T. Elliot Cannon, a.k.a. Myscha the Sled Dog, needs no introduction. His work, first as a part of TeamTNT creating great deathmatch levels for Doom II and then with the Digital Extremes group on Unreal, is well known to the gaming community. Myscha recently made a .plan update stating that he was taking a trip to visit the ION Austin team, and it was there that Stormtroopers was fortunate enough to get a few questions to him to answer.
[Stormtroopers] Does Epic/DE have the different Unreal team members visiting the licensees, answering questions about their specialty (you mapping, Polge AI, etc)?
[Myscha] Epic/DE actually does not currently have an "official" liason for engine Licensees. I approached Warren directly at E3 and offered my help because I like what they are doing and feel that sharing information and supporting licensees is of crucial importance to everyone.
[Stormtroopers] How does providing licensee support affect your schedule as far as participation in any Unreal add-on packs?
[Myscha] Currently, there is no designer activity at Epic so I am happy to come over to Austin and lend my expertise.
[Stormtroopers] Was there anything you wished had been added to the Unreal engine that you might try to convince licensees to add to their games?
[Myscha] As far as adding to the Unreal engine I can really think of nothing other than maybe an editor tool here or there. The UnrealEditor is pretty damn sweet.
[Stormtroopers] With your background in FPS games (DOOM with TeamTnT and Unreal with Digital Extremes), what do you think about Deus Ex's RPG approach? During your visit did you see any unusual/creative applications of the Unreal engine that surprised you?
[Myscha] I feel that Deus Ex has extremely high potential to be the best RPG game of all time. I WANT this game for myself actually! I think the entire concept and approach is design driven and that is a philosophy I uphold myself. I am most impressed thus far with the amount of design work that has been developed prior to production of environments. I was especially impressed with the NPC/Character sketches done by Mike Miller. His work is absolutely incredible. This game will kick total ass-trust me.
[Stormtroopers] Are you finding that licensees are adjusting well to the paradigm shifts involved with using the Unreal engine (subtractive editing vs. brush-brush-skybox, UnrealScript, etc.) since the id and 3DRealms engines have really been the rulers up until now? How was it for you?
[Myscha] I think licensees want tools and an engine that allows them to design great games without having to adhere to strict code base. Unreal provides this flexibility in addition to a top notch interface, game core, and renderer. I am glad to see major game developers such as 3D Realms and ION Storm using the Unreal engine. Their games will be incredibly unique since they will be able to modify at will and quickly implement new programming.
[Stormtroopers] The word is that Deus Ex levels will be created from plans for real places, including Hong Kong and the White House, and then 'spiced up' for gameplay. Unreal maps, on the other hand, were created purely from imagination. What is your opinion of the Deus Ex team's approach? Would you ever want to try that method if it was appropriate for the game, or would you prefer total creative control?
[Myscha] Personally I enjoy designing real environments and science fiction environments based upon logic and physics. I am not a big fan of "kinda-real". Unreal's premise however needed the "kinda-real" style to work with it's very loose story. I think the designers working on Deus Ex are fortunate in that they will be creating real places. However the architectural challenges of correct form and proportion must hit home with the gamer. They are up to the challenge and have done their homework.
[Stormtroopers] What is your take on the distinction between 'level designer' and 'programmer'? In the days of Doom, there really wasn't a difference, since the technology was so new. But now, with the advent of extremely user-friendly editors, it isn't necessary to be a programmer to create maps. However, options like AI nodes and scripting increase the complexity of non-design mapping issues. Do you think mapping will reach a point that only those who can combine creativity with technical know-how will be able to succeed?
[Myscha] I feel that a level designer and a programmer are two seperate forms of creative expression. As a level designer myself, I prefer the visual rewards of creation of space as opposed to rendering or lighting it or providing the engine to handle it's physics. If both the level designer and the programmer are gamers who look for the same elements in quality gaming, then you have a great combination. To be a successful level designer you must thoroughly understand the engine that you are bleeding to death. You have to know how much blood you can extract and how to do so without without utterly killing it, but at the same time, you must creative enough to understand how it works and how your designs call upon the engine to function. This will allow you to "tailor" the engine load yet still develop a complex immersive experience.
[Stormtroopers] What is YOUR favorite conspiracy theory?
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