SEGA’s video-game production output for 2010 was winning, to say the least. It included the latest titles in some long-running popular franchises, such as Napoleon: Total War, Sonic Free Riders  and Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. I talked to Chris Southall, technical director at SEGA, about how Formula 1 and other racing games started his engine and got him interested in game development. He also tells us how the latest technology helps speed the workflow and bring games to life faster and better than it did when he entered the business in 1995.

By Tracey John

As video games become more and more popular, educational programs for aspiring game designers are cropping up across the country. And once a student has decided to get a gaming education, nothing beats the hands-on development experience with some of the best tech tools out there. Here are some of the most popular software kits for students, plus what to look for when choosing a tool so you can get a head start in your gaming studies.

 

 

Quite often, simple things that occur in the real world can become incredible technical problems for visual effects artists attempting to digitally recreate or adapt those occurrences for film. One such gremlin is liquid simulation.

Previously, we looked at how Gradient Effects used the Exocortex Technologies Slipstream tool to create the memory pool in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, a sequence that required mimicking the effect of ink dispersing in water -- in large volume and high detail. Slipstream allowed Gradient Effects to complete the sequence with far less processing power, with greater efficiency and in far less time than other solutions, thanks to real-time rendering and a specialized production pipeline.

But while rendering ink in water is impressive, the power and majesty of the deep blue sea is something else entirely.

By John Gaudiosi

Epic Games put on quite a show at this year’s Game Developers Conference. Every day, designers and publishers checked out the technology behind the new Unreal Engine 4 game development framework. Meanwhile, journalists watched demos of games powered by Unreal Engine 3, including the new Infinity Blade: Dungeons and the pumped-up version of Mortal Kombat. Not to mention that some of the most popular games at GDC 2012 were running on Unreal Engine 3, including Hawken, the free-to-play PC shooter, and TERA, the massively multiplayer online action fantasy game.

Cliff Bleszinski, the company’s design director, is at the heart of Epic’s new game development. I caught up with him before he went on to host the 2012 Game Developers Choice Awards.

Need for Speed World, built by Electronic Arts (EA) Black Box in Burnaby, British Columbia, started a little more than two years ago with a simple idea: become the first real racing MMO. Knowing that racing gamers don’t need to understand the ins and outs of how a car works in order to enjoy zipping along online city streets or race circuits, EA sought to bring this racing MMO to the masses.

I recently caught up with two of the key visionaries behind Need for Speed World. Dave Wall, a 15-year veteran of the gaming industry, is the rendering and systems lead on the Need for Speed franchise. Eneko Bilbao, Black Box’s technical director, has worked on Need for Speed for two years. Together, Wall and Bilbao provide a convincing case for using Agile development, in-game analytics and performance-analyzing tools for creating a rolling-thunder rollout of new game features and optimized game performance.

By Gus Mastrapa

DC Universe Online, which launched in January for the PC and PS3, presented some unique development challenges. MMOs are notoriously difficult to create, but Sony Online Entertainment and Everquest veteran Chris Cao rose to the challenge. The game director of DC Universe Online talked to us about the game’s launch and what’s next.

By Gus Mastrapa

Lead technical artist Julian Love is a nine-year Blizzard veteran. He’s been working on Diablo III almost as long as fans have been waiting for the game. We spoke to Love about the long-gestating project, Blizzard’s approach to making games and the role of the technical artist in development.

 

By Scott Steinberg

 

William M. “Trip” Hawkins III -- founder of Electronic Arts and father of the 3DO console -- needs no introduction to serious gamers. But three decades after writing the blueprint for the PC and video game business, his latest creation -- social games start-up Digital Chocolate  -- is rewriting the rules again. Here, Hawkins explains why he believes social gaming and virtual goods are the future of interactive entertainment.