Design Blog

Saturday, August 15, 2009

My New Job

I've been pretty busy lately with my new job, but I have updated my LinkedIn profile to reflect my new job at ArenaNet. My official title is "Live Team Designer" which basically means I get to work on all the issues affecting the current state of Guild Wars. This includes everything from skill balance to bug fixing to developing new ways for players to play and refining existing ones.

I've been really excited about it since I talk about and play Guild Wars a lot. I think it's going to be a really great job for me since I basically get to do what I do normally with regard to Guild Wars, except now I can actually affect changes. (And somehow I also get paid for it.)

I was a little worried when I started about the potential burnout, since I've been playing Guild Wars for so long and now I'm exposed to it even more as part of my job. So far though it's been pretty much the opposite, I've actually been trying to play the game more often since I started to see what kinds of other changes I can make and what other parts of the game could use work.

I've got a few other posts in the works that have been stewing for a while, as well as the next part of my thoughts on healing classes. I've been super busy the last few weeks trying to get up to speed on all the internal stuff as well as moving cross-country to Washington, but I think I should be able to get another one up this week.

Labels: arenanet, guild wars, job

posted by Saikyo at 5:11 PM

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Internet Outage and Penny Arcade

I'm going to be cut off from my blog for a little while due to an internet outage while I move, so I won't be able to update for a little while. (Not that I could really update much before because of all the moving preparation, but rest assured that I've got a few things coming for next month.)

In the meantime, Penny Arcade is doing a short segment about BlazBlue which I'm enjoying immensely. I hope you will find it as amusing as I do.

Labels: blazblue, job

posted by Saikyo at 1:11 PM

Monday, July 20, 2009

Another New Job

Quick update today. I'm going to be a little busy the next few weeks as I prepare to move in preparation for a new job. I'll talk a little more about that once I get started.

I've got some new articles I want to talk about as well as the continuation of that healers discussion, but most of that will have to wait until I deal with all this other stuff.

Moving is HARD!

Labels: job

posted by Saikyo at 4:12 PM

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Standard Practices, and Lack Thereof

Well it looks like I'm officially unemployed now. I've been looking for a job for a little while now, but things have now escalated a bit.

In that vein I've been taking many different design tests in these past months, so far I haven't had too much luck with them, but I'm always hopeful that I will do better on the next one.

However it's brought to my attention an interesting problem with the game industry.

"There are no standards."

Now I don't necessarily mean standards as in pricing or genre, as those things are somewhat established. I refer more to standards when it comes to hiring and best production practices. This is partly the fault of the type of work that is done in the industry and partly a result of the young age of the industry.

The fact of the matter is that every single company I have ever applied to has had radically different design tests, procedures for their interviews (and in the ones that I've visited) significantly different working practices and environments. Naturally you would expect different companies to use the interview procedures based on factors such as size and the nature of the work, but even within similar companies you get very inconsistent results. Similarly when you get a design test, it can range anywhere from six hours in one block to several weeks to complete a level, and the content varies as well, sometimes its a questionnaire, sometimes it's a paper level, other times it's a level built in an editor, and occasionally you get a test that asks for just about all of them at once.

Now I want to be clear that I'm not blaming the companies for this, as they each have developed their own way of doing things. What I am concerned about however is the isolation that has resulted in these types of differences and the results on people interested in getting jobs.

When every company does creates their own special way to create games the result is that workers become incredibly specialized to a certain way of working. If company A has their own procedure for creating a game of a certain genre that involves specialized job descriptions and certain procedures, then it becomes difficult for the company to find new workers and it becomes difficult for workers at that company to find new jobs should they want/need to move on.

For example, say company A has designers wear multiple hats and design levels, script scenarios and write the dialouge, while another company B has a separate jobs for designing, scripting and writing that are fulfilled by specialists. Designers from company A will not be specialized enough to work at company B and workers from company B will not be experienced enough in the other job aspects to handle work at company A.

This is probably more of a designer issue than an artist or programmer issue however, since designer jobs seem to be the ones that differ most significantly from one company to another. However the testing procedure for hiring new workers is something that seems inconsistent for all development disciplines.

While I understand the value of testing potential applicants and I don't think it should stop, I simultaneously question why the transitions between companies is so jarring. I can be working on a week long written exam for one week and then follow it the next week with an intense 3 day design work in specific level editor. With jumps in productivity like this I think it only makes it more likely that the odd pacing will result in lower quality work overall in the long run. Additionally because of the length of time some tests take it makes it difficult to apply for multiple jobs at a time, this again, can result in a lower quality of results. Finally because the content of an employment test can vary significantly from test to test it's impossible for a job seeker to practice or prepare himself, which means the test will not necessarily be an accurate measure of his abilities.

Personally I'd like it if there was some kind of standardized way to test for certain qualities of design in a way that did not result in the guessing game that seems to happen from both sides when an employment test is issued. Of course, I realize that it's not likely to happen for a while, since part of what makes this industry so vibrant and changing is the spontaneity that pushes the limits of gameplay and design.

In the end, game design ability isn't easily measured because it's not like building a house or fixing plumbing; it's creating fun experiences from nothing but imagination.

Which unfortunately can't really be measured with a ruler.

Labels: game industry, job

posted by Saikyo at 11:03 PM

Friday, May 8, 2009

Hard Times

Seems like pretty difficult times for the game industry. Not that I wasn't aware of this from being laid off, but I recently read an interesting article that estimates the number of layoffs to be around 8450 since last July. It's a pretty staggering number when I think about it, and it only makes me realize how much harder I need to work to find a new job.

The interesting thing about that article is that the author also talks about a Gaming Renaissance movement that is taking place. It's an interesting read, and makes me a little concerned about the my future in this industry. Although at the same time I suppose I am also cautiously optimistic about the changes and the new studios that are springing up...

...though I'm not so optimistic as to stop applying for jobs and make my own company just yet. I'd like to get more experience in this industry before I can do something that radical, but it's definitely something to consider in the future.

Gonna be putting of the next BlazBlue installment for a little while since I have yet another design test I need to work on. I'm hoping to finish that set of blogs before the game actually comes out on 6/25. Well assuming it comes out on the same date in the US...

Labels: blazblue, game industry, job

posted by Saikyo at 10:25 PM

Friday, April 17, 2009

BlazBlue: Pushing Design Limitations Part 2

The job hunt is going about as well as can be expected and I've got my first design test to work on now. In the meantime I thought I'd continue my discussion of BlazBlue and the original game mechanics it introduces to the fighting game genre. Today is a discussion of the "Drive" system and the start of the individual character analysis.

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The Drive System

The button scheme for this game consists of 3 attack buttons of varying strength plus a 4th button called the Drive button. Now the first part isn't very unusual. Many fighting games have 3 or more attack buttons, but 3 is about the bare minimum that most games get away with currently (although Virtua Fighter only has punch and kick). Of course the problem with having less buttons is that you have to use additional button combinations and direction/button combinations to get more moves. So based on the ratio of actions the character can perform the amount of complex interactions can change.

I'm getting a little off topic here, so getting back to the drive system, the 4th button in BlazBlue is used for character specific actions. I believe in an interview someone related to the game mentioned that it is the button "that makes your character do something cool". It's an interesting button because the effect of it varies wildly percharacter. For some characters it is a separate attack, but for others it is an entirely separate mode or action that interacts with attacks. The result of this drive system is that every character has one ability that wildly differentiates them from the other characters beyond the simple special move properties common to most games.

Additionally behind each of the drive systems is a completely unique mechanic that none of the other characters really have. Some drives can be used an unlimited amount of times while others have special meters. Additionally the applications of each one are different, some have multiple moves associated with them while others only have a few.

The drive system is the crux of why I'm really attracted to this game. It screams original design and feels like a huge stretch beyond just simply giving each character a different theme. It sets them apart on an entire game mechanic level and I imagine it was incredibly difficult to balance as a result of that.

I seem to have written a lot there so I'll just do a few characters this time

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Ragna the Bloodedge
Drive - Soul Eater
Ragna is the main character and his drive allows him to steal health from the enemy. For him the drive button acts as a separate attack button. Each attack that hits using this button drains a small portion of health fromm the enemy. I found this to be a really crazy idea for a fighting game when I first heard about it. Generally ways to heal are rare in fighting games since the matches are decided based on who loses all their health first. Any way to heal is generally very difficult to pull off or has very small rewards. (In awkward contrast suicide style moves which drain the player's health tend to be much more common.) The fact that only Ragna has these types of attacks is a pretty bold move on the designer's part, since this kind of ability is one that can easily be either too powerful or too weak to be useful. So far tournament play from arcades seem to suggest that it was balanced fairly well. The drive attacks steal life and Ragna was created with lower than average health and an offensive oriented playstyle to compensate.

As a final twist Ragna also has a special mode called Blood Kain that causes him to actively lose health gradually while increasting the amount of health that his lifestealing takes. It's an interesting tradeoff though from what I've seen most players find it to be too risky to bother using.

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Jin Kisaragi
Drivce - Frostbite
Jin's drive as the name implies freezes the enemy. It's similar to Ragna in that it is done in the form of an attack and can be used indefinitely without penalty. Freezing in fact has been done before in some other fighting games and I think it's tends to fill the role of stuns in other games. Jin's is no exception, but the number of freezing attacks he has in comparison to other games seems to be much higher, but is balanced by the fact that two freezing attacks in a row will not freeze in succession.

Now as I said the actual freeze mechanic has been done before, but where it gets interesting is how its combined with another mechanic common to games. I guess I'll call it the EX mechanic. Certain special attacks, when performed with the drive button drain 25% of the player's super gauge in order to launch a more powerful or upgraded version of the attack. In addition to the freezing mechanic, this gives players a many more moves to work with when playing Jin and allow them to plan effective strategies through the use of their super bar (since the bar is also used for the roman cancel and super move).

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That's all for now, I've gotta get back to design tests and applications. I will eventually finish this segment though so stay tuned.

Labels: arcade games, blazblue, design philosophy, game mechanics, job

posted by Saikyo at 12:01 PM

Monday, April 13, 2009

Quick Update

So it looks like my external drive is pretty much done. I still can't believe the horrible timing of it breaking, but I'm working on getting some new videos to replace them. They won't be the same ones unfortunately, but they should at least be the same dungeon. Not sure when I'll be able to get them, but at least I should be able to get some higher quality videos at some point.

I've also been contemplating changing a few things about the website. It's been a while since I graduated from the Guildhall and I'm not sure it's clear yet from the way the front page looks. The Team Projects section seems a little vague too, I'm considering renaming it to something else.

I haven't forgotten about the BlazBlue stuff, job hunting has just been taking up a lot of my time recently. I try and hit another section of it this week.

I'm also thinking I should start another personal project but I'm not quite sure what just yet.

Labels: blazblue, guildhall, job, side projects

posted by Saikyo at 4:07 PM

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Resume Updated

Did a quick update to the resume section of the site to reflect my work at Big Huge Games as well as a LinkedIn profile link. I was planning a larger update with some images of the stuff I've been working on, but I'm having to double check some procedures to make sure I'm not breaking any rules.

I'm trying to get this resolved as quickly as possible, hopefully I can add the new stuff in a few days.

Labels: big huge games, job, resume, update

posted by Saikyo at 2:04 PM

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Job Search Resumes

I won't say much, but I'm currently looking for a new job now. Expect some updates to this portfolio site within a week or so.

Labels: job

posted by Saikyo at 2:07 PM

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

New Job

Sorry about the lack of updates recently. The reason is because I've recently accepted a new job as a level designer at Big Huge Games and have been busy working out the details of relocation.

However just because I have a job now doesn't mean I'm abandoning this portfolio. I'll continue to update this website with my side projects as well as more information about the current projects that I have up.

Additionally, I'm hoping to have more stuff for this blog as well. It is a "design" blog after all and I want to start talking about my thoughts on game design in the future as well.

Labels: big huge games, job, side projects

posted by Saikyo at 1:45 PM