Who was there: Gearbox Software claimed the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo as its own on Friday with the shock announcement that it would see Duke Nukem Forever to the finish line in 2011. On hand to discuss the move, as well as the rest of Gearbox’s announced development slate, was CEO Randy Pitchford, chief creative officer Brian Martel, creative director Mikey Neumann, licensing head David Eddings, and cinematics director Brian Thomas.

“Always bet on Duke.”

What they talked about: Though Friday’s revelation that Gearbox would be finishing up 3D Realms’ Duke Nukem Forever was perhaps the biggest news out of the Penny Arcade Expo, the studio followed it up with another headline-worthy announcement. Namely, Pitchford revealed in front of the PAX 2010 collective that Gearbox has acquired the Duke Nukem intellectual property, including Duke Nukem Forever and all future developments in the franchise, from 3D Realms. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Explaining how the deal went down, Pitchford noted that he and Martel had actually met while working at 3D Realms, way back in 1997, and Gearbox still had a strong relationship with George Broussard and others at that studio. “I feel like I owe Duke Nukem my career,” he said, before bringing up last year’s turmoil of 3D Realms’ closure and the lawsuits that resulted. “That day sucked, but you can’t kill Duke.”

He said that even with the game’s future grim, about eight or nine former 3D Realms developers continued to work on Duke Nukem Forever, including Allen Blum, who has been working on the franchise since its inception in 1991. The game they were making is the same that is being made at Gearbox, he said, noting that Blum and the others–but not Broussard–are still on the team. He also said that the game is currently in the polish phase, and that “arrangements need to be made with first-parties and retailers.” Apparently, 2K Games hadn’t even informed retailers of the game’s existence until it was announced on Friday.

“The game that is happening is 3D Realms’ game,” he said. In an emotional moment, Pitchford went on to say that, “I didn’t buy [Duke Nukem] from them, they sold it to me,” emphasizing how protective 3D Realms has been of its quintessential action hero.

“Gearbox was the only home appropriate for the Duke Nukem brand,” Broussard said as part of a statement. “They are very talented and possess the perfect perspective and understanding of the brand. Their vision for its future direction is exciting and unbelievable. I personally cannot wait for fans to see their unique take on the franchise.”

“The Gearbox Software team and I are ecstatic that we have grown to a position to be able to pick up and carry the torch and help Duke rise back to glory in his time of need,” Pitchford added. “Fans of the legendary hero and all the incredible talent that have ever helped him all deserve the very best support that we can bring.”

For more information on Duke Nukem Forever, check out GameSpot’s hands-on with the game from PAX 2010.

As for the rest of what Gearbox has been working on, the team first discussed what was going on with the Borderlands franchise. Namely, Pitchford noted that Borderlands’ fourth, and ostensibly final, downloadable content add-on–Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution–will arrive on September 28. He also noted that all Borderlands owners will receive a free patch for the game that rebalances it and increases the level cap to 69.

Of that innuendoed number, Pitchford said that they did not want to alienate Borderlands fans who purchased General Knox for the sake of gaining that DLC’s 11-level cap increase. “We realized that if we added eight levels, with the cap at level 61, it wouldn’t piss off people who paid for the General Knox DLC.” A release date for the free patch has yet to be determined, but Pitchford noted that it should arrive some time around the launch of Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution.

Martel then briefly discussed Gearbox’s Brothers in Arms franchise, saying that they had nothing to announce today. However, he did emphasize Gearbox’s commitment to the franchise, hinting that the series may branch out from the characters established in recent installments. “We’ll have some things to talk about soon. We’re not ready quite yet to bring it out,” Pitchford added.

Martel also didn’t have any news about Aliens Colonial Marines, noting that it has been difficult to talk about the game due to involvement from rights owner 20th Century Fox and publisher Sega. However, Pitchford seemed to bend the rules a bit, calling for a rapid-fire succession of screenshots of the game to be shown on the conference hall’s big screen.

Though brief, the shots showed a group of marines engaging richly detailed alien drones in what appeared to be a space station’s corridors. The shots were highly reminiscent of the tone established by Ridley Scott’s 1979 original Alien.

Quote: “Always bet on Duke.”–Randy Pitchford.

Takeaway: The next game Gearbox will deliver is the Duke Nukem Forever that has been more than a decade in the making, with many of the original developers still working on the project. Of course, fans of the series probably won’t believe it until they see it, a fact Gearbox recognized and promised to do something about as soon as possible.

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Who was there: A trio of Sucker Punch staffers were on stage: game designer Darren Bridges, development director Chris Zimmerman, and artist Edward Pun. The panel was moderated by GameSpot’s own editor-in-chief Ricardo Torres.

What they talked about: The theme of this panel was just how much one game can change over the course of its development, with the original Infamous being the case study. As the single most jarring piece of evidence, Sucker Punch showed the game’s original pitch reel. This was the video that the Bellevue-based developer used to convince Sony to fund a new super hero game after previously spending years working on the Sly Cooper series. Compared to the version of Infamous that shipped in May of last year, the pitch video was unrecognizable: a city populated by cartoon characters, a superhero in tights and a cape, and the work-in-progress title “True Hero.”

The game played remarkably different in those early days, as well. “It was like Animal Crossing meets Spider-Man,” joked Zimmerman. Far from the gritty anti-hero he would later become, the game’s original protagonist–still not yet named–was something of a ladies’ man. There was a romance system being toyed with early on that allowed the player to win over pedestrians with acts of heroism and, if all went well, reap the benefits with a giant kiss from random passers by. A clip of this wooing mechanic revealed that the player could simply run up to a couple, do a few back flips, and instantly break them up by making the girl fall in love with the player.

Another clip from early in development showed that the hero of the game wasn’t always going to use the powers of electricity as his preferred method of moving about down and dispensing with criminals. One clip showed the player zipping through the city on a dirt bike, riding on the ledges of a pedestrian bridge like an extreme sports game. In terms of weapons, early versions of the hero were shown using grenade launchers, handguns, and even sharpened bike gear projectiles. With every clip they showed–about a dozen in total–the hero would use more and more electrical powers until they did away with the traditional weaponry altogether.

Though the early combat videos seemed to show a steadily increasing amount of electrical powers as a sign that Sucker Punch at least knew in the back of their minds where they wanted to take the game, the look of the hero didn’t follow any sort of recognizable progression. Early versions of the hero ran around in shorts and sunglasses, while later versions were shown wearing a bandanna mask, one with dreadlocks, and a few with glow in the dark shoes and gloves. The chronology of the videos revealed that Sucker Punch wasn’t shy about abandoning a new design in order to go back to an old one, as well. The team ultimately settled on the bike messenger version of Cole fans know today, but not without a few iterations showing him with varying lengths of hair before going with the buzz cut seen in the final game.

However, if you believed the Sucker Punch crew’s self-deprecating laughs, none of those design growing pains caused as much of a headache as actually naming the character. Joked Zimmerman once more, “I have two children, and naming a video game character was like eight million times harder.” Early versions of the hero were code-named everything from “Gear Wolf” to “Chance.” Eventually they arrived at the name Cole MacGrath. They happened upon this surname after browsing entire books’ worth of Scottish clan names, studying the names for meanings to see which had the best fit for the image of the lightning-powered hero. In the end, the MacGrath clan’s association with the word “persistence” won over Zimmerman and his team.

Even with a clearly defined hero, there was still plenty of work left to be done. Once the team decided that Cole would eschew traditional weapons in favor of electrical powers, they spent a good deal of time coming up with ways for Cole to exert those powers. A few of the abilities that were shown but never made it into the game were a stasis field that caught bullets and sent them flying back at enemies; the ability to turn pedestrians into electrically controlled zombies doing your bidding; and the ability to take a cowering citizen and turn them into a giant that would then go off crushing enemies under its feet. A lot of ideas were thrown against the wall, and subsequently a lot of ideas were cut from the final game.

This led into a brief demo of Infamous 2. Even though the team now has a better defined vision for the series after the rough start they experienced with the first game, this sequel has still had its fair share of cut features. A clip was shown displaying some of the ideas that were toyed with for Cole’s new powers in Infamous 2, including giant spiky balls of electricity, and the ability to shrink enemies into tiny little miniature street thugs.

Quote: On the subject of making necessary changes, Bridges said, “We try not to be precious with any of our work. We try to be divorced from it. If it’s good, it stays, and if it’s not we throw it away and try it again.”

The Takeaway: Even though it went on to receive critical praise, Infamous endured a long development cycle filled with change and uncertainty. Sucker Punch overcame this and ultimately shipped a successful title, but it was a game that bore few resemblances to the original goal.

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Who was there: Bungie brought out some of its biggest guns for its 2010 Penny Arcade Expo panel devoted to Halo: Reach, including executive producer Joe Tung, creative lead Marcus Lehto, composer Marty O’Donnell, story and cinematics lead Lee Wilson, campaign lead designer Niles Sankey, sandbox lead designer Sage Merrill, cooperative multiplayer lead Lars Bakken, and community manager Brian Jarrard.

Halo: Reach falls in less than two weeks.

What they talked about: September 14 signifies the end of an era, as it will mark the conclusion of Bungie’s involvement in creating new games in the franchise that defined the Xbox as a gaming platform. With that as a backdrop, the collected Bungie contingent held forth on the series for quite possibly the last time to discuss its latest creation, Halo: Reach.

Bungie began the panel by discussing how a four-man team began planning out the initial concept for the game in October 2007–six years after the novel the game was partially based on, author Eric Nylund’s Halo: The Fall of Reach, was published. The process largely began with a storyboard-style trailer, where a sun crests on a verdant, Earth-like planet, with picturesque snow-covered mountains towering over lush, green fields. The trailer then fades to white, as the word Reach emerges in black print.

Next, a pencil sketch of a Spartan soldier is shown donning his iconic helmet, before speeding off along a dirt road in a Warthog. An ATV with a second Spartan soldier then appears, and text at the bottom of the scene reads, “Planet Reach, in the year 2552.” The panel noted that the trailer was a very early previsualization of where it wanted to go with the project, and the sequence ultimately became the opening of the game.

The team then delved into the process of creating the world of Reach, which it described as a major character in the game and the site of one of the largest conflicts in the Human-Covenant war. Though many of the details don’t appear in the game, the team mapped out such features as colonization history, geography, and economic and military centers. Other features, such as the planet’s 27-hour day/night cycle and 390-day year were also built into the game.

The team also selected certain features of the planet itself that it wanted to focus on, including environments such as badlands or temperate zones, as well as architecture that ranges from rustic to hyper-urban. The goal was to give the planet a lived-in feel with a backstory all its own.

At the same time, the team was also building out levels. This process began, quite literally, with the team making a zero-detail sketch composed of circles and lines that offered a rough overview of a player’s progression through the level. From there, the design advanced to a Post-it note phase, where pink notes represented gameplay moments; yellow was for sandbox, free-roaming areas; and blue signified story sequences. This phase was highly fluid, as the team hammered out the game’s overall progression.

Then, the team used Studio Max to quickly build out the game before placing it in the actual engine. This phase was also highly dynamic, as the rough pencil outlines became visualized. The team also used this time to define such components of the game as base run speed and how players would actually navigate through environments. The broadstroke approach was designed to be in its roughest form possible, so the team could quickly and easily see how a level would look and work, and make necessary changes as early as possible.

The panel then shifted to the characters within the game, specifically Noble Team, the six-Spartan squad at the center of Halo: Reach. (See first trailer below for an introduction.) A lot of work was put into fleshing out the group of Spartans that players will take up with, as the team wants each of the five Spartans (the player being the sixth) to come across as fully realized characters. They then showed early concept art, which emphasized unique colors as well as defining weapon loadouts. Apparently, more concept art was used in Halo: Reach than all of the other franchise installments combined.

The team emphasized that all of the characters in Noble Team should feel believable and instantly recognizable, without resorting to stereotypes. They also initially planned for Noble Team to comprise seven Spartan soldiers, having drawn much of their inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai and its Western remake, The Magnificent Seven.

Next, Bungie discussed how it went about conveying the story to players. The team wanted the story told as if players are truly embedded in Noble Team. To do this, they forwent “meanwhile moments” in favor of having players experience the story as if they were on a need-to-know basis like their Spartan companions. As such, the way Noble Team reacts to events became a central way in which the story is conveyed.

Bungie also said that for the first time, they utilized motion-capture technology, which helped make player animation and subtle body language more believable. Mo-cap also helped in cinematic design, as they began to see the camera as another player that would move in a believable fashion. It also gave the game a captured feel, as opposed to a staged shot. Even facial animation benefited from technology, they said, as the team used a special capturing mechanism to better highlight characters’ expressions in-game.

Gameplay prototypes were also briefly discussed during the panel. The speakers ran an early-in-production reel in which gameplay was prototyped. This trailer showed the initial work put into space combat, as well as players’ ability to mount and thrash large enemies and cruise around massive, open environments in a Warthog. The team also showed gameplay mechanics that were cut from the final game, including a boat-combat sequence on the high seas.

Quote: “It occurred to us while you all were walking in that this might be the last time we talk about Halo in front of an audience like this.”–Marcus Lehto, on Bungie’s exit from the Halo franchise.

Takeaway: Halo: Reach looks to be the culmination of everything that Bungie has learned about what makes the franchise the phenomenon that it is. From tried-and-true concepting to new technology, the team has gone out of its way to see that Reach lives up to the reputation of quality that its predecessors have set.

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Next Monday is Labor Day, a national holiday in the US and the traditional end of summer. And once the barbecues have cooled and the last cold beverage has been plucked from the cooler, the week will see the start of the end-of-the-year game flood.

Superhero fans will get a double-dose of games on Tuesday, when Warner Bros. releases Batman: The Brave and the Bold (DS, Wii) and Activision ships Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Xbox 360, DS, PlayStation 3, Wii). Unlike the dark and violent Arkham Asylum, the former title is geared to a younger audience, with a cel-shaded look and co-starring the caped crusader’s longtime companion Robin. Meanwhile, the T for Teen-rated Shattered Dimensions will see four different versions of the famous webslinger trade blows and quip webslinger trade blows and quips with villains as he tries to reassemble a broken artifact.

Gamers will play as four incarnations of Spider-Man in Shattered Dimensions.

Ubisoft is releasing two titles this week in two different genres. After a slight delay, the feint-focused World War II strategy title R.U.S.E. will arrive on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Those same platforms and the Wii will also receive HAWX 2, the sequel to the decently reviewed, Tom Clancy-branded air combat simulator.

Hockey fans will fans will also have a pair of games to choose from this week, both from Electronic Arts. NHL 11, the latest annual iteration of EA Sports’ rink-and-puck franchise, will ship for the PS3 and X360 on Tuesday. The company is also releasing NHL Slapshot, a more arcade-style hockey game for the Wii.

The PSP will see a major release in the form of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, the newest installmentin the Square Enix’-Disney crossover franchise. The role-playing game lit up Japan’s game software sales charts upon its debut in January, selling some 445,000 units within its first week on the market.

Fans of more bizarre Japanese games can sample the Xbox 360-exclusive Otomedius Excellent. Konami’s hybrid game combines Gradius-style side-scrolling space warfare and combines it with visuals of exaggeratedly proportioned, attractive anime girls.

Otomedius Excellent is…excellent?

For further details on the week’s games, visit GameSpot’s
New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 (LABOR DAY)

Photo World DSi–DS–Puzzle–Interworks Unlimited, Inc.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

101-in-1 Sports Megamix–DS–Puzzle–Atlus

Aion: Assault on Balaurea–PC–Role-Playing–NCsoft

Batman: The Brave and the Bold–DS, WII–Action–Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Brunswick Cosmic Bowling–WII–Sports–CokeM Interactive

Dawn of Heroes–DS–Role-Playing–Majesco Games

Dragon Age: Origins – Witch Hunt–PC, PS3, X360–Role-Playing–Electronic Arts

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep–PSP–Role-Playing–Square Enix

Kung Fu Rider–PS3–Action–SCEA

Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy–DS–Adventure–MumboJumbo

NHL 11–PS3, X360–Sports–Electronic Arts

NHL Slapshot–WII–Sports–EA Sports

Otomedius Excellent–X360–Action–Konami

R.U.S.E.–PC, PS3, X360–Strategy–Ubisoft

Saints Row Diamond 2-Pack–X360–Puzzle–THQ

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions–X360, DS, PS3, WII–Action–Activision

The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff–MAC, PC–Puzzle–Electronic Arts

Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2–PS3, X360–Action–Ubisoft

UFC 2010 Undisputed–PSP–Fighting–THQ

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

Amnesia: The Dark Descent–PC–Adventure–Frictional Games

Plants vs. Zombies–X360–Strategy–PopCap

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

No releases scheduled

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10

Recettear–PC–Puzzle–Carpe Fulgur

Operation Barbarossa – The Struggle for Russia–PC–Strategy–Matrix Games

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Next Monday is Labor Day, a national holiday in the US and the traditional end of summer. And once the barbecues have cooled and the last cold beverage has been plucked from the cooler, the week will see the start of the end-of-the-year game flood.

Superhero fans will get a double-dose of games on Tuesday, when Warner Bros. releases Batman: The Brave and the Bold (DS, Wii) and Activision ships Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Xbox 360, DS, PlayStation 3, Wii). Unlike the dark and violent Arkham Asylum, the former title is geared to a younger audience, with a cel-shaded look and co-starring the caped crusader’s longtime companion Robin. Meanwhile, the T for Teen-rated Shattered Dimensions will see four different versions of the famous webslinger trade blows and quip webslinger trade blows and quips with villains as he tries to reassemble a broken artifact.

Gamers will play as four incarnations of Spider-Man in Shattered Dimensions.

Ubisoft is releasing two titles this week in two different genres. After a slight delay, the feint-focused World War II strategy title R.U.S.E. will arrive on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Those same platforms and the Wii will also receive HAWX 2, the sequel to the decently reviewed, Tom Clancy-branded air combat simulator.

Hockey fans will fans will also have a pair of games to choose from this week, both from Electronic Arts. NHL 11, the latest annual iteration of EA Sports’ rink-and-puck franchise, will ship for the PS3 and X360 on Tuesday. The company is also releasing NHL Slapshot, a more arcade-style hockey game for the Wii.

The PSP will see a major release in the form of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, the newest installmentin the Square Enix’-Disney crossover franchise. The role-playing game lit up Japan’s game software sales charts upon its debut in January, selling some 445,000 units within its first week on the market.

Fans of more bizarre Japanese games can sample the Xbox 360-exclusive Otomedius Excellent. Konami’s hybrid game combines Gradius-style side-scrolling space warfare and combines it with visuals of exaggeratedly proportioned, attractive anime girls.

Otomedius Excellent is…excellent?

For further details on the week’s games, visit GameSpot’s
New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 (LABOR DAY)

Photo World DSi–DS–Puzzle–Interworks Unlimited, Inc.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

101-in-1 Sports Megamix–DS–Puzzle–Atlus

Aion: Assault on Balaurea–PC–Role-Playing–NCsoft

Batman: The Brave and the Bold–DS, WII–Action–Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Brunswick Cosmic Bowling–WII–Sports–CokeM Interactive

Dawn of Heroes–DS–Role-Playing–Majesco Games

Dragon Age: Origins – Witch Hunt–PC, PS3, X360–Role-Playing–Electronic Arts

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep–PSP–Role-Playing–Square Enix

Kung Fu Rider–PS3–Action–SCEA

Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy–DS–Adventure–MumboJumbo

NHL 11–PS3, X360–Sports–Electronic Arts

NHL Slapshot–WII–Sports–EA Sports

Otomedius Excellent–X360–Action–Konami

R.U.S.E.–PC, PS3, X360–Strategy–Ubisoft

Saints Row Diamond 2-Pack–X360–Puzzle–THQ

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions–X360, DS, PS3, WII–Action–Activision

The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff–MAC, PC–Puzzle–Electronic Arts

Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2–PS3, X360–Action–Ubisoft

UFC 2010 Undisputed–PSP–Fighting–THQ

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

Amnesia: The Dark Descent–PC–Adventure–Frictional Games

Plants vs. Zombies–X360–Strategy–PopCap

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

No releases scheduled

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10

Recettear–PC–Puzzle–Carpe Fulgur

Operation Barbarossa – The Struggle for Russia–PC–Strategy–Matrix Games

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Who was there: Former GameSpot editor-in-chief, EALA line producer, 2K Games publishing producer, and current Super Giant Games creative director Greg Kasavin.

What he talked about: Greg Kasavin gets around. GameSpot’s one-time editorial leader, Kasavin left the games journalism beat after 10 years in 2007 to join Electronic Arts’ LA studio, first ushering Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars to the finish line and then contributing to C&C: Red Alert 3’s development. With EALA’s operations in flux following Red Alert 3’s lukewarm reviews, Kasavin left the publisher in 2009 to join 2K Games publishing arm, overseeing teams that included Yager’s Spec Ops: The Line.

Just this week, Kasavin moved onto his new role at startup Super Giant Games, which is developing the action role-playing game Bastion. Nonetheless, he took the time to take the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo
stage to recount his experiences in a session titled “Memoirs of a Triple Agent.” After giving a brief rundown of his various roles in the game industry up to this point, Kasavin kicked off his talk by noting that there exists a substantial amount of misconception and animosity between the fields of games journalism, development, and publishing that he’d like to shed light on and hopefully dispel.

GameSpot editor emeritus and newly minted Super Giant Games creative director Greg Kasavin.

Beginning first with where he began his career, Kasavin began by noting that the field is often chaotic and intense, and throughout the course of his career at GameSpot, he never quite felt like he had things under control. Offering a quick tutorial on how to break into the games press, he said that working for free by playing games, writing up or filming impressions, and building an audience is the best way to gain the attention of the various outlets.

He also hit upon a theme that stretched throughout his presentation, which was that of cultivating a reputation of transparency and accountability while exhibiting an intense work ethic is the best way to achieve success. He also noted that it isn’t a particularly good idea to simply drop whatever else is going on in life to launch a gaming journalism career, saying, “if you can’t juggle the work, then you’re probably not a good fit.”

As for industry relations, Kasavin said that the press and developers are often on the best of terms between the three factions. This is on account of the admiration that the press often feels for the people who make their favorite games, and the appreciation of the attention that developers get from the people who write about their games.

However, this bond can be a cause for concern, he said, due to the possibility for a conflict of interest that exists. Kasavin said that intentionally segmented himself off from the development community while at GameSpot, because it is much more difficult to give an honest assessment of a game when the writer is friends with the developer. He noted that the press’ first responsibility is to their audience, not the development community.

Ultimately, this is the best tack to pursue, he said, because the audience will appreciate the press’ coverage more, while the development community will respect the principals behind it.

Of course, making friends isn’t exactly an easy task for the press, because publishers work diligently to restrict access to those who actually make the games. The motivation behind this mentality, Kasavin said, is that publishers often fear what a developer may say that could reflect poorly or be twisted in such a way to reflect poorly on the game in question.

Publishers, he noted, have a love-hate relationship with the process. “They will love you when you give their games 9s and 10s, but in general, the interaction is very tense,” he said, emphasizing that publishers often only see this as a business. And because the press’ critical opinion can lead to diminished sales, publishers are under a good deal of pressure to manipulate critics into giving the best scores to games.

For the press, the way to approach publisher relations is through a “gentle but firm” attitude, while also standing in a defensible position. It also helps to understand that a publisher’s PR department is often under a good deal of stress, as they are often seen as the reason why a game is given high or low marks, and not the actual quality of the game.

Kasavin’s talk then shifted to his experience in the development field, working for EALA. He noted that the development scene has long since left its humble beginnings of small teams and small budgets, but the industry as it operates now lacks balance. “People are crunching themselves to death,” he said, referencing long work hours without reprieve. He also bemoaned the fact that dev teams are getting quite large, and it is very difficult to control the interaction of people on that scale.

But for those who want to break in to game development, he again returned to the concept of initially doing the work for free, taking a game engine such as Unreal or Starcraft II’s level editor and simply making levels. He said that building mods and the like is the best way to circumvent the catch-22 scenario of studios requiring experience to get any kind of job in the industry.

“Start doing the work on your own time, and it might work out in the future,” he said.

He also noted that the development community often has an antagonistic relationship with the publishing side of the business, a situation that was brought into sharp focus withActivision’s Infinity Ward fiasco earlier this year. One reason for this is publishers’ decision to enact sweeping layoffs following the completion of a game, a situation that has been all too familiar this summer.

Another reason is the meddlesome nature that many publishers exhibit toward their creative talent. Because development is done on the publisher’s dime, they are risk-averse. Also, the importance of every game being a hit means that publishers must spend substantial amounts on marketing. So if a developer asks for more time to up the quality of a game, a publisher must balance the money it’s already spent on hyping the game’s release versus the additional time it will remain in development.

As he only spent about a year on the publishing side, Kasavin offered only a superficial account of his experience at 2K Games. The difference between being a producer on a development level and a producer on a publishing level, he said, is that the publishing side is often overseeing multiple projects at once. He offered a military analogy to illustrate the ideal publishing producer, saying that the best operate as chopper hovering ahead a battalion of troops, offering support when needed but largely staying out of the way.

Kasavin closed his presentation by listing the five rules that he has followed and that have helped define his career. First, it is important to empathize with people, and understand why they do what they do. Second, “give a damn” about the results, a point he called the most important. Third, be like Charlie Brown, which is to say, don’t act like a hotshot. No one knows everything, and it’s important to keep learning.

His fourth and fifth rule he conceded are somewhat paradoxical. “Go work, then go home, and then work,” he said, saying that becoming a workaholic is an excellent route to accomplishing goals. On the flip side, he said that it is important to make time to not work, whether that be through exploring another medium such as books or movies, or simply taking a walk.

Quote: “Bastion isn’t the first game I’ve poured my heart into, but it’s the first game that you’ll be able to tell.”

Takeaway: Kasavin’s extreme work ethic notwithstanding, the secret to his success within the three factions of the games industry has been fueled by a focus on integrity and a devotion to the medium.

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Who was there: Former GameSpot editor-in-chief, EALA line producer, 2K Games publishing producer, and current Super Giant Games creative director Greg Kasavin.

What he talked about: Greg Kasavin gets around. GameSpot’s one-time editorial leader, Kasavin left the games journalism beat after 10 years in 2007 to join Electronic Arts’ LA studio, first ushering Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars to the finish line and then contributing to C&C: Red Alert 3’s development. With EALA’s operations in flux following Red Alert 3’s lukewarm reviews, Kasavin left the publisher in 2009 to join 2K Games publishing arm, overseeing teams that included Yager’s Spec Ops: The Line.

Just this week, Kasavin moved onto his new role at startup Super Giant Games, which is developing the action role-playing game Bastion. Nonetheless, he took the time to take the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo
stage to recount his experiences in a session titled “Memoirs of a Triple Agent.” After giving a brief rundown of his various roles in the game industry up to this point, Kasavin kicked off his talk by noting that there exists a substantial amount of misconception and animosity between the fields of games journalism, development, and publishing that he’d like to shed light on and hopefully dispel.

GameSpot editor emeritus and newly minted Super Giant Games creative director Greg Kasavin.

Beginning first with where he began his career, Kasavin began by noting that the field is often chaotic and intense, and throughout the course of his career at GameSpot, he never quite felt like he had things under control. Offering a quick tutorial on how to break into the games press, he said that working for free by playing games, writing up or filming impressions, and building an audience is the best way to gain the attention of the various outlets.

He also hit upon a theme that stretched throughout his presentation, which was that of cultivating a reputation of transparency and accountability while exhibiting an intense work ethic is the best way to achieve success. He also noted that it isn’t a particularly good idea to simply drop whatever else is going on in life to launch a gaming journalism career, saying, “if you can’t juggle the work, then you’re probably not a good fit.”

As for industry relations, Kasavin said that the press and developers are often on the best of terms between the three factions. This is on account of the admiration that the press often feels for the people who make their favorite games, and the appreciation of the attention that developers get from the people who write about their games.

However, this bond can be a cause for concern, he said, due to the possibility for a conflict of interest that exists. Kasavin said that intentionally segmented himself off from the development community while at GameSpot, because it is much more difficult to give an honest assessment of a game when the writer is friends with the developer. He noted that the press’ first responsibility is to their audience, not the development community.

Ultimately, this is the best tack to pursue, he said, because the audience will appreciate the press’ coverage more, while the development community will respect the principals behind it.

Of course, making friends isn’t exactly an easy task for the press, because publishers work diligently to restrict access to those who actually make the games. The motivation behind this mentality, Kasavin said, is that publishers often fear what a developer may say that could reflect poorly or be twisted in such a way to reflect poorly on the game in question.

Publishers, he noted, have a love-hate relationship with the process. “They will love you when you give their games 9s and 10s, but in general, the interaction is very tense,” he said, emphasizing that publishers often only see this as a business. And because the press’ critical opinion can lead to diminished sales, publishers are under a good deal of pressure to manipulate critics into giving the best scores to games.

For the press, the way to approach publisher relations is through a “gentle but firm” attitude, while also standing in a defensible position. It also helps to understand that a publisher’s PR department is often under a good deal of stress, as they are often seen as the reason why a game is given high or low marks, and not the actual quality of the game.

Kasavin’s talk then shifted to his experience in the development field, working for EALA. He noted that the development scene has long since left its humble beginnings of small teams and small budgets, but the industry as it operates now lacks balance. “People are crunching themselves to death,” he said, referencing long work hours without reprieve. He also bemoaned the fact that dev teams are getting quite large, and it is very difficult to control the interaction of people on that scale.

But for those who want to break in to game development, he again returned to the concept of initially doing the work for free, taking a game engine such as Unreal or Starcraft II’s level editor and simply making levels. He said that building mods and the like is the best way to circumvent the catch-22 scenario of studios requiring experience to get any kind of job in the industry.

“Start doing the work on your own time, and it might work out in the future,” he said.

He also noted that the development community often has an antagonistic relationship with the publishing side of the business, a situation that was brought into sharp focus withActivision’s Infinity Ward fiasco earlier this year. One reason for this is publishers’ decision to enact sweeping layoffs following the completion of a game, a situation that has been all too familiar this summer.

Another reason is the meddlesome nature that many publishers exhibit toward their creative talent. Because development is done on the publisher’s dime, they are risk-averse. Also, the importance of every game being a hit means that publishers must spend substantial amounts on marketing. So if a developer asks for more time to up the quality of a game, a publisher must balance the money it’s already spent on hyping the game’s release versus the additional time it will remain in development.

As he only spent about a year on the publishing side, Kasavin offered only a superficial account of his experience at 2K Games. The difference between being a producer on a development level and a producer on a publishing level, he said, is that the publishing side is often overseeing multiple projects at once. He offered a military analogy to illustrate the ideal publishing producer, saying that the best operate as chopper hovering ahead a battalion of troops, offering support when needed but largely staying out of the way.

Kasavin closed his presentation by listing the five rules that he has followed and that have helped define his career. First, it is important to empathize with people, and understand why they do what they do. Second, “give a damn” about the results, a point he called the most important. Third, be like Charlie Brown, which is to say, don’t act like a hotshot. No one knows everything, and it’s important to keep learning.

His fourth and fifth rule he conceded are somewhat paradoxical. “Go work, then go home, and then work,” he said, saying that becoming a workaholic is an excellent route to accomplishing goals. On the flip side, he said that it is important to make time to not work, whether that be through exploring another medium such as books or movies, or simply taking a walk.

Quote: “Bastion isn’t the first game I’ve poured my heart into, but it’s the first game that you’ll be able to tell.”

Takeaway: Kasavin’s extreme work ethic notwithstanding, the secret to his success within the three factions of the games industry has been fueled by a focus on integrity and a devotion to the medium.

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Who was there: James Silva from Ska Studios, Ron Alpert from Headcase Games, John Krajewski from Strange Loop Games, and Brian Mitsoda from DoubleBear Production.

What they talked about: Before jumping into the meat of the PAX 2010 discussion, the panelists were asked to define what makes an indie game. While they all had their own take on the answer, it seemed that the majority agreed that an indie game is when the creators have full control during the entire development cycle.

Ska Studios’ The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai was an indie hit.

Krajewski said, “Well technically it’s a game that’s independent but what does that mean? I think it has to do with the creativity and personality that’s put into it that a big studio and a much bigger team and budget can’t experiment with and that kind of shows itself in a lot of indie games.”

For others, like Alpert, it means that “someone doesn’t own you” and you’re free to take a lot of risks.

While these risks come with total creative freedom, the downside is that in reality, people need to get paid and they could also use some health insurance, which Silva said he didn’t have.

Mitsoda mentioned that senior developers do have high-paying jobs, as well as health insurance, so it’s a big risk to leave that behind, especially when they have families to support. However, he said that there seems to be a much larger fan base for indie games now and that there is more awareness.

But games can’t sell themselves. Alpert pointed out that developers may know how to make games, but they can’t sell them. The ability to pitch a product is “as important, if not more important,” he said. Sometimes quality may not even matter, and he mentioned that a lot people who come from development do not know how to sell their product. It’s something developers need to learn, he said, but there is no roadmap for that.

The measurement of success is also dependent on the individual. Some believe that success means that a game sells enough to make another. In Krajewski’s case, he said that “the experience of making the game is rewarding in itself.”

Everyone agreed that the game needs to be good enough to stand out on its own, and that going to conferences and participating in contests is a way to get the word out.

“Embrace the community as much as you possibly can…do things that you aren’t comfortable doing,” suggested Alpert, who advised that developers need marketing. If they can’t afford to get it, he said, then they need to get out of their comfort zone and figure out how to do it.

Krajewski mentioned that he was an AI programmer initially who never saw the business side of things, but suggested that all a person can do is jump in and figure it out along the way.

It helps that the indie community is also incredibly supportive. The panelists suggested to reach out to one another for help, and that everyone is coming from similar backgrounds.

The subject of going with a publisher came up, and Alpert said that they can be useful if they’re working with you.

Krajewski recently signed on with a publisher and said that every studio does it differently and it’s important to find one that is “willing to work with you and build around what you want to do. It doesn’t mean they’ll exploit you or change your game.”

Shopping for a publisher is as hard as getting gamers to notice. Silva pointed out that the scene is, “flooded with garbage” and that standing out is difficult as long as people continue to pour money into games that aren’t very good.

In order to create a good indie game, a solid team needs to be working on it as well. Krajewski said to go after those who “make games in their spare time for fun. Those are the kinds of people you want on your team.”

With the recent surge in indie games, a lot of it has to do with the technology that is available. It is much easier for developers now to create a game using today’s tools instead of having to code everything from scratch. This also accounts for the increase in clones that are floating around on the market. Mitsoda felt there should be more variety, but Alpert stated that it is a lot easier to sell something that is already familiar to players, and it makes good business sense sometimes when there are mouths to feed.

If given the chance to go back and do things differently, Krajewski stated that it is important to revisit the idea and do a lot of play-testing. One thing he learned is to let the game grow and to find itself in the process.

Quote: “Avatar bejeweled zombie massage game.” –James Silva, who combined everything that seems to be popular into one game idea. Mitsoda responded by saying that the idea will likely happen in about a week.

Takeaway: Life as an indie developer is not glamorous and comes with difficult obstacles to overcome. It is possible to be successful with a motivated and hard-working team, as well as a good business sense to get the word out there. If no one knows about the game, it won’t sell regardless of how good it may be.

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Who was there: James Silva from Ska Studios, Ron Alpert from Headcase Games, John Krajewski from Strange Loop Games, and Brian Mitsoda from DoubleBear Production.

What they talked about: Before jumping into the meat of the PAX 2010 discussion, the panelists were asked to define what makes an indie game. While they all had their own take on the answer, it seemed that the majority agreed that an indie game is when the creators have full control during the entire development cycle.

Ska Studios’ The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai was an indie hit.

Krajewski said, “Well technically it’s a game that’s independent but what does that mean? I think it has to do with the creativity and personality that’s put into it that a big studio and a much bigger team and budget can’t experiment with and that kind of shows itself in a lot of indie games.”

For others, like Alpert, it means that “someone doesn’t own you” and you’re free to take a lot of risks.

While these risks come with total creative freedom, the downside is that in reality, people need to get paid and they could also use some health insurance, which Silva said he didn’t have.

Mitsoda mentioned that senior developers do have high-paying jobs, as well as health insurance, so it’s a big risk to leave that behind, especially when they have families to support. However, he said that there seems to be a much larger fan base for indie games now and that there is more awareness.

But games can’t sell themselves. Alpert pointed out that developers may know how to make games, but they can’t sell them. The ability to pitch a product is “as important, if not more important,” he said. Sometimes quality may not even matter, and he mentioned that a lot people who come from development do not know how to sell their product. It’s something developers need to learn, he said, but there is no roadmap for that.

The measurement of success is also dependent on the individual. Some believe that success means that a game sells enough to make another. In Krajewski’s case, he said that “the experience of making the game is rewarding in itself.”

Everyone agreed that the game needs to be good enough to stand out on its own, and that going to conferences and participating in contests is a way to get the word out.

“Embrace the community as much as you possibly can…do things that you aren’t comfortable doing,” suggested Alpert, who advised that developers need marketing. If they can’t afford to get it, he said, then they need to get out of their comfort zone and figure out how to do it.

Krajewski mentioned that he was an AI programmer initially who never saw the business side of things, but suggested that all a person can do is jump in and figure it out along the way.

It helps that the indie community is also incredibly supportive. The panelists suggested to reach out to one another for help, and that everyone is coming from similar backgrounds.

The subject of going with a publisher came up, and Alpert said that they can be useful if they’re working with you.

Krajewski recently signed on with a publisher and said that every studio does it differently and it’s important to find one that is “willing to work with you and build around what you want to do. It doesn’t mean they’ll exploit you or change your game.”

Shopping for a publisher is as hard as getting gamers to notice. Silva pointed out that the scene is, “flooded with garbage” and that standing out is difficult as long as people continue to pour money into games that aren’t very good.

In order to create a good indie game, a solid team needs to be working on it as well. Krajewski said to go after those who “make games in their spare time for fun. Those are the kinds of people you want on your team.”

With the recent surge in indie games, a lot of it has to do with the technology that is available. It is much easier for developers now to create a game using today’s tools instead of having to code everything from scratch. This also accounts for the increase in clones that are floating around on the market. Mitsoda felt there should be more variety, but Alpert stated that it is a lot easier to sell something that is already familiar to players, and it makes good business sense sometimes when there are mouths to feed.

If given the chance to go back and do things differently, Krajewski stated that it is important to revisit the idea and do a lot of play-testing. One thing he learned is to let the game grow and to find itself in the process.

Quote: “Avatar bejeweled zombie massage game.” –James Silva, who combined everything that seems to be popular into one game idea. Mitsoda responded by saying that the idea will likely happen in about a week.

Takeaway: Life as an indie developer is not glamorous and comes with difficult obstacles to overcome. It is possible to be successful with a motivated and hard-working team, as well as a good business sense to get the word out there. If no one knows about the game, it won’t sell regardless of how good it may be.

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The Monster Hunter franchise is practically the embodiment of “Big in Japan,” a fact bolstered by Media Create’s Japanese sales figures for the week of August 23-29. The latest entry in the series, a PSP spin-off centered around the off-duty exploits of Monster Hunter’s cat-like helpers, topped the charts with more than four times the sales of the second-place title.

Untrue statement: Monster Hunter’s cat-like helpers pass judgment on people’s souls with their trademark “Penance Stare.”

MonHun Nikki: Poka Poka Ailu Mura sold 256,076 copies for the week, and helped move plenty of new PSP systems in the process. Sony’s handheld sold almost exactly doubled its week-over-week sales total, topping the hardware charts with 55,112 units sold. The PS3 came in second despite selling less than half as many systems as its handheld counterpart, with Nintendo’s trifecta of the DSi LL (DSi XL in the West), DSi, and Wii once again coming in third through fifth, respectively.

The PSP’s hardware performance was no doubt also bolstered by the other two new release games to hit the top 10. Namco Bandai’s Ace Combat: Joint Assault flew as high as second place on the charts, finishing the week with sales of 57,785, while Idea Factory’s romantic adventure Hakuouki: Zuisouroku Portable landed in fifth with 24,469 sold. The PSP game arrived almost a year to the day after the original PlayStation 2 Hakuoki: Zuisouroku.

As for enduring sellers, Nintendo’s Wii Party again showed its legs, coming in third with 54,673 copies sold, easily outpacing the previous week’s best-seller, Another Century’s Episode R. The Namco Bandai PS3 game was forced to settle for fourth place with 28,354 games sold. The bottom half of the top 10 also featured a number of familiar faces, from Level Five’s Inazuma Eleven 3 DS games to Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Capcom’s Sengoku Basara 3.

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF AUGUST 23-29, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. MonHun Nikki: Poka Poka Ailu Mura / Capcom / PSP / 256,076
2. Ace Combat: Joint Assault / Namco Bandai / PSP / 57,785
3. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 54,673
4. Another Century’s Episode R / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 28,354
5. Hakuouki: Zuisouroku Portable / Idea Factory / PSP / 24,469
6. Inazuma Eleven 3: Sekai e no Chousen!! Spark and Bomber/ Level Five / DS / 15,889
7. Super Mario Galaxy 2 / Nintendo / Wii / 11,977
8. Art Academy / Nintendo / DS / 10,301
9. Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X / Namco Bandai / PSP / 9,371
10. Sengoku Basara 3 / Capcom / PS3 / 8,834

Hardware:
PSP – 55,112
PS3 – 25,053
DSi LL – 19,010
DSi – 17,057
Wii – 15,989
DS Lite – 3,925
Xbox 360 – 2,665
PS2 – 1,358
PSP Go – 836

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