Fast thought after visiting one of the numerous Ubi development studios around the globe:
The only way to create exceptional game is to have exceptional tools.
[We thank you, Cap!]
[Applauds]
Seriously. No good tools? No good AAA game for you, sorry.
And the reason behind is pretty obvious: less time per iteration == more iterations for the same budget. More iterations means greater quality. Greater quality means increased value to your customer and increased sales. Profit.
But there is one trick involved. Interfaces and processes for this tools should be built by UI usability experts, not programmers or artists or anybody else. And the good news is - you can find plenty on IT market. I'm wondering why most of the studios ignore this fact?
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You are right.
ReplyDeleteSo, a tool programmer for the game industry, is also important.
Now, there are many game development tools, Unreal, Crytek, Gamebyro, SpeedTree, etc. How do we choose them?
Considering you don't have any engine yet for your AAA multi-platform title with corresponding budget:
ReplyDelete1. Get the list of available engines and try to sort it by features list. You probably will end up like: Unreal, CryEngine, all_others_here (correct me if I'm wrong).
2. Try to use some industrial event to see with them. You need to see it in action to get the whole idea on strengths of each one. You need to select two from the list.
3. Provide some small budget to your core team to build core gameplay prototype using both selected engines (like one month per prototype, shortcuts allowed). Include some stress tests there, like if we have large city - let's build one from placeholders. You will see in the end which one served you best. Your basic iteration on modifying the game shouldn't be tens of minutes to see the result. Only like from seconds to few minutes.
4. See what you can do with this 12-15 man years by yourself, as you will get bound to technology once you select it (at least for the same kind of titles). Not much, probably.
5. Make your choice. =)
Thanks. 8)
ReplyDelete