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August 2012 Inside: Spatial Analytics: Go Beyond the Heat Map August 2012 THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE VOL 19 NO 8 AUGUST 2012 INSIDE: SPATIAL ANALYTICS: GO BEYOND THE HEAT MAP AUGUST 2012 METROMTSOP Join the World's Largest Mobile Social Gaming Network Get the SDK at developer.gree.net Come Play on GREE Platform: CONTENTS.0812 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 8 postmortem 22 DEAR ESTHER DEAR ESTHER started as a narrative-driven Source Engine mod made as part of a research project, and turned into a standalone cult hit that made back its Indie Fund investment within six hours of its release. In this postmortem from thechineseroom, writer and project lead Dan Pinchbeck explains how the team created a powerful game that took the “S” out of “FPS.” By Dan Pinchbeck features 7 AI ARCHITECTURES: WHAT’S ON THE MENU? How do you choose the right artifi cial intelligence architecture for your game? Even if you do your homework, it’s not always easy to know which architecture best fi ts your game genre, design, and development workfl ow until you dive in. AI consultant Dave Mark walks you through the most prevalent AI structures to help fi nd the one that best complements your game. By Dave Mark 15 BEYOND THE HEAT MAP Get better game analytics, and you’ll be better able to understand what makes your players tick. Heat maps are only the tip of the iceberg, though. You can use telemetry data, geographic information systems, and trajectory analyses to fi ne-tune your game even further, and with greater control. By Anders Drachen departments 2 GAMEPLAN By Brandon Sheffi eld [EDITORIAL] The Aftermarket 4 HEADS UP DISPLAY By Staff [NEWS] Quick looks at a new interactive fi ction development tool, updates to Commodore and Amiga preservation packages, and the Seven-Day FPS Game Jam 31 TOOLBOX By Alexander Brandon [REVIEW] RAD Game Tools’s Miles Sound System 35 THE INNER PRODUCT By John Szczepaniak [PROGRAMMING] A Basic History of BASIC 41 AURAL FIXATION By Alexander Brandon [SOUND] Audio in Unity 101 44 DESIGN OF THE TIMES By Soren Johnson [DESIGN] When Digital Meets Physical 47 BUSINESS By Paul Taylor [BUSINESS] In Defense of Paying Once 48 PIXEL PUSHER By Steve Theodore [ART] Tread Lightly 7 50 GDC NEWS By Staff [NEWS] DC Europe adds Journey, Goldeneye 007 postmortems 51 GOOD JOB By Patrick Miller [CAREER] Q&A with Taiyoung Ryu, new studios, and who went where 15 53 EDUCATED PLAY By Patrick Miller [EDUCATION] LOVE PUNKS 56 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT By Matthew Wasteland [HUMOR] Vox Populi WWW.GDMAG.COM 1 game developer GAMEgame PLANplaN // BRANDONBraNdoN SHEFFIELDsHeFFIeld magazINe www.gdmag.com UBM LLC. 303 Second Street, Suite 900, South Tower San Francisco, CA 94107 THE AFTERMARKET t: 415.947.6000 f: 415.947.6090 For smaller titles, you can no longer play THE waiting game SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES FOR INFORMATION, ORDER QUESTIONS, AND I recently watched a trailer for a it, so there must be some mistake. visual and sonic style, and the ADDRESS CHANGES game by Diego Garcia and Emmett 99-cent App Store games have video was all about tone, not t: 800.250.2429 f: 847.763.9606 Butler called HEADS UP! HOT DOGS. become the impulse purchase of gameplay (in fact, it barely even e: [email protected] It’s an amusing iOS game about the game market. I don’t want a told you what the game was). www.gdmag.com/contactus dropping hot dogs on people’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup right Unlike the HEADS UP! trailer, the EDITORIAL heads as they walk by at various now, but when I’m in the checkout S:S&S EP trailer had a voice and a PUBLISHER speeds. Some of them bounce up line waiting for the pink-haired old direction, but no detail. Simon Carless e: [email protected] and down, making it tougher for lady in front of me to take out her Here, then, are my ideas for EDITOR-IN-CHIEF the dog to settle. Cops try to shoot checkbook, it starts to look pretty the modern world of iOS and PC Brandon Sheffield e: [email protected] your hot dog out of the sky. The compelling. When I’m avoiding indie game marketing. EDITOR Patrick Miller e: [email protected] game has a nice art style, good work for five minutes to look at ManagER, PRODUCTION music, and seems like quirky a video of a new game, that’s my If your game is high-concept: Dan Mallory e: [email protected] fun, if a bit light. As soon as the checkout line. I want to buy it right Tease it with video. Establish a tone ART DIRECTOR trailer finished playing, I thought “I away, and I don’t want to be told to and authorial voice for your game, Joseph Mitch e: [email protected] reckon that’s about 99 cents. I’ll go come back later. and present developer diaries in COnTRIBUTIng WRITERS Anders Drachen, Dan Pinchbeck, Alexander Brandon, buy it.” I went to the App Store and ZiGGURAT had two spikes in that voice. Don’t be too specific, and John Szczepaniak, Steve Theodore, Soren Johnson, found...nothing. sales, which were related to two keep all communication with the Paul Taylor, Matthew Wasteland, Mike Rose, Leigh Turns out the game isn’t due favorable reviews from larger outside world in the game’s voice. Alexander out until fall 2012. The trailer got publications, and a postrelease After the game is out, promote ADVISORY BOARD coverage on a few major blogs, YouTube mock infomercial Tim further in this manner, but also Mick West Independent Brad Bulkley Microsoft and for a game of this size, that’s created. The most important discuss your game frankly in your Clinton Keith Independent about all it’s going to get. By fall, lesson is that while Tim did a own voice as well. When you’re Brenda Brathwaite Loot Drop who will remember the little game good job promoting the game releasing game updates, return to Bijan Forutanpour Sony Online Entertainment about dropping hot dogs? Even if before its release, the major the “game voice.” Mark DeLoura THQ Carey Chico Globex Studios I do remember it, will I still want sales came when promotions Mike Acton Insomniac it then? Will Kotaku want to write hit postrelease—not when the If your game is anything else: ADVERTISING SALES about a game of this size a second game first went on sale. In his Do not release an expository time, no matter how quirky? With case, releasing too much good trailer before your game’s release. GLOBAL saLES DIRECTOR the press, your first shot is when information to the press before Tease it with images and sounds, Aaron Murawski e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6227 you convey the excitement of a the game was out might actually but don’t show a trailer. Keep MEDIA ACCOUNT ManagER New Thing. After that, the thrill have hurt sales. your public info to just your loyal Jennifer Sulik e: [email protected] is gone, and at best you’ll get a It’s been well established that followers, fans, or friends. Do t: 415.947.6227 “remember that game? It’s out any barrier between the game accept feedback, and discuss GLOBAL ACCOUNT ManagER, RECRUITMENT now,” if that. and the player is a significant your game publicly and answer Gina Gross e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6241 The pace of the game world loss of revenue. In the case of questions if asked—it’s always GLOBAL ACCOUNT ManagER, EDUcaTION is speeding up, and the window HEADS UP! HOT DOGS, I thought it good to let people feel involved Rafael Vallin e: [email protected] of opportunity for promotion is was interesting enough to buy. in your work—but don’t release a t: 415.947.6223 changing accordingly. I think But how will I remember to check trailer or do a real press push until ADVERTISING PRODUCTION that for indie games on PC, iOS, when it’s released? If industry the game is out. After that, go wild. blogs never talk about it again, PRODUCTION MANAGER and Android, the bulk of your Pete C. Scibilia e: [email protected] marketing should thus be after the or nobody links it to me once In the world of triple-A games, t: 516-562-5134 game is already on the market. it’s out, I won’t know. What if building buzz is still the name REPRINTS the developers used up all their of the game, but that’s because A SMALL CasE STUDY goodwill with that first trailer you have to have a big brick-and- Wright’S media Jason Pampell e: [email protected] » My friend Tim Rogers of Action push? Will potential players even mortar launch, and you need to be t: 877-652-5295 Button Entertainment released remember the name? at the front of players’ minds when AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT a game called ZIGGURAT on iOS they enter that GameStop. But for about four months ago. Before the A NOTABLE EXCEPTION smartphone, PC indie, and other AUDIEncE DEVELOPMENT ManagER game’s release, he kept putting » SUPERBROTHERS: SWORD & smaller-scale platforms, you won’t Nancy Grant e: [email protected] LIST RENTAL out hints about it—releasing SWORCERY EP is an exception in have the budget to get tons of Peter Candito trailers, images, and the like—and a lot of ways, but we’ll just talk trailers into their brains. For most Specialist Marketing Services he would always have people about the trailer here.
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