DEVELOPER SPOTLIGHT: INCOGNITO STUDIOS

With E3 just around the corner -- and Sony expected to unveil its PlayStation 3 at the show -- developers who are working on PS3 launch titles are building feverishly to complete their games prior to the console's anticipated release in November.

One of those developers, Salt Lake City-based Incognito Studios, which is owned by Sony and is best known for the “Twisted Metal” series, has “Warhawk” in the works. Video game industry columnist Paul Hyman chatted with Incognito's technical director, Randy Zorko, just last week about what it's like racing to complete a PS3 launch title -- and other E3-related topics.

PAUL HYMAN: Randy, people will be reading this only days before E3 where publishers will be showing off their PS3 titles. But there doesn't seem to be a killer app for the PS3 -- or at least none that has been announced. I mean, the first Xbox's sales took off due to “Halo.” Is it no longer important to have a killer app … or do you think there will be one by the time the PS3 comes out?

RANDY ZORKO: I'm sure there are going to be a few killer apps. I've seen a couple that have looked really great. But that's still left to be determined … whether the gameplay is there, I mean. We've seen preliminaries, but until you see the finished game, it's hard to say. Killer aps have always been important to the selling of a new console. PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 both had a few, if you recall. And, I mean, without “Halo,” what was the Xbox?

P.H.: You're doing one PS3 launch title -- “Warhawk.” But back when you were with developer Singletrack, you did another “Warhawk.” So is this a sequel?

R.Z.: Sort of. We did the first one back at the launch of PlayStation 1. And, saleswise, it did OK, not great. But the game magazines all loved it. So we're doing it again in more of a mainstream fashion, more of an update than a sequel. It has some features of the original, but it has so many more features to make it more mass market. I'm not sure how much more I can say; it really hasn't been unveiled yet. They showed some preliminary videos at GDC and it'll be on the floor at E3.

P.H.: What was it like making a PS3 game without having seen the PS3?

R.Z.: It's kind of like when PS2 came out. At first it was quite complex with all the new technology we had to deal with, and the learning curve was kind of steep. But, as we got into it, we kind of settled into it. And the same happened here. There's amazing technology and processing power in the PS3. It's just a matter of learning how to use that box and learning what to do on it and what not to do on it. That learning curve will be a little steep for everybody, but once you get over it, it'll be like the PS2. You'll see some amazing stuff done on it and it'll just get better.

P.H.: What is there about the PS3 that “Warhawk” can take advantage of? What is there about the new game that you couldn't have done on the PS2?

R.Z.: The distinguishing thing about the PS3 is its incredible processing power -- about 10 processors in there all running somewhere around 3 gigahertz. That means you can do such much more with it. You can go from doing fake physics to real physics. You can go from doing semi-good graphics to graphics that are at the leading edge (textbook graphics). And then there's the whole hi-definition thing that everybody is transitioning into now. I mean, seeing “Warhawk” in hi-definition versus regular NTSC video, there's just an amazing difference.

P.H.: What is the challenge in terms of balancing technology with gameplay? I mean, people say, wow, the consoles are going to be able to do a lot of great things, but people are still playing Tetris, for example …

R.Z.: You know, that's the number one biggest challenge. Because you're right -- Tetris is still the biggest game on mobile and it's nothing more than blocks falling. I think a lot of developers can get easily caught up in creating pretty graphics and forget that gameplay is first and foremost. We talk about that all the time. And it's a tough problem. How do you make a game fun, a game that everyone wants to play, regardless of what the graphics look like? I don't have a good answer

P.H.: With the Twisted Metal franchise, for example, you had certain fundamentals that made that game a hit. What fundamentals were those that you are now applying to “Warhawk” and your other new next-gen titles that will create great gameplay?

R.Z.: Boy, that's a good question. You just design a game that you think will be fun, you play it and play it, tweak it and tweak it, and work at it until it has the gameplay you had hoped it would have. How do you put that into words? If there were a set of specs that everyone could use to make a great game, the job would be so much easier. But until you've actually built the game and played it -- when it's just on paper -- there's no way to tell whether you achieved what you want to achieve.

P.H.: Let's talk about the hurdles that developers are facing with P3 development.

R.Z.: The biggest thing is cost. Obviously the PS3 games are going to cost a lot more to build. The scope of the game is bigger, and if you're building graphics to a hi-res model, it takes a lot of effort. So you're talking about more people creating the game, more time to create it. I have to believe that consumers are expecting a bigger experience and it takes a lot more to deliver that. I don't know how well a game that is just ported over from PS2 would do. I would think it wouldn't do very well.

P.H.: So if a PS2 game took $10,000 to develop, what would the same game for PS3 cost?

R.Z.: It's kind of like the leap from PS1 to PS2 -- 2X, 3X, more? I don't know the real numbers since we haven't quantified that … and even if we had, we're surely not going to disclose it.

P.H.: Regardless what the number is, how do you intend to rein in the costs?

R.Z.: I don't think anyone's figured that out yet. Maybe you come out with original IP and you spend whatever you need to spend … but on the subsequent sequels, that's where the money will be saved. So that it doesn't cost you a fortune on subsequent sequels. I think that model might work. But that hasn't been proven yet.

P.H.: From a business standpoint, assuming that next-gen games will sell for the same price as current-gen -- or just slightly more -- you can just go so far with increasing your costs until you're just not making any money.

R.Z.: Exactly. But as long as I've been in the industry -- 10 or 11 years now -- people have found a way to make the money with every single platform. It's getting harder, there's more competition, more cost, but they'll find a way, I'm sure. You have to or you don't survive.

P.H.: So I expect we'll see “Warhawk” -- when? In November or so?

R.Z.: I don't think Sony has announced that. It's supposed to be a launch title. But if you want a great killer app, you don't rush it. Currently, we're on track.

P.H.: The PS3 was supposed to be out in the spring and now, hopefully, it'll be out in November. What would have happened with your “Warhawk” launch title if the PS3 had come our in the spring as originally planned?

R.Z.: [laughs] It wouldn't have made it. It's tough to make a launch title when you don't know when the console is coming out. You just come out, but not as a launch title. Launch titles are tough, period.

P.H.: Sort of like coming out with a game day and date with the movie it's based on?