olaz

Hello everyone!

Last friday afternoon at Imagina, I presented during the conference of european forum of 3D visualization the topic of "how architecture can upgrade video games?".....I'm here to answer your eventual questions about it!



Olivier Azemar
Architect/ubisoft

Koper

Hi Olaz, thanx 4 the session. I was just wondering, does ubisoft create new levels 4 each of the games that uses architecture. I would think that it might be more productive if a database of buildings are created which can be used in other games or in sequals. Maybe creating these buildings with very high detail and then adjusting textures according to what the game engine can handel, thus each time a sequal is released with a better engine the buildings look better. This might also create a new kind of identity, seeing same buildings, different qualities, acros different games under the same developer.

I am also thinking about the Blu-Ray technology which wil be used by PS3. If one has a big database of architecture and environments one might be able to release a couple of really big hits really quickly.

MazenSamir

I dont have questions but i want to say that ubisofts games ROCK !

olaz

Hi Koper!
for the moment, I'm working exclusively on the Splinter cell online game at ubisoft.....this is the production context i know the best, I know very little informations about Ghost Recon for example...so all my answers are considering the Splinter cell experience.

So, about the SC online game production, we do not use architecture typologies "templates". All the windows, doors, level heights are fixed by the game measure rules (as architecture is more or less ruled by human body dimensions, the SC architecture is ruled by the spy body&moves dimensions), so it's easy to imagine that we can create typologies to go faster on building maps, but we don't use them.....why?

This could be a brillant idea to produce a lot of maps quickly (this is anyway always possible to do, you can try the Splinter cell Chaos Theory editor available on downoad content on the SC website: with the editor some fans already sampled existing parts of official maps to create new hybrid maps, the result is sometimes really interesting, even if there's a real work to tune a map, to make it enjoyable and good for both sides of the players...).

One of the reason is that we don't produce a lot of maps, and building templates could be a real hard and long work to fit. We don't produce a lot of maps because we make maps in the way that they have to be enjoyed numerous time, we work to offer fun during one thousand games!

We do not use typologies templates, because the action takes place in really different places (downtown, suburb, industrial zones). BUT we use templates on a smaller scale, like micro-scale level design, we have a serie of small templates "volumes" that provide a good gameplay on some parts, and each volume is "painted" differently according to the context it's in.

So templates are used on small scale design...we also use it for representation, for the volumes we show, but don't offer game with it.....yes we re-use sometimes urban environments.....Splinter cell is one of the few games (maybe with prince of persia also) that offer the player the opportunity to really play with a building and all its forms, and believe this is a hell of a job to make architecture realism, gameplay and technical constraints fit together.

I hope my english was clear enough M. Koper....


cheers

Olaz