Making Great Games: An Insider's Guide to Designing and Developing the World's Greatest Video Games

237 Pages·2010·9.25 MB·English

MAKING GREAT
GAMES
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MAKING GREAT
GAMES
An Insider's Guide
to Designing and
Developing the World's
Greatest Video Games
MICHAEL THORNTON WYMAN
AMSTERDAM BOSTON HEIDELBERG LONDON NEW YORK OXFORD
PARIS SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SINGAPORE SYDNEY TOKYO
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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First published 2011
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than as may be noted herein).
Notices
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Thornton Wyman, Michael.
Making great games: an insider’s guide to designing and
developing the world’s greatest video games.
1. Video gameseAuthorshipeCase studies. 2. Video gameseDesigneCase studies.
I. Title
794.8-dc22
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010934101
ISBN: 978-0-240-81285-4
For information on all Focal Press publications visit our
website at focalpress.com
Printed and bound in the United States
10 11 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. ix
Introduction ............................................................................................................... xi
Permissions ....................................................................................................... xv
Part 1 THE GAMES
Chapter 1 LittleBigPlanet......................................................................................3
Team Role Interview: Lead Game Designer .....................................................19
Chapter 2 World of Warcraft .............................................................................23
Team Role Interview: Development Director....................................................36
Chapter 3 Diner Dash ..........................................................................................39
Team Role Interview: Producer ...........................................................................50
Chapter 4 Half-Life 2 ............................................................................................53
Team Role Interview: Game Writer.....................................................................65
Chapter 5 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves .........................................................67
Team Role Interview: Senior Environment Artist.............................................83
Chapter 6 Rock Band ...........................................................................................85
Team Role Interview: Music Composer .............................................................99
Chapter 7 FarmVille............................................................................................ 101
Team Role Interview: Programming Lead .......................................................111
vi CONTENTS
Chapter 8 Bejeweled Twist..............................................................................115
Team Role Interview: Presentation Art Director............................................127
Chapter 9 Madden NFL 10 ................................................................................129
Team Role Interview: Voice Actor ....................................................................138
Chapter 10 World of Goo ....................................................................................141
Team Role Interview: Art Director ....................................................................151
Part 2 ANALYSIS
Chapter 11 Commonalities: What Goes Right ................................................157
Iteration Is Paramount ................................................................................. 158
Cabals Taking Over?.................................................................................... 160
Beg, Borrow, and Steal ............................................................................... 162
Focus on Talent............................................................................................ 164
Use Your Whole Company ......................................................................... 165
Playtesting as Production Driver................................................................ 166
Miscellaneous............................................................................................... 168
Wrap Up........................................................................................................ 171
Chapter 12 Commonalities: What Goes Wrong .............................................173
Test, Test, Test ............................................................................................. 174
Bite the Bullet ............................................................................................... 176
Don’t Ignore the Tutorial ............................................................................. 178
Every Project Is Different............................................................................. 179
Beware the Prototype.................................................................................. 181
Plan for Success........................................................................................... 182
Wrap Up........................................................................................................ 183
CONTENTS vii
Chapter 13 The Nature of High-Performing Teams ......................................185
The Goal........................................................................................................ 186
The People .................................................................................................... 187
The Environment.......................................................................................... 189
The Process .................................................................................................. 190
Wrap Up........................................................................................................ 193
Chapter 14 Applying These Learnings to Your Game Projects..................195
Team Roles ................................................................................................... 195
Development Phases................................................................................... 198
Wrap Up........................................................................................................ 206
Chapter 15 Hiring and Managing for Success ..............................................207
Hiring............................................................................................................. 207
Managing ...................................................................................................... 210
A Word on Outsourcing .............................................................................. 212
Wrap Up........................................................................................................ 212
Team Role Interview: External Producer.........................................................213
Index ................................................................................................................. 215
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A project like this rests squarely on the shoulders of its contrib-
utors. I feel unbelievably fortunate to have had the privilege to
visit with so many wildly talented (and astoundingly busy) people
who are creating some of the world’s greatest video games.
Without their willingness to share their insights and expertise,
this book would not exist. For their openness, honesty, and
generosity, I am deeply indebted to J. Allen Brack, Ron Carmel,
Ian Cummings, Rich Curren, Richard Dansky, Tim Fields, Kyle
Gabler, Clint Jorgenson, Jason Kapalka, Rob Kay, Stephen Kearin,
Greg LoPiccolo, Peter McConnell, Wade Mulhern, Siobhan
Reddy, Stefan Sinclair, Mark Skaggs, Bruce Straley, Chris Trottier,
Robin Walker, Robyn Wallace, Don Walters, and Eric
Zimmerman.
While their words don’t appear in the text, several games
industry leaders were also extremely helpful to me with this
endeavor. A huge thank you to Patrick Buechner, Robert Cogburn,
Phillip Holt, Steven Meretzky, Brian Robbins, and Jessica Tams.
Thanks also to my tireless development editor, Beth Millett,
and to Laura Lewin, Chris Simpson, and Anais Wheeler at Focal
Press.
And, of course, thank you to my family e Evelyn, Jules and
Leisy e for putting up with all of the early mornings and late
nights it took to ship this one.