Game Developer's November Issue Debuts With Crimson Alliance Postmortem

Author: by Staff

The November 2011 issue of Game Developer magazine has shipped to subscribers and digital readers, with features including an in-depth postmortem on Certain Affinity's downloadable action RPG Crimson Alliance, a retrospective on game entities, and a roundup of the most influential developers of the year. Game Developer magazine is the sister print publication to Gamasutra and the leading U.S. trade publication for the video game industry, and this new issue is now available from the Game Developer Digital service in both subscription and single-issue formats. In the November issue's exclusive postmortem of Crimson Alliance, director of product development Phil Wattenbarger reflects on the successes and challenges the team faced during the game's development. Reflecting on Certain Affinity's approach to developing a new IP, Wattenbarger explains that the team drew a lot of influence from classic fantasy games to give players a familiar, and thus more comfortable experience. Of course, this decision did not come without some degree of risk. Wattenbarger writes, "By building a world that is familiar, rendered in a style that is evocative of other games in the space, we felt that players would feel an immediate connection to the game. They can imagine themselves and their friends battling through these spaces, because they’ve done it before…" "The flip side to this is that a few folks have grumbled that the game feels like a fantasy cliche, in which a predictable trio of fantasy trope characters battle through well-worn spaces fighting enemies like skeletons, goblins, and zombies that they’ve seen in a hundred other titles. This is a fine line to walk. We sought to hew close to the 90/10 rule that suggests that a new IP needs to be 90 percent familiar, 10 percent fresh... As Certain Affinity becomes more established, we expect we’ll be able to begin pushing toward a slightly different mix, where a greater percentage of the game can provide unexpected delights, while still giving gamers what they want." Elsewhere in the October issue, Michael A. Carr-Robb-John presents a robust retrospective on the history and implications of the game entity. This robust feature discusses where the game entity has been, where it's going, and what developers are doing with it. The issue also features Game Developer's third annual 'Game Developer 50' list, which showcases and honors the most influential industry professionals of 2011. Featured developers include id Software's John Carmack, Superbrothers' Craig Adams, and Ubisoft's Michel Ancel, along with loads of other industry figures from nearly all disciplines. As usual, the November issue features the magazine's regular columnists and special guests from the forefront of the games industry, including Jeremy Putnam, Dave Voyles, Steve Theodore, Andy Firth, Damion Schubert, Jesse Harlin, and Matthew Wasteland, who all contribute detailed and in-depth pieces on various areas of game development. In addition, Game Developer magazine now offers its very own iOS app, which allows readers to download and read their purchased issues of Game Developer on their iPhone or iPad – see the iTunes App Store for more details. Worldwide paper-based subscriptions to Game Developer magazine are currently available at the official magazine website, and the Game Developer Digital version of the issue is also now available, with the site offering six months' and a year's subscriptions, alongside access to back issues and PDF downloads of all issues, all for a reduced price. There is now also an opportunity to buy the digital version of November 2011's magazine as a single issue.