Restriced Area Developer Diary part 3
Sia' Garrett' Manzari, 2003-07-31

Restricted Area is an isometric action RPG set in a 2083 on earth in a somewhat post-apocalyptic world. Jan Beuck from developer master creating is writing a deveoper diary for German site MGW and RPGDot brings you the english version of. This third entry was originally posted on july 21st 2003 at MGW. Thanks to Daniel for the cooperation!

Monday, July 14th 2003: "You're late"...so that's how you're welcomed here now. Isn't that Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne on your screen? "I have been working until minutes ago"...Hmmm...turn on the PC. 40 emails later the first problems arise: Leonid (designer) is working on the city for 3 weeks now, but still no results. "How should I design this mission?" Martin (Lead Programmer) asks. Not at all, first design the statistics screens which is displayed after each mission. Ok, that should keep him busy for a while. In the meantime, I will take care of the animations of two new enemies, because next to managing I am also responsible for the design and animations of characters.

In between I get a request for an interview from GameZone, which takes priority of course and so I first answer the questions. Around 2am I am alone in the office and the animations are done. While the computer is rendering them, I watch the PC Games (note from the editor: A German printmag) DVD. I know most of it already (among other from the GameStar (note from the editor: Another German printmag) DVD), but it is all more exiting than watching the computer rendering. This time they're visiting Phenomic. They were working in Volker Wertichs (note from the ditor: Volker Wertich is Phenomic's CEO and designer of Settlers & Spellforce) cellar until quite recently...what a luxury, there, it surely wasn't as muggy as here in the 4th floor. Let's check the new trailers. Most of them fall into one's eye by a 2 or 3 in the logo...Well, as long as the numbers arent't two digits...

The big trend this year are Online-RPGs. There's more of them announced than there are players to play them. And 15 EUR a month for Star Wars Galaxies is no peanuts for pupils, students and game designer really. Whatever, let's call it a day and off to bed with me. Did I forget anything? Oh no, tomorrow, on RPGVault the Restricted Area Peek of the Week series should take off. And I haven't written a single line yet. It is alomst 5am, when the first article is ready. entitled: "Physics in an isometric Game". I wonder if anybody is really interested in that? Well, I learned my lesson and so I decide, that the next installment has to be written by someone else. E-Mail to Carl Larrson (composer): "Hey Carl, write up an article about the soundtrack". Ok, now really off to bed. Tomorrow is tuesday and I want to start at 11am latest.

Tuesday, July 15th 2003: Tuesday is my favourite day, because the week is ahead of us and usually everybody is motivated and productive. But Martin is not here today, which keeps the mood down a bit. First thing I do is buying a new hard disc, because the old one makes some strange noises and is running extremely hot...data loss is among the worst that can happen to me. Then I answer E-Mails and start working on the statistics screen, which is displayed after each mission. When it's done, I pass the design on and work on new enemies...I aim to create an "Army of Evil" this week. Until 9pm I have created four more mutants. Animations can be used from fellow-monsters and so everything is ready quite quick today. At 9pm I start my leisure time, go for a drink and watch "Bowling for Columbine" with Joerg from QA (Quality Assurance). It is a cool movie indeed, a pity it doesn't care more about computer games.

Wednesday, July 16th 2003: Today, the first real mission is scheduled for design. There's a lot of work to do, so we order food for home-delivery...but not the usual pizza (had that yesterday), but Sushi. It doens't taste that well and is somehow disgusting, but it is healthful and somehow quite hip. ;-)

Carl is delivering the RPGVault article for next week...exemplary! Leonid is still not getting on with the city. Martin is improving the level editor and is working on the first mission. And I? I make a new animation, a spider-like creature crawling down the wall and a disgusting, fat cyber-zombie dying. I have received encouraging critics for my death animations in my younger days already. One commentary for a freeware game for kids was "Don´t download this if you are a Christian!". I can only hope, that I have not unlearned anything, but the basics for all dying animations are the motion capturing software anyway...for humans at least. When it comes to four- (or more-)legged beasts, you still have to do it yourself.

What is that? An interview request from Gamingchart.com...ok, no problem, And now? It is 9:27pm and I have nothing left to do for today. Martin and Joerg are playing p&p RPG tonight, either Shadowrun or a system developed by Martin. But I don't give up the day just like that! I have a great idea...damage textures for dying enemies! I will test it at once...

Thursday, July 17th 2003: Thursday...the day on which you try to catch on everything you have planned for the week but have not done yet. This works quite well usually, except that you think, that there still is friday and fridays everybody (including me) is leaving quite early (6pm instead of 6am), so that not really much is happening anymore. At night, when it is calm and quiue outside, you can work best anyway...and that is never really happening on fridays.

Martin resolved to do the complete scripting language AND to record an in-game movie for me today. The idea with the damage textures worked out quite well by the way! "Ivan", the fat cyber-zombie, looks badly battered when dying now. "Why is he called Ivan" Leonid asks me. Well, old foe images die slowly...hehe. When he falls to the ground, we could let the screen shake, he is so fat after all...or would it be too arcadish? I'll have it tested at once...

The in game video is another stoy. Restricted Area always runs with about 100 frames per second, but a video codec like AVI or MPG cannot do more than around 25 FPS (equivalent to TV...else it is becoming too slow and too large)...that means that 3 out of 4 frames get dropped. We postpone the matter to friday (...).

(9:32pm) Zeljko (designer), who has mainly done the skill icons in the past weeks, has finished the usable items. These include a medikit, a toolset, combat drugs, a prybar, night vision glasses and an explosive unit - not counting the various shells. As usual, I am deeply impressed by his design...everthing looks futuristic and yet functional at the same time.

Around 11:30pm the basics of the scripting language are done (Martin, how do you do that so fast always?) and we implement the walking sounds. Regarding detail, we have different sounds for each character and each footwear and all of the above for both walking, running and for different grounds. That results in dry concrete floor sounding different from wet concrete floor. I have no idea, if you really notice this in the end, but it is cool anyway. And actually it is these small details that separate the great from the run-of-the-mill games.

Friday, July 18th 2003: Oh god, it is friday again! That is always the first thing that comes to my mind. Today I design the first mission...an abandoned bunker, now home to all kinds of mutants. This is at the same time the first real test for the level editor. My verdict: It works rather good, but it is not really confortable. It takes the whole day until I'm done...but the results are good. Because I am unhappy with the editor, Martin is sitting next to me all the time and is coming up with a solution for a fiddly problem: Ínstead of composing the levels in isometric level graphics, it is easier to make them from a bird's eye perspective and to have them translated into the levels then. The problem hereby is, that there is no mathematical integer-solution for 45° rotation...and also that mathematicians are satisfied to prove that something is NOT working. This does help us little of course...so we have to find a solution anyway. This is then called computer science...or so. And we really find a solution. The annoying side effect: The first map is trashed due to the new level format. Even though I worked 8 hours on it, I take it easy, because forbearance and perfectionism are the key premises...a lot more than half of my graphics get trashed also. But the ideas are not lost...

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