For the record…

It seems I caused a bit of a dust-up at the end of last week with a post on Facebook about a 70% review that the Official Nintendo Magazine gave our most recent release, Call of Duty: MW3 Defiance. Now that the smoke as cleared I thought it would be helpful to recap the facts for anyone interested…

The Official Nintendo Magazine’s review score of 70% was not an issue. As I stated in a response on Facebook:

Every blog has a right to their opinion. TONM’s 70% assessment is nothing to complain about. My point there is simply that game journalists should understand that it’s not the developer’s decision what platform to support a game like CoD on. This is our 5th CoD DS and arguably our best. The team would happily do 5 more, and would love to sink their formidable 3DS chops into it as well. Sadly, that is not our choice. Sorry to our friends and supporters at TONM if that offended. We respect your publication enough to expect more.

Chris Scullion, author of the OPM review, Games Editor for the same and by all accounts a solid citizen, was kind enough to do a detailed response on our FB page as well. He understood the source of our frustration exactly and addressed it as such:

Hi guys, I wrote the ONM article. By saying it’s “a shame n-Space wasn’t ready to make the step up to the 3DS yet” I should have perhaps added the qualifier “in Activision’s eyes” because I obviously do understand the industry (I wouldn’t have been able to last six years at ONM if I didn’t) and understand that in situations like this you make the game you’re contracted to make on the format chosen by the publisher.

When I meant “ready” I wasn’t referring to your ability, I was referring to the assumption that moving the game to 3DS would require a revamp of the game engine rather than a slightly modified version of the engine used in MW Mobilised and Black Ops DS, and that to get the game ready to launch at the same time as those on other formats – which have the benefit of an existing engine to work from – would be a difficult undertaking for any studio.

It goes a bit deeper than this, right to Activision’s expectations for the 3DS platform. They know what kind of sales to expect for a given install base, how much revenue that will create, what the production / marketing / distribution / manufacturing costs associated are and, ultimately, whether it is a money-making proposition in the end. That is an entirely different and separate discussion than the assessment of a studio’s technical capabilities. Those two hurdles, and several others, have to be navigated before any project gets green-lit. Through it all, it is the publisher’s sole decision to chose a partner and fund development.

ONM has a long history of supporting our titles and giving the CoD DS series solid marks. We appreciate their support and enthusiasm for our titles. I would never share a review of one of our releases on Facebook if I didn’t feel it was a fair overall assessment, or that the score was not representative. 70% is a good score and Chris had many good things to say about the title. That did not go unnoticed. Unfortunately I focused on the 3DS reference and was unnecessarily snarky about that.

Then there is Kotaku… Having just read their “Gut Check” review of the product, I responded in kind. Thanks to Brian Crecente and Evan Narcisse for at least giving it a chance. They are entitled to their opinions and recommendations. But to Mike Fahey, who, as a “journalist” and “game reviewer” had this to say:

I’ve not played Modern Warfare 3: Defiance for the Nintendo DS, and I don’t need to. Just go to YouTube, searchModern Warfare 3: Defiance, and look at any of the uploaded videos. That is not pretty. No.

I say shame on you. And shame on Kotaku for passing that off to it’s readers as one of three opinions expressed in any review, no matter how half-assed high level. Sadly, it’s this kind of outrageous commentary and attitude that has become part of Kotaku’s schtick, and it seems to be working for them. Great. Go there if you like, but I choose not to if I can avoid it. This is one instance that I couldn’t and felt obligated to say something about it.

In the end, Kotaku will keep doing their thing and n-Space will keep doing ours. As I said on FB, “We speak from the heart here. Sometimes more [than] from the brain. Of any game sites, Kotaku should understand.”

The big irony here is that folks would get so bent out of shape when I post an overly snarky 4 word comment about a website that prides itself on exactly the same attitude. Move along, folks. Get off the internet and play some good games – there are a ton on the shelves right now, Call of Duty: MW3 Defiance included!

3DS One Month In…

today’s blog entry comes from Studio Creative Director, Ted Newman…

This blog entry was originally going to be my personal impressions of the 3DS after its first week on the market. Fortunately, I’ve been pretty busy at n-Space writing all kinds of other docs, so this article sat on the back burner. A week turned into two which turned into three and now here we are at nearly a month since the US launch of the platform. My impressions haven’t changed exactly, however they have evolved a bit.

It sure is pretty

n-Space was lucky enough to have received 3DS devkits shortly after E3 of last year. With so many of us being blown away by the 3D screen and the overall capabilities of the system, it was great to finally have kits in-house. But March 27^th 2011 marked the first time many of us had a chance to sit down and spend time with a production model of the hardware, the launch titles, and the final version of the in-game interface.

As soon as I started up the 3DS, I was immediately impressed with the presentation. Nintendo has a special, even magical way of putting the player at ease. The Home menu is simple to navigate, pleasant to look at, and easy on the ears, with soft, gentle tones and bright, cheery notifications. Right off the bat, I was smiling.

There’s a lot to play with!

I don’t think anyone expected so many built-in games, tools, and toys to be included with the system. That first week, many of us spent more time noodling around with AR Cards and StreetPass collection and raiding Faces than we did playing any of the launch titles.

But with so many other 3DS owners around me every day, there was no shortage of games to try out. I dabbled in just about everything, but spent the most time on the two titles that excited me the most – Steel Diver and Pilotwings. I remember playing Steel Diver WAY back at E3 2004 and thought it was a great showcase of what made that system unique, but for years I wondered if it was destined to becomes one of those great tech-demos that should have been developed into a full title but never was. I was happy to see its return and very pleased with the results.

Pilotwings brought me back to the good ol’ N64 days of peacefully gliding through the air or gingerly landing a jetpack on small, circular targets. The 3DS follow-up was exactly what I was hoping it would be. But oddly enough, Pilotwings gave me the most trouble when it came to focusing on the game in 3D. It was the only title that had me dialing the slider back or even turning the 3D effect off entirely from time to time. With everything else I’ve played, I was surprised at how much I used the 3D, keeping the slider on full the entire time.

A slave to the green light

But what surprised me most was how well Nintendo pushed me to power on my 3DS, leaving it asleep in the dock on my desk or carrying it with me anywhere and everywhere I went.

With other handhelds like the DS, DSi, and PSP, I’d go through my honeymoon phase of playing it every day for the first few weeks or longer, but then my interest would wane and become divided between that and other gaming outlets like consoles, iOS games, etc. But no other handheld has ever made me put it in my pocket before heading out to lunch – or grab it before going to a meeting on the other side of the building – or stick it in my back pocket as I went for a quick walk around the parking lot. For the first few weeks, I carried it with me everywhere I could, driven by this strange desire to generate footsteps, collect puzzle pieces, and build a wardrobe of goofy hats. StreetPass was one of those features that had a few people scratching their heads when it was first announced. But now those same people are walking around the office twice a day, waving their 3DS around as they try to make new connections.

StreetPass even inspired some friendly competition. Shortly after release, Dan and I visited Full Sail here in Orlando to see some student presentations and give a talk about n-Space. We both went armed with our 3DS systems in Sleep mode, hopeful that we wouldn’t be the only ones. To our delight, we proceeded to pick up stray Miis as we walked around campus, both of us periodically (if not frequently) checking for the little green light that indicated a StreetPass had taken place.

By the end of the day, Dan and I were comparing the number of collected people. Dan even accused me of being “very competitive” which I never thought I was. True, I was thrilled when I had collected 1 more Mii that he somehow missed – and it’s also true I considered powering off his sleeping system when he left it unintended on the podium during our presentation – but me, competitive? No way!

As much as I was impressed with StreetPass and Nintendo’s support of it with the built-in software, I was equally disappointed that more games didn’t support the feature at launch. Simple things to share like ghost data or high scores for Pilotwings or Steel Diver would have been great.

It was after that trip to Full Sail that Dan started thinking about a way to do a meet-up of 3DS owners in the Central Florida area, with the sole purpose of making more StreetPass connections (who’s the competitive one now?!). As we started brainstorming about how to organize such an event, we stumbled across the StreetPassNetwork.com site and learned that we weren’t the only 3DS owners excited by this feature and looking to use it to its fullest potential.

So what’s next?

We know n-Space is a special case. Not everyone out there comes into contact with a dozen of other 3DS owners 5 days a week, each one turning their system on at the start of the day and even walking around the office fishing for connections. Therefore the StreetPass experience featured in Mii Plaza was somewhat accelerated for us. Within two-and-a-half weeks, many of us had completed all of the puzzles and finished the “Find Mii” RPG not once but twice. By the end of week 3, my Mii plaza was crowded with 46 Miis, a quarter of which were sporting purple demon heads (sorry if that was a spoiler!).

All of us are hoping Nintendo is already working on (or even sitting on) new content to share via StreetPass. New puzzles, new quests with new hats, or even new game modes entirely would be a welcome surprise and put everyone here back in the habit of walking around looking for connections. Right now, my 3DS is on my desk sleeping and I can see the little green light it on, but it doesn’t have the pull it used to. Still, I have a few more games to try and a couple more to finish, but I have to admit I’m a little sad I don’t feel the need to grab my system before going to the bathroom (that sounded awkward).

That’s not to say we don’t care about meeting new people! On Saturday, April 23^rd, n-Space is hosting what we hope to be the first of many StreetPass Orlando meet-ups, this one taking place at Downtown Disney [Event page]. We’re not only excited to make new friends and new 3DS connections, but we’re most interested in seeing what other people think of the 3DS and their experiences and specifically their impressions of StreetPass. As developers, the info we gather at an event like this will ultimately help us design the best features for the games we are presently working on and the many more to come in the future.

I only wish I had some puzzles to complete or new hats to collect…

Meet n-Space – Art Directors…

Today and tomorrow, n-Space will be supporting an Art Summit hosted by the Game Development program at Full Sail University here in Orlando. Two of our Art Directors will be attending a Q&A panel this evening, where they will be joined by team members from Rockstar and Vicarious Visions. They will also be participating in open art critiques both days. The goal is to help students and alumni grow, improve and connect.

It seemed like a great opportunity to introduce them to you, and talk a bit about what an Art Director does. Without further delay, I’m proud to present Chris Bromby and Seung Kim! We’ll start with their professional bios…

Chris has been working as an art professional for over ten years and has held a wide range of artistic roles. For the past 4 years Chris has worked at n-Space, Inc. where he currently serves as Art Director creating games for multiple top selling consoles including the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and Nintendo 3DS. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree specializing in animation and is an alumnus of the University of Central Florida College of Art. He came to n-Space, Inc. with 3 years of experience gained at Electronic Arts, where he worked as both a Character Modeler and an Environment Artist. Prior to his years at EA, Chris worked in the film industry for 4 years as a Special Effects Animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation working on major feature films such as: Lilo and Stitch and Brother Bear.

Seung is presently working at n-Space in Orlando as an Art Director and Concept Artist. He is responsible for establishing the visual look for a variety of games of different genres, target markets and visual styles. He contributes in many ways, including Concept art, Storyboards, Cinematic and Graphic Design. Having been in the entertainment, animation and video game industries for over 16 years, Seung worked at Walt Disney Feature Animation FL, Project Firefly, various oversea CG animation studios, Digital Magic Entertainment in South Korea and Electronic Arts Tiburon before joining n-Space. He graduated from the School of Visual Art, majoring in Illustration.

Here is a gallery of work samples with notes from them on the content and process:

Standing Out in the Crowd

This year’s GDC was a new experience for me; I had the privilege of representing n-Space in our first ever career pavilion at the show.  It was a whirlwind of resume gathering, handshaking, and introductions.  I learned so much from the three days I worked the booth that I wanted to share a few tidbits that might help with the search for your job in the Game Industry. Hopefully these will help those searching now, and, as was the case for many of you, sometime in the not so distant future.

The one consistent question we were asked was this: “What can I show / do / learn to make me stand out in the crowd of applicants?”  It is a complex question and yet a very important one to answer.

The reality of the world is this:  ideas are many, but being able to make something concrete with your idea is very rare.  In other words, the doing part is the most important part of any resume, or life, for that matter. n-Space boils this down into a three phrase philosophy:

Results Matter – Character over Credentials – Expert is a Skill

Let’s break this philosophy down and see how it could apply to your resume, website or portfolio to make it stand out in the crowd.

I will begin with the most important part, in my opinion, “Character Over Credentials.”  The Gaming Industry is a relatively new one, with an incredibly magnetic pull on new talent. While the energy and enthusiasm that comes with being young is definitely a plus for most Game Developers, the lack of professional experience is definitely a drawback.  What to do?

When we review a resume or a portfolio or website we can usually tell almost immediately if you have what it takes to make it.  How so you say?  By seeing what you have actually done.  How much care and attention to detail have you given in crafting this website / portfolio / resume?  n-Space wants to see that you have a life outside of school and that making art or coding or designing is your passion.  Sure school projects are great, but have you made a game on your own or with a small group of friends?  How entrepreneurial have you been?  “With my schedule,” you say, “how could I possibly fit in school, work, parties and personal projects?”

People that stand out… make it work.

I have seen many great resumes from young people with things that make them stand out: a would-be Game Designer that started his own food delivery business in school, a Programmer that had actually coded games on the side and you could download them from his website, an Environmental Artist who cared enough to show many, many examples of High Poly and Low Poly models and fly throughs of scenes that weren’t part of her senior group project, they were done on her own for her own pleasure.  These people show Character and Passion for what they do, a willingness to go above and beyond, just because they love doing it.

Having lots of formal education is not the only way to make yourself stand out, nor is it a guarantee of success. We have people on staff that are mostly self-taught and are some of our most skilled experts. They show a love of learning, self determination, initiative and well… great Character!

The other two parts of n-Space’s philosophy really branch from the root of Character:  Results Matter and Expert is a Skill.

Let’s look at Results Matter as it would apply to a resume / portfolio / website.  You are your own best judge. Do you think your work is outstanding?  If not, what can be done to improve it? Hone your skills and put the time in to make your work outstanding.  Be selective and show only your very best work. Make sure to look and see the work of those you are competing with and strive to do better. Seek out and accept constructive criticism. Potential employers have looked at thousands of renderings, millions of lines of code and have read hundreds if not thousands of ideas.  Nothing looks outstanding by accident or miracle, so put the time in to be the best.  On that last note, let’s transition into the last bit of n-Space’s philosophy:  Expert is a Skill.

For most people, being an expert at what they do does not fall into their laps wrapped in glittery paper and tied up with a bow.  There are always exceptions, of course, but most of us have to work really hard for great lengths of time to even be good at something.  Skills are learned, step by tedious step, one at a time.  It is perseverance and overcoming the tedium of the tasks that gives you expertise, shows great results and builds a resilient character.  One of the best lines I can see on a resume/portfolio cover page, or website is a simple one:  I have a love for learning and am willing to do whatever it takes to make myself the best at whatever I want to become.  This is important, it shows humility, knowledge that there are always others that are both better at what you want to do and worse, but you want to push yourself to be the best.

A couple of last ideas to make yourself stand out in the crowd:

• Always follow up giving your resume or card to someone with an e-mail or call. Always.
• Make sure everything is spelled correctly, is grammatically correct and functions on your resume, portfolio or website.
• Be clear and concise.
• Be aware of, and gracious for, time that is given to you by a potential employer.  Everyone’s time is precious to them.
• Remember to give a personal touch to your introduction, pointing out something you like about the potential employer, and why you would fit in nicely.
• Research potential employers thoroughly. Use the many tools at your disposal today to make contact with decision-makers long before sending a resume. Building relationships like this takes time, so start early. Use LinkedIn and twitter professionally. Avoid contacting professionals via Facebook and be mindful of what you share on your own pages as most potential employers will use them to get to know you.
• Present yourself and your work in the most professional way you can.
• Be yourself, be confident.

Remember nothing happens by accident or miracle, just a whole lot of hard work.

Over the next months I plan on blogging more on this subject going into greater detail about specific skills and abilities that stand out in websites, portfolios and resumes, with video advice from some of our in-house experts.  Check back for Environmental Art Advice, Creative Director Advice, Technical Director Advice, Art Director Advice and more!

Alive and Kicking

Six months ago I wrote about n-Space “hitting the wall.” In October of last year, a perfect storm of circumstances forced me to do the unthinkable – layoff the entire staff after almost 16 years in business. Things have changed a lot since then and it’s well past time for an update…

n-Space is still very much alive.

The week after the layoff many of us were back in the office, putting the pieces back together and finalizing deals to rebuild the company. We now have 5 titles in development – three on 3DS, one DS and one for 360 Kinect. We have rehired as many previous employees as possible, and picked up several new ones as well. Our total headcount now almost 60 and climbing, and we’re all very excited to share with you what we’ve been working on. Look for more on that front in the run-up to E3.

None of this would have been possible without the hard work and sacrifice of our staff who have, through it all, showed great strength and done amazing work. Coming back from the dead is hard to do and it left n-Space somewhat fragile, but with our reputation and capabilities intact. Later this year I intend to roll out plans for employee profit sharing and stock options, among other new benefits. Until then, irreverent t-shirts, carmel apple lollipops and an upcoming retreat are how I show my thanks for their hard work and undying support.

Disappointingly, but not too surprisingly, our recovery has received no significant coverage by the local or game media. It’s funny how quickly bad news spreads, especially in this internet age, and how many ignorant, hateful people rushed to dance on our grave that day. Sour grapes? You bet. Thanks to our fans, friends and family that have supported us through this challenge.

The industry seems to have turned the corner. <Knock On Wood>

Both DICE and GDC were very good conferences from a business development point of view. n-Space attends these shows to meet with potential partners, pitch concepts and discuss their upcoming development needs. We had nearly such 20 meetings at GDC alone, with a variety of publishers. All were anxious to place products on console, handheld, web and mobile platforms. This is a welcome change from the last two years, when meetings felt more like obligations than opportunities.

I believe that established independent developers like n-Space who have managed to survive the recent bloodbath are set to flourish. It’s not a return to normal, but establishing a new normal as the industry has fundamentally changed. Here are a few predictions / observations:

• The traditional console and retail box product approach still faces many challenges in the coming years as consumers spend more and more of their precious money and attention in other spaces.
• Mobile and browser-based gaming are here to stay, supported by powerful new price points and monetization methods. There are some really great games out there that cost absolutely nothing to play, unless you want to accelerate your progression, improve your character, etc. This isn’t something new, of course, but it is gaining a lot of traction as evidenced by TenCent’s recent $400m acquisition of Riot Games, creators of the popular multiplayer online battle-arena game, League of Legends.
• Almost nobody in the industry, except maybe Nintendo, wants another console before 2014. Most are very thankful for the success of Kinect (especially Microsoft!) as it will extend the lifespan of the 360 and this entire generation. Expect to see Microsoft and Sony both delay a new console launch as long as they can.
• 3DS is hot. Publishers see the staggering success of DS, with over 130 million units sold, and can’t help but get in line to support this platform. The hardware is awesome and the launch has been Nintendo’s best in history. The 3D visuals are very compelling and provide immediate WOW factor, but also create a dramatic improvement to the overall visual aesthetic and quality that lasts well past the initial impressions. Combined with the significantly improved graphical capabilities, the games look fantastic and the whole system totally delivers on the “magical” experience that everyone has touted since E3 2010. Look for more of our impressions in an upcoming blog entry.
• Impressions of NGP are mixed. As gamers we love it – awesome hardware is something Sony does best and they have a great slate of titles planned. As developers with tremendous handheld experience we are rooting for it – more business opportunities and new challenges. As a business we’re curious how viable it is financially. Games will be very expensive to develop, requiring high unit sales to be profitable. Publishers will likely look to minimize those costs by porting PS3 titles, with as few changes / improvements as Sony will allow. I’m not sure the result will excite consumers enough to drive sales. A classic Chicken and Egg scenario may play out. Publishers we’ve talked to mostly share our position of cautious enthusiasm, but a few are enthusiastically supporting it.
• Kinect is hot. Hotter than anyone (Microsoft included IMHO) expected. With more than 10 million units sold it has gone from niche accessory to bonafide success and a bandwagon that everyone is looking to get on. How long it will last is the bigger question now, but it’s clear that Microsoft is committed to it for both core and casual markets and retail as well as XBLA. If the sales trend continues and some must-have software titles emerge it could become a real force to contend with. Oh, and it sells 360s too. At Christmas 2010 my home 360 popped the RROD, sending me to secure a replacement before the family had new games and no system. The first three stores I went to were sold out! Impressive.
• Next, next gen is around the corner. CryEngine, Unreal and Frostbite have all shown us what’s to come and it’s pretty amazing. I just wonder how our industry will bear the cost of development.
• Apple may win it all. iPad 2 is a warning shot. Most initial analysis of its hardware have focused on the additional memory and dual core processor, somehow glazing over the fact that the GPU is 9x as powerful as before. That kind of jump is unheard of in a single generation. What would it take for Apple to roll that into iPhone 5? How about the next revision of AppleTV? Add App Store support and Bingo! You’ve got a $99 console with virtually unlimited games for $5 or less. Oh, and it also does anything else you want. Want more? There are rumors that Apple is looking to license AirPlay to TV manufacturers. No AppleTV needed – play games on your near-360/PS3 powered smartphone or tablet (using the devices touchscreen, gyro and accelerometers for WiiMote+ style controls) and push the video to your living room set. All of this could happen in the next 12 months. In fact, it will very likely happen, and maybe sooner. I don’t think there is any coincidence at all that Apple arranged to have its last big announcement at the same time as GDC, nor that WWDC 2011, their big annual developer conference, is scheduled at the same time as E3. Also expect more on this in a future blog entry.

The job market in the game industry is flooded with entry level talent.

As part of our hiring efforts, n-Space hosted a space in the GDC career pavilion this year – a first for us. It was a positive experience and worth it for PR and Good Will alone. Jen, Cheryl and Erica worked the booth for three long days and kept smiling throughout it. They met a lot of great people, collected some strong resumes, gave out n-Space t-shirts and carmel apple lollipops.

The overwhelming majority of candidates were entry level. Thanks to a recent surge in the number of schools selling the dream of a job in game development, there are a tremendous number of kids looking for a start in this challenging industry. I’m afraid this will end badly for many of them, who are often poorly prepared by opportunistic programs and are competing with many other experienced candidates affected by rounds of recent layoffs around the world.

If you are in this group, you better know your craft and be prepared to work very, very hard to make yourself stand out and get noticed. We’ll do a separate blog post on that topic very soon.

That’s all for now. Sorry for the long-winded post, but I have a lot on my mind after 6 months of silence. Look for more activity here from now on, with posts from myself and other n-Space staff.

Thanks for your interest in n-Space.

n-Space rumor control…

There are a lot of reports going around about Friday’s layoffs that draw the wrong conclusion about n-Space’s status and future.  I’d like to take a minute to set the record straight.  Here’s the bottom line:

n-Space is down, but definitely not out.

After supporting 70-90 employees for several months without funding, Fridays layoffs were unavoidable.  I will be back in the office next week, along with our core team, to firm up a few of the many deals we are negotiating.  If all goes as planned we’ll be calling people back before the end of the week.

Life as an independent developer is often a painful hand to mouth exercise of love.  This has never been more true than in the last few years.  The games industry is, frankly, a mess.  The economy has robbed customers of disposable income, reducing the number of titles that purchased per year.  Huge budget titles have to sell massive numbers to return a profit and the App Store has disrupted our industry in the same way iTunes changed consumer expectations for music.  People that use to buy many games every year now buy a few AAA titles, supplementing their need with games that are free or cost less than a pack of gum.  Anything in the “middle” is struggling.  The Wii and DS markets have nearly collapsed and 3DS is a brave new world the publishers are excited about but also very cautious to enter.  Even for an extremely successful Wii/DS developer like n-Space, with a long history of delivering quality titles on time and on budget, this creates a very challenging business environment.

n-Space is shipping 7 titles this year (plus an iOS game we’ll be announcing next week), 5 of which were approved in September.  This is quite an achievement for a studio of our size (approx 90 at that time), but it also creates a real challenge from a business development point of view.  Placing 4-5 follow-on titles in a vibrant market is tough enough.  In 2010 it’s damn near impossible.  We’ve worked tirelessly to secure work, preparing literally dozens of concepts and proposals this year alone, built two impressive demos since E3 and even delivered, in good faith, the first milestone of one of the projects we are pursuing.

Last week it looked as though all that hard work would finally pay off, with one deal “done” and several more soon to follow.  Then, with a last minute change of heart from the licensor, that deal was dead.  When the week ended without commitments from other publishers to offset this setback, I was forced to take drastic action.

Since 2008 the n-Space family has faced and overcome a number of tremendous challenges, and it seems our work is not yet done.  Through it all the entire n-Space crew has demonstrated a level of professionalism and support that is beyond compare.  This week was no exception.  I am truly blessed to have assembled such a talented, hard working, and resilient creative team and I look forward to sharing their future accomplishments with you.

More on 3DS pixels…

Contributed by n-Space Technical Director, Shawn Leaf.

Some say the new 3DS from Nintendo will feature per-pixel lighting.  Sounds cool!  But what does that mean?  To explain per pixel lighting requires a bit of background information…

How Rendering Works

When a graphics processing unit (GPU) is painting a 3D scene, it typically uses triangles that were authored by a 3D artist and then pushed through a math-intensive pipeline that results in 3 points placed on your screen.  Those three points (vertices) carry information the GPU uses to shade the face of the triangle.

By the way, when you see GPU stats about fill rate, that’s the number of pixels in triangle faces that the GPU can shade per second.  When you’re drawing a complex game scene, painting the pixels just once is not sufficient.  You need extra bandwidth to draw shadows, reflections, layers of transparency, etc.  So that raises the question, how many times per frame can we paint the 3DS’s stereo screen?

Given:
•    DMP’s PICA200 spec sheet claims a fill rate of 800 million pixels per second
•    The 3DS stereo screen is 400×240 pixels per eye:  400 * 240 * 2 = 192k pixels plus the non-stereo screen of 320×240 = 78.6k pixels, total of 268.8k pixels in a frame
•    And let’s say we want to draw at 60 frames per second

800M pixels per second / 268.8k pixels per frame / 60 frames per second = 49 and change… so, it’s got enough horsepower to repaint the whole stereo screen and the non-stereo screen 49 times a frame.

To put that number in context, how does that compare to a PS3 or Xbox 360?  These guys say 4 giga-pixels.  Repeat the math above with 4 giga-pixels and a 1920×1080 (1080p) frame buffer…  32.  Repeat the math again with 4 giga-pixels and a 1280×720 (720p) frame buffer…  72.

So, the 3DS is in good company… especially since its 49 is based on stereo rendering and that 720p 72 is not.

Back to rendering…

What’s in a vertex?

A vertex can contain…
•    Position – where
•    Color – what color
•    Texture Coordinates – if there’s a texture image to be applied, what part of the texture
•    Normal Vector – which direction is “up” and away from the triangle mesh

Why does that matter?

Two of these vertex components are used for lighting:  the position and the normal vector.  These two components describe the triangle’s surface at the vertex, and thus can be used to determine how a light source affects that surface.

Old school rendering hardware computes the lighting for each vertex, and then interpolates the result to create a smooth gradient across the face of the triangle.  This looks pretty good.  But, someone had a better idea…

Lighting Each Pixel

As GPU computational power increased, someone realized that they could afford to do the lighting calculation not just at the vertices of a triangle, but at each pixel that gets painted.  This produces much more realistic results than interpolating, and opens the door to a really cool feature… normal mapping.

Remember that normal vector in the vertex that points up and away from the mesh surface?  If we encode those up vectors in a texture map, we could sample the map per pixel and have a much more detailed surface.  A normal vector has X, Y and Z components that indicate the up direction.  A color texture has red, green and blue color components.  By storing the X in the red, the Y in the green, and the Z in the blue, we can store surface information in the texture instead of an image.

Now the GPU shading hardware can extract the surface normal from the texture instead of from the vertices, and voila… incredible surface details without an insanely dense triangle mesh.

This kind of computational ability per pixel opens the door to other rendering features as well, including different lighting models, refraction and environment reflections.

Summary

So, the GPU in the Nintendo 3DS appears to be quite the power-house, at least by the specs.  I look forward to seeing what we game developers can do with this little box!

Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids Wii Comic-Con Report…

Contributed by n-Space Game Director, Tim Schwalk.

Comic-Con 2010 has officially come to a close, and it was a HUGE success not only for our Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids Wii game, but for the Tron franchise in general.  One particular highlight for me was the opportunity Jamie Toghill and I had to speak to GameSpot.com about our game as part of their live Day 3 coverage (our coverage starts at 11:00).

Jamie is our external producer from Propaganda Games.  Even though we’re developing the game here at n-Space in sunny Orlando Florida, we’re working very closely with the guys at Disney owned Propaganda Games in Vancouver Canada.  It’s a unique relationship with two developers coming together to create a game, and it’s one that has worked very well.

Here’s a list of the exciting features we discussed in the interview:

Wii Exclusive
•    Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids is exclusive to the Nintendo Wii, offering a completely different gaming experience than the 360 and PS3 games.
•    While our game is based on the Tron film franchise, this is not a movie game.  Our story bridges the gap between the original 1982 film and the next-gen games.  Taking place in 1988, our game presents a Utopian Tron world where grid games are played for sport, rather than for gladiatorial competition.  Even with this original story, we do share some characters and locations with the upcoming Legacy film.
•    Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids is considered a prequel to the PS3 and 360 Tron: Evolution video game and will be released this holiday season.

Grid Games
•    Three grid games were featured at Comic-Con:  Light Cycle Arena Battle, Light Cycle Race and Light Runer Arena Battle.
•    A fourth grid game was confirmed at the show, based on the iconic Light Discs competition.
•    The final product will feature 15 different modes in 7 grid game settings, with more character and vehicle based grids to be announced soon.  Rest assured that Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids will deliver all of your favorite Tron grid game moments.
•    Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids was built with multiplayer gaming in mind.  All grid games are designed to be played with up to 4 players on the same television!  We’ve created the ultimate “in-the-livingroom” competition game to play with your family and friends.
•    Play as teams!  We offer 2 VS 2 Team Play against humans or AI.
•    Simple, Intuitive Controls!  Every grid game exhibits simple “pick up and play” controls while also offering an additional layer of depth for more experienced gamers.  This way fathers can play with sons and older brothers can play with younger siblings.  And while we support use of the Nunchuk peripheral, it isn’t ever required.  You can play any of our games using just a Wii Remote.

Single Player Story
•    The annual Game Grids Championship has become the biggest recreational spectacle in the TRON universe, bringing all programs together to support the strongest of warriors competing for the coveted title.  With Tron unexpectedly stepping down from the competition, you play a talented young program with hopes of becoming the new champion.  Joined on your quest by Quorra (voiced by Olivia Wilde), you’ll meet both familiar and unique characters while visiting Wii exclusive locations in this expanded Tron Universe.
•    Script writers from the Legacy film oversaw the development of our story.  They received drafts as we worked through the script and provided feedback that was critical in shaping our final narrative.
•    The single player story experience will take 5-6 hours to fully explore.

Additional Features
•    Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids offers a full character customization system.  Create a male or female program to be used in every game mode.  Customization options include choosing suits, piping, heads, faces, hair, colors, accessories, and more!  Continue to evolve your character’s appearance as new items become unlocked while playing through the game.
•    Earn bits as you play to purchase new vehicles, parts, and accessories.  Bits are earned regardless of game mode or number of players.  Acquire them by doing well on the grid, or simply pick them up by finding them while exploring the story hubs.
•    Everything you do in the game counts!  Our stat tracking system remembers everything you do, allowing you to compare your progress against family and friends.  By tracking everything, we can use stats to tell the story of a match before it begins, giving it additional meaning.  For example, the loading screen might say “Player 1 beats Player 2 40% of the time when racing light cycles”.  Or you might see “Player 2 is on a 4 game winning streak”.
•    Stats can easily be compared with our comprehensive leader boards.  See how you stack up against everyone who has played, or look at detailed head to head stats against one other competitor.
•    Gain rank by performing well on the Grid!  You may be a Rookie now, but you’ll be a Legend in no time at all!
•    Jump into the Championship mode to play all of your favorite games in any order by yourself or with your friends.  Create custom free-for-all or team based Championships and battle your way to the end.  Gain points by placing well in each event — finish with the most points to become the true Game Grids Champion!
Immerse yourself in the world of Tron like never before with our exclusive Wii game, available this holiday season.  And watch here for more information as we get closer to release!

I’d like to thank Sophia and the folks at Gamespot.com for the opportunity to speak to them about our game.  We could have talked for an hour and barely scratched the surface of what Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids for the Wii has to offer.  Thanks also to all of the gamers and Tron fans that I met at the show!  You guys are the reason we’re making the game, and we appreciate your support!

GoldenEye 007 DS at the Activision Comic-Con Preview

Contributed by n-Space Producer, Brendan McLeod.

A couple of weeks ago, n-Space was invited to participate in Activision’s Comic-Con Preview Event. We were asked to present GoldenEye 007 DS for the first time to the gaming press. We eagerly said yes to the opportunity.

Comic-Con is a huge event. According to the Wikiest of pedias, since 1970, Comic-Con has grown to serve over 100,000 fans each year that journey to San Diego in order to trade merch, meet artists and writers, gawk at collectibles, and – in the latest years – check out video games. Having done a brisk circuit of the floor, I would peg about a third of the booths as video game-focused – most with the quality, if not the scope, of E3 booths.

The Activision event was held off-site at a nightclub in San Diego (the annual location of Comic-Con), which Activision bought out for the night. The venue, called Stingarees (http://www.stingsandiego.com/) is right in the heart of the city, only about six blocks away from the San Diego Convention Center, where Comic-Con is held. The Activision event was not actually an official segment of the Con itself, and in fact was held the night before Comic-Con officially started – last Wednesday evening. Nonetheless, it was a really well-attended shindig, with a lot of the gaming press from Comic-Con showing up to check out what Activision had to offer.

The event was split between two floors. The bottom floor was the show floor, with lots of big monitors and socialization areas, as well as some trade demos – quick levels and lots of trailers. I’m not exactly sure what level of press credentials you needed in order to get in, but it seemed pretty well packed the entire evening. The top floor was the press “lounge,” which had much more in-depth demos with the creators of the games. Most were arranged in the same style – big TVs mounted up so you could walk up and start playing. GoldenEye for the Wii, cleverly, was set up with low-rise couches so that you could really capture the living-room multiplayer feel of the game.

GoldenEye DS was in my hands. I took the two “panda” DS/DSi machines out to San Diego with me and had them charged and ready to go when I got there. Originally, I had been a little dismayed that I wasn’t going to have a big projected presentation available, or even just a small TV, like what we use for demos in the worldbuilding room or the South front conference room. However, I saw immediately once I got there that this would’ve been an unbelieveable mistake – the DS graphics presented side-by-side next to the 360 / PS3 quality material in huge screen format would’ve drawn more derision than interest. Instead, I simply walked up to people and had them watch the game on the Panda’s screens – bigger than a normal DS Lite, although not as big as the Quasimodo that is the DSi XL. This wound up working really well, not only because it let me walk anywhere I needed to be, but it portrayed the game in its best possible light.

Throughout the night, there were lots of hors d’œuvres (yes, I had to look it up) and free drinks flowing all night long. The club itself was very trendy – all of the table top surfaces and counters very crisp and very clean all night long. The staff was pretty impressed with the stuff that we were setting up. It was also really well-lit – it had the right balance of mood and style without making it impossible to move around or find another part of the club. I was also really happy with the noise level all night – at no point did you have to shout to be heard by the person next to you.

In addition to our own GoldenEye 007 DS, the only DS game featured at this event, the heavy hitters for the night were:

●     GoldenEye 007. Most of what was shown for Wii was a reiteration of what was demoed at E3, but obviously in a much more accessible venue. Graham Hagmaier, our associate producer on the title, was in charge of showing off parts of the first single player level of the game – the infiltration of the Dam alongside 006, which is strung out in such a way that really does a nice job of showing off core pillars of the game – multiroute gameplay, big “Wow!” Bond-esque moments, a more physical “Daniel Craig” take on Bond, and some clever nostalgic throwbacks. There was also a multiplayer demo set up where anyone could walk up and play with vintage Bond baddies like Jaws and Scaramanga in the Wii’s Archives level.
●     Blood Stone 007.  Blood Stone’s first level – Athens, ending in the explosions on the road to the Acropolis – was being demo’d (no hands on by the press, I don’t think) in its entirety. This game’s had a rough development history but it looks good and shows off well. Only shown on 360 at this event as Activision wanted to simplify the messaging for this event.  GoldenEye = Nintendo, Blood Stone = other consoles,
●     Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Quite possibly the other “game of show,” Activision made their announcement of the “Ultimate” symbioted Spidey (as in, the Ultimate Spider-Man universe created and perfected by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar – I happen to be a bit of a fanboy) as the final, fourth world in this new game from Beenox. I got my hands on the game late in the evening and had a blast both sneaking around the Noir universe and tearing up enemies in the Ultimate universe. These guys seem to have a good handle on what they’re doing.

I’ve told a few people this already but my surprise has not yet abated: The very first two journalists who walked into the event were two friends that I’ve known for roughly ten years, who I had not told at all that I’d be in town. Tim Sheehy, from Japanator.com, and Dale North, News Editor for Destructoid.com, walked right up and started commiserating. I immediately jumped into a “lite” version of my spiel, showing them some of the game and getting into the high points of my routine, figuring out which parts are good to improv with and which parts are good to keep as-is. It was a really welcome way to ease into the fun of the event. Dale’s already posted his preview, by the way, where he speaks pretty well of the title.

The “default” demo consisted of the following:

●     Tank!  –  This level recreates Bond’s explosive trip through the streets of St Petersburg at the helm of an experimental tank, an iconic moment from the 1995 film. In the game, Bond contends with enemy tanks, big obstacles, and attack helicopters as he persues the enemy. The level is a great hook, capturing gamers’ attention immediately not only with its spectacular visuals, but also its nostalgic value.
●     Archives – Just as the Wii’s Dam level has a great progression of design pillars to show off, I used Archives as the “action” example, Archives shows off some of the game’s best features, like environmental hazards which Bond can use against the enemy, highlighting the brains-over-bullets nature of the thinking man’s shooter. It’s also a great springboard to talk about the full voice cast heard throughout  the entire game.
●     Severnaya – This was my “covert” example,  Surface highlights the reactionary nature of our AI system, as well as the tricks the player can use to subvert it. Distraction events are used well, allowing the player to alter enemy paths. It also has some great opportunities for silent takedowns!
Having done the routine once, it got easier and easier with each presentation. GoldenEye DS, it must be noted, was mentioned by name as an n-Space title in the opening ceremonies for the preview event, so people knew it was on the floor and were looking for it. A lot of people sought me out on their own. Others, I hooked as they were finishing or watching an MP session. A few more were herded my way by the Wii team. Over the course of doors opening at about 6 PM to things winding down around 9:20-9:30, I did about a dozen separate interviews and a handful of scattered other demos for people who were floating around.

So, enough preamble. What were people saying?

●     A console experience on a handheld platform – This was one of the game’s big goals when we started out and I’m happy to say that it really came across in the demo. People were really impressed with how full-bodied the game was.
●     Smooth, crisp performance – The game looked and ran really smoothly and sharply. The worldbuilders have done an incredible job making some great looking levels and the team overall should be commended for working so hard to make sure framerate is consistently superb.
●     It’s authentic GoldenEye – Perhaps the biggest challenge that the team faced was recreating what’s almost universally regarded as one of the best shooters ever made in a way that not only makes sense for 2010 on the DS, but looks, moves, and feels like GoldenEye. The game has seen a massive amount of revision and I’m proud to say that I think it’s paid off.
More than once, an encounter closed with “I didn’t think GoldenEye DS was going to be that big of a deal, but I’m really impressed with what you’ve put together here.”

Overall, the event was a great experience and one that I think reflected really well on GoldenEye for both platforms. I was really happy that Activision took the time to highlight our product and I’m sure that they’ll continue to do so in the future, given the positive feedback that this has generated for our title.

Nintendo 3DS observations…

It’s been a little over a month since E3 2010 and Nintendo’s announcement of their successor to the DS we’ve come to know and love.  The 3DS was an “instant” hit, that, like most overnight success stories, was years in the making for Nintendo.

As long time Nintendo developers with over 20 DS, Wii and Gamecube titles under our belt, it occurs to me that we should take a minute to reflect on this new handheld.  This and subsequent reports on the 3DS are based entirely on our hands-on experience with the demos at E3, along with information we’ve gathered from publicly available online reports.

Stereoscopic 3D

Magical is the word that has most often been used in describing the 3DS’ signature glasses-free stereoscopic 3D display.  I agree.  It’s something your brain struggles to reconcile – the sense of visible depth created on a flat screen – but only briefly, before giving in to the pure child-like joy that follows.  For me it hearkens back to the Viewmaster or storybooks with scratchy lenticular cover graphics I had as a child, only animated and interactive.  It is effortless and amazing.

I won’t dwell on this now as it’s been well covered elsewhere.  Suffice it to say that seeing is believing.  If 13 of 15 of IGN’s editorial staff agree on anything, it must be pretty damn cool.  More importantly, even without this impressive, attention grabbing feature, the 3DS is a hot piece of kit.

What’s in a Name?

After a long line of incremental DS-branded handhelds, from the original DS to DS Lite, DSi and on to the biggest and best DSi XL, it would be easy to assume that 3DS is just more of the same with a stereoscopic 3D display.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  In reality, a review of the published specifications forces us to conclude that the 3DS is more like a “mini 3D Wii plus” than any DS.  Allow me to break that down:

• mini – well, it fits in your pocket
• 3D – stereoscopic 3D display
• Wii – graphical performance, motion sensor and gyroscope input devices
• plus – programmable shaders, rather than a fixed function pipeline, allowing features like per-pixel lighting, procedural textures, refraction mapping, subdivision primitives and gaseous object rendering

But that’s only half the story.  Let’s put a few of these numbers in perspective…

Many Tiny Pixels

In a world of 1080p HD and cell-powered processors, the idea of a Wii-powered handheld with a 400 x 240 resolution (800 x 240 interleaved per eye) may not strike many as next-gen, but resolution alone isn’t sufficient to evaluate the clarity and detail that a given display is capable of producing.  Let’s compare the pixel density of various game systems with the 3DS:

• State of the art next gen console in a typical living room
  • 1080p signal displayed on a 36″ display
  • 1920 x 1080 pixels = 2202 pixels on the diagonal
  • 2202 pixels / 36″ = 61 pixels per inch
• Wii on the same display
  • 640 x 480 pixels = 800 pixels on the diagonal
  • 800 pixels / 36″ = 22 pixels per inch
• 3DS
  • 400 x 240 on a 3.5″ screen
  • 466 pixels / 3.5″ = 133 pixels per inch

When it comes to pixel density, the 3DS is king!  To get similar pixel density from a 1080p source you’d have to play on a 16″ screen.  So there are lots of tiny (7 thousandths of an inch) pixels, which allow for very crisp detail and smooth gradients.  But the DS does well in this analysis too, with about 100 pixels per inch on the diagonal.  Yet nobody considers it a graphical powerhouse… what gives?

Polygon Parity

The Nintendo DS can display only 2048 polygons per frame, with a display resolution of 256 x 192.  Under perfect conditions the average polygon would consist of 24 pixels; far from the ideal of 1 polygon per pixel, even in the best conditions.  In real-world scenes with overdraw, etc. it gets much worse.  Contrast that with the 3DS, whose DMP PICA200 GPU is spec’ed (PDF) at 15.3 million triangles per second (or twice that in some reports).  Even dividing that by a factor of 8 to allow for a combination of real world conditions, dual screens and inflated specifications, it equates to over 60k triangles per frame on the top screen.  That’s roughly 1.5 pixels per triangle, not far from the theoretical 1:1 optimum where texture isn’t even required and simple face color gives you all you need to create a perfect rendition of the scene at the display resolution of the device.

So it seems that the 3DS has a lot of very tiny pixels and can draw more than enough polygons every frame at 30+fps (CPU and pixel fill-rate willing) to use those pixels very, very well.  When you add the PICA200 pixel shaders to the mix, it gets pretty exciting graphically, especially when you consider the battery life and likely pricing of the 3DS, not to mention all the other features this article takes for granted.

What do you think?  Based on your response we’ll share more of our thoughts on this and related topics.