What Role Did You Play in the Advent Rising Project?

Home , Advent Rising, Top Gear Rally, Top Gear Rally 2

Blaine Christine Producer/QA Director

What major titles have you worked on? Same question with “want” instead of “expect.” X-Men Legends, Spider-Man Movie, Activision Anthology GlyphX? Who are these guys?!? What are they working on next? This is SAH-WEEET!!!! I NEED THEM to make another game soon! What role did you play in the Advent Rising project? I was brought on in the last three months to form a QA department and What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you become a Producer on the next title to come out of GlyphX. solve it? Assembling a team of high quality game testers from untrained gamers. I Give us an idea about your day-to-day tasks. was very fortunate to hire some gifted, smart individuals from the pool of As QA Director, I oversee the testers and coordinate with the entire team resumes I was handed when I started at GlyphX. Thanks, guys! to ensure that we get bugs fixed in a timely manner. As a Producer, I am a liaison between the development team and the Publisher. It’s my job to What are you most proud of concerning the game? keep things on schedule and ensure that we create the highest quality I am incredibly proud of the entire team for creating such an amazingly game in the time allowed. polished and high-quality product for their first game. The art is absolutely stunning, which is what drew me to the company in the first place. What was your favorite aspect about the project? Advent Rising is a great game to work on because it’s incredibly fun to What keeps you in the game industry? play! Coming onto the team late in the process, it was cool to be able Ever heard the old Steve Martin album Let’s Get Small? There’s a joke in to play the game with a fresh perspective and offer insights on how the there where he sings “...and the best part about it is - I get PAID for doing game could be polished and balanced beyond what the team had already THIS!!!!!” I feel like that every day. I love games and I love making them. accomplished up to that point. Who’s your favorite character in the game? After completing the game, what do you expect people to say? Tough call. Gideon is the bad-ass of the game, but Marin is soooo hot... GlyphX? Who are these guys?!? What are they working on next? This is SAH-WEEET!!!! I hope they make another game soon!

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CHARACTERS

ENEMIES

WEAPONS & VEHICLES

What’s your: WALKTHROUGH

What’s your favorite weapon, vehicle or power? Favorite movie? CONCEPT ART & DEV I love combining the Negate power (which creates a force shield in front The Big Lebowski or Tombstone INTERVIEWS of Gideon) with Surge (a surge of mental energy that pushes enemies backwards and damages them) to keep enemies from shooting me while I Favorite food to snack on while gaming? ﬂ ing them away if they get too close. Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream Current gaming obsession? If you could have one of Gideon’s powers for a day, which Rome: Total War one would you take? Shatter. If I could ﬂ ing balls of energy from my hands that shatter on Favorite all-time game (not including Advent Rising)? impact and damage my enemies, I would get all the chicks. Seriously. Mechwarrior 4

Favorite mag? BLAINE CHRISTINE Are you an Orson Scott Card fan? If so, what was your initial Wired response when you found out that you’d be working on a Favorite book? project written by him? Stephen King’s Dark Tower series - Book 4 Wizard and Glass Well, I can’t say I was a fan prior to fi nding out about Advent Rising, but during my interview process with GlyphX I read his best known work, Favorite part about E3? Ender’s Game and was astonished that I hadn’t read anything by him The fi rst one you go to. As a true gamer, you never forget the fi rst time you before. I think that’s the great thing about this game - even if you don’t walk through those doors and see all that STUFF you WANT!!! know Card, you will run out and buy his books after you play it. What’re some of your hobbies? Mountain Biking, Skiing, Camping, Acting

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CONCEPT ART GALLERY MARIN STEEL OLIVIA MORGAN &

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420-9.08 BM.indd 105 5/11/05 10:15:37 AM Cameron Dayton Level Designer & Script Writer

What major titles have you worked on? Same question with “want” instead of “expect.” James Bond 007: Nightfire (Downloadable levels) “I gotta go buy twenty-three more copies of this game and decorate my room with ‘em!” What role did you play in the Advent Rising project? Co-creator, Writer, and Lead Level Designer What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you solve it? Give us an idea about your day-to-day tasks. As certain features had to be cut, due to programming and time I create concepts for new levels - draw up thumbnails for the overall look, restrictions, I had to make sure that the story and fun remained intact direction, and narrative to be presented in each level. I then organize my despite the :sob: tragic loss of something cool. I would try to keep the team of talented designers and set a plan for what will be accomplished, focus on the already proven elements of super-cool sweetness, and and how much of our awesome story can be told by the end of the day. hopefully enhance them. When that’s finished, I write any extra lines for dialogue or help text which we suspect will be needed. What are you most proud of concerning the game? That we were able to tell a powerful story through this exciting medium, What was your favorite aspect about the project? despite the numerous hurdles we, as a first-time studio, had in front of us. As the game moved through the development process, the story often had to make some major changes. It was my job to adapt our story (and Orson What keeps you in the game industry? Scott Card’s screenplay) to the game, and this involved a lot of writing. It It is the new frontier for entertainment. It allows me to tell a story WITH was awesome being able to get my fingers into the meat and bones of the the audience rather than TO them. Advent story. Who’s your favorite character in the game? After completing the game, what do you expect people to say? Enorym is the ultimate caricature of a noble warrior. He represents “NO...WAY!!” everything that I admire about important figures in history that often have to go to war for what they believe in, in spite of their love for peace. And it doesn’t hurt that his voice-acting was done by Michael Bell, the guy who voiced Duke in G.I. Joe!

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What’s your: WALKTHROUGH

What’s your favorite weapon, vehicle or power? Favorite movie? CONCEPT ART & DEV I love using the Lift power. When used right, it can make you I love the old Kirosawa ﬁ lms like Seven Samurai and Hidden Fortress, but INTERVIEWS UNSTOPPABLE! having just seen Yimou’s Kung-Fu Hustle, I’m reconsidering. Favorite food to snack on while gaming? If you could have one of Gideon’s powers for a day, which Eggnog! one would you take? Timeshift would be nice. Then I could sleep late and still get to work on Current gaming obsession? time! Oddworld’s Stranger. The game is amazing! Favorite all-time game (not including Advent Rising)? Are you an Orson Scott Card fan? If so, what was your initial Civilization 2. That game STILL holds up.

response when you found out that you’d be working on a CAMERON DAYTON project written by him? Favorite mag? Play Magazine has won me over with its upbeat reviews and absolutely You’re kidding right? If there’s anyone in this industry who ISN’T a Card gorgeous layout. fan, I haven’t met them. I was part of the group who originally pushed for him to come on board, and when he agreed...well, all dignity was lost and Favorite book? there was dancing in the streets of Utah. I like short story collections. Nick Hornby’s Speaking with the Angel is at the top of my list right now. Favorite part about E3? Sorry, but I’m going to nerd it up here--playing all the awesome games! What’re some of your hobbies? I love to snowboard, mountain bike (this IS Utah, after all), sketch, and write in my spare time. Oh yeah, and crack open the occasional video game.

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CONCEPT ART GALLERY SEEKERS

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420-9.08 BM.indd 109 5/11/05 10:16:16 AM Christopher Salmon Creative Director

What major titles have you worked on? After completing the game, what do you expect people to say? Redline, Motor Mayhem, Hot Wheels – Velocity X, Cap’n Crunch’s That Advent Rising is one of the most ambitious and successful original Crunchling Adventure concepts out there...and that people can’t wait for the sequel!!!

What role did you play in the Advent Rising project? Same question with “want” instead of “expect.” Directed the pre-rendered cinematics, co-directed the in-game Same as above. cinematics, logo & identity creation, and created all the trailers and promotional videos for Advent Rising, including the cinematic trailer that What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you will play in front of Episode III this month (in most theaters). solve it? Give us an idea about your day-to-day tasks. Getting that much done in so little time. I work directly with Todd and the other company executives overseeing the creative endeavors of the company, from new I.P. conceptualization to What are you most proud of concerning the game? marketing campaigns (I don’t sleep). On Advent, I would work daily with The pre-rendered cinematics. the CG team, storyboarding, approving layouts, compositing and editing the ﬁnished footage, even laying in sound fx and music, and creating What keeps you in the game industry? animated title graphic elements. I directed voice actors and motion The direction that games are taking: becoming interactive movies. capture sessions, generated concepts with marketing executives and worked with the internal teams to generate the elements needed for each production. Who’s your favorite character in the game? Gideon. What was your favorite aspect about the project? The amazing visual possibilities and overall level of creativity (it really What’s your favorite weapon, vehicle or power? brought my game up). Time Shift.

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What’s your: WALKTHROUGH

If you could have one of Gideon’s powers for a day, which Favorite movie? CONCEPT ART & DEV one would you take? The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Return of the King if I have to pick just one). INTERVIEWS Time Shift (of course)!!! Favorite food to snack on while gaming? Assorted nuts (no peanuts)!!! Are you an Orson Scott Card fan? If so, what was your initial response when you found out that you’d be working on a Current gaming obsession? project written by him? Horror Survival In awe...he’s an amazing talent (my Mom freaked-out even more than I Favorite mag? did)!!! Cinefex

Favorite book? CHRISTOPHER SALMON Right now? Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell Past fave: The Vampire Lestat Favorite part about E3? The energy!!! What’re some of your hobbies? Sculpting, writing, music, but mostly playing with my kids (all 6 of them)!!!

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420-9.08 BM.indd 111 5/11/05 10:16:34 AM Donald Mustard Lead Designer

What major titles have you worked on? What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you Soul Reaver 2, Downhill Domination, Portal Runner, BloodRayne solve it? I had to deal with a million tricky tasks and they were all solved by What role did you play in the Advent Rising project? pushing and pushing and working until they were ﬁxed, resolved, or dealt I’m the creator and director of the trilogy. with.

Give us an idea about your day-to-day tasks. What are you most proud of concerning the game? Imagine every single thing that you can think of that would have to go into The experience of playing the game. I think that the gameplay, the ﬂick- the production of a video game. I mean everything. I promise that there targeting and controls, the story, the music, and a lot of other little details is even more than you are imagining. It is my job to direct and lead all of add up to a very unique and awesome entertainment experience where that. you as the player feel like you have become a superhero.

What was your favorite aspect about the project? What keeps you in the game industry? Having the opportunity to actually make the kind of game that I have I love games. I love storytelling. I believe that videogames are the always wanted to play. pinnacle of entertainment. They combine the best that ﬁlm, books, comics, art, and music have to offer and put it into an interactive medium. After completing the game, what do you expect people to say? Who’s your favorite character in the game? That was a freaking awesome ending! I love them all. But I’ve got to say that I think the bounty hunter Barrakka Same question with “want” instead of “expect.” Bahma is my current favorite... I would love for people to say “Wow! That was sweet. I can’t wait to play the next game!

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What’s your: WALKTHROUGH

What’s your favorite weapon, vehicle or power? Favorite movie? CONCEPT ART & DEV Favorite weapon – dual pistols while dodging. There is nothing quite like The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark INTERVIEWS double headshots while doing a cartwheel in slow motion. Current gaming obsession? Favorite power – the Alternate ﬁ re of Timeshift combined with melee. I God of War, Stranger’s Wrath love being in super slow motion, punching a Seeker so that it ﬂ ies through the air, and then running behind it and punching it again before it hits the Favorite all-time game (not including Advent Rising)? ground, sending it reeling the other way! Super Metroid, Zelda: The Wind Waker, Half Life 1 and 2, Counter-Strike Favorite mag? If you could have one of Gideon’s powers for a day, which National Geographic one would you take?

Favorite book? DONALD MUSTARD The sweet dodge moves. I wish I could do slow motion double back ﬂ ips... A Princess of Mars, Tarzan of the Apes, Seventh Son Are you an Orson Scott Card fan? If so, what was your initial Favorite part about E3? response when you found out that you’d be working on a The day before it starts, because that’s the only time I have time to walk project written by him? around and see all of the cool stuff, plus only exhibitors are there setting up so I can get into everything... I’m a huge Card fan. I love his work and his ability to create strong compelling characters in a science ﬁ ction or fantasy setting. When he What’re some of your hobbies? agreed to work with us I kept a poker face and said something like “cool, My hobbies all died the day I began working on Advent. But I hope in I am really looking forward to working with you,” but inside I was like the future to reacquaint myself with mountain biking, reading, movies, “holy crap, this is the single greatest moment of my life, I think I am going waterskiing, being out in the sun... to explode!”

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CONCEPT ART GALLERY GIDEON

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420-9.08 BM.indd 115 5/11/05 10:17:24 AM Gavan Knowlton Lead Animator

What major titles have you worked on? What was your favorite aspect about the project? Van Helsing, Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear, Star Craft: Broodwar, Barbarian, I love the sense of freedom that you feel in the game. The world is big and Top Gear Rally 2, Abe’s Adventure 1 & 2 the story is bigger.

What role did you play in the Advent Rising project? After completing the game, what do you expect people to say? Lead Animator Wow, this is going to be a fun ride.

Give us an idea about your day-to-day tasks. Same question with “want” instead of “expect.” The ritual is the same every morning. I lay there and watch my wife stare Wow, this is going to be a fun ride. at the closet. It takes her about six shirts, four skirts, and eight pairs of shoes to finally nail the chosen outfit of the day. It’s all next to a miracle What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you when she finally finds it. I, on the other hand, roll out of bed and choose my fashion by what doesn’t stink. solve it? The trickiest task for me was on the first day of the project. They sat me As I pull in to work I wave my bum up against the magnetic door lock down told me about the game, and where they wanted me to go. At that (the magnetic key is in my wallet) and declare, “my bum is my passport” point I didn’t know how it would be possible to do a game like Advent. But and, voila, the door clicks open. I then sneak through the halls past as the days (months) went on I began to see something that I have never management, hugging the walls, and jump into my team area. Computers seen in game development, an entire team connect, and work together for line the walls, and my computer sits in the corner with the “Windows something that we all believed in. shutting down” screen still on. I hit the reset button and begin the morning grub: the burrito left from yesterday’s lunch in my top drawer. Usually What are you most proud of concerning the game? I have a list of issues from the previous day that I task out to other I would say that when you hear the lead designer say that the main animators. Then we crunch on finishing cut scenes. Animating is pretty character will leap, do a back flip, pull out a gun in the left hand shoot straightforward. Just start with the vision from the designer and put your an enemy while at the same time force push another enemy with the right heart and soul into it, till the team starts to say, “wow that’s cool”. hand. Ughhh…. You can actually do that.

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What’s your: WALKTHROUGH

What keeps you in the game industry? Favorite movie? CONCEPT ART & DEV There is no other job that you can create an entire universe from the Lord of the Rings INTERVIEWS ground up and be apart of it all. That’s amazing. Favorite food to snack on while gaming? Who’s your favorite character in the game? Sour patch candy I like Gideon, I like the way he moves…. Call me biased. Current gaming obsession? God of War What’s your favorite weapon, vehicle or power? Favorite all-time game (not including Advent Rising)? My favorite power would deﬁ nitely be the levitate power. I love to pick up Beyond Good and Evil an entire room of Seekers and random stuff in the room and throwing it all. Favorite mag? GAVAN KNOWLTON Gamepro If you could have one of Gideon’s powers for a day, which one would you take? Favorite book? Ender’s Game TimeShift...then I could get to work on time. Favorite part about E3? Are you an Orson Scott Card fan? If so, what was your initial The friends; it’s like a school reunion. response when you found out that you’d be working on a What’re some of your hobbies? project written by him? Games, animating I am a huge Card fan; he is the only author that makes me think outside of the box.

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CONCEPT ART GALLERY ETHAN

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420-9.08 BM.indd 119 5/11/05 10:18:08 AM Nathan Trewartha Lead Texture Artist and Lead Lighting Artist

What major titles have you worked on? What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you Advent Rising is the ﬁrst major title I have worked on. solve it? The trickiest task was how to texture such enormously massive levels. We What role did you play in the Advent Rising project? used a balance of the right amount of tiling with the right kinds of detail I helped with concept art. I was the Lead Texture Artist and Lead Lighting maps. We also used vertex color blending and terrain texture blending. Artist. What are you most proud of concerning the game? Give us an idea about your day-to-day tasks. I am proud of the graphic novel feel of the textures. I am responsible for making sure every asset in the game has a texture that looks good. And, with few exceptions, I made ﬁnal lighting passes for What keeps you in the game industry? every level and in-game cinematic for the Advent Rising. I manage a team The desire to create cool stuff along with cool friends. of two other artists in solving all the texture needs for the game. Who’s your favorite character in the game? What was your favorite aspect about the project? The second Bounty hunter gamers will meet. I loved the way the two bounty hunters turned out in their design aspects as well as their role in the Advent story and how they added to the game play experience. What’s your favorite weapon, vehicle or power? The ability to freeze enemies and then shatter them with a punch or your After completing the game, what do you expect people to say? next shot. Advent Rising’s was an awesome orchestration of ways to kill lots of enemies at the same time and it was surprisingly intuitive.

Same question with “want” instead of “expect.” That the story was strong, engaging, and well integrated with game play.

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What’s your: WALKTHROUGH

If you could have one of Gideon’s powers for a day, which Favorite movie? CONCEPT ART & DEV one would you take? I would say Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, but that too common so INTERVIEWS I’ll say The Pianist because it’s an amazing survival story. The alt speed power. To have the ability to make everything else appear as if it as slowed down yet I am still moving at the same speed. That Favorite food to snack on while gaming? would come in handy during rush hour. M&M’s Are you an Orson Scott Card fan? If so, what was your initial Current gaming obsession? response when you found out that you’d be working on a Rome Total War, America’s Army close second project written by him? Favorite all-time game (not including Advent Rising)? Yes. I was ecstatic and even more so when I got to meet him and spend an Halﬂ ife 2

evening with him, good Mexican food and conversation. NATHAN TREWARTHA Favorite mag? Comtemporary Artist Favorite book? Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor E. Frankl Favorite part about E3? When it ﬁ nally begins because it means my madness has ended. What’re some of your hobbies? Snow skiing, basketball, golﬁ ng, tennis I guess you could say I like all kinds of sports.

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420-9.08 BM.indd 123 5/11/05 10:18:55 AM Peter Dalton Lead Programmer

What major titles have you worked on? Same question with “want” instead of “expect.” Advent Rising for the Xbox and PC HOLY COW that was AMAZING! *As they start the game for the second HotWheels Velocity X for the PS2 GameCube and PC time.*

What role did you play in the Advent Rising project? What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you Lead Programmer solve it? I’d have to say that the hardest part of the game was managing the number Give us an idea about your day-to-day tasks. of features that were going into the game. The game started out with more A typical day would consist of lead meetings, following with management features than we could possibly implement and polish before our ship responsibility of following up with team members to assign and manage dates. Through prioritization and looking at what worked and what didn’t tasks. A lot of time was also spent during the day making sure that the I feel that we delivered a game that has quite a few feature that all work rest of the company had the technology that it needed (the game editor well together. was running, level designers had support on bugs, etc.). After that, magic time was found to actually complete the tasks that were assigned to me. What are you most proud of concerning the game? The number of feature and options that are available to the player. There What was your favorite aspect about the project? are numerous weapons and powers all with alternate modes available to The number of cool ideas that everyone on the team had. The Advent team the player. It’s always interesting to see how different players use different is comprised of a very creative group of people who all have very strong combinations of these weapons/powers to overcome game obstacles. Just love for games. The best part of the Advent project was being a part of when you think you have a handle on the game, try switching up which this group and watching ideas come to life. powers you use and you’ll have a completely different experience.

After completing the game, what do you expect people to say? What keeps you in the game industry? Advent Rising is a fun game with a lot of variety. The powers are cool and Since it’s not the hours, it must be my love of games. I love the technology really help the game to shine. and how it is constantly pushing you. The best thing about this industry is the constant pressure to better yourself and in return the games that you are working on.

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What’s your: WALKTHROUGH

Who’s your favorite character in the game? Favorite movie? CONCEPT ART & DEV I really like the shock troops. I just think these big mechanical Seekers Braveheart, I’m basically a sucker for any medieval movie. INTERVIEWS look really cool and they have the ﬁ repower to back it up. Favorite food to snack on while gaming? What’s your favorite weapon, vehicle or power? Pop tarts & sunﬂ ower seeds The Seeker tank is the best vehicle. Its controls are intuitive and it has a Current gaming obsession? nice feel to it. World of Warcraft and God of War, two totally awesome games. If you could have one of Gideon’s powers for a day, which Favorite all-time game (not including Advent Rising)? one would you take? Hard question, I’d have to say Mario Brothers for the NES. This is the game that got me hooked and I can’t remember a game that I have spent

I love Gideon’s Time Shift power. Having the ability to perform a super more hours playing. Second I’d have to say the Zelda series, these have PETER DALTON dash to knock people around before they saw what was coming would be always been timeless classics. cool. Also, slowing down time, who couldn’t have fun with that? Favorite mag? Are you an Orson Scott Card fan? If so, what was your initial Game Developer, Popular Science and any sort of gaming mag. response when you found out that you’d be working on a Favorite book? project written by him? I’m a big Tolkien fan. I’ve always been a Card fan. I’ll never forget how he drew me into Ender’s Favorite part about E3? Game during High School. Working with Card was one of the aspects that drew me into this project and I’d have to say that my initial response was, Finding inspiration from all the cool innovative games that are coming this is going to be COOL! out, the booth babes aren’t bad and of course sitting down after wondering around all day. What’re some of your hobbies? I love to snowboard in the winters; the rest of my time is spend with my family and playing with my 2 kids (video games of course).

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