGDA JAPAN important entertainment Derek Yu. smart attitude to both medium warrants a place game development and As the head of IGDA Japan on our list. public speaking help and a prominent game exemplify the role of the columnist and media independent game creator commentator, Kiyoshi Shin SQUARE ENIX as the neglected personal has done a lot of work to angle. Nowhere was this bridge the gap between Yoichi Wada is the better demonstrated than Japanese and Western president and CEO of his “creation of an entire developers. Aside from Square Enix, but he’s game in 5 minutes” at the his work advocating for on this list because of Indie Games Summit rant independent development his chairmanship of the session, something he in Japanese outlets like Computer Entertainment was asked to replicate at Nikkei, the two-year-old Supplier’s Association several other worldwide Sense of Wonder Night is (CESA), Japan’s equivalent PHOTOS BY VINCENT DIAMANTE shows. Whether the one of his most notable of the ESA. Wada has feat was true (spoiler: it achievements. The become increasingly vocal wasn’t), it wrapped the event is held during the about Japan’s reasons glory of performance and Tokyo Game Show, and for falling behind in the the joy of game creation like GDC’s Experimental game software world, into one breathless whole. Gameplay Showcase for citing the country’s lack Bravo. an international group of development hubs of indies, gives creators and discussion forums,

20 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

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GDMag0911_GDMagDE_HouseAd_v1.indd 1 10/7/09 3:00:28 PM 22 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_pm_scribblenauts_vIjf.ind22 22 10/20/09 6:18:55 PM OUR CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND COFOUNDER JEREMIAH SLACZKA SAT WITH A SINGLE SHEET OF PAPER, ABOUT to pitch our next big original IP to a major publisher. The paper had a sketch of a tree with a star in it, and a box underneath. Jeremiah slid the paper across the table, and simply asked “What would you write to get the star?” The publisher rep stared at the paper for a minute or two, and then glanced up and said, “Wow.” That was the first external reaction to SCRIBBLENAUTS. The actual SCRIBBLENAUTS story started months earlier, with the founders of 5TH Cell gathered around our conference table. It was early 2008, and we had just received our first royalty check from , and wanted to invest it in a new project that would propel our company to the next level. For the past several years we had dutifully continued with publisher-funded development of our internally designed original IP.

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0911gd_pm_scribblenauts_vIjf.ind23 23 10/20/09 6:19:19 PM This had allowed us to build up tech TOUCHED as our comparable games. Nintendo DS. Our tech director, Marius visual progress, and we wouldn’t and staffing, but we had this strong We exited that meeting with a plan on Fahlbusch, took one look at the idea have been able to show any. In fact, it creative desire to make a game where we wanted to go, but were still and fell in love with it. He said it could took nearly six months before we had our own way, not only with product not completely set on a game concept work, and that was good enough for anything on screen, which is a typical design, but with control over our to take us there. us. We green-lit the project internally full development schedule for a third development process and planning. A bit later, Jeremiah had a dream and started development. The final party Nintendo DS title. We believed the best path would be where he was stuck in a room and version of SCRIBBLENAUTS allowed the At 5TH Cell, we subscribe to a to call the shots ourselves, from the had to solve a puzzle using objects user to write any word, that word development ethos of iterating until start of development until it was time in the room to escape to the next would appear as an object, and the we have something we’re happy to announce the brand. There was a room. He filed this idea away as user could manipulate that object with. The game has to be fun, right? If quiet excitement in that conference “rooms.” At the time, the idea behind to reach the specified goal. Our something doesn’t work, it takes time room as we discussed the platforms SCRIBBLENAUTS was more about using tagline was “Write anything, solve to change, and you can’t build that we could afford to self-fund on, and the stylus and typing words to create everything”, and we were successful time into a schedule that was agreed what was the best path to take. After your own short stories. The idea was on delivering on that promise. upon two months before the change some discussion, we agreed to stay cool, but it was more of a toy than needed to happen. Also, the higher with what we knew best: the DS. a game, and Jeremiah felt it was WHAT WENT RIGHT the bar is set, the more iteration is Jeremiah set the success bar missing the necessary gameplay to 1} Right Partner, Right Time. For required, which is incompatible with for this title at “Compete with the make it marketable. At some point, many reasons, SCRIBBLENAUTS was most publishing deals. There are some top Nintendo first-party titles,” with the game concept behind “rooms” un-publishable as a concept. I’ll developers that might be able to tell a a time frame and budget of a much merged with the word concept, and go into more detail below on how publisher “Give us a blank check and smaller third party title. We all knew SCRIBBLENAUTS was born. everything works, but in order to we’ll talk to you in a year when we our move onto consoles was coming Jeremiah presented it, and there experience the game, the entire have something we’re happy with,” but soon, and we all wanted our grand was consistent internal feedback technology framework had to be in we were not one of them. Publishers finale for original IP on the DS platform that the concept of “writing anything place and functional. There was no are successful by minimizing to be memorable, and completely and having it appear and behave as early demo or “vertical slice” possible financial risk, and it makes sense to accessible to everyone. We set BRAIN it would in real life” was technically with SCRIBBLENAUTS. It either worked, see something early, with the goal of AGE, , and WARIOWARE: impossible, especially on the or it didn’t. Publishers want to see mitigating that risk before investing most of the funds to finish the game. So we kicked off SCRIBBLENAUTS on our own, focusing on tools and tech first, while tweaking our style and brand appeal. Maxwell, the main character, took three months and dozens of concepts before we were satisfied with him. Our engineers tackled the data inheritance system piece by piece, and our artists worked on the huge amount of art. Wordsmiths perused dictionaries, wikis, encyclopedias and the net to reach our goal of including “everything.” We made steady progress without having to worry about a publisher withholding a milestone, or stopping natural development to jump through unnecessary hoops. Everyone was focused on making the game, and making it the smartest way possible, which was critical to how the game eventually came together.

24 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_pm_scribblenauts_vIjf.ind24 24 10/20/09 6:19:36 PM While shopping SCRIBBLENAUTS objects and what specific “living” fit into a category. These objects around, we had three criteria that objects would be afraid of. A trigger remained the exception to the rule, our partner should meet. First, we system allowed designers to tie a and animation remained manageable wanted an established publisher series of actions to all gameplay throughout the project. We finished that would be willing to invest events, defining how an object is used, object animation ahead of schedule, substantially in marketing and also what happens when it melts, and what which allowed us to add fun have the resources to support a happens if a cat is put into a fridge. animations at the end for some of the successful product at retail. Second, In all this, filters could be applied internet memes like Keyboard Cat. we wanted a publisher with a smaller to either match entire categories, The DS operates using a palette- slate of releases so SCRIBBLENAUTS subcategories, single objects, or even based system for the art format. We would have more attention within to exclude collections from the filter, ran into significant issues on previous the organization. Finally, we all to manage the huge amount of projects with using too many unique wanted a partner that would work possible interactions. palettes with too many colors. Tracking directly with us in a collaborative Objectnaut and the data all the separate palettes, and technical environment to market, promote, inheritance system allowed our information associated with them and build the brand. Warner Bros. designers the ability to edit whole resulted in excess documentation Interactive Entertainment exceeded categories or to delve into the specific overheard as well as stability issues our expectations in all three of these properties of a unique object that during the art import process. categories, and the enthusiasm and needed extra attention. SCRIBBLENAUTS Amazingly, our lead concept hard work from everyone there is a would have shipped in 2015 artist Edison Yan was able to come huge factor in the success of the title. (optimistically) if we had to manually up with only 24 different colors for and individually assign properties to the SCRIBBLENAUTS palette. This means 2} Objectnaut. The first reaction thousands of unique fish, flowers or every object in Scribblenauts consists from fans (and often the first humanoids, let alone everything else. of a combination of the game’s 24 question from media inquires) is specific colors, which is hard to believe “How did you manage to cram so 3} Art Direction. We had at first glance. Having such a limited much stuff in the game?” good estimates at the start of palette allowed us to write a tool We made it possible with a tool we development regarding scope that instantly converted everything, built from scratch called Objectnaut. of content. Our previous titles resulting in art assets moving from Early in the concept phase, our were 2D, and we hand animated the artists in production into the game technical director had to figure out the all the sprites. Hand animation within a few days of delivery. specific way we could cram thousands for 2D art is a huge undertaking, of unique objects into the game and and the raw amount of art and 4} Level Design from Project Start. have them behave—and interact with animation required for SCRIBBLENAUTS We devoted a good chunk of time to all other objects—in a believable way. demanded another approach. designing levels on paper early on in Brute force wasn’t feasible, so he For animation, we went with the project. Because SCRIBBLENAUTS devised a data inheritance method a skeleton system that could be is a game where the designers could which defined how our world operates. applied to general object categories. use anything they could think of in a Models and animations were imported For example, most humanoid level, it was really important to break from 3ds Max and augmented with characters in SCRIBBLENAUTS share away from habits in traditional level additional hotspots in the hierarchy a single set of general animations design and really take advantage of to add information for attachments, such as run, walk, fall, and so forth. our dictionary. While initially our level lights, equipment, and others. We After the general animations were designs were simple and familiar, built around 40 key properties to complete, we visited the more the more time we spent designing determine an object’s behavior, unique objects and created special on paper, the more interesting and including physical properties, material, animations. This system worked outlandish our designs became. electricity, temperatures, and many for the most part, but still required The amount of time we spent more attributes. Lists could define Nathan Hernandez, our animator, to brainstorming, iterating, researching, how AI would interact with certain spend significant time on objects and challenging each others’ ideas categories or specific objects, what such as the Hydra, Leviathan, and meant we had an increasingly varied tools to use in combination with other other fantasy that didn’t landscape to pull from, and from

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0911gd_pm_scribblenauts_vIjf.ind25 25 10/20/09 6:19:48 PM there we chose which levels would tweaking most of our level content. itself was very useful, but optimized could only spend a limited amount of go into the final game—to the tune Thankfully, the process of building for previous titles that only had work on it. We discussed a secondary of more than seven-hundred level and scripting a SCRIBBLENAUTS game text. With SCRIBBLENAUTS, D-pad control option midway through designs, sampling as much of our level was straightforward, and the we had game text plus a huge development only to come to the dictionary as possible to give players tools were robust. Because of time dictionary, and they both utilized conclusion it would take a single a sense of its scope. constraints we had to cut some extra different systems. person 3–4 weeks to integrate it. On level content that was in the game, We delivered SCRIBBLENAUTS in our self-funded schedule, that route 5} Keyboard and Handwriting. The but we hit our goal of 220 levels. English, French, Spanish, Brazilian was not an option. original design of SCRIBBLENAUTS called Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, The root cause of this issue was for writing letters, with the stylus to 2} Localization. Our products U.K.-English, Danish, Finnish, limited time, and our decision to serve as the main method of word have always released worldwide, Swedish and Norwegian. We had focus more on delivering what we had input—we loved the visceral feeling of so we planned for localization in unique dictionaries for every promised with the “Write anything. writing and watching an object appear. SCRIBBLENAUTS from the start. We built in language, and these word lists were Solve everything.” slogan was the Our team implemented a keyboard localization support for the dictionary constantly being updated. Version right one in the end, but it hurt the mode as backup, and this acted as an second most important part of the easy way to test objects while we built game, the controls. We still feel stylus our own custom letter recognition. control was the correct decision for Eventually we realized that no SCRIBBLENAUTS. The DS is a casual handwriting recognition software platform by design and allowing non- could operate faster than a keyboard. gamers the ease of use of a pencil- We still spent time refining the letter like system for a game targeted at recognition, but it was clear keyboard everyone over a D-pad only scheme input would be the primary input was overall the best choice. But in method for SCRIBBLENAUTS. Moving retrospect; our implementation of away from a system that we invested those controls was only at 50 percent so much time into, and still thought of where it needed to be. was innovative, was difficult but It would have been better to cut a ultimately the right decision. secondary feature early on, such as the Wi-Fi connection, to allow us the WHAT WENT WRONG time to fully realize stylus controls. 1} Testing Level Content Came Late. However by the time we realized Unfortunately, a by-product of building controls would take weeks to get a game that needed everything at right from play testing, it was too late the front end resulted in our level to cut features. designers missing final functionality in Objectnaut, and planned to handle control became a nightmare as So how did this happen? The stylus until about three months before final in-game localization as we had in we tracked dozens of files for both in SCRIBBLENAUTS had a dual purpose, it submission. As stated above, we had our previous titles. Unfortunately, dictionary files and word lists. controlled Maxwell’s movement, and it hundreds of great level concepts on SCRIBBLENAUTS ended up with far The system, although severely also controlled interaction with objects. paper and built in our tile editor, but more text then we anticipated, and stressed, made it through, and we The system was trying to manage far no way to know if they worked or how because of the level finalization coming shipped all languages. If I could too much, and there were only a few they actually would play. We also late, our hint text that displayed at revisit pre-production, we should safeguards in place to ensure the user had key missing functionality due to the beginning of each level wasn’t have either invested in building or didn’t tell Maxwell to move by mistake. a huge backlog of dependencies on localizable until the last minute. licensing a single web tool to manage The small screen size of the Nintendo item properties. Our localization system for all the game text. DS and miniscule touch regions of In the last two months we had to previous games had relied on a many objects also caused the user to pull our creative director Jeremiah custom tool which pulled text 3} Game Controls. The sensitivity move Maxwell when they were trying to Slaczka and lead designer Matt Cox from .txt strings and exported to of the stylus controls are easily the tap on an object. into level creation, which detracted Microsoft Excel, which could then be biggest issue in SCRIBBLENAUTS, a fact Stylus movement was just one from their focus on polishing the sent to the localizers. What was sent that has been reinforced by reviewers part of the problem though. Jamming a game. They sat together every back was imported using the same and users. We knew this was going to fully functional physics engine written day and ended up modifying and tool and showed up in game. The tool take a big hit from reviewers, but we from scratch on the DS was another

26 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_pm_scribblenauts_vIjf.ind26 26 10/20/09 6:19:58 PM huge challenge that just couldn’t be to three different kitchen tools being GAME DATA heard rumors that SCRIBBLENAUTS wrangled to the point it needed to be translated separated as SPATULE was under consideration for “Best of within the time frame we had, thus and no available word to describe it Show” at several major press outlets. causing objects to bug out very easily. other than ACCESSOIRE (Accessory The user-generated hype train in English). pulled out of the station, and we 4} Did you mean...? There was took home three 2009 Best of a disconnect in terms of how 5} Bugs, bugs and more bugs. QA Show awards. No handheld game in homonyms (words spelled identically on this game was a lot like trying to the history of video games had ever that have different meanings) clean the debris from the inside of won Best of Show, and when IGN, were handled in English vs. a tornado by throwing yourself into GameSpot and GameSpy all separately other languages. This issue was its center and hoping you can catch announced our title as the winner, an extension of the localization everything flying around. A game we were blown away. SCRIBBLENAUTS concerns, but was severe enough to with tens of thousands of words and PUBLISHER Warner Brothers Interactive went on to take more than 40 Entertainment warrant its own point. For English, infinite interactions was bound to awards from various publications. each homonym had a clear category break, and while we nailed down over DEVELOPER 5TH Cell At 5TH Cell, we always had big we could place it in, and when the 5,000 bugs in our tracker, players PLATFORM dreams, but they were tempered by the user typed or wrote the word there still found countless crashes and Nintendo DS constant feedback from outside that was a specific description for it. game breaking bugs like the now RELEASE DATES said our expectations were unrealistic. We ran into three major issues famous handcuff-plus-refrigerator/ September 15th North America An independent studio developing on with this system when we started vending machine exploit that allows September 30th Australia the DS had no business getting press, October 9th Europe localizing. The first issue was with users to cheat through levels and and we should be happy and content character length. Many German and instantly bring the Starite to them. Or NUMBER OF DEVELOPERS that we had the opportunity to develop 12 programmers Scandinavian words and descriptions the fairy godmother plus basilisk bug 11 artists our own IP. Arriving back in Bellevue overflowed our character limit for the that would create infinite roses until 5 wordsmiths after E3, we felt the remaining weight GUI. We had to shrink fonts for that the game was brought to its knees by 4 designers of lingering doubt from the past year menu, as well as limit the number of an overflow of flower sprites. 3 quality assurance lifted from our shoulders. 2 producers word choices to three, instead of the These are the kinds of issues that 1 sound and music guy No individual or company can be five we had originally planned for. are nearly impossible to test, or even 100 percent right, 100 percent of the LENGTH OF DEVELOPMENT The second issue was with find, especially with the very limited 14 months time. But all doubts that we’re less how the words were localized. The window we had between the Beta and qualified than others to shape our homonym issue was not clearly launch candidate. FINAL NUMBER OF PROJECT direction, build a brand, develop a AAA SOURCE CONTROL COMMITS communicated to the localization 5,187 product without external direction, and team, so they went through and DON'T WRITE IT OFF succeed against the biggest players added a single localized word as » E3 2009 was an amazing in the space have disappeared. We’re an alternate for numerous unique experience. Jeremiah, along with had the opportunity to go hands on excited about the holiday season and objects, resulting in an unplanned, myself and our lead designer Matt Cox, with the game told everyone that reading about all the unique ways but highly necessary scrubbing of flew down to Los Angeles, not really would listen about SCRIBBLENAUTS. people have completed the levels. the entire word list in every language, knowing what to expect. We had done People made posts went 5TH Cell is hard at work on very late in development. trade show events before, and while about the game, Post 217 on NeoGaf several new projects, but with every The final issue came with the there was interest in DRAWN TO LIFE and happened, and DS-specific editors new SCRIBBLE-related blessing that categorization of homonyms in foreign LOCK’S QUEST, we felt the hype behind and writers went and pleaded with comes our way, we remember languages. Most languages have fewer both of those titles was lacking. their bosses to come and try out the that first external pitch, and think words than English, and only have a WBIE had prominent signage and game. The next day there was huge “Wow, indeed.” single word that makes sense that several kiosks for SCRIBBLENAUTS. On influx of new people. Nearly everyone can describe two homonyms. With the day one of the show we had traffic, that tried the game said it was the JOSEPH M. TRINGALI is the general international SKUs we ended up with mostly from the hardcore that had most unique experience they’ve manager of 5TH Cell and co-founded the many cases of the same descriptor for heard of the game and wanted to had with a videogame in a long time. company in 2003 along with Jeremiah the same word. In French for example, see if it was the real deal and the Before long, senior and lead editors Slaczka, Brett Caird, and Marius Fahlbusch. we had “Did you mean SPATULE members of the press invited by from all the major publications were He was the executive producer on (accessoire), SPATULE (accessoire), or WBIE PR. That night, something in the booth. Award nomination SCRIBBLENAUTS and you should email any SPATULE (accessoire)?” This was due amazing happened. The press that plaques went up on the kiosks. We missing words to [email protected].

WWW.GDMAG.COM 27

0911gd_pm_scribblenauts_vIjf.ind27 27 10/20/09 6:20:09 PM INTEL-SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT

Threaded Game Engine Helps Create New World In EA BioWare’s *: Origins By Geoff Koch

It’s May 2004 at E3 in Los Angeles. Fresh on the heels of its success with the Neverwinter Nights* series and *: Knights of the Old Republic*, Edmonton, Canada-based BioWare offers a glimpse of a planned new role-playing game Dragon Age*: Origins. The cursory preview amounts to not much more than a “tease for PC RPG fandom,” writes Sean Molloy for 1up.com.

Then the company goes more or less mum on the subject for the next fi ve years.

Fast forward to late 2009. After half-a-decade of work, the launch of Dragon Age: Origins is imminent. The North American release for * is slated for November 3, to be followed three days later in Europe. And the buzz about the game is building.

The New York Times’ Schiesel hailed Dragon Age: Origins as one of the 10 video games you can count on for this holiday season. BioWare, “masters of the role-playing genre, are going back to their roots with this dark and sometimes sexy . . . epic,” declared criteria for the game—that it take maximum the Toronto Sun’s Steve Tilley, who named it one of advantage of multi-core chip architectures. Though eight must-have games for 2009. technologies such as Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology had been around since 2002, when One reason for the fi ve-year development Dragon Age: Origins was announced in 2004 it was process was the company’s own must-have technical still mostly a single-core world. By the end of that

1 year, profound change was in the air. In a December 20 article, technology writer Matthew Fordahl explained the momentous shift this way:

“For decades, computer performance has been driven largely by the increasing numbers of ever-smaller transistors squeezed into the machines’ silicon brains. With each generation, speeds jumped and prices dropped. Though the tiny switches built in silicon are the heart of the digital revolution, they can’t shrink forever. And in recent years, chip companies have struggled to keep a lid on power and heat—the result of some transistor components getting as thin as a few atoms across. Now, the world’s leading semiconductor companies have unveiled a remarkably similar strategy for working around the problem: In 2005, microprocessors sold for personal computers will sprout what amounts to two heads each. Instead of going to build a multi-threaded platform just for the building processors with a single core to handle sake of it. They wanted real, tangible gameplay calculations, designers will place two or more benefi ts for our players. So, the programming staff computing engines on a single chip. They won’t run actually worked with our designers to explain the as fast as single-engine models, but they won’t technology and then to collaborate on a plan of how require as much power, either, and will be able to best to use it. The result is several aspects of the handle more work at once.” gameplay that are enhanced on multi-core systems.”

By the middle of 2005, Intel was shipping multi- Here’s another all-too-familiar result of coding for core for desktops, laptops, and servers. And the multi-core chips: headaches. That’s because embracing cognoscenti at BioWare began to realize their game parallelism is fl at out diffi cult. Often a development would be released onto a very different platform team applies a Herculean effort to, for instance, than most PC gamers had used up until then. adding gobs of synchronization primitives to prevent multiple threads from accessing data at the same Moving to Embrace Potential Of Multi-Core time. Then, without fail, many of those threads spend “Multi-core, multi-threaded development, along inordinate amounts of time idle and waiting for other with the emergence of HD graphics, was the threads to execute. A meager payoff for a huge foundation of the huge technology transition that amount of trouble is unfortunately not uncommon. happened within Dragon Age: Origins development,” said Mark Darrah, BioWare’s executive producer of Given the inexorable push toward more multi- the Dragon Age franchise. “It actually sent the team processor, multi-core computers (in February 2007, back to the drawing board at least once, asking Intel demonstrated an 80-core processor produced as themselves, ‘What’s the right way to take advantage a research project at the International Solid State of this shift?’ The team was clear that they weren’t Circuits Conference in San Francisco), game developers

2 INTEL-SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT may eventually need to toss out their age-old reliance “Designers had to learn too,” said Darrah. “With a on object-oriented programming (OOP) and begin game design as broad and deep as Dragon Age: focusing from day one on data-oriented design. This Origins, it’s easy to fall into the traps associated with means grokking the various types of data; how and multi-core development.” where they are stored in memory; and how input data are read, processed, and turned into output data at When it comes to encouraging its designers and interactive rates during gameplay. programmers to collaborate, BioWare does much more to insist that everyone speak the same “Step back for a minute and think of the last game language about new chip architectures. Four years you worked on,” wrote Noel Llopis in the September ago, the company implemented Scrum methodology, 2009 issue of Game Developer magazine. “How many an iterative incremental framework for managing places in the code did you have complex work that is commonly only one of something? One used with agile software enemy? One vehicle? One “Multi-core, development. The hallmark of pathfi nding node? One bullet? Scrum is a development cycle of One particle? Never! Where multi-threaded short two- to four-week sprints there’s one, there are many. development, along during which a cross-functional OOP ignores that and deals with with the emergence team works to fi nish a each object in isolation. Instead, particular product increment. we can make things easy for us of HD graphics, was and for the hardware and the foundation of “We assign our Scrum teams organize our data to deal with the huge technology by system or functional area,” the common case of having transition that said Aaryn Flynn, senior director many items of the same type.” of development operations at happened within BioWare, responsible for overall Of course, exhortations such Dragon Age: Origins staffi ng of the projects in as Llopis’ run smack into the development.” development at the company. realities of deadlines, constrained “We might have a team or two budgets, and the diffi culty of —Mark Darrah, BioWare’s working on storytelling aspects, simultaneously retraining while Executive Producer of the a team working on creatures, working on a looming release. Dragon Age franchise one working on the combat BioWare’s approach to multi-core system, and another working on can be summed up with three the GUIs. Overall we try to keep bits of advice: iterate toward success with the entire the teams as cross-functional as possible, just to keep team of developers and artists, lean on Intel, both for the collaboration going.” its development tools and its engineering expertise, and always strive for simplicity. Dragon Age: Origins will be BioWare’s fi rst product of Scrum development, which is also being Darrah is adamant that one of BioWare’s most used in its work on * 2, a title developed important decisions was to insist that the designers alongside Dragon Age: Origins at BioWare’s and artists work to understand some of the pitfalls Edmonton studio, with support from BioWare’s new and challenges of multi-core development, and not team in Montreal. For all the advantages of agile just in a cursory way. This sort of mutual methodology, Flynn is quick to point out that understanding helped everyone pull toward the BioWare’s chimeric teams benefi ted from more than same set of realistic goals to benefi t gamers, such as just a faster, smarter approach. They also received providing more creatures on the screen or achieving various kinds of support from Intel. smoother load transitions.

3 INTEL-SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT

At the top of the list was Intel® Thread Building the Dragon Age Lore Checker, an analysis tool that pinpoints hard-to- “’Run, Maric!’ And run he did. His mother’s dying fi nd threading errors, such as data races and words whipped him into action. The image of her deadlocks in 32-bit and 64-bit applications. grisly murder still burning in his mind, Maric reeled Flynn said that throughout much of the and plunged into the trees at the edge of the development cycle, two BioWare programmers clearing. Ignoring the clawing branches that scraped would daily “fi re up Thread Checker and look at at his face and clung to his cloak, he blindly forced his stuff.” Intel® VTune™ Performance Analyzer was way into the foliage.” also used regularly for overall optimization. So begins the novel Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, “I think it’s really important that along the released in March 2009. The book, written by the way you use tools that are available to make game’s lead writer, , is part of BioWare’s sure that what you’re attempting to do is effort to create the lore and characters that it hopes will actually being done, that you’re actually getting capture the imagination of RPG players when Dragon the advantages that you thought you would Age: Origins is released in November, 2009. The Stolen from multi-core development,” added Darrah. Throne is set 30 years before the events of the game and tells the back-story of several important characters. Here’s the product description from .com: “After his mother, the beloved Rebel Queen, is betrayed and murdered by her own faithless lords, young Maric becomes the leader of a rebel army attempting to free his nation from the control of a foreign tyrant. His countrymen live in fear; his commanders consider him untested; and his only allies are Loghain, a brash young outlaw who saved his life, and Rowan, the beautiful warrior maiden promised to him since birth. Surrounded by spies and traitors, Maric must fi nd a way to not only survive but achieve his ultimate destiny: Ferelden’s freedom and the return of his line to the stolen throne.” Intel also provided BioWare with Perhaps more interesting than the synopsis, at development hardware, made several visits least for those wondering about BioWare’s ability to to the Edmonton studio, and otherwise made create a compelling story and setting for the game, is its engineers available for technical the steady trickle of positive Amazon.com reviews for discussions with BioWare programmers. the book. Revving Up a New Game Engine “I was reading it more to ‘get in the mood’ for the The most prominent multi-core payoff of game than anything, and I had very low expectations, this collaboration is the heart of the game, the to be honest,” wrote Peter A. Smith in a four-star Eclipse Engine*. (For now the company is March 21 review. “And I was blown away.” sticking with the name, despite the existence “Books associated with games usually are not great of the Eclipse open source community and its literature,” added Sarah Jacobsen 11 days later, who eponymous development platform.) Dragon went on to compare Gaider with such Science Fiction/ Age: Origins’ multi-threaded engine uses a job Fantasy lions as Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan. dispatching scheme that takes core engine “This book is truly an exception.” tasks, such as AI actions, physics calls, and so on, and deploys them to the available thread. The release date for the second book in the series, Dragon Age: The Calling, has yet to be confi rmed. • 4 INTEL-SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT

“We might have a team or two working on storytelling aspects, a team working on creatures, one working on the combat system, and another working on the GUIs. Overall we try to keep the teams as cross-functional as possible, just to keep the collaboration going.”

—Aaryn Flynn, Senior Director of Development Operations at BioWare

The engine was designed intentionally to be generic Age: Origins, the storytelling challenge was and easy to use so that BioWare programmers could paramount. That’s because unlike BioWare’s success iterate over the development cycle to move more and with titles such as Star Wars*: Knights of the Old more of the engine functionality to dispatched jobs. Republic* and Sonic Chronicles*: The Dark Brotherhood*, Dragon Age: Origins is set in a brand For now, the engine will be the foundation for new world of the company’s own creation. extensive post-release content plans for Dragon Age: Origins and will act as a platform for the “When you’re working with licensed intellectual hoped-for avalanche of user-generated content that property (IP) you actually have an established set of will fl ow from the planned Dragon Age Toolset. lore and story and understanding of the universe,” Eventually, Flynn and Darrah say, the engine may be said Darrah. “When you’re building your own IP, you used not only for future Dragon Age titles, but also have to build all that lore, all that back story yourself by other studios. in order to create a compelling vision, and then you have to use that to fi ll in the world that you tell the All the work on parallelization appears to have story within. So you have to build a world as well as paid off. According to an Intel analysis, Dragon Age: build a game.” Origins showed a 20 percent performance jump on Intel’s next-generation Kings Creek desktop platform Forget the Dark Winter Weather; supporting four cores and eight threads. BioWare’s Future is Bright BioWare seems well positioned to build on its “Not bad considering we did all the work before recent success. For starters, the company is now that hardware was even available!” said Darrah, who backed by the global marketing reach of EA, the added that BioWare reaped real benefi ts from world’s leading independent publisher of video games. profi ling done by Intel of several earlier builds of the Next, with a growing library of titles, including the Eclipse Engine. enthusiastically received Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare has a won a sizable cadre Of course, creating a game means more than of rabid fans. However, it’s a third point that may writing lines of code. Intel’s Steve Pitzel likes to point fi gure most prominently in the company’s future. out that in fact the majority of staff at most game studios don’t write code at all, and instead focus on We hear repeatedly that the twenty-fi rst century storytelling, from writing narrative to illustrating will be defi ned by globe-trotting knowledge workers. characters and scenes. And in the case of Dragon Given that talented software developers can live in

5 INTEL-SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT

“We have people who joined us from the U.K., from Australia, from Europe, from Mexico,” said Flynn. “It starts off with one person joining us and then they recommend a friend, and that friend is a good person so we hire him or her, and then on and on. We’re very proud of the fact we’re a very cosmopolitan, very multi-cultural studio right here in Edmonton.” •

many places in the world where the month of January is marked by conditions more hospitable than Edmonton’s just under eight hours of average daily sunlight and average daily temperatures of -9 degrees Celsius, it’s noteworthy that BioWare is winning rave reviews as an employer. The company was named a Top 100 employer in Canada, and is situated in arguably Canada’s most business- friendly province— Alberta. And already, said Flynn, more than a quarter of BioWare’s staff is from somewhere besides Canada or the United States. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Geoff Koch is a contributing writer for the magazine. He last wrote about composer Justin Lassen’s Synaesthesia project in Intel ® Visual Adrenaline magazine, Issue No. 5.

Stay current on the lastest software developments in Visual Computing at: http://visualadrenaline.intel.com

Intel does not make any representations or warranties whatsoever regarding quality, reliability, functionality, or compatibility of third-party vendors and their devices. All products, dates, and plans are based on current expectations and subject to change without notice. Intel, Core Inside, the Intel logo, Intel Core, and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. | Copyright © 2009. Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. 6 TOOLBOX

LUXOLOGY MODO 401 REVIEW BY ZOLTAN ERDOKOVY

MODO WAS DEVELOPED BY both high definition and low poly While polygonal models and poly version of a geometry—it several industry veterans who models is where this application spline patches are supported, creates a tidy topology, with played a pivotal role on the really shines. subdivision surfaces are where almost no artifacts to clean up creation and shaping of LightWave A generalized approach makes the extensive sculpting tool manually. Combined with the 3D. In 2001 they left NewTek and the modeling tools simple and set works best. Although modo vertex map falloff, you can control started Luxology to produce a 3D very intuitive. For any task, three is no ZBrush, common tasks where and how much the model application from the ground up. elements are combined: a base like wrinkled cloth, elaborate should be simplified. They began with the creation tool, an action center, and a falloff. landscapes, or even human When UV editing, the basic of Nexus, a software architecture For example the Shear tool is just figures can be done in high tool functions such as falloff and that serves as the foundation a move base tool combined with a quality. Mesh instances and action center work the same as in for modo. This framework linear falloff. Swirl is a rotation with replicated geometries are used to modeling, and the specialized UV allowed Luxology to develop a a radial falloff. add repeating details to scenes tools do their job reliably. The UV clean, generalized, and flexible These elements can be freely such as populating a garden with Unwrap unfolds the surface, Relax application. It doesn’t carry the mixed, allowing you to create your plants or placing rivets on the hull removes mapping distortions, and legacy or backward compatibility own tools, or customize existing of a battleship. UV Pack efficiently arranges the issues that often bloat older ones. Once you’ve learned that High-resolution geometry islands. packages as new features are vertex map falloff adjusts the tool's creation is well covered by modo duct-taped onto an aging core. strength based on the selected and the same can be said when it SHADERS, RENDERING, The downside of being a vertex map, you can expect that comes to low poly modeling. The AND BAKING relatively young software tool (the it will work the same way with quad drawing pen tool, combined » Modo uses a layer-based first version was released in 2004) every tool—from transformation with a background constraint shader system, called Shader is the lack of certain features, and polygon reduction to sculpting provides the same capability as Tree. While it’s more advanced like physics simulation, particle tools. After understanding the the Retopology tool in ZBrush— than LightWaves’s old layered systems, or character animation. basic principles, modo becomes you can quickly draw quad strips system, it’s not nearly as powerful transparent, and you can start over a high-resolution mesh. as node based solutions such USER INTERFACE doing what you want without really The polygon reduction tool is as Maya or the newest version » Modo’s modern software thinking about it. another great way to create a low of LightWave. Quick for simple design is really apparent in the tool’s user interface—it’s very flexible and can be customized in great depth. From keyboard shortcuts to mouse navigation, menus, forms, popups, and pie menus—the whole layout can be changed and adapted to almost any workflow. Modo can be a focused modeling application, a sculpting- painting solution, an animation and rendering tool, or all of the above, as you can switch between layouts with one click.

MODELING TOOLS » Modo started life as a “modeling only” package, and because this area has been continually updated and polished since then, it’s probably the most refined part of modo. Creating

34 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_toolbox_vI2jf.indd 34 10/21/09 11:27:14 AM setups with only a few textures, discarded. Only displacement from scripts. There are a huge Luxology Shader Tree becomes a real pain maps show up, because Micropoly number of scripts made by the MODO 401 as things get more complex. Displacement generates new community, which solve a wide Without consequent layer naming geometry during rendering. The range of tasks and also provide and well-planned grouping, the downside is that the object will material to learn from. ¤ STATS tree quickly grows unmanageable. be heavily tessellated, so render Luxology, LLC While the technical capabilities speed and memory consumption SCENE MANAGEMENT 2525 East Charleston Road are just fine, the problem is how becomes a problem, especially on The item and hierarchy Suite 104 » Mountain View, CA 94043 a complex shader structure is 32 bit systems. management is solid. Custom www.luxology.com presented to the user. Another inconvenience is data can be stored in items, and The advanced OpenGL view that modo doesn’t use baking along with item instances and ¤ PRICE is far from 3ds Max 2010’s HLSL cages to define the start and external references, a few custom $995.00 enabled viewport. Although it end points of the traces. Their scripts could potentially turn (Floating License $1,195.00) shows a few effects and multiple length is constant, which can modo into a basic level editor. UV sets, anything more than cause problems in tight corners The appearance of “locators” a very simple shader tree will or when the highpoly and lowpoly (“dummy” or “null” objects) can ¤ SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Win XP / Vista (32 and 64 bit) confuse the perspective view. You topologies differ significantly. be changed to represent different 2 GB available hard disk have to fiddle with layers, hiding Even worse, the baking distance entities or define zones, and space, 2 GB of RAM, Pentium some of them and adding new is asked before every single bake. lines between linked items that 4 processor or better. ones in a certain order, before Because its value is not stored express relations, are some of the Mac OS 10.4 or later, the viewport starts to show the in the scene or item, you must features possible. Macintosh G5 or Intel texture you’re looking for. remember it each time. Hopefully processor, 2 GB available hard Complex material setups a community-made script will SUPPORT disk space, 2 GB of RAM. are best viewed in the preview address this issue. Special map » An outstanding aspect Monitor resolution of 1024 x render window—it gives a very types like “cavity-,” “thickness-,” of modo is its support. The 768 or greater, Graphics card fast and accurate render of or “radiosity normal” maps are not community is very active and with OpenGL support. the scene. It has no problem yet supported. helpful. The script database, the A modo license allows the handling millions of (instanced) When it comes to shader material and scene preset library software to run on either a polygons with all the bells and setups and baking, modo is a are goldmines of information. The Mac or a Windows computer whistles—global illumination, mixed bag. Since modo exports official forum is a great place to and can be switched back caustics, blurry refraction, and imports the most common file ask questions or find tutorials, and forth between systems as needed. Micropoly Displacement, etc. It formats (Collada, FBX, Obj, Lwo), discuss problems, or find can show separate buffers, which for some it might be easier to use inspiring artwork. The developers In addition, modo can run is very helpful when debugging modo only as a modeler and finish are in touch with the users— in rendering (“slave”) mode the shader tree. The full render is the job in another package. Yet, for they provide tips, help to find on up to 50 machines on a network to render animation fast, relatively easy to set up, and others, staying in one application workarounds for existing bugs, sequences or extremely high- capable of network rendering. during the whole workflow might and reply to feature requests. The resolution graphic images. Generalization also enhances be worth jumping through hoops. official website has an extensive usability when dealing with It really depends on you, your collection of video tutorials, both render buffers—if a buffer type task, and other 3D software you free and commercial. Also, there PROS ¤ is in modo's list of supported may have. is a form for submitting bug 1 Highly adaptable user interface. buffers (which is quite extensive) reports where you can check 2 Excellent modeling and UV then it can be previewed, saved ANIMATION their status as well. editing tools. (individually or as a multilayer PSD » At this point modo has no bone 3 Enthusiastic and productive file), and baked. support, so it’s better suited for community, dedicated A WORKHORSE developer support. At first glance this would mechanical animations. There is » Most of the time using modo is make baking simple and easy. no support for named animation fun. While it could stand to improve Unfortunately there are several sequence management (like in the shading, baking and OpenGL ¤ CONS problems that can make baking ActorX for Maya and Max, used in departments, version 401 has no 1 Shader tree makes complex shader setups difficult to a frustrating experience. While Unreal circles). Still, with some show-stopping issues for a game manage. layer baking (collapsing several effort, a decent solution could developer. It’s a workhorse and can 2 Sub-par normal baking layers onto one texture) works probably be implemented using easily become an invaluable part of capabilities. as expected, object baking modo’s scripting capabilities. any developer’s toolbox. 3 Young software, many (transferring the look of a highpoly features are not yet implemented (e.g. character model to a lowpoly one) has SCRIPTING ZOLTAN ERDOKOVY is a freelancer technical animation support or baking several shortcomings. » Modo can be scripted using artist. In the past decade, he has created exotic map types). When rendering tangent space Lua, Python, or Perl. The system artwork, game levels, special effects and normal maps, only geometry provides access to most parts of support scripts for several projects, most data is used—normal and bump modo and almost everything done of which were based on the . textures on the source object are through the UI can also be done Email him at [email protected].

WWW.GDMAG.COM 35

0911gd_toolbox_vIjf.indd 35 10/20/09 6:21:22 PM TOOLBOX

REAL TIME CAMERAS A Guide for Game Designers and Developers By Mark Haigh-Hutchinson REVIEWED BY BIJAN FORUTANPOUR

A FEW YEARS AGO I HAD THE TASK OF loop where input is received from topics of script objects and object object tracking, look-at offset, writing a camera system for a game. the controller, game objects are relationships are covered, as well locked, object position prediction, The design spec was simple: Look updated, and messaging and as camera hints, pathing, trigger object framing, idle wandering, and at two given games for reference, events are processed. Finally the volumes, and script debugging. automated orientation controls. and implement something similar, camera is updated, and the final The next two chapters continue an approximate hybrid of the two. render performed. Basic camera CAMERA ENGINEERING the discussion and present the Having never written a camera fundamentals, behaviors, and » Camera Engineering is the real more difficult challenges, covering system before, it was an interesting terminology are then covered in strength of the book, and the largest the topics of navigation, occlusion, and challenging task. The camera the following chapter, followed by a section. Different problems and motion, and collision. The lesson to behaved differently in different quick lesson in cinematography. The requirements are presented, along take away from these chapters is situations, so it quickly became Core Concepts section of the book is with proposed solutions. It begins that there are many ways to solve a obvious that the problem had to be a good starting point for beginners by covering different methods for given problem. The more simple and broken down into smaller pieces new to game development and computing desired camera position successful solutions involve using and categories. Along the way, many camera design. For experienced and orientations. The list of behavior spline-based pathing as a way to things went wrong and many things programmers unfamiliar with types is complete; stationary guide the camera through difficult right, and that is when I developed filmmaking concepts, it is cameras, slaved cameras, path terrain situations. Path splines an appreciation for the art and also worth a quick read to help constrained, surface and volume may be built apriori by the game science of camera programming. communicate with the artists and constrained, framing, object- designers, or they may built by the When the opportunity arose to write designers on the team. framing relative, and axis rotational camera system on the fly, perhaps a review for Real-Time Cameras, cameras are all explained. Camera using preexisting hints, objects, A Guide For Game Designers and DESIGN PRINCIPLES orientation methods are also and volumes, among others. The Developers I jumped, because this » This section of the book is oriented exhaustively presented: constant, best way to solve a tricky problem book wasn’t around when I needed toward game camera designers is to avoid it. The alternative is to it. Furthermore, I wanted to see and the information presented simplify the problem and always whether what I had figured out on in these chapters is focused on REAL TIME CAMERAS have a fail-safe escape plan when the my own was close to the “correct” theory and concepts. Because A GUIDE FOR GAME worst-case scenario actually occurs. solution(s) proposed by the book. game development teams will have Typically, this would be doing a jump The secret sauce to creating a different game engines as well as DESIGNERS AND cut of the camera to a new location, good camera system is to realize different art and design production DEVELOPERS or simply making problem objects that if it is done well, no one will pipelines the book takes a general BY MARK HAIGH-HUTCHINSON transparent or semitransparent. notice. Conversely, if the design or approach. It covers the different types There is much more advice and implementation is poor, everyone of scrolling 2D camera behaviors such Morgan Kaufmann trickery up the author’s sleeve, which will notice. A game camera needs as continuous, character-relative, 3251 Riverport Ln makes these chapters very valuable. to feel natural without jarring the screen-relative, and directional lag, Maryland Heights, MO 63043 Next comes a chapter on the player out of the world they are among others. Then 3D cameras are mathematics used in the algorithms immersed in. This is not an easy discussed, covering different types http://realtimecameras.com presented, focusing mostly on task, and one where Real-Time of projections, followed by a good list http://realtimecameras. different spline types commonly Cameras leads the way. The book of dos and don’ts when designing googlecode.com/svn used in pathing. Different types of is organized into three parts, Core camera systems. interpolation are discussed as well, PRICE $59.95 Concepts, Design Principles, and The next chapter goes though an ¤ although sometimes at a cursory Camera Engineering. exhaustive list of game genres and level. For instance, quaternions are ¤ PUBLISHED April 14, 2009 the types of cameras appropriate for mentioned, though not described CORE CONCEPTS each genre. The section on camera ¤ PAGES 544 in detail. » The Core Concepts section lays design is concluded with a chapter The book concludes with a a basic foundation for the reader, on camera scripting as a method for ¤ ISBN ISBN-10: 0123116341 chapter on a proposed organization covering a typical game update describing camera behaviors. The for a camera system, namely the

36 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_toolbox_vIjf.indd 36 10/20/09 6:21:24 PM different types of managers as they occlusion, etc) in order to keep the Real-Time Cameras does gathered through many years of might be mapped into C++ classes. discussion brief and in context, and have some brief code snippets dedicated work in game camera then revisits each topic again a few interspersed throughout. There is development by the author. It PROS AND CONS chapters later to repeat as well as a website that accompanies the leaves no stone unturned, giving » Real-Time Cameras offers a go into further detail. This approach book which was stated to contain an exhaustive list of problems, wealth of information and is very has advantages and disadvantages. the implementation of a simple solutions, and gotchas to watch out broad in scope. Its goal is to teach The solution for the reader camera system. Unfortunately, for in the solutions. As I mentioned beginners theory and terminology, is to simply begin reading at the the Microsoft Visual Studio project at the beginning of this article, I was as well as give game designers section of the book targeted toward files do not compile because they able to implement a real-time camera some design guidelines and ideas their particular interests. As a reference a significant amount of system for a game without any prior for what is possible, while at the programmer, I was looking for a missing source code. The book also camera programming experience, same time helping programmers depth-first approach to the material, states that the website provides but there was a lot of trial and error with implementation details. While a a kind of Game Camera Gems movie examples and analysis of involved. Having this book as a guide very noble goal, this makes the book that quickly cut to the details of camera design in existing games, would have helped save a lot of time, slightly frustrating to read cover to algorithm and implementations. The but those do not appear on the and is well worth the read. cover, because the same concepts best approach in this case would website either. We hope the website are repeated multiple times, be to just begin reading at Chapter will be completed in the near future, BIJAN FORUTANPOUR is a senior graphics depending on the target audience. 7, where the Camera Engineering as it holds the promise of becoming programmer at Sony Online …ntertainment To use programming terminology, section of the book begins. a valuable resource for developers. in San Diego with 16 years experience in the book takes a breadth-first Similarly, a game designer looking the and games industries. traversal of the material, making to fill his or her playbook with IN FOCUS He is also the author of Enzo 3D paint for a first pass at individual subjects camera design strategies should » Real-Time Cameras contains a Photoshop (www.enzo3d.com). …mail him (e.g. camera POVs, navigation, focus on Chapters 4, 5, and 6. metric ton of real world experience at [email protected].

JC>I:9HI6I:HEDHI6AH:GK>8: HiViZbZcid[DlcZgh]^e!BVcV\ZbZci!VcY8^gXjaVi^dc 1. Publication Title: Game Developer. 2. Publication No.: 1073-922X. 3. Filing Date: September 11, 2009. 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly with a combined June/July issue. 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 11. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $49.95. 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication (Not Printer): Think Services, 600 Harrison St., San Francisco, CA 94107. Contact Person: Roy Beagley. Telephone: 203-775-9465. 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher (Not Printer): Think Services, 600 Harrison St., San Francisco, CA 94107. 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: Simon Carless, Think Services, 600 Harrison St., San Francisco, CA 94107; Editor: Brandon Sheffield, Think Services, 600 Harrison St., San Francisco, CA 94107; Managing Editor: None. 10. Owner: United Business Media LLC, 600 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY 11030-3875, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of United Business Media LLC, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Rd., London, SE1 9UY, U.K. 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None. 12. Tax Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months. 13. Publication Title: Game Developer. 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 2009.

15. Extent and Nature of Circulation: Average No. Copies Each No. Copies of Single Issue During Preceding Issue Published Nearest 12 Months to Filing Date a. Total No. Copies (Net Press Run) 27,436 24,000 b. Paid and/or Requested Circulation (1) Outside County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions 19,542 15,996 Stated on Form 3541. (2) In-County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions 0 0 Stated on PS Form 3541 (3) Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street 1,966 1,782 Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid or Requested Distribution Outside USPS (4) Requested Copies Distributed by Other Mail 0 0 Classes Through the USPS c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation 21,508 17,778 [Sum of 15b. (1),(2), (3), and (4)]: d. Nonrequested Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) (1) Outside County Nonrequested Copies Stated on PS Form 3541 2,906 2,776 (2) In-County Nonrequested Copies Stated on PS Form 3541 0 0 (3) Nonrequested Copies Distributed Through the USPS by 0 0 Other Classes of Mail (4) Nonrequested Copies Distributed Outside the Mail 2,505 3,000 (Pickup Stands, Trade Shows, Showrooms, and Other Sources) e. Total Nonrequested Distribution 5,411 5,776 f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e) 26,919 23,554 g. Copies Not Distributed 517 446 h. Total (Sum of 15g and 15h) 27,436 24,000 i. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation 79.90% 75.48% (15c Divided by 15f Times100)

16. Publication of Statement of Ownership: This Statement of Ownership will be printed in the November 2009 issue of this publication. 17. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner (signed): Cary Mitsuyoshi, Date: September 15, 2009.

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0911gd_toolbox_vIjf.indd 37 10/20/09 6:21:26 PM THE INNER PRODUCT // MICK WEST

JUMP TO IT THE MATHEMATICS BEHIND EFFECTIVE JUMP MOTION IN GAMES

game to game. The way a jump has In any game involving IN DAMION SCHUBERT’S ARTICLE, INFAMOUS "Resonance" (Game Developer, been implemented can have huge jumping we are doing some September 2009), he talks about effects both on control feel, and on kind of simulation of Newtonian how jumping is a vitally important actual gameplay. Various factors mechanics. We have a position P, a part of the initial feel of many can affect the height of a jump, velocity V, and constant gravity G. games, and how poor jumping can and hence the distance jumped. We also have a time step t, which immediately prejudice a player. Inconsistencies here can have a is the duration of one frame’s Yet jumping is often not given negative effect on the feel of the worth of physics simulation, and appropriate priority in development. game, as the player can sometime an initial jump speed s, which is Great attention to detail can pay off make a jump, and sometimes not, the y-velocity of the character at big. In this article I give an in-depth seemingly arbitrarily. the start of the jump (for simplicity look at the coding behind just one here I’m using 2D, with y being up. small yet vital aspect of jumping WHEN I SAY JUMP.... It’s basically the same for 3D). in video games: Jump height. We’ll » How high is a jump? Here we are Jumping can be implemented discuss how it works, how it could talking about the standard video with two functions, jump()—which go wrong, and how to fix it. game jump, the type you would use own height, and their standing is called when the jump button is to jump up onto a wall or a crate. This jumps can range in duration triggered, and the character is able JUST JUMP? is a “vertical jump”, and in real life is anywhere from 0.5 to 2.0 seconds. to jump—and integrate(), which is » Jumping in video games seems more akin to the jumps performed For the sake of this discussion called every iteration of the physics very simple. You just press a button, by basketball players than high assume we are talking about a loop. A very simple version would and the player character jumps. He jumpers. In the real world a typical jump height of about six feet, look like this: goes up, he comes down. All very vertical jump is up to three feet, and and a jump time of a bit under a straightforward, right? takes about 0.8 seconds. second. That’s about the same jump1() { Well, yes, it is actually very In video games, of course, as the standing jump of the main V.y = s; simple, and from a programmers gravity is not always the same character in INFAMOUS on the PS3. } point of view, it’s quite possible to as the real world, and is typically This means that the gravity used program it in a very simple manner. tweaked to make the game play during the jump is going to be set integrate() { But, as you may have noticed nicely, rather than because of any a bit higher than the real world, P = P + V * t; while playing games, the “feel” of pretense at reality. Characters in and our character is somewhat V = V + G * t; a jump seems to vary wildly from video games can often jump their superhuman. }

FIGURE 1 A normal jump at 30 Hz, using simple FIGURE 2 Simple physics at different time steps yield FIGURE 3 Correcting the equation of motion equalizes physics. differing results. the jump heights.

38 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_inner_product_vIjf.indd 38 10/20/09 6:15:59 PM FIGURE 4 A variable height jump is FIGURE 5 Holding for a frame count done by holding gravity at zero for produces inaccuracies when frame the first few frames. length changes. We need to use time, not number of frames.

On the face of it, there is nothing If you jump from the same level • When attempting to run and two steps of t=1. In the first wrong with this. Many games don’t of ground, then the height of any mostly at a fixed frame case we have P = P +V*2, and in the need much in the way of physics, jump should theoretically always be rate, like 30Hz, but second we have P = P + V + (V+G), and using these equations usually the same at any given N time steps accepting occasional (or or P = P + V*2 + G. The longer a time gives very acceptable results, after the start of the jump. You can not so occasional) drops step is, the less effect G has on the especially for smaller games. rely on consistent behavior, providing to 20Hz or even lower. motion during that time step. Indeed, if you’ve got a fixed frame your time step is constant. You’ve probably realized by rate, you can even drop the t term, When might your physics time You can, of course, try to always now that we need to use the proper by adjusting your other constants step (t) not be constant? There are run at a fixed physics frame rate, equations of motion, commonly 1 2 so you can use t=1, and simplify to P three main situations: regardless of the rendering frame written as s=ut+ /2 at . Here we = P + V and V = V + G. rate. But this is not always possible, can express it in code as P=P+V*t Either way, our simple physics • When converting a game and can lead to other problems. + G*t*t/2 . I’d encourage you, if model gives us a very nice jump. between NTSC (60Hz So what happens with a variable you don’t already know, to look into Figure 1 shows a 23 frame jump or 30Hz) and PAL (50 speed time step, using the simplest where this equation comes from. that results from this method. or 25Hz), for a console physic model? Figure 2 shows the In particular to look into the Taylor In these figures the vertical axis game. (There’s also PAL60, exact same initial jump, with the series, integrators, and error orders. can be considered height and the but you usually have to same velocity and gravity, where But you don’t actually need to know horizontal axis can be considered support PAL50 as well). all that is changed is the time step the terminology or the math to see as either time or the equivalent t. Four jumps are show, 60, 50, 30, what is going on here. For a constant distance with a constant x velocity. • When running on a PC and 20Hz. acceleration like gravity, you don’t As you would expect, we get a where the frame rate is The obvious problem here is that need anything more complex. nice parabola. 23 frames is 0.77 tied to the amount of the lower the frame rate, the higher So, using this equation for seconds at 30Hz, so it’s quite a CPU and GPU processor the character jumps. The simple updating the position we get the reasonable representation of what power available, so less reason is fairly obvious when you results shown in Figure 3. Note now happens in a video game when the powerful PCs have a look at the equations. Consider the the jumps are all the same height. character jumps. lower time step. difference between one step of t=2 Note also that every 1/10th of a

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0911gd_inner_product_vIjf.indd 39 10/20/09 6:16:04 PM THE INNER PRODUCT // MICK WEST

second (6 frames at 60Hz, 5 frames only arise as an occasional then the missed jumps may be The reason, of course, is that one at 50Hz, etc.), the points on the annoyance, perhaps more focused rare, yet still very annoying to the frame at 25 Hz is 20 percent longer curve line up. This demonstrates in one particular spot, where a player. Glitches may occur where than one frame at 30Hz, so the that the character is now traveling particular jump sometimes works, the player can leap to a position in jump is in virtual zero gravity for 20 along the exact same curve, and sometimes does not. the map, but only at certain frame percent total more time. regardless of our time step. An even smaller difference rates. You have to educate your The solution here, and for occurs in the third column, labeled testers to report these kinds of other similar problems is to allow NOT EXACTLY “500” feet. Here we are doing “feel” problems appropriately. the hold for a maximum period » All good? Not quite, even though the exact same jump, but from a The most important measure of time, not a maximum number we are moving along the exact position in the world that is just 500 you can take is to be as consistent of frames. In addition, releasing same curve, we can never actually be at the highest point in the curve unless a time step happens to The most important measure you can take is to be as fall exactly in the middle of the curve. With large time steps this is consistent as possible. Use the correct equations of motion. less likely, depending somewhat Test your game at any frame rate at which it might possibly randomly on the initial jump speed. See the table of maximum heights run. Use a fixed physics time step if possible. Using double (in feet) reached for simple and precision for world coordinates and performing collision in a corrected motion (see Table 1). You can see the expected huge local coordinate system can help prevent inconsistencies. variance of half a foot in the simple physics version. The difference between 60 and 50 Hz is a fairly feet higher. Because the relative as possible. Use the correct the hold can happen at any time small 0.05 feet, or about 0.6 precision of floating point numbers equations of motion. Test your game during that period, not just on 30 Hz inches. While this small difference (the difference between two at any frame rate at which it might frame boundaries. This introduces is not going to be visually apparent, close numbers) decreases as the possibly run. Use a fixed physics additional complications, as for it can have a critical effect in numbers increase, the maximum time step if possible. Using double a single frame of physics at the gameplay. I encountered a bug height you get at 500 feet (y=500) precision for world coordinates transition you have to calculate based on this very effect in the will be different from the height at and performing collision in a local partial movement in zero gravity, first TONY HAWK’S PRO SKATER, where ground level (y=0). coordinate system can help prevent and then partial movement a designer had created a wall that Note that the maximum height inconsistencies. Consider using under gravity. But it’s pretty was of such a height that you could reached is different here even at the fixed point if your world layout suits straightforward, and when it’s done jump over it in the PAL version, but same frame rate. So even if you run it. If an exact maximum height for your 25Hz jumps will looks just the not in the NTSC version. Testers your physics with a fixed time step, a jump is required, and you have same as your 30 Hz jumps. also complained that one of the you could still have these problems. variable frame rates, then use pre- Remember that just because two versions seemed sometimes You might take a piece of geometry calculated jump tables for each a jump looks nice and consistent easier, or harder, or different, but from ground level and paste it into frame rate. does not mean it actually is. To help were unable to explain how. the game at a higher level, or just your gameplay it is vitally important With the corrected physics, move it some distance away. In this VARIABLE JUMP PROBLEMS that you know exactly what is going the problem is reduced, but still new position you might find the » Beware of anything that takes a on when your character jumps: potentially there. The difference results of a jump vary, so you now fixed number of frames. For example, how it starts, how it goes up, what between PAL and NTSC is now hit or miss something that you did a common way to implement a happens at the top, and what just 0.002 feet, or 0.024 inches. not in the original position. variable height jump is to basically happens when it lands. Consider This difference is tiny, but in turn off gravity for the first N frames adding visual tools to your code that the unforgiving binary world of SOLUTIONS while the button is held down. That let you zoom in on the exact path collision detection this could make » Problems like these are not way the player can tap the button for that your character took. Aim for all the difference between a hit and always readily apparent. If the a small jump, and press it slightly having something like Figure 1, but a miss. Such a bug would probably frame rate only drops occasionally, longer for a higher jump. This works visible in the game, and reflecting great, and hardly changes the shape the precise movement your of the parabola. Figure 4 shows this character took. The more detailed TABLE 1 Maximum heights for simple and corrected motion. in operation, with the button being your visualization, the easier you held for 0, 2, or 4 frames, running on will be able to spot and correct Simple Corrected 500 Feet an NTSC system at 30 Hz. problems like these. 60Hz 6.029631 5.758031 5.758420 When this is converted to PAL, 50Hz 6.080000 5.760003 5.759679 and is running at 25 Hz, the picture MICK WEST was a co-founder of Neversoft changes—see Figure 5. The jump Entertainment. He's been in the game 30Hz 6.301233 5.758021 5.757899 with zero frames of delay remains industry for over 20 years and currently 20Hz 6.577778 5.755556 5.755556 exactly the same, but the jumps works as a technical consultant. Email him with 2 and 4 frames are a lot higher. at [email protected].

40 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_inner_product_vIjf.indd 40 10/20/09 6:16:08 PM

PIXEL PUSHER // STEVE THEODORE

MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED CAN SPLINE IK LIVE UP TO ITS POTENTIAL?

TECHNOLOGIES, LIKE HIGH SCHOOL so this month we’re going to make kids, have unpredictable stories. a pitch for the rehabilitation of this You meet all sorts of new ones. oddball technology. Some are eager and full of potential. Others seem destined for a career PROMISE RING in the CG equivalent of convenience » The essence of spline IK is quite store clerking. But, just like after simple: You draw a curve and then graduation, not everything turns glue a bone chain to it. This simple out the way you’d expect. Some mechanism allows for fluid, sinuous new techniques go on to do great motions that would be almost things, the sort of successes you impossible to key by hand. For follow enviously on Classmates. example, you can easily animate com. Others, though, end up like the a slithering snake by drawing out punchline in those “SHE married a control curve that’s much longer HIM???” ads—they never quite live than the snake’s skeleton and up to their bright promise. animating the offset of the bones Spline IK is a prime example of a along the spline. (See Figure 1) FIGURE 2 Spline IK animation tech that never lived up to its early Since the spline curve controls and it’s discontents. Linear hype. It demos well, and impresses bones indirectly, spline IK is a very interpolation between the first and everybody the first time they see it, attractive option for controlling last poses produces a shortened but it rarely elbows its way into the dense bone chains. The would-be spline and causes the end of the forefront of day-to-day production. squid rigger can control dozens of bone chain to pose awkwardly. Instead, spline IK is relegated to a joints with a handful of position handful of specialist applications. keys on the control vertices of the Figure 2: The splines on the top and animators who would have to deal Tails, tentacles and snakes are, after spline. Unfortunately, it’s the way bottom are good poses for some with long, unwieldy controls. all, pretty common in the games those position keys behave that kind of tentacle-ish appendage. The The other artifact that can business. Surely, that’s enough turns a lot of animators off spline IK. interpolated pose in the middle, arise from spline interpolation is work for a humble rig component? Unlike a bone chain, a spline though, is clearly screwy; linear creasing. It’s possible for control In fact, spline IK can be useful has no fixed length. This means interpolation of the control points points to cross each other when for a lot of applications beyond you can accidentally lengthen or has produced a spline that is much interpolating between extreme merely the tentacular. You just shorten a spline when posing, and shorter than the other two. Veterans poses. This introduces a kink need to put in a little extra work interpolations are often not what of old-school vertex animations may into the spline. Particularly if this learning its quirks and capabilities, you’d want. Consider the example in get a bit of deja vu from this kind happens near a long bone, you of artifact—the effect is a lot like can get a nasty pinching artifact, the shrinkage that afflicted vertex- and in any case the temporary animated QUAKE characters when appearance of a loop in your their keys were too far apart. tentacle is rarely what you want. This linear interpolation can Interpolation glitches like this play havoc with animations that are the main reason splines remain should be flowing and snaky. If the a niche tool. Some cartoony rigs spline shrinks so much that bones actually exploit the stretchiness on the end of the chain are left of the splines by letting the bones hanging, they’ll snap back to their grow and shrink to fit the curve— rest poses. This is not attractive, which is great if you want that not predictable, and hardly sinuous. look, but it’s a bit disconcerting in a You can avoid the worst of this by more realistic setting (CGToolkit's simply using control curves that The Art of Rigging has a good are longer than the bone chains chapter on stretchy rigs for Maya they control, minimizing the risk users and Louis Marcoux's website that the end bones will be left www.louismarcoux.com has some hanging, though this imposes good videos for Max users). For FIGURE 1 The basics of spline IK: a series of bones oriented along a spline curve. some unwelcome overhead on the most uses, though, the funky

42 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_pixel_pusher_vIjf.indd 42 10/20/09 6:18:08 PM interpolations demand lots of extra Treating the control spline as keys—which rather undercuts deformable geometry can also spline IK’s purported advantages of create some striking effects easily. fluidity and lower key density. For example, only a masochist would try to recreate the famous CALL OF CTHULHU pseudopod sequence from the » Luckily, there’s an easy way to end of The Abyss (See Figure 4) combine the undoubted virtues of in a typical bone-based game spline IK—smooth interpolation and engine—the labor of trying to easy control of very dense bone pose the limb while it rippled and chains—with the expressiveness distorted would be enormous. With and precision that animators need. a deformable spline controlling You can use a simple FK chain to the final deformation skeleton, drive your IK spline. however, this suddenly becomes This might sound outlandish, possible; inserting a ripple or but it’s really quite simple. It hinges noise deformer upstream of the on the fact that the control spline skinning deformation that drives is a piece of deformable geometry the limb allows you to introduce which can be controlled with a controlled degree of random bones—or, as we’ll see later, with distortion without compromising other deformation tools as well. So, the basic pose. simply create an IK spline rig in the This kind of setup does demand usual way, and then skin the control that the rigger be willing to grapple spline to a second, simpler FK chain, with the intricacies of deformer as shown in Figure 3. order. A rippling deformation that This might seem redundant, runs up and down a limb would have but each element is contributing to be applied before the skinning, something useful. The spline is to a more or less straight spline still controlling the final chain as in Figure 5. If you applied the of deformation bones smoothly, same distortion downstream of making sure they are well the skinning, the final pose would coordinated and don’t require tons tend to drift away from the pose of hand-laid counter animation set by the animator. On the other keys. The new FK chain poses hand, sometimes that’s what you the spline, preserving its length FIGURE 3 Skinning an IK want: you could, for example, apply spline to a conventional FK and eliminating the interpolation a world-space deformation to skeleton keeps the fluid glitches. Moreover, FK control does several limbs after the skinning to shapes of a spline, but with a better job of supporting the whip- produce the appearance of swaying simpler and less finicky like motions you’d expect from your underwater tentacles or eerie controls. average tentacled beastie. This ghostlike movements. hybrid setup is easy for animators Deforming the spline control to work with because it keys like a basically allows you to use traditional FK rig. modeling tools as part of your Riggers, on the other hand, animation pipeline. Wrap deformers will enjoy the delicate tweakability or lattices can make a moving limb of the hybrid FK/Spline system. conform to a complex surface. The Trying to achieve a similar control curve can be turned into a effect with expressions and physics-driven soft-body object and to introduce unwanted kinks. As we’ve often noted in the constraints would be a nightmare simulated with or Nucleus. It’s well known that Pixel Pusher past, FK bone chains are awkward of guesswork and fiddling with Maya’s history-driven NURBS tools disdains overstatement—but and unpredictable when they twist arbitrary numerical values. With a offer even more possibilities: You the possibilities of control- around their own axis (for a detailed skinned IK spline, you can smooth could control bones with a curve- curve deformation really are discussion of the ins and outs or sharpen the IK spline using the on-surface created by a projection almost limitless. of twist management, see "Twist same skinning techniques familiar onto a NURBS object, or use the and Shout," Game Developer, April from poly meshes. A tightly- Extend Curve tool to automatically FKING SPLINES! 2004). Whether it’s herky-jerky skinned control spline produces a add some extra safe distance on » Whew. After all that excitement, we interpolation, wonky poses or more jointed appearance. Smooth to the end of a control curve. The need a breather. But, if all that doesn’t the dread spectre of gimbal lock, influence weights with gentle Rebuild Curve tool is great for convince you to give spline IK another handling rotation in three axes dropoffs produce very smooth, uniformly smoothing out a control chance, there’s more! This tech is like along an FK chain is a major pain fluid deformations. curve, making it hard for animators the Sham-wow, it just won’t quit. for riggers.

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0911gd_pixel_pusher_vIjf.indd 43 10/20/09 6:18:11 PM PIXEL PUSHER // STEVE THEODORE

With those rules in mind you should be able to get a reasonably predictable set of twist behavior on a spline IK chain. If you’re dealing with really dense bone chains—say the spine of a realistic, high res character—you’ll find that the payoff is worth the trouble (for more tips on spline IK for backbones, see "Get Some Backbone," Game Developer, November 2004).

YOU’VE GOT SOME SPLINING TO DO » So there is our case for the rehabilitation of spline IK. It’s a tool with issues, no doubt, but it’s also capable of great things if you put FIGURE 4 The famous water tentacle effect from in the time to learn its quirks. It’s the Abyss combined pose animation and rippling definitely worth some poking and defomations—a trick that can be approximated in prodding from the ambitious rigger realtime with spline IK and deformers. or the curious animator. After all, life in the Facebook era is a like a Spline IK offers some excellent serve up some nasty surprises, First, be aware that twist angles continuous, real-time high school tools for managing chains that particularly for Maya users. The larger than 180 degrees in any reunion. It’d be nice to think all need to bend and flex and also mathematical basis of twists suffers one axis are tricky. If your twist those old classmates googling us to twist around their own axes from a built-in limitation, similar to control objects rotate more than weren’t judging hastily, so let’s set without wobbling. Spline IK rotates the pole-vector “dead zone” that 180 degrees in two axes, your chain an example with a little tolerance bones in two axes to keep them affects conventional IK chains. It’s is going to be highly unreliable. and willingness to learn. glued onto the control spline. The common to find spline IK chains Luckily, at least, those kinds of Except for that flipping twist- twist rotation isn’t needed to match suddenly flipping around their twist really extreme twists are rare. If you axis nonsense. That really has to the spline position, and ordinarily axis for no obvious reason. Max’s really need huge twist values, you get fixed. it’s simply left out. However, both spline chains offer less fine-grained might consider a secondary twist- Max and Maya allow you to control control over twist behavior than only bone chain. STEVE THEODORE has been pushing pixels the twist at the start and end of the Maya’s, but at least their default Second, the twist calculations for more than a dozen years. His credits chain. This grants a degree of fine behavior is acceptable. Maya’s are more reliable if the twist control include MECH COMMANDER, HALF-LIFE, TEAM control over complex chains that default is annoying enough that objects are aligned along the start FORTRESS, COUNTER-STRIKE, and . He's FK cannot match. many riggers throw up their hands and end tangents of the control been a modeler, animator, and technical Both packages allow you to and swear off spline IK after trying curve. You can use path constraints artist, as well as a frequent speaker at drive the twist using a control to get them working. to achieve this, or attach the twist industry conferences. He’s currently a object (the “up node” in Max, the It is possible to whip your twist controls to the start and end of an consultant helping game studios perfect “world up object” in Maya). Alas, controls into shape if you keep two FK chain driving the control spline their art tools and pipelines. Email him at the “out of box experience” can rules in mind: as discussed above. [email protected].

FIGURE 5 Deformation order matters when you’re warping an IK control spline. The first spline is ripple-deformed before being 44 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009 skinned; the second is deformed after.

0911gd_pixel_pusher_vIjf.indd 44 10/20/09 6:18:13 PM Advertisement

Unreal Technology News by Mark Rein, Epic Games, Inc.

Canadian-born Mark Rein is used UnrealScript, Matinee and Kismet to bring the vice president and co-founder UNREAL ENGINE 3 POWERS PLANET 51: THE GAME action to life. of Epic Games based in Cary, Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios and Pyro Studios North Carolina. are taking a unique approach to their upcoming Sony “Kismet gives us the opportunity to prototype game- play quickly, so once mechanics are approved, we have Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 won Pictures feature film, Planet 51, and its SEGA-published Game Developer magazine’s video game. Pyro has developed the game while sister more time to polish them,” explained Franco. Best Engine Front Line Award company Ilion has focused on the movie, enabling for three consecutive years, teams behind both releases to share digital assets and and it is also the current Hall of work together in a creative atmosphere. Fame inductee. Jose Manuel Garcia Franco, game director, Pyro Studios, Epic’s internally developed said the impact of Unreal Engine 3 on the game’s titles include the 2006 creation has reduced development time as well as the Game of the Year “Gears of team size. The most important impact that Unreal has War” for and PC; had on this project, he said, is that the technology has “Unreal Tournament 3” for allowed most of the team to focus on the gameplay PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox aspects, which has resulted in a better game. 360; and “Gears of War 2” for Xbox 360.

Screenshot from Planet 51: The Game

“Unreal also helped us a lot developing Planet 51 across platforms, particularly with the PS3 version, which has Upcoming Epic been less problematic that we thought it would be at Attended Events: the beginning.” G-Star Busan, Korea The film was written by Shrek creator Joe Stillman, and November 26-29, 2009 the game adds a lot of new material to the mix through a variety of vehicle-based and pedestrian GCAP missions. Melbourne, Australia December 6-8, 2009 Jose Manual Garcia Franco, Game Director, Pyro Studios “The game feels like you’re playing in a real open world,” said Franco. “You can control the characters DICE Summit At the peak of production, the team at Pyro included from the movie and utilize their special abilities as you Las Vegas, NV more than 40 developers working with Unreal Engine progress through the game.” February 17-19, 2010 3 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. Franco said that out of this team, just a few GDC 2010 As Pyro nears completion on its first Unreal Engine San Francisco, CA coders and a few artists had previous experience using project, Franco said it’s important to remember that March 9-13, 2010 Unreal. Epic’s technology is not just for shooters. “It has a lot of possibilities,” said Franco, who points to his own action/ “We needed a very solid engine, and with this being a Please email: platform/racing game, Planet 51, as a great example of movie-based game for next-generation consoles, we [email protected] what can be done with Unreal Engine 3. for appointments. had time restrictions and a hard deadline,” said Franco. Everyone can explore Planet 51 this Thanksgiving on “We chose Unreal because the game had to ship on both the big screen and major game consoles. time. Unreal is a very solid and stable engine, and it gives us a group of tools that enable us to polish our Thanks to Pyro Studios for speaking with freelance game. It helps us to focus on the game’s execution, reporter John Gaudiosi. This interview will be available in reducing development time and allowing the team to full at www.unrealtechnology.com. focus on creativity.” For UE3 licensing inquiries email: Franco said his team used many Unreal Engine 3 tools, [email protected] including the robust level-editing system to structure the content with layers -- more than 60 levels in each For Epic job information visit: scenario. In addition, they employed the asynchronous www.epicgames.com/epic_jobs.html load system for the streaming the world to gamers with no load time. In terms of actual gameplay, the team WWW. EPIc GAm ES.cO m

Epic, Epic Games, the Epic Games logo, Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Unreal, Unreal Engine, Unreal Technology, the Powered by Unreal Technology logo, and the Circle-U logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. Other brands or product names are the trademarks of their respective owners. DESIGN OF THE TIMES // DAMION SCHUBERT

THE ART OF FUN DISCUSSING GAMES ON THEIR OWN TERMS

WHETHER VIDEO GAMES CAN never have the pacing as most critics felt had little or experience. It involves the tools for the notion that the be art has been debated for masterfully handled as an no artistic potential. It took viewer, and is made richer by interactivity is the art. as long as developers have Alan Moore graphic novel. years for television writers his involvement and his point Think again to the been putting pixels together. Simply put, timing and to abandon the rules of of view. You reflect on it. You Chinese puzzle box. It’s a question that goes pacing is just too important radio and cinema and create experience it. Great art of all What makes a great beyond mere academia—the to a pure narrative, and art suited for their genre. kinds evolves in your mind Bioware storytelling game? idea of games as art brings the concept of interactivity Nowadays, many would argue the more you reflect on it. Many things, including professional legitimacy for gives too much control away that shows like Deadwood, Why is the Mona Lisa a some that would be the industry, and gets to to compete with master Battlestar Galactica, and great piece of art? Because familiar to screenwriters the heart of the concept of storycrafters. The Office surpass in many the viewer is left wondering, and film directors (a games as protected speech. Yet fascinatingly, ways the westerns, sci-fi, and “Why is she smiling?” focus on characters and Naysayers argue that interactive stories in comedies you can find in a Video games can be art, cinematography, for video games will never tell video games always seem movie theater. certainly, because while it example). But one lost as complex stories, touch to be more artful to me For video games, will never do other things on many observers is the as controversial topics, than linear, canned, non- narrative is an exceptionally as well as film, television, design worldview that or display emotions as interactive ones. powerful tool—one used novels, photography or oil the narrative must be textured as those found in At Bioware, we work very well in KNIGHTS OF THE paintings, it is perhaps the interactive—the player must film—largely because games very hard to bring the art of OLD REPUBLIC and STARCRAFT, best medium in existence be able to make choices, and are obsessed with “fun.” narrative to video games. for example. But I posit that for interactivity. the choices should matter. This argument suggests that We strive to push the many games without story, Certainly, there are This level of interactivity, until designers get out of the envelope on narrative, and games like CIVILIZATION and video games that are not self-learning and control rut that is focusing on this our devotion to pursuing MINESWEEPER, are elegant, very artful—but this is is what the movies can’t singular emotion, art will story-based gameplay is artful games with barely a also certainly true of a lot compete with. elude us. one of the reasons our lick of developer-provided of films, television, novels, I feel this completely games are among the best narrative. The art found in photography, and oil paintings. WHERE DOES FUN FIT? misses the point of where in the business. these games is less about The existence of Porky’s does » In A Theory of Fun, Raph the art of All that said, narrative what you find in a movie not invalidate the art found in Koster argues that fun is actually lives. Do games have is a red herring in the theater, and more about Schindler’s List. what happens when a player to be fun to be successful? discussion of games as art. what you find in an ancient The art to be found encounters a game system, Almost certainly. Does this Let’s put it this way: can Chinese puzzle box (boxes in a video game is the is challenged by it, learns it, mean that every game needs oil paintings be art without which can only be opened interactions—how a player masters it, and then takes to push the same emotional great cinematography? Can through a series of tricks). interfaces with the game, it to the next level. In his buttons? Or that games can’t classical music be great and what sort of feedback model, fun is a measure of be art? No to both. without a killer screenplay? AN ARTFUL GAME he gets in return. Thus, the personal engagement. Let’s back up. Can a Ming vase be exquisite » There are many opinions art is in the mechanics, the In this light, “fun” is There is something without compelling as to what makes good systems, and the simulation. the result of successful holding back the idea that characters? These are very art. I keep coming back to There are many, many interactivity. And if you video games could be art. silly questions. a simple idea—the films, places to go from there— start with the idea that It’s the simplistic notion that So why should anyone books, and television that I some may find more art in interactivity is the basis they will not succeed until insist that video games consider art is the stuff that systems that are very naked for art in games, then it they can do what the movies follow the rules of another lingers. The stuff I reflect and easy to manipulate, stands to reason that, not or other story-based media artistic medium? Every upon afterwards. The films such as a fine game of only is it possible for fun can do. This is extremely medium has its own rules for that surprise me, like Usual Magic: the Gathering. Others games to be art, it is very shortsighted. what makes that particular Suspects. The graphic novels may find awe and wonder likely that games that will be Video games will likely craft capture the viewer’s that challenge my world in simulations designed to considered great works of never have the capacity eye and imagination. views, like V for Vendetta. The mimic reality and hide the art will be fun. to tell a story as well as a This is not a particularly songs that become deeper mechanics. Even others may Saying that a game well-crafted Scorsese film. new idea—Marshall McLuhan and more intricate the more be most intrigued by the needs to be fun is kind of like They will struggle to have coined the phrase “the times I listen to them. art of how multiple people saying that a movie needs characters as strong as Medium is the Message” back Good art is interactive. can share or impede each good dialogue and direction. those found in a Donald in 1964—talking about a new It is not a passive thing other in the same system. Sure, you could have a great Westlake novel. They will upstart called “television” that that slides off the viewer’s These are all techniques or movie without a spoken line,

46 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_design_vIjf.indd 46 10/20/09 6:15:12 PM ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN PHAM

but don’t kid yourself, it will BAND. Players frequently find heading to a concentration teach an important lesson. players to experiment with. be an anomaly. different kinds of fun in the camp, and that no one wins. Consumerism and success It needs to tap into a wider The trick is that fun same places—interacting This is an interesting case: doesn’t necessarily make shell of emotions. It could is not a simple, one-note with HALF-LIFE’s gravity gun most people are shocked, and your life easier (see THE stand to explore more adult emotion inside of the game is very different than playing feel guilty about the fun they SIMS). Nuclear war may themes. It would be nice to space. Nicole Lazzaro some TEAM FORTRESS. had playing the game. It is result in a pyrrhic victory see more games teach real- is a game researcher Arthouse favorite game doubtful that the game would and destroy the earth world relevant knowledge, or who describes several BRAID is a work of genius not be fun if the players played it (CIVILIZATION). Killing encourage players to explore different kinds of fun inside because of a social message, a second time in a row. It’s all terrorists won’t necessarily deeper philosophical divides. successful games: easy a gripping narrative, stirring very meta in the whole games make us stronger (web But to just base our fun (the joy of interacting characters, or even great and fun discussion. game SEPTEMBER 12TH). In success on how well we can with an environment in a art. It’s fascinating because But the whole message all three games, the lesson copy what the movies do? non-threatening way), hard it has interesting, novel would be lost if the core comes not from preaching, Where’s the fun in that? fun (meeting a challenge, mechanics. Which, when you game interaction of loading but from interacting, which being frustrated) social fun figure them out, are fun. passengers weren't fun. is a far more powerful way DAMION SCHUBERT is the lead (helping someone) and Even more interesting You can tell a narrative to learn something. But if combat designer of STAR WARS: schadenfreude (smacking is Brenda Brathwaite’s in your game, as in MASS that interaction’s not fun, THE OLD REPUBLIC at BioWare them down). experimental game, Train. EFFECT, or discuss a the messages will never Austin. He has spent nearly a And this is still very Train is a board game where philosophical point of view, gain traction. decade working on the design coarse in texture. The players try to maximize the as in BIOSHOCK. The story can The game industry of games, with experience on mindless fun in DINER DASH number of passengers on be core to your interactions, needs more kinds of games. MERIDIAN59 and SHADOWBANE is nothing like the cerebral their train. They are given no or it can be window dressing. It needs to reach more as well as other virtual worlds. fun of a game of chess. prior clues, but at the end It doesn’t matter, the game markets. The lifeblood of Damion also is responsible for Raiding in WOW pushes of the game, they are told still needs to be fun. the industry will continue Zen of Design, a blog devoted to vastly different buttons than that the passengers they You can have the to be to find more kinds of game design issues. Email him at nailing a drum solo in ROCK were loading up were Jews mechanics of your game interactions and systems for [email protected].

WWW.GDMAG.COM 47

0911gd_design_vIjf.indd 47 10/20/09 6:15:15 PM project: Activision - Generic Ad trim: 7.75" x 10.5" bleed: 8.25" x 11" moc#: 06937 FIN client: Activision safe: 6.75" x 9.5" mech: 100% print: 100% date: 01/14/09 JESSE HARLIN // AURAL FIXATION

THE MAGIC OF MISDIRECTION WORKING AROUND AUDIO ENGINE LIMITATIONS

AUDIO IMPLEMENTATION unfortunately has specific GHOSTBUSTERS (WII EDITION). is like a magic show. With restraints other consoles limited resources and a don’t, such as the allowance bag of clever tricks, audio for only a single hardware- implementation gurus can decoded stream. Meanwhile, convince a willing audience some higher end games are that anything they hear is still being driven with legacy real. The more limited the audio engine limitations that resources are, the more are leftovers from the last clever the tricks need to be. console cycle. Like magicians, a great These are just some of tool of the audio implementer the limited frameworks within is the act of misdirection. which audio implementers are In magic, misdirection is forced to work. But indeed, commonly defined as making part of the job of audio imple- an audience look at the wrong mentation is trying to make thing at the right time. The these limitations seemingly same practice is true for disappear into thin air while Streaming files that are divided into smaller pieces can be easier to sync with in-game cinematics. audio implementation. Audio still providing a rich audio implementers frequently experience under tight restric- made during pre-scripted of specific animations, be triggered, the listener’s find themselves needing tions. This is where misdirec- events that call the players’ characters, and story- attention is drawn away to misdirect a listener’s tion becomes most crucial. attention to other elements critical dialogue. Rather than from the joins, and they attention with flashy tricks Whether on the Wii, the of the game. Look to hide loading a slew of files into never sense the trick that and loud noises as they iPhone, or the PlayStation stream changes behind resident memory for only was performed before their finesse smaller, more subtle 2, many games can find reliably scripted instances those moments, pre-scored unsuspecting ears. changes in the game’s themselves at the mercy of explosions, elaborate streaming files can be an Like in magic, audio audio while the audience is of only a single available animations, or dialogue- effective way to fake detailed misdirection takes distracted. When performed stream for audio. Though driven camera cuts. Pull audio implementation. careful planning that is well, the audience has no idea saddled with limited tech, attention away from the Unfortunately, these successful only if the they’ve been bamboozled. design teams still expect stream change by masking sequences are notorious audience doesn’t notice rich audio worlds and it under interesting or for having their frame rates its inclusion in the act. The SLEIGHT OF HAND dynamic sound experiences. louder one-shot instances fluctuate, thereby causing key to sneaking it past the » Instance limiting, Mixing ambiences and such as opening and closing the animations to easily audience’s detection is dynamic loading, and music together into a single doors, elaborate machinery drift out of sync from the reliable audio scripting and intelligent systemic stream streaming file is a start. sounds, or item and power- pre-rendered audio. The a firm understanding of management can go a However, problems enter up pick-up sounds. The key ideal solution is to slave the specific audio engine’s long way toward saving when it comes time to change is to be positive that your the visuals to the audio, but limitations. With a few tricks memory budgets and from one file to the next. misdirection sounds will this isn’t always achievable and a knack for making making life easier on audio Without a second stream, always play at the moment for tech reasons. In these the audience listen to the implementers. However, there’s no ability to crossfade. that you need them, so cases, implementers wrong thing at the right implementers can’t count As such, the existing stream make sure to dig into can work with the sound time, audio implementers on these luxury features needs to fade down to infinity available gameplay scripts designers to break the can find clever solutions to being available in every (zero gain) before the new that the level designers single audio file down into their limited tech options, game they tackle. The stream can start, creating have created and look for smaller constituent chunks. keep their development casual game market has an audible gap of silence suitable candidates for These chunks can then be teams happy, and wow their exploded via Flash-based between the two streams. reliable misdirection. anchored to scripted events listeners with magic. web sites and the Nintendo While the implementer throughout the cinematic DS, and for both, audio file has no control over the SMOKE AND MIRRORS as a means of periodically JESSE HARLIN has been sizes can remain a crippling existence of the gap, they » In-engine cinematics reestablishing sync. By composing music for games since limitation. Apple’s iPhone can have control over when present their own set of planning the splices at 1999. He is currently the staff has indisputably become a the gap is created. Changes challenges. Frequently they times where single one-shot composer for LucasArts. You can major gaming device, but in stream playback can be make use of special suites misdirection sounds can email him at [email protected].

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0911gd_auralfix_vIbs.indd 49 10/20/09 6:14:36 PM BRANDON SHEFFIELD

WHEN THE SECRET HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES IS FINALLY WRITTEN, A SPECIAL CHAPTER WILL HAVE TO BE DEVOTED TO Naoto Ohshima. He played a crucial role in exploring the creative possibilities of new console technology by working on some of the most innovative titles of the 1990s. After contributing to early installments of WIZARDRY and , Ohshima created the iconic character designs for . The blue mascot’s success paved the way for Ohshima’s directing turn on SONIC CD, a game brimming over with fresh ideas that few had an opportunity to experience due to the Sega CD’s unpopularity. His next major project, NIGHTS INTO DREAMS for the , was an audacious and beautiful attempt to claim the high ground during the early days of 3D console gaming. He followed NIGHTS with , another game for the ill-fated Saturn that was radically different from its violence-oriented 3D contemporaries. As the 90's came to an end he weathered the shifting fortunes of Sega by forming , and now heads the sometimes brilliant, occasionally aggravating, always interesting .

50 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_interview_ohshima_vIjf.in50 50 10/20/09 6:25:33 PM interview

BS: Your first major console game going and going along the ground that there was a lot of stuff in BS: It's a cliche question, but was with Artoon was BLINX. You might you eventually run into an invisible there, altered graphics and such, that why Sonic’s main colors are say it was ahead of its time ... wall, so ... We had to think about that would only be playable for two red, white and blue? games like PRINCE OF PERSIA used a ways to keep players from going that days’ time. NO: (laughs) Well, he’s blue because time mechanic long afterward and far off; that’s where the Alarm Egg NO: We had the idea to have Spring that’s Sega’s more-or-less official saw great success with it. Where came from (a wandering alarm clock Nights, Summer Nights, and so forth, company color. His shoes were did that idea come from? that follows the human player and reflecting all of the seasons. It really inspired by the cover to Michael NO: It was purely a product of the wakes them from the dreamland, wasn’t a technological challenge, Jackson’s Bad, which contrasted hard drive included with every thereby ending the level). as the textures don’t really change heavily between white and Xbox—the original one, not the 360. much. It didn’t take a lot of time, and red—that Santa Claus-type color. I We wanted to build a console game BS: What made you want to put I think its mission of drumming up also thought that red went well for from the ground up that used the features like that into the non- interest and excitement among our a character who can run really fast, drive effectively. Nights section of the game? fans was pretty well met. when his legs are spinning. NO: Well, the original inspiration BS: That’s where the play mechanic for the game was to create a Peter BS: What did you think of the new BS: You were also the director of came from? Pan-like character. Nights and Peter NIGHTS? SONIC CD—another game that had NO: That’s right. There wouldn’t be Pan share that character trait; NO: The Wii one? That project was time as a play mechanic. Have you any other way to do it. The PS2 they’re both capable of things that led by [Takashi] Iizuka, who was the liked that mechanic for a while? wouldn’t have been able to do it. regular people can only do in their lead designer on the original NIGHTS. NO: Well, I wanted a SONIC where dreams. So I wanted two games He really loves that character, and the levels changed on you—where BS: Do you think it would be here, in a way; one where you possible to make another mascot- were human, and one where you BLINX: THE TIME SWEEPER style platforming game in the combined with Nights to accomplish current era? extraordinary things. Nobody had NO: Ah, well, I’m making a game like really played a full-on, free-running that right now. (laughs) I can’t quite 3D game at that time, so we were talk about that yet, though. In more concerned that people would have general terms, the game needs to trouble comprehending the game be something that anyone is able to if it gave you complete control play, and it needs to have one thing freedom. As a result, as a human, or element that is brand new, that you have freedom, but only in a hasn’t been done before. small, confined space. Combine with Nights, and the game switches BS: NIGHTS INTO DREAMS on the to a side-scrolling type, as gamers Saturn was the first really 3D game would’ve been readily familiar with I played, long ago. As the Nights at that time. character you had a certain path you followed n 2D, but if you went BS: In a way, having a vulnerable back to human form, you could human character able to do things walk around anywhere you liked. Nights couldn’t is somewhat I found a lot of things that way empowering to the player. that I couldn’t see as Nights, and it NO: I agree. I’m sure that he was able to create Sonic would go really fast, like in was a sort of turning point for me; the NIGHTS that he wanted to create. Back to the Future, and bang, wind it felt like a real-life world to me, BS: CHRISTMAS NIGHTS was also up in a different place. making these discoveries. You don’t ahead of its time—the idea that BS: It didn’t feel the same to me. get that pure feeling of discovery you could unlock extra stuff NO: It was, perhaps, more BS: Why do you think you’ve been much in games anymore. Was that depending on what the date is. Americanized than before. The involved with a lot of games with something you were purposefully Those sorts of games are still rare original NIGHTS was chiefly made time elements to them? aiming for with NIGHTS? to see. with the Japanese and European NO: I hadn’t realized that, actually. NO: Well, with people my age, we NO: Indeed. That game is mostly audiences in mind—SONIC, (laughs) There must be a part of didn’t really have video games as the same as NIGHTS, but it was meanwhile, was squarely aimed at me that likes that sort of thing, children. When we came up with very literally a Christmas present the U.S. market. the time. concepts for games, we couldn’t say for our audience, a sort of thank- BS: SONIC CD really felt great in “It’s some of this game and some you from Sega to its fans. That was BS: In what way did you position action. It doesn’t have the full-on of that other game.” As a result, the concept. SONIC for the U.S. market? speed of SONIC 2, but the world especially around that era, you had NO: Well, he’s a character that I think feels really alive in the game, a lot of games that did not become BS: I was an enormous fan of Sega, is suited to America—or, at least, the much in the same that it did for truly evaluated by the public until around the Saturn and Mega Drive image I had of America at the time. me in NIGHTS—that feeling that long after their release. There just eras, and that certainly calls to NIGHTS is a more delicate ... well, his the game world would still be alive weren’t a lot of 3D games back then. mind the Sega of old. What struck gender is deliberately ambiguous, even if I weren’t exploring through Of course, with NIGHTS, if you keep me about CHRISTMAS NIGHTS was for one. it. Was that your intention? CONTINUED ON PAGE 52

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0911gd_interview_ohshima_vI2jf.i51 51 10/21/09 11:25:56 AM interview

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 51 NO: SONIC CD was made in Japan, expanding the world of games. while SONIC 2 was made by (Yuji) That’s what I want to do; I want to Naka’s team over in the U.S. We keep on doing new things, and I exchanged information, of course, think that’s possible with Artoon, talking about the sort of game Cavia, and Feelplus. design each of us was aiming for. But SONIC CD wasn’t SONIC 2; it was BS: The way I see it, if the director really meant to be more of a CD makes the sort of games he wants version of the original SONIC. I can’t to make, then the end results help but wonder, therefore, if we are going to be more interesting. had more fun making CD than they The gamers are important, of did making SONIC 2 [because we course, but if you make a game for didn’t have the pressure of making yourself, that adds character to a “numbered sequel”]. the result. What I really wanted to do was NO: Well, for example none of my just have this sonic boom, with a favorite movies were really hits. flash, and have the level change (laughs) Myself and the gaming NIGHTS INTO DREAMS on you instantly. We just couldn’t audience, we’re different. I like manage it on the hardware, though, new things, but if something is too wide distribution here, Hollywood for treasure in this gorgeous so instead there’s that sequence new, then gamers won’t be able films very quickly became the most environment. I thought that that plays while it’s loading. to comprehend it. So you have popular. Within that environment, was really fun, until it got to the (laughs) I kept fighting and fighting to think about your audience at Japanese animation has managed shooting bits, but I’m not sure if with the programmers, but they said least a little bit, or else you’ll make to attract worldwide praise, which such a game would sell well. it just wasn’t possible. something that runs the risk of is great. But we’re seeing a sort NO: I do have an interest in that being incomprehensible. That’s why of Hollywood-ization of the game sort of thing as well, but I think BS: I bet they probably could have I want to keep them in mind. industry right now, and Japan’s games that have more of an done it. traditional strengths in cartoon-style original idea to them come first in NO: I know! (laughs) If Naka was BS: Certainly that’s true, but games are going by the wayside. my mind. doing the programming, I think it sometimes you see indie films So in thinking about the future, I could’ve been done. become hits, too. Taking that risk realized I wanted to do both “real” BRANDON SHEFFIELD: You recently is important, I think. and “cartoon” games. Now, VAMPIRE became the CEO of Cavia, moving BS: Do you know why Naka NO: Yeah, but the sort of indies that RAIN got a negative reception from a over from Artoon—or is it more left Sega? become hits are those that are easy lot of its players, and we regret a lot complex than that? NO: No, actually. to follow for anyone who watches of things with that game, so in the NAOTO OHSHIMA: Well, the head of them. So, in the end, you want future we definitely want to make the company here quit because of BS: The way he put it, he was too to make it just a little new—not games that excite people a great ... family issues. (laughs) Since they far up—he was doing nothing but completely so. deal more. then lacked a president, I sort of management and couldn’t do any wound up taking over that role, since design or programming work on BS: With games, though, you have BS: You could say that SILENT HILL we’re all technically part of the same games. He couldn’t even influence download platforms that can has succeeded at that in the past, outfit. (Artoon, Cavia, and Feelplus SONIC anymore. I thought that was support titles like ECHOCHROME showing an auteurism without are all under AQ Interactive) admirable that he went on to try to (the PSP version of which Artoon being Hollywoodized—opening up do creative work again. worked on). Games like that, they to the world on its own terms. BS: I do like a lot of Cavia’s NO: Indeed. In fact, it was really don’t have to be massive hits. Those cartoony games do games. Though they often seem the same deal with me and Artoon. NO: Sure. ECHOCHROME doesn’t not sell well in Japan any longer, unpolished—the games seem to Now, though, the group as a whole have very fancy graphics at all, but either—it seems like platformers get “almost there,” do you know has gotten really big—it’s sort of a play it, and it’s really fun. It really like SONIC and are the only what I mean? BULLET WITCH and mini-Sega. depends on the game. ones that do. Why do you think GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE that is? COMPLEX both have something to BS: So will you making your type of BS: What made you decide to move NO: Because they’re all the same. them, but these certainly don’t game in the future, then, or are you into that darker territory with The art and the storylines may feel like Ohshima-style games. going to be making more darker- VAMPIRE RAIN and Artoon? be different, but the gameplay is NO: Well, certainly, I do a lot of style games, as Artoon and Cavia NO: Games are a part of the overall the same. management-type work these days. have been moving toward? realm of entertainment, including I definitely want to make something NO: Well, the important thing is to movies and music and so on. I think BS: Lately I’ve been thinking about again! I really do. make gamers happy—the users that movies play a sort of big-brother how to modernize games like playing your game. When you make role for the game industry. The those. I think the first hour of so BRANDON SHEFFIELD never says he can't. something that’s truly new—well, Japanese film industry has been of is close. You don’t Nothing can survive the will to stay alive it’s not that you have to with every around for ages, but once films have a gun or anything—you’re 'cause if you try, you can do anything! project, but when you do, you’re from other countries began to see just jumping around and searching Email him at [email protected].

52 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_interview_ohshima_vIjf.in52 52 10/20/09 6:25:42 PM >>

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NOVEMBER 2009 | GAME DEVELOPER 55 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT // MATTHEW WASTELAND

STACK TRACE GAME INDUSTRY DETECTIVE CASE #1: THE MISSING MUSCLE MILK

ALL THE RAIN IN THE WORLD COULDN’T WASH AWAY THIS CITY’S DIRT, BUT small eyes as I struggled with the floor. had done a real number that wasn’t stopping the man upstairs from trying. It came down in great on my skull. sheets, the way it did in the beginning of SOLID 2. I wasn’t “Page,” I said, coughing. “I figured you’d be running the show around jumping off bridges onto tankers, though—I was sitting in my office, here by now. Tell that guard dog of yours to lay off the steroids. Or are you expecting another day of my usual work: nothing. Funny how that works. still mad about that repeatable crash I found?” Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and a sassy dame with an air of smoldering Page smirked, his forehead shiny with sweat. “Now, Stack. That was a sexuality sashayed into my life. Well, that’s what I wish I could say, but long time ago. The zero-day patch we had to do because of you is all water come on, this is the game industry we’re talking about here. A frail guy who under the bridge now. Still, though. You know we can’t have people sneaking looked like he was fifteen squeaked into the room. He tugged nervously around the office—least of all gumshoes,” he said. “Somebody might find at his two-sizes-too-big NVIDIA GeForce t-shirt and quickly exited the GPS out about the flamethrower.” He laughed maniacally. application on his smart phone before taking a seat and spilling his story. “What?” I stammered. “Even someone as sadistic as you wouldn’t...” “Are you the famous Stack Trace? I need your help,” he began. “I don’t “Nah, I mean in the game. It’s under embargo right now; the know who else to turn to at this point. Someone stole my plastic container announcement’s set for next Tuesday.” of Extreme UltraGain Mega 7000 protein powder from my desk last night. I finally got to my feet. “I’m not here for secrets, anyway. This is about I asked the head of the studio about it, but he just laughed it off, and some missing muscle milk.” suggested I eat some Red Vines instead.” He sighed. “I spent my whole “Nice alliteration,” he said, then furrowed his brow. “You know, that royalty bonus from our last game on that tub. I can’t afford another one. stuff’s bad for you.” Please, Mr. Trace, do you think you could take the case?” “Yeah? Worse than Red Vines?” How could I say no? Especially since his request had He snorted and flicked some ash from his cigar onto a stack of unintentionally rhymed. Clutching the only clue I had—a unopened artist portfolios. crumpled Google Maps printout of the studio’s precise “Let me ask you something,” he said. “Suppose this hypothetical location—I put on the trenchcoat I bought after The person got his hypothetical protein powder back. Suppose he had the Matrix came out and got ready to do my investigation. discipline to use it and build up some muscles. Now, everyone knows I waited until the wee hours of the game designers aren’t supposed to have muscles. That kind of wacko morning on Sunday, so I could check the thinking might put other ideas in his head, like maybe he starts standing office for clues while it was deserted. I up to us when we need him here at three in the morning on a Sunday, or found a grate that revealed a passageway thinking that the games we’re making here are uninteresting. He might and, since it was the only one around, figured it was even decide to go indie.” the way in. But as I popped open the vent “Huh? Working out can lead to going indie?” from the ceiling and let myself inside, Page stood up, putting his palms down onto the surface of his desk. I immediately sensed something “Stack, old buddy. You, of all people, ought to understand this isn’t about the was wrong. The lights were on snacks we keep in the kitchen. It’s about what’s right, the natural order of and machines were humming. things. Get it? We’re running a business here. And you don’t run a business I felt eyes on me from all by letting people do whatever they want.” I didn’t get it, not in the least, but directions. It turned out before I could say anything more Page was gesturing at Zangief. “Take our the whole team was there, friend here and show him the door.” crunching for an upcoming My puny stick arms were no match for this brute’s iron-vise grip. I hit milestone. the pavement so hard I thought I caught a glimpse of ’s next Just when I thought game. And maybe it was just the impact talking to me, but suddenly I felt like things couldn’t get worse, a understood. It wasn’t the protein powder itself—it was what it represented: hulk of a man the size of a the desire to improve one’s self at the expense of the studio’s profitability. freight train barreled toward Better to have a staff of anemic pushovers than people who, however me. “Woah, easy there, haltingly, started to take their destiny into their own hands ... right? Zangief,” I said. Me and my The flash of insight wore off quickly as the rain started to soak through big mouth. I was on the my trenchcoat. I guess you shouldn’t buy clothes on eBay. This day floor before I knew it, Red was turning out to be a doozy. I’d have to tell my client I couldn’t get his Rings of Death dancing UltraGain powder back. I’d gotten bumps and bruises. I wanted a drink. But around my head. before that, there was one thing I had to do first. In my wallet, I found my When I came to, I was wrinkled old gym membership card. It was about time I renewed. in the corner office of an old friend, Page Fault. He MATTHEW WASTELAND writes about games and game development at his blog, stared at me with his Magical Wasteland (www.magicalwasteland.com). Email him at [email protected].

56 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2009

0911gd_arrested_dev_vIjf.indd 56 10/20/09 6:13:44 PM Advertisement Autodesk Games Insight The latest scoop from Autodesk Media & Entertainment

“Titles like WET are getting a lot closer to interactive films at this point, and the quality of the content is more important than ever. So if we can optimize our pipelines to enable more iterations at a faster pace, then we’re ahead of the game. Tools like Maya, MotionBuilder and help us get there”

— Martin Walker Chief Technology Officer Artificial Mind and Movement

©2009 WET, Artificial Mind and Movement. ©2009 Bethesda Softworks. Images courtesy of Artificial Mind and Movement WET: A2M Uses Autodesk Creative With a staff of 500 working on as movement. “We used MotionBuilder Tools and Middleware many as a dozen projects a year, A2M extensively to clean up motion capture Montreal-based game developer Artificial needed to standardize and streamline data for WET,” said Walker. “Also, when Mind and Movement (A2M) is best several key development processes we did our mo-cap, we weren’t sure known for developing family-friendly with reliable, off-the-shelf tools. To do which villain would take on which moves. games and licensed titles like Iron Man so A2M used Autodesk® Maya® and With MotionBuilder, we were able to and Indiana Jones. So when it came time Autodesk® MotionBuilder® software to retarget motion data onto different for their first foray into mature gaming – build the game characters and levels for characters even if the skeletal data for them to make their mark – they knew WET. Autodesk® Kynapse® middleware wasn’t necessarily a perfect match.” it would have to set a new standard in was used to implement the artificial both game play mechanics and in look intelligence (AI) that drives the game’s WET is A2M’s first mature AAA game and feel. non-playable characters. title. “Titles like WET are almost interactive films at this point, and the WET centers on Rubi, a feisty problem Using Kynapse AI middleware helped quality of the content is more important fixer trying to figure out who double- A2M focus its development efforts on than ever. So if we can optimize our crossed her and why. It is a third-person the creative look and feel of the game pipelines to enable more iterations at shooter with a unique mix of acrobatics and high-level game-play interactions, a faster pace, then we’re ahead of the and swordplay. The game’s dual- rather than on the time-consuming game. Tools like Maya, MotionBuilder targeting system lets players control process of path-finding and location and Kynapse help us get there,” one of Rubi’s weapons and auto-targets awareness. concluded Walker. the other. Rubi can aim and shoot in different directions while doing complex “Our main philosophy with regards to For more information on Autodesk acrobatic moves. Players are rewarded development tools has always been – if games software and middleware please for making Rubi jump off the walls, shoot it’s good and it already exists with the visit www.autodesk.com/games. down ladders, stay in the air and be as right price tag, why reinvent it? That’s acrobatic as possible. why we chose to work with Kynapse as our AI engine for WET. In the game, WET was written by Duppy Demetrius the player confronts a large number of and Rubi was voiced by actress Eliza enemies. We needed a path finding and Dushku (Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire location awareness system to control Slayer). WET’s gritty look and feel can decision-making for these characters in be compared to such films as Kill Bill, a coherent manner,” explained Martin Desperado and Sin City, with a clever use Walker, CTO, A2M. “Kynapse has a of photoreal 3D and stylized graphic fantastic hide-and-shoot algorithm that novel-type visuals. In key moments Rubi was used to conceal and disperse the goes into “Rage Mode”, giving players enemies in a natural way throughout an entirely different experience. Rubi environments.” becomes faster and stronger, and the graphics transform to a minimalist color MotionBuilder was used to enhance palette with enemies in contrasting motion-captured sequences, helping colors. A2M experiment with character “Rage Mode” stylized combat in A2M’s WET.

Autodesk, Kynapse, Maya, and MotionBuilder are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter prod- uct offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. ©2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

GameDeveloperWET.indd 1 07/10/2009 3:35:38 PM