introduction paul kerby lead gameplay programmer, gotham team gareth wilson design manager,...
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction
Paul Kerby Lead Gameplay Programmer, Gotham
Team Gareth Wilson
Design Manager, Gotham Team
Presentation Format
Game Overview Design Art Code Production Conclusions
Improvements to our process
Game Overview
“Speed and Style” Visually “Next Generation” Day 1 launch title XBOX 360 Average 89% review scores
Production Stats
2 year development cycle 67 Bizarre creations staff 100+ MGS staff 22,400 cans of Coke. 281,600 teabags & 9182 pints of
milk! One million air miles!
Software Used
Maya 6, XSI Advanced + Essentials Visual Studio .NET(C#, C++) Lua Scripting Nuendo 2, Pro Tools, Soundforge Alienbrain, Tortoise Subversion MS Project 2003, Product Studio &
RAID
Screenshot1
Add Screenshot
Design – What went Wrong
Design locked down too late Lacked detail Some design areas depended on
new technology Design changes not communicated Time pressures relating to new
hardware
Design – What went Right
Design documentation Design reacted quickly to technical
realities The right features were trimmed Microsoft design & balancing support
excellent Core pillars agreed early and stuck to
Design Pillars Screenshot
PGR3 Design Pillars
Art – What Went Wrong
Moving to Maya caused an initial dip in production
Build instability caused massive overtime to get level of art polish required
Producing track surface left late in project Rushed asset production – “too many last
minute asset requests”
Art - What Went Right
All content produced on time, despite project issues
Outsourcing used on later stages Visual detail outstanding In-car view became a defining
feature of the game
Tokyo Screenshot
Vegas ScreenTokyo Screenshot
London Screenshot
New York Screenshot
Nurburgring Screenshot
Code – What Went Wrong
Hardware dates changed Early XDK’s sometimes unstable Documentation neglected Poor build stability hampered
gameplay and art Tools built from scratch for Maya
Code - What Went Right
MS support excellent Programmers given specific areas to “own” Build stabilised at the right time Once complete, tool chain excellent All game features flexible and scaleable Use of scripting invaluable Coders understood where the “next
generation” bar was
Nine Months Out
Six Months Out
Two Months Out
Production – What went Wrong To begin with we failed to realise the
complexities of producing HD content Everybody rushing to the line at the same time Art and Tech were the focus, sometimes the
game was neglected Milestone targets not communicated well to
the team Programmers could have been scheduled
better
Production – What went right New team members hired at start of project When an area was late resources were added Empowerment of team members Game Balancing process went right Strong relationship with publisher Outsourcing used effectively People looked after in times of stress
Conclusions
We shipped on-time, a day 1 launch title We were “Next Gen” We don’t want to do it like that again! Bizarre is in a prime position for future
game development
Generic Screenshot
Pitfalls
Be ambitious but not too ambitious Assume makes an ASS of U and ME Ignore the previous generation at
your peril! Do things in the correct order Unstable builds halt production
Funny Diary shots
Funny Diary shots
Funny Diary shots
Top Five Tips
1. Be Flexible and Scaleable 2. Communicate Change3. Build Relationships4. Reduce moving parts5. Prepare team for overtime and look
after them!
Any Questions???