Good day all,

You may know by now that ConViction has been postponed until at least Q2 2008. I am sure many of you have been anticipating this, based on the lack of information you’ve received in the past few months.

 

As I couldn’t, and will not be able to, give you many details about our ongoing work until I can begin communicating again, and based on some comments in response to previous entries, I have decided to put this blog on hiatus until I can really talk about the game and how we go about creating it.

 

It was nice having this direct contact with you all, and I am looking forward to resuming that again soon. Meanwhile, thanks for your support. We are working really hard to make ConViction a great experience!

 

Be sure to check www.splintercell.com to be notified when I begin to update this blog again!

 

Regs

I have just been pointed to Fullyramblomatic, a UK guy doing some video reviews (hum hum) of games. This is as clever as it is hilarious.

Try the heavenly sword demo review, this is priceless!.

Find all his reviews here

Hi all, here is a little gift for those interested. Here is a rare (only because we never used it) Teaser poster we created a while ago. I thought you might enjoy it.

Also, this is one of the biggest poster we have here on our studio floor (I can see it from here…) So you can see what I can see all day long (and nights sometimes :D

Cheers !

Hi all,

Now that you know that you’ll have a lot of time (meaning not playing ConViction) this Christmas, to allocate to great gaming I was wondering what games you’re looking forward to up until Christmas…

Why this post? Most people in here are all buzzing around the Bioshock Demo (I can’t play, my 360 is at the shop), gunning in Stranglehold and all in all I feel there is a strong sense of diversity in quality titles. I was wondering what you are looking forward to and give you my game list for the coming months.

Pat Fortier tipped me off on The Darkness. I must admit that this game somehow slipped under my radar when it was released, but was told by the man that it was good. I bought it last week, and have had a tremendous time with this game! I feel that some elements are preventing it from being a true classic (AI mainly) but the overall experience is so satisfying that I can deal with any shortcomings. The way the narrative has been integrated is really great, character (whom reminds me of the Crow because of the look mostly, but also because of his doomed living dead experience) is top notch and some videos during loading are really brilliant (My Friend : Crazy Abdul…). Side missions and navigation (through the metro) is pretty well done… All in all a great experience!

Also, we have started an internal tournament on ConViction Multiplayer. I will post the name of the winning team… I’ll try to catch some pictures of the guys playing and post it with the winners.

Here is the little ad the multi team has put on the walls… Sorry about the blur :)

Later!

Hi all,

 

I am wondering if this is not going to become some kind of a habit… writing for you when I am in or just about to get into a plane. I am at 36,000 feet over the Atlantic ocean, heading back to Montreal.

I needed to pay a little visit at Ubisoft HeadOffice in Paris, meetings, meetings… One of them has been really interesting to me, it was with the brand people from Paris. They had this question about “Stealth”; basically, what defines stealth as a gameplay overall and for Splinter Cell. Further what is stealth for people that do not play SC, and for those who do. I found this discussion really interesting. All in all, I would consider stealth as “the art of going unnoticed”. This definition of stealth is pretty universal, and is perfectly fitting for SC too. However, we are realizing right now that for some, Stealth gameplay is something a lot more precise: it is Light and Shadow as soon as you put it with the SC name.

Point is not about who is right and who is wrong, I do believe that both definitions are working perfectly well (for SC), and I would also tend to believe that we are bridging this gap, from Light and Shadow to going unnoticed.

 

Splinter Cell has always been a “spatial” game, were space was very clearly defined: Light, territory of the enemy, Shadow, territory of the player. We were thrilled as we were forced (thanks to our great level designers) to wander in enemy territories and creating strategies to get as fast as possible out of there. However those two territories were pretty static; you could shoot lights hence changing the shadowpath, but it was mainly a static variation of the initial state.

As we are refining the game design, it is becoming more and more evident that Stealth is the art of going unnoticed, and that SC:C is a stealth game (and franchise). Now we can create what we may have always dreamed of (thanks to next gen horsepower) … moving shadowpaths. As we are now using line of sights for guards, and you are trying to get away from this line of sight (the addition of all those lines being the “light territory”) you realise that you are still navigating a space, but a moving one, as well as your own territory. Using the crowd (or an individual) to get out of sight forces you to re-evaluate your safe area pretty much all the time. Moving guards with massive diversions is also a nice way to redefine all borders to your advantage.

 

That’s now really the core of the game design of ConViction, transforming the space defined by the opposition of the enemies’ lines of sights, and your safe areas that are constantly moving. As we are keeping this duality core, adding some elements that allow risky but feasible intrusion in the enemy’s space are really making ConViction a Splinter on steroids (nothing to do with my leaving France and the tour de france cycle race).

Writing this, I realize that when we announced the game, we should have presented that too… We were so convinced that SC is Stealth that everyone would have taken it as granted. We however focused on many ingredients that we’re adding in those “intrusive” moments, when you are detected, or just forced to move from one point to another. Lesson learned fans, we heard you.

 

So, what do you think? Let me know in the comments how you define Stealth, inside and outside SC, I am really curious about your point of view!

 

 

Going to play a little Tetris DS (they should have offered an “old school” option, too many things moving on top screen for me :D.

 

 

Bye !

 

(PS: I just can’t get enough of Gaiden Sigma… four days without it and… I need a fix. I think I am a Gaiden addict, bad bad Team Ninja, what are you doing with my nights!)

I just got back to the office today, it was great to see everyone ! Major news is that we are going through gamedesign rationalization, and the changes we are bringing in our former design are really exciting. Always the same, you have a great idea and basically as time goes by you tend to realize you could do better. I can’t say much about all this, but I guess this would please some to know that there is a refocus on stealth, still active but even more “core”.

 

So the team is really buzzing, Level Design being central to realign those adapted directions, be it for pure gamedesign and even level art to accommodate the gameplay. It is going to be (as always) a big rush, but this is for the best.

 

On a side note, I finally managed to grab a Wii… I know, most of you had one but I totally missed the bandwagon at release and never bothered to rush for it. It is a cute little machine. However, while I have never considered myself a “graphic whore” I have felt a little off when I launched the Wii after two years with my 360 and a couple months with my PS3. Outside of Zelda (hey, it’s Zelda…) I have “felt” that the graphical shortcomings, balanced with more than a year of “nextgen graphics” has been hard to swallow. Just need to grab some great games.

 

All that to say I have started playing “hardcore” again (more than 2/3 hours per day), something I stopped doing for some years playing usually 5-10 hours per week. Is it me or a better game line up, I don’t know…

What I know is that there are many great titles being released or on the verge to be released. In fact I really like this a great time for us gamers. Many exciting titles, a merge of old and new that can sustain my gaming curiosity as well as getting resonance in my old school gamer’s heart (thanks Wii store).

 

What have I been playing? I found a Microsoft driving wheel for CA$ 65, and DIRT is my cup of tea. I had to tweak the wheel settings though, default settings were making the game almost unplayable. Really great game, sense of speed is definitely there, and the tradeoff between simulation and arcade is perfectly balanced for a player like me. Big surprise, and big time waster… I have just re discovered SuperStardust on PSN. I remember playing it on Amiga in the days, however this version is really incredible. I was a huge Geometry Wars fans, but the extra “strategic” level in Stardust has just changed everything. Stardust is now, and until Ikaruga finaly gets a release on Marketplace, my favorite Shmup.

Talking about gaming, I have to go out and buy Ninja Gaiden… I loved the demo, loved the game on Xbox and am dying to dive into team Ninja’s work once more.

 

Lets go, and with ConViction !

Sorry I haven’t been faster in posting. Reason is that I just had a new baby boy (my second one) and I took some time off to take care of him and his mom. I think this is the third “ConViction” baby, Jimmy B. and Sebastien T. had one, and I think Raphael P. is on his way of becoming a father before we finish the game.

 

I hope we will be able to have all their names in the game credits !

So I am a little remote from the project, but still taking my mails everyday to see how things are going (and also not to feel like I am too slow when I’ll come back). Lots of work my friends, lots of work… As you know we are in Montreal, and I just realized how a huge amount of work is not feeling the same when it’s -35C as when it is +30 like today… When the sun shines, everything looks more complicated, at least until you can reach a cold drink.

 

We have had a lot of feedback after game announcement, very positive from some, and not so positive from others. Basically everyone seemed to enjoy the new SC design, but our most hardcore fans are having a hard time with ConViction concept. As this is my first attempt to write for those interested about development, it has really been a shock to me to realize first the passion of those people for SC, but also how hard it is to get through and reach them.

 

I guess we will have to show this game and things will all come back to a more normal state, meanwhile, all we can do is dodge and focus, having as a challenge to make the old timers SC players still believe in the old timers SC makers :D

 

I need to finish watching 8 ½ by Fellini before getting some rest (if the little one let me do so). Amazing movie, photography is so elaborate… many current Hollywood productions are still based on those camera angles, a pleasure to watch !

A very quick note as I have just discovered that some fans are creating a prequel to one of my favourite games, Little Big Adventure (Relentless in the the US). LBA was the work of Mr Raynal who also did the original Alone in the Dark… I am really thrilled they will succeed in creating this (I have seen that the original engine is available online). Hopefully they will fix the save system :D

More details on : http://lbaprequel.lobitowebsite.com/

I am in San Francisco airport with Mathieu Ferland (Senior Producer), waiting for our returning plane. We were at an event called UbiDays where different games from Ubi were presented. Apart from the Press tour we did a couple weeks ago, it was in fact the first time we were showing the game. As usual, the stress before those “reveals” is really high. I guess I don’t have to explain, when you put your heart and soul (and the heart and soul of a team of more than 100 people) for two years into something… you get the picture.
Things went pretty well, even though we only showed a very pre alpha build, journalists were pretty excited about it! So, stress level going down, and tequila level going up was yesterday’s night menu… Mathieu and I are looking a bit miserable this morning, Tequila is an evil thing… remember, don’t drink and play (or don’t take an early morning flight).
Mathieu just read over my shoulder and says he did not had this much, he lies and he acknowledges it.

Last week was the week when first scans of magazine covering our game were spread around the web. One lesson to remember: don’t say the word “PS3” when you are an Xbox exclusive.
I don’t know how this happened, but basically after one not so good translation of a finish magazine (Finish is not a very popular second language, people tend to prefer French, German or Spanish…) the whole web started reporting that we made a point about the PS3 and that we could not have done the lighting on this console, etc… Even my favourite news blogs (Kotaku and Destructoid) reported this with dramatic titles and comments sections were again in a fanboy mode…
So to make things clear… We are exclusive 360 and we are really happy about it. It allows us to focus on one platform, not compromising to accommodate a port, and keeping a relatively small team. We have never coded for PS3, it would be a weird and uninformed statement from us. Anyway, give a look at Assassin’s Creed, no doubt you can do amazing things on this platform as well !

Talking about Assassin’s, reading the forums, many people tended to compare us with them (even saying we may share some assets). We are flattered but no, only thing we share is a passion for what we do. Crowd is mainly the culprit, however I don’t think crowd is a specific element, and this is or should be a standard element for next gen games in public spaces. How you use it as a system and make your crowd behave makes the difference, and I think we are creating something truly unique with ConViction. Hopefully, with yesterday’s presentation and magazines that will be released following our meeting the press a couple weeks ago, things will be clearer.

Ok Gotta run now, take care.

I had a discussion yesterday with Dany Lepage (the game producer). I played with “an old friend” this weekend: the demo of Ninja Gaiden Sigma. I was still amazed at how good this game is. Mechanics are pretty old school (like the magic seal on the door until you kill every enemy) but this was precisely what made it feel like an old friend. Feeling very comfortable and enjoying it straight from the first second. I guess the whole fashion over retro gaming is based on this comfort and cheerful memories, and somehow I could also link that to the whole “casual gaming” spirit, straight comfortable and challenging gameplay. It’s all about vocabulary in a way. We were used to a certain “language” of the medium, and felt comfortable with it. As the medium evolves we are incorporating more concepts, more “words”; the medium is getting richer and bigger. However, for old gamers like myself, when I am spoken to in words that are part of myself, and not additions, I tend to react at a visceral level instead of an “intellectual” level.

ConViction is incorporating more than word, full sentences, but we need to preserve some of this primal vocabulary. Primal in the gaming medium as a whole, but also as a Splinter Cell. That’s probably a big challenge for all games that are trying to bring a lot of innovation.

I have started teaching my kid some basic vocabulary, like imitating Pac-Man (repeat Wakawakwaka over and over) or singing the Mario theme. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to him (he is only 2) but it makes daddy Smile. Next step is Zelda Theme !

Thomas

Hi all !
My name is Thomas Geffroyd, I work on game known as « Splinter Cell ConViction » developed by and for UbiSoft in Montreal.
I arrived on the project almost a year and a half ago to act as what we call “game manager”. Basically my job is to be schizophrenic. On one hand, I work with the core team (Producer, Creative directors, Lead artists etc.) to provide some “player centric” feedbacks. On the other hand, my work is to format the game’s information so that they are easily digested by all other company departments.
I arrived on the team when we were only around 50 souls, as I am speaking and looking around me, I can count a little more than a hundred of us, creating this new Splinter Cell. But that’s enough of the formal thing…

We are a couple months from the release now, we met the press two weeks ago and this was really good. After spending so much time on the game, and discovering all the great games that are going to be released month after month, we were craving to see our baby exposed to the light, and enter the arena. Also as we are touching the very core gameplay of SC (Splinter Cell from now on) we are really curious to see how the fans will welcome this change. For explanation and reasons why we changed those, I will not paraphrase the team, as I am pretty sure you will have read it all through magazines scans or web articles.

The main difference this year is… not having E3. We should be all rushing and being high on the big stress right now (reminds me of the MTV feature last year about Gears of War “road to E3”). At first when they announced cancellation, it was all fine. If I remember well it was shortly after E3 2006, and just like every year, you need a couple months to recover the energy loss. But something is missing now, the rush, the thrill and somewhere the “competition”. I hope we will be able to take the game to consumer events this year and meet the gamers. I know that E3 was not a consumer event, but it was indeed :D Probably what caused its fate. Ubisoft is holding two events this month, called the Ubidays… One will happen in San Francisco, the other one in Paris (France), we are gearing up for those, polishing the demo and getting some footage done.

Talking about that, it is time to go!

Thomas