Developer Friday

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Thomas Browett was one of the first guys that joined the development of the game, and he has worked on the Oztoc and Teotl levels before he got hired by Epic Games!

Who are you and what do you do on “The Ball”?
I’m Tom, I’m originally from the UK, and I did some of the level design and scripting for two of the levels fairly early in the game – up until last year, when I went to work at Epic Games as a level designer intern. I’m now working full-time on levels for Gears of War 3, thanks in part to the experience I gained while contributing to The Ball, and its success in the Make Something Unreal contest.

When and how did you join the team?
I asked to join the team after playing through the first level of the game when it was released back in 2008. I saw a lot of potential, and really liked the way the game’s atmosphere was reminiscent of the original Unreal and other games of that time. To start off I got to make a big chunk of the second level from scratch, and had a lot of fun getting creative with puzzles that utilized the Ball in different ways.

How did you start out with level design?
I first started playing around with the Unreal level editor back when Unreal first came out, and then went on to make a series of mostly-terrible maps for the first Unreal Tournament game in the following years. After a long break from mapping, Unreal Tournament 3 came along and really rekindled my interest, and I’ve been in the editor working on one level or another almost every day since.

What has been the most challenging thing you have done on the game?
Trying to work the kinks out of the Kismet scripting for some of the puzzles I put together could be a real headache at times, but having to figure that stuff out was a great learning experience.

What do you like the most about the game?
I’m a big fan of puzzles in games, and love the satisfaction of finally solving a clever environmental puzzle. I also really like some of the impressive vistas you come across in the game – the deeper you go, the more impressive the scenery becomes.

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Just a few more Developer Fridays to go now! This week’s interviewee is Lukas Arvidsson, one of our artists.

Who are you and what do you do on “The Ball”?
My name is Lukas Arvidsson and I have done various things on The Ball, mostly 3D & 2D Art that you can find in the later levels. Other things I have helped out with is Character art, testing and coming up with new game design ideas. I have also immensely enjoyed the business and marketing side of releasing an indie game. I think it has been great fun to work on The Ball!

When and how did you join the team?
I joined the team in May 2009. My brother (Markus Arvidsson) was already involved with the project for a couple of months at that point and I was introduced to the team through him.

How did you start out with game art?
I started out with 3D graphics through a course at school. It spurred my joy for drawing and everything graphical, so after the course I started drawing and painting. One thing led to the next and suddenly I was doing computer graphics and 3D. I have always had a strong focus on the traditional when learning the different skills you need as a 3D artist. I think that it is good to be able to relate your work to other fields and also to be versatile and move between different positions / industries. But the real reason that I started with 2D/3D graphics is of course because it gets you chicks!

What has been the most challenging thing you have done on the game?
The most challenging things I have done for the game were probably the first few things, like the big bird from Hueca. The reason those were the most challenging was because I still had to get used to the game and the technology. There are always a lot of things you have to learn to get everything going. Another hard part was to work on The Ball as well as doing all the other stuff you are expected to do

What do you like the most about the game?
For me that is quite easy. It is the way you explore a world. A large majority of games rely on an instant verification of collision detection and feedback from the game world (by using bullets and guns). With The Ball you use the Ball to explore a world. This makes you more conscious of the environment and how it relates to you. In many games you feel the environment to be more of a decor or a sceneography and you are the camera. But with The Ball there are other relations that are being explored. For me Portal was a step in this direction, but I think that The Ball has its very own unique flavor that all fans of the FPS-genre should try out.

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Meet the writer behind almost all the Mystery Mondays. Martin was originally just going to test the game, but from one thing came another and before we knew it he wrote almost all the Mystery Mondays!

Who are you and what do you do on "The Ball"?
A living breathing wannabe indie developer that enjoy most aspects of game development. Art, scripting and code. I have some four years of professional experience in the games industry and work at Starbreeze Studios in Uppsala as a Gameplay Designer. I wrote most of the Mystery Monday texts for The Ball and did a run as a focus tester. Oh, almost forgot: my name is Martin Annander. But it’s not a name you’re likely to have heard before.

When and how did you join the team?
After playing The Ball to help test it, I mentioned that I would gladly write anything that needed writing. One thing led to another, and after a trial run writing one of the Mystery Monday pieces I was asked to write more of them. More then turned into most.
Originally met Teotl Studios’ founder, Sjoerd De Jong, at Starbreeze Studios, during the time he worked there.

How did you start out with writing?
Writing has been a lifetime passion of mine and I worked for a year as a journalist in Sweden, after an internship in the United States. Since then, it’s not something I get paid for, but it’s still a favorite pastime. I mostly write fiction, but there are some articles and theses as well. Whoever lives, and cares, may see.
Prior writing credit includes stuff for pen-and-paper role-playing games, though none you’ve heard of, and some stuff for the free MMORPG Planeshift. Some other stuff, too, but I tend to think more of the next thing in line than of past endeavors.

What has been the most challenging thing you have done on the game?
Coming up with ways to make the Mystery Monday pieces interesting and not just repetition of the same themes over and over. There were already plenty of ideas and source material to draw from, but it was still a challenge. And of course, to fit it into a busy everyday work schedule. Besides, anyone who writes a lot knows that it’s easy to get carried away. So another big challenge has been to keep the word count within a digestible margin: the Internet expression TL;DR exists for a reason.

What do you like the most about the game?
I like the diversity. The way it’s an action game that is a puzzle game and also the way it tells a story in the details, rather than in campy cutscenes. There’s a lot to explore and even more to experience in more than just the game mechanics. And of course those moments when some final revelation turns an impossible puzzle into you cursing your own stupidity and yelling "why didn’t I think of that!". As in any good puzzle game, those moments are what keep you going.

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The second or third last Developer Friday! His interview may be one of the last, but his impact on the game has been huge. Markus is our lead programmer and one of the core developers. The game wouldn’t have been there without him.

Who are you and what do you do on “The Ball”?
Hi, I’m Markus Arvidsson and I do a large chunk of the programming work for The Ball. I am one of three people that works full time on the game. My official title is Lead Programmer so I guess I do what a Lead Programmer typically does . I am also involved in the game mechanics design and final testing. If the game crashes or if you did not get that achievement I am probably the one to blame.

When and how did you join the team?
I joined the team in March last year. I replied to an ad and I got accepted to the team after I had done the very first enemy AI implementation for the game. Originally my intention was just to break away from single person development and be a part of a team and do a larger project. Thankfully we did well and the whole project turned into something else.

How did you start out with programming?
I started out with programming a couple of months into college. I was an engineering student and I wanted to try out graphics programming and game programming so I started to work on it in my spare time. Since then I have done some small personal projects and I also started one bigger project that eventually turned out to be too ambitious.
So far I want to continue in this field. Game development offers interesting challenges in diverse areas and I also like the creative aspect of it. Coming up with a story and a world and having someone experience your creation is really rewarding. Working with a team with diverse background and skill set is also something that appeals to me.

What has been the most challenging thing you have done on the game?
Finding and fixing all the bugs, big and small, the final few months took a lot of effort. The ‘old saying’ that the last 10 percent is 50 percent of the work was definitely true in this case.
Working with the Unreal Engine and figuring out how everything fits together was also quite challenging. My experience with Unreal Engine was limited when I started working on the game so I had to digest a lot of information in a short amount of time time, while still finding time for the mandatory school work I had at that time.
Another thing that required some iteration before we got it right was the combat for the boss fights. The various areas where the fights would take place were already done when I started to work on them, so I had to come up with solutions that worked within those existing environments.

What do you like the most about the game?
I like the world and the diversity of the levels. The game does not repeat itself and you always look forward to what comes next. Most of the locations are also memorable, something that is rare for games of this size. The game mechanics are a good mix between exploration, combat, and puzzles, and I think most players will find something they like about the game.
Development wise I really like how we managed to improve the game for every release. As a programmer you tend to work mostly in test levels during development. I was always pleasantly surprised to see how much the other parts of the game had improved when the time came to implemented the new gameplay into the real levels. The final release continues in this tradition and I think it is a big improvement over the previous (mod) releases. I hope everyone who plays the game will enjoy it!