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Harmonix: Behind the Music (Games)

Harmonix: Behind the Music (Games). IMGD, Feb 7th 2008. Harmonix. Music Game developer based in Cambridge Spun out of MIT Media Lab in 1995 Focused on Interactive Music Innovation Our Mission: “Create new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music”

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Harmonix: Behind the Music (Games)

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  1. Harmonix: Behind the Music (Games) IMGD, Feb 7th 2008

  2. Harmonix • Music Game developer based in Cambridge • Spun out of MIT Media Lab in 1995 • Focused on Interactive Music Innovation • Our Mission: “Create new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music” • Led to video game development

  3. Our latest & greatest… Rock Band

  4. Who are we? Rob Kay Director of Designer Lead Designer on Rock Band Ike Adams Software Developer Gameplay and Interface Engineer on Rock Band

  5. Rob’s route in • Art college & Amiga demo scene • Pysgnosis advice – learn 3D! • Bournemouth University NCCA • Cut teeth as artist on Looney Tunes games • Level design experience • Harmonix game designer

  6. Ike’s route in • Started making games at 8 • Syracuse University for Computer Geekology and Math • Started game development career with Kent Quirk at Cognitoy • Spent 3.43 years as a game engineer at Blue Fang Games • Harmonix – Interface and Gameplay on Rock Band • Currently - Tools and development process optimization.

  7. Behind the scenes at Harmonix Rob: Designing for everyone Ike: Tools & process Tips for getting into industry Q&A What’s this talk about?

  8. Designing for Everyone

  9. Understand your players • Why? • Players have different needs • In reality though…

  10. Top 5 Design Practices When making games for everyone…

  11. 1. Find a universally appealing concept

  12. Universally Appealing Concept • Easier said than done • If you don’t nail this, forget about it! • Goal: • Describe the game in one sentence and people get excited.

  13. Some Examples “run a Hollywood Studio” “take care of a pet” • “take charge • of an • NFL team” • “play in • a band”

  14. Where do you look for inspiration? • Not in video games • They both want new experiences • In the real world • Popular cultural trends • Experiences that different kinds of people aspire to do

  15. 2. Value the context and presentation

  16. Why value context and presentation? • Draws them into a game • Improves the play experience • Succeed at this and you’ll lure them in • Fail at this and you’ll turn them away

  17. Context and Presentation FreQuency 2001 Abstract visuals – “you’re in the music”

  18. Context and Presentation Rock Band 2007 Live Show visuals – “you’re on stage”

  19. 3. Embrace alternative controllers

  20. We haven’t made a joypad game since 2003 Camera Guitar Microphone

  21. We’ve noticed some big user benefits… Guitar + Drums + Microphone!

  22. They look like what they do

  23. It’s obvious how to use them

  24. Joypads • Generic by design • So can’t “look like what it does” • No mental model for how to use it

  25. Today’s joypads are intimidating

  26. These controllers are inviting

  27. They level the playing field

  28. 4. Ensure intuitive controls

  29. Intuitive Controls • It just works • This is our responsibility • Employ usability principles

  30. Natural Mapping Spatial relationship between control and result is consistent

  31. 5. Encourage the whole dev team to play the gameand give feedback

  32. Teams make games • The more the team plays, the better the game • A diverse team’s range of insights will help you make a game for “everyone”

  33. Set up the work environment • Daily builds • Open door policy • Feedback expected from everyone

  34. Feedback Loops

  35. Feedback Loops

  36. Feedback Loops

  37. Feedback Loops

  38. Recap • Find a universally appealing concept • Value the context and presentation • Embrace alternative controllers • Ensure intuitive controls (natural interface) • Encourage the whole team to play and give feedback

  39. Designing Games for EVERYONE… …is fun and rewarding!

  40. Development Process and Tools

  41. Before I talk about tools…Building Blocks • Games can be so complicated that it’s very hard for one person to wrap their head around the whole thing • In order to understand and work on problems, we need to break it down into pieces that we can understand. • We keep breaking down complexity until we have building blocks or (components).

  42. My favorite example …LEGOs • Think of a Lego City • It’s cool but it’s very complicated

  43. In order to simplify we break it down into components • Buildings • Vehicles • People

  44. We continue to break it down until we have something “simple” to work with.

  45. How do we make a tool that’s good for development? • Be able to isolate “simple” building blocks in the game

  46. How do we make a tool that’s good for development? • Put building blocks together in context to see them in their environment

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