Experts Share Insight Into Creating Games for the PlayStation(R)2
FOSTER CITY, Calif., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment
America Inc. announced today its presence at the annual Game Developers
Conference, held from March 4-8 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose,
Calif. The company will share the latest PlayStation(R)2 computer
entertainment system tools and information with expert developers from around
the world at the highly attended seventeenth annual conference. Sony Computer
Entertainment America game developers, programmers, producers, and technology
specialists will speak at various sessions throughout the conference. In
addition, attendees can explore the latest development tools for PlayStation 2
at booth 1308, which will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on March 6-7,
and from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on March 8.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000510/SFW104-a )
The Game Developers Conference, the world's largest event exclusively
devoted to game creators, with more than 10,000 attendees and experts from
around the world, serves as a platform for sharing ideas, building skills and
learning about the latest development tools and technologies significant to
the videogame industry. At this year's event, Sony Computer Entertainment
America experts will support developers and publishers in the creation of
PlayStation 2 content by providing the latest development tools and
technologies through scheduled conference presentations, panels as well as in
booth demonstrations.
"As PlayStation 2 continues to lead the industry, we recognize the
importance of fostering talent and development as the market evolves," said
Andrew House, executive vice president, Sony Computer Entertainment America.
"We see the Game Developers Conference as an opportunity to share the latest
tools and information with our partners, in hopes of inspiring further
creativity and innovation."
Sony Computer Entertainment America experts will be available at the booth
throughout the session to share the latest development tools and technologies
including:
-- The PlayStation 2 Performance Analyzer, a new development tool for
conducting detailed performance analysis to ensure games designed for
the PlayStation 2 fully optimize the capabilities of the platform.
Private 60-minute sessions will be held to provide developers hands-on
access as well as an opportunity to speak with experts regarding how to
best utilize the new Performance Analyzer.
-- Experts will offer demonstrations of the expanding online capabilities
of PlayStation 2 and provide additional information for developers
interested in creating online-enabled titles for the platform. Live
demonstrations of the highly successful first party online hit,
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs from Sony Computer Entertainment America, an
action adventure title that places the gamer in the role of an elite
SEAL commander, will also be conducted throughout the session.
-- Experts will demonstrate voice over IP technology (via USB headset)
available through PlayStation 2 middleware software as well as games
leveraging this technology. Support engineers will be on hand to
provide their insight on the benefits and opportunities of
incorporating voice in game design.
-- The "Linux (for PlayStation(R)2)" Kit, a hobbyist development
environment providing users the ability to run a wide variety of
computer applications written for the Linux operating system and create
original programs and applications designed to run on Linux.
-- Sony Computer Entertainment Europe will feature their latest
development technology, EyeToy(TM), which provides developers and
publishers tools to create games where the player's own movements,
gestures and actions are captured via camera and transmitted to the
game to control gameplay in real-time.
Sony Computer Entertainment America developers, programmers, producers,
technology specialists as well as experts from independent development studios
will be speaking on a variety of topics at the Game Developers Conference.
Below is a list of Sony Computer Entertainment America and affiliated
speakers:
-- Tuesday, March 4, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Robin Green, R&D programmer, Sony
Computer Entertainment America, in a full-day tutorial entitled,
"Faster Math Functions," Programming Track, room B1. Takeaways include
code samples and the proofs that lie behind them.
-- Tuesday, March 4, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Daniel Arey, creative director,
Naughty Dog and Nate Fox, co-lead designer, Sucker Punch, in a full-day
panel tutorial entitled, "All Stories Great and Small," Game Design
Track, room A7. This tutorial lays the groundwork for interactive
storytelling by examining time-tested techniques in literature, drama
and film that can also be applied to games.
-- Wednesday, March 5, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Ted Price, president and CEO of
Insomniac Games, in a full-day panel tutorial entitled, "Making and
Managing the 'AAA' Game Development Deal," Business & Legal Track, room
J2, examining the current state of software development deals from a
legal perspective.
-- Thursday, March 6, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m., Jason Rubin, president and
co-founder of Naughty Dog, in a panel entitled, "Communicating With the
Mothership: Interfacing Between American Subsidiaries and Their
Japanese Parents," Production Track, room A2.
-- Thursday, March 6, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Dan Johnson, lead character
modeler, Insomniac Games, in a panel entitled, "Creating Character
Models: A Review of Current Techniques," Visual Arts Track, room B1.
This will be a moderated panel discussion on creating character models
for today's games.
-- Thursday, March 6, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Buzz Burrowes, director of
audio, Sony Computer Entertainment America, in a sponsored session
entitled, "Introduction to SCREAM, a Sound F/X System from Sony
Computer Entertainment America," Audio Track, room A8. The discussion
will include an overview of the system's features, tools and API.
-- Thursday, March 6, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Mark DeLoura, manager,
developer relations, Sony Computer Entertainment America, "Game
Programming Gems Group Gathering," IGDA Track, IDGA booth. This group
gathering is a meeting of the community of game developers who have
contributed to the Game Programming Gems series.
-- Thursday, March 6, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Jason Rubin, president and
co-founder of Naughty Dog, and Ted Price, president and CEO of
Insomniac Games, face off in a session entitled, "Deathmatch: Ted Price
vs. Jason Rubin," Game Design Track, room A2.
-- Thursday, March 6, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m., Seth Luisi, senior producer, Sony
Computer Entertainment America, Dr. Bob Gutmann, software engineer,
Zipper Interactive, Inc. and Glen Van Datta, director, technology, Sony
Computer Entertainment America will speak in a lecture entitled,
"SOCOM: Bringing a Console Game Online," Game Design Track, room J1.
This session will discuss the challenges faced and lessons learned in
bringing the hit PlayStation 2 title, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, online.
The topics will include online game design, user interface design,
SCE-RT(TM), API and backend server technologies, online game
programming challenges, console specific programming challenges and
localization issues.
-- Thursday, March 6, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m., Oliver Wade, animation director,
Insomniac Games, and Rob Titus, character lead, Naughty Dog, in a panel
entitled, "A Review of Current and Future Animation Issues," Visual
Arts Track, room B1. Topics covered include pre-rendered vs. real-time
cutscenes, different animation software and future trends.
-- Thursday, March 6, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m., Robin Green, R& D programmer, Sony
Computer Entertainment America, in a lecture entitled, "Spherical
Harmonic Lighting: The Gritty Details," Programming Track, room A2,
where he will present the math behind a new technique for lighting 3D
models.
-- Thursday, March 6, 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., Buzz Burrowes, director of
audio, Sony Computer Entertainment America, in a panel entitled,
"Interactive Mixing," Audio Track, room F1. This panel will address
vital sonic elements in a 3D environment.
-- Thursday, March 6, 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., Geoff Audy and Kirk Bender,
developer support engineers, Sony Computer Entertainment America, in a
sponsored session entitled, "Introduction to the Performance Analyzer,"
room A8. Participants will learn the capabilities of the new
Performance Analyzer and how it will help them optimize the performance
of their titles and demystify the internal operations of the
PlayStation 2.
-- Friday, March 7, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m., Evan Wells, game director, Naughty
Dog, in a panel entitled, "On All Levels," Game Design Track, room B1.
This panel will explore level design with some of the leading level and
game design veterans in the community.
-- Friday, March 7, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Brian Allgeier, design
director, Insomniac Games, in a lecture entitled, "Designing a Ratchet
& Clank Level," Game Design Track, room B2. This lecture describes the
development of levels for Ratchet & Clank(TM) on PlayStation 2.
-- Friday, March 7, noon - 1 p.m., Stephen White, programming director,
Naughty Dog, in a lecture entitled, "The Technology of Jak & Daxter:
Our Techniques for Realizing a Massively Detailed World," Programming
Track, room J1. White will provide an overview of the techniques and
approaches used to create and render the detailed environments and
characters of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy(R) on PlayStation 2.
-- Friday, March 7, Noon - 1 p.m., Christer Ericson, senior principal
programmer, Sony Computer Entertainment America, in a lecture entitled,
"Memory Optimization," Programming Track, room A4. Ericson will
address the problems caused by an increasing gap between CPU and memory
speeds, and will give practical code and data optimization solutions
for minimizing these memory bottlenecks.
-- Friday, March 7, 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., Chuck Doud, music director,
Sony Computer Entertainment America, in a session entitled, "Composing,
Producing and Implementing an Interactive Music for a Videogame," Audio
Track, room F1. This lecture covers compositional techniques and
approaches used to create and implement non-linear interactive music
soundtracks for videogames.
-- Saturday, March 8, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Jason Rubin, president and
co-founder, Naughty Dog, in a lecture entitled, "Great Game
Graphics ... Who Cares," Game Design Track, room A4.
For information on how to register for the Game Developers Conference,
visit http://www.gdconf.com/ . Please note that speaker times and locations
are subject to change, please refer to the conference program for updated
information.
About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the
entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation(R) and PS one(TM) game console,
and the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system. The PlayStation 2
computer entertainment system is set to revolutionize the home entertainment
market, offering the most compelling interactive content and the capability to
be used as a network terminal in the coming broadband era.
Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment
America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops,
publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game console and
the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system for the North American market.
Based in Foster City, Calif. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves
as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Visit us on the Web at http://www.playstation.com .
SOURCE Sony Computer Entertainment America
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.playstation.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000510/SFW104-a
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, 1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840
CONTACT:
Monica Wik, +1-650-655-5394, or
monica_wik@playstation.sony.com, or Teresa Weaver,
+1-650-655-5324, or teresa_weaver@playstation.sony.com, both of
Sony Computer Entertainment America
|
