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        <h1><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i><a href="../../index.html">loonygames</a><br>
          <font size="1">a <a href="http://www.bluesnews.com">blue's news</a> 
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<p><a href="../2.1/btc/index.html">&lt;&lt; Back to Normal View</a></p>
<p>URL: <a href="../2.1/btc/index.html">http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.1/btc/</a><br>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>Vol. 
                2, Issue 1<br>
                November 11, 1999<br>
                </b>
              <b> 
                </b>
              
                <b><i>Behind 

                  the Curtain:</i></b></p>
                <b><i> 
                  In the Beginning...</i></b></p>
                by 
                  Matt &quot;Thraka&quot; 
                  Gilbert</p>
              
              

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               Well, 
                well, well, welcome back! Enjoy your vacation? You can bet, I 
                did. Yes, if you have been paying attention, you can also predict 
                where I went. No, I didn&#146;t win. That&#146;s not what Vegas 
                is about, man.</p>
              </p>
              <b>Hot 
                Wheels </b>is on the shelves, for PlayStation and Nintendo 64. 
                The team has gone its separate ways, and I, with a new team and 
                a new console, begin the process again, determined to make fewer 
                mistakes, and a better product than last time.</p>
              </p>
              One thing 
                that you get used to in this biz, is looking back on the last 
                project and saying to yourself, &#147;Well, I really botched that 
                one, so how can I avoid it this time?&#148; It is so common, in 
                fact, that many companies, Stormfront 
                included, have an official post mortem meeting, where the team 
                discusses what they felt were the biggest problems, and how they 
                might have been prevented.</p>
              </p>
              Logically, 
                you would expect me the talk about post mortems, right? Well, 
                it will have to wait, because, in fitting with launching Volume 
                2 of loonygames, I want to talk about launching a project. And 
                thinking of where you screwed up the last time is probably the 
                best thing you can do to get off on the right foot for a new one. 
                So this time, let&#146;s talk about, in general terms, what the 
                beginning is like, and we will go into specifics about the stages 
                in the coming weeks.</p>
              </p>
              <i><b>In 
                the beginning...</b></i></p>
               I have 
                this irrational belief that somehow, if you plan well enough, 
                you can avoid all the pitfalls that inevitably plague development 
                of a project. It sounds good, on paper; hey, we&#146;ll just line 
                everything up, and then it will fall into place. Of course, the 
                reality is that it never works quite that way. People change their 
                minds. Things you thought would work turn out to be not so easy 
                in practice as in theory. You can&#146;t plan for everything. 
                But one thing is certain: you can make it a lot better than if 
                you go into it by the seat of your pants.</p>
              </p>
              Aside 
                from actually swinging a deal with a publisher, the biggest issue 
                that has to be addressed at the beginning is the technology and 
                the hardware you will be working with. They go hand in hand, really. 
                You can have the best technology in the world, but your hardware 
                will limit just how much of it you can implement. Likewise, you 
                can have the most incredible raw pixel pushing hardware, but if 
                your technology is not up to the task of driving it, you end up 
                with yesterday&#146;s game on tomorrow&#146;s machine. Ideally, 
                you will have enough time to really explore the limits of the 
                hardware, and modify or create the technology to fully exploit 
                the console&#146;s capabilities. Most likely, you will also have 
                a list from the designers of features that they feel are imperative. 
                What you wind up with, when all is said and done, is what I refer 
                to as a virtual machine, a combination of hardware and technology 
                that can perform a specific set of functions.</p>
              </p>
              As an 
                example, for a modern game, we would want a virtual machine that 
                could display a 3D world, render dynamic objects within it, process 
                animation, display 2D overlays, play sounds, display full motion 
                video, and a variety of other things. You will also know the precise 
                format of the data that you have to feed to the virtual machine: 
                perhaps it accepts raw PCM data for sound effects, or MPEGs for 
                FMV, or BMPs for graphics. More often than not, due to hardware 
                peculiarities, you will in fact have established your own formats 
                that you feel are optimal for the platform. On occasion, for things 
                like sound or fmv, you will be using software provided by the 
                hardware manufacturer, and the format will be dictated for you.</p>
              </p>
              Once this 
                information is available, it will be formally detailed in what 
                is known as a Technical Design Document, or TDD. Depending on 
                the shop, and the time available, the TDD may be complete before 
                the Game Design Document, or GDD, begins. In most cases, though, 
                time is short, and the GDD and TDD are created in tandem. The 
                technical staff gives preliminary specs on their virtual machine 
                to the game design staff, and both teams begin work on their specific 
                documents.</p>
              </p>
              Some houses 
                may have people dedicated specifically to design, but in most 
                places, the design team consists of a mix of producers, artists, 
                and programmers, along with representatives of the publisher. 
                This ensures that the design of the game doesn&#146;t become more 
                ambitious than the technical limitations can support, and that 
                it does not propose an unreasonable amount of artwork. In addition, 
                it makes sure that the people creating the code and art are cognizant 
                of the big picture, which will smooth the ride later down the 
                road.</p>
              </p>
              Usually, 
                the creation of a TDD and GDD are specific milestones. Once they 
                are ready, they are usually presented formally to the publisher 
                in a meeting, where senior producers and technical people representing 
                the publisher will consider the documents, pose questions they 
                have, and ask for any changes or clarifications that they would 
                like. Once the documents are approved, actual production will 
                begin.</p>
              </p>
              Next time: 
                The Technical Design: Just What the Hell Can We Do Here?</p>
              </p>
               </p>
              <i>- 
                Matt 'Thraka' Gilbert is a console programmer, currently working 
                at StormFront Studios. These are his own ravings, and have nothing 
                whatsoever to do with his employer.<br><p>&nbsp;</p> 
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<p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">Credits: Print CGI is 
  &copy; 2000 <a href="http://www.square8.com">Square Eight</a>. Used with permission. 
  Article is &copy; 2000 its original author. All other content is &copy; 2000 
  loonyboi productions. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. You got that??</font></i></p>
 