Ultimate Spider-man DS: - Creating handheld counterparts to major console titles Brent Gibson Lead Artist, Vicarious Visions Jan-Erik Steel Lead.

Ultimate Spider-man DS: - Creating handheld counterparts

to major console titles

Brent Gibson Lead Artist, Vicarious Visions

Jan-Erik Steel Lead Programmer, Vicarious Visions

What you should already know: Planning is everything

The entire project should be planned in “High Level” based on features and team resources.

The project should then be planned in excruciating detail two milestones in advance.

NEVER massage your estimates to fit the schedule.

Leverage existing assets.

What you should also already know : All work should be reviewed by peers. Communication will make or break

your project Staff properly.

If porting a completed game, start the team together.

If a lot of design is needed, give the designers a head start.

Don’t plan on losing people at the end of the project.

Overview of this talk:

1. What do you have to live up to? - Analyzing the console game

2. Take your design a step further than the console game.

- Making your game stand out from the console title

3. Getting your content into the game.Creating efficient, handheld-friendly pipelines

4. Are we having fun yet? Making sure the game is a good as it can be

What do you have to live up to? Dissect the console game.

The ENTIRE team needs to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the console game.

If the console game isn’t already completed, make sure EVERYONE plays the console builds when you receive them. Gather everyone and play it together.

If the game is completed, or is a sequel, reach out to community of existing fans. Compile all reviews for previous game, scour boards for information directly from the people who play the game.

Spend ample time searching for the ‘essence’ of the console game.

What do you have to live up to? Realize that you WILL be compared

to the console game. Most kids don’t really care if you only have a

tenth of the RAM and a 2000 polygon budget. There’s no crying in handheld game development.

What can you feasibly do? Unless you are making a direct port,

never try to make your game exactly like the console.

Ultimate Spider-Man console

Incredible cutscenes

Second playable character

Cell-shaded rendering

Open city Superb swinging

mechanic

What we can’t do:

Full free roaming 3D Realistic web swinging In engine cutscenes Sandbox Gameplay

What we can do:

Custom Dual Screen cutscenes

Second playable character

Cell-shaded rendering

Spline based city Simplified

swinging Semi Linear

Gameplay

Taking the game a step beyond the console game Can you do things that they can’t? If you fully utilize a system like the

DS you can have features and functionality that the console game couldn’t possibly have.

With a loss in sandbox gameplay we gain a tighter narrative.

Acknowledge your limitations Avoid watering down features so much

that they don’t add anything to your game.

If there’s something you can’t do, remove it and replace it with something specifically designed for a hand-held.

Avoid adding features simply because the hardware supports it.

Acknowledge your limitations Most likely you cannot compete

graphically. So pick an art style that both complements your console counterpart and caters to your platform.

Time! Recognizing that disciplines need to have workflows that reduce dependency.

Embrace your strengths

Your screen is small, you don’t always need high resolution textures or high-poly models.

It must be pick-up-and-play, and highly enjoyable in 5 to 10 minute chunks.

Simplifying aspects of a game for a younger audience doesn’t necessarily have to detract from the game-play.

Your team is small and EVERYONE can have an impact. Keep everyone excited and involved.

Technology is key to excellence in Art and DesignStreaming is your friend:

Animation, sound, level geometry, textures can all be streamed off the cart to free up memory.

Dual Screen UI and Cut-Scene playerMost obvious way to differentiate from console.

Pipeline improvementsAllow a designer to create a level and play it without an engineer or artist.

Bone Manipulation TechnologyExample of custom technology that opens up new design.

Getting content into your game Establish your core mechanics as early

as possible. Recognize the “High Risk” problems

and create solid solutions quickly. Plan a pipeline that allows artists and

designer to get content into the game without the help of an engineer.

A good build machine can be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Are we having fun yet?

Kid testing is critical! Make sure you actually use all the

information that you get from the kids. Don’t ignore their criticisms, that’s the

information you REALLY need. Good review practices are a

foundation for a solid game with fun features.

Are we having fun yet?

Have play sessions with the whole team. Once a week. Eat unhealthy food. Laugh and enjoy the game. Brag about the features you just added to the

game. If nothing new has been added, use it to allow

game designers to describe up and coming features.

It’s a noble attempt at getting everyone to play the game.

Are we having fun yet?

Marketing information and market tests. Examine this information very carefully

but with a grain of salt. They may tell you that kids buy games

with talking fish, but it’ll take more than that to actually make an enjoyable game.

Use all of the information given to you, don’t discount it just because you don’t agree with it.

Are we having fun yet?

Schedule for an extra ‘Polish’ milestone. You’ll be amazed what you can accomplish

in the last few weeks of the project if you’re given just a little more time.

A game can become completely broken in the last few weeks if things are rushed.

The polish you add in this period can give you a 10% higher scores in reviews.

Take Away:

It is reasonable to aim for a higher review score than your console counterpart.

Spending ample time prototyping is a good thing.

If it’s not fun, CUT IT! If you made a good handheld game,

you should be able to go back to the console version and feel that you have improved.

Kids are young, not stupid.