Bootaaay
30 Jun 06, 19:04
http://uk.xbox.gamespy.com/xbox-360/gears-of-war/715859p1.html
If you're a fan of shooters with sci-fi themes, you probably feel like you've seen it all. Doesn't it seem like we've walked down the same metallic walkways and explored the same downed spacecraft hundreds of times? Sure, games like Halo 2 and DOOM 3 added some refreshing twists, but most sci-fi shooters are giving us that "been there, done that" feeling. That's probably one of the biggest reasons that we're all looking forward to Epic's Gears of War so much. The game is set on the fictional planet of Sera, where a war is being waged between mankind and the Locust Horde, a race of terrifying, brutal creatures. We recently had a chance to pick the brain of Cliff "CliffyB" Blezinski, the game's Lead Designer, about what went into creating the unique environments.
GameSpy: Tell us about the setting for Gears of War, and how it was originally conceived.
CliffyB: Sometimes, in order to figure out what you want, you have to ask yourself what you don't want. We knew we didn't want the game to take place on Earth. Having to painstakingly recreate Times Square or the Tower Bridge in London doesn't really spark a tremendous amount of enthusiasm from the art department. We also knew that when you say "sci-fi" what pops into your head? Dark, angular metallic tunnels with lots of grating... or an Asian overgrown city... or a concrete bunker. We made sci-fi beautiful with color and scale and location in Unreal, why not make something de-saturated, grounded, yet still beautiful in its own unique and destroyed manner?GameSpy: What goes into designing a Gears of War level or map, and how was the process different from other games that Epic has worked on?
CliffyB: Well, the process is different now in the fact that we have a true pipeline and process. Back in the day it was "Hey, Level Designer X, make some cool stuff...in a castle!" Now we have a high level plan for a level which is then blocked in. We get a great chunk of the gameplay working first to adjust for pacing, combat viability, and scripting. Then the "pretty hose" comes in and does a first pass at what we call "meshing" the level - applying all of the modular architecture that the art department has lovingly crafted in order to make the level come to life. (A lighting pass is made as well here.) From there on out we continue to iterate on the game flow, scripting, and visuals until we have something that we feel we can ship with.GameSpy: The architecture seems European, or gothic in flavor. What spurred this design decision, and how have the artists work on the game's structures affected the level design?
CliffyB: I was playing through one of the early levels the other days and stopped to enjoy the scene when I realized that somehow we'd wound up with what felt like a firefight in one of my favorite places in NYC - the Met. The fact is that you're engaged in brutal and savage warfare as all of this beautifully crafted architecture is crumbling around you is a strangely enjoyable juxtaposition in Gears.
Just because you're doing a dark universe doesn't mean your environments can't inspire. I've always loved beautiful architecture, how a space feels and looks, so that's what was pushed for from the get-go. My brother went to West Point when I was a boy and we'd drive up to visit him on a regular basis; the place made a huge impression on me. I suppose that's one of the reasons why I was pushing for a military academy section of the game. Visiting London a few years ago; realizing how important it is to have a place that not only serves function but form. Wanting a place that feels unique yet recognizable. All of these were factors that went into the direction we ultimately landed on.GameSpy: Gears of War seems to have a very heavy, deliberate feel to its character movement.. How are you using the level design to manipulate the game's pace?
CliffyB: Whenever our designers sculpt a combat encounter they're always keeping in mind the angles at which the fight takes place. There's usually a "front" where you engage the foe; at the start of the fight you have a pretty good idea where your foes are so you can feel safe taking cover. We make sure to make the flanks as "crisp" as possible; 90 degrees whenever we can, so that it's very obvious when you're safe and when you're not. This also clears things up for making certain the player knows when he's flanked his foe. GameSpy: The pacing and general feel of Gears is unlike anything we've played before, with such a cinematic feeling experience, were there specific areas or battles in each environment that found inspiration in particular films, and if so, which ones?
CliffyB: We were joking around the other day about the steps we've taken to keep the game as interactive as possible but also provide a cinematic camera... "Cinemactive?" We agonize over the framing of Marcus alone. Is he properly in the frame? What's the field of view when you're in cover versus out of cover? How far should he be from the camera while "roadie-running?" How wobbly should the camera be in general?
Jerry (our art director) has a great film sense and we're all a fan of cinematic gaming so all of these bits were a no brainer for the game.GameSpy: What is the emotional response that you aim to create through your level design?
CliffyB: The core loop of the game is tremendously fun but any core will get boring after continued repetition. This is why God of War has its mini-games. This is why you drive vehicles in Halo. In Gears we take the mold of fire team combat and continue to flip it. Here, deal with fast tactical action ... in the evening... with air piranhas circling overhead waiting to eat you if you enter the darkness. Here, deal with fast tactical action...but all of your cover is getting blown to smithereens. Now figure out how you're going to take down a 500 lb Boomer who doesn't even bother to take cover... or the little Wretches that climb on the ceiling and try to drop down behind you.GameSpy: Aside from stuff like buildings and bombed-out cars, what other types of cover will players be able to use?
CliffyB: Oh god, I can't keep track. Desks, tables, pillars, chairs, vending machines, pianos, benches, newspaper vendors, the list goes on and on. This was one of the challenges early on; if every room was just a bunch of conveniently fallen pillars it'd get old really quick. So we've got tons of meshes that are clearly cover. I'm a fan of the stove myself.GameSpy: Until now, the environments we've seen are primarily urban. Will we be seeing old standbys like forests or alpine levels?
CliffyB: Actually, now that you mention it the snow level is in production right behind the lava level. (Just kidding!)
Seriously though, we've got tons of variety in the game. I believe that game developers generally tend to paint in extreme brush strokes because our medium sometimes is very difficult with expressing subtleties. Facial animation is getting better but until recently you couldn't express a nuanced brow raise or wry grin which can say a thousand things to the user. Instead we'd just go "that's hard, let's give her some huge boobs and call it a day."
So, to bring this full circle, we've got tons of variety in the game (and some spectacular locations) without having to go completely insane with every single locale. A forest at night that's raining... and something's out there stalking you... or a homeless camp beneath a bridge that's huddling away from the terrors of the night. Not to mention the first time you witness the threatening beauty of the underground of the planet - The Hollow. It's quite the ride!GameSpy: If so, will the types of cover available change? After all, aren't trees the original destructible cover?
CliffyB: Generally speaking, most wooden cover is vulnerable to damage and destruction. Metal cars have their doors flying off and what-not and items fall down in order to create cover.GameSpy: During the minecart sequence we saw at X05, the game briefly turned into an on-rails shooter. Are there a lot of instance like this, in which the environments themselves actually change the style of play?
CliffyB: We have a few sequences like this, but at press time I'm not really available to spill the beans on them. I've already blabbed too much as it is!
I can't wait for this to hit, it's possibly the only game i'm really, REALLY looking forward to for the rest of this year (well, maybe Twilight Princess too :p )
If you're a fan of shooters with sci-fi themes, you probably feel like you've seen it all. Doesn't it seem like we've walked down the same metallic walkways and explored the same downed spacecraft hundreds of times? Sure, games like Halo 2 and DOOM 3 added some refreshing twists, but most sci-fi shooters are giving us that "been there, done that" feeling. That's probably one of the biggest reasons that we're all looking forward to Epic's Gears of War so much. The game is set on the fictional planet of Sera, where a war is being waged between mankind and the Locust Horde, a race of terrifying, brutal creatures. We recently had a chance to pick the brain of Cliff "CliffyB" Blezinski, the game's Lead Designer, about what went into creating the unique environments.
GameSpy: Tell us about the setting for Gears of War, and how it was originally conceived.
CliffyB: Sometimes, in order to figure out what you want, you have to ask yourself what you don't want. We knew we didn't want the game to take place on Earth. Having to painstakingly recreate Times Square or the Tower Bridge in London doesn't really spark a tremendous amount of enthusiasm from the art department. We also knew that when you say "sci-fi" what pops into your head? Dark, angular metallic tunnels with lots of grating... or an Asian overgrown city... or a concrete bunker. We made sci-fi beautiful with color and scale and location in Unreal, why not make something de-saturated, grounded, yet still beautiful in its own unique and destroyed manner?GameSpy: What goes into designing a Gears of War level or map, and how was the process different from other games that Epic has worked on?
CliffyB: Well, the process is different now in the fact that we have a true pipeline and process. Back in the day it was "Hey, Level Designer X, make some cool stuff...in a castle!" Now we have a high level plan for a level which is then blocked in. We get a great chunk of the gameplay working first to adjust for pacing, combat viability, and scripting. Then the "pretty hose" comes in and does a first pass at what we call "meshing" the level - applying all of the modular architecture that the art department has lovingly crafted in order to make the level come to life. (A lighting pass is made as well here.) From there on out we continue to iterate on the game flow, scripting, and visuals until we have something that we feel we can ship with.GameSpy: The architecture seems European, or gothic in flavor. What spurred this design decision, and how have the artists work on the game's structures affected the level design?
CliffyB: I was playing through one of the early levels the other days and stopped to enjoy the scene when I realized that somehow we'd wound up with what felt like a firefight in one of my favorite places in NYC - the Met. The fact is that you're engaged in brutal and savage warfare as all of this beautifully crafted architecture is crumbling around you is a strangely enjoyable juxtaposition in Gears.
Just because you're doing a dark universe doesn't mean your environments can't inspire. I've always loved beautiful architecture, how a space feels and looks, so that's what was pushed for from the get-go. My brother went to West Point when I was a boy and we'd drive up to visit him on a regular basis; the place made a huge impression on me. I suppose that's one of the reasons why I was pushing for a military academy section of the game. Visiting London a few years ago; realizing how important it is to have a place that not only serves function but form. Wanting a place that feels unique yet recognizable. All of these were factors that went into the direction we ultimately landed on.GameSpy: Gears of War seems to have a very heavy, deliberate feel to its character movement.. How are you using the level design to manipulate the game's pace?
CliffyB: Whenever our designers sculpt a combat encounter they're always keeping in mind the angles at which the fight takes place. There's usually a "front" where you engage the foe; at the start of the fight you have a pretty good idea where your foes are so you can feel safe taking cover. We make sure to make the flanks as "crisp" as possible; 90 degrees whenever we can, so that it's very obvious when you're safe and when you're not. This also clears things up for making certain the player knows when he's flanked his foe. GameSpy: The pacing and general feel of Gears is unlike anything we've played before, with such a cinematic feeling experience, were there specific areas or battles in each environment that found inspiration in particular films, and if so, which ones?
CliffyB: We were joking around the other day about the steps we've taken to keep the game as interactive as possible but also provide a cinematic camera... "Cinemactive?" We agonize over the framing of Marcus alone. Is he properly in the frame? What's the field of view when you're in cover versus out of cover? How far should he be from the camera while "roadie-running?" How wobbly should the camera be in general?
Jerry (our art director) has a great film sense and we're all a fan of cinematic gaming so all of these bits were a no brainer for the game.GameSpy: What is the emotional response that you aim to create through your level design?
CliffyB: The core loop of the game is tremendously fun but any core will get boring after continued repetition. This is why God of War has its mini-games. This is why you drive vehicles in Halo. In Gears we take the mold of fire team combat and continue to flip it. Here, deal with fast tactical action ... in the evening... with air piranhas circling overhead waiting to eat you if you enter the darkness. Here, deal with fast tactical action...but all of your cover is getting blown to smithereens. Now figure out how you're going to take down a 500 lb Boomer who doesn't even bother to take cover... or the little Wretches that climb on the ceiling and try to drop down behind you.GameSpy: Aside from stuff like buildings and bombed-out cars, what other types of cover will players be able to use?
CliffyB: Oh god, I can't keep track. Desks, tables, pillars, chairs, vending machines, pianos, benches, newspaper vendors, the list goes on and on. This was one of the challenges early on; if every room was just a bunch of conveniently fallen pillars it'd get old really quick. So we've got tons of meshes that are clearly cover. I'm a fan of the stove myself.GameSpy: Until now, the environments we've seen are primarily urban. Will we be seeing old standbys like forests or alpine levels?
CliffyB: Actually, now that you mention it the snow level is in production right behind the lava level. (Just kidding!)
Seriously though, we've got tons of variety in the game. I believe that game developers generally tend to paint in extreme brush strokes because our medium sometimes is very difficult with expressing subtleties. Facial animation is getting better but until recently you couldn't express a nuanced brow raise or wry grin which can say a thousand things to the user. Instead we'd just go "that's hard, let's give her some huge boobs and call it a day."
So, to bring this full circle, we've got tons of variety in the game (and some spectacular locations) without having to go completely insane with every single locale. A forest at night that's raining... and something's out there stalking you... or a homeless camp beneath a bridge that's huddling away from the terrors of the night. Not to mention the first time you witness the threatening beauty of the underground of the planet - The Hollow. It's quite the ride!GameSpy: If so, will the types of cover available change? After all, aren't trees the original destructible cover?
CliffyB: Generally speaking, most wooden cover is vulnerable to damage and destruction. Metal cars have their doors flying off and what-not and items fall down in order to create cover.GameSpy: During the minecart sequence we saw at X05, the game briefly turned into an on-rails shooter. Are there a lot of instance like this, in which the environments themselves actually change the style of play?
CliffyB: We have a few sequences like this, but at press time I'm not really available to spill the beans on them. I've already blabbed too much as it is!
I can't wait for this to hit, it's possibly the only game i'm really, REALLY looking forward to for the rest of this year (well, maybe Twilight Princess too :p )