Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Every game is a miracle. Its with this sentence that I usually introduce myself to the development teams.
I must say that I have seen so many canceled projects, sometimes only one month before delivery,
that releasing a game is some kind of miracle. Financial difficulties of the studio or publisher, loss
of confidence from the team, insoluble technical problems, changing editorial direction, political
maneuvering, legal issues and bad previews are just a few trials that can annihilate a several months
or even years long collective adventure. As an editor at Wanadoo, I also cancelled developments. So
yes, every game released is a miracle. But its also a melody, music. Imagine a conductor in charge of a
symphony that has not been written yet, facing an audience of musicians with different personalities
and talents. Add to this mixture that most of them have to invent their instruments, or that some have
never been part of an orchestra. Not easy, right? Still, that picture would not be truthful. Because you
forget the eyes of patrons, who stare at you from the balcony, examine the progress of the composition,
regularly issue artistic opinions, sometimes contradictory. With an inherent risk: if the eye does not
believe in the result, it looks away. And the music stops. So tell me, what is the probability for such a
symphony to emerge? This is the reality of game development. As for the time and effort needed, try to
imagine this time a marathon of several years, to be suffered as a team on a trail dotted with unknown
events, sometimes lethal, causing you to alternate sprinting and distance running. We are far from the
glamor some imagine while playing their console! Yet developing a game is the same as practicing all
these activities. Symphony and marathon. As such, the proper preparation for the mission, that some
would call suicide, is the responsibility of the conductor, sometimes called project manager or executive
producer. That was my role on Spec Ops: The Line. Here then is the story of a miracle, an extraordinary
symphony, one of my greatest memories.
By Franois Coulon, Executive Producer and co-Creative Director of Spec Ops: The Line
Assisted by Aurlien for the writing.
13
First notes
Head Orchestra
14
in the team and schedules indicate a release date near the end of
2009. At this point, we are all aware that it is humanly impossible
to produce a game of this magnitude in ten months. It would take a
hundred people to get there and much more time! Discussions about
the schedule and the budget begin. Unfortunately, they drag on and
involve aspects (contractual, logistical, financial) that will strain the
relationship between Yager and 2K for several years. They especially
delay development. Of course, the will to continue is there but money
matters and financial commitments quickly make people cautious.
Especially in the context of an AAA game. For the record, I can still
see myself in the apartment that was given to me in early development.
Im on the phone with a representative from 2K Games. He is starting
to get annoyed, threatening to stop production the following week.
My wife, having come to find an apartment for our family, is in the
next room. What an atmosphere! The symphony that we are trying
to create is on the brink of destruction. Yet we continue. I set most
of the team on production, despite the absence of many elements,
often linked to the story. To put part of the team on production while
the other remains in pre-production, the only solution is to develop
a maximum of levels, regardless of the scenario and the rest. This
allows us to confront the reality of the game and change the mindset
of the team, too used to making prototypes. It also allows writers to be
inspired, to be fed by concrete elements. The virtuous circle of creation
passes by.
Recruitment
Pianissimo
that the 2K editorial team is also responsible for several other projects:
the Mafia licenses, Bioshock, Borderlands...
Troubles
15