Eye For Games magazine 2014.1

Page 1

Eye For Games is about game design and development • • www.efgmagazine.com

EFG magazine 2014.1

Tom Kyster

Artist | Los Angeles, United States


New in version 2013.2 Secondary Output Devices 7.1 Audio Support REV source plug-in from Crankcase Audio AstoundSound effect plug-ins from Gen Audio And much more…

© 2013 Audiokinetic Inc. All rights reserved.


HARDCOVER ART BOOK

The Art and Design of Video Games An Eye For Games art book

With over 20 developers and more than 200 pages, the hardcover features everyone from the smallest of indie devs to major MMO developers.

PRE-ORDERS

WILL START IN FEBRUARY AND RUN UNTIL MARCH 2014! follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated @EyeForGames

EFG magazine 2014.1 ART DIRECTOR

COVER DESIGN

EDITION SUPPORT

Rai Sewgobind

Tom Kyster

Wolfire Games

Tomk-art.com

COPY EDITOR

Jerry Kline WRITERS & CONTRIBUTORS

Rémy van den Wijngaart Nicholas Mamo

PUBLISHER

Galilee Eye For Games is about game design & development. For more information you can contact us at: contact@efgmagazine.com

Hinterland

Audiokinetic

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by print, photo print, microfilm or any other means without written permission from the publisher/author. www.efgmagazine.com


6

INTERVIEW

DAVID ROSEN 15

IN DEVELOPMENT

THE LONG DARK


8

2

21

AUDIOKINETIC

18

BOOKS

company profile

Drawing Basics And Video Game Art

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia

Ghosts of Ascalon

Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design

BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY concept story

13

MATHEMATICS AND VIDEO GAMES

20

WHO IS ARTORIAS

design & development

who is?


interview

DAVID ROSEN INTERVIEW

Video game development has been a part of David Rosenʼs identity since childhood. Today he is an independent game developer working on “Overgrowth,” a 3D actionadventure game that is a spiritual successor to his previous effort “Lugaru.” We spoke with David to learn more about “Overgrowth.”

What does a typical day look like for you?

Outside of video games, what are your passions and hobbies?

David Rosen: My days are pretty simple:

I have hobbies in phases that last for a year

Overgrowth all day. Then I walk home,

or martial arts. Most recently I've been

I get up, walk to the office, and work on relax for a while, and then go to bed.

I've been trying to keep a more regular schedule recently so that I have a clear

distinction between work and non-work,

which is important for staying sane as a self-employed indie developer.

6

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or so, like cooking, nature documentaries,

interested in board games, because they provide a fun social experience, and have such a variety of design ideas.


interview

What inspired you to start with the Overgrowth game idea? When

I

first

brought

other

full-time

developers into Wolfire in 2008, we had to

decide which game to make first. This was not an easy decision, because I keep a list

of game ideas that I like, and add several every day! In the end, we decided to go with

a successor to Lugaru, because we thought it would be simple and fast to complete… maybe six months at most. We're now about five years in!

Were there ideas that got scrapped concerning genre, theme, and characters? We are trying out and scrapping new ideas

all the time - maybe 10% of ideas are actually good, and we can only tell which

ones those are by trying them out briefly,

and throwing away the ones that don't work!

What do you think players will enjoy most about the game? For now, players most enjoy the combat

system and the mod tools, but I think players will really like the local multiplayer

and the campaign story and gameplay progression once the game is complete.

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7


concept story

SPOILER ALERT!

Batman: Arkham City concept story

by Rémy van den Wijngaart

As a result of the Jokerʼs takeover of Arkham Asylum, a prison facility for the

criminally insane, the majority of Gotham Cityʼs criminals were unleashed upon the city. In the wake of this incident, Quincy Sharp, former warden of Arkham Asylum, decides to run for mayor to “clean up Gotham.” His message finds resonance with the cityʼs inhabitants who deeply fear the escaped convicts. Sharp centers his campaign around a radical plan: instead of rebuilding Arkham

Asylum he wants to cordon off the entire quadrant of the city, turning it into one giant prison. Once Sharp is elected mayor the plan proceeds quickly, and Arkham City is born.

The election wasnʼt left to

from the City Council to enact

name of Professor Hugo Strange

eradication of every criminal

chance. A psychologist by the

approached Quincy Sharp with

an offer that would ensure his campaignʼs victory: all he needed to do was open Arkham

City and put Strange in charge. In reality, Strangeʼs ultimate goal is to get authorization

Protocol

10:

the

complete

in Arkham City. To force the

Councilʼs hand, he begins to supply Arkhamʼs residents with weapons, and pits the local

gang bosses against each other for maximum chaos.

Bruce Wayne, like many people, feels Arkham City is a disaster waiting to

happen, and he isnʼt afraid to voice his concerns during a press conference outside Arkham City. However, Wayne is soon arrested by TYGER, Professor

Strangeʼs private security firm. Strange privately reveals that he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, and then throws him in Arkham City with all the criminals who are out for Wayneʼs blood.

Upon freeing himself, Bruce gets Alfred Pennyworth to airdrop a very special

piece of equipment: the Batsuit. Donning his trusted outfit, Bruce learns that Two-Face has captured Catwoman, and that he plans to murder her in the courthouse. He promptly infiltrates the building, dispatches Two-Face and

his gang, and rescues Catwoman. Having barely caught her breath Catwoman is taken under sniper fire — an assassination attempt by the Joker. Luckily, Batman is able to use his detective skills and tools to trace the bulletʼs trajectory.

Leaving Catwoman in the courtroom, Batman sets his sights on finding Joker to learn more about Protocol 10.

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Batman (Bruce Wayne) Summary: The Dark Knight. Batman seeks to unravel the mystery behind Arkham City and Protocol 10, and restore order to Gotham.


concept story

Joker is getting increasingly

wasnʼt Jokerʼs only problem.

himself

command, his girlfriend, Harley

sick. Having previously injected chemical

with

an

compound

unstable known

as Titan, the crazy clown now

suffers from a lethal disease.

Desperate to survive he has kidnapped several doctors and

nurses, but no one seems able to save him. The only person

who may be able to help is a

scientist by the name of Victor

Fries, better known as Mister Freeze. In order to force Freeze

to develop a cure for him Joker

gets his grubby hands on Freezeʼs wife. When he arrived

in Arkham City, the illness The Joker Summary: The Clown Prince of Crime. Joker became sick after the Arkham Asylum incident and wants to find a cure while spreading chaos and destruction throughout Gotham.

Despite being Jokerʼs second in Quinn, does not enjoy the

same amount of respect as her

insane boss. Yet his sickness prevented Joker from properly commanding

his

troops

in

person. In a stroke of genius, the clown partnered with Basil Karlo, also known as Clayface.

Clayface used his incredible shape-shifting

abilities

to

assume Jokerʼs identity and is

now giving everyone in Arkham City the impression that Joker is alive and well.

Batman eventually tracks the clown down to the Sionis Steel Mill, where Joker has set up his base of operations. When Batman makes his way through Jokerʼs henchmen, he appears to find Joker dead with Harley lamenting over his body.

But as he moves in to investigate the real Joker jumps up from behind and gasses him, after which Harley knocks him unconscious.

Bruce awakes moments later to find himself strapped to a chair. Joker reveals

himself to be alive, though he does not look well. The clown informs Batman that he has injected the Dark Knight with his poisoned blood, thereby giving him the same lethal disease. When Batman states that heʼd rather die together

with his nemesis than cure him, Joker also reveals that he has infected the blood reserves of several Gotham hospitals. In order to save himself and Gotham, Batman will have to save Joker.

His first stop is Mister Freeze. Batman tracks Freeze down to the old police

department building, but when he arrives there it appears Freeze has been kidnapped.

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9


concept story

While working on the cure

also discovered and captured

Penguin, an enemy of the Joker.

Gordonʼs men, who had been

Freeze was captured by the

Penguin put Freeze on display

in his macabre museum under heavy guard and stole one of Freezeʼs ice weapons. He

several

of

Commissioner

operating as undercover agents

in Penguinʼs gang. With all these distractions he hopes to outwit Batman.

Batman isnʼt easily deterred. After locating and freeing Freeze, he learns that

the scientist had already completed the work on Jokerʼs cure but that he was unable to stabilize the compound. It still needs a binding enzyme to keep it

from breaking apart before it can be effective. Bruce can only think of one viable candidate: the blood of the immortal Rāʼs al Ghūl, the leader of the

League of Assassins. As Freeze goes back to his lab, Batman faces off against the Penguin, whose ice weapon he disables with a failsafe device from Freeze.

Batmanʼs next goal is to find Rāʼs. He tracks one of Al Ghūlʼs assassins to his hideout in Wonder City.

Wonder City is an abandoned

believes his blood will stabilize

was built, and itʼs the location

to the chemical causes insanity

city on top of which Arkham City of a Lazarus Pit. This Lazarus Pit

contains

a

mysterious

chemical compound which can heal people on the brink of

death. Rāʼs al Ghūl has used

it many times in the past to

rejuvenate himself and has lived for hundreds of years as

a result. This is why Batman

the cure. Long term exposure however, and Rāʼs wants to

find a successor to carry on

his legacy and command the

League of Assassins. Batman was his first choice for this position were it not for the

Dark Knightʼs refusal to kill his opponents.

As Bruce makes his way through Wonder City, the effects of Jokerʼs poison

are beginning to set in. He gradually weakens and is only barely alive when he reaches Rāʼsʼ lair. There he finds Talia al Ghūl, Rāʼsʼ daughter with whom Bruce

has always had an unusual relationship. Talia urges Batman to finally accept

her fatherʼs offer and undergo the Demon Trials to become his successor. Not

having much choice, Batman accepts. He drinks a little of the Lazarus chemical which both partially heals him and sends him into a world on the edge of reality and illusion.

The final challenge of the Demon Trials is killing Rāʼs to succeed him, but

Batman refuses. Even though Rāʼs attempts to use his own daughter as leverage, Batman manages to survive the ordeal and draw Rāʼsʼ blood for the cure without killing him. As Talia storms out, angry that Bruce had no intention of completing the trials, he proceeds to Freeze.

When he finally reaches Freeze and hands over Rāʼsʼ blood, Freeze is soon able

to synthesize two vials of the cure. But before Batman can get his hands on the

vials, Freeze crushes one and locks the other in a wall safe. He urges Batman to first find his kidnapped wife. Batman refuses, needing the cure immediately,

and engages Freeze in combat. He manages to defeat him, but when he goes to retrieve the cure from the safe he discovers it has been stolen by Harley. To allow Harley time to get back to Joker the mad clown shoots down reporter Vicki Valeʼs helicopter, forcing Batman to rescue her first.

10

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Hugo Strange Summary: Psychologist and the man behind Arkham City. Strange knows the true identity of Batman, and plans to eradicate the entire criminal element of Gotham.


concept story

After

Batman

refused

to

kill her father Talia secretly

tracked him across Arkham City to check on his illness. She

eventually arrives at Jokerʼs base in the Steel Mill and runs into Harley. Talia easily

incapacitates the foolish girl

and steals the cure to prevent

her from healing Joker. She duct-tapes Harley to a pipe and bides her time.

Meanwhile,

Hugo

Strange

manages to convince Gotham City Council that Arkham City is out of control and that he has failed to stop the spread

of illegal weapons — weapons

that he himself provided for just

this

10:

a

reason.

The

City

Council signs off on Protocol last-minute

security

measure to restore order in Arkham City.

Once again entering the Steel Mill, Batman is surprised to find Joker seemingly completely healed. He demands that Joker hand over the rest of the cure, but

the clown naturally refuses and a fight ensues. When the ceiling collapses, Batman is trapped and Joker moves in for the kill. Before he can strike, Talia Ra’s al Ghul Summary: The Demon’s Head and leader of the League of Assassins. Ra’s uses the Lazarus Pit to infinitely extend his life. He wants to rid the world of crime, but uses extreme methods to do so. He’s looking for someone to supercede him.

al Ghūl moves in and proposes a deal: If the Joker lets Batman live, she will

give him the gift of immortality through the Lazarus Pit. Batman begs Talia not to do it, but itʼs too late-Joker accepts. As Talia faces Bruce, she privately

indicates to him the tracer that Batman used to find Rāʼsʼ lair, urging him to “follow his heart.”

Meanwhile Catwoman, who has

to exit when she learns of

secure lockup, is getting ready

better judgment as a thief, she

been breaking into Strangeʼs to leave Arkham City for good.

With two suitcases filled with loot in hand she gets ready

Batmanʼs defeat. Despite her decides to drop the loot and help out her “friend” instead.

As soon as Batman is rescued by Catwoman his first instinct is to find Talia. Strangeʼs men are leveling Arkham City to the ground. Their helicopters are firing missiles at the people below killing both hardened criminals as well as political prisoners. Bruce Wayne may want to find Talia, but Batman needs to

do whatʼs right. Reluctantly, he sets out for Wonder Tower, Hugo Strangeʼs

command center. He fights his way through the collapsed streets underneath Gotham to the base of the tower and scales the imposing structure. Up top,

he quickly dispatches all of Strangeʼs guards and breaks into the Professorʼs command center to shut down Protocol 10. As Strange rambles on about how

he did what Batman never could a sword is suddenly thrust through his chestitʼs Rāʼs al Ghūl.

Rāʼs was Strangeʼs mysterious

Meanwhile, Joker has turned on

who organized for Quincy Sharp

the Monarch Theatre, placed

benefactor all along — the one to become mayor of Gotham.

From the beginning, his plan was to clean up Gotham by laying waste to it and starting over.

The

destruction

of

Arkham City would have been

Talia. He has locked her up in snipers all around, and loaded

the place with explosives. As

his illness eats away at his health the clown waits for Batman to bring him the cure.

only the beginning.

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11


concept story

With his last ounce of strength, Strange activates the towerʼs self-destruct sequence. Throwing himself at Rāʼs, Batman jumps out the window as the command center explodes in a ball of fire. As they fall through the air, Bruce

attempts to save Rāʼs, but when the insane assassin tries to impale himself and Batman with his sword, he is forced to let him go. Rāʼs plummets and falls to his death.

Barely allowed to catch his breath, Batman locks on to Taliaʼs signal and sets

out for the Monarch Theatre. Inside, he finds Joker holding Talia at gunpoint.

To Batmanʼs surprise the clown demands Batman to give him the cure even

though he still seems fully healed. Before he can react, Talia frees herself from Jokerʼs hold and stabs him with her sword. Aghast, Batman watches Joker heave a final breath before falling to the floor.

As Batman kneels next to his fallen enemy, Talia shows him the cure she stole from Harley. The pieces start to come together in Bruceʼs mind: the dead Joker

he encountered earlier, Taliaʼs intercepting of Harley, the seemingly healthy Joker still asking for the cure-there were two Jokers all along. He quickly tries to warn Talia, but it is too late. Talia is shot by the real Joker.

The cure falls from Taliaʼs hand and rolls over to the body of the fake Joker who

reveals himself to be Clayface. Clayface morphs into a hideous blob of mud,

absorbing the vial into his body. Batman is forced to fight him, but when he is close to winning Joker sets off explosives that collapse the floor of the theatre.

Batman and Clayface drop down into the Lazarus Pit chamber beneath the building, where the fight continues until Batman finally incapacitates Clayface.

Finally getting his hands on the cure, Bruce drinks half of the remaining vial.

He instantly feels himself restored to full health. In his last shot at immortality, Joker attempts to jump into the Lazarus Pit, but Batman throws Taliaʼs sword

into the generator. It falls down, sweeping the remains of Clayface into the Pit and then explodes, destroying the chamber forever.

Joker taunts Bruce, claiming that despite all the chaos, destruction, and death he

caused Batman will give him the cure anyway. As Batman argues that stopping

Joker would mean stopping the unending violence, the mad clown jumps out and stabs Batman in the shoulder. The vial falls to the floor and shatters.

As Jokerʼs disease finally consumes him, Batman admits that even after all that

has happened, he would have indeed saved his nemesis. Seeing the irony, Joker

starts giggling, which soon turns into an uncontrollable coughing fit as the life slowly slips out of him. Carrying his foeʼs lifeless body, Batman walks out into the destroyed Arkham City, where Jokerʼs gang and Harley are shocked to find their beloved leader dead. Batman silently exits Arkham, giving Jokerʼs body to

Commissioner Gordon before flying away into the night. His enemy has been defeated, and Gotham is saved once again. But this time, victory came at a terrible price.

12

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design | development

2

Mathematics and video games INTRODUCTION

by Nicholas Mamo

Mathematics - itʼs all around us. From simple arithmetic to proportions, we use it in our everyday lives. While for

some, math is a curse, others canʼt live without it. And game developers fall into the latter category. Physics engines, collision checking, level-design and even small platform games boil down to simple mathematics:

arithmetic rules which determine how a game is made

up. All game mechanics are the product of mathematical rules or laws, and not being able to understand the math behind certain components could make game

development even more difficult. In this series of articles, weʼll be taking a look at some different mathematical aspects used in video games.

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13


design | development

Whether itʼs a 2D game involving sprites or a 3D game dealing with geometry, most of the action happens in 2D and 3D graphs respectively. Graphs in 2D

games can be thought of or visualized as two-dimensional arrays. Just like this data structure, elementsʼ positions can be referenced to by their x- and

y-coordinates. As for 3D games, graphs use the same concept. However, in this case, another axis is introduced: the z-axis, representing depth. And with graphs come coordinates.

Coordinates are often used in conjunction with graphs to access locations, move an object, or get a direction, among other uses. In 2D graphs, coordinates have

two key variables: one containing the x-position, with the other storing the

y-position. Coordinates with three key variables contain the x- and y-position too, but they also use the z-position of the coordinate. These 3D coordinates

are used with 3D graphs and are an extension of 2D ones, incorporating depth. Movement in video games makes direct use of coordinates. If in a platform game the player is moving forward 1 unit every frame, then the 1 unit is added

to the playerʼs x-position in each frame. If the player is jumping and the change in vertical speed is 1 unit, 1 unit is added to the playerʼs y-position.

What if the player is doing both simultaneously? 1 unit is added to both the x-

and y-positions of the player. As for subtraction, it uses the same logic behind addition with coordinates.

<7, 3> + <8, 4> = <15, 7> <7, 3> - <8, 4> = <-1, -1>

Sometimes you may also need to multiply two or more coordinates. The same logic used in addition is used here too. The x- and y-positions of the initial

coordinate are multiplied with the x- and y-positions of the second coordinate respectively. Division is precisely the same, but obviously coordinates are

divided. The same concepts are used in different arithmetic operations dealing with coordinates: the x-, y-, and z-components of coordinates canʼt be mixed

- each coordinate should only be involved in operations with coordinates of the same type.

<7, 3> × <8, 4> = <56, 12> <8, 4> ÷ <2, 2> = <4, 2>

Mathematics and coordinates are considered the building blocks of video

games. Without them, one canʼt manipulate objects, movement, or any other simple mechanisms. Having broad mathematical knowledge helps construct efficient engines and understand better how games work.

In the next article, weʼll take a look at how to calculate distance between two coordinates, and how to divide distance between two points proportionally.

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process | in development

IN DEVELOPMENT

THE LONG DARK developer: Hinterland

Newly formed Hinterland Studios' first game “The Long Dark” follows Will McKenzie, a pilot who

must survive the Northern Wilderness. The studio of ex-AAA developers are hoping to craft a game centered around survival, as the player explores the environment from a first person perspective.

Hinterland decided to help fund their game through

Kickstarter. We reached out to the Hinterland team to hear more about their upcoming game and why they chose to crowd fund it.

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15


process | in development

How far would you go to survive

Raphael van Lierop: We want to explore the question, “How far

Hinterland is based on Northern Vancouver

will you have to make, and what can you live

inspired by living here, on the edge of the

would you go to survive?” What difficult choices with, in a world where the old rules no longer

apply? Suddenly, all the technology we take

for granted, and which stands between us and the power of Mother Nature, is suddenly

wrenched from us. How do we continue to survive? What does this new world look like?

wilderness and the fringe of civilization. Here, you see nature every day, and learn

to appreciate its beauty, its power, and its

neutrality. It doesnʼt care if you live or die. Only the strong survive.

How do we continue to relate to one another?

Weʼve done extensive research on wilderness

some of the questions weʼre tackling in “The

immediate aftermath of a large-scale disaster.

What kind of world will this become? These are

Long Dark.” But this isnʼt your typical end of the world scenario. This is a quiet apocalypse. No

zombies. Just human beings thrown into very challenging circumstances, which is all you need to discover how brutal, or heroic, people can really be.

16

Island, where I live. The gameʼs setting is

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survival, and on what tends to happen in the Weʼve also done location scouting and gathered photo and audio references. We have several

more research trips planned as development continues.


process | in development

What new game play experiences are you hoping to deliver to players?

Why did you decide to crowd source the funding?

“The Long Dark” is a game about thoughtful

We are fortunate enough to be largely funded

player in an incredibly atmospheric experience.

position where we can make a version of this

exploration. We are focused on immersing the

Itʼs not an action game or a game about

shooting people in the face. Combat is rare and highly lethal in our game, and in fact if you are smart you do your best to avoid it. The

game focuses more on exploration, the search for supplies and knowledge of the world,

interacting with other survivors, and managing the low-level aspects of the simulation such as food/water, warmth, calorie burn, gear and clothing, etc.

The Long Dark is a first-person survival

simulation that puts the player in the shoes of Will Mackenzie, a bush pilot who crashes

deep in the northern wilderness as a result of a mysterious atmospheric event. As Will, the playerʼs immediate priority is their day to day

survival. Over time, as they learn more about

the world and encounter other survivors, the player will have to make tough choices about how they want to live in the world.

by the Canada Media Fund, so weʼre in a

game with the resources we have. Coming to Kickstarter has been about two primary things:

1) beginning to build a community around the game, and doing our best to develop the

highest level of engagement possible with

this community, and 2) supplementing our

existing resources with additional funds which weʼll use to add polish and quality to the experience. So, weʼre not relying on crowd

funding to fund the gameʼs development, but we are relying on crowd funding to help us

ensure the game can live up to its potential. So far, weʼve not really considered working

with a publisher because the economics and power dynamics of those relationships tend not to work in the developerʼs favor. Our goal

is to build excellent games, compelling worlds, and own our intellectual property so that we

can continue building on it in the future. Itʼs nearly impossible to accomplish those things as an independent developer working with a traditional publisher.

The player will have to make tough choices about how they want to live in the world

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17


books

BOOKS. Feed your skills. Gather knowledge.

These are just excerpts. For the full articles visit us at www.efgmagazine.com.

RISE OF THE VIDEOGAME ZINESTERS: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives and People Like You Are Taking Back an Art Form

Title: Author: Genre Pages: Release:

Rise of the Videogame Zinesters Anna Anthropy Development 208

2012

“Rise of the Videogame Zinesters” is

The real highlights of the book are

letter to the video games industry.

a game, from recommending starting

indie developer Anna Anthropyʼs open Itʼs a book that both acknowledges

the problems of the industry and also

gushes about what makes games so

great.

More

than

anything,

it

your tools, characters, sound effects, and story and distribution method. The

a great source of inspiration.

diversity in gameplay and storytelling

Anna Anthropy, also known as “Auntie Pixelante,” is a freelance game creator

and critic. Her concerns mostly deal with the lack of originality and stagnation in

games, and the lack of diversity in the

industry. She is an advocate of people making games that are extensions of themselves.

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engines to giving tips on how to choose

encourages people to make games, to

seek out new experiences, and acts as

18

when the author mentions how to make

emphasis

on

more

people

needing to create games and needing is especially relevant with the rise of digital distribution and indie studios

over the past few years. Here is where “Rise” excels: it encourages everyone to make a game, even if itʼs a bad one.


books

MASTERS OF DOOM: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture Title: Author: Genre: Pages: Release:

Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture David Kushner

History, Biography 368

2004

“Masters of Doom” avoids reading like a dry

the working relationship they had with each

in the 1990ʼs by recreating events of the

other. John Carmack was always interested

history book of id Software and PC gaming time and assembling them in a narrative

structure. David Kushner presents the events as they happened, making you feel as if you were there. He compares the two Johns-Carmack and Romero, and discusses

other, and how they complemented each

in pushing games to their technical limits,

often working long hours with intense focus. John Romero on the other hand was

the creative designer, and the outspoken side of the duo.

THE ULTIMATE HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES: From Pong to Pokemon-The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World Title: Author: Genre: Pages: Release:

The Ultimate History of Video Games Steven L. Kent History, Retro 624

2001

“The Ultimate History of Video Games” is

“Spacewar,” Atariʼs arcade dominance and

from their roots in pinball up until the

and their breaking into the American game

a massive tome of the history of games,

year 2000, ending just on the cusp of the launch of the Playstation 2. With a

heavy focus on the western handheld and console market, the book covers pivotal

events in the history of the medium such

as Steve Russell programming the game

home console launch, Nintendoʼs history industry,

entrepreneur

David

Rosenʼs

impact on the founding of SEGA and their

history up until the Dreamcast, and even

minor footnotes in the industry such as the history of the Vectrex.

MASS EFFECT: REVELATION Title: Author: Publisher: Genre: Pages: Release:

Mass Effect: Revelation Drew Karpyshyn Del Rey Books

Science fiction

323 (paperback) 2007

The first novel set in the Mass Effect

the plot revolves around the galaxyʼs view

Karpyshyn and was published on May 1,

in much of the background details of the

Universe is a science fiction novel by Drew 2007 by Del Rey Books.

The novel is a prequel to the events of Mass Effect and a considerable amount of

on Artificial Intelligence. It also serves to fill

game, such as locations and the internal politics of the Councilʼs races, as well as characters.

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19


who is?

who is?

ARTORIAS

Long ago, there existed a city called Oolacile. Its people were

Manus. In fact, they claim the unyielding Manus defeated

In the end though, their search for power caused their own

used his last ounce of strength to cast a protective shield

believed to be powerful sorcerers capable of unique magic. demise. Misled by the whispers of a Primordial Serpent,

they were seduced into awakening a primeval human.

This being, known as Manus, quickly went insane. Manus corrupted the helpless souls of Oolacile and brought forth

the brave hero. Beaten to within an inch of his life, Artorias around his companion Sif. Manus then corrupted Artorias

with the darkness of the Abyss. His will stripped of him, the once proud knight became a force of evil.

an ever-expanding black void now known as the Abyss.

So who really defeated Manus and rescued Princess Dusk?

township of Oolacile. The immensely powerful creature was

Rumor has it that another soul came from across the

The blackness spread across the land and enveloped the even able to reach across the centuries to abduct Oolacile's own Princess Dusk from another time and place.

Sir Artorias, one of Lord Gwyn's most trusted Knights, set out together with his wolf companion Sif towards Oolacile. His mission: to defeat the beast and beat back The Abyss. Together, Artorias and Sif were able to destroy the evil creature, freeing the land of this great terror.

But that is only one version of the story. Some claim that not even the legendary Artorias was capable of defeating

To this day, the true fate of Artorias remains a mystery. boundaries of time to slay the beast and rescue his captive.

This unknown hero defeated the corrupted Artorias, ďŹ nally

freeing the valiant knight from his prison. The world was then led to believe that it was Artorias, not the stranger, who slew Manus and halted the advance of the Abyss. He

was then laid to rest in the forest, where Sif, the Great Grey Wolf, continues to protect his old friend's grave.

Which is the truth and which is fabrication? We may never know.

Article by RĂŠmy van den Wijngaart 20

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company profile

Audiokinetic Inc.

Founder: Martin H. Klein Audiokinetic was founded in 2000 by Martin H. Klein. Klein, working with a group

of dedicated veterans and experts from the music, film, and gaming industries, set

Place:

out to develop Wwise®, the integrated audio authoring middleware. Their goal was

Type:

experiences.

Platforms:

to help audio programmers and sound designers provide truly immersive gaming

Headquartered in Montréal,

Québec, Canada and has an office in Tokyo, Japan. Audio middleware

TYPE COMPANY

Android - iOS - Mac® - Linux - Nintendo 3DS™ PlayStation®3 PlayStation®4 - PlayStation®Vita - Wii™ - Wii U™ - Windows® 32-bit and 64-bit (XP / Vista/ 7 / 8) Windows® Phone 8 - Xbox 360™ Xbox One™

Audiokinetic is an audio middleware company that sets new standards in audio

Website: www.audiokinetic.com

production for interactive media and games. Our middleware solutions, including

the award-winning Wwise® and SoundSeed®, empower sound designers and audio programmers with a cost effective, comprehensive authoring tool and audio

Email:

info@audiokinetic.com

sales@audiokinetic.com

engine for creating innovative game experiences.

GOAL At Audiokinetic, we are committed to helping our customers create truly sophisticated audio for games and interactive media. Through continued product

innovation and unparalleled customer service, we will help you focus on delivering

great audio content. Wwise can increase your development efficiency and

productivity without compromising your creative vision, and our support team will ensure that you get the most from our audio authoring tools. We have developed

a complete solution that has revolutionized the traditional audio development process, and we will continue to challenge the boundaries of content creation to keep you ahead of the curve.

CLIENTS

Audiokinetic, Inc. is the leading global provider of cross-platform audio solutions

for the interactive media and gaming industries. Over the years, Audiokinetic and

Martin H. Klein, President & CEO

its core product, Wwise, have received several awards from the industry. With more

than 400 AAA titles worldwide shipped using Wwise, Audiokinetic is working with

all major publishers and development studios and has built the reputation of being the innovators in their field.

Our middleware solutions suit every budget to empower all developers from indies

to AAA, across mobile, console and PC-based platforms. Starting as low as $750 USD, the cost of a Wwise license is tiered by the total production budget of a

project. This means that Indie and mobile game developers have access to the same cross platform audio engine used on AAA titles.

PRODUCTS Wwise® is the most comprehensive audio middleware solution. It features a tight integration of Audiokineticʼs advanced audio authoring tool and robust sound engine.

Working with Wwise increases productivity and creativity while saving

game developers time and money across the audio production of any game title. Wwise® • SoundSeed® • Convolution Reverb • Wwise Motion • AstoundSound (GenAudio) • AudioEase • McDSP • iZotope • Rev (Crankcase Audio) • Auro Technologies • IOSONO

Services: • Custom tool/feature development • Project support • Training • Project evaluation • Sound Engine Integration

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OVER

20

VIDEO GAMES IN ONE ART BOOK

Half art book and half interviews, the new hardcover book of our previous Game Design & Development edition has a lot more to offer: be it an inspiration boost to keep you motivated or to discover the game industry through its artists and designers. Read about design topics that are as diverse as the games themselves, and range from conversations about dragon design to mech design.

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