Obsidian devs at Asian Game Developers Summit 2006

[funcroc]

http://www.agdsummit.com/

 

Dealing with Scope - the Time, Quality and Resources Problem

Speaker: Feargus Urquhart

Track: Production

As teams have gotten larger, games more complicated and budgets skyrocketing, how can a development team control projects? The key is focusing on the scope of a project by planning for it, managing it and always understanding where it is and where it is going. Looking at such games as Fallout, Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment, Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2, methods for understanding and managing scope will be given with specific examples that can be taken away and applied to projects starting up or already in production.

 

Enduser Content - The Rising Entry Barrier

Speaker: J.E. Sawyer

Track: Game Design

In the mid-90s, Quake and Half-Life helped usher in a Golden Era of mods. Each year, more games and engines arrive on the scene with tools to assist in the creation of enduser content. Though many developers cultivate the development of enduser content with free tools and tutorials, the rising complexity of game engines and assets often raises the entry barrier. This talk will discuss the successes and failures of recent titles and how developers can deal with the problems of increasingly complex engine features and asset creation pipelines.

 

Team Building: How to build a team for a next or current generation project

Speaker: Tim Donley

Track: Production

Tim Donley has worked in the games industry for nearly 11 years. His jobs have included animator, modeler, texture artist, concept artist, script programming, game design and producing. A few of the games he has worked on include Planescape Torment (PC), Icewind Dale 1 and 2 (PC), Red Asphalt (PS1), Rise of the Kasai (PS2), Neverwinter Nights 2 (PC), Xiaolin Showdown (PS2). One of the things he is most interested in is the team interactions which lead to great games. Prior to games he worked at Mattel designing toys. His education was a BS in Industrial Design at California State University Long Beach. He is working in the design group at Bottlerocket Entertainment near San Diego, CA.

Tim Donley left OE.

[mkreku]

Sometimes it feels like Obsidian (and any other software development company) is like a McDonald's: employees come and go so fast that noone even bothers to learn their names.

[kirottu]

Obsidian should be like a big happy Family. If someone tries to leave he will be killed.

[metadigital]

Ah, a Sicilian family.

 

I think it would be more accurate to compare game developers with film companies: similar "content providers".

[Kaftan Barlast]

I wish the state would pour a couple of tax millions on our Uni so they could afford to send us to conferences like this. Now we'll have to make due with a podcast

[kirottu]

Ah, a Sicilian family.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

They don

[Jack_Wellington]

Feargus's lecture look very interesting... Too bad I dont live in ASIA!!!.... :'(

 

edit: look at the conference forum hehe!

Edited September 12, 2006 by Jack_Wellington

[Pop]

So... there will be a podcast? Because I'm certainly interested in hearing JE Sawyer's lecture.