>> FEATURE 7TH ANNUAL SALARY SURVEY APRIL 2008 THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE >> A GAME OF FEW WORDS >>TOOL BOX >>SEVEN STRATEGY SINS WHY SHORT DIALOG GDC PRODUCT NEWS CLASSIC PITFALLS TO MEANS HAPPY PLAYERS AND INTERVIEWS AVOID IN STRATEGY GAMES POSTMORTEM: NAUGHTY DOG'S UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE 00804gd_cover_vIbs.indd804gd_cover_vIbs.indd 1 33/21/08/21/08 110:52:560:52:56 AAMM B:8 in T:7.75 in S:6.75 in Using Autodeskodesk® HumanIK® middle-middle- Autodesk® ware, Ubisoftoft MotionBuilder™ grounded ththee software enabled assassin inn his In Assassin’s Creed, th the assassin to 12 centuryy boots Ubisoft used and his run-time-time ® ® fl uidly jump Autodesk 3ds Max environment.nt. software to create from rooftops to a hero character so cobblestone real you can almost streets with ease. feel the coarseness of his tunic. B:10.75 in T:10.5 in T:10.5 S:9.5 in HOW UBISOFT GAVE AN ASSASSIN HIS SOUL. autodesk.com/Games IImmagge cocouru tteesyy of Ubiisofft Autodesk, MotionBuilder, HumanIK and 3ds Max are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. © 2007 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved. Job # 07.M&E.131 - Mech A Description 3ds Max ad Last Modifi ed 7/11/07 5:09 PM User/Prev. User Chad Kukahiko / Noel Espiritu Fonts Location Client Autodesk Art Director D. Lee Kievit (Medium, Regular, Italic; Type 1), Helvetica (Me- WD | Chad Bleed 8 in x 10.75 in Studio Artist N. Espiritu dium; Type 1) DocuColor 240 Trim 7.75 in x 10.5 in Copy Writer S. Saunders Placed Graphics Inks L1_HaloonWire.tif (CMYK; 340 ppi; 79.4MB; 88%), Live 6.75 in x 9.5 in Account Mgr A. Gould Cyan, Magenta, L4_ADSK.eps (387KB), L1_UCMA_AssassinWireframe. SETUP Yellow, Black PERSONNEL Gutter None Traffi c S. Sherwin CONTENT psd (CMYK; 458 ppi; 1.2MB; 21.79%), L1_Skeleton_ thicker.psd (CMYK; 805 ppi; 1.0MB; 8.94%), L1_HIK. Publication Game Developer Bonus Sigraph Issue (Jul 11) Production V. Speiser psd (CMYK; 554 ppi; 4.4MB; 12.97%), L1_Assassin.psd Print Scale 100% ROUND 12 / FINAL (CMYK; 754 ppi; 117.3MB; 19.87%), L2_Ubisoft_2.eps Southern 8432 Culver City FILE NAME: Ind01B_07.M&E.131A_3dsMax.indd Californa California JOB NO CLIENT DESCRIPTION IMAGESETTER SCREEN PROOF # DATE TIME OPERATOR Steller 707147 Wong Doody Autodesk 3ds Max Ad Fuji 133 3 07-12-07 7:25 PM jbg Graphics Drive 90232 BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW []CONTENTS APRIL 2008 VOLUME 15, NUMBER 4 FEATURES 7 GAME DEVELOPER'S 7TH ANNUAL SALARY SURVEY How does your salary stack up against that of the rest of your field? Where are developers more likely to own homes? Does higher education mean higher pay? We break down the hard truth for you in this annual feature, which shows that developers as a group on average now make about $73,600 per year across all disciplines and experience levels. 7 If you want to get your due, this is the feature you can't afford to miss! By Jeffrey Fleming 17 ODE TO SHORT DIALOG Game developers are in the habit of 24 producing epics—or trying to at least, 17 and there's often a perception that long, sprawling dialog is a path toward that end. Ben Schneider, formerly of Iron POSTMORTEM Lore Entertainment, calls that idea into question, offering the possibility that direct, purposeful writing in games leads to a 24 NAUGHTY DOG'S UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE better experience for the player. UNCHARTED: DRAKES FORTUNE is one of the most critically-acclaimed By Ben Schneider PlayStation 3 games so far, and features the best shirt-wetting physics bar none. It takes the childhood dreams of developers raised on Indiana Jones and brings them to virtual reality. Naughty Dog takes us through the treasures and snake-filled pitfalls of their first game based in a realistic human world. By Neil Druckmann and Richard Lemarchand DEPARTMENTS COLUMNS 2 GAME PLAN By Brandon Sheffield 36 THE INNER PRODUCT By Mick West [PROGRAMMING] How am I not Myself? Intelligent Mistakes 4 HEADS UP DISPLAY 40 PIXEL PUSHER By Steve Theodore [ART] Overheard at GDC 08, the game/instrument crossover, and more The Player's Handbook 33 TOOL BOX By Jeffrey Fleming 44 DESIGN OF THE TIMES By Soren Johnson [DESIGN] GDC product roundup Seven Deadly Strategy Sins 46 AURAL FIXATION By Jesse Harlin [SOUND] Tools of the Trade 56 BROADSIDE By Morris Olmsted [OPINION] A Call for Standardized Job Titles COVER ART: NAUGHTY DOG ART TEAM WWW.GDMAG.COM 1 00804gd_toc_vIbs.indd804gd_toc_vIbs.indd 1 33/21/08/21/08 112:06:032:06:03 PPMM []GAME PLAN www.gdmag.com CMP Media, 600 Harrison St., 6th Fl., San Francisco, CA 94107 t: 415.947.6000 f: 415.947.6090 CMPThink Media, Services, 600 600 Harrison Harrison St., St.,6th 6thFl., Fl., SanSUBSCRIPTION Francisco, SERVICES CA 94107 t: 415.947.6000 f: 415.947.6090 t:FOR 415.947.6000 INFORMATION, f: ORDER415.947.6090 QUESTIONS, AND ADDRESS CHANGES t: 800.250.2429 f: 847.763.9606 e: [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION SERVICESSERVICES SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES FOREDITORIAL INFORMATION, ORDERORDER QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, AND AND ADDRESS ADDRESS CHANGES CHANGES FOR INFORMATION, ORDER QUESTIONS, AND ADDRESS CHANGES EDITOR-IN-CHIEFt: 800.250.2429 f:f: 847.763.9606847.763.9606 e: e: [email protected] [email protected] t: Simon800.250.2429 Carless [email protected] f: 847.763.9606 e: [email protected] MANAGINGEDITORIAL EDITOR HOW AM I NOT EDITORIALPUBLISHERJill Duffy [email protected] Simon Carless [email protected]@gdmag.com PUBLISHERFEATURESSimon Carless EDITOR [email protected] SimonMANAGINGBrandon Carless Sheffield EDITOR [email protected] [email protected] Jill Duffy [email protected]@gdmag.com ARTJill DIRECTOR Duffy [email protected] SENIOR EDITOREDITOR MYSELF? BrandonCliff Scorso Sheffield [email protected] [email protected] Brandon Sheffield [email protected]@gdmag.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS SENIORARTJesse DIRECTOR Harlin CONTRIBUTING [email protected] EDITOR JillCliffNoah Duffy Scorso Falstein [email protected] [email protected]@gdmag.com [email protected] THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT FRUSTRATE ME know that most people have any such illusions CONTRIBUTINGSteve Theodore EDITORSEDITORS [email protected] CREATIVESteve Theodore DIRECTOR [email protected] JesseMick West Harlin [email protected] [email protected]@gdmag.com about the game industry, and to read my monthly when making a game based on oh, let’s say Jumper. CliffNoah Scorso Falstein [email protected] [email protected] ADVISORYNoah Falstein BOARD [email protected] editorials you might think I dislike it. But I don’t, ARTSteve DIRECTOR Theodore [email protected]@gdmag.com MickHal Barwood West [email protected] Designer-at-Large of course. The frustration comes from love and THE BEST INTENTIONS VirginiaEllenMick GuonWest Gravette Beeman [email protected] [email protected] Microsoft ADVISORYBrad Bulkley BOARD Neversoft an awareness of unrealized potential that I think It’s not just licenses, either. I see conferences and PRODUCTION EDITOR HalClinton Barwood Keith High Designer-at-LargeDesigner-at-Large Moon Studios JeffreyEllen Guon Fleming Beeman [email protected] Microsoft almost everyone in the industry also feels. talks on the future of games and design, and the RyanEllen LesserGuon Beeman Harmonix Microsoft MarkBrad BulkleyDeLoura NeversoftNeversoftUbisoft Specifically I’ve been thinking recently about true integration and collaboration of games with CONTRIBUTINGClintonMark DeLoura Keith EDITORS HighUbisoft Moon Studios JesseClinton Harlin Keith [email protected] High Moon Studios why good people make bad games. It’s amazing to other media, and many of these ideas are sound, Ryan Lesser HarmonixHarmonix SteveADVERTISINGMark Theodore DeLoura SALES [email protected] Ubisoft me that I can go and speak with someone working genuinely intriguing, and some of them are even MickDIRECTORMark West DeLoura OF [email protected] SALES Ubisoft Steve McGill e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6217 on a movie licensed title, and they’ll be full of possible to implement. Yet, where are they? There ADVERTISING SALES ADVISORYGLOBALADVERTISING SALES BOARD SALESMANAGER, RECRUITMENT & EDUCATION legitimate enthusiasm, real ideas, and almost are so many fantastic ideas out there not getting HalDIRECTORAaron Barwood Murawski OF SALESDesigner-at-LargeSALES e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6227 EllenSteve Guon McGill Beeman e: [email protected] Microsoft t: 415.947.6217 convince me—OK, this time they’re going to get realized. GRAND THEFT AUTO is a classic example of SR.Steve EVENTS McGill ACCOUNT e: [email protected] MANAGER, SOUTHWEST t: 415.947.6217 BradGLOBALJasmin Bulkley SALESDavé Neversofte: MANAGER, [email protected] RECRUITMENT t: 415.947.6226 & EDUCATION it right. Then the game comes out, releasing day a difficult-to-realize concept getting honed into an ClintonGLOBALAaron KeithMurawski SALES High MANAGER, e: Moon [email protected] Studios RECRUITMENT & t:EDUCATION 415.947.6227 SR.Aaron ACCOUNT Murawski MANAGER, e: [email protected] EAST COAST, EUROPE & t: EASTERN 415.947.6227 CANADA and date with the movie, with under a year of almost universally influential game experience. RyanSR.Cecily EVENTS Lesser Herbst ACCOUNT Harmonix e: [email protected] MANAGER, SOUTHWEST t: 415.947.6215 MarkSR.Jasmin EVENTS DeLoura Davé ACCOUNT e:Ubisoft [email protected] MANAGER, SOUTHWEST t: 415.947.6226 development time, and totally flops critically. Games like that don’t happen without someone MEDIAJasmin ACCOUNT Davé e: MANAGER [email protected] t: 415.947.6226 SR.John ACCOUNT Watson MANAGER, e: [email protected] EAST COAST, t:EUROPE 415.947.224 & EASTERN CANADA What’s depressing about this scenario is that taking the plunge. ADVERTISINGSR.Cecily ACCOUNT Herbst SALESMANAGER, e: [email protected] EAST COAST, t: EUROPE 415.947.6215 & EASTERN CANADA Cecily Herbst e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6215 nobody wonders why.