OctOber/NOvember 1995 GAME DEVELOPER MAGAZINE GAME PLAN GGAMEAEM Editor Larry O’Brien [email protected] The Sound of Jerry Senior Editor Nicole Freeman [email protected] Managing Editor Nicole Claro [email protected] erry Lewis breaks character: “Lis- similar levels of competence. Editorial Assistant Deborah Sommers ten...lay-DEEE!” It’s not much, Damn Yankees! succeeds in plastering [email protected] just a single word delivered in a goofy grin on your face for two-and-a- Contributing Editors Alex Dunne that characteristic way, but the half hours not through any one thing [email protected] audience goes nuts. Everyone on (although the presence of the King of Barbara Hanscome stage freezes for probably a good Comedy is obviously what draws a full [email protected] 15 seconds while the Marquis theater every night), but through a balance Chris Hecker [email protected] Theatre roars with approval. The of elements that are a lesson to anyone in David Sieks Jseptuagenarian has let the audience know digital entertainment. The play itself is [email protected] that tonight it’s not going to be the saintly, fluff, even by the standards of 50s musi- Editor-at-Large Alexander Antoniades Brylcreem-haired, (ex-) chain-smoking, cals. The book is fine but not particularly [email protected] dear-dear-friend-of-Liza, nominated-for- familiar (the only song you’re likely to rec- Cover Photography Charles Ingram Photography a-Nobel-Peace-Prize, hyper-earnest shill ognize is “[You gotta’ have] Heart.”). with the 21-hour Labor Day patter. Indeed, it’s the very modesty of the play, Tonight, it’s going to be the zany, wacky coupled with professional delivery, that Publisher Veronica Costanza goofball with the (once-) rubber skeleton, makes it so enjoyable. Group Director Regina Starr Ridley the Geisha Boy, the Nutty Professor, the You don’t need state-of-the-art spec- Jim-Carrey-Eat-Your-Heart-Out daffy tacle to entertain. Indeed, state-of-the-art Advertising Sales Staff laughmeister. Tonight, we know, there will spectacle can easily overwhelm a modest West/Southwest be shtick. entertainment. Although I know I’m in the Yvonne Labat (415) 905-2353 Jerry Lewis is playing Applegate (aka minority, I’ve always felt that Doom was [email protected] The Devil) in the Broadway revival of inferior to Castle Wolfenstein 3-D, its New England/Midwest Damn Yankees!, and the audience is filled technically limited predecessor. That’s one Kristin Morgan (212) 626-2498 with people with the good sense to turn up reason I was doubly delighted when the [email protected] their noses at Beauty and The Beast, Sunset programming wizards at id made the Marketing Manager Susan McDonald Boulevard, Cats!, and half a dozen other source code for Wolfenstein available for Advertising Production Coordinator Denise Temple spectacles for which stage effects and the public perusal (you can download it from Director of Production Andrew A. Mickus sheer shock of live orchestral music played our ftp site or CompuServe forum; the file- Vice President/Circulation Jerry M. Okabe competently stand in for...well, what? The name is WOLF3DSC.ZIP). Group Circulation Director Gina Oh Damn Yankees! sets are spare, filled with What you need is the enthusiasm and Group Circulation Manager Kathy Henry pastels, forced-perspective, and dressed courage to make the game you want to Circulation Manager Mike Poplardo with what look like authentic chrome-and- make. A little talent helps, but it’s not as Newsstand Manager Pam Santoro bakelite radios, toasters, and card tables. important as heart. When others say you Reprints Stella Valdez (415) 655-4269 There’s some of the stage magic demanded can’t win, that’s when the grin should start. of a Broadway show nowadays, with sets You gotta have heart... Oops. There I go Chairman of the Board rolling on and off silently, descending from with that damnably hummable tune from Graham J.S. Wilson President/CEO the catwalks, popping up through trap- the show again. ■ Marshall W. Freeman Executive Vice President/COO doors, a shim or two, and so forth, but you Larry O’Brien Thomas L. Kemp Senior Vice President/CFO get the feeling it’s the bare minimum Editor Warren “Andy” Ambrose Senior Vice Presidents required by the unions. The cast is fabulous David Nussbaum, H. Verne both in form (when Charlotte d’Amboise, ere is the final verdict on accessing Packer, Donald A. Pazour, Wini D. Ragus Vice President/Production playing Lola, first appears, I do the whole HGame Developer code. Go to our ftp Andrew A. Mickus Vice President/Circulation Tex Avery thing: my eyes pop three feet, site at ftp://ftp.mfi.com/gamedev/ Jerry Okabe Vice President/Software Development Division smoke shoots from my ears, and I involun- pub/src. If you’re using Compuserve, Regina tarily scream “Hooga-hooga!”) and func- GO SDFORUM. That’s it. We Starr Ridley tion, but I’m sure the various Andrew promise. Miller Freeman Lloyd Webber spectaculars offer at-least- A United News & Media publication 2 GAME DEVELOPER • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1995 CROSSFIRE A 3D Benchmark for the Industry Alex Dunne ecently, I began receiving a or trademark that would indicate the steady stream of e-mail from level of hardware required for different Ken Nicholson of ATI games. Creating a method to Technologies. Ken’s an Although the ideas are still being active member of the bantered around, I imagine the rating GamePC Consortium, a system would be two or three tiered, group of close to 100 mem- each tier representing a computer with game play madness ber companies, each of progressively more power and capabili- Rwhich has a hand in the game develop- ty. Using this rating system on game ment arena, including title developers, boxes would instantly indicate to con- tool vendors, system manufacturers, sumers the type of system required to chip, and board manufacturers. The enjoy the game. A rating of this sort may help consumers stated goal of the consortium is a sim- necessitates the hardware manufactur- ple and noble one: to raise the level of ers getting involved because it’s their game play on IBM PCs and compati- products that will be rated. Many bles. companies have jumped on board decide what games The e-mail that Ken sent consist- already. ed of discussion threads about two The hurdles to developing a related issues that are long overdue for three-dimensional benchmark, as you addressing: a three-dimensional might surmise, are fairly large. Bench- will work best on their graphics benchmark and a hardware marks are notoriously hard to devise specification for PC game play. and maintain, even when you don’t The intent of both issues is to have to reach a consensus across the provide consumers with a way to look industry. The idea of using systems. Development at a game on the store shelf and tell Microsoft’s Funstones benchmark whether the title will run adequately (which isn’t available yet) or asking an on their system. It’s far from an easy independent organization such as Ziff task to get an entire industry (or even a (the folks at PC Week Labs) to develop of this industry-wide portion!) to agree upon sticky issues a benchmark been discussed. like these, but if a middle ground is Although either of these scenarios reached, it will be a huge leap forward may come true, right now the three- for consumers and developers alike. dimensional benchmark development This month, I’m going to focus is in the hands of the industry–of standard won‘t be on the consortium’s proposal for an which you are a part. industry-wide three-dimensional The discussions by consortium benchmark that would serve as one of members about the benchmark have the components within their second been very insightful. Although this easy–will you be aim, the GamePC hardware specifica- article represents an excerpt of the dis- tion. Like the Multimedia PC Work- cussion, it gives you an idea of the ing Group’s MPC specification for problems that have to be solved before multimedia hardware, the GamePC devising a standard three-dimensional involved? Consortium wants to create a symbol benchmark. GAME DEVELOPER • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1995 5 CROSSFIRE Define What’s around in my head: “What are you a very difficult thing to account for in Being Tested testing: the 3D API, the chip, the benchmarking.” It’s a problem that I First, Rob Glidden of SoftPress cut board, the host processor, the device certainly don’t see any easy way right to the question that was rolling driver, or a 3D application? All these around, short of appointing someone are in the pipeline for getting a 3D or a group to subjectively judge the WHO’S INVOLVED? image to the screen. You need a way to quality of rendered images. And that’s isolate out the relative performance opening a whole new can of worms. contribution of one aspect. To do this, f you are interested in finding out you need a baseline and a flexible Coping with the more about the GamePC Consor- enough implementation so that no one Three-Dimensional API tium or want membership infor- is left out.” To account for the effect of the three- mation, the group can be reached Glidden proposed finding one or dimensional API on hardware tests, Iat: more games that run on a number of there were a number of suggestions: different chip sets and using the games’ • Everyone could agree to standardize • http://www.mmwire.com/gamepc/ frame rates on each configuration as an on one API for the testing.