Train2Game students may be very interested in this! Naughty Dog have been telling the PlayStation blog about the latest game development techniques they’re using to produce Uncharted 3, and they’ve compared it to producing a Hollywood film.
Not only that but Naughty Dog are keen to further blur the realms of game development and movie production techniques.
“We have two motion capture spaces – a smaller one in the studio that lets us pick up smaller pieces, like idols, and then we have a dedicated stage at Sony Studios, and that’s where we get both the motion capture and the audio – because we do all of the dialogue at the same time – for both gameplay and cinematics.” Naughty Dog Community Strategist Arne Meyer told the PlayStation blog.
“It’s big enough for us to set up and perform everything from rehearsals to the final performances, and that approach, which is basically the same as producing a major motion picture, is what makes the performances so fluid and realistic in our games. When we’re in full swing, we’re doing new motion capture every week.”
Meyer also praised Naughty Dog’s relationship with the cast of the Uncharted series.
“We truly feel that they are part of the studio and they come down a lot on their own. Between working with them solidly for such a long period of time, and giving them input into what their characters are and should be, it’s collaborative and totally in the spirit of how Naughty Dog operates.
They feel invested in Uncharted, and it’s really appreciated when they take the time out to come along with us to events. They’re popular around the studio and we generally just like having them around.”
He went onto speak positively about the studio’s efforts producing fire effects for Uncharted 3
“We’re always on the lookout for new technical challenges and we’re really happy with what we’re achieving with our fire effects. It’s not just a static asset – the fire deteriorates the wood realistically and there are blowback effects, like you would expect. The smoke is looking much better this time around.”
“You could sit down and watch the chateau burn around you, if you sit there long enough.”
Train2Game blog readers can see the new fire effects in the video below.
Uncharted 3 was second in the Train2Game blog most anticipated games of 2011, and is scheduled for release on November 4th 2011.
So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the techniques used by Naughty Dog to produce Uncharted 3? Do you think it’s a method that all future blockbusters will use? And what do you think about the new fire effects? Is there any specific game mechanic you’d specifically like to work on in future?
As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum. You can also let us know what you think the Train2Game Twitter.
Train2Game, in association with DR Studios and the University of Bedfordshire, will be holding a Game Jam at the end of March. For more information, see the official Train2Game Game Jam website or the Train2Game Game Jam Facebook page. Alternatively, keep an eye on the Train2Game Game Jam Twitter account.
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I think we’re going to see a growing divide between a few giant studios that succeed with blockbuster productions that rival or surpass movie productions (What Rockstar’s doing with their capture system in ‘LA Noire’ is another good example.), while the bulk of the studios cut back to be more like ‘indie’ style developers that succeed by being more creative and flexible because they are free of the huge costs of the big-budget game production.
The later is only helped by the emerging success of downloadable title and mobile gaming.