Table Of Content>> PRODUCT REVIEWS SOFTIMAGE XSI 6.5 * DECODA 1.07
FEBRUARY 2008
T H E L E A D I N G G A M E I N D U S T R Y M A G A Z I N E
>> WAVE-O-LUTION >>TOUGH IT OUT >> MMO MONEY, MMO PROBLEMS
A PRIMER ON MASSIVE UNLOCK THE POWER OF COMMUNITY MANAGERS TELL
INTERACTIVE SURF HARD MODES IN GAMES YOU WHAT THEY REALLY DO
POSTMORTEM:
RATCHET &
CLANK FUTURE:
TOOLS OF
DESTRUCTION
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B:8 in
T:7.75 in
S:6.75 in
Using Autooddeesskk®®
HumanIK® mmiiddddllee--
ware, Ubisoofftt
Autodesk®
grounded tthhee
MotionBuilder™
assassin inn hhiiss
software enabled
In Assassin’s Creed, 12th centuryy bboooottss
the assassin to
Ubisoft used and his run--ttiimmee
fl uidly jump
Autodesk® 3ds Max® environmenntt..
from rooftops to
software to create
cobblestone
a hero character so
streets with ease.
real you can almost
feel the coarseness
of his tunic.
S:9.5 in T:10.5 in B:10.75 in
HOW UBISOFT GAVE
AN ASSASSIN HIS SOUL.
autodesk.com/Games
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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 L Studio Artist N. Espiritu dium; Type 1) DocuColor 240
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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 Scale100% 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 Steller California JOB NO CLIENT DESCRIPTION IMAGESETTER SCREEN PROOF # DATE TIME OPERATOR
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]
FEBRUARY 2008
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 2
FEATURES
6 DIFFICULTY IS DIFFICULT
If done well, difficulty can make a game quite
addictive. If done poorly, the game can become
an abject failure for consumers. This design
article dissects various elements of difficulty
tuning, and proposes potential solutions.
By Daniel Boutros
14 BIG WAVES
Game Developer has featured articles on
water before, but never massive, interactive
waves. Building off a primer for general in-
game water creation, this technical piece
shows practical techniques for the creation,
6
smoothing, and perfection of big waves in-
game, as seen in Ubisoft's SURF'S UP.
By Adi Bar-Lev
27 COMMUNITY ROUNDTABLE
Community management straddles the line
32 between developer and fanbase, and as a 14
result is often misunderstood. Herein, your
questions are answered by community
professionals, as their jobs become more
POSTMORTEM important to game development.
By April Burba, Christian Schuett, Jonathan Hanna,
Richard Weil, Sean Dahlberg, and Victor Wachter
32 RATCHET & CLANK FUTURE: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION
27
RATCHET & CLANK was Insomniac's second PlayStation 3 game, and
42 HALO 3 DIFFICULTY Q&A
indeed one of the first second-generation PS3 titles period. From scope
woes to preproduction pitfalls, this postmortem illuminates some of the Continuing the difficulty discussion, Dan
process behind this "second party" development cycle. Boutros speaks to HALO 3 gameplay designer
Francois Boucher-Genesse.
By John Fiorito
By Daniel Boutros
DEPARTMENTS COLUMNS
2 GAME PLAN By Brandon Sheffield 51 THE INNER PRODUCT By Mick West [PROGRAMMING]
One Love, One Format Collaborative Game Editing
4 HEADS UP DISPLAY 56 PIXEL PUSHER By Steve Theodore [ART]
2007 NPD numbers, Concrete Games closes, IndieGames blog, The Free Tote Bag Gig
and more.
63 GAME SHUI By Noah Falstein [DESIGN]
44 TOOL BOX By Carey Chico and Brian A. Stone Multiple Variations on a Single Theme
Softimage's XSI 6.5, Unknown Worlds' Decoda 1.07,
and product news. 65 AURAL FIXATION By Jesse Harlin [SOUND]
Beyond the Button Press
96 BUSINESS LEVEL By Marty Poulin [BUSINESS]
The Next Internet Gaming Wave
COVER ART: INSOMNIAC ART TEAM
WWW.GDMAG.COM 1
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unified games format recently. I’ll leave why What if all these games were released on one JJMMJJeeeeiiccsfssfkksssr eeeeWW y HHHee aFaassrttlrrel lli iinmmmnn ww ijjjnhhheegaaassr rr ttllli@@iinnn@gg@@ddgggmmdddaammmgga..aaccgggoo.c..mmccooommm
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and mobile devices to one standard is going to months it was out. Plus, now your game that AAADDDSMHBCBCHHtllVVVrraaaiiieaacnnIIIlllvSdd SSk ttBBBeooO OOBBWaaann RTRRuurrr ehKKwYwwllYYkkseee oBoolltBBoiiee ttoooO dOOhhyymdddAo AA w R rNHNH RR eDDDDeiieeDD gge seevvshhsteesst @ihrrMMiigggssengoooonnoooedffeedttnnrmrr-o-- [email protected]
be one hell of a job. A recent blog post from David the publisher told you to make “more like GTA” is ADERREEVyylllllleIeeaaSnnnnnO LLGGGReeuuuYssooo ssBnnneeO rrBBB A e eeRHHeeeDaammmrrmmaaanoonn nn ii MMMxxiiicccrrrooosssooofffttt
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it’s not possible. I don’t think it’s wrong, I think are going to have to get better in order to stand GGAAADDDLLRMSSOOttVyVVaeeBBEaEErvvkAAnRRRee LL TDTTLMM IIISSeeSSSccAALsIGGIINLLNNsoiiEElleGuGGll SSrr eeS a SS MM ::A H AA ssAA LULLammNNEEErbAAmccSiSSsggGGooiiEEllnllfRR@@tix,, ccRRmmEEppCC..RRccUUoommIITTMM ttEE:: 44NN11TT55 &&..99 EE44DD77..UU66CC2211AA77TTIIOONN
it’s an admirable goal—but I do see some serious out. I’m in favor of that! But it also means that DDD--AAIIIRRRaaEEErrooCCCnnTTT OOOMMRRRuu rr OOOaaFwwFF SssSSkkAAAiiLLL EeeEE::S SSaa mmuurraawwsskkii@@ccmmpp..ccoomm tt:: 441155..994477..66222277
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of the hill, without console lines to divide them. themselves with the GTA clone, they might’ve MMRRAJEEAAomRRPPhRRKKanEEIInNN TTWdTTIIaNNaSS tGGMsaoen M ei:l jlmerw [email protected] t: 415.947.224
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ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER Pete C. Scibilia
mid-level developers? Indies have little overhead, console or format would mean higher stakes, RCCMMMMEAAPPPRRR KKGGIEEAANMMTTTIISEENN GGGGRROOUUPP
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games. These are companies that are competent, with money get both excited and nervous—they MAAVVUUPPHA,,DDiR lSSIIaKEETTrENNRRyTCCAA MIEETTNcEE DDGVGGEE iMIIcVVCCkEEA eMMLLNrOOAA A ePPRRG:MMEKK hEEREEmNN TT cTTIINNviGGc k MMeriicc@hhceemlleep MM.caaoggmuu ii trr:ee 415.947.6207
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but have yet to make a breakout hit to define want to do more, but they want to make it safer. CGGMRROOP UUGPPA MDDIIERR GEERCCTTOOOURRP KKaatthhyy SScchhoobbaacckk
themselves. Where will their market go if they But maybe this is also a way to circumvent the CSDDVSAAAAEEPSSMUUIIRR,SSNNDD PEESIIIISSII OCCTOGEETTRTTRRNNAAAOOA M NNCCVVRRTTTEEPEPE ,, MMMM G DD GGTaaAAIEEERACrrNNCVVOyyM MAAEEH UGGEGGALLNPrr,EEROO iiODffRRffKPPLOii nnMMEJJOB ooT EEGeeBIhhNNN::Y’ nnSmm GTTI ,SSN kkI llMCeeNggssrrMOiiiciiffnnVIhff iissAGennkkTRl@@eOii O ccReeMUmm::S aPjj ssppGg ll ..ueePRccssooihOriimmeinnUlisspPkk C iiP@@hhccaimmplipnpp i..Cccchkooammpnick
don’t have platforms to define them? money? Maybe having one large console space GGLLGGIIRRRRSSOOOOTT UUUURRPPPPEE NN DDDDTTIIIIAARRRRLLEEEE CCCCMMTTTTeeOOOOrrRRRRiitt DD CCKKiiaaarrarreettoocchhllttyyyy LLnn SSLL GGccCChiih rr ttoooo::uubb 99axxa11 cc 44eekk..::33 cc66gg88iirr..11oo00uuxx00@@00ccmmpp..ccoomm
This sounds crazy, but bear with me. Think would mean the smallest games can actually DDIIRREECCTTOORR MMaarryy GGrriiffffiinn ee:: mmkkggrriiffffiinn@@ccmmpp..ccoomm
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MAMA, or Ubisoft with PETZ games, releasing a LPPAIINNIRRSSTTSEETEEISS SRRRIITDDENNAEENAANNNTTTTTTAII OO MLAANN NNA MAADDNLLe ACCr GLLEEitIIEOO CCDR SSEEir ttNN eeeJSScovveetIIhNN LnWWGGL SeeC IIiilNN tte zztsFF:nn iOO9nee1RRrrs 4kMM.i3 AA e6TT:II8 [email protected]
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metaphor that turned out to be. Anyway, Nintendo as easy for your game to make a splash? Would CSSCEEEEMMXXNNEEPPIICC OOTTUURREETT CCVVIIHVVHPP,,EENN CC OOVVOOPPLLRROO PPAAGGOONNYYRRDD AAMM CCTTAAEEFFNN OOMMAA AAAAGGRRddEEaaKKMMmmEEEETT NNIIMMNNTTaaGGrr ddLLiieessrraa JJoohhnnssoonn
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sellers list for DS and Wii? Nintendo games. Are casual PC market, it’s big money—but how do PSSPPPEERRRRNNEEEEIISSSSOOIIIIRRDDDD EEVVEENNPPNN,,TT TTCC,,,, OO CCCCMMMHMMMMAPPPN UU CBBNNNHUUEIICCASSLNAAII GTTNNNIIREEOOEOSSNNLUSS SSR PTTAAo EEllbReeCCeoxxHHraabtnneNN FddrOOatrr aalLLFe OOaRRtrlGGaaeaiiYYtnn r eeGGa RROOUUPP TToonnyy UUpphhooffff
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by a third. How many companies cited the “HALO that a unified console or standard just doesn’t VP, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Patrick Brennan
3 effect” when explaining their poor numbers? work with our existing publishing and funding
Gamers can’t necessarily afford to buy HALO 3 and models. If we want to move to a single format,
two other games in a given month. But right now, we’ve got to change that first.
some consumers don’t have a 360—and they - Brandon Sheffield Game Developer
is BPA approved
Game Developer
2 FEBRUARY 2008 | GAME DEVELOPER WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW............CCCCCCCCCCCCMMMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPPPPPPPGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE............CCCCCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM
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morpheme-ad.eps 13/12/2007 17:08:48
C
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CM
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[HEADS UP DISPLAY]
GOT NEWS? SEND US THE BIG SCOOP AT [email protected]
2007 SEES RECORD GAME SALES
$4.8 BILLION IS A LOT OF MONEY,
Dollar Sales Dec. 2006 Dec. 2007 Annual 2006 Annual 2007
but believe it or not that was the
game industry’s total revenue for
Video Games Total $3.77 billion $4.82 billion $12.53 billion $17.94 billion
December 2007, up 28% over last
year, according to the NPD Group. Hardware Total $1.57 billion $1.83 billion $4.58 billion $7.04 billion
The charts below show a strong
Christmas season with $1.83 billion Console Hardware $1.08 billion $1.3 billion $2.96 billion $5.12 billion
in hardware sales exceeded by
$2.37 billion in software sales. Portable Hardware $489.5 million $525.7 million $1.62 billion $1.92 billion
The best selling game machine
Game Software Total $1.74 billion $2.37 billion $6.46 billion $8.64 billion
for December was the Nintendo DS
with 2.47 million units sold. The Wii
Console Software $1.22 billion $1.8 billion $4.77 billion $6.64 billion
followed, putting 1.35 million units
under the Christmas tree, slightly Portable Software $519.4 million $574.9 million $1.69 billion $2.00 billion
edging out the Xbox 360, which
moved 1.26 million units. Accessories $455.4 million $621.6 million $1.49 billion $2.26 billion
NPD’s numbers show the
PlayStation 2 continuing to outsell
the PlayStation 3, with 1.1 million
units sold in December over the Looking at the figures for the Hardware Units Dec. 2007 Annual 2007 Life-to-Date
PlayStation 3’s 797.6 thousand. The entire year of 2007 should warm
PlayStation Portable continues to corporate hearts across the PlayStation 2 1.1 million 3.97 million 41.12 million
make good numbers, selling 1.06 country. As a whole the video
PlayStation 3 797.6 thousand 2.56 million 3.25 million
million units in December, and has game industry brought in $17.94
sold 10.47 million units during its billion during the year, up 43%
PlayStation Portable 1.06 million 3.82 million 10.47 million
life-to-date. over 2006. Hardware takes up a
Nintendo had three titles in the significant portion of that number, Xbox 360 1.26 million 4.62 million 9.15 million
list of December’s top ten games leaving $8.64 billion in game sales
including SUPER MARIO GALAXY in the for developers and publishers to Wii 1.35 million 6.29 million 7.38 million
number two spot with 1.40 million divvy up.
copies sold. Activision topped the The Nintendo DS was the top Nintendo DS 2.47 million 8.50 million 17.65 million
chart with the Xbox 360 version of selling system of the year with
CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE, 8.50 million units sold and the Wii
which sold 1.47 million units. came in a close second, moving PlayStation 3, which moved 2.56 reliance on Christmas spending to
Interestingly, the number three 6.29 million units in 2007. Although million units over the past year. Over drive sales. Nintendo’s games have
bestselling game for December was third in 2007 sales, Microsoft’s its life-to-date the PlayStation 2 has a longer tail, and the company was
Activision’s PlayStation 2 version Xbox 360 trends well, selling 9.15 sold 41.12 million units. rewarded with strong sales for WII
of GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK million units in its life-to-date, with HALO 3 was the bestselling game PLAY and POKEMON DIAMOND, which
which sold 1.25 million copies, the Wii catching up fast at 7.38 of 2007, selling 4.82 million copies were released in Q1 2007, and MARIO
compared to the Xbox 360 version’s million life-to-date. The PlayStation since its release in September. PARTY 8, which came to shelves in
respectable, but far lower number of 2 was a strong fourth place seller, Most of the year’s top games were May of 2007.
624.6 thousand copies. with 3.97 million units sold in 2007, released during the fourth quarter, — Jeffrey Fleming
again beating its own successor the showing the industry’s continued
JESSE HARLIN NOMINATED FOR G.A.N.G. AWARD
JESSE HARLIN’S FEBRUARY, 2007 February 21, and the editors wish him Center and includes live video game
column “Does it Sound Next-Gen?” the best of luck. music performances throughout the
has been nominated for a Game Audio The winners will be honored at the evening. For more information visit
Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) award in the 6th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony, www.audiogang.org.
Best Game Audio Article, Publication, taking place during the Game —Staff
or Broadcast category. Winners for Developers Conference. The awards
the G.A.N.G. Awards will be revealed on event will be held at the Moscone
4 FEBRUARY 2008 | GAME DEVELOPER
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THQ DROPS FRANCHISES,
CLOSES CONCRETE GAMES
THQ RECENTLY ANNOUNCED IT WILL NOT BE CONTINUING ITS JUICED AND
STUNTMAN franchises, and has dropped PS3 and PS2 ports of some multiplatform
releases, and is shuttering its Concrete Games studio, all in one fell swoop. The
move is designed to cut the less successful elements of its organization, as part
of the company’s 2008 financial guidance for stockholders.
WEBLOG UNVEILED
For THQ’s third quarter, sales projections were increased from $490 million
to $509 million, but representatives have said the company will report
"approximately $20 million in accelerated amortization expense" due to the
under performing titles.
THQ CEO Brian Farrell has previously called out JUICED and STUNTMAN's IN JANUARY THE CMP GAME to have a developer’s web site
performance by name, noting in October of last year that neither achieved desired Group (publisher of Game bookmarked, or chance upon
play mechanic and overall quality targets, something that was "particularly Developer) unveiled a news a game announcement in a
disappointing" following the performance of games like SAINTS ROW. "This is not component to IndieGames. forum. I started the site as a
acceptable," said Farrell at the time, "and we've taken steps to address it." com, part of the group’s place to inform people about
Along with the cancellation of the two franchises, THQ says it has also portfolio of web sites focused the latest projects from these
canceled the PS3 version of FRONTLINES: FUEL OF WAR and the PS2 version of on submarkets of the video talented developers.”
DESTROY ALL HUMANS!: BIG WILLY UNLEASHED, now a Wii exclusive, as well as two game industry. The site (www. In the years since his old
unannounced titles for Xbox 360 and PS3 that were expected to be released indiegames.com/blog), edited by weblog’s debut, Boon has
in fiscal 2010. Most surprising was the closure of its internal Concrete Games Wee Tim Boon, looks at the world seen the barriers to game
studio, which was working on one of the unannounced games, but had yet to of independent games with daily development crumble as new
release a full title under the Concrete banner. coverage of Flash, downloadable technology opens the field to
The publisher says a number of Concrete employees will be offered freeware, and independent anyone with a desire to create.
positions in other internal studios, and that the company at large will see commercial games. Boon and “The tools used for developing
financial repercussions of the closure stated on its fourth quarter earnings. his co-editors are also fleshing games are now easily accessible
Though THQ says it saw better-than-expected sales of WWE SMACKDOWN out the site with interviews, to anyone with an interest in
VS. RAW 2008 and MX VS. ATV UNTAMED, it notes that this was offset by features, and commentary on creating something to share.
underperformance of a number of its titles, including the recently released the emerging indie scene. “I [Some] game development
STUNTMAN: IGNITION, RATATOUILLE, and CONAN. continue to be surprised by the software has reached a stage
Said Farrell in a statement, “In October, we announced certain product creativity of developers who where it is nearly as simple to
quality initiatives, including personnel and structural changes in product produce games on practically use as MS Paint,” Boon said. “A
development and a more rigorous internal and external product evaluation no budget which are unlike budding designer with no coding
and feedback process. Consistent with these initiatives, we have taken anything seen in the market skills can follow a few tutorials
actions to strengthen our pipeline and position ourselves to compete today,” Boon said. available on the net to get
aggressively with compelling, high quality games.” IndieGames.com—The started, then upload their work
An anonymous former employee of Concrete Games had this to say: “Given Weblog has its origins in Boon’s to any of the game distribution
the sad situation of having your studio shut down, I have to say that THQ Independent Gaming weblog, channels online. There are a lot
has shown great class in the way they handled this situation. THQ has taken originally created two and a half of creative developers turning
measures to reassign all employees affected into other THQ studios. However years ago as an information out fantastic games and we will
for those for whom a place could not be found, THQ HR and Recruitment staff clearing-house for independent see independently developed
are working hard to help place these employees into external studios. games. “The problem is that the games gain even more attention
The layoff is effective on Feb 6th and all employees that could not find a games are usually not noticed from the games industry in the
position in a THQ studio by that date will get 2 weeks for every year they until months, sometimes years, coming years.”
worked for THQ as well as any vacation time. All in all, I think this was pretty after their initial release,” said -Jeffrey Fleming
fair given the circumstances.” Boon. “Not many will know
—Brandon Boyer, Brandon Sheffield about them unless they happen
CALENDAR
P.I.E.C.E. Indie MMO Game ION Game Conference CoGames 2008: The 1st Game Connect:
Cashman Center Developers Conference Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel International Workshop on Asia Pacific 2008
850 North Las Vegas Blvd Minneapolis Convention Center 2100 Alaskan Way Collaborative Games Brisbane
Las Vegas 1301 Second Avenue South Seattle The Hyatt Regency Irvine Queensland
Nevada Minneapolis WA Irvine, CA Australia
March 8–9, 2008 MN May 13–15, 2008 May 19–23, 2008 November, 2008
Price: $50 March 29–30, 2008 Price: see website Price: see website Price: see website
http://piece.eventbrite.com Price: $219.99 www.ionconference.com http://cisedu.us/cis/cts/08/ www.gameconnectap.com
www.IMGDC.com workshops/W3-CoGames www.gdaa.com.au
2008-cfp.html
WWW.GDMAG.COM 5
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>> dan boutros
DIFFICULTY
IS
Designing For Hard Modes
In Games
DIFFICULT MODES IN GAMES ARE RARELY DISCUSSED AS AN in a quick and dirty way can also change the game’s play
DAN BOUTROS importantfactor in our business. In some games, they are fundamentally—this is something many developers don’t factor
is a consultant well-thought out additions, built for the hardcore players. In into their decisions enough.
and freelance other games, these modes are an afterthought, provided to
game designer, appease a publisher, or as an attempt to provide direction to TUNING FOR TOUGH
currently directing multiple audiences attracted by the same product. For almost Many games have sought to copy Rare’s N64 GOLDENEYE model
an unannounced DS all developers though, difficulty modes are tackled at the end of for greater difficulty—double damage from enemies = harder
puzzle game. Email the project when the game is being tuned, and they are tough to game—but within the context of other factors, doing this can
him at dboutros@ implement well without significant time and thought. actually change the consistent play type of the game, and
gdmag.com. For this piece, I’ll aim to explore some methods and thus change the experience in a fundamental and arguably
philosophies behind how difficult play has been successfully unsatisfying way.
implemented in games overall, either in terms of general Let’s say there’s a fictitious FPS called NaziShoot 2000. In
difficulty, or within an optional objective that recontextualises this game’s normal difficulty mode, the player can usually
play (such as Rare's super-tough multiplayer bonus unlockable get shot, have a second to think, recover, then react. In tough
objective in GOLDENEYE for the Nintendo 64). mode, players cannot risk being shot as the increased damage
We’ll explore where certain methods have worked, failed, and and AI kills them almost instantly. This forces players to move
where they are simply not relevant anymore. Since difficulty is and act more conservatively. In an ideal-world’s well-designed
so subjective, I’ll focus arguments around the following ideas: tough game, it would be possible to play through and not die, if
the player used the utmost care and thoughtfulness. However,
"A player must always feel like the failure of a challenge is this game had to hit a deadline so the tough mode had to be
entirely his own responsibility, and not a fault of a poorly evolved from the normal mode, and tuned to a formula. In this
designed product." memorizing bottleneck scenario, surprise snipes to the head, and
learning from trial and error become the dominant way to play.
"The player must understand how and why he failed, so that he And there is the difference: whereas one mode is a reactionary
can learn from his mistake and increase the feeling of failure and lightly memory-reliant experience, in the tough mode, the
being his responsibility." game becomes very classically rooted in trial and error, using
memory play as the core consistent play type. The only way
Choosing a high difficulty is the act of wanting to be tested on a player can survive with meager resources and a damage
the part of the player. The reward of passing a test is a feeling disadvantage is by trying, dying, remembering, and restarting.
of worth and accomplishment—and to make a test enjoyable is This is a classic tenet of the old school 2D arcade shooters. In
to make it challenging, while also achievable. Tuning difficulty a 3D game where an additional axis dramatically adds to your
6 FEBRUARY 2008 | GAME DEVELOPER
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DIFFICULTY
IS
RUNNING HED
things-to-worry-about radar, control complexity
is usually increased, and gameplay acts—core
gameplay sequences such a shooting
something and then grabbing a power-up—are
spread across a longer timeline because of the
physical world’s scale increase. If the player
can be killed in one hit, or by other fatal game
features, this can often result in an intense
feeling of frustration, and quite possibly lead to
dissatisfaction with the game overall.
DIFFICULTY TUNING ROUNDUP
There are many elements of gameplay that are
worth tweaking for harder difficulty modes,
provided there is time to test each of these
thoroughly against the other modes, and with
players of varying skills. I’ll investigate a few here.
Time limit.This is a classic difficulty
tuner for racing games, and a few platform
games—essentially inspiring the player to get to the end of a The best difficult modes in games tend to share the same
level or challenge by X time. This usually forces the player into formula for upping the difficulty, which is contextual to the
optimal route-finding play and looking at their navigational level portion. Sometimes this involves more enemy spawns,
tools differently. Had PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME embraced and most of the time there’s additional damage—and in some
non-linearity, we may have had a time limit goal challenge places, less ammo.
to recontextualize the levels in some very interesting ways. Simon says.If the game is dependent on button presses, like
Generally, most racers have a medal-based reward structure DDR, BEATMANIA, or GUITAR HERO, then demanding more presses
where the gold medal will be a very tight time to achieve. Games per time unit makes sense as a difficulty increase. Pressure
that have other play types involved in the racing—F-ZERO has is increased through the players having to parse what they
combat for example—end up forcing the player to also optimize see, and combine that with what their currently engaged feet,
those play types, alongside finding the ideal path. fingers, or other digits are already doing.
Damage Dynamics. This is the easiest thing to tweak when Increased AI aggression.HALO 1 and 3 are perfect examples
making a game harder—just make everything hurt more. The of how to pull this off, as are the Infinity Ward installments of
problem is that without careful tuning of other factors, such the CALL OF DUTY series. Sometimes, the enemy just behaves more
as enemy placement and resources, this can bring about aggressively, forcing the player to act more quickly and confidently,
one-hit kill syndrome, which in a 5–10 minute stretch of play rather than wait around trying to aim a perfect head shot. In HALO,
The enemy AI in HALO can come across lazy and unfair. It’s also the easiest way to the grunts will do suicide kills in the harder difficulties.
shows increased change the feel of the game from an evaluate/solve game to a Make your enemy AI take more risks, but on the flipside don’t
aggression at higher predominantly memory-play based affair. make the enemy AI be able to see the player from a million miles
difficulty settings. away with the aim of a laser-eye-surgeried hawk,
or you’ll get a MEGA MAN-style scenario in which
players feel cheated through an unknown and
unseen kill, such as from an off-screen bullet. In
some contexts it’s realistic, but in most games of
this sort that I’ve played, it’s rarely fun. It could
just be me, but it made me stop playing MEDAL OF
HONOR: AIRBORNE.
Reduced neutral zones. This is when safe areas
and unused areas are removed or replaced with
hazards, such as spikes you can’t stand on or
instant-kill zones. The Challenge levels in Valve’s
PORTAL are a great example. This has the added
side-affect of pin-holing the player’s focus o n very
few options, and with good level design can create
a high-pressure puzzling environment.
HUD restrictions.In some games, challenge
can be tuned by altering the interface. Games
with multiple feedback systems work best, as
numbing or reducing just one of your in-game
senses can cause player decision-making to be
more tense. The METAL GEAR SOLID series has done
this since the beginning, where harder difficulties
would remove the in-game radar, meaning the
player had to rely not only on their memory of the
8 FEBRUARY 2008 | GAME DEVELOPER
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