THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE VOL19 NO1 JANUARY 2012 INSIDE: 14TH ANNUAL FRONT LINE AWARDS Change Your World DOWNLOAD FREE* 2012 AUTODESK SOFTWARE The future is closer than you think. Join a whole new class of artists in the Autodesk Education Community, and receive free* access to the same software and tools used by professional digital artists. autodesk.com/freesoftware *Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies download of the software. The software is for personal use for education purposes and is not intended for classroom or lab use. Autodesk is a registered trademark 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 product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2011 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved. CONTENTS.0112 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 1 DEPARTMENTS 2 GAME PLAN By Brandon Sheffield [EDITORIAL] The Generous and The Stingy POSTMORTEM 4 HEADS UP DISPLAY [NEWS] 20 DEUS EX Front Line Award finalists in quotes, MindCandy 3 released, DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION is a huge project undertaken by Eidos and Indie Royale debuts Montreal, to revive the DEUS EX franchise. The team managed to turn a lengthy pre-production process into later successes through the 36 TOOL BOX By Brandon Sheffield [TOOL INTERVIEW] power of planning. By Jean-François Dugas, Martin Dubeau, David An interview with Havok managing director Anfossi, and Mary DeMarle David Coghlan FEATURES 39 THE INNER PRODUCT By John McDonald [PROGRAMMING] Practical Ptex for Games 7 14TH ANNUAL FRONT LINE AWARDS In our annual awards that honor the best tools in the business, 48 PIXEL PUSHER By Steve Theodore [ART] we show the best game development tools and software across Hope and Change art, audio, engines, networking, middleware, and programming/ production tools, as voted by you, the readers. We also place 51 AURAL FIXATION By Jesse Harlin [SOUND] one special tool in our Hall of Fame. By Steve Theodore, Damian What’s Next for the Next NextGen? Kastbauer, Nathan Fouts, Eric Undersander, Zach Lehman, Noel Llopis, Mark Cooke, and Brandon Sheffield 52 DESIGN OF THE TIMES By Jason Vandenberghe [DESIGN] Write For The Player 13 BUILDING A FREE-TO-PLAY BACK END For independent companies that want to break into social or networked 55 THE BUSINESS By Kim Pallister [BUSINESS] games but don't know what to do about the back end work, the makers Business Books for a Turbulent Time of CREATURES 4 have an open source solution, which they outline here. By Julien Hamaide 56 GDC NEWS By Staff [NEWS] GDC China 2011 Closes With Record Attendance, 31 GDC PREVIEW GUIDE 2011 Independent Games Festival China Winners Announced GDC 2012 approaches! This preview guide showcases some of the many talks from the show. By Staff 57 GOOD JOB By Brandon Sheffield [CAREER] Jaime Griesemer moves to Sucker Punch, who went 46 NEVER ENOUGH: AN INTERVIEW WITH DENA'S KENJI where, and new studios KOBAYASHI DeNA is one of the largest social game companies in the world, operating 58 EDUCATED PLAY By Tom Curtis [EDUCATION] its mobage platform across the world. We spoke with director Kenji A CLOSED WORLD Kobayashi about profitsharing, and paying for items that enhance player ability. By Brandon Sheffield and Christian Nutt 64 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT By Matthew Wasteland [HUMOR] HelpDev, the Friendly Publisher 1 GAME DEVELOPER | XXXXX XXXX WWW.GDMAG.COM 1 GAME PLAN // BRANDON SHEFFIELD GAME DEvELOPER magazINE www.GDMAG.cOM UBM LLC. THE GENEROUS AND THE STINGY 303 Second Street, Suite 900, South Tower San Francisco, CA 94107 A GROWING TREND IN GAME DIRECTION t: 415.947.6000 f: 415.947.6090 SUBSCRIP TION SERVICES THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE BACKS a player. It keeps giving up little a welcome departure: A sidequest FOR INFORMATION, ORDER QUESTIONS, AND of game boxes had a slew of bullet nuggets of enjoyment when I pay can be a breath of fresh air. But if ADDRESS CHANGES points printed on them, illustrating attention to this or that element of you try to integrate that content t: 800.250.2429 f: 847.763.9606 numbers of enemies, features, and the design, art, or sound. into the core game, like the already e: [email protected] hours of gameplay. We decried this, generous DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS did FOR DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION at the time. “Games are more than a SEDCROOG by making an entire character and www.gdmag.com/digital series of features!” we said. “Games Microtransactions and downloadable story arc downloadable, the overall EDITORIAL are interactive experiences, and content are making their way into feeling of generosity is diminished. P UBLISHER can't be reduced to a simple list of everything. Until recently, TETRIS Ultimately, while I do not think DLC or Simon Carless l [email protected] numbers of items and maps!” was held up as one of those classic, freemium games are inherently bad, EDIRN TO -I -CHIEF Nevermind the fact there pure examples of straightforward, I believe that these types of models Brandon Sheffield l [email protected] aren't nearly as many game fun-oriented game design. But now, have changed the way games are P RODUCTION EDITOR Jade Kraus l [email protected] boxes anymore—I'm starting to a new iOS TETRIS has launched with envisioned for the worse. AR R T DIRECTO actually miss those bullet points, a paid subscription. The game is 99 Joseph Mitch l [email protected] as well. Or at least I miss what cents, and you can pay $2.99 per HOLIS TIC DESIGN DESIGNER they represented—because game month to get access to exclusive In most parts of the industry, I’m Cliff Scorso COBU NTRI TING WRITERS designs are getting stingy. content, and most importantly, a seeing less and less interest in Tom Curtis booster that lets you increase your creating a full game that’s finished Jesse Harlin GENEROSITY TETRIS rank faster. You get a core in one go. This is a money issue, John McDonald Jason Vandenberghe In the past, many of the best games game for one price, then you get of course. Everyone needs money. Steve Theodore were (and a few of the current the “extra bits” for an additional fee. But what about the love of the Kim Pallister best games still are) generously Features that might be generous in craft? What about the care put into Matthew Wasteland AD VISORY BOARD designed. By this I mean in some the design are sold at a premium. making a game with an authorial Hal Barwood Designer-at-Large games a lot of the content will not This is decidedly stingy, and almost vision, or an overall “feeling?” The Mick West Independent Brad Bulkley Microsoft be appreciated or experienced every corner of the industry is feeling from games nowadays Clinton Keith Independent by most players, but it's in there trending this way. often comes from the community Brenda Brathwaite Loot Drop beneath the layers, because the as much as (or more than) the Bijan Forutanpour Sony Online Entertainment Mark DeLoura THQ developers felt it should be, and C HOP AND CROP structure and design. That’s all well Carey Chico Independent because they wanted to make a Let's be honest about what and good for some, but that way Mike Acton Insomniac vibrant, living world. This allows we're doing here in the freemium of doing things won’t yield you a ADVERTISING SALES players to keep discovering new space. We're taking what would SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS or a FAR G LOBAL SALES DIRECTOR ways to interact with and enjoy the traditionally have been a whole CRY 2. If you chop off part of the Aaron Murawski e: [email protected] game, even after playing it for hours. game, and we're chopping parts of game’s “feel” into DLC, doesn’t this t: 415.947.6227 M EDIA ACCOUNT MANAGER I'll use a recent example: it up to sell off individually. In ZELDA, inherently change how you treat it John Malik Watson e: [email protected] BEJEWELED 3. BEJEWELED is a you never paid for a sword that was as a creator? t: 415.947.6224 proven property that's remarkably slightly more powerful, you found I do believe there are genuine GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGER, RECRUITMENT Gina Gross e: [email protected] popular. You could probably spruce it in the game after a long and ways to go about freemium t: 415.947.6241 up the graphics, add some nice arduous journey. models or DLC which are not so GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGER, EDUCATION filters, and be done with it. But Most folks will tell you their free- stingy. Consider the model of DEAD Rafael Vallin e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6223 BEJEWELED 3 has a whole lot of to-play game is fully-featured, and PIXELS on XBLIG, which is quite a interesting, weird ideas. It's got all the microtransaction-purchasable generously designed game for a ADVERTISING PRODUCTION explosions, particle effects, and items are unnecessary for full dollar, with hours of randomized PRODUC TION MANAGER lush sound that would please any enjoyment of the game. But that sort gameplay (and a co-op mode). This Pete C. Scibilia e: [email protected] t: 516-562-5134 FPS fan, on top of eerie fantasy of design is inherently stingy.