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Original article found:
here
By: IGN's RPG Vault
Date: August 31, 2006
HeroEngine Interview
Simutronics answers our questions about its comprehensive technology solution for
the developers of online worlds
August 31, 2006 - Although quite a few online world
gamers think the category is only about a decade old, the titles we know now are
the result of an evolutionary process that actually began much earlier. For example,
Simutronics, undeniably one of the trailblazers in this area, was founded in 1987.
The company achieved and still occupies a leadership position in the market for
commercial MUDs. In this sector, its products, such as its popular flagship, Gemstone
IV, are based on the proprietary Interactive Fiction Engine and a development system
in which a staff of GameMasters, many of whom work remotely and part-time, add new
elements and expand the world and play experience on a regular, even daily basis.
Despite this industry pioneer status and lengthy experience, it would be fair to
say that other teams and their projects have greater name recognition.
In this regard, there are definite indications of change. One is that Hero's Journey
is attracting increasing amounts of attention. Another ties in with one of the foremost
game developers, but a new entrant in the massively multiplayer space. Earlier this
month, Simutronics issued a press release to reveal the first licensee for its technology
package, HeroEngine,
which has reportedly been in development for the past five years. It's BioWare,
which is working on unannounced venture at its second studio, located in Austin,
Texas. The statement included references to features and benefits such as complete
development tools and a rapid prototyping environment. However, since there was
relatively little in the way of details, we were left wanting to know a lot more.
Fortunately, we were able to arrange for Executive VP Neil Harris to answer our
questions in this interview.
Jonric: What is HeroEngine? What does it handle in addition to graphics? What
are its distinctive strengths? Why did you create it, and how long has it been in
development?
Neil Harris: HeroEngine is a complete solution for MMO developers. We
built a client, a server, a toolset for the development team, and a back office
billing and customer service solution. The client is not only an advanced graphics
engine on par with the industry leaders, but it is tightly integrated with the server
for optimizing MMO performance.
We needed the graphics to be state of the art, and we were
also insanely ambitious about game features after surveying the audience - we had
to work hard to allow characters and creatures to be highly modifiable.
We built HeroEngine for ourselves after evaluating the engines available on the
market and deciding they just were not up to the job of creating the type of MMO
that players want. We've spent five years building HeroEngine, which is now more
than three million lines of code plus middleware like SpeedTree, FaceGen, and other
best of breed tools we integrated from other vendors.
Jonric: When and how did you decide to market it as a technology package? What
has this required you to do differently compared to only using it internally?
Neil Harris: As we started showing our own game, Hero's Journey, we
got incredible reactions from other developers - they were begging us to make HeroEngine
available as a product. We expected to move down this road later in the cycle, after
Hero's Journey shipped, but the happy news was that demand was so strong that we
had to move sooner. We spent six months "productizing" the code for external use
- cleaning it up, documenting it, and creating training materials.
Jonric: What significant benefits does HeroEngine offer licensees compared
to building their own and to other third-party options?
Neil Harris: With HeroEngine, MMO developers can shave the first two
years off their development cycle and eliminate technology risk - with it, they
are sure it works out of the box. Since we are also MMO game developers, it was
designed to work the way we think, and developers really like the way work flows
and the way it brings the team together throughout the project. It works very differently
and much better than anything else out there.
Jonric: In a related vein, what considerations were the key ones in BioWare
Austin's decision to use HeroEngine?
Neil Harris: BioWare Austin wanted to get up and running quickly, and
they liked our ability to let them design, test, and prototype what they envision.
We've known many of the people there for a long time, and we were on the same wavelength.
Jonric: Given that you use a lot of part-time staff to develop your games,
has this impacted the product in any way?
Neil Harris: HeroEngine was developed entirely in-house by full-time
people. Our army of 300-plus GameMasters provided much input as we got them up and
running for the Hero's Journey project. Also, the features we built into HeroEngine
to support this large remote staff are ideal for modern game development, where
teams may be in multiple locations. And the tools to support the GameMasters as
they manage the game are also ideal for localizing gameplay for different cultures.
Jonric: What goals did you initially set with respect to HeroEngine's key features
and overall performance, and how have they evolved since then?
Neil Harris: We needed the graphics to be state of the art, and we were
also insanely ambitious about game features after surveying the audience - we had
to work hard to allow characters and creatures to be highly modifiable. The engineers
created many tools to measure performance on the client - framerate - and on the
server as the designers are building the world and the game systems, so they get
constant feedback on how the game design features impact performance, which saves
a lot of time by avoiding rework late in the process. As the project evolved it
has become more and more ambitious, and as we meet with developers, our wish list
for future features continues to grow.
Jonric: How does designing and building an engine for online worlds differ
from one for standalone games? Is any part easier?
Neil Harris: The engine for MMOs is much more complex because of
the need for a server and having to make decisions about what lives on the client
vs. what lives on the server. I'm not sure anything is easier, but it's so much
cooler that it's worth it. Basically HeroEngine lets developers work in the same
online environment as the players - live, in real time, collaborating on design
and development - you can watch people build the world all around you, with physics
working as you build. It's really amazing.
Our engine liberates GameMasters... and lets them be much
more active in improving the gameplay experience... They can operate NPCs and monsters
in real time, they can build massive quests and other in-game events
Jonric: Since marketing a tech package involves providing support, what are
you doing in this regard given that you've only announced one license?
Neil Harris: We've only *announced* one license. :) We're staffing up
as we go forward, adding engineers and other people so we can do the best job possible.
Aside from providing the best technology, as game developers, we understand how
much support is needed, and we've had experience with licensing other people's middleware,
so we're going all out.
For BioWare, we've sent our people to their facility and spent many days in detailed
training sessions. We try to respond instantly to e-mail. And of course, we have
online documentation and forums.
Jonric: What are your priorities in terms of additions and improvements, and
have they been influenced by the BioWare deal? Do you intend to make the package
compatible with consoles/
Neil Harris: BioWare has helped us define priorities for which new features
to add when. We have a road map as we continue to develop HeroEngine from version
1.0 to 1.1 and beyond. We intend to add console clients as we move forward, and
we are currently evaluating the choices for speeding this process up.
Jonric: What are the barriers to gaining more licensees, and how are you addressing
them? Also, do you consider it important for gamers to recognize HeroEngine?
Neil Harris: We just need to get people in front of the engine for them
to recognize how different and how much better it really is. We're attending trade
shows - we'll be at the Austin Game Conference next week, and next year, we'll be
showing HeroEngine all over the world.
Our policy for game developers is to be as open as possible with information; their
games rely on the engine, so we invite them to learn as much as they want. We've
had teams spend days in our engineering office, pouring through source code and
meeting with our programmers, artists and designers. We're happy to do whatever
it takes because we believe in this engine.
As for gamers, we think everyone will see as games start to ship how much better
the play experience can be because of the way we let designers work and because
of the tools we provide that let the game continue to grow after it ships.
Jonric: Are there other important aspects you'd like to mention at this time,
or some final comments to leave with us?
Neil Harris: We expect that HeroEngine will lead to a true next generation
of MMO games, not just graphically, but in all aspects of gameplay. Our engine liberates
GameMasters from simply being online customer service reps, and lets them be much
more active in improving the gameplay experience. They can operate NPCs and monsters
in real time, they can build massive quests and other in-game events... it's just
amazing how much more fun you can have when we tap the creativity and enthusiasm
of everyone involved in a game.
Simutronics has a long history of tapping the creativity of its GameMasters,
so it comes as no surprise to see that empowering them is a major design goal for
HeroEngine. We're also aware of the technology's highly impressive graphical capabilities
from our Hero's Journey features and from a demo we viewed with our own eyes earlier
this year. We thank Neil Harris for telling us about the product, and we look forward
to seeing all the games that will be created with it.
-- Richard Aihoshi - 'Jonric'
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