Y Pack Testing: Brian Lemon recently organized a large playtest of Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties in our offices and he seemed very pleased with the response and feedback. The test was intended to get people from our other projects involved, most of who had worked on Age of Empires III itself and even earlier games. These included several of the Age of Empires III scenario designers.
The overall opinion of longtime Age veterans seemed to be that while the expansion pack has a way to go it is in a good state and is moving in a good direction. We continue to feel very confident of the choice of Big Huge Games to develop this project for us.
There is a lot of new content and features in the Asian Dynasties. It feels like a very new experience to me because there are a number of new things for me to understand and use effectively, in both the economic and military areas.
Random Map Contest - The Dakotas: We have announced the first random map contest for Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs. Our internal panel of judges will choose the submitted map that best fits the theme “The Dakotas” while providing a good balanced setting for both single and multiplayer games. The key point here is that we are looking for a map, not a scenario. The winning map may end up in a future patch of the game and the designer may get to name a building used on the map (after himself/herself or ?). Check out the details on our Age of Empires III community site here.
http://www.agecommunity.com/dakotas.aspx
Age of Empires III Banned Accounts: We had a flurry of cheating at the end of the quarter as a few people tried to boost their ladder ratings by point trading (starting lots of games with the same partner and taking turns quitting right away to give victories to each other). We won’t accept that and when we can identify players abusing the system they suffer the consequences. Our own staff is watching this and a number of people in the community who hate seeing it are reporting it to us also.
I find this cheating in online gaming very disappointing. If you are playing games online you probably live in an advanced nation, you have access to the latest technology, and you probably have an excellent education. Your position in life is envied by half the people on Earth or more. But seeing your name at the top of a gaming ladder is so important to you that you are compelled to find ways to cheat. Where’s the winning in that?
Ensemble Studios After Hours: When not working on games at work, a lot of our people are playing games. I hope this isn’t a shock. Recently we had a flurry of emails to our non-work email alias about skins for Forza2 cars. Here is a sample that Artist Dion Hopkins says took him several hours to create.
How to Get into the Game Industry: If you are in this industry you get asked on occasion by those who are not in, how to get in. For those of us who have struggled with a good answer to the questions, help has arrived, sort of, in the form of some videos by Paul Barnett, Creative Director of EA Mythic. He has some general advice and then more specific advice for each main craft (programming, art, design). I watched the design video and agreed with some of the stuff he had to say. It was amusing at times, but it falls really short of actually offering good advice about how to get into the industry.
Ensemble Studios Artist Paul Jaquays, who is involved with the SMU Guildhall graduate program in game development, had this comment about the videos: “The specific skill discipline videos descend into a mix of valuable insight liberally seasoned with pure crap for the sake of humor.” That was my impression of the design video, as well.
The path into the industry is pretty clear if you have excellent graphics or programming skills. You check out studio web pages showing jobs open and apply where you think you would fit and want to be. If your skills are good you will find a job.
Getting into design is something else again for someone with no professional experience. Our designers with no previous experience got started by demonstrating skill in making scenarios, by being superior players and starting as balance testers, or by being able to demonstrate a passion for games, knowledge about what makes them work, and other important skills (communication, writing, leadership). It is also possible for people who start in another craft (programming or art especially) to move into design once they demonstrate an ability there.
The curious can check out the videos here:
http://media.pc.ign.com/articles/792/792352/vids_1.html
New Office Planning: If we get multiple projects into full production our studio may have to grow beyond our current office space limits. Trying to plan ahead for that possibility, Studio Head Tony Goodman recently polled the company about what they would like to see incorporated into a new space. That triggered a flood of helpful and amusing responses (weight room, child care, pet care, Space Invader carpets, etc.). Programmer John Evanson summed up where he thought the plan was going with this graphic.
Online Virtual World Embassy: In one of the latest “firsts” for gaming, the Reuters News Service reported recently that Sweden opened an online embassy inside the virtual world of Second Life. The opening was attended online by Sweden’s foreign minister in the form of an avatar, while being announced at a press conference in Stockholm. The embassy was created to promote Sweden’s image and culture, and includes an art exhibit and a room dedicated to diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who helped save thousands of Jews during World War II. I wonder if this is the start of many such “embassies” in virtual games that promote all kinds of products and services.
Bruce Shelley