LittleBigPlanet Developer Interview – GamesMaster Magazine Issue 204

We Want Your Job!
Pestering the jammiest jobsmiths in the business

LittleBigPlanet fever has hit the GM office, so to try and find a cure, we talked to Daniel Leaver of Media Molecule who helped make the PS3 smash.

1: Hi there Dan, tell us about your role on LittleBigPlanet.

My role on LittleBigPlanet is level designer. Usually, we would spend our time crafting unique ways to challenge Sackboy as he progresses through LBP. In addition, I helped with balancing gameplay ideas and online features, as level designers usually spend the most time actually playing the game and deciding if a feature is fun or not!

2: Level designer is pretty impressive for such a big title; surely good grades and university played their part?

I’m not sure the course I chose at university played much of a part (considering I did Criminology!), but university proves that you can stick at something and knuckle down. I had a strong portfolio. During uni, I worked on a mod for Valve’s Half-Life 2, which I poured my heart into. That got me the interview at Media Molecule; that and a love of games.

3: Was it satisfying working on the games levels? What makes them so unique and groundbreaking?

Absolutely! Over the last year and a half I’ve enjoyed exploring what’s possible with the LBP physics engine. We simply took the basic game rules we had and pushed what we could do with them. The result is that every level in LBP is different to the one before; it’s a really varied and exciting experience, and we hope it’ll inspire the gaming public to build bigger and better stuff!

4: What are the hopes for LittleBigPlanet? Is it finally going to be the killer game the PS3 needs?

I think that the PS3 has loads of really exciting games on the horizon, but clearly I’d love for LBP to be a big success. I think what we’re good at Media Molecule is not getting carried away with our own hype; we know that after all the marketing and reviews and everything is done, it’s what the player experiences that matters.

5: Any tips for youngsters looking to get into the gaming industry?

A passion for games is vital! As for any art or design roles similar to mine, you’ll need a portfolio to be proud of. Look at other games and artists and at the level of quality they produce; if you don’t challenge yourself and your designs, you won’t improve. Above all, don’t be scared to apply! You’ll never get that dream job unless you try.

Five items:

1: A model of my favourite car, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Probably the only one I’ll ever own!

2: Sir Francis Drake’s ring from Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Awesome game.

3: Jin Kazama from Tekken, clearly the best fighting game of all time.

4: The sentinel machine from The Matrix. It falls under the ‘toy’ category, so I should probably be more than a little ashamed.

5: A photo of my beautiful girlfriend Lindsay-Kay. She’s probably the most inspiring aspect of my life and I hope to make her proud. /gush.

Liverpool.com Blog – School’s out forever

Get home early. Gange Hill’s closing its doors forever tonight, which makes you wonder if there was ever a point in moving it up North in the first place. Phil Redmond has already admitted today that ‘it’s time to hang up its mortar board’ after coming to the conclusion that kids lives today no longer reflect challenging issues created by the programme. It’s a shame as the tea-time show used to bring to light educational concerns such as drugs in the school corridors, highlighted by this clip of Kevin Jenkins dropping acid before Maths:

Leading to the ever popular ‘Just say No!’ campaign, Grange Hill has certainly left its mark on society, so tune in tonight at 4:35pm to say farewell as Mark Fowler from Eastenders finds an unexploded bomb under the school disco (not a word of this is a lie!).

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Developer Interview – GamesMaster Magazine Issue 203

We Want Your Job!
Pestering the jammiest jobsmiths in the business.

This month we talk to Ed Kay, senior technical designer for 50 Cent’s latest outing Blood on the Sand. So, Ed, tell us what you do:

My role is Senior Technical Designer. I’m responsible for bridging the gap between programming and design to ensure designers get the support they need to create exciting gameplay. I’m also heavily involved in the game mechanics, such as the brutal melee moves you can perform for quick close up kills and utterly humiliating your opponents. At the moment I’m also helping to put the final touches to a level where 50 is taken around a mountain in a Blackhawk and blows the crap out of everything in sight with a huge minigun. It’s great fun.

How closely do you work with a megastar like 50 Cent? Does he sit in the canteen at lunch times?

Well as you can imagine, 50 Cent is a pretty busy guy. He’s provided feedback during the development process and requested certain elements to be included, but most of the development team are more familiar with his 10,000 polygon on screen representation than the man himself.

50’s latest escapade is set on foreign soil. Do you get to do any travelling of your own?

I’m pretty much addicted to travelling and usually struggle to find enough holiday days to cover all the places I want to go to! I actually get to travel through work occasionally which is a real bonus. Last year I spent six months in St Petersburg to help Saber Interactive finish off Timeshift. Russia is a crazy place. Taxis are usually illegal, piracy is expected, ’business men’ sometimes carry weapons, mullets are fashionable and most of the girls are supermodels. Definately worth a visit.

Tell us about your typical day.

This totally depends on what stage we’re at in the project. We’re getting close to submission to Sony and Microsoft so things have been really ramping up. My mornings usually involve running around and chasing up issues, finding out when animation or art fixes will be done and making sure any improvements are shaping up correctly. In the afternoon I might need to do some playtesting and provide feedback on a game mechanic like a weapon modification, or provide direction on pacing and difficulty of a gameplay section. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a few hours to sit down and do some scripting, putting the final polish on the balance of a level.

Any tips for young go-getter’s looking for a job in games?

The good news is that it’s not as hard as it used to be. These days games companies generally have more capacity to employ people with limited experience and train them up. The key thing is you have to be passionate. Making games is hard work and requires a lot of dedication to get the right results. A relevant degree at university will help a lot, but also any work done like mods, levels, or even demos like a simple web game will go down really well. A broad experience of playing games on a variety of formats is a must.

Item descriptions:

1. Headphones
- for shutting out background noise when you need to really concentrate

2. Koosh ball
- to play with whilst you’re waiting for the editor to load

3. Puzzle cards
- for when people come over to ask for something and you want to
distract them so they forget what they wanted

4. Target
- for intimidating people (the holes are from a real Dragunov sniper
rifle)

5. Beer
- for emergencies

Lego Batman Developer Interview – GamesMaster Magazine Issue 202

We Want Your Job!
Pestering the jammiest jobsmiths in the business!

This month, we talk to Arthur Parsons from Traveller’s Tales, Lead Designer of Lego Batman. Hi Arthur, tell us about your role on Lego Batman. What do you have to do?

On Lego Batman I am the lead designer, altogether there are 6 designers on the project at the moment as we work to get the game finished. Each of us is responsible for a number of the levels of the game and it is our job to make sure that everything for the levels gets done by working with the team, so that the levels are as fun and interesting as possible. Initially we design the levels on paper, then we work with the tech artists, artists, animators and coders to make sure that everything gets done for the level. Obviously along the way we have to make design changes to ensure the levels are perfect. As well as looking after my own levels as lead designer it is my job to work with the other designers to check over the quality of their levels and approve them. Aside from the level work it is my job to work with the team to ensure that all of the mechanics feel right, that we have a plan for the hub, replay sections, presentation aspects, characters etc – in effect a plan for the look and feel of all aspects of the game. Here at TT we have some very talented people in all departments, and leads in each department so the lead designer is the person that liases with these people to make sure we all know what we are making and that it all ties together. I also have to work closely with our producer so that he can schedule all of the work out to make sure that we finish the game on time.

How did you get to the position of lead designer? Good grades? University?

I look now and see that people can go to university to study video games – how good is that! I however was not so fortunate at the time I went to university, and started off in the industry as a game tester after leaving university from an engineering degree. After a couple of years of testing which was truly an educational experience, I joined TT and have never looked back. I’ve been fortunate to work on some very good games and each one teaches you something new about games. I have gotten where I am through a lot of very hard work, but above everything by having a real passion for making games that people want to play. For would be designers now there is a more clearly defined way of getting into design that I have noted below.

How much research goes into the Lego projects? Is it fun handling official licenses?

There is a huge amount of research that goes into making the Lego games. Not only is there the research finding out what the end user wants to play, there is also researching the property (i.e. Star Wars/Batman/Indy), creating concept art with our highly skilled concept artists, working with TT Games and our publishers to see what they want from the games and also a lot of work dealing with Lego to find out what toys they have or are planning so that we can use them and showcase them in the games. Working on Lego is a great deal of fun for everyone, for example we have an artist that has to build the lego vehicles, which is in effect building with Lego (just via a computer) and he loves his job, artists that get to create the lavish environments for the game, artists that put together all of the fun lego puzzles, people that build the lego minifigs for the games. Lego really is a joy to work with in terms of videogames, and I think that is apparent to people that play the games as the results of the fun we have making the games comes across in the really fun and interesting games we put on the shelves.

What’s your typical day like?

In a word Hectic J I’d dearly love to have a typical day, but I can safely say that no two days are the same as a lead designer. Some days are spent scrutinizing the latest additions to the game, some are spent updating documentation, some are spent in meetings discussing the new features or additions we want, and some are spent crafting the ideas for the various levels or mechanics, there are so many pies that we have our fingers dipped in. Needless to say the variety really makes you want to get into work each day. Even with the best laid plans for a day ahead a curveball comes in meaning that you suddenly need to do a stack of work on something that you hadn’t been planning. The role of a designer really is incredibly varied and this means that designers need to be aware of everything that is going on in the games development cycle to ensure the best possible product at the end.

Any tips for young would-be designers out there?

Anyone out there that wants to become a designer really does have a fantastic range of opportunities available to them. For many years my folks thought I just played games all day and that work was not really work, however I think now that the games industry is as huge as it is parents can see that video games really is a viable and rewarding career. That hurdle over there are hundreds of degree courses where prospective designers can go and learn all about making games, the various elements that go into making a game, and learn hands on the best way to do things. That said a designer’s learning process is never over, and there is always something else to learn, which is why it is such a great job. The biggest tip of all though is to believe in what you want to do, and believe in your ideas. A designer needs to be creative, inventive, passionate, charismatic and a great communicator, if anyone out there wants to make games they should follow their dream and work hard to achieve it. It is imperative that you get good grades at school, but also that you play games and look at them and analyse them trying to figure out what makes them good or bad, what makes them tick. Also for anyone wanting to be a designer there is nothing stopping you doing paper designs in your spare time for levels or games, just working through ideas as doing this from an early age will be a great benefit to you in future years. Lastly try and get some work experience at a developer, as this is eye opening, it will allow you to see the variety of careers that exist in the games industry.

Tools of the trade:

1: Starbucks – I need my daily fix

2: Bucket of Lego – helps while away the time when my mind is stuck…

3: Notepad and Penicl – to doodle level designs

4: Headphones – so that every once in a while I can actually concentrate

5: My Laptop which has everything on it – without this I couldn’t function!

Castle Crashers Developer Interview – GamesMaster Magazine Issue 201

We speak to American programmer Tom Fulp who created run-’n'-gun game Alien Hominid (released on GameCube, Xbox, PS2, PC and GameBoy Advance). He’snow working on the forthcoming Xbox Live beat-’em-up Castle Crashers. So Tom, you created your own game?

Back in 2002, Dan Paladin (the artist) and I teamed up to make Alien Hominid for the web. A few months later, the game company Dan was working for shut its doors and his co-worker John came up with the idea of forming a new company to make a console version of AH! Fifteen months later, we had achieved our dream of making a console game. It was a difficult but rewarding process, so we decided to do it again with Castle Crashers. Three years later, it’s almost done!

Was the transition from website development to programming console games difficult?

I wouldn’t say it was a difficult transition, but it was on a much larger scale and required a lot more discipline. With web games, you can wrap things up in anywhere from a few days to a few months, or never. With a console game, you need to work hard every day, for years if necessary, and you can’t quit because it would let too many people down and families would starve to death.

What happens in your typical day?

A lot of the time I juggle both running Newgrounds and programming for the Behemoth, where I’m a co-owner. This past five months has been 99% Castle Crashers, for the sake of getting it done. Otherwise, I would have spent the rest of my life trying to finish it. Getting it done has required 12-18 hours of non-stop programming every day (including most weekends), depending on how crazy and obsessing I’m feeling. It’s been a rewarding experience and I love the end result, but I’m looking forward to waking up in a world where I can work on something new, or maybe nothing at all.

Just how much of your input goes into the games themselves?

If I can program my idea, I put it in the game, unless anyone else thinks it’s a bad idea and convinces me otherwise. So overall a lot of my input gets put to direct use.

Any encouraging words for future programmers out there?

Finish your projects! Finishing is the hardest part of any project, and if you never finish it, then it might as well have never existed. So many people work on amazing games that never see the light of day because they never follow through with finishing them and getting them out there. Don’t be afraid to share your game with people. I love Flash because it lets you share your game with more people than any other medium.

PICTURE, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

1) A Tankman figure that we produced and sell in our on-line store!
2) My cat tape dispenser… I am totally obsessed with cats, and it goes way back before the whole Lolcat craze.
3) Advil, because I need it sometimes.
4) A tank trophy that we created for our annual awards on Newgrounds.com
5) A picture of my wife, April! It’s from our wedding day.

World Firefighter Games Top 10 – Liverpool.com

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service beat off competition from Dubai and Ireland to stage the World Firefighter Games, in conjunction with the 2008 celebrations, and they’re looking to make it the best games yet.

With most of the Capital of Culture parade featuring music and art based subjects, it’s really refreshing to see a sporting programme on the agenda. Featuring events such as the muscle busting Toughest Firefighter Alive and the more tactically aware games like chess, there is something for everyone to enjoy – and it’s a great way to thank the fire crews worldwide who offer us so much protection.

With over 70 events to choose from, it’ll be an event in itself planning your timetable and choosing which competitions to see, so we’re offering our guide to the top ten events to watch out for…
OPENING CEREMONY
The official games village of the Echo Arena will play host to the lavish opening ceremony which includes a performance from the Queen’s Irish Guards and a world record breaking ‘Hey-Jude-sing-a-thon’. Including entertainment from Brouahaha International, it’s going to be an explosive opening!

Monday 25th August, Echo Arena – 10am

TOUGHEST FIREFIGHTER ALIVE:
The TFA is the big one, the Blue Ribbon event to be crowned the Toughest Firefighter on the planet. Using St Georges Plateau as a backdrop, competitors will have Hose runs, Obstacle courses, stair climbs and other baptisms of fire to test their mettle. Do not miss this main event! Wed 27th, Thur 28th, Fri 29th, Sun 31st August, St Georges Plateau – 9am

IRON DOG:
Firefighters aren’t just humans you know, Fire dogs will also have a chance at getting gold. Skills such as agility, water rescues and cross country will be put to the test of these canines who are hoping to avoid a paw performance. Split between Croxteth Park and Dukes Dock. Tuesday 26th & Thursday 28th August, Croxteth Hall and Country Park-9am, Wednesday 27th August, Dukes Dock-9am

FIRE TRUCK CHALLENGE:
Held at the Landrover experience in Speke, this event is designed to push the driving skills of firefighters which include negotiating an obstacle course in a Land Rover Discovery and accuracy challenges. Tuesday 26th Aug, Landrover Experience – Speke, 8:30 am

EQUESTRIAN:
Hoof it down to Aintree to see the wonderful condition these service horses are kept in. The world famous racecourse will host spectacles from dressage and show jumping over three days. A unified event for both Firemen and Firewomen to wind up the politically correct. Tuesday 26th – Thursday 28th August, Aintree racecourse-10am

BODY BUILDING
Firefighters half-naked flexing their muscles and covered in oil? It’s a chance for Firefighters to show off the physique their job gives them and ladies, you’d be stupid to miss it. Tuesday 26th – 27th August, Echo Arena-10am

CYCLING TIME TRIAL
Missing the Tour de France? Don’t worry, the time trial is just one of a number of cycling events. Hosted at the Rainford bypass, competitors will have to circumnavigate a strict course, with the fastest time getting the yellow jersey. Thursday 28th August, Rainford Bypass-11am

FIRE HOUSE COOK OFF:
Following in the footsteps of MasterChef, competitors will have to create a two course meal from £15 worth of ingredients in just under two hours, whilst judging will be based on skills such as hygiene, composition and presentation. If you can’t stand the heat then stay out of the kitchen! Friday 29th August, Liverpool Community College -9am

POKER
Poker you say? It’s the Firefighters choice whilst waiting to be called to duty. The event itself kicks off at 2:30pm and the game is Texas Hold ‘em. Think these guys have nerves of steel in front of a towering inferno? Let’s see how they fare when all they have is a 2 and a 4… Monday 1st Sept, Leo Casino – Queens Dock, 12pm

GALA NIGHT
Competitors can unwind after the games by attending the closing ceremony at the Echo arena. A ticketed event costing £40, they’ll be treated to a fancy dinner and a full entertainment roster. Register online as tickets will sell like hot cakes! Tuesday 2nd Sept, Echo Arena – Evening

For more information: Tel:  0870 888 1888 or WEB: wfg08.com

Examples of Editing – Liverpool.com

Edited specific areas of the Liverpool.com website under the guide section, including restaurants, shops and attractions to date:

http://www.liverpool.com/attractions.html

http://www.liverpool.com/shopping.html

http://www.liverpool.com/listings/restaurants.html

‘Buy It!’ Page – Liverpool.com Magazine

Witness – Liverpool.com Magazine

Working Class Heroes

We’re into September now and ‘Culture’ is still very much a buzz word. But have we overspent on high class sculptures and installations? To remedy this, the TUC is organising the Liverpool Working Class Music Festival for three days from Friday 19th September to Sunday 21st September 2008 at The New Picket. Its aim is to give a cultural voice to the working class, with musical performances from radical songwriters like Dick Gaughan, The Alun Parry Band and Roy Bailey. It’s £25 for a weekend ticket although individual prices are also available. Buy one and get back to your roots.

Liverpool Working Class Music Festival, The New Picket, Jordan Street, 19^th – 21^st September Tel: 0151 708 6789

Tall Ships Festival Guide ‘08 – Liverpool.com

If you’ve been busy at work or have had your head jammed in a lamb banana, then surely you must have seen the masts peeking over the Liver buildings on the far horizon, brushing the sky. The Tall Ships are coming, but luckily, they mean us no harm. Over sixty of the worlds largest boats will park themselves in the Albert and Wellington Docks to prepare for the Annual race which is only held in European waters, with the compass this year pointing towards the finishing line of the Netherlands.

The event’s getting the Royal seal of approval from HRH Princess Anne on Friday 18^th at noon as she tours two of the enormous vessels and kick starts the ceremony. Some ships like The Mir of Russia and Dar Młodzieży of Poland span the length of a football pitch, although they will look better than Wigan’s did last season. Festivities will carry on until 10pm with the party carrying on from 10am on the weekend of 19^th and 20^th July. The docks close on Monday 21^st for the Parade of Sail with everything being finished by 4pm.

With a range of activities for the public to get involved in, we look at the five best ways you can get the most of out your day:

Shanties ‘08:

The Sea Shanty is steeped in maritime folklore and Merseyside history, and helped many a scurvy sea dog survive another day with their morale boosting yo-ho-ho’s. Shanties ‘08 will try to help recreate that in a modern way, with artists such as La Moresca Antica, Armstrong’s Patent and The Boat Band performing on various ships and around the city centre, with a showpiece concert being held on Saturday evening at the Urban centre in Greenland street at 7pm.

Various venues, 18^th – 20^th July 12pm – 10pm, Tel – 08444 771 000

Visit www.shanties08.co.uk for more information.

Little Brig:

If you’re worried about where to leave the little treasures then give them a life jacket and send them off to the thirty foot long brig BOB ALLEN, which is currently shored up in the Salthouse Dock. It’s a Tall Ship that has been specially built for Buccaneers aged 10 and above to test out their sea legs whilst groups of five can book a free 3 hour trip.

Salthouse Dock, Mon 7^th – Mon 21^st July, Tel-07876 345 968

Jump ship rat:

Jump ship rat is perhaps best known for its off the wall artworks with this years effort being no exception. A giant mobile waterfall and an animated environmental sculpture will be making its way around the Albert Dock during the weekend, and the prospect of a mobile water hazard other than the ones at Royal Birkdale certainly make our mouths water.

Albert Dock, Fri 18^th – Sun 20^th 12pm – 10pm

Royal Marine Band Concerts:

The Royal Marine Band will proudly be showing off their musical muscle instead of their military might outside of Liverpool One and Williamson Square from 17^th and 18^th July at 2:30pm and 3:45pm respectively. A perfect to get in the Naval mood before heading down Dockside.

Liverpool One/Williamson Square, Thur 17^th – Fri 18^th 2:30pm and 3:45pm

Parade of Sail:

The closing ceremony for the event will see the docks closed to the public as the ships depart by 11:30am. Led by the HMS Argyll, you can wave goodbye to these magnificent vessels from the Waterfront, although there are other viewpoints from the Britannia Pub to Wallesy town hall, although Pier head is sadly closed due to ongoing construction work.

Various Venues, Mon 21^st July 2pm – 4pm,

And of course, whilst there it’d be a good idea to check out the Tall Ships! We pick the five we feel you definitely shouldn’t miss:

Mir:

It’s the Roman Abramovich of boats, all consuming, destroying everything in it’s path. This Russian behemoth is one of the worlds largest with a length of 359ft, but amazingly enough, its name means ‘Peace’ and can be manned by a crew of only 30 people. It’ll be shored in the Sandon Half-Tide Dock. One not to miss.

Sandon Half-Tide Dock, Fri 18^th 12pm – 10pm, Sat 19^th – Sun 20^th, 10am – 10pm

Lord Nelson:

Lord Nelson is unique as a Tall Ship as it is one of only two in the world built specifically for disabled sailors. Named after Admiral Nelson himself, it’s owned by the Jubilee Sailing Trust, which aims to give physically disabled sailors the experience of a lifetime. Offering wheelchair access on the day, Lord Nelson will Berth herself at the Wellington Dock.

Wellington Dock, Fri 18^th 12pm – 10pm, Sat 19^th – Sun 20^th, 10am – 10pm

Glaciere of Liverpool:

Whilst visiting the Docks, why not visit a ship that has an actual connection to the City? The Class B Glaciere of Liverpool now has a permanent home in the Colburg Dock, which is a lot cosier than its previous home – sunk at the bottom of Collingwood Dock. £300,000 has been spent restoring her and she now teaches the young how to sail and dive, and will be holed up at the Albert Dock.

Albert Dock, Fri 18^th 12pm – 10pm, Sat 19^th – Sun 20^th, 10am – 10pm

Pelican:

Originally an Arctic fishing vessel, the Pelican has had a lot of reconstruction work put into it by its new British owners including state of the art vacuum toilets. Whether you’ll be able to use these on the day is open to question, but you should pop along to see the ships magnificent square sails which give the Pelican greater speed and agility.

Wellington Dock, Fri 18^th 12pm – 10pm, Sat 19^th – Sun 20^th, 10am – 10pm

Spaniel:

Built in Poland in ‘79, the Spaniel may looks as fierce as she sounds but don’t let that fool you. She can add crossing the Atlantic to her CV and has has previous successes in the Tall Ships race. Privately owned since ‘97, Spaniel makes a living training Latvian youngsters to sail and can be located in the Albert Dock.

Albert Dock, Fri 18^th 12pm – 10pm, Sat 19^th – Sun 20^th, 10am – 10pm

For more information, visit http://www.tallshipsliverpool.co.uk