THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE VOL17 NO10 NOVEMBER 2010 INSIDE: GAME DEVELOPER 50 THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE VOL17 NO10 NOVEMBER 2010 INSIDE: GAME DEVELOPER 50 DEVELOPER GAME INSIDE: 2010 NOVEMBER NO10 VOL17 MAGAZINE INDUSTRY GAME LEADING THE CONTENTS.1110 VoLUmE 17 NUmBER 10 P o ST m o RTE m d EPa RT m ENTS 24 Beenox's spider-Man: shattered diMensions 2 GaME PLAN By Brandon Sheffield [ e d i to r i a l ] Beenox had traditionally staffed its production teams with recent The Myth of the Basement Dweller graduates. This approach worked well for the studio when it was working principally on ports, but designing the large scale Spider- 4 HEADS UP DISPLAY [ n e W s ] Man: Shattered diMenSionS was often in conflict with the demands of Violent games before the Supreme Court, Edge trademark managing a young team. Fortunately, the studio was working with cancellation, and more. its own internally-developed technology which helped spread the workload across small groups. 36 TOOL BOX By Noel llopis [ r e v i e W] By Martin Rheaume Graphic Remedy gDEBugger 5.7 for iPhone FE aTURES 40 DESIGn oF the tiMES By Soren Johnson [ d e s i G n ] Start Making Sense 7 the GaMe developer 50 Looking back at the past year, we single out the people who are 42 PIXEL PUSHER By Steve Theodore [ a r t ] helping advance the state of the art. From art and technology to Epic Fail business and culture, these are the individuals who are making games great. 44 THE INNER PRODUCt By Jake Cannell [ p r o G r a MM i n G] By Brandon Sheffield and Jeffrey Fleming The Lag Issue 14 no darkness Without liGht 47 aural FIXATION By Jesse Harlin [ s o u n d ] For too long, otherwise beautiful games have been marred by State of the Union strange, glitchy shadows. Here, David Tuft goes into detail on the five most problematic shadow issues along with helpful methods 48 Eye on GdC By Staff [G d C] for fixing them. Behind the scenes of GDC lecture submissions. By David Tuft 50 Good JoB! By Staff [ C a r e e r ] 31 Good GaMes Bad desiGn Chris Charla Q&A, who went where, and new studios. It may be 20 years old, but Konami's CaStlevania III still has much to teach us about level design. In this design analysis, Eric-Jon Rössel 52 eduCated plaY By Jeffrey Fleming [ e d u C at i o n ] Tairne offers up a molecular deconstruction of the game's first level in an Broken Rules Interactive Media's and Yet it MoveS. effort to single out wells of disappointment. By Eric-Jon Rössel Tairne 56 ARRESTED DEVELOPMent By Matthew Wasteland [ h u M o r ] The 25th Annual Game Boss Conference www.gdmag.com 1 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 THE MYTH OF THE BASEMENT DWELLER FOR INFORMATION, ORDER QUESTIONS, AND GETTING BEYOND SOCIAL STIGMA IN ORDER TO ADVANCE THE MEDIUM OF GAMES AS A WHOLE ADDRESS CHANGES HEADLINE t: 800.250.2429 f: 847.763.9606 e: [email protected] DEK RECENTLY I WAS TALKING TO MY figuring out how to position “game being an inferior or childish FOR DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION mother about the game I’m developer” in the most appealing hobby, even as we argue for its www.gdmag.com/digital working on. I had told her about light? Maybe you’ve done this with advancement as an artform. In the new types of characterization a family friend or relative, as well. conversations with those outside EDITORIAL I was going for, and the messages This may be part of the problem. the industry, we may say "I PUBLISHER I was trying to imbue into this So long as we continue to allow the know this is how game players Simon Carless l [email protected] universe, and she was intrigued. playing of games to be considered are, but I'm not like that." This EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Brandon Sheffield l [email protected] She said she was proud of what I fringe or marginalized, the longer allows us to go on the defensive, PRODUCTION EDITOR do, but always makes sure to tell the stereotypes will perpetuate. putting ourselves down before Jeffrey Fleming l [email protected] her friends that I “don’t work on We, the decent human the other party can get the ART DIRECTOR those rape games.” beings of the game development chance. We distance ourselves Joseph Mitch l [email protected] PRODUCTION INTERN What did she mean by this? community, needn’t feel ashamed from a negative stereotype, but Tom Curtis “You know, the games where you to get excited about a SONIC THE simultaneously enforce it. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS go around raping Native American HEDGEHOG revamp—most people People that fit the basement- Jesse Harlin Steve Theodore women,” she explained. get excited about movies, novels, dweller stereotype do exist, but Daniel Nelson At some point in time, some or bands they like coming through they’re not the majority. The Soren Johnson sensationalist news story town. Why should games exist in trouble is they’re often the most Damion Schubert ADVISORY BOARD informed my mother about the vocal. What I’m suggesting is Hal Barwood Designer-at-Large controversial 1982 Atari 2600 an (admittedly somewhat silly) Mick West Independent USTER S EVENGE Brad Bulkley Neversoft title C ’ R , which most call to action for people to make Clinton Keith Independent current game players have never their significant others, family Brenda Brathwaite Lolapps even heard of. This, unfortunately, members, and estranged school Bijan Forutanpour Sony Online Entertainment Mark DeLoura Google is the kind of image that sticks chums understand why games Carey Chico Independent in peoples’ minds, and instills in matter, why what you do is them a negative stigma, even if important, so that perhaps they’ll ADVERTISING SALES they don’t know very much about learn for themselves that game GLOBAL SALES DIRECTOR games in general. The Hot Coffee players and developers can be Aaron Murawski e: [email protected] scandal was similar in that way— normal people. Maybe even mildly t: 415.947.6227 MEDIA ACCOUNT MANAGER completely blown out of proportion, awesome people. John Malik Watson e: [email protected] while leaving an indelible scar on t: 415.947.6224 the minds of those who don’t play THE SHRINKING WORLD GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGER, RECRUITMENT Gina Gross e: [email protected] or really understand games. » Maybe all these folks need is a t: 415.947.6241 It’s not really her fault. She a second tier of entertainment? subtle nudge in the right direction. GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGER, EDUCATION understands games better than If someone else can get excited The number of people playing Rafael Vallin e: [email protected] do her friends, and that’s part about Twilight, of all things, I can Facebook, casual, and mobile t: 415.947.6223 of the reason why she feels the anticipate THE LAST GUARDIAN. But games is increasing rapidly. Many need to make this clarification. I, and many other people I know, of them don’t consider themselves ADVERTISING PRODUCTION But there’s definitely a social still do feel some trepidation or game players, inherently, but with PRODUCTION MANAGER Pete C. Scibilia e: [email protected] issue at work here that makes her embarrassment when talking the right coaxing can probably be t: 516-562-5134 feel that way, and I realized that about this particular hobby, and made to realize they’re essentially it’s up to people like me, and other like they always say, change doing the same thing we do. While REPRINTS game developers, to change this begins with you. they may not want to sink 70 WRIGHT'S MEDIA thought pattern—one person at a hours into FALLOUT 3, they might Ryan Pratt e: [email protected] time, if need be. We should start SUBTERRANEA spend some 20 hours playing t: 877.652.5295 with ourselves, while we’re at it. » As MMO, social, and multiplayer PEGGLE during their commute. And games become more popular, and how different is that, really? AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT YOU SERIOUSLY games become less of a solitary Games are becoming more TYSON ASSOCIATES Elaine Tyson PLAY VIDEO GAMES? experience, the old joke about and more a part of global culture, e: [email protected] LIST RENTAL Merit Direct LLC I’m making a generalization » gamers living in their parents’ but stereotypes still persist. t: 914.368.1000 here, but I’m going to go out on a basement becomes less plausible. The more we weed them out of limb and guess that a lot of people We’re almost always connected the social subconscious, the MARKETING you meet for the first time aren’t to people when playing games on fewer sensationalist stories we’ll MARKETING COORDINATOR Nahal Agahi super impressed when they hear a console or PC now, even if we’ve see about mainstream “raping e: [email protected] that you work on video games. simply signed into Xbox Live. games,” and the less often our How often, when asked what Unfortunately, I feel that moms will say “you do what for a you do by a member of whichever we players and creators of living, again?” gender you’re attracted to, have games perpetuate these self- you taken a little pause before deprecating ideas about games —Brandon Sheffield 2 GAME DEVELOPER | NOVEMBER 2010 WWW.UBM.COM Perforce_PStop_GameDev_HI: Page 1 Perforce The Fast Software Configuration Management System Perforce Technical Support Fast Turnarounds.