Our decision to try something bigger than we had ever done before resulted in the (and some veterans would say the unfortunate) necessity to specialize tasks in our pipeline. As production work started on our first PS2 title, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, in January 2001, we went from a company of 15 to 36 and today we are 44. When I joined Naughty Dog in early 1995, we went on to finish our first title, Crash Bandicoot, for the PS one as a team of eight. Before the original PlayStation days, Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin, the co-founders of Naughty Dog, Inc., were doing the art and programming respectively, pretty much from the garage. Therefore, production design has become a required link in an ever-growing chain. Since more stuff can pass through the pipe, visual advancements become the first noticeable difference, followed by the individual style between developers. Production sketches like these are the first step in building 3D game environments.Įach generation of consoles has further expanded our boundaries. If the player doesnt like the feel of the controls or the play mechanics, the best-crafted story sequences will not save the game. IF there is a story it is only there to propel us forward to the next level. No two players will have the exact same experience playing the exact same game. I also find myself explaining that besides the apparent technical limitations, another major attribute of games is that it requires an active versus passive audience participation. Without the invisible work of the programming staff, we the artists would have very little room for any contribution of our crafts. There are only a certain number of polygons drawn on the screen, and calculations in any given frame, or frame rate will drop. What you might, or might not, have gotten from this example is that one of the main concerns of game development is memory allocation and data storage. (NDI) and why game development is not exactly the same as working with film or TV. I often find myself using this horribly goofy example as a way to explain to friends and family what it is I do at Naughty Dog, Inc. Maya grabs of Daxter and Explorer morphs show asymmetrical face targets for facial animations and front and side schematic drawing for modeling. However, you have to travel with all your extended family since more of them are needed to keep the bus rolling. Now, if you happen to be from the neighboring Toon-town, FX-ville or Feature-land, you are accustomed to having the biggest vehicles and suitcase money can buy for your trip. Of course, you have specialists in your group that can tweak, or even rebuild, the cars engine from the ground up to modify performance. Your vehicle is a copy of the only model available in this rugged frontier-like country. Imagine that you are a creative resident of Games-ekhistan and have to pack a one size fits all suitcase for a long trip AND you have to share this space with other family members. If you have the QuickTime plug-in, you can view a clip by simply clicking the image. © 2001 Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. All images: Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Inc. Complete character development for characters includes final color drawing, turnarounds, action poses, size comparisons and facial expressions as shown here. Two pages showing renditions for Jak (left) and Daxter from the bible for the game.
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