HOLLYWOOD >> REVIEWS ALIAS MAYA 6 * RTZEN RT/SHADER ISSUE AUGUST 2004 THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE >>SIGGRAPH 2004 >>DEVELOPER DEFENSE >>FAST RADIOSITY SNEAK PEEK: LEGAL TOOLS TO SPEEDING UP LIGHTMAPS DISCREET 3DS MAX 7 PROTECT YOUR I.P. WITH PIXEL SHADERS POSTMORTEM: THE CINEMATIC EFFECT OF ZOMBIE STUDIOS’ SHADOW OPS: RED MERCURY []CONTENTS AUGUST 2004 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 7 FEATURES 14 COPYRIGHT: THE BIG GUN FOR GAME DEVELOPERS A one-of-a-kind game concept, an instantly recognizable character, a clever phrase— these are all a game developer’s most valuable assets. To protect such intangible properties from pirates, you’ll need to bring out the big gun—copyright. Here’s some free advice from a lawyer. By S. Gregory Boyd 20 FAST RADIOSITY: USING PIXEL SHADERS 14 With the latest advances in hardware, GPU, 34 and graphics technology, it’s time to take another look at lightmapping, the divine art of illuminating a digital environment. By Brian Ramage 20 POSTMORTEM 30 FROM BUNGIE TO WIDELOAD, SEROPIAN’S BEAT GOES ON 34 THE CINEMATIC EFFECT OF ZOMBIE STUDIOS’ A decade ago, Alexander Seropian founded a SHADOW OPS: RED MERCURY one-man company called Bungie, the studio that would eventually give us MYTH, ONI, and How do you give a player that vicarious presence in an imaginary HALO. Now, after his departure from Bungie, environment—that “you-are-there” feeling that a good movie often gives? he’s trying to repeat history by starting a new Zombie’s answer was to adopt many of the standard movie production studio: Wideload Games. Alex Handy sits 30 practices. Find out what it takes to create a cinematic experience. down with this Alexander the Great to find out By Mark Long what new territories he intends to conquer this time around. By Alex Handy DEPARTMENTS COLUMNS 2 GAME PLAN By Jamil Moledina 40 THE INNER PRODUCT By Sean Barrett [PROGRAMMING] Hooray for Hollywood? Interactive Profiling Revisited 4 HEADS UP DISPLAY 44 PIXEL PUSHER By Steve Theodore [ART] Siggraph preview, political games, Moore’s law, PCI bus, and more Never Hire Anyone Over 30 10 SKUNK WORKS By Tom Carroll and Spencer Lindsay 48 NECESSARY EVIL By Tom Smith [BUSINESS] Alias’s Maya 6.0 and RTzen’s RT/Shader 1.0 Pitch—Not Design 64 A THOUSAND WORDS 49 AURAL FIXATION By Alexander Brandon [SOUND] TKO Software’s SAHARA trailer The Proper Way to Educate 50 GAME SHUI By Noah Falstein [DESIGN] Lights, Camera, Action! COVER ART: ZOMBIE STUDIOS’ 3D ARTISTS JULIAN DE PUMA, SHANE MOURA, AND ELI HANDELMAN WWW.GDMAG.COM 1 GAME PLAN [] www.gdmag.com CMP Media, 600 Harrison St., 6th Fl., San Francisco, CA 94107 t: 415.947.6000 f: 415.947.6090 YOU CAN REACH JAMIL MOLEDINA AT [email protected] EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jamil Moledina [email protected] DEPARTMENTS EDITOR Kenneth Wong [email protected] PRODUCT REVIEW EDITOR HOORAY FOR Peter Sheerin [email protected] ASSISTANT EDITOR Jill Duffy [email protected] ART DIRECTOR HOLLYWOOD? Cliff Scorso [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Sean Barrett [email protected] Alexander Brandon [email protected] Noah Falstein [email protected] Steve Theodore [email protected] AT EVERY GAME INDUSTRY EVENT, THERE IS SOME Kuma Reality Games created KUMA\WAR, an online ADVISORY BOARD panel, presentation, or keynote about the tactical squad-based game featuring missions Hal Barwood Designer-at-Large Ellen Guon Beeman Monolith convergence with Hollywood. Since the film industry from events from the U.S. invasion and occupation Andy Gavin Naughty Dog Joby Otero Luxoflux has been honing the craft of creative entertainment of Iraq. As both entertainment industries veer Dave Pottinger Ensemble Studios for three times as long as the game industry, toward greater and grittier realism, the definition George Sanger Big Fat Inc. Harvey Smith Ion Storm Hollywood has forged a myriad of time-tested of entertainment itself begins to shimmer, as if it Paul Steed Microsoft solutions to management, organizational, and were about to wink out of existence. Like most ADVERTISING SALES marketing obstacles that can easily be ported over other developers dealing with modern warfare GROUP ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Michele Sweeney e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6217 (see page 30). While some see film and game more games, Zombie chose to back away from that SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER, EASTERN REGION & EUROPE as a rivalry, throwing suspiciously tailored revenue point by taking the state of the world as a starting Afton Thatcher e: [email protected] t: 404.658-1415 ACCOUNT MANAGER, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA & MIDWEST numbers about, others see parity as a source of point, and superimposing a fictional story in Susan Kirby e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6226 intense cross-pollination and a growing single SHADOW OPS: RED MERCURY (see page 34). ACCOUNT MANAGER, WESTERN REGION & ASIA TBA t: 415.947.6223 resource pool. The symbiosis between film and game has a ACCOUNT MANAGER, TARGET PAVILION, EDUCATION & RECRUITMENT On the eve of Siggraph, the symbiosis between more systemic dark side, too. Many developers Aaron Murawski e: [email protected] t: 415.947.6227 the industries becomes acutely clear in regard to and even publishers will remark at the game ADVERTISING PRODUCTION ADVERTISING PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Kevin Chanel digital content creation tools. The push to create industry’s growing addiction to Hollywood licenses REPRINTS Julie Rapp e: [email protected] t: 510.985.1954 compelling visuals for the next generation of (for every TOMB RAIDER made into a film, 10 Lord of GAME GROUP MARKETING consoles drives animation toolmakers to push the Rings turn into games). The idea that publishers DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS STRATEGY Michele Maguire DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Jennifer McLean their craft ever further. This effort, interestingly, is have no choice but to follow the sure thing in an MARKETING SPECIALIST Scott Lyon leading the way for film visuals, according to inflated-budget world has the nagging ring of a MARKETING COORDINATOR Yukiko Grové Discreet’s Dan Prochazka, whose 3DS Max 7 has self-fulfilling prophecy. Where does that leave a CMP GAME GROUP its world premiere at Siggraph (see page 4). strategy of innovation? Is there an environment VP, GROUP PUBLISHER, APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES Philip Chapnick EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Dominic Milano HE IMS Even in less obvious areas, such as the art of that would allow the next T S to take root and EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, GAMASUTRA.COM Alex Dunne pitching, there are numerous correlations to film grow? We’ll have more on that in the coming PROGRAM MANAGER, GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE Susan Marshall methods. Marketing games to publishers these months, as a handful of publishers and developers CIRCULATION days means putting together a film-style trailer to set forth their ideas for rebalancing our world. CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Kevin Regan e: [email protected] sell the concept before you’ve actually made the SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS. We are very proud to CIRCULATION MANAGER Peter Birmingham e: [email protected] ASST. CIRCULATION MANAGER Lisa Oddo e: [email protected] movie, er, game. For example, TKO Software put introduce our newest columnists to Game CIRCULATION COORDINATOR Jessica Ward e: [email protected] together its trailer for SAHARA with precious few Developer. Sean Barrett has worked as a game assets in place, opting for more of a teaser programmer on several games for Looking Glass SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES FOR INFORMATION, ORDER QUESTIONS, AND ADDRESS CHANGES approach, emphasizing the film, book, and actor Studios, and is one of the architects of the annual t: 800.250.2429 or 847.763.59581 f: 847.763.9606 licenses and concept art(see page 64). Indie Game Jam, an experimental catalyst for e: [email protected] The subject matter of games is also tracking brainstorming that aforementioned innovation. INTERNATIONAL LICENSING INFORMATION Mario Salinas with film. We have period pieces, action dramas, His dry wit and programming zeal more than e: [email protected] t: 650.513.4234 f: 650.513.4482 underdog stories, and even political documen- qualify him to carry the banner of The Inner EDITORIAL FEEDBACK taries. In the midst of the cinematic emergence of Product forward. [email protected] CMP MEDIA MANAGEMENT powerful documentaries such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Furthermore, you may have noticed that the PRESIDENT & CEO Gary Marshall The Corporation, and Control Room, Ubisoft previously rotating audio column was penned by EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CFO John Day EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & COO Steve Weitzner HE OLITICAL greenlit Stardock Entertainment’s T P Alex Brandon, audio manager at Midway Games, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE SALES & MARKETING Jeff Patterson MACHINE (see page 6), offering players the chance for the last couple of issues. Alex has loved game CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Mike Mikos to control the course of actual presidential audio since he first heard “those cool digitized PRESIDENT, TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS Robert Faletra PRESIDENT, CMP HEALTHCARE MEDIA Vicki Masseria elections, complete with special interest pander- instruments on LEGEND OF KAGE in 1984,” and he SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS Bill Amstutz ing and smear campaigns. Whether hanging plans to keep advancing it. Well, we’re making it SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES Leah Landro VP & GENERAL COUNSEL Sandra Grayson chads and partisan election officials come into official now: Alex is our resident Aural Fixation VP, GROUP PUBLISHER INFORMATIONWEEK MEDIA NETWORK Michael Friedenberg play has yet to be seen. columnist, and his mastery of and dedication to VP, GROUP PUBLISHER ELECTRONICS Paul Miller VP, GROUP PUBLISHER ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE GROUP Fritz Nelson And then there’s the profitable and inflammatory the field will give the column the resonance it VP, GROUP PUBLISHER SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT MEDIA Peter Westerman subject of war. Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private deserves. * VP & DIRECTOR OF CMP INTEGRATED MARKETING SOLUTIONS Joseph Braue Ryan set off a flurry of World War II-themed films, CORPORATE DIRECTOR, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Shannon Aronson CORPORATE DIRECTOR, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Michael Zane which seem to have in turn spawned a flurry of CORPORATE DIRECTOR, PUBLISHING SERVICES Marie Myers World War II-themed games.