Nicholson 1 Tyler Nicholson CST 300L October 2, 2013 Lets Play The game industry may appear to be a place

exclusively structured for gamers with youthful ideas of designing and developing their own video games for other gamers to enjoy. However, the grim reality is that the doors to this magical world are strictly guarded, and once those fortunate enough to step through the doors are in, they may still become lost in this place. The design of a video game is only limited by the designers imagination. The development should be a process of enjoyment for those involved. But, one must first understand the industrys structure. Then, hone the skills, craft the portfolio, and establish the necessary network connections that will carry him or her to his or her desired employment. From consoles to the mobile phone, the game industry is its own society. There are the independent companies and there are the dependent companies. There are companies that create the hardware, software, publish, and/or develop it. Some of the most well known publishers include Electronic Arts or EA, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. These well-known companies, among others, publish a large portion of the video game developers games. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are also in the hardware realm, creating the consoles and controllers that bring these games to life. Many companies in the industry were born from those already established. Start-up companies can receive a helping hand from licensing companies to get their hands on developer kits that they otherwise would not be able to afford and develop on. In recent years, with the rise of casual and mobile gaming, those looking to establish a name for themselves in this business can develop and self publish for the open source android devices, the more

Nicholson 2 exclusive apple devices, or the well-known established Microsoft devices. From the vast ocean of these new comers, some become well known, such as The Behemoths Castle Crashers, released in 2008. Others become rock stars, such as, Rovio Entertainments Angry Birds franchise, first released on Apples iOS in December of 2009. However, most of the time these help open the doors for individuals to gain industry experience and leave a mark on his or her portfolio. Independent developers are not constricted to casual and mobile gaming. Companies, in particular, Insomniac Games Inc. has been around since the early days of consoles, working closely with their publisher, Sony Computer Entertainment, exclusively developing for the PlayStation console family. With the corporate office in Durham, North Carolina, Ted Price founded Insomniac in 1994 and recruited programmers, Alex Hastings, now Insomniacs Chief Architect, and his brother Brian, along with a few others. Together, they created Insomniacs first game, Disruptor - a first-person sci-fi shooter, for the PlayStation - November of 1996. Doom was the only inspiration for Disruptor(Price, 2012). The game was published by Universal Interactive Studios, for the, ultimately failed console, 3DO. The reason behind this was that Insomniac was able to purchase the 3DO developer kit for a reasonable price. At this time, Sony was not known to have a developer kit on the market. However, Disruptor would never see the 3DO; after Universal Interactive Studios, formerly owned by Universal Studios and now by Vivendi, agreed to help publish the game but, with the 3DO failing, stated, Wed recommend that you switch over to the PlayStation.(Price, 2012) Ted Price considers Disruptor as Insomniacs training wheels. Two years later they released the first Spyro game, Spyro the Dragon, in September of 1998.

Nicholson 3 We discussed the opportunity to create more of a fairy tale world with an anthropomorphic dragon, and at the same time Al [Hastings] was working on a brand-new engine for the PlayStation. Its strength was open worlds, where you could see great distances. That really worked well with this idea that we could have a dragon that flew around or glided. It worked well for a game which would support vistas. Big, open views. That was, at the time, an anomaly. You didnt see a lot of games on the PlayStation that really took advantage of the hardware in that way. (Price, 2012) This would be followed by Spyro 2: Riptos Rage!, in 1999, and Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon, in 2000, around the same time as the launch of the PlayStation 2 in the west. This was the companys last game licensed under Universal Interactive Studios before their move to publishing directly under Sony. Insomniacs Chief Operating Officer, John Fiorito said, that the first game of a series is always special because it is during this development where the company learns how to create what they want, but the second game is where they master the creation of what is envisioned, and the third is where the developer, having already learned how to create and master the process. During the third, developers start breaking into new territory and experimenting with new ideas and concepts; whether, beneficial to the company or something to learn from. The rights to Spyro were later sold to Universal Interactive Studios, now known as Vivendi Universal Games. Insomniacs Creative Director stated, You need a change of pace, or you need a change of environment. I think thats what people [Insomniac employees] were looking for.(Allgeier, 2012) The attempt for change would take them to design Girl With A Stick, a third person action fantasy game; sadly, the development flat lined and was

Nicholson 4 ultimately cancelled. After the third Spyro, it would then be two years before Insomniacs next release, which was the first Ratchet & Clank, titled, Ratchet & Clank. The game had to be developed quickly due to the PlayStation 2 having already been released and the competition already developing new titles for it. Within a couple of months, Insomniac had a prototype ready to show, and Sony fully supported their new direction. It was Insomniacs first release for PlayStation 2, and was followed by yearly releases, for three more Ratchet & Clank games before the companys move to the PlayStation 3. The downside of Insomniacs Ratchet & Clank original trilogy is that they are usually looked upon as repurposing Naughty Dogs, the company behind the Jack & Daxter games, of the same time period, engine. I think a lot of our engine programmers were like, un, no, we both shared components back and forth.(Allgeier, 2012) The first-person shooter, Resistance: Fall of Man was the first release for the PlayStation 3, in 2006. From 2006 to 2012, the company would continue creating games for the PlayStation 3. These would include six Ratchet & Clank games, as well as, two more Resistance games, with the third being the last of the Resistance trilogy. 2013 has shown new development in Insomniac with the EA published game, Fuse, originally titled Overstrike, which is an, up to four-player, third person action game, and the first release from the company for the Xbox 360. With the announcement of the Xbox One, Insomniac has announced their newest title, Sunset Overdrive, an open world third person shooter that takes place in the near future. The biggest feature is that this game will be constantly updated; no week will be the same, which means, that players will constantly have to adapt to the environment. This will be accomplished through Microsofts cloud computing to create what has been called a living world. Sunset Overdrive could be considered a tribute to Insomniac

Nicholson 5 itself. CEO Ted Price said, the studio wanted to make something irreverent and stylized because it really reflects who we are as a company.(Lien, 2013) Some people may think that a game designer sits at a desk thinking of all the joyous concepts for a video game, and to a certain degree they are correct; however, there is so much more to the title Designer than just what sounds like a gamers fantasy. If there were a single word to describe the role of a designer, it would not be creator but rather communicator. Communication is the golden skill of designers, no matter which group they are a part of. A designer must be able to clearly communicate the projects vision that includes everything from documentations to mockups of the actual environmental layout and game flow. If the software program is the brains of the game, graphics and animation are its body.(Crosby). As if creating the means of communication was not enough, designers must be able to present and/or demonstrate these to their groups and others involved in the project. Communicate designs visually and verbally to other team members through various methods(Insomniac job opening for Designer). It is also important to understand that not every designer has the same jobeven for the same title-from Level Designers to Content Designers, some even being one in the same person, depending on the company and project. While the path (degree in progress) is that of the software engineering field, the field of game design is the end objective. This is not to say that the degree is for nothing, but rather, it is a small part of the whole; for a designer must be a jack-of-all-trades. Designers can create an amazing outline for a video game, however, the programming may be too extensive or too far from what the team is use to doing. In part, the problem lays in communication between the designers and programmers, when the designers are

Nicholson 6 trying to explain the vision to the programmers, without knowing anything about coding. This can all lead to designers receiving different results than what they envisioned, from enemy intelligence to player movements. The key is to design a game that can be reasonably programmed and achieve the desired outcomes. Understanding the constraints of the language the programmers are using will provide necessary restraint in design, which will result in clearer communication. While being a software engineering major helps with communication, CSU Monterey Bay requires students to take electives. These electives are a golden opportunity for those outside of the game development major to take two classes. The first is Intro to Game Design that will walk students through the steps required to having a game approved for development and documenting the games design for development use. It starts with a pitch of the big picture for the game because if a designer cannot cultivate motivation for the game to be developed based on the games core, then there is no reason for a consumer to have motivation to purchase the game based on the back of the box description. Once the pitch has been approved, it is time for development. This is not where the artists, musicians, voice actors/actress and programmers begin the long process of creation; instead, this is the stage of what is known as the 10 pager. It is the complete documentation of the game, including but not limited to: character descriptions, controller functions, and the flow of the entire game. One designer, under the title of Document Designer or related can be responsible for this massive undertaking; however, unless it is a small start-up independent company consisting of one designer, the designers of the other divisions support him or her. The class teaches the students to rely on their teammates to accomplish a pitch and a 10 pager, as well as, the ability to

Nicholson 7 present their creation to others. Individual must have very good interpersonal skills. Strong communication skills including verbal and written skills are required. (Insomniac job opening for Designer) Once students have the understanding of the groundwork behind development, they can take Game Engine Programming. This course is designed to provide students with the fundamental concepts to develop game programming in C and C++ languages. (Course description) It is not enough to just write the words on paper. An understanding of the components involved is also required because what appears to function on paper may not on screen. An example of this would be designing an airplane simulator to use a mouse for all flight controls when a joystick, in actually programming the game, is a much more realistic and natural controller. This should not be mistaken as just programming what has already been designed and modifying it; rather, one of the courses outcomes is to Identify the basic concepts of game development, including requirement capturing, game design, development, and testing. (Course outcomes) This means that students must break down the desired outcome into the individual components before development and testing of programs. With the harnessed abilities to write out a games design and develop the actual program for it, students can begin applying them to small projects; possibly, enhancing those done for school projects, for the construction of a portfolio. It is not enough to look like a spectacular candidate on paper when applying for a designer position. There must be physical, or to be precise, virtual evidence demonstrating that the candidate truly possesses and has applied his or her skills to a project. This is where the realm of mobile gaming can be a useful environment in gaining recognition in the industry. There are also

Nicholson 8 free applications, one of the most well known being Unity, that allow those trying their hand at environmental design combined with game engine design to experiment and develop games. Create 2D maps of game levels, Create 3D roughs of game objects and levels. Prototype designed elements, or oversee prototype by other team members. (Insomniac job opening for Designer) Those unequipped with the necessary skills and a portfolio that can demonstrate them will be met with defeat at the doors of the game industry. Those that are equipped but do not understand the structure of the industry may be met with disappointment once in. To make it in the game industry, players must have a balance of understanding its structure and the abilities required of them. Candidates, for the title of Designer, must understand that there are many different designers, who work collectively in the development of a projects vision. Designers, as a whole, are the communicators of this vision; ultimately, using everything from documentation to demonstrations to accomplish this tedious task. The key for those looking to become designers is to have an open mind to the world surrounding them and to be willing to try new things when possible. Honing their skills in writing, programming, and modeling; resulting in, a portfolio that demonstrates these skills. In order to one day, gain entrance and guidance through the realm of the game industry.

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Sources Insomniac Games. (2013a). About Insomniac. Retrieved from: http://www.insomniacgames.com/about/ Insomniac Games. (2013b). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from: http://www.insomniacgames.com/about/faq/#q4 The link below has been disabled but was used as a reference for this paper. https://www1.apply2jobs.com/InsomniacGames/ProfExt/index.cfm?fuseaction=mExterna l.showJob&RID=1058&CurrentPage=1 It was a link from: http://www.insomniacgames.com/careers/job-openings/ bbrathwaite.(2007 Nov. 20). Types of game designers. Applied Game Design. Retrieved from: http://bbrathwaite.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/types-of-game-designers/ The Behemoth. Retrieved from: http://www.thebehemoth.com/games/faq/ Rovio Entertainment. Who we are. About Us. Retrieved from: http://www.rovio.com/en/about-us/Company Moriarty, C.(2012 Sept. 28). Always independent: the story of Insomniac. Retrieved from: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/28/always-independent-the-story-ofinsomniac-games Course descriptions: CST. (2013). Retrieved from California State University - Monterey Bay website: http://schedule.csumb.edu/spring2014/CST#CST_320_1 Young-Joon, B. (2013). CST 306 game engine programming. Retrieved from: https://ilearn.csumb.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=31794

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