gamedeveloper200605-dl.pdf

>> INTERVIEW: CLIFF BLESZINSKI GEARS UP FOR NEXT GEN

MAY 2006

THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

KONAMI’S

METAL GEAR

ACID 2

PATCHING FINAL

FANTASY XI

THE ART OF

SELF-PROMOTION

GDC PRODUCT

ROUNDUP

POSTMORTEM:

[

CONTENTS

]

MAY 2006

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 5

FEATURES

13 THE ART OF SELF-PROMOTION

Breaking into the games industry is tough

enough; creating a name for yourself once in

requires true dedication. Treyarch’s Stuart

Roch maintains that a successful career

starts (and ends) with good self-promotion.

In this feature article, he shares five steps

game developers can take to make the most

of their career painlessly ... well, almost.

By Stuart Roch

20 FINAL FANTASY XI’S

PATCH SYSTEM DESIGN

How a game patch is disbursed to users and

installed varies widely across the industry, with

at least four common approaches currently

being used. For persistent games, like MMOGs,

the patch creators need to establish reliable

and accurate methods that accommodate the

player, since patches are likely to ship on a

regular basis. Fumiaki Shiraishi, who worked on

the patch design of F INAL F ANTASY XI, shares the

technical considerations of these various

methods, justifying why, if he had a second

chance, he would opt for a hybrid approach.

By Fumiaki Shiraishi

POSTMORTEM

28 KONAMI’S METAL GEAR ACID 2: PLAYING THE 3D CARD

The original M ETAL G EAR A CID turned a beloved series on its ear, bringing it

into the realm of card-based strategy. The sequel takes it one step

further, by making the game fully playable with 3D goggles. Who says

there’s no more room to innovate? In this postmortem, game director

Shinta Nojiri discusses not only the game’s unconventional design, but

some alarming conditions of the Eastern game industry—namely, never

going home.

By Shinta Nojiri

39 INTERVIEW WITH CLIFF BLESZINSKI:

AT WAR WITH COMPLACENCY

G EARS OF W AR creator Cliff Bleszinski, also

known as CliffyB, talks straight in this

exclusive interview. He’s got a bone to pick

with usability and an insightful take on

simplifying player controls. The Epic designer

shares his criticisms and witticisms.

By Brandon Sheffield

DEPARTMENTS

COLUMNS

4 GAME PLAN By Simon Carless

Mar velous Ideas

46 BUSINESS LEVEL By Stephen Smith

[ BUSINESS ]

Play Smart With Wages

6 HEADS UP DISPLAY

Dev kits reach game schools, research points to the health benefits of

games, developers’ early impressions of the Revolution, and more!

48 THE INNER PRODUCT By Mick West

[ PROGRAMMING ]

Parallax Mapped Bullet Holes

51 PIXEL PUSHER By Steve Theodore

[ ART ]

8 SKUNK WORKS By Jill Duffy and Tom Carroll

GDC Product Roundup and Spiral Graphics’ Genetica 2.5 Pro

Best Practices From a Collective Force

53 GAME SHUI By Noah Falstein

[ DESIGN ]

80 A THOUSAND WORDS

Funcom’s D REAMFALL : T HE L ONGEST J OURNEY

112 Down, 288 To Go: The State of The 400 Project

54 AURAL FIXATION By Alexander Brandon

[ SOUND ]

COVER ART: Tsubasa Masao

Databasic Ideas: Part II

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