Evolution Studios Blog

Tentative steps

Evolution — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:51:00 GMT

Hey all,

Work on MotorStorm: Pacific Rift continues apace, and the press are starting get the information they're after - we've done about 20 Question and Answer sessions now, so you'll know much more about the game soon.

There's a much greater weight of expectation on us this time round, as we at Evo have changed from "those guys who did that little rally game" into "oh yeah, Evolution". Not quite as well known as EA, Ubisoft or the other giants just yet though.

When you're working on a game, you get used to changes that have been made surprisingly quickly. New games take time to take shape, so it's not as if we're playing MotorStorm one day, and the new game springs into life, fully formed, the next. But that's probably how it's going to appear to the greater gaming public.

So I'm actually quite excited about how you lot out there are going to react. Interested? Surprised? Bored? I guess we'll see. But whatever you think, we're going to quietly monitor the feedback, taking note and perhaps making changes accordingly. Genuinely though, we hope you like it.

Cheers

Hal

Like Bees

Evolution — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:24:00 GMT

As I'm sure you can all tell, we've been extremely busy lately, hence the lack of new posts. It's been a hectic few weeks but hopefully things will be slowing down a little again soon, so you should start to see new posts trickling through more and more often. I wish I could tell you exactly what we've been up to, but it would probably bore you anyway - let's just say that we're making incredible progress and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is looking really, really nice (even if I say so myself).

Stay tuned for more updates soon!

Ryan

Another Year Older

Evolution — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:33:00 GMT

Today is my birthday. I'm another year closer to thirty, and I'm not ashamed to say I'm a little down about it. It feels like just last year I was still at school, wondering what I'd be doing when I got to my age, and joking about losing my hair and getting fat, both of which have tragically come true. But I refuse to wallow in self-pity, and instead focus on all the things I'd like to get from my family and friends to celebrate turning 27.

Dammit, I can't think of anything.

That's another problem, I've discovered, about getting older. It gets really difficult to think of suggestions for presents, because the items my loved ones can afford to buy me are the items I can already afford to buy myself, so that only leaves really expensive things like iPods and Game Consoles and the like, which of course are all far too expensive for birthday presents. I'd ask for some games, but I can't think of a single title that's been released this year that I'd want to own, and I've already got everything I wanted from last year, so what does that leave me with? No idea. But then again, at least I'll be surprised!

Ryan

New stuff

Evolution — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:58:00 GMT

You might have seen the recent trailer that was released to publicise the new MotorStorm game. It's a prerendered visual, and not in-game footage. In case you're not sure how to tell the difference, the camera angles are always a dead giveaway . We make these primarily for ourselves, to give us something to aim for in the absence of anything else out there. Last time we cam pretty damn close, and what you lost in visuals you gained in the interaction. You can't play with a movie ;)

MotorStorm sold really well, and we launched it at the right time as it's always much easier to launch a new franchise at the start of a console's lifecycle. It also paved the way for a new popularity of off-road racing games.

As ever, there were elements of the game that people wanted changed, or more of (or less of). New features, extra game modes and greater ease-of-use are constant goals for all videogame developers, and we are no exception. We know what the most commonly requested additions for MotorStorm have been and have gone a long way to try and address those for the new game.

So yes, we were predictably interested in how the wider gaming public would respond to this information, as it is the first time any news has been officially released. Splitscreen is a big new addition - it's hardly the newest invention in racing games but was notably absent from the first game. We've also worked hard on the vegetation of the island; something that the PS3 has allowed us to pursue that would not have been possible with the previous hardware. And the new monster trucks are a blast to play. But there are so many small improvements too that we cannot get across in a trailer; you'll have to wait for the previews and reviews for more details of them.

We were also interested to see how people would react to the trailer being prerendered. The original MotorStorm was first announced amidst great hoohah, and the movie caused a great deal of debate about whether it was in-game or prerendered. It seems that Sony, and perhaps Evolution in particular, have not been forgiven for the confusion that arose. We can't do anything about that, which is why we generally keep quiet and just get on with making games that we think are pretty bloody special. We hope you do too.

Cheers

Hal

Congratulations Jason

Evolution — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:00:00 GMT

This years GDC was especially inspirational. There were some great talks (including one from our good friends Sam and Graeme), and a sense across the event that the industry is beginning to realise just what a powerful thing we can become in this century.

Someone who has long-held such beliefs is Jason Della Rocca, the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association. Jason was an unsung hero of our industry, working extremely passionately across many areas including the quality of life for developers, the liaison with academic and educational sectors, and the ongoing battle against censorship of what we do.

I say was unsung, because at the annual Game Developers Choice Awards, Jason was handed the inaugural Ambassador Award for his support to the industry. It's well-deserved and will hopefully raise awareness of what the IGDA continue to do so well.

You can read his acceptance speech over on his blog.

Sincere congratulations to Jason from all at Evolution Studios

\Matt

I have a bad feeling about this.......

Evolution — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:23:00 GMT

OK so I love Star Wars! There I've said it. I'm not particularly ashamed of the fact that I have lost count of the number of times I've watched the movies, know so much about them that some people think it borders on insanity, or the fact that up until recently I had a loft rammed with merchandising.

I was 6 when Star Wars came out in the UK and it's still one of the most vivid memories I have from my childhood. Like many, it was my first glimpse of a whole new universe that was going to have a profound effect on me not just then, but also throughout my continuing life.

I've always been a huge fan of science fiction, not uncommon in this industry of course, but I still think I have seen perhaps more than many. My father is partly to blame for this. As a child I was 'forced' to watch all sorts of sci-fi madness he had come across, being a massive fan himself. This could be more mainstream TV shows like the original Star Trek or old black and white Flash Gordon and Quatermass, classics of cinema like The Day The Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds and Forbidden Planet to more obscure titles such as Robinson Crusoe on Mars and 5 Million Miles to Earth.

Anyway I digress. Sitting here and thinking about it, I'm on the brink of going off on a tangent and talking about the all the films and TV shows I've wasted my life watching; perhaps for a future posting.

So back to Star Wars! Along with many I suppose I was slightly disappointed with the 3 prequels even if by the end Revenge of the Sith was a decent enough movie. If you've never seen the Simon Pegg,/Jessica Stevenson show 'Spaced' then please check it out; the disappointment of the prequels has never been so eloquently put!

Now you can put this down to being a kid and being a lot more receptive to ideas, but even today many many years later I still see them as outstanding movies. The prequels lacked the strong characters, intriguing story development, and also the imagination of Ralph McQuarrie driving the 'look' of the universe.

So, other than my love for the Star Wars universe, what is this posting about? Well I am worried. You might be thinking is everyone at Evo worried about something…. well perhaps. My worry though is the potential dilution of the Star Wars universe.

As I have mentioned, as a child I grew up with the original Star Trek, but that's where my interest in this universe ended. Why? Well ultimately there was just too much of it! Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, on and on. It became almost overwhelming to the point where I only bothered with the movies as opposed to trying to keep up with all the TV shows too. And the holo-deck annoyed me; wasn't that just an excuse to dress the cast up in silly clothing? Now I am sure there's an army of Trekkies going 'tut' and perhaps even 'pfffft', so I should point out these are merely my own opinions, and after all, what do I know…….

Today I was reminded about the CGI Star Wars film, The Clone Wars, which is to be released in cinemas on August 15^th 2008. As well as this there is also talk of Lucas working on a Star Wars TV show too. Now I hope it's obvious why I am worried.

Is Star Wars going to go the way of Star Trek? I hope not! If there is too much dilution of the characters, narrative and universe, I think all the things that made it so important to me in the first place will begin to be lost. To a point this is already happening with the hundreds of comics, books, games etc already creating their own take on the universe, and not always getting it 'right'. Whether it be time lines going askew, spaceship designs looking totally out of place, or just blatant contradictions to the stories already told, it is indeed a worrying time. For me…..

I hope that the development of these new shows and movies are overseen by Lucas with perhaps a firmer hand than the prequels were. Did they not just descend into flashy toy commercials? Only time will tell I suppose, and perhaps this is just so close to me that is actually 'matters'.

You may be sitting there reading this thinking 'well who cares anyway, as long as there's a good light sabre battle and things blow up'. Which is fine of course, but on the other hand there is a whole generation of grown-up children for whom it does matter….. and it matters a lot!

And just to prove that I've not lost all faith in Star Wars, I am still collecting!

www.swminifigs.com

Chris

Console Yourself

Evolution — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:28:00 GMT

I’ve discovered recently that I spend considerably more time playing games on my console than my trusty PC which is fast becoming redundant in that department.

In fact, I’d have to go back several months and even then it was only a recommended demo for about half an hour and not a full game.

I’ve bought my fare share of gaming rigs in the past but for me I really noticed the mood change among the public in general when I first played Panzer Dragoon on my Dreamcast and Wipeout on the Playstation – I clocked up an enormous amount of hours playing those two titles but more than the PC? – Surely not?

My son would challenge this by pointing out to me that he practically lived and breathed Starcraft on his PC for 5 – 6 months straight (I still hear the music building in my head as the Terran army advance to annihilate Protoss or Zerg in Behemoth Class Battlecruisers) and it sounds crazy but I actually enjoyed watching as a spectator with Starcraft more than playing it since I believed that you needed 2 mice working simultaneously to control all the units at any one time.

Obviously he made it look all too easy but would he have enjoyed playing it on a console? - I should ask him about that sometime since he told me over this weekend that he reinstalled Starcraft and Brood Wars on his PC - His girlfriend will not be happy.

So could I live without my PC? - I think not.

Looking at how each successive console release brings us closer to gaming nirvana by incorporating all the good things that the PC offers and the ease of use, price and accessibility that a games console brings, it’s easy to see why it’s become so popular but the question remains - will a games console actually replace a PC for playing games on or offline in the future?

It’s all down to personal preference but we are influenced by what's happening in the business and Joe Public tends to follow the prime movers within the industry for a heads up on where it’s all heading. I read with interest the other day Gameplayer's chat with Mark Rein who towards the end of the interview indicated that he has switched to console gaming and this in turn generated a huge discussion at the good old Beyond Unreal Forums

Colin M

Football

Evolution — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:38:00 GMT

A few of the designers and other bods here are big fans of NFL and when the 07/08 season started last year, a handful of us signed up to run our own fantasy NFL league. I've never really been interested in Football american style but they needed to make up the numbers so I signed on for it and the Maiden Minotaurs were born.

When I say "never really been interested" what I mean to say is "have trouble understanding what's happening". A casual glance at the sport on TV just looks like a lot of stopping and starting with one minute of action for every five minutes of standing about and talking but I let it slide now that the no-nonsense Minotaurs were on the case. It was about halfway through the season though, before I decided to learn the rules. It made picking players for the squad a lot easier when you understood what the hell each statistic means and who I want to be trading for. Kris Pope, one of our QA guys and manager of the esteemed Runcorn Rodents, adopted a trade strategy of "I'll give you two of my worst for one of your best". Funnily enough for the entirity of the season no one ever took him up on that offer. Curiosuly, he finished the league with an unbeatable losing streak of 1-12 or something ridiculous.

I must say though, I've become something of a convert to the sport. If only on a basic, spectator level, but at least I know what "first and ten" means. To celebrate the end of the inaugural EvoNFL Fantasy League, Rushy had us all over to his bachelor pad to watch the Superbowl in High Definition, stupidly large screen, surround sound bliss on the sunday night. For me, it was the first game I'd have seen but with friends to fill me in on crucial information like who the hell the guy with the black and white striped shirt was really full of himself, the night was set to be a great one. To assist the immersion in colonial culture, we were only allowed to bring American food and drink to the party and by the time everyone had arrived the fridge was bursting with bottles of Coors, Miller and Bud.

We were in for a good night, and the pre-superbowl games of Madden '06 were in full swing when I arrived with the game just ending and a new one beginning. It was Me and Hal up first, I picked the Ravens to sort out Hal's Vikings. After watching The Wire all week, I was sure my boys from Baltimore would take care of bid'nis.

*Ahem*. Each quarter we passed the controllers around and by the end of the first both me and Hal had failed to put any points on the board at all, locked in a dead heat. In my mind I'd like to think were were in complete equilibrium but more likely I knew less about playing Madden than I do about the sport in general. And that's saying a lot.

After a quiet start, the game took off in the second quarter with Baltimore taking chalking up three touchdowns with Minnesota only grabbing a pair for themselves. A last-minute field goal at the end of the third quarter left the Ravens in front at 21-17. Things were looking up and victory was in sight, but the last recipients of the controllers would have the game's ultimate fate in their hands, production assistant Dave Bramhall and artist Richard Weaver. Dave has been playing a lot of Madden '08 and was already very familiar with the controls and Weaver was still trying to pass the controller to someone else asking about how exactly he gets his guys to shoot. Unfortunately for Baltimore, their winning game was about to be thrown away under his leadership.

Dave cleaned up for most of the fourth, intercepting Rich's attempt to extend our lead and sorting himself out with a touchdown to bring the score up to a Viking lead of 21-24 after a good conversion. Rich was on the offence again and with only half of the quarter left, the pressure was on to get things moving. A good kick from Dave put Rich at 1st and 10 on the Raven's 20 yard line, it was going to be a tough two and a half minutes. Rich did well, considering, but Dave was all-out defence shutting down every play Rich tried to make, just running down the clock as best he could. With thirty seconds to go, Rich was still only on the 50 yard line and defeat looked almost inevitable. 1st and 10 became 2nd and 6 became 3rd and 8 became 4th and 5. There was only 10 seconds on the clock and half the room were scrambling to get the controller and call time-out before the clock completely ran out. With 8 seconds left, we needed a miracle, a breakaway, something to get us a score. Murmerings from complacent Vikings fans that we should check the Superbowl coverage were being hushed as the four Raven players talked "strategy".

By strategy I mean we all just decided to welly it and see what happens.

So with 8 seconds, Rich Weaver jogs backwards with ball in hand looking to pass down field at an open reciever. There are three, but as I'm counting Dave tackles one to the ground. A viking, pumped with all the adrenaline he can muster, the five yards to first down aren't important, just getting the ball out of play is the only thing that matters to him. Weaver beatifully dodges his tackle and remains standing but with three seconds left he needs to find that reciever. The ball is away to a small cheer of those still interested and people wander back from a smoke outside or getting another beer from the kitchen, mildly perplexed that the game is still going. The two remaining recievers are already hotfooting it to catch the ball with Dave's defenceman in pursuit, gaining on the pair. Dave takes a gamble and drops one, one second remains as the other keeps going, into the end-zone and, with zero seconds on the clock, like every high-school football film about underdogs in the 11th hour, scores the finest touchdown the sport has ever seen. I guess that's the appeal of this game. I get it now.

We settled in to watch the Superbowl and had a great night, but come the next morning, it was the hail-mary throw for 'our' game that got talked about the most.

-Will

We're Still Silent

Evolution — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:33:00 GMT

I love some of my videogames. I think they're a thrilling form of popular culture, and have far more interesting things to offer than many of the material I've seen that gets called 'art'.

I think that strictly speaking they aren’t an art-form, because their fundamental basis is the desire to play – which predates the very notions of art and culture.

I learned this by reading Johan Huizinga, the father of ludology. In his book ‘Homo Ludens’ he said ‘play is older than culture, for culture, however inadequately defined, always presupposes human society, and animals have not waited for man to teach them their playing’.

Fantastic.

Having said that, I still believe that you can sit some fantastic, moving, revolutionary art on top of the play mechanics of a videogame, or overlapping with them. It’s just that we haven’t yet. We’re still, in the majority of cases, dealing with crude stereotypes, an emphasis on action, and quick dumb thrills.

But it’s happening…

We’re beginning to move people in more sophisticated ways. We’re beginning to really talk to people.

You can sense it, right?

Provided we continue to push for improvement – in the face of disdain, ridicule, ignorance and censorship - our crude current state is nothing to be ashamed of. It was the same with novels, plays, movies and much more during their respective infancies. Many were thought of as ‘just for children’; many were slated or banned for being puerile or offensive or a waste of time. Throughout the ages, pioneers have had to struggle for artistic freedom in the face of...idiocy.

We’re only about three decades old. That means we’re only just starting to grow despite our technological leaps. When movies were the same age, they were still silent. Jack Warner (of Warner Brothers) once asked “who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” Nobody could have predicted what an incredible art form they would become – but they did.

So, if someone chooses to ridicule your passion for videogames by saying ‘these silly wastes of time will never be considered art’, please reply by saying that they are already more important than that. That we’re on an inexorable march to cultural domination.

And that we’ll show ‘em in the end.

We’ll show ‘em ;)

\Matt

Co-Op and Community

Evolution — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:33:00 GMT

I love co-op games. Single-player experiences are all well and good, but there's simply nothing better than working with friends to beat a game. In the last 7 years or so there has been a distinct absence of co-operative games, but recently that trend has been changing - "Gears of War", "Crackdown", "Resistance: Fall of Man", "Halo 3", "Hellgate: London", "Kane and Lynch" and "Lego Star Wars" to name a few. Co-op modes are famously difficult to do, and even harder to do well, but it's great to finally see developers making the effort and doing a good job of it. "Halo 3" is an obvious example of an excellent co-op experience, as I'm sure "Left 4 Dead" will be when that's released later this year.

What's really interesting me at the moment are the websites that developers are putting up to support their games and the communities that have formed around them. Bungie.Net and SteamCommunity.com create for you a profile page based on your in-game statistics, where you can browse the profiles of friends, set up groups, view in-game screenshots, and more. Very much like MySpace or Facebook, but centred completely around their games.

The two co-op/multiplayer games I'm most looking forward to this year are "Age of Conan" and "Left 4 Dead". What co-op or multiplayer games are you most looking forward to this year?

\Ryan

Guilty Conscience

Evolution — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:25:00 GMT

I felt at the weekend as though I'd committed adultery. I had some time to myself and spent it playing video games. Well, a video game. I didn't carry on with Vaan's quest against the expansionist Archadian empire. Nor did I attempt to continue my search for Drake's fortune. I didn't even try to free my beloved Princess from the nefarious clutches of Bowser.

What I did do was fight a series of disjointed battles across a variety of different battlefields using an assault rifle and some grenades. I wasn't alone: there were more than 70,000 other virtual soldiers playing, just like me.

I have to say that I love Call of Duty 4. It is most certainly in my top five games of last year. However, since my participation in the beta I hadn't played it online, so I decided to rectify this last weekend and had a thouroughly great time doing so. One thing that struck me though was how little I was achieving. Sure, I was ranking up and unlocking new weapons and gadgets, but I wasn't advancing a story. I wasn't discovering new lands, I wasn't learning anything new - this is were my guilt kicked in.

Could simply playing a game for enjoyments' sake be enough? Or does there need to be a purpose to the play, a reason to continue, and an end to bring about closure? I felt guilty because I wasn't continuing the quests I'd set out on in the first paragraph. I'd long since finished the single player campaign, and despite the lure of new ranks, there's little in Call of Duty 4's multiplayer that I hadn't seen before, despite how effectively Infinity Ward has crafted its game. But I was having fun - lots of it.

So when does playing games become a chore? For me, that guilt really stems from the amount of money I spend on the damn things, and how many of them sit unplayed on my shelves. When you know deep down you really should be playing that game everyone's talking about, the impulse purchase mechanism present in most gamers kicks in. I dread to think how many new tales await me; I guess I just need to kick the habit of simply playing for fun...

/"Sergeant" Barlos

b3ta Challenges

Evolution — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:15:00 GMT

Just a quick note to share our delight the ever-brilliant b3ta, and especially their recent challenge: movie letter switch.

One of our artists was moved to call it 'the funniest thing I've seen in years'. Agreed!

Check it out (bear in mind that some might be NSFW), and let us know your favourites.

Evo World of Art - Interviews

Evolution — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:47:00 GMT

So you’ve applied for an artist job in the games industry and it’s time to get ready for the interview. As someone who has conducted many interviews in my time, I thought today I’d talk about some of the dos and don’ts of hopefully attending a successful interview.

I’m going to break this into two sections; one relevant to everyone attending an interview at a games company, and then a second specifically aimed at artists and what you should put into a portfolio.

So to begin with let’s cover the basics. The main thing to remember is to prepare! There’s no point in going along to the interview not knowing anything about the company, their history, or the game catalogue they are responsible for. Now presumably you’re going to be aware of some of this otherwise you wouldn’t have applied in the first place, but it doesn’t hurt to have a quick check on t’internet to make sure your information is correct and up to date. I’ve always found that nothing goes down better in an interview, if a genuine interest for the company and the games being made comes across in discussions; just make sure the information is correct; there’s nothing worse than positively talking about a rival’s game at the company!

As with all interviews get there in plenty of time and not looking like you’ve just got out of bed; you do want to make a good impression after all. I think the days of wearing a suit etc have passed, especially in this industry, but it doesn’t hurt to make an effort with clothing. At the least, make sure it’s clean and without last night’s dinner all down the front.

Be courteous to all employees of the company. At the interview itself you must be positive about yourself and your abilities - but do not waffle.

To do well you’re going to need to convince the interviewer you are artistically and technically qualified to do the job. You will also need to show that you are motivated to get the job done well and that you will fit in with the company's organisational structure and the team in which you will work.

These are of course general tips for attending an interview, and many more can be found on t’internet. It’s always a good idea to have a read through some of these so you know what you might have to answer; once again, prepare!

And so, onto the more specific question of what work to include in your portfolio. Put simply, it should be the best you have! If you’re even slightly dubious about the quality of a piece, it’s best not to include it. You need to be confident in discussing all aspects of what you have on display; the mesh, textures, composition, rendering solution, 2D design and sketches. Generally an interviewer is going to wonder about a candidate if they sit and talk about why their work is bad, or have even missed blatant errors. Make sure you go through everything in minute detail making sure only the best of the best is on show.

Presentation is also key. Personally I believe there is nothing better than a portfolio filled with hard copies of your work, so that it can be discussed and viewed as part of the interview. You cannot rely on the company having a PC to hand that can display your work if brought on a CD or USB stick, and as the majority of the interview is going to be about your work, it’s an obvious massive disadvantage if it cannot be viewed. Make sure your portfolio is neatly organised and laid out in a sensible, possibly chronological order. It always goes down well if you can somehow tailor your work to the specific interview; possibly having a title sheet at the beginning, or subtitling each image. It’s a small thing, but it does demonstrate an extra effort made for that specific interview.

Don’t worry about having a broad range of work on show if it’s not relevant for the position. If you’re applying for a character modeller, then obviously all aspects of this discipline need to be demonstrated. Whether you can model cars or not is somewhat irrelevant, so again, unless there is a reason you want to discuss the work, its best left out. There is of course nothing wrong with displaying you have other talents, but keep these to a minimum and perhaps at the end of the portfolio. You are applying for a specific role and so should make sure you are clearly demonstrating you’re the best candidate for the job.

Nowadays it is a common practice to send some examples of your work into a company in order to gain an interview in the first place. If this is the case, try and take different examples of work you have to the interview itself so there is something new to see.

And most importantly of all, make sure all the work on show is your own! If it was done as a team effort then explain this to the interviewer, detailing the specific elements you were responsible for. It’s not a good idea to try and take credit of other people’s work and generally gets found out!

Two of the more humorous incidents that have occurred in art interviews covers this exact point. It is the story of an interviewee who had stupidly taken some work off t’internet and taken it along to an interview. What was worse was that without any research, he didn’t realise he was presenting the work back to the guy who had actually done it in the first place! Unsurprisingly the interview didn’t last very long.

The other tale is of a slight mis-communication during the interview itself. The interviewer has asked if the candidate could use ‘Max’ (as in 3DSMax), but unfortunately the interviewee had heard the word ‘Macs’ (as in Apple Macintosh) and had confidently replied with ‘yes’! The look on his face on the day he started the job and was presented with a PC running 3DS Max is still one of legend!

I hope some of you out there have found this helpful for any future interviews you might be attending. The key is to be prepared, well presented and confident to talk about the work you have to show.

And not too many shiny robots or big-breasted women. Although we’re all fans of both subjects, we’ve also seen many in our time interviewing.

Chris

Reviewing Level Design

Evolution — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:48:00 GMT

Reviewing Level Design

Regular reviewing of our work at Evo is an ongoing process and a process that is pivotal in ensuring that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet and that high standards and consistency are maintained at all times.

Several departments are involved in ensuring game levels are playing well, looking good and meeting all the technical requirements and parameters initially set out in a design document right at the beginning of a project. Fortunately we're able to do this without diluting the levels via "design by committee''.

It's a fluid process, and one that is subject to change depending on what kind of feedback all the other departments come back to you with. Ultimately the levels are the home for all the cool stuff everyone else is producing.

The level design document we work with can change significantly during the life of a map as new features, tools and art direction are fed into the machine and thus the whole process is continuously under review.

I often refer to the article http://www.cliffyb.com/art-sci-ld.html by Cliff Bleszinski titled 'The Art and Science of Level Design'. Although it's 8 years old, the things he talks about in the article hold true today and I recommend anyone who's even remotely interested in level design to digest everything he talks about - it's a fascinating read and I refer to it often.

Colin M

QTE's: The Death of Dexterity?

Evolution — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:54:00 GMT

I’m worried.

Not about the pain I’ve been feeling in my upper back lately, or even about Paul W.S Anderson and his continuous forays into movie franchises, hell I’m not even worried about the fluctuating house prices, as worrying as they may be.

No, today I’m worried about a current trend in games design that seems to be spreading like a forest fire, whose flames engulf the impressionable minds of young gamers worldwide; I’m worried about the QTE.

Quick time events, or QTE’s as they have come to be known, represent the sections of gameplay whereby the successful execution of timed on-screen button inputs allow the player to progress. Not to be confused with synchronised button press (games like Guitar Hero, and Dance Dance Revolution), QTE’s usually exist alongside a conventional control scheme, and while it can be said that they offer a varied alternative method of interfacing with the character, it is not always the case.

Since their original introduction with Dragons Lair, and more prominently in Shenmue, QTE’s have grown and changed from simply determining routes. They are now the interface for boss battles, combos, and cut-scenes in games such as Resident Evil 4, Heavenly Sword, and Spiderman 3.

Some of the implementations aren't great. They can feel random and unpredictable, leaving the player to rely on luck and button-bashing before seeing any on-screen prompts, which can be magnified in later boss battles when the QTE sequences become the only method of completion. At their worst, they force players to replay whole sections upon a single QTE failure, and lack sequence randomisation, promoting learn-by-death scenarios.

It reminds me of the expression 'repetition is the death of thinking’? QTE’s can be the death of challenging dextrous gameplay. I just can’t help but remember the days when fighting foes, and making game decisions involved dexterous and challenging actions.

The fantastic Bioshock presented players with an ethically challenging choice of either rescuing or 'harvesting' evil children, yet this choice was limited to a distress-free button solution on the game pad. While this wasn’t a QTE per se, and was always going to be a sensitive scene, it shows more removal of dexterity from games. The moral choice might have been much more difficult had the player to physically harvest the child. Did I just say that? :)

In contrast, quick time events do present game designers with a way of testing the player’s ability to react quickly, and offer an easy solution for feeding back failure and success.

Maybe this current trend in games design actually represents a global transition in the industry, maybe it represents the industry’s efforts to accommode the new gamer, maybe it’s just one in many changes to our gaming culture as a whole. Better quality, widely available, wider ranges and and more affordable games mean less time to play them.

But until Capcom replace Ken’s 10 hit combo with a QTE sequence, or Geometry Wars give players the option to approach its sparkly chaos with a selection of predefined button sequences, I’ll find something else to worry about for now.

Hmm, what was the name of that Osteopath again?

\Anthon

Things that we have learnt

Evolution — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:00:00 GMT

We like to think that here at Evolution we know a bit about making off-road racing games. Do we know everything? No we don't, contrary to what some people might tell you. But having done 5 WRC games on PS2 and one of the best selling (and best looking) PS3 games, we have a certain amount of experience in this rutted and muddy field. Oh yes, we've made some mistakes along the way, but we'd like to think that we don't tend to repeat the same ones again. And again.

So, here are some basic rules that we've gleaned if you ever find yourself faced with the task of making a track for an off-road racer:

Keep it smoother than you think is necessary.
That nice jump that you just made is probably too steep. Elongate it so that the transition is smoother.
After each jump, make a nice downward sloping landing area whenever possible.
For the bigger vehicles, give them a helping hand by avoiding adverse camber at all costs.
Stepped objects, and gaps between close objects are so very, very bad.
Have a much flatter racing area beside each "wall of death".
Ensure take-off regions are free from bumps.
Smooth it out again.

There, not exactly rocket surgery. They might seem like they'll make a world boring to play, but they honestly won't. Gamers get their MotorStorm kicks from the close racing with the other vehicles, and trying to get the right line. These aren't possible if your vehicle keeps getting punched into the air because of a dubiously placed rock or some other inconsistency.

We're making games after all, not trying to make a replica of the real world. That is probably the best rule of all to remember.

Cheers

Hal

Watch 'The Wire' !

Evolution — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:26:00 GMT

Ahoy hoy, its Ivan web log time again. Thank the stars there are a few of us writing these entries otherwise I'd never get any work done [insert sarcastic comment about Ivan's work rate]. I don't know about you but I am really enjoying my colleagues ramblings but I'll leave the clever stuff to them and concentrate on the simpler things in life...

At Evo we have many mailing lists covering most geeky and non-geeky interests e.g. Game Fans, TV & Movies, Animation & Comic books and erm...Lolcats*. One of the recent spams to the Film & TV list concerned the brilliant TV show 'The Wire'. For those of you yet to discover this awesome show here is a brief synopsis of it...

Its Baltimore. People from the projects deal drugs. Po-lice want to stop them. No one wins. No happy endings. Omar rocks. (As I said my ramblings are not going to be literary masterpieces ^_^)

So far so good, it seems like a.n.other cop show, but that would be doing it a huge disservice. Written by a former police reporter, it presents a grim but wholly believable universe that just sucks you in. Along with a great cast of professional actors the show features former cops and criminals in various roles. What I really love about 'The Wire' is that each series (or 'season') has a main story arch, so you get a great deal of depth as the stories play out over 12+ hours.

Across the water in the US, season 5 has begun on HBO and if memory serves it's being shown in the UK on FX and on good old TG4 in the Rep. of Ireland. Not wanting to sound too much like an advert, DVD box sets are also available, so there is no excuse for missing out on this piece of TV excellence (unless you are under 18...in which case go watch star trek reruns).

Moving on from 'The Wire' to matters a little closer to home...

As some of the Evo guys have already stated, we love hearing your feedback on MotorStorm and the DLC stuff that we have been putting out. We try and read everything we can whether that be comments, emails, forum postings or juat good old fashion tea leaves. Whilst we can't directly reply to your comments you can be sure that we are taking them on-board.

Thanks for reading,

Ivan McC

*If this is being read any time past 2007\8 search Wikipedia

Hidden amongst the crowd

Evolution — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:30:00 GMT

We've said it a few times now - 2007 was a fantastic year for gamers. Never before have so many ‘triple A’ titles been released within a 12 month period, well not that I can remember. The majority of them as per usual arrived within the final quarter of the year, meaning that only the most committed gamers would have been able to get through them all.

And that’s just the big releases, games which previously may have been given your attention in between the key titles have slipped through the net for many. So I thought I’d highlight the games which I feel didn’t quite get the attention they deserved.

Pac-man C.E. (X360) - Anybody who thinks this is a simply Pac-man with a new lick of paint is wrong. Although fundamentally the game mechanics aren’t radically different, the way they’re utilised to provide a new experience is extremely refreshing.

Crush (PSP) - One of the most intelligent puzzle games of the year, but also one of the most fiendish. If you can get over a steep difficulty curve you’re in for a treat.

Super Stardust HD (PS3) - Many looked down on SSHD for being ‘just another’ twin stick shooter riding on the success of Geometry Wars, but its much more than that. This slick shooter is as compulsive as the aforementioned but has greater depth and variety.

Ouendan 2 (DS) - Possibly even better than the original, Ouendan 2 delivers another superb selection of music, hilarious stories and some of most addictive rhythm action gaming about. Just remember to pack your headphones.

Virtua Fighter 5 Online (X360) - The first fighting game to truly deliver an offline fighting experience online. VF5 truly has set the bar for lag free online fighting, whilst still managing to deliver the same deep experience that the series is renowned for.

Hopefully 2008 will provide as many great games as last year, and if it does, don’t let gems like these slip through again!

Paul Rustchynsky - Designer

What Are You Playing at the MMOment?

Evolution — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:39:00 GMT

All over the world, hundreds of thousands of people play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) every day. They log in, adopt the personas of the characters they’ve created, and live their lives in the world of their choice. Those that spend most of their waking hours in those worlds, as I once did, believe that what they are doing in the game is more important than their responsibilities in the real world. Friends, jobs, duties, enemies and challenges all exist in these virtual worlds and can easily become more important than their real-life counterparts. Because in these virtual words, anyone can be the hero of the tale, or the villain. There are no rules governing who lives and who dies; everyone is immortal. You can be the kind of person you’ve always dreamed of being. The only drawback? Eventually, you have to log out.

Many of us here at Evos used to regularly play a certain MMO together (I won't name it, most of you can guess!), but after a few months we each played less and less until eventually we all gave it up. The big problem with MMOs is that by design they require a lot of time, dedication and patience from their players in order to get the most out of them, and when you have a family and a job, with precious little spare time in between, spending that much time playing a single game tends to become less important.

These days I prefer shorter gaming experiences, both offline and online. Like a lot of people, that’s all I have time for these days. At the moment I’m playing Call of Duty 4, Team Fortress 2, Halo 3 and, of course, MotorStorm. Each of these titles offer short, sharp and incredibly fun 10-30 minute (ish) gameplay experiences that are both exciting and fulfilling. What I believe Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 have done particularly well, however, is tapped into what makes MMORPGs so addictive – Levelling. These games have incorporated a system that encourages replayability through regular rewards, upgrades and new challenges to enhance the gaming experience over the long term, just like an MMORPG. Call of Duty 4 even goes so far as to feature an in-game XP bar that any MMORPG gamer will be immediately familiar with, so you never have to wonder how close you are to that next infinitely satisfying “ding” moment.

Making games replayable is a goal every developer strives for, but so few regularly achieve it. I’m betting we’re going to be seeing an influx of non-RPG games with this kind of levelling system over the next year or two, what do you guys think?

Ryan

Evo World of Art - 3D packages

Evolution — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:42:00 GMT

Something I am often asked by artists wishing to get into the games industry is "which 3D package should I learn?"

Now, although initially a very straightforward and sensible question, unfortunately there is no correct answer. I will try to explain why.

Anyone with a basic understanding of 3D art creation will I am sure be aware of the 'big players' in this area. These are currently 3DS Max and Maya from Autodesk, XSI from Softimage and finally Lightwave from Newtek. All these packages are what I would class as complete; by this I mean that within them you are able to create meshes, UV unwrap them, assign materials, animate and render final imagery. Now although these packages cover all bases, they of course have strengths and weaknesses. For example XSI has a strong animation side, Lightwave's sub-division surfaces are excellent, Max has simple and intuitive polygonal modelling, and Maya's NURB modelling and UV unwrapping are both first-class.

As a side note, there are also other packages, that although don't have the content of those mentioned above, do specialise in certain areas; Z-Brush or Mudbox for sub-division modelling and V-Ray for rendering are all worth looking at if these are areas of interest to you.

In fact, what you will find nowadays is game (and movie) studios using a combination of a few of these packages throughout the development pipeline; using the strengths in one package to overcome the weakness in another. The 'Holy Grail' is of course a package that answers all your artistic game development needs, and although ultimately impossible due to the varied nature of the games being created, it is at least possible to greatly improve matters by writing custom tools and plugins that run within the chosen package.

So back to the question of which is best to learn if you're trying to get into the games industry. Have a brief look over job advertisements and you will see that nine times out of ten either knowledge of 3DS Max or Maya is being requested. These two packages have almost become the standard for 3D art creation nowadays so it would make sense to start with either of these. As they are both owned by Autodesk now, it will be interesting to see how long they both continue to be developed along-side each other. At Evo, we use Maya primarily, although that doesn't stop me from having to put my 3DS Max skills to use from time to time. Like I have said; use the best tool for the job.

To sum up though, if you're starting out and you have to choose one, then I would personally concentrate on 3DS Max. I think it's the simpler of the two packages and will give you a good solid grounding in all aspects of 3D art creation, standing you in good stead should you wish to progress onto Maya. This doesn't mean it's a weaker package in terms of the results that you can achieve, just simpler to get to grips with as a newcomer.

I hope this is of some help to those interested; let me know how you get on and your experiences with the various packages.

That's all from Evo World of Art…. until next time

Chris