Postmortems from Game Developer: Insights from the Developers of Unreal Tournament, Black and White, Age of Empires, and Other Top-Selling Games

353 Pages·2003·16 MB·English

by  Austin Grossman

P
OSTMORTEMS
FROM
Austin Grossman,
editor
San Francisco, CA • New York, NY • Lawrence, KS
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iii
T C
A B L E O F O N T E N T S
Introduction: Tales from the Front Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
S I S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
ECTION TARTUPS
Irrational Games’ SYSTEM SHOCK 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
by jonathan chey
It’s the Engine, Stupid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Bohemia Interactive Studios’ OPERATION FLASHPOINT . . . . . . . 19
by marek spanel and ondrej spanel
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Future Dreaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Surreal Software’s DRAKAN: ORDER OF THE FLAME . . . . . . . . . 29
by stuart denman
Origins of the Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Origins of the Beast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Onward to the Next Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Pseudo Interactive’s CEL DAMAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
by kevin barrett, john harley, rich hilmer, daniel posner, gary snyder, and david wu
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Damage Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
iv Table of Contents
Nihilistic Software’s VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE—REDEMPTION . 51
by robert huebner
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
At Last, Redemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Ensemble’s AGE OF EMPIRES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
by matt pritchard
Designing the Past Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Blazing the Multiplayer Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Painting the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Going for Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Things That Worked Out (S)well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Things That Went Wrong Or We Could Have Done Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Patching It All Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
S II S S
ECTION EQUELS AND OPHOMORE
O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
UTINGS
Blizzard Entertainment’s DIABLO II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
by erich schaefer
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
The Final Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Epic Games’ UNREAL TOURNAMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
by brandon reinhart
Early Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
A Game Takes Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
New Code, New Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
In the End, It All Worked Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Where We Go from Here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
Table of Contents v
Westwood Studios’ TIBERIAN SUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
by rade stojsavljevic
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Overall Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Ensemble Studios’ AGE OF EMPIRES II: THE AGE OF KINGS . . .115
by matt pritchard
Catching Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Designing a Sequel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
The Show Goes On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Presto Studios’ MYST III: EXILE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
by greg uhler
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Closing Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Poptop Software’s TROPICO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
by brent smith
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
In Hindsight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
S III M I . . . . 147
ECTION ANAGING NNOVATION
Lionhead Studios’ BLACK & WHITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
by peter molyneux
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
“Just More” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
vi Table of Contents
Bungie Software’s MYTH: THE FALLEN LORDS . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
by jason regier
The Making of a Legend, er, Myth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
Post-Release Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Looking Glass’s THIEF: THE DARK PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
by tom leonard
The Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Stepping Back from the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
DreamWorks Interactive’s TRESPASSER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
by richard wyckoff
An Ambitious Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
The Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
Lessons Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
Ion Storm’s DEUS EX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
by warren spector
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207
Naughty Dog’s JAK & DAXTER: THE PRECURSOR LEGACY . . . . . 209
by stephen white
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214
The Legacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217
Table of Contents vii
S IV B L . . . . 219
ECTION UILDING ON A ICENSE
LucasArts’ STAR WARS™ STARFIGHTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223
by chris corry
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
Back to Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235
Raven Software’s STAR TREK™: VOYAGER—ELITE FORCE . . . . .237
by brian pelletier, michael gummelt, and james monroe
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Final Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
Red Storm Entertainment’s RAINBOW SIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251
by brian upton
The Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251
The Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257
In the End… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258
Raven Software’s SOLDIER OF FORTUNE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259
by eric biessman & rick johnson
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
A Direct Hit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
S V T O F . . . . . 273
ECTION HE NLINE RONTIER
Mythic Entertainment’s DARK AGE OF CAMELOT . . . . . . . . . . .277
by matt firor
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283
For the Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
viii Table of Contents
Multitude’s FIRETEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
by art min
Brief History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .288
FIRETEAM’s Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289
Who Worked on FIRETEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293
Evolving Right Along . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
Turbine’s ASHERON’S CALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
by toby ragaini
What Went Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301
What Went Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
A Unique Company Résumé . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
Afterword Independent Game Development . . . . . . . . . . .310
Appendix A Game Development Team Roles . . . . . . . . . .313
Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313
Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
Programmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
Quality Assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
Index of Game Titles & Developers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323
ix
I
NTRODUCTION
Tales from the Front Line
We are only beginning to understand how to time and budget, they know it and they know
make video games. what to do to minimize losses and get it in the
can and out the door. They have put their pro-
A couple of years ago I was working at a com- duction techniques through more-than-complete
puter game company in Los Angeles, and one shakedown.
afternoon I took a walk through Universal Stu-
dios’ nearby lot. I was new to the West Coast, so Compare this to making a video game. This is
it was a big thrill knowing that I was standing at another enormously complicated and expensive
the physical place where movies were made. I enterprise, but one much less clearly under-
roamed around and peered in open doorways at stood. Schedules, staffing, and budget are rou-
the cavernous sound stages stacked with pipes tinely inaccurate, if not vastly overoptimistic.
and lumber. Projects routinely run months and millions of
dollars over what was initially projected. Job
I had no idea what any of it was, but two things descriptions are vague and changeable. No uni-
were immediately clear: (a) whatever they were versal vocabulary of design and production ter-
doing was enormously complicated and expen- minologies exists. Individual jargons are ad-hoc
sive, and (b) they knew exactly how to do it. inventions, varying from company to company
and project to project.
Universal Studios was founded in 1912, and
after 90 years of filmmaking, they have it down Every year new technologies for both produc-
to something like a science. Every single item, tion and display are introduced, and every year
down to the orange cones, had a name or num- audience expectations change and the scale of
ber stenciled onto it. Somewhere someone with the enterprise goes up. During the two years a
a clipboard knew what everyone on the project project is in production, the whole medium
was doing that day and every day until the red- evolves. The product quality in the game indus-
carpet premiere, and how much every minute try is immensely variable. Only a relatively
was costing the studio. If the movie runs over small percentage of video and computer games