Kiwi Talkz

In this episode Ryan Trowbridge shares his journey in game development, focusing on facial animation technology, leadership at Naughty Dog, and pushing creative boundaries in AAA titles.

#naughtydog #uncharted4 #uncharted

TIMESTAMPS -

00:00 - Intro

00:28 - How Seeing Gollum In LOTR Impacted Ryan As An Artist

02:08 - Upgrading The Facial System For Uncharted 4

07:00 - Naughty Dogs Engine

08:53 - Moving Into A Leadership Role At Naughty Dog

10:34 - No Producers At Naughty Dog/The Lead’s Role

12:29 - ND Created Their Own Ticket Tracking System

14:10 - The Devs Just Wing It Every Day At Work

16:10 - Creating Pirates In Uncharted 1/Prototyping Quickly

17:15 - Working With Neil Druckmann/Neil Taking Over On Uncharted 4

22:05 - Early Production On Uncharted 4/Skin Pores

23:30 - Everyone At ND Is An Artist

26:20 - Drake Had 60,00 Animations In Uncharted 4

28:13 - Attention To Detail At ND

30:00 - ND Doesnt Makes Games On A Production Schedule

31:00 - Uncharted 1/Gears Of War Influenced Uncharted 2

33:15 - Pushing The Envelope On Uncharted 2/Rockstar Influences

38:30 - Pushing The Tech On Uncharted 4

40:15 - Crunch On Uncharted 4

43:31 - Becoming A Wizard At Python

46:37 - Interview At Naughty Dog/Building Characters With More Detail

50:16 - Working With Amy Hennig/Automation Flaps

52:30 - Automated Lip Syncing

53:14 - Working On Perfect Dark Before It Was Cancelled

56:00 - What Ryan Looks For When He Interviews Devs For Roles

58:26 - Working On Perfect Dark Before It Was Cancelled Part 2

1:03:14 - Q+A - How Do You Set The Bar For Character Quality

1:04:57 - Q+A - Where Was Inspiration Taken For The Fighting Style Of Drake

1:07:40 - Where To Follow Ryan Trowbridge/Artstation

1:08:51 - People Lying In Interviews At ND/NDAs

It took a long while to get here! Finally after much delay here is the review of Metroid Prime 4 with my good friend Jack Mathews (Lead Technical Engineer On Metroid Prime Trilogy) In this episode, Jack Mathews and I analyze the development, design, and production challenges of Metroid Prime 4.

#metroidprime4 #metroid #nintendo

iF YOU WANT TO BUY JACKS WIFES COOK BOOK YOU CAN GET IT HERE https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593853148?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:25 - Metroid Prime 4 Overview

04:00 - Nintendo & Retro’s Collaborations On Metroid Prime Trilogy

06:38 - Mark Pacini Knew How To Deal With Tanabe

08:04 - Working With Risa Tabata

11:05 - Tanabe Is The Reason Prime 4 Is The Game It Is

12:01 - Memory Fruit/Certification Whiplash

13:45 - Jack Breaks Down The Intro Of The Game

18:30 - Sol Valley/Shrines

20:00 - Federation Marines

21:00 - Federation Faces In Prime 3

22:00 - Retro Studios Artists

23:14 - Why Tanabe Is Obsessed With The Federation

24:30 - The NPCs Weren’t Necessary/Prime 3 NPCs

26:15 - Ice Belt/Grievers Climbing Through The Walls

28:30 - Missiles Alerting Grievers In The Mines

31:18 - Jack Thinks Samus Should Never Talk

33:30 - Sylux’s Origins Was Terrible

35:00 - Metroid’s Presence Was Pointless

37:15 - Retro Getting Handed Bandai Namco’s Version Of Prime 4

39:45 - Why Sol Valley Didnt Work From A Production Standpoint

45:40 - Original Idea For Samus’ Ship In Prime 3

48:15 - Missing Visors, Speedbooster & Screw Attack

49:15 - The Vi-O-La

51:30 - Jack Played Prime 4 Mostly In Handheld

53:35 - Free Aim Issues On The Bosses/Mouse-Mode

56:30 - Prime 4 Is A Technical Marvel

59:45 - Retro Wont Make Metroid Prime 5 or Prime 2 Remastered

1:01:44 - Retro Is Done With Metroid

1:03:22 - Item Upgrades Are Uninspired

1:05:30 - Prime 4 Wasn’t Innovative

1:07:45 - Mark Pacini Is One Of The Best Systems Designers Ever

1:09:29 - Metroid Prime Trilogy Worked Cause Of Coordination

1:11:30 - AAA Development Is So Large You Can’t Pivot Anymore

1:12:28 - Prime 4’s Design Is Linear Corridors

1:14:42 - Green Crystal Hunt

1:15:30 - Chrono Tower Had Nothing

1:17:35 - Jack & Kiwi Rank The Prime Games Best To Worst

1:19:50 - There Are Only 4 Enemies in The Game

1:21:23 - Jack’s Wife’s Cook Book

Jérémy Hartvick is a former designer at Rockstar, best known for his work on RDR2 (he left Rockstar early in 2020). In this episode, Jérémy shares insights from his experience at Rockstar, discussing leadership, mission design, technical challenges, and the future of game development.CONSULTING WEBSITE - https://jeremyhartvick.com/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:03 - Having A Good Leader At Rockstar

03:00 - Moving Into Leadership

05:00 - Modern Day Leadership Is Different

07:50 - Jeremy’s Goals At Rockstar & In The Industry

09:50 - Rockstar Has The Best Engineers

13:00 - Doing Mission Design

14:30 - Work On Horseman Apocalypse & Honor Amongst Thieves In RDR2

16:00 - Working On Details In RDR2/Rockstar Has No Centralised AI System

18:50 - Pitching A Mission In A Rockstar Game

21:15 - Internal Deadlines At Rockstar

23:40 - Cross Collaboration Between The Different R* Studios

25:40 - Not Being Able To Separate Work From Personal Life

28:09 - Doing 100 Hour Weeks On RDR2

31:20 - Having To Standout Compared To Everyone Else

34:26 - Your Job Is Largely Safe At Rockstar

35:28 - Why Jeremy Left Rockstar

37:30 - GTA 6

39:30 - How Programmers Optimize Rockstar Games

42:20 - You Can Hire Devs For Greater Concessions Now

43:40 - The Game Industry Needs A Restructure

45:45 - Asia Is Now Making The Best Games

49:20 - Hollywood Has Indoctrinated Western Devs To Make Cinematic Games

55:40 - Jeremy’s Future Endeveurs

57:45 - Q+A - How Much Do Designers & Writers Collaborate With Missions

59:14 - Q+A - What Missions Were Possible From More Powerful Hardware

1:01:30 - Todd Howard/You Can Do Everything

1:03:47 - Switch 2/Building Games Around Hardware

1:05:15 - GTA 6 Port Potential On Switch 2

1:08:34 - Q+A - Were There Any Missions That Were Cut From RDR2

1:10:20 - Eye Of Sauron/Sam Houser

1:11:50 - Where To Follow Jeremy/Jeremy’s Consulting Website

Matt Radford was a VFX Artist on TLOU and Uncharted 4, he began research into volumetric rendering during the development of Uncharted 4 and that led to it being used in TLOU Part 2. He has now founded his own studio 5th-Corner which is also the name of his studio's upcoming game.

#uncharted #uncharted4 #unrealengine

WEBSITE - https://www.5th-corner.com/

X - @mradfo21

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

00:39 - Matt Started A Hoverboard Trend At Naughty Dog

03:30 - Culture Of Naughty Dog/Crunch

06:42 - Naughty Dog’s Engine Is Bad/Litmus Test

09:30 - Should Naughty Dog Devs Migrate To Unreal Engine

11:52 - Why Matt Left Naughty Dog/Legacy Of Artists

14:00 - Ending A Relationship Due To ND/Starting A Start Up

16:00 - Naughty Dog Is A Cult

17:45 - Researching Volumetric Rendering On Uncharted 4

24:50 - Uncharted Games Have A Specific Artstyle/PS3 To PS4 Memory Increase

26:29 - The Ray Marching Technique

27:50 - Restrictions Of PS3/Freedom Of PS4/PS5

29:10 - Intergalactic

33:38 - Talent Has Moved On Which Affects Uniqueness

35:17 - Technology Has Plateaued /Working At Epic On UE5

37:20 - Technology Has Come At The Cost Of Game Design

40:12 - Matt Doesnt Play On Console Anymore Due To Steam

41:57 - GTA 6

44:25 - Matt Wants Shorter Games

45:14 - Young People Have Too Many Options For Entertainment

46:33 - Matt’s Indie Game 5th-Corner

52:30 - Running A Business When You Are Broke/Helpful Mentors

54:12 - Game Development Is More Collaborative Than Film

55:44 - Matt Is Hopeful & Scared For His Career

56:45 - Q+A - Any Regrets Working At Naughty Dog

59:06 - Resilience/Traumas Make Entrepreneurs

1:00:06 - Q+A - What Is The Most Efficient Way Of Bulding Large Environments Solo

1:01:46 - Q+A - Details Of Amy’s Uncharted 4

1:05:43 - Working With Amy Hennig

1:06:55 - Where To Follow Matt & Keep Up With 5th-Corner

Emanuel Palalic was a former character artist on DOOM 2016 & DOOM Eternal he has now founded the studio emptyvessel and is working on their indie game DEFECT (which looks sick).

https://www.emptyvessel.io/

TWITTER/INSTAGRAM - @epalalic

ARTSTATION - https://www.artstation.com/drheadpop

@emptyvesselplay

#doom #doometernal #idsoftware

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

00:30 - Working With Teams On Different Continents

02:20 - Founding Emptyvessel

05:30 - Emptyvessel’s High Calibre Team.

06:45 - Being Overwhelmed Setting Up emptyvessel

09:10 - Destructible Terrain In DEFECT

11:30 - Gore System In DEFECT & DOOM Eternal

15:40 - Being An Intern At ID Software On DOOM 2016

18:15 - Working With Hugo Martin

20:15 - The Culture Of ID Software

22:00 - Rebooting DOOM/DOOM 2016

25:30 - ART REEL - Icon Of Sin

27:45 - Gore Wounds

29:00 - ART REEL - Baron Of Hell

31:15 - ART REEL -Shotgunner

34:30 - Attention To Detail At ID Software

35:28 - ID Software Thought People Would Hate doom 2016

39:40 - The Pressure Of Working On DOOM 2016 & Eternal

40:34 - Mick Gordon

45:42 - The Mistakes AAA Games Make.

48:18 - There Is No Safety In AAA Anymore

50:58 - Focus Group Testing/Devs Following Trends

52:05 - Investors Are Apprehensive Towards Realistic FPS Games

55:30 - Motion Sickness With FPS Games

57:50 - DEFECT Won’t Have Third-Person

59:26 - Q+A - Was DOOM Guy Mini Face Considered In The UI

1:01:17 - DOOM 2016/Eternal Was Influenced By Metroid Prime/ID Software Loves Metroid

01:02:35 - Q+A - How Long Does It Take For Art To Be Approved

01:04:29 - Q+A - How Did The Pipeline Work With ID Tech Engine

1:08:40 - Where To Follow Emptyvessel & DEFECT

Andrew Willis was a producer on DOOM TDA & Revelations and planned on staying at ID Software till retirement, till the dreaded Microsoft layoffs. In this episode he covers his time at ID Software and the terrible layoffs.

#doom #doomthedarkages #idsoftware

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

00:35 - Going From Manager At A Pizza Place To ID Software Producer

06:38 - Why ID Software Culture Was So Great

09:00 - Realising His IT Knowledge Was Useless At ID Software

10:45 - Being A Producer At ID Software

13:10 - ID Tech Engine

13:59 - Smash Bros/Doom Slayer In Smash Bros

15:30 - ID Software Layoffs

22:30 - Not Being Allowed Back In The Office To Get Belongings

24:07 - ID Software PR Statement Is BS/Nightmare Production On DOOM 2016

25:10 - The Firings Will Be Analysed

25:59 - Microsoft’s 14 Layers Of Management Are Lies

29:00 - Game Development Has Been Taken Over By Greedy Execs

34:30 - Nintendo Protect Their IP & The West Doesnt

35:30 - Gamepass Is Mismanaged

39:50 - How Gamepass Affected DOOM: TDA

41:10 - Happy Xmas Story At ID Software

42:50 - Working With Hugo Martin

45:00 - Developing The Dragon & Mech In DOOM TDA

47:15 - ID Software Started To Become More Hieracachal

49:40 - Q+A - Was The Buzzshield Inspired By Captain America

50:25 - Q+A - Will ID Software Switch To Unreal Engine

52:29 - Q+A - Were Things Cut From DOOM TDA DLC

54:32 - DOOM Revelations Is Bittersweet/Layoffs On The Day Before Release

58:34 - Andrew Planned To Retire There/Unionisation

1:01:37 - Q+A - How Much Does Ray Tracing Speed Up The Production

1:05:02 - Working With Alex Klingle/Finishing Move On The Soundtrack

1:06:00 - Andrew Thanks DOOM Fans/Changing The Industry

The legendary Shawn Layden returns to provide wisdom on things surrounding the video game industry. As was the case last time, I tried to ask him a lot of stuff he hasn't been asked before. Enjoy!!

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro/Shawn Layden Made Kiwi Smarter

01:49 - Differences Between Working At Sony’s Offices In Japan,UK & US

05:45 - How The Japanese Felt When Sony HQ Moved From Tokyo To California

07:00 - Salaries In The US Are Hurting Game Development There/Outsourcing

10:20 - Nothing Will Beat GTA/Strauss Zelnick

11:45 - Shawn’s Role As A Chairman

13:30 - Shawn Knowing His Limitations As A Boss

15:01 - Games Aren’t Built By Gamers Anymore

15:45 - Publishers Are Becoming Risk Averse/Chasing AAA

18:00 - Why AAA Games Are Financed Over AA

19:15 - Institutional Knowledge/The Power Of Brand

23:00 - Sony Getting Rid Of Physical Discs

24:05 - Sony Can Take Japan Back From Nintendo

25:13 - Sony Can’t Support Two Consoles At Once

27:00 - Nintendo & Sony Are Becoming Direct Competitors Again

28:30 - Sony Putting Games On PC

31:30 - Shawn’s Views On Meetings

32:00 - Unproductive Meetings

36:00 - Employees Whose Jobs Are To Arrange Meetings

37:30 - Shawn Kills Rumor That He Spoke To Asha

38:50 - Shawn Speaks On Asha/Microsoft’s Goals

40:30 - Live Services Titles Successes Are By Accident

43:20 - Data Driving Decisions

44:50 - Spreadsheet Decision Shawn Made/Edutainment

48:10 - Success Is Seductive/Hire The Right Talent

49:30 - Avoiding YES MEN When You Are The Boss

52:00 - Shawn Is Happy He Never Has To Do A Budget/Plan & Peformance Appraisal Again

53:25 - Q+A - Was A Cell Based GPU Considered For PS3

54:16 - Q+A - How Do We Correct The Over Reliance On AAA

57:15 - Astro Bot/Sony Needs To Do More AA Games

1:01:15 - Why GTA 6 Is An Event/Diluting A Brand

1:02:20 - Q+A - Will The Japanese End Up Pulling Ahead Of Everyone Else

1:04:15 - GTA 6/Games Need To Be Shorter

1:05:30 - Girls Make Games Scholarship Fund

Rico Flores is an animator who is best known for his tenure on Uncharted 3 & 4, he is currently at emptyvessel working on their game DEFECT

#uncharted4 #uncharted #uncharted3

TWITTER - @r1c00

WEBSITE - https://www.emptyvessel.io/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

00:34 - Animating Doors Is Tedious/Naughty Dog Has A Door System

03:12 - Being Chucked In The Deep End On Uncharted 3/How Rico Got Hired

08:10 - Rico Had No Idea How Prestigious Naughty Dog Was When He Got Hired

08:47 - Being Interviewed At Naughty Dog

09:58 - Working On Uncharted 4

12:15 - Assets On Uncharted 4 Werent Carried Over From Uncharted 3/Mocap

14:00 - The Benefits Of Mocap

17:13 - You Could Shoot Mocap As Much As You Wanted At Naughty Dog

20:00 - Naughty Dog’s Flat Structure

22:50 - Intergalactic

25:10 - Crunch On Uncharted 4

28:43 - Staying Healthy While Doing Crunch

31:11 - Commuting Time In L.A.

33:05 - Why Rico Left Naughty Dog/Naughty Dog Pay

36:46 - Culture Of Bioware/Incorporating ND Culture Into Bioware

38:10 - Emptyvessel/Meeting Emanuel Palilic/AAA Isn’t Safe For Devs Now

42:20 - Destructible Terrain In DEFECT/Optimisation

44:45 - Single Player Will Be In DEFECT As Well

46:43 - Mick Gordon

47:43 - Q+A - How Naughty Dog Pull Off Animations Ahead Of It’s Time

50:15 - Naughty Dog’s Engine

52:10 - Q+A - Biggest Challenge In Animating Nathan Drake

54:00 - Working With Programmers

57:12 - Q+A - What Challenge Kept You Up At Night

59:59 - Institutional Knowledge/Microsoft Layoffs

1:01:26 - Working With Bruce Straley

1:02:50 - Where To Follow Rico Flores/Follow DEFECT

Kris Roberts was a former designer on Midnight Club 3, Los Angeles and Red Dead Redemption, in this episode he talks about his work at R*.

WEBSITE - https://www.robertsmania.com/ T

WITCH - https://www.twitch.tv/robertsmania

YOUTUBE - @Robertsmania

TWITTER - @Robertsmania

#rockstargames #midnightclub #reddeadredemption

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

00:30 - How Kris Got Into Cars

01:58 - Working On Midnight Club Series/Angel Studios Early Days

05:57 - Midnight Club 2/Working In Gamesb

07:40 - The Key To Good Vehicle Simulations & Tuning

10:05 - Kris Takes Shots At Need For Speed

11:00 - iRacing Simulation/Realistic Simulations

12:30 - VR Driving Simulation

14:15 - GTA’s Vehicle Tuning

16:06 - Kris Is Not Interested In GTA 6

16:30 - The ARTS Engine Became The RAGE Engine

18:40 - How The RAGE Engine Evolved By RDR1

20:52 - RAGE Engine Summit

22:45 - Why Midnight Club 5 Was Cancelled

27:00 - Red Dead Revolver

29:00 - Initial Skepticism Over Developing Red Dead Redemption

30:15 - Being The Lead For RDR1 Multiplayer

33:15 - Kris Was Stressed Being A Leader

38:00 - Crunch On RDR1

42:15 - Dan & Sam Houser

45:45 - RDR1 Multiplayer Never Got Relief Unlike The Main Team

47:43 - Rockstar Wives Fallout/Jury Duty

48:40 - RDR1 Multiplayer Being Broken At Launch

52:20 - Why Kris Left Rockstar/Completion Bonus/Layoffs

59:10 - Kris Only Does Contracting Now/Working With Sony Online

1:03:21 - Q+A - Was RDR1 Multiplayer Always Planned As A Sandbox

1:03:50 - Q+A - How Fun Was It To Debug Customisation Options In MC3

1:05:40 - Q+A - Was Undead Zombies Considered For RDR1 In Free Roam

1:06:38 - Where To Follow Kris/Doing A 2nd Podcast About Valve

Varun Mayya is an entrepreneur, content creator, author and now he is venturing into game development and working on India's most ambitious game ever. Unleash The Avatar

#unleashtheavatar #indiangaming

See the latest trailer gameplay footage here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_zBp21BWI0

WEBSITE - https://www.unleashtheavatargame.com/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:28 - Varun Loves The Mechanics Of Dota & Rocket League

03:56 - How Varun Started Making Video Games

05:15 - Journey To Making Unleash The Avatar/Multiplayer Games

06:00 - Soulslikes/Black Myth Wukong/Sekiro

07:39 - Games Are Sustainable/Gamers Demands

11:19 - Unreal Engine/Photogrammetry Of India For Unleash The Avatar

12:48 - Scanning An Entire Indian Town For Assets In Unreal Engine

15:00 - 1st Trailer For Unleash The Avatar Was To Hire Talent

16:15 - Varun’s Smart Plan To Hire The Best Engineers

19:12 - Aftermath Of 2nd Trailer

21:30 - Developing The Game Start Up Style/Revelation From The 2nd Trailer

23:02 - Bollywood Influence On The Game/Anatomy Of The Story

28:10 - Varun Is Closely Involved With The Entire Project

29:43 - Target Audience For Unleash The Avatar

32:10 - Using A Metronome For The Bosses

33:20 - Aura Farming/Taunts In The Game/Difficulty Settings

36:22 - Black Myth Wukong Inspirations & Differences

41:39 - Black Myth Wukong’s Marketing

43:16 - Bold Marketing Strategy For Unleash The Avatar

50:14 - Why India Hasn’t Produced AAA Games/Entrepreneurs

54:55 - Risk & Reward/Varun’s Views On Business

57:00 - Stigma From Parents Regarding Gaming & Content Creation In India

59:00 - Success & Failures Drives Everything Forward

1:00:10 - Economics Of AAA Games In India Vs U.S.

1:06:40 - Unleash The Avatar Was Largely Made Inhouse/Rockstar India

1:08:31 - Why India Will Become A Haven For Game Development

1:13:30 - Assassin’s Creed Setting In India

1:15:30 - Indian Lore & Culture In Unleash The Avatar

1:18:39 - Where To Keep Up To Date With Unleash The Avatar