Montreal Chapter 

Fun in the Sun

Despite the rain, over 60 members came to Club Espagnol for IGDA-Montreal's "summer social". Mainly it was a good excuse to drink sangria (15 liters of it!) on the Club's lovely terrace, and to celebrate the end of another great chapter season.

The final grand prize (PS3 + SE GTA4) was won by Olivier Hunter (Eidos) after a grueling Rock/Paper/Scissors duel with Tan Ta.

Stay tuned for the launch of the new season, starting in September. And, special thanks to our generous sponsors, supporters and volunteer team who make this all possible. Have a great summer!

Ya, this is an actual social club with lots of Spanish pride.


Rain forced us inside...


Where we ate tapas and drank sangria...


Until the rain let up and we drank some more outside...


And then the rain came again, just as folks had a chance to grab an IGDA t-shirt from Parallele Promotions.

Chapter Sponsors

Posted by della on June 20, 2008 02:06 PM | Comments (0)

Halo 3 Environment/Level Pipeline

By Rayna Anderson

For the last big event before the summer break, IGDA Montreal had an opportunity to look deep into the bowels (more on this later) of one of the best selling games of the year, Halo 3. From Bungie Studios came Vic DeLeon, Senior Environment Artist, and Mike Zak, Lead Environment Artist, to give us two presentations for the price of one! With that much ground to cover, Vic needed all the Red Bull and chocolate-covered coffee beans he could get his hands on.

Both presentations are available online at Bungie Publications and the video of the presentation will be available shortly, so I'll only cover the highlights.

First up was Mike, whose presentation was entitled simply Environment Design in Halo 3. This talk (which he also presented at the most recent GDC) covered the art-centric pipelines and processes that Bungie had in place to produce the art for their game. As the architect for the Storm level, Mike walked us through the whole process, from "napkin art" to finishing touches. He discussed the roles of the different people involved and how they all come together to create the terrain that's "a massive sculpture" and more like creating a character than typical game terrain.

Since their process is focused on the art, the environmental artists at Bungie also play the roll of level designers. He talked about the "cheat sheet" they use to ensure that every area had all the elements in it that could support gameplay. With all of these things in mind through pre-production, the designs evolved and became more and more detailed. Once everything was in place, the role of the architect was complete and it was handed over to the finishing artist to add the final touches.

Next Vic took the stage to discuss the conceptual evolution of the Flood levels with his presentation called Halo 3 Flood Alien Level Autopsy. Vic, who has a background in biology, played the duel roles of both architect and finishing artist for Floodgate and Cortana. Just where do you start when you need to come up with a life-form level? Starfish, ginseng roots and BBQ ribs, apparently. Inspiration was found just about everywhere in nature and if you look closely, you can see where those things are inside the game. This includes the endoscopic voyages that he used for reference and the sphincter door which he says for organic designs, "It's pretty cliché, but you've got to have one!"

He also talked about a problem that everyone faces, redesign. One level was way too long and the other was way too short (check out the presentation to see the original layouts for those levels to see how much they've changed). Even when the layouts were fine, the textures needed lots of fine-tuning. Prototypes, light tests and texturing went through months of being too stringy, too pretty and too fungal until they landed on the final look.

There were lots of challenges along the way, like rendering the surfaces AI friendly, making the transitions between organic (Flood) and inorgainc (ships) matter and coming up with a way to cover up some unsightly seam problems with the textures. Despite all the problems they encountered, Vic concluded, "I think we brought the Flood to life in a way that's true to the Halo universe."

Mike Zak and Vic DeLeon discuss level timelines.

Mike goes into detail regarding AI level parsing.

Vic, with perhaps too much detail, on endoscopic inspirations.

Chris Crowell (A2M) and Vic DeLeon.

Mike Zak and Phil Fish (Kokoromi).

Parallele Promotions were on hand with custom made-IGDA branded t-shirts and baseball caps for members.

Meeting Sponsor

Chapter Sponsors

Posted by RaynaAnderson on May 29, 2008 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

DIY

By Pierre Boudreau

Wednesday night the hearts and minds of many Montrealers were with the Habs as they faced-off with Philly for the NHL Eastern conference title, yet our chapter’s GameCafé still managed to draw a solid mix of gaming industrials and other professionals. We convened in a private room at Hurley’s Irish Pub to discuss user-generated content over pints and the muffled cheers and moans from nearly every TV set in town.

“Let’s just call it UGC...”

So we began by asking ‘What is user-generated content’? Imported skins for your character’s new wardrobe or favourite ride? Input that affects environment or gameplay? Mods that emulate or challenge game mechanics? It was generally agreed that UGC could cover all of these things, but the lines are not clear-cut. There is a whole world of grey area between selecting from menus to actually tinkering with gameplay, and much depends on the inclination of the individual. Games like Second Life that rely heavily on UGC do not necessarily require the user to innovate, merely generate. So, beyond the genre-specific variety of games, what need does UGC satisfy? Self-expression is an obvious element, but again potential is in the mind of the beholder. For some, simply personalizing an online avatar is enough for them to feel they’ve made their mark in the virtual world. On the other end, there will always be those whose input transcends anything the creators could have imagined. At least one designer present was of the opinion that to preserve the integrity of the original design one can only provide the illusion that the rules can be broken.

“Seeing your own thing in a game is cool.”

As the discussion moved into the arena of production, the value of UGC from the developer’s POV was called into question. Currently, the percentage of gamers who actually generate new content is relatively small. What then is the incentive for developers to invest time and resources in creating better mod tools or open-ended game mechanics, unless their aim is to appeal to a tight niche of hardcore users? Presuming one would wish to take on such a challenge, the process would necessitate more thorough testing procedures in order to ensure an acceptable degree of stability and playability. Thus, a project on the scale of, let’s say, Spore would require a considerable amount of automated testing to keep the production wheels turning. Then there’s the issue of resource management. A game that consists of a closed system which offers a form of contained customization is less likely to require a great deal of ongoing support. However, games that allow the introduction of outside content run the risk of destabilizing the mechanic for the users as well as countless others in the case of a shared gameplay environment.

Where credit is due

So where’s the profit in UGC for the publisher/developer? It can provide some helpful feedback from hardcore users but that’s something not easily translated into hard figures when the numbers are crunched. Licensing mod tools could bring in some immediate return on the investment while lessening their overall appeal, unless they happen to be the best thing since code. Plus, enforcement would involve its own series of headaches. Piracy is a driving force in the wired world; just look at Napster or YouTube. Plus, by claiming IP ownership on all derivatives, one could be held liable for even the most offensive content released. Second Life can generate some revenue from microtransactions, but that model cannot be applied everywhere. Perhaps Sony’s Home, the upcoming PlayStation network community, will become the virtual mall/arcade of the future where gamers can be persuaded to part with some real coin. Ultimately, whatever makes money will drive the trends.

In the end, there was a greater shared perspective, but no hard-drawn conclusions. And although no one walked away with the final word on user-generated content, everyone did go home with a nifty new t-shirt.

Mat Lamarche (Ubisoft), Stéphanie Bouchard (Bug Tracker), Zach Schläppi (Ubisoft), Jean-Marc Deschamps (Cegep du Vieux Montreal)

Guillaume Vohgel (EA), Stephen David Wark (Chirographum), Mike Kitt (A2M), Nick Rudzicz (McGill), Michael Hawker (MikeWare)

Posted by RaynaAnderson on May 9, 2008 05:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Gone Campin’

By Pierre Boudreau

SAT was the site of the IGDA-Montreal’s GameCamp held on the last Wednesday of March, 2008.

As per usual, our own Executive Director and Head Camp Counsellor, Jason Della Rocca, kicked off the event and kept all 20 presentations moving at a nice clip. Brevity was the order of the evening, so I’ll get right to it:

Michael A. Hawker - "BitCollapse Demo"

Michael Hawker is a local CS Masters student that regular IGDA attendees may remember from DemoNight back in ’06 where he showcased the arcade tribute, Paddlespace. This time out, he decided to look at Tetris from a different angle; or from multiple straight angles to be more precise. BitCollapse is a puzzle game that replaces the increased speed factor with geometric complexity. While BC doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, it gives a new twist to a familiar formula.

Joe Booth - "Craft: Going beyond a bunch of random ideas to create a cohesive emotional experience"

Joe Booth, by his own account, became a producer at EA more by happenstance than design; however, the serendipitous turn of events has served him well. From his humble beginnings on the Commodore 64 to his recent work on the successful FIFA franchise, Booth holds story, craft and emotional connection as his philosophical trinity. And while it was clear that he would have been more comfortable in a pub than at a podium, his passion for game development was unmistakable.

Jean Carrières - "I Screwed Up: Or, how you can recover from your blunders"

In an age where executive accountability is avoided like the plague, it was refreshing to hear this Senior Game Director from A2M not only admit failure, but openly embrace it as well. To anyone who has ever dropped the ball (and who hasn’t at some point?), Jean Carrières offered up an assortment of recipes for turning our lemons into lemonade. A nice slice of humble pie.

Nicolas Robert - "Mo-cap vs. Keyframe"

I was not aware of any great rivalry between advocates of motion-capture and proponents of keyframe animation, but then again, I’m not Animation Coordinator at Collège O'Sullivan de Québec. As AC, Nicolas Robert values both sides of this visual coin and is able to make a solid case for either form. His strongest argument, however, was for striking a balance where one technique supports the other, and vice versa.

Mathieu Lamarche - "Virtual Psychology"

The evening took a decidedly heady turn when Mathieu Lamarche, a Level Designer at Ubisoft, proposed a methodology to try and determine at what point the virtual mind takes on a life of its own. In his opinion, interactive applications have given rise to a kind of virtual psyche that can be better understood through the application of theories borrowed from ‘actual’ psychology and media studies. But at what point does a simulated cigar become more than just a cigar?

Nicolas Brosseau - "The gaming industry is more than just game production…"

As President of GamLogik, Nicolas Brosseau knows a little something about production, but tonight he came out to give props to some of the unheralded branches of the game industry tree. He sang the praises of the VG music sub-culture, various gaming communities and events (LAN parties, tournaments, etc.), as well as the journalists who cover them. Brosseau also gave a shout-out to professional gamers who tend to have a considerably shorter shelf life than pro athletes, and that’s saying something. A valid reminder that it sometimes takes a village to raise the level of play.

Laurent Gosselin & Vincent Blanchard - "A Walk in the Park"

Laurent Gosselin (Art Director, Corpus Studio) and Vincent Blanchard (Senior Virtools Programmer, Derby Motion) guided us through an entertaining divertissement in the form of a tour of their casual ‘shooter’. In A Walk in the Park, the player takes aim at various elements in an amusement park, such as a roller coaster or hot air balloons, which in turn trigger additional visual treats. G&B quite elegantly demonstrated that casual and high-quality are by no means mutually exclusive terms.

Vander Caballero - "Where did I learn how to shoot a moving target?"

EA Montreal’s Creative Director adopted a more anecdotal tone for his presentation. Vander shared the tale of a night-hunting expedition in Argentina where he amazed the more seasoned shooters with his ability to hit a moving target with a rifle. The realization that he had achieved such a high level of marksmanship through video games gave pause to the man behind Army of Two. Although Caballero raised some sobering questions, they were left largely unanswered.

Michel Plouffe - "Game Dev Tax Credits"

Michel Plouffe is the Director of Corporate Services for Pinchevsky, a consulting company specializing in scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED). According to Plouffe, the Quebec government is putting up some $620 million in this area with another $3 billion available on the federal level. This is by no means free cash, but principally tax credits and rebates. However, investors interested in getting into the game could stand to recoup a good deal of their seed money, if they’re not afraid of a little paperwork.

Clint Hocking - "Games and Meaning"

Clint Hocking, the active and outspoken Creative Director at Ubisoft, regaled us with a rant that he presented earlier this year at GDC 2008. Rather than attempt a clever paraphrase, I would do the speech better justice by posting the following link, http://clicknothing.typepad.com/Design/hockingc_GDC08_Rant.zip , where it can be read in its entirety. But to sum up, Hocking asks why, with the resources at our disposable, don’t we create heroic adventures that actually explore the concepts of courage, honour, valour, etc. rather than churn out formulaic quests that simply fill up our Bottomless Backpacks and Impressive Sacs of Holding. I for one look forward to the day when games will validate the principles that I hold dear. Seriously.

Leonard Teo - "Modding Crysis with Free Tools"

As Product Marketing Manager for Softimage, it’s Leonard Teo’s job to get the word out. Tonight he was plugging some free mod tools for Crysis which was a fair complement to the line-up; amidst all the game theory, the what and the wherefore, a little how-to is sometimes required. The featured applications were the Sandbox editor that actually comes with the game as well as the XSI Mod Tool by Softimage. Given the time constraint, Teo was able to give only briefest of tutorials, but free stuff is always appreciated.

Christopher Diggins - “HERON, a Programming Language for Game Development?"

Independent Consultant Christopher Diggins doesn’t believe in sticking to the script. He feels that C++ will soon go the way of the Dodo, and that the best way to achieve the next leap forward is by talking a new programming talk. Lately, he has been at work on HERON, a system that attempts to contain the general applicability of UML within a practical and accessible programming language. Time will tell whether HERON will fly.

Jonathan Dankoff - "Playtests Throughout the Game Dev Cycle"

Jonathan Dankoff came to set the record straight on playtesting. As Playtest Coordinator at Ubisoft, Dankoff makes the distinction between QA and playtesting whereas the former chases bugs while the latter gages playability. Nor, he asserts, does the process influence creative direction, as some might think; it simply helps determine what ain’t broke, and what needs fixin’ in terms of overall playability.

Francis Larose - "ODDBOY design"

There’s clearly something a little quirky about Game Designer, Francis Larose, yet his game, ODDBOY, is fairly straightforward: attain new heights or suffer crushing (literally) defeat. Despite the obvious challenges of working entirely in Flash, Larose has created a treacherously appealing clockwork underworld. Perhaps most interesting, however, was the addition of a feature that determines the violence level based on the user’s birth date. (Are you paying attention, Rockstar?)

Patrick Minotti - "My recipe to create a successful game studio"

Any chef worth his salt demands the best available ingredients. Tribal Nova’s EVP, Patrick Minotti serves up some stick-to-your-ribs advice on cooking up an appetizing commodity, stressing the importance of strong teamwork and a thorough knowledge of your abilities as well as your target demographic. Among all the tasty tidbits, one that is often cited by successful individuals is this: Do things your way!

Malik Boukhira & Simon Darveau - "Narrative gameplay: Gate key to immersive cinematics"

Malik Boukhira, a Level Designer at Ubisoft, and Simon Darveau, a Game Designer with the same outfit, offered one of the more original formats of the evening. Staged as a dialog between “Oméga”, an AI interface, and “Player”, a player, Boukhira & Darveau explored the challenges of creating realistic and non-linear narrative gameplay. Despite the minimal production values, this performance was highly entertaining and well deserving of a sequel.

Ben Houston - "Real-Time Air Simulation for Games"

Ben Houston, CTO at Exocortex Technologies, knows which way the wind blows, and if he has his way, so shall we all. His work on “real physics” simulators has been featured in a number of Hollywood productions, and now he is looking to apply his research in video games. If you need to chart some rough waters or to dispose of any foam bunnies, Houston is your man.

Paquito Hernandez - "The Rise of China"

It would appear that China is becoming something of global player. But while some simply speculate upon the potential impact of this Asian behemoth, others, like Bug-Tracker COO, Paquito Hernandez, are clocking the stats. From a gaming industry POV, the People’s Republic represents some $135 billion in disposable income that is growing exponentially every year; however, the lion’s share of this cash cow is consumed by MMOGs that are largely unknown in the West. And, for a nation that is often the target of harsh criticism on both foreign and domestic policies, their gaming community is quite progressive in terms of gender equality: 41.7% of Chinese gamers are female.

Martijn Steinrucken - "How to create a more immersive gaming experience"

As Concept Designer at EA, Martijn Steinrucken spends much of his time trying to create immersive games that are, as he puts it, “adventures in a box”. We have already succeeded in generating an effective technical representation of reality, as he illustrates by charting the evolution of graphics from Pong’s predecessor to Crysis. What is lacking, however, is a real emotional connection, or even a reasonable facsimile. Considering that this desire is already felt by many in the industry, the will should find its way.

Phil Fish - "Fez!"

Phil Fish, a prolific Game Designer and one of the founders of the Kokoromi collective, describes Fez! as “a Super Mario rip-off that will make you cry”. Actually, Fez! takes the phrase ‘putting a fresh spin’ to a several new levels. Its simplicity and originality has earned the game critical praise and international interest. Yet, Fish spent a good portion of his six minutes in the spotlight extolling the virtues of “micro-prototyping” (Fez! was made by two guys over 100 days). He encourages individuals and large developers alike to embrace the “Just do it!” philosophy that will hopefully spawn even greater things to come.

* * *

During post-presentation discussions over drinks, it was clear that much ground had been covered, but there are still miles to go before we sleep. However, there will certainly be other outings of this nature judging by the number of happy campers at night’s end.

Posted by RaynaAnderson on April 21, 2008 04:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Montreal Rocks!

By Pierre Boudreau

Upon entering the SAT on the evening of January 30th, 2008, one could not help but notice the music in the air. But this was not mere background ambience: tonight, it was taking center stage. The lounge, usually reserved for boozin’ and schmoozin’, had been transformed into the Rock Band Room, with quartet after quartet lining up for their five minutes of fame. Beyond the bar, an impromptu auditorium had been set up where Guitar Hero hopefuls filled the space with the sounds of their furious fingering in preparation for a showdown of rocktastic proportions.

The event was the inspired notion of our very own Godfather of Soul, Chris Crowell, who asked himself, Why not host a night where members of the gaming community actually came together to play? And with the (relatively) recent releases of Rock Band and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, that notion became a plan and that plan acquired a theme. The chapter scored an appearance by Rob Kay, the lead designer of Rock Band, who endowed the night with some serious street cred and some fabulous parting gifts.

Rob Kay has long been a driving force behind Harmonix and the Guitar Hero series. A drummer since the tender age of eight, Rob never abandoned his basement-born rock ‘n roll dreams. Instead, he has striven like a modern-day Prometheus to bring the gift of rock-godhood to us mere mortals.

On this night, Rob sat down with Jason Della Rocca in what was more of a Q&A jam session rather than a formal interview:

So, how about some back-story on Harmonix?

Harmonix was started 12 years ago by two MIT grads [Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy] who wanted to make the experience of musical performance accessible to the general public through technology. Although the company enjoyed a fair bit of critical praise with projects like “Frequency” (2001) and some commercial success with “Karaoke Revolution” (2003), it was the release of “Guitar Hero” (2005) that really struck a chord in the popular psyche. In 2006, Harmonix was acquired by MTV who wisely maintained an arms-length distance with the design team. They followed up with a successful sequel, but by the time the call came for Guitar Hero III, Harmonix was happy to pass the torch to Activision. The Harmonix team was already gearing up (literally) the next logical leap: “Rock Band” (2007).

What’s your player base?

The original GH alone has sold roughly 1.5 million copies. It covers a broad demographic of gamers and music fans, though the music plays a more significant role than the actual gameplay.

Do games like GH and RB have much international appeal?

The game has done well in North American and Europe but has not scored any serious Asian penetration.

What were technical challenges of Game Design?

The discipline on the design side consisted largely of not getting carried away with extra features and sticking to the key to the game’s success: the rock god fantasy effect.

(And then the audience joined the chorus...)

Both GH and KR consist largely of hitting notes scrolling down a screen. What can we expect for the next level of gameplay?

Harmonix is striving to introduce more musical creativity into future projects.

What were the significant differences in musical choices from GH I to III?

Each incarnation of the game was marketed as a rock ‘n roll experience and essential stuck with that genre. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Is Harmonix afraid of the emergence of a “killer app” that would allow players import any MP3, create a set list and essentially create their own version of GH?

Not at all. The technical challenges involved in synching songs with the game mechanic would limit any such widespread hacking. Plus, Harmonix is always looking to create opportunity for more musical creativity.

Any juicy rock star stories?

No. The marketing and PR got to press flesh with the rock stars while the designers toiled away behind the scene.

Is there any interest in exploring hip hop or other musical genres?

Lack of time has necessarily restricted the scope in terms of musical styles; but if anyone came out with another flavour, the gang at Harmonix would love a taste.

What were the musical selection priorities for RB?

Two principle considerations for each song: 1) It must rock. 2) It should consist of a “complete band representation”.

What’s the skinny on iteration for RB?

Since the guitar and vocal elements had already been thoroughly worked out on GH and KR, the biggest challenge was the drum mechanic. The design team bought a drum kit, took it apart and built their gameplay prototype. After some serious hands-on testing (most of the designers at Harmonix are active musicians), a mechanic emerged that fell somewhere between actual drumming and a playable percussive element.

How does Harmonix feel about product placement within their games?

If companies who can help enhance the rock ‘n roll fantasy (i.e. Fender, Gibson) want to come on board, the more the merrier.

Any issues (legal or otherwise) with Konami over the development/publishing of similar musical games?

No. Harmonix has worked closely with Konami on KR and as maintained a good relationship since that time.

As the questions wound down, the game-guitarists geared up. Virtual virtuosos paired-up and faced-off for a shot at some glory (as well as the grand prize of an Xbox 360 and copies of RB and GH III: LoR). For the next hour, the room was charged with sizzling sequences as every challenger with an axe to grind battled their way towards rock supremacy. In the end, it came down to A2M’s JF Gauthier and then-unknown contender, Vincent Messier. Tensions rose as the finalists each took a round in the last two-out-of-three which was as much about audience appreciation as musical mastery. The third and decisive number, to further drive the point home, was Metallica’s One. When the smoke cleared, Vincent Messier had claimed the crown.

At the risk of overstating the point: the night rocked.

Thank you Rob, thank you Chris, and above all, thank you ‘o ye rock gods...’

Photos

Rob Kay helps to set up Rock Band for action.

Guillaume Voghel (HEC) and ? jamming.

? and ? take their turn to rock.

Not fooling around, Ubi's Eric Le and Ben Miller jam with their own axes.

Simon Sicuro and Frederic Hamel compete for 3rd place.

JF Gauthier (A2M) vs Vincent Messier in the finals.

Vincent and JF in action on Dragonforce!

More Rock Band fun.

Michael Hawker hauls home is grand prize with the help of Alexandre Denault (McGill) and Rob Kay.

Chapter Sponsors

 

Posted by ChristinaReinards on February 13, 2008 08:41 PM | Comments (0)

Reconstructing Columbine

By Pierre Boudreau

In 2005, a young designer from Colorado created a video game called Super Columbine Massacre RPG! that would earn him international notoriety. Based on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, players assume the role of the game’s ‘protagonists’, real-life killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Playing Columbine: A True Story of Video Game Controversy examines the game’s impact on society, the battle against censorship and the quest for more open debate on violence in video games. On November 27, 2007, the Montreal Chapter of the IGDA played host to the documentary’s first Canadian screening.

Danny Ledonne, the doc’s director and the designer behind SCMRPG!, could be considered somewhat biased towards the subject matter, but that’s hardly reason to dismiss the film’s merits; Michael Moore garnered himself an Oscar for his own rather personal take on the topic. However, Playing Columbine… succeeds not only in presenting an elegant defense for SCMRPG!, but also in championing the notion of social responsibility in a rapidly evolving interactive medium.

Socially conscious video games are by no means a new trend. Titles like Darfur is Dying have been popping up for years, though well under the radar of many hardcore gamers, never mind the general public. Video games continue to be largely considered as violent, amoral time-wasting distractions. But those perceptions are changing as the gaming generation comes into its own and titles like SCMRPG! turn up the media heat.

It is difficult to remain indifferent to a title like Super Columbine Massacre RPG! Ledonne was clearly aware of this when he created the game while wrestling with his own inner demons. Not wanting to merely exploit a sensational tragedy, Ledonne sought to explore the issue of violence through a video game. Taking pains to provide a forum for users before making the game available for distribution, he posted it anonymously, anticipating the negative backlash that would necessarily follow. His invisibility was short-lived, however, when a web developer and friend to one of Columbine’s victims outed Ledonne in a personal and particularly determined campaign to call the designer to account. Ledonne found himself thrust into the center ring of a media circus and the show was just getting started.

The glare of the spotlight intensified the following year when a 25 year-old mentally-disturbed man took the life of 18 year-old Anastasia Rebecca De Sousa as well as his own and wounded several others during a shooting at Dawson College in Westmount, Quebec. In the aftermath, information surfaced that the shooter was a fan of SCMRPG! The media made a full-course meal of the connection, attracting the condemnation of media massacre-chasers like Jack Thompson. He and other critics, most of which never got past the game’s title, finally had their smoking gun: a “murder simulator” for psychopaths. Angry emails rolled in and the call rang out to shoot the messenger. On top of the virtual death threats, Ledonne also felt the sting of the backlash when he was dropped from the lineup at the Slamdance 2007 Guerrilla Gamemaker Competition.

But for every detractor, there were many more supporters, some of whom had greatest cause for resentment. Melissa Fuller attended Dawson College at the time of the 2006 shooting and wrote an article in defense of Ledonne’s work; she later appeared in Playing Columbine… Joel Kornek, who was seriously wounded during the incident, made no secret of his disgust in a vitriolic email to Ledonne. After learning of the intent behind the game, Kornek eventually grew to respect the designer’s position and also figures prominently in the documentary. Both Melissa and Joel were on hand for the screening, invited by the IGDA to take part in the evening. Authors, educators, scholars and numerous game industry professionals (including our own Jason Della Rocca) came out to speak on Ledonne’s behalf. After his rejection at Slamdance, half the entries, jury members and a festival sponsor walked out in a show of solidarity.

It’s entirely possible that the first cave paintings were blamed for more extreme forms of hunting and gathering. The exploration of violence in our culture is a contentious issue that is not likely to go away soon, if at all. For every John Hinkley Jr. there are a million cinephiles who can watch Taxi Driver without needing to shoot the President. The overwhelming majority of people are able to recognize the line between fantasy and reality; however, some cannot and it is because of these marginalized individuals that we must remain vigilant and continue to search for answers. There are still many dangers lurking below the surface, and we need canaries in the coal mine like Danny Ledonne.

Look for Playing Columbine: A True Story of Video Game Controversy at a festival near you, or visit http://playingcolumbine.com for more info.

**Photos**

Jack Thompson on the big screen during the screening
of Playing Columbine.

Melissa Fuller and Joel Kornek, survivors of the 2006 Dawson
school shooting.

Ben Sawyer (Digital Mill) with Ian Bogost (Persuasive Games)
in town for MIGS and enjoying the post screening social.

Event Partner

This IGDA-Montreal chapter event was presented in coordination with the Montreal International Game Summit, as an official social event of the Summit.

 

Chapter Sponsors

 

Posted by ChristinaReinards on December 15, 2007 02:19 PM

Focusing On Visual Arts

By Jason Della Rocca

This iteration of IGDA-Montreal's GameCafe set visual arts as the
core focus, looking at the "pure", "biz" and "tech" elements of art
as sub-themes. Given the more narrow focus over previous topics, the
turn-out was a slightly smaller ~35 (interestingly, many of which
were not actually involved with art, but wanted to learn more (eg, a
programmer who works with artists all day, but doesn't "talk their language")).

For the "tech art" portion, much of the discussion centered around
reinvention of art/production pipelines for the new demands of
current consoles. There was also a heavy emphasis on building tools
to automate more and more of the basic stuff (eg, populating a forest
with trees) so that an artist can spend more polish time on the stuff
that really matters (eg, the one tree that blocks the player's path).

Not surprisingly, the "biz art" discussions focused on the topic of
outsourcing/offshoring - the challenges, pros/cons, processes, etc.
This lead to the question of middleware and tool standards to ease
the process of ramping up external partners plugging into a project's
pipeline. More pressing was the issue of cultural compatibility with
the need to rely heavily on concept art and specs so that you get
what you want/expect. For more detailed notes, check out the post from topic moderator Chantal Fournier.

On the "pure art" side, discussions revolved heavily around the
debate over realistic vs stylized graphics. While some argued that
stylized graphics are easier to handle as you can break/bend the
rules of reality, others argued that non-realistic graphics are
harder because it actually requires real talent to come up with
something that's appealing and cohesive. Many games were referenced
in the discussion - from Team Fortress 2's move away from realistic
graphics, to BioShock's art deco style to Zelda's transition to
cell-shading in Wind Waker.

One of the high level conclusions was that, more and more, games are
creating their own unique visual styles. As the medium of games
continues to evolve, game artists will become bolder (and better
skilled) in exploring these new and unique styles rather than
borrowing from other mediums.

Sameer Arshad (McGill) chats with Ben Houston (Exocortex) over
pub fries before the formal action started.

Isabelle Marazzani (marcom consultant), Mike Hawker (Mikeware)
and Tim Miner (Champlain College) listen as table host Chantal
Fournier (Studio Qitsune) leads the "biz art" discussion.

Jonathan Cooper (Eidos) shares his high-level thoughts on the
"pure art" sub-topic.

Alex Amancio (Ubisoft) reveals several "tech art" patterns
uncovered from the discussions.

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Posted by ChristinaReinards on October 28, 2007 11:20 AM

BioShock Presentation Video

A complete video recording of Chris Kline's BioShock presentation and audience Q&A is now available via Google Video. Big thanks to Lafbros for putting it all together.

Posted by della on October 2, 2007 01:04 PM | Comments (0)

In a State of Bioshock

By Pierre Boudreau

Lately my head’s been swimming in an Art Deco dream, and I’m not alone. The networks are humming with chatter on Bioshock and its beautifully mutated vision of gameplay. The Montreal Chapter of the IGDA was fortunate enough to play host to one of the bees behind the buzz, lead programmer from 2k Boston, Christopher Kline.

Despite a heavy downpour, which was actually quite apropos for the Bioshock aesthetic, the SAT was packedfor the Beenox sponsored night. Community members turned out in droves, hungry for some story behind the story and Kline served up plenty for everyone. He took us down the long and winding road of Bioshock’s five-year evolution from System Shock 2 (SS2) offspring to a wholly unique entity.

“The deepest shooter you’ll ever play”

As with any game, film or other work that so effectively balances art and craft, the process is rarely simple or straightforward. No less than four prototypes were generated before Bioshock found its voice. The first incarnation from October 2002 was a modest sci-fi demo with strong shades of SS2. It shared little in common with the final product other than an underwater setting. The team had found their where, but not their what.

While the design team explored the narrative possibilities of Objectivism and genetics, Kline and his tech crew went back to the drawing board to brainstorm some AI. Inspired by GTA, they sought to achieve an environment that appeared to act independently from the player. Gradually an AI ecology began to take shape that defined the basic roles of the game’s cast but their true characters had yet to emerge. Then, as fate and production requirements would have it, the project was forced into a two year hiatus.

By the time work resumed in the summer of 2004, 2k Boston (then Irrational Games) had begun trading technology back and forth with its Australian counterpart. A code-sharing system was set up with the goal of developing a single ‘shared engine’ geared to a title-specific brand. Hopes were high, but those grand aspirations needed to be backed up with some hard cash.

‘Selling the spiritual successor’

SS2 had been a critical success and a commercial failure; the Bioshock team wanted to build upon the former while avoiding the latter. First, they needed to convince a publisher that sufficient public interest could be generated. A 30 second
pitch demo was put together in two days using the cross-continental engine. It managed to effectively convey the Bioshock vibe despite the lack of any AI, UI, context or even gameplay. Further momentum was provided by a GameSpot retrospective on SS2 that featured some advance press on Bioshock. They got the attention of Take2 Interactive who were looking to build new brands and suddenly found themselves with a full tank of gas. But they still had a long drive ahead.

The next couple of years would be a period of intense growth both for the game and the engine that powered it. As the AIs’ forms matured to match their functions and the art direction moved from demo towards Deco, it soon became clear that the supporting technology had to be taken up a notch or two. As Kline & co. began blending and modifying elements of Unreal, Havoc and other tools, the Bioshock engine (aka Vengeance2) began to resemble the gene-splice hybrids it would later help create.

After several exhaustive months, the team peeled off a vertical slice, a kind of ‘vision demo’ to provide a snapshot of the game’s current state. The game mechanic was progressing nicely and the UI was more or less in place, but Bioshock was still in search of its soul. So, rather than widening their search, the 2k teams narrowed their efforts and focused on getting a single room right. This helped confirm that Art Deco was indeed the direction to go and led to a further push in the animation tech. However, technology was quickly outdistancing story development and the AIs clearly needed something to elevate them above your standard bugs and bots. One notable leap was the transformation of the original slug-like gatherers into the Ricci-esque waifs now known as ‘the Little Sisters’, thereby raising the sympathy level vis-à-vis the player/AI relationship. But with the design in flux, the big picture was still unclear. The solution? Trial by fire.

‘Threat of public humiliation as motivator'

With some advance hype building steam, the team was under increasing pressure to put up or pack up. E3 ’06 provided the arena and Bioshock came out to play. Although largely successful, this latest sneak peek garnered more critical praise than public appeal. But feedback from that event, and later at Microsoft X06, helped underline what the game needed most: to engage the player on a gut level, not just in their head. It began to dawn on the 2k crew that they had to look beyond their circle of friends and well-wishers and find out what the average gamer would like. As the marriage between design and gameplay moved towards greater alignment, a more solid structure began to take shape. However, the need for
more objective input was evident and public focus groups were consulted to keepthe game on track. More pieces began to fall into place and the phrase: “Say YES to the player!” became the prime directive.

With a new course laid in, the AIs truly started to take on a life of their own. Backstory was streamlined, but not abandoned. UI and game mechanics were tailored to a more traditional FPS format without sacrificing Bioshock’s unique feel. Moreover, by looking at the game from the player’s POV, the team was required to develop a strong internal logic for the virtual world: if it makes sense, it should be doable. In short, the result was a more hands-on, user-friendly and ultimately compelling gameplay experience that managed to remain true to the artistic vision.

In closing, Kline offered an emphatic tip of the hat to their automated testing system. He credits the method as their
11th hour saviour and strongly recommended its implementation to all developers present.

All in all, Christopher Kline gave us a highly informative and illuminating presentation. Judging from the barrage of
questions that followed during Q&A, he definitely left people wanting more. Much like the game itself.

View slides from Chris Kline's presentation!
http://www.igda.org/montreal/IGDA-Montreal_Sep07_BioShock.zip

Photos!!

A huge crowd of nearly 300 developers showed up for the presentation.

Despite the cramped conditions, Chris kept everyone engaged.

After his lecture, Chris spent the rest of the evening taking
questions and chatting with the locals.

Everyone hung around at the bar to mingle and chat.

Genevieve Laurendeau (Ubisoft) catches Phil Fish (A2M) off guard...

Kimi Matsuzaki (Ubisoft) discusses the finer points of Little
Sister harvesting with Heather Kelley (A2M).

Sylvain Plourde (3vis) and Frederick Brassard (3pod) at the bar.

Client Hocking (Ubisoft) and Chris Kline (2K Boston) reminisce
over System Shock 2.

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Posted by ChristinaReinards on September 18, 2007 08:58 PM | Comments (0)

The Birth of 'Boogie'

By Pierre Boudreau

Despite the sultry appeal of the sweet summer heat, there was a respectable turnout at the SAT for the final meeting of the Montreal Chapter’s ’06-’07 season. As usual, our own J. Della Rocca got the ball rolling with some chapter business before handing it off to the evening’s presenters, Alfredo Chaves (Producer) and Vander Caballero (Design Director) from Electronic Arts.

Caballero and Chaves have been shaking things up at EA Montreal. Literally. The co-creators of Boogie, the upcoming musical themed Wii title, are definitely moving to the beat of a different drum. The pair walked us through their creative process, from baby steps to all-out dance moves.

Before delving into the technical challenges posed by their project, the dance-loving duo treated us to a short, Sesame Street inspired, animated prologue. Boogie began, so it went, as a quest for the perfect, puppet-driven gameplay experience. From the land of the muppets, their artistic journey took them to a place where fairy tales and shadow puppets meet; however, it soon became clear to Vander and Alfredo that the world wasn’t ready for Wii Theatre.

But Chaves and Caballero refused to let go of the strings and went back to the drawing board. Again, they were faced with the question: how do you endow puppeteering with pop-culture appeal in this Electronic Age? The answer was Boogie.

Taking a page from the books of DDR and Karaoke Revolution, Boogie reaches out to the home exhibitionist. With strong emphasis on choreography and karaoke, the user can vicariously live out their American Idol dream through an animated character of their choice.

Once the concept was locked in, Alfredo and Vander received no end of positive feedback but were now faced with the daunting task of coming up with a workable prototype. Luckily, the team from SSX Blur was just then wrapping up their latest snowboarding title and came over to lend a hand. In the ensuing months, the mechanics began to take shape.

The dance party aspect of the presentation really got going once Vander broke out the remotes and took a more hands-on role. The crowd was quite vocal in its appreciation as Cabellero animated a prototype character to some real-time rhythms. Later, Alfredo lent his vocal talents to demonstrate the game’s karaoke features. Chaves then gave us a brief tutorial on music video production with the in-game editing suite. Players can record and edit their characters’ performance using different camera angles, modes and a number of fun visual features such as the 3D effect.

The audience was pleasantly surprised by this unexpected offering from EA. Judging from their response, Boogie is entertaining for both participant and spectator alike which bodes well its marketing potential. If this title earns the numbers to spawn B2: Boogie’s Revenge, gamers will likely demand a little more such as the ability to download or upload content, which is currently lacking, and a more immersive gameplay environment. But if Caballero and Chaves are looking to break new ground, this is a two-step in the right direction.

Photos...

Vander shows off an early prototype.

Alflredo shows off his karaoke skills while demoing the last build of Boogie.

Audience Q&A portion of the night...

A bleary-eyed James Everrett (A2M) heading back to the office for some pre-alpha crunch :(

Marc-Andre Caron (Ubisoft), Vander Caballero (EA) and Alfredo Chaves
(EA) enjoy a post-lecture drink.

Phil Fish (A2M/Kokoromi) and Chris Crowell (A2M) getting an ear-full of boogie.

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Posted by ChristinaReinards on June 18, 2007 09:57 PM

GameCafé: The Future of Work

By P. R. Boudreau

Following on the success of last year’s Gamecafé, IGDA Montreal recently hosted another of its unique brand of casual roundtable discussions. As members of the gaming community gathered at restaurant Los Tios to examine the future of work in the game industry.

Six moderators, each with a group of game development professionals, led the discussions from three different perspectives; Elspeth Tory (Animation Manager, Ubisoft) and Chris Crowell (Creative Director, A2M) covered the future from the individual professional’s POV, Marie-Jo Leroux, (Game Director, A2M) and Alexandre Parizeau (Producer, Ubisoft) looked at the evolution of the team/studio dynamic while Ben Mattes (Producer, Ubisoft) and Jean-Pierre Faucher (Partnership Development Manager, Alliance Numeriqc) explored the road ahead for the industry as a whole. Each moderator hosted three 20 minute sessions, allowing participants to take in all three sub-topics by hopping from table to table between sets.

There was no shortage of ideas or opinions as the game developers of today set their sights on the workplace of tomorrow.

Career level

The first topic on the table was motivation. What drives you? Do you live to work, or work to live? While individual goals varied, the table unanimously rejected money as their prime motivator. Other perks such as time off or travel had more appeal, at least as short term enticements. Personal time vs. company time has long been a central quality of life issue and, with an increase of game industry professionals having families of their own, it is likely to grow in importance in coming years. For salaried employees, job satisfaction and upward mobility ranked high as long term benefits, though the two could sometimes be at odds. Opportunities for advancement tend to come in the form of managerial or directorial positions which do not hold the same cachet for everyone; an animator who simply wishes to work to improve their art might be limited in how far they could rise in a given company’s hierarchy. In the end, however, the most highly valued aspect of the workplace experience was a sense of ownership; a genuine connection to the people, place and product. Long stretches of overtime are more easily endured when working with an entire team under a spirit of solidarity; caffeine-fuelled solo flights through the wee hours of crunch time are less satisfying. Regardless of the changes wrought in this ever-evolving industry, the question of ownership will continue to be a significant factor.

Company level

This discussion segued rather appropriately into the individual’s relationship to the company; more precisely, it began by addressing the growing trend of the industry professional as free agent. Many community members see themselves in that role anyhow, whether they be contracted or salaried, and anticipate a form of labour classification similar to that of the film industry complete with unionization and the emergence of specialized talent management agencies. However, it was strongly felt by some that this would require greater concentrations of game development in large urban centers, in the way that Los Angeles is host to the film industry. But despite the similarities between the mediums of film and video games, new production models are constantly being explored out of sheer need to ride the momentum of a rapidly growing market. The ability to outsource and have employees work remotely has given companies the capacity to decentralize some of the production workload while maintaining a leaner in-house team. The trade-off here is greater flexibility at the loss of some creative and managerial control; how much do you keep under one roof? But while the rise of the streamlined developer or an age of free agents are real possibilities, those present felt that gaming is still one of the most collaborative industries on the planet. There was also a well supported appeal for more time and resources allocated for preproduction. This needn’t necessarily follow the pre/production/post model as long as research and development be given their due. Investing time in a solid, early foundation might be the key to maintaining better control over one’s project and could result in more polishing and less troubleshooting.

Industry level

Moving further into the macro, the third group plunged right into existing and emergent business models. Despite the increase of online financial transactions (both real and virtual), retail still has a strong grip on the marketplace. Retail marketing is built on moving product and catering to the customer, and is not likely to be supplanted any time soon. Digital distribution requires considerably less in terms of overhead but demands a little more work from the consumer. There are some successful examples of pay-as-you-play, subscription gaming and viable micro-transaction economies but which, if any, of these becomes a dominant market force remains to be seen. The real battle for the gamers buck is probably most apparent in the war of the consoles. As the contest heated up, the big players raced to distinguish themselves from their competitors; Sony held up an impressive repertoire of games, Microsoft embraced digital distribution, but it was Nintendo who most clearly illustrated the value of variety by coming out with the Wii. With innovations such as this, we are unlikely to see a “standardized” game console in the near future, and gamers everywhere stand to gain from this competitive clash of the titans. And on the subject of titans, it was put forward that the globalization of the game industry is more likely than not to lead to conglomeration. We are already witnessing the acquisition of smaller studios by larger ones, as well as mergers between groups of mid-sized studios. If gaming follows the course of other industries, it’s only a matter of time before we see the merger of game developers with other entertainment entities and a whole new breed of media giants.

Wrap up

Unfortunately, I could not be everywhere at once and can only offer this modest summary of the discussions where I was in attendance. Some of the questions raised by other groups included:
-Do improved tools result in enhanced gameplay experiences or simply provide for better packaging?
-How do we balance creativity with pragmatism when our tools and workplace are constantly evolving?
-Is the North American gaming industry culturally grounded enough to withstand the pressures of the global marketplace?

In the end, there was a general acknowledgement that gaming is still relatively immature as far as industries go; no one can possibly forecast a complete picture of what is yet to come. However, it is clear that the industry will continue to expand for quite some time; hi-tech expertise will stay in demand as will the need for better tools and improved methods of distribution. And although many questions still remain unanswered, the Gamecafé succeeded in providing to the community a valuable forum where these issues can be discussed. By getting involved and keeping informed, we are better able to help shape the policies that will determine what the future holds for us all.

We invite you to discuss these and other issues on the IGDA Forum at:
http://www.igda.org/Forums/

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Posted by ChristinaReinards on April 27, 2007 12:45 PM

The Undiscovered Country: Clint Hocking on Exploration

By Pierre Boudreau

“The play’s the thing...” - Hamlet

In preparation for the upcoming GDC, Clint Hocking gave us locals a preview of his presentation entitled: "Exploration: From Systems to Spaces to Self". (Disclaimer: due to the "sneak peek" nature of his presentation, details are deliberately vague and, hopefully, spoiler-free. Interested parties can expect some follow-up post-GDC.) The event drew a healthy turnout for the man who puts chaos theory into practice.

It doesn’t take a detective to figure out that Clint Hocking enjoys pushing the boundaries of gameplay; his work provides ample clues to support that. Nor are his motives any great mystery: as design tools continue to evolve, so too does our appetite for new experiences. But the twist comes with Hocking attempting to challenge the familiar paradigms by putting some of the power of game design into the hands of the player. Thus, our heroes become truly responsible for the direction of their respective journeys.

Most games encourage spatial exploration of their virtual worlds using some variation of the challenge/reward system: the more you explore, the more you can score (in perks if not points). However, regardless of how immersive the environment, the player is aware on some level that they are remapping charted territory. Clint Hocking appears to want to throw away the map altogether in favour of, say, a divining rod or moral compass.

If Hocking is any indication, the next wave of Game Designers and Creative Directors will not only encourage us to explore outside the box, they will provide us with the tools to break on through to the other side. Whether this leads to the discovery of hitherto unknown worlds or simply a better understanding of self, the future looks bright.

Let us boldly go.

Congratulations to the IGDA for hitting the 12 000 member mark. You don't look a day over 10 000.

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Posted by ChristinaReinards on February 26, 2007 05:56 PM

Party Time in Montreal

The Montreal Chapter recently hosted its first ever members-only party. And, despite the -20 weather, about 70 members showed up to have some fun.

The evening consisted mainly of drinking and schmoozing, with background audio and visuals provided by SAT MixSession usuals Cyan and Liberty. Midway through the action, the chapter raffled off a load of goodies (including two copies of Foundation from Softimage, stylish t-shirts from Bug-Tracker and an assortment of Ubi games, toques, Ts and Raving Rabbid figurines).

The big prize for the night was a Wii. Two names were drawn and they had to duke it out rock-paper-scissor style. Frederick Brassard (Ubisoft) scored 2-0 versus a much chagrined Bryan Salhi (A2M).

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Posted by della on January 30, 2007 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

"DemoNight" in Montreal

Written by
Pierre R. Boudreau

The Montreal IGDA Chapter capped 2006 with a DemoNight that offered an impressive range of appetizers to whet our gaming appetites. Instigated by EA’s Vander Caballero, the event was intended to give developers, big and small, the opportunity to display their wares. The small but appreciative crowd was treated to samples from games both commercial and experimental.

Each team had eight minutes to present their demo and, despite a disclaimer from Jason that “things could blow up” at any time, the evening unfolded with a minimum of glitches.


The demos:

Resonance (Xbox) By: Neocell Factory

Neocell came into being in 2003 when a group of friends came together to produce a labour of love. After much blood, sweat and tears, the company has unveiled Resonance, a slick third-person survival-horror RPG set during the Inquisition. Serge Goulet kicked off the presentation with a few words on the game’s real life survival-adventure and their quest to land a publisher. Then Lead Designer Francis Lahaie took us on a tour of their dark yet richly textured world. The game offers some interesting features, including an adaptive difficulty level and its signature “Resonance Mode” that allows the player to see into and interact with the spirit world.


Francis Lahaie demos ‘Resonance’ on Xbox

Hot Potato Online (DS) By: Potato Entertainment

Potato Entertainment brought us a modest but entertaining arena sport mini-game that makes use of the DS’s Wi-Fi feature. Initially created as a calling-card for designers Thiéry Adam and Jean-Francois Perusse, Hot Potato Online was released online as open source in 2005 to favourable reviews that started the buzz. Despite its very simplistic and straightforward premise (“Follow the exploding potato”), players are given the ability to customize several elements including the gameplay parameters. Catch it while it’s hot.

Thiéry Adam and Jean-Francois Perusse showing off ‘Hot Potato Online’ for the DS

glee. (PC) By: Kokoromi collective

The Kokoromi collective are the people who brought us GAMMA 01 earlier this month. The team consisting of Heather Kelley, Damien Di Fede and Phillipe Poisson are pushing the experimental envelop by developing new forms of interactive gameplay. They set out to create a non-shooter that was focused on the actions of collecting and nurturing tiny creatures called “pulsars”, and racking up lots of points. The most innovative aspect of glee. lies in its ability to input digitized audio streams directly into the gameplay mechanic. By choosing which mp3 tune to plug in, the player sets the pace of the action and the rate at which the pulsars and other virtual critters are generated. At three minutes per game, glee. is fun, fast and potentially addictive. Keep this collective on your radar.

Heather Kelley and Philip Poisson demo ‘glee’

Cosmo Crash (PC) By: Clockwork Pangolin

Another fruit from the GAMMA 01 loom came in the form of this highly stylish and fast-paced entry from two graphic artists by the names of Marc-André Toupin and Sébastien Cormier. They claim not to be game designers per se but their potential is undisputable. Driven by the desire to bring a higher level of challenge to the 2D-retro genre, Toupin and Cormier have created a wholly gripping, asteroid-blasting space race with a strong Dance/Techno beat rocketing the action forward. The simple yet thoroughly engaging graphics practically command you to pick up and play. Someone should tell these guys that they are game designers.

‘CosmoCrash’ in action

Massive Snowboarding (Mobile) By: Gameloft

Christina Reinards and Frederic St-Amour from over at Gameloft brought in one of the night’s mobile entries: Massive Snowboarding. Christina used part of the presentation to give some context for the challenges that face developers producing mobile games. How do you build a video game the size of a “post-it” note? Very imaginatively, it would seem. Massive Snowboarding comes from the same professional snowboarder/game designer who worked on the very successful Amped for the Xbox. Their stated goal was to provide an accessible, fast-paced snowboarding experience by using a straight-forward control system. Its impressive look and playability earned the game ign.com’s 2005 Game of the Year award for Best Graphics Technology.

Christina Reinards and Fred St-Amour demo Gameloft’s 3D Mobile game ‘Massive Snowboarding’

Gone Fish’in (Mobile) By: Q8ISMobile

Bob Quenneville & Mark Foo Bonasoro are the team behind Gone Fish’in. Bonasoro had originally wanted to create a fishing RPG for phones. Frustrated yet undeterred by the technical limitations of the mobile, the guys decided to cast a much smaller net. The result is a playful expedition that delivers what the title promises. Featuring a unique Beat Match Fishing system, Gone Fish’in is sure to appeal to the pocket angler.

Bob Quenneville and Mark Foo Bonasoro demo ‘Gone Fish’in’ on a mobile emulator

Paddlespace (PC) By: Mikeware

Micheal A. Hawker likes to play with his toys, chop them up then put them together again in novel ways. This hack and blend approach has produced Paddlespace: a dizzying amalgam of Pong, Asteroids and Galaga. Armed with only a paddle, you must defend yourself from a relentless onslaught of balls, bullets and rocks. Paddlespace offers some amusing additions to the Pong game such as a giant Boss Ball that you must paddle to death. Not for the epileptic or faint of heart.

Michael Hawker demos retro styled ‘PaddleSpace’

Physics with Balls (PC) By: WalshCo

Balls and walls. Ball hits wall. Wall stops ball. If it were that simple, Martin Walsh would not have been motivated to create Physics with Balls. Annoyed and frustrated by unrealistic game physics, he decided to start a one-man crusade against sloppy collision and awkward inter-penetration. There’s beauty in well-executed minimalism; it’s worth noting that Walsh elicited the most ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of the night by simply knocking a ball around a tiny mini-putt/ billiard table. This engine is sure to make an impact.

Martin Walsh's 'Physics with Ball’s' demo

FlatLine By: Daniel Puglielli

A year and a half ago, Daniel Puglielli decided he would stop testing games and start making them. So he fired up his Unreal engine and began testing the limits of game design. FlatLine is a dark, brooding psychological thriller for those not paranoid enough. Set during the graveyard shift at a psychiatric hospital, FlatLine is largely about mood and the ever-present inner monologues keep the player in the character’s skin. A trip through the labyrinth of the mind.

Daniel Puglielli show's off psychological thriller ‘FlatLine’

Carte Blanche (PC) By: Absurdus

The final presentation was definitely in a class of its own. With tongue nestled nicely in cheek, Absurdus (a.k.a. Jonathan Lassard) gave us the humorous and aesthetically seductive Carte Blanche. Watching the game, one feels like they’ve just stepped into Caro and Jeunet’s Delicatessen. What was most striking was the use of B&W graphics which gave a sense of realism to this larger-than-life world. Carte Blanche is theatre of the absurd for gamers and BD fans alike.

Jonathan Lessard demos ‘Carte Blanche’

Vander wrapped up the presentations with praise for all the participants. He bemoaned the lack of risk-taking in the corporate world and emphasized the need for events such as this. It is by coming together as a community and sharing our ideas that this industry will continue to thrive.

After tonight, I couldn’t agree more. Shine on, you crazy diamonds.


More Meeting Photo's

Jonathan Lessard gives a peak at his scripting dev environment


Jean-Francois Perusse gives some hands on time to Vander Caballero with ‘Hot Potato Online'


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Posted by ChristinaReinards on December 4, 2006 09:39 PM | Comments (1)

Follow-Up: Organic Game Design on the Assassin's Creed - Bio of Patrice Désilets, Creative Director of Assassin's Creed

Written by Niketh Pareek

Despite garnishing huge acclaim around the world for being the creative mind behind one of the most successful video games ever released, Patrice Désilets isn’t resting on his laurels.

“I’m really lucky to be where I am today. In Quebec, and in Canada a best seller is 2,000 copies. When I finished making Prince of Persia, I couldn’t believe it sold over 2 million copies. Two million compared to 2,000. It’s like wow!”

Désilets would be the first to agree that his ascension to video-game stardom was an unlikely possibility when he completed his university studies 10 years ago. He joined Ubisoft Montreal shortly after graduating, which at the time consisted of only 10 employees.

“My first game was a PlayMobil game. It was a simple game and not the most creative of technologies to work with, but I decided to see where I could push the limit, [or] change something to make it more interesting.”

With titles such as Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3, Donald Duck: Going Quakers, Hype: The Time Quest and the hugely successful Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (PoP), Désilets has developed a reputation for breaking the rules of game design while retaining a fun gaming experience.

His post-modernist approach to game design is being transferred to his latest project, a bigger and grander title than PoP. Two years ago, he approached Ubisoft executives with an idea to re-define the third-person action game genre.

In Désilets’ mind, third-person action games force the player to develop a gamer’s intuition. For experienced players, the concepts of a double-jump, or living in a world where you can commit murder or other violent acts without recourse are expected. Non-gamers, on the other hand, expect the laws of physics to apply and react negatively when their character is rewarded for disregarding the rules of organized society. Non-gamers have abandoned playing third-person action games because they are designed to appeal to those looking for a violent, escapist and morally empty experience.

According to Désilets, what gamers really want is to play a hero. “Games are supposed to give people a chance to become an actor and do things they’ve always wanted to try.” He added that protagonists are often the types of people you’d never want to meet in real life. “How can you create a sense of reality by playing a character you never want to become?” he asked rhetorically.

And thus the creative vision underlying Assassins Creed, Désilets latest project, was born: To create a game with an environment that is so close to reality that the line between reality and fantasy blurs, creating an experience that is all encompassing and immersive, appealing to both gamers and non-gamers alike.

When Désilets ambitious idea was pitched to executives at Ubisoft, they threw their full support behind the project. Yannis Mallat, CEO of Ubisoft Montreal, described his initial reaction as “total excitement”. He added, “here was an idea so revolutionary I knew we had to go with it [even though] I knew we’d face many challenges to achieve Patrice’s vision.”

One of the biggest challenges was finding the right person to lead the development team that would deliver one of the most important projects to come from Ubisoft’s Montreal Studio. Someone would have to oversee the development of new software tools, the upgrade of technological infrastructure, and understand what it takes to manage a group of dedicated and passionate developers. At first, Mallat took on the role of producer, but soon found his executive duties interfered. It wasn’t until he met Jade Raymond that he felt he found the right person to take over the project. “When I met Jade, I knew she was the one who had the experience and understanding of the creative process to make Assassin’s Creed a reality.”

Raymond, a 10 year veteran of the industry, cut her teeth at studios such as EA, Sony and Maxis, where she worked closely with Will Wright. She accepted the challenge of becoming the producer of Assassin’s Creed because she knew that she it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Assassin’s Creed is a brand new game, with new characters and a new storyline. Producers rarely, if ever, are presented with a blank slate and the opportunity to change a game genre.

She concedes that her responsibilities as the producer are “a bit overwhelming but at the same time I know I can do it. I learned all the processes of how not to constrain creative teams but also meet deadlines when I worked [as a producer of] the Sims On-Line.”

Recently Raymond and Désilets gave a presentation to members of the IGDA explaining how over the past two years, the development team led by Raymond has created a host of new tools and modeling techniques that will make Assassin’s Creed the most realistic game ever created. Désilets noted that “programming to kill is really easy because a program is binary, just a bunch of ones and zeros. Pushing, climbing, jumping, that’s much harder because you have to pay attention to little details.” Two years have passed and Assassin’s Creed is reported to be 60% complete.

When the game is released, non-gamers will likely appreciate the effort of the development team, though hard-core gamers might not jump for joy when they learn they’ve lost the ability to double-jump.

Posted by ChristinaReinards on November 14, 2006 06:14 PM

The Long Tail World

By Niketh Pareek
Author of The Basics: Marketing

According to Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, the world economy is shifting from selling goods to the mainstream ‘mass market’ toward selling to small groups of customers clustered in profitable niches that exist at the tail end of the demand curve.

The underlying reasons for this transformation are that unlike in other industries, digital content production costs fall off exponentially with technology growth, and distribution costs are virtually nil. The implications on economic activity are threefold:

First, the democratization of production will create the needed supply to fill out the demand curve. Second, the transaction costs of distributing these products is virtually nil. And finally, with the aide of search engines, reviews and blogs, buyers can easily find and evaluate these ‘fringe’ products.

If Anderson is correct, then video-game publishers who continue to rely on traditional models of game development and distribution may eventually become a cautionary tale of the Long Tail era.

Just how the video-game industry should embrace The Long Tail and how video-game development, distribution and consumption will change as a result of this phenomenon was discussed in a GameCafé format at a recent meeting of the IGDA at Los Tios Mexican Restaurant on Crescent Street.

With the help of a moderator, 8-10 participants discussed one of the forces mentioned above. After a period of 15-20 minutes, the groups rotate to another table and the new moderator would give a summary of what the previous group had said. The cycle repeated until all participants had discussed each of the three forces.

Over 60 members attended the meeting and while many left knowing that the Long Tail will change the industry in the long-term, for now, little will change due to the inordinate number of barriers that prevent independent designers from creating and distributing their games. Highlights of the discussions are found below.

Democratization of production

The Long Tail theory predicts that if the tools of production are virtually free, the supply needed to fill out the tail will be created. While many members agreed that democratization of production tools would indeed create the needed supply, they don’t foresee it happening anytime soon.

To begin with, to create a video-game today you need to have a programming background. Programming an interactive game is a fundamentally different process than recording a linear series of actions, such as when an independent film maker or musician records their work. Creating a video game can only be done using the procedural language of code. A tool similar to iMovie for non-programmers would require considerable resources, and since console manufacturers make it virtually impossible to create cross-platform games (even with the help of emulators), the incentive to create such a tool does not exist. Indeed the manufacturers want to prevent such an event from occurring because they want to control the marketing of their brand. Microsoft’s XNA project is an intriguing idea, however, one of the terms of using the product is that developers must market their product through Microsoft’s channels. Open source products might do the trick, but once again are limited in their scope due to console restrictions. So for the time being, the only way non-programmers can make their own games is to rely on mods, which places inherent limitations on the variety of games available.

Obtaining funding from government sources might help. Presently, video-games are not regarded as a cultural industry and therefore aren’t eligible for the same type of funding. If the government recognized video games as an art-form, sponsorships could be given to talented developers to make the required tools.

A few dissenters believe the tools needed to democratize production do exist today in the form of ARGs and Flash-based games. With ARGs, non-programmers can use existing media to create enriched and interactive content. The beauty of the ARG is that it doesn’t require the producer to be a talented programmer. And with Flash-based games, while limited in its ability to create interactivity, if designed properly, it too can create enriching gaming experiences. Indeed, by creating Flash games, one can easily learn the basics of video-game design and then endeavour to create more complicated games using other gaming engines.

Connecting Suppliers to buyers

A Long Tail market contains a large supply of content available to consumers. In order for the consumer to find the selection they want, they will seek information from credible sources. In a Long Tail market, peer reviewers play an integral part in determining the commercial success or failure of a product – which with radically reduced production and distribution costs, can be a very small number of sales.

Participants agreed with Anderson’s premise that buzz and referrals are needed to generate interest in obscure titles. They also agreed that consumers are far too savvy to be suckered into public relations ploys. Long Tail shoppers will seek another opinion if they feel the information they’re receiving isn’t credible.

One participant believes the implementation of a digital rights management system which cross-links the game credits with other sites, will go a long way toward helping generate the needed buzz. Publishers can better control who links to their sites and how can filter out sites that contribute to negative buzz. The more cross-links that exist, the higher the rankings a videogame will receive in popularity. It remains to be seen how successful this model might be.

Unfortunately, there arguably aren’t enough games in existence to fill out a real Long Tail for the game industry, and many past games have been rendered obsolete with the introduction of new operating systems. Backwards compatibility is always an issue in the maintenance of a Long Tail in a digital medium. Regardless, even if the backward compatibility problem were solved, it remains to be seen if 13 year olds really do want to play classics like the original Mario Brothers and Zelda.

The opening of distribution channels

One of the problems for independent designers is that they only have independent distributors, retail stores, big studios or publishing companies to distribute their games for them. Getting to the consumer is virtually impossible due to the bargaining power these bodies have over the independent producer.

To even the playing field, the video-game industry needs its equivalent of iTunes. This service tracks buyer preferences and recommends other titles based on the consumption behaviour of other buyers. Just how this service would work, and how it will overcome the cross-platform problem is another debate altogether, but participants all agreed that such a service will go along way toward improving the distribution of video games.

In the meantime, independent producers will have to resort to viral marketing tactics to get their message out. Relying on non-traditional marketing channels like YouTube, blogs and the like is the only way to get through the word out.

Surprisingly, the malaise that affects the console side of the business does not apply to all parts of the video-game industry. Currently, there are thousands upon thousands of games designed for cell-phones and other mobile devices. For a nominal fee, a user can download a game and play it for a brief period of time. Many members commented that they don’t have the time to play games with hundreds of hours of gameplay. Older gamers can only spend a few hours a week at the best of times. Games designed for cell phones may not be very complex, but if the gameplay value is high, these users won’t mind spending a few dollars for a few hours of entertainment. Today one can buy disposable cell phones. Imagine if they were outfitted with a preloaded game, and once the game ends, the user can drop the phone into the recycle bin?

It very well might be that the mobile gaming industry will be the source that springs the Long Tail effect into life.

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Posted by ChristinaReinards on October 30, 2006 05:47 PM | Comments (0)

Organic Game Design on the Assassin's Creed

Written by Niketh Pareek

It started with a simple question: "What would happen if we used the same rules that we have in our world and applied them to the 3rd person action game?"

For the 200 or more people who came to this month's IGDA meeting at SAT, the evening began with this idea. The presentation from Ubisoft, on their next generation game, Assassin's Creed, while currently in development, left many people feeling they had caught a glimpse of the future for how the 3rd person action game genre is fundamentally changing. And in addition, the way people will start to perceive their world forever.

"I thought the presentation was interactive, interesting and thought provoking. It made me think about the evolution of the gaming industry and how far are we going to go to make games more realistic," Marie-Joe Leroux commented, a producer at A2M.

Making action games more realistic was the brainchild of Patrice Désilets, Creative Director of Assassin's Creed. He and Jade Raymond, the Producer on Assassin's Creed, presented his vision of organic design that drove the game's concept. During this hour, the audience got a look at the innovative tools Raymond's team needed to develop in order to make an action game that could resemble reality.

Désilets explained that by suspending reality, action games suffer from four drawbacks. The first is that they fail to create an environment the player can immerse themselves within. To illustrate his point, he played video clips contrasting how humans climb and jump over obstacles versus how video game characters perform these moves. The audience quickly understood his point. In video games, characters can only climb pre-defined grids but jump distances that are humanly impossible. "This type of gameplay doesn't make any sense to first-time users; they shouldn't have to ask themselves 'Am I fast enough? Am I precise enough in order to achieve my objective?' They can never feel like they're the hero because it's not real."

A second drawback of action games is that they are designed to be linear. The player can only proceed through a game in the manner that the game designer wished them to. Désilets believes users want to explore a game map in the manner that pleases them. Users should be able to apply their ingenuity and cunningness to overcome obstacles, making the game experience more intuitive and accessible.

The third drawback Désilets explained is the method of how non-player characters (NPCs) are programmed. In action games, NPCs are walking targets that can be preyed upon at best. They have little in the way of intelligence and fail to react to the environment. What's more, no human has a fixed set of hit points they deplete if they're mortally wounded. One simply dies. In his game, NPCs follow protagonists, they react when another person is being attacked and interact with eachother. In addition, Désilets, a self-described man of peace, deplores the senseless violence designers allow gamers to inflict on NPCs. "It's easy to create a program that allows you to only kill. Programs are just strings of ones and zeros. Creating behavioural rules for emotions, or animating collisions is far more difficult."

Finally, first time users often struggle to learn the correct combinations on their controllers. To simplify the gaming experience, Désilets wanted actions to either be automated or be programmed into the controller. "In every game I've made, I've always wanted to make games fun," Désilets said, "but action games aren't fun for first-time users because they have to learn new rules and new skills just to do things that are intuitive."

When Désilets presented his vision to Raymond and the rest of the development team, they knew they were being asked to develop