Weeks 25 & 26
This is it, after spending six months improving our 3D engine, we are at last starting playability. We are going to know if we made the right choice in opting to develop tools for the integration of the Game Play rather than programming it on hard disk. Today we have four publishers for Omikron: - IAM (Intelligent Adventure Manger): IAM enables the Game Designer to program himself the Game Play of the game without entering a code line, just on the basis of icons. So objects and characters can be positioned directly in the set, zones can be defined, and the script of the adventure generated which will be used by the game. IAM uses its own programming language (Quantic C) and is interfaced with the game which revolves in a window. So the Game Play can be tested in real time. IAM also integrates Artificial Intelligence functions. It is endowed with check routines verifying the code as it is generated (no more need for debugging). - GEM (Graphic Editing Manager): a modeling and mapping tool dedicated to real time. Directly interfaced with the engine of the game, it also allows the routes for vehicles and passers-by to be defined, transparency and opacity to be allocated, and many more functions. - GALE (Graphic Animation Library Editor): Our animation utility. It means that an animation can be seen directly on our engine and be applied to any character, controls can be attributed to the animations and the animation chaining can be constructed in tree form. - RAM (Real-Time Animation Manager): A new tool in the course of being developed which will allow non-interactive scenes to be created in real time, such as the behavior of other characters, for example. The interest of all these tools is in particular that they can be used again for future productions, since they enable us to do just about anything we might want in 3D real time, from the complex adventure game to the shoot play via fights or IA.
The adventure Game Play is now set up, after over a year of grinding work on paper. A few adjustments will still need to be made at the time of integration. Sometimes as well, when reviewing the sets modeled and mapped out, we have fresh ideas about better exploiting the geography of the area. As for the Arcade part of Omikron, it can be divided overall into two: the animations and enemy intelligence. The animations are integrated by Tony. GALE has proved to be an indispensable tool for easy adjustment of the maneuverability of the characters, a vital element for a successful Game Play. This is often the primary weakness of many 3D games, especially in the "Third Person". We have gone to a great deal of effort to get the character to answer properly, for him to be simple and pleasant to control. Enemy intelligence is the other tough item. We started by describing their behavior on paper, by trying to determine how we would like them to react. Antoine is going to work on the intelligence of the fighting part, while Jean-Charles will work on that of the Shoot part. We have set ourselves the goal of having the bases of the Feet/Fists Fighting part for the end of the month. Plenty of work on the horizon...
As for graphics, everything is just fine. The team has expanded again with the arrival of two new girl recruits. Work is going on normally.
That's all folks !
Autor: David Cage
Source: Quantic Dream
11/01/1999 Eidos Interactive ships Omikron: The Nomad Soul
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Monday, November 10, 1997