CO Dev Diary

maskedweasel

Pasted from here

 

May 28, 2009 - It's just after 8 a.m. I'm not the first person in to work, but the few early morning Champions aren't really breaking the silence. The first pot of coffee is brewing in the break room and my iPod is queued up with something quietly crunchy, edIT or similar. I double-click the Master Control Program icon and launch our editor because I'm ready... to do what, exactly? Not sure. Probably need another cup of coffee.

Right. I've been assigned a new Crisis zone, which is essentially a tightly themed stretch of content purposed to set the stage for the following full-blown zone. The thread is relatively linear compared with other persistent world content, and has greater impact. Players need to be at the center of the universe, along with everyone else, which isn't exactly easy to do from a design perspective. Crisis zones, along with Lairs, give the design team an outlet for the more dramatic, immersive touches. Anyway, I'm halfway through the implementation of a Crisis.

 

One of these characters is clearly having a crisis.How did it start?

Design for all our content begins with story. John Layman, our resident comic book author, pundit, and editor, sits down with the heavy hitters (Randy Mosiondz, Jack Emmert, and John Hopler) and lays down the major plot points. Most often the mighty Layman provides all the expected mission types and contacts as well. The story, mission, neighborhood, or Lair then gets assigned to a content designer, an artist, a powers designer, and a producer. I'm content.

My first task is to read through all the notes and digest them. I have a lot of questions to answer at that point. How long will it take to implement? Can all of the items be implemented? What kind of assets are required and how many? Anyway, that part of the process sounds boring, but it is really exciting. (As a designer, I haven't hit any roadblocks yet.) Production does a lot to help with asset call-outs and assignments so I'm not alone with the e-paperwork.

Next, we have a "kick-off" meeting to solidify the plan; Art agrees to some custom assets, Audio gets the scoop on the context, Production sets the schedule, expectations, and helps reign in some insane ideas for which we don't have time, and content says, "Hell yeah! Let's do this!" I get really excited. Mostly, I'm nervous at that point because I've over-committed myself -- I want it all.

With a mighty floor punch, the kick-off meeting is called to order.The kick-off meeting also yields some innovative twists. Cryptic Studios employs some the most creative and intelligent people I've ever met, so getting us together in the kick-off is the first time all of the systems come online together, which usually inspires something unique. From that moment on, things get pretty organic and fluid.

How does it get implemented?

In the beginning, I sit down, crack open the editor, and start making files. I'm not ready to get into it yet, but I need to be productive. There are several parts to every mission; several different files interact with one another in order to create the game. I start with the simple task of laying out the necessary files, the missions, the encounters, the contacts, the Bscripts, and in some cases I link them together but many of the files are just floating. Sure, I'm getting stuff done, but the real implementation has not begun in earnest. I'm thinking about the flow of the area. I'm wondering about story delivery. I'm getting an idea here or there and writing it down, not sure if it will be useful or not.

I'm halfway through now, and a cohesive view of the Crisis has not been established. I've made a couple prototype behaviors and encounters, but the theme is not clear. Raoul the programmer stops by. He is concerned about an issue in one of the zones. We discuss that for a while, then tangent off to one of the ideas I've written down. Raoul drops a sardonic smile on me and I erase that one. Something he says catches my attention as he walks away. I head over to Adam's office to chat about that new idea I just pilfered. That conversation goes well and, as I'm leaving his office, I run into John Hopler, Lead Content Designer, and he gives me the green light to pursue it more. It's over to Raoul's office for me and he sort of likes the new idea because it was sort of his. It's go time!

Back at my desk, I begin the implementation of a new behavior for the Crisis zone. I want to change the way the players interact with a particular group of spawns. I get my first version of the scripting done and try it out. I laugh a little because the effect is ridiculous, some numbers will have to be tweaked to make it playable, but it works.

Kurt stops by and we talk a little about the layout of the zone, where spawns and geometry will be placed to guide the player. James walks over and the three of us are suddenly talking about a gigantic Qliphothic Tear. Can it be done? What is the gameplay effect? What art, fx, and sound assets are necessary to pull it off? Does it fit the story? Let's talk to Layman. We move the proceedings to John's desk and get the okay from him story-wise. At this point, I realize I better get back to my desk, write down the implications of the changes proposed, send out some task requests, and get to work... because I have a lot more to do now.

What now?

I continue to fit the pieces together, discarding some, and changing others to make it work. Each discipline will have to look over the zone and make improvements. Now I definitely need another cup of coffee.