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[everyday math]

Thanks, guys. Pretty stoked about this. The list of games I'm going to cover isn't finalized yet, so if you have any requests, feel free to post them here. (Can't make any promises, of course - some stories will be difficult if not impossible to uncover.)

I'll probably be pretty quiet about this project for the rest of the year as I report/write, but expect to hear lots more in 2017!

Well obviously we need a whole section on Bungie.

 

[Lanf]

Sounds very interesting, looking forward to it!

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Very cool stuff.
Aside from Destiny, AAA wise, I'd love a window into the Persona team, 343 during Halo 4 & Halo 5. Maybe Firaxis? Or some unusual stories from the publishing side.

I wonder what well known indie studios would have very interesting and lesser known dev stories.

 

[wildfire]

If you guys are interested in this topic I suggest reading the "Mythical Man Month" while waiting for this book to come out.

 

[thebloo]

I cannot wait to see which games are featured in this.

Bring us the dirt Jason.

I really hope he'll also focus on the titanic work that it takes to actually ship a game. Not just the managerial fuck-ups.

 

[protomouse]

Foreword by George Broussard.

 

[DietRob]

Sounds interesting Jason. Good luck you press sneak fuck!

 

[tiredheadcrab]

Hell yeah. I liked console wars a lot. Reading about these stories behind the scenes is pretty cool.

 

[10k]

Man I want to learn what happened to Destiny and FFXV in far more depth, I hope he gets those scoops.

 

[NateDog]

Sounds interesting and I know Schreier has a good following here on GAF, think I'll give this a go.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Any DMC game from DMC2 and on. DMC4 and DmC in particular. DMC2s troubled development which started as a different game without Kamiya knowing and included the original director quitting, Itsuno almost leaving after 2 was such a massive disappointment and the extreme turnaround with DMC3 and its rapid development, followed by 3SE and DMC4 in rapid succession, then DMC4s extremely rocky development that probably mirrors that of other early HD game from other pubs like FFXIII and MGS4, then Capcom JP asking Capcom USA to take over for the next game, leading into DmC, then the series' fate post-DmC. Might be impossible because it's a mostly Japanese series, but anything you could find out that isn't public knowledge would be amazing.

PS1 era Squaresoft would be interesting as well.

Anything to put a bullet in all the fairy tales surrounding that game.

 

[Sesha]

Anything to put a bullet in all the fairy tales surrounding that game.

What are those?

 

[jschreier]

I really hope he'll also focus on the titanic work that it takes to actually ship a game. Not just the managerial fuck-ups.

Yeah, that's the plan. The goal is to put a spotlight on game development in general, so I imagine it'll look at a bunch of different problems (and solutions) that devs have faced over the years, from bureaucracy to fan outrage to nobody wanting to admit they just broke the build. Should be fun!

 

[grosvenor_92]

Sounds like an interesting read I'll keep an eye out for it when its released

 

[KRaZyAmmo]

Subbing to this as this interests me. I haven't seen any Jason Schreier articles. It would be interesting to see the development of drive club at launch until the closing of the studio. Will buy this when it comes out.

 

[LordofPwn]

Thanks, guys. Pretty stoked about this. The list of games I'm going to cover isn't finalized yet, so if you have any requests, feel free to post them here. (Can't make any promises, of course - some stories will be difficult if not impossible to uncover.)

1st off, congrats. Looking forward to this.

Now for the list:
Overstrike aka Fuse
Final Fantasy XV
MGSV Kojima v Konami and for that matter P.T.
Blizzards Project TITAN aka Overwatch before it was Overwatch
Rime
Agent
Fable Legends
That last big Duke Nukem game that Gearbox had to finish
Aliens Colonial Marines
The Last Guardian
Mighty No 9
Half Life 3

Will update if I think of any more.

 

[Kieli]

Will be getting this.

Keep up the good work, Press Sneak Fuck.

 

[Yabberwocky]

Will definitely read, sounds great! I always enjoy Jason's articles.

I know a few journalists have explored ME3, but I'd be interested in DA2, too, considering it had such an extremely short dev cycle.

 

[besada]

Congratulations, Jason. I'm looking forward to reading it.

As for a game: FASAs Shadowrun. I think it's got a lot of interesting elements to it, including the heritage of the franchise, the radical shift in direction, the potential MS fuckery, and still managing to produce a cult game well loved by a small group. I would really enjoy knowing the whole backstory there. And maybe it's been long enough ag that you can actually get it.

 

[tearsintherain]

Titan by Blizzard - what the hell happened
Everquest Next - what the hell went on there
Battleborn - why did you make this game
Rise of the Tomb Raider - why xbox exclusive, big regrets?
Hitman - why episodic
Evolve
Brink

 

[bbkkristian]

Thanks, guys. Pretty stoked about this. The list of games I'm going to cover isn't finalized yet, so if you have any requests, feel free to post them here. (Can't make any promises, of course - some stories will be difficult if not impossible to uncover.)

I'll probably be pretty quiet about this project for the rest of the year as I report/write, but expect to hear lots more in 2017!

I would've said Trails in the Sky SC (and the Trails series in general), but we all know you've written very extensively on that subject; and its more localization than development.

 

[AndrewPL]

Sounds cool, I'd be interested in indie stories but that might be out of scope/ a different book.

 

[Guru-Guru]

I would definitely enjoy reading this. Good luck Jason!

 

[jschreier]

I would've said Trails in the Sky SC (and the Trails series in general), but we all know you've written very extensively on that subject; and its more localization than development.

The next book will just be about Trails games.

 

[Deku Tree]

Jason please investigate the Division. Check out the OT. With each new patch Massive is basically fundamentally changing the nature of what kind of game it is. Is it a generous loot game? Or is it a super grindy stingy MMO? Their PR is telling us it is one but then their dev team is making changes regularly to make it more like the other. Seems like the studio itself must be internally undecided about what kind of game they want even now one month after release. Would be a fascinating expose IMO.

 

[Makonero]

I'll be pre-ordering this, no doubts about it.

As for game requests, anything Nintendo related would be awesome. I'd love some more in depth explanations for what happened with the early Wii stuff or even what happened with third parties on the Wii U.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

Based press sneak fuck

 

[gingerbeardman]

As for game requests, anything Nintendo related would be awesome. I'd love some more in depth explanations for what happened with the early Wii stuff or even what happened with third parties on the Wii U.

I'll echo this. An expanded Iwata Asks not done as a rigid interview would get my cash.

 

[Harlequin]

He should get in contact with some of the people who worked on the Tomb Raider games at Core Design (if he hasn't already). Eidos totally burnt them out during the PS1 era to the point where they tried to kill Lara off at the end of TR4 just so they'd be free of having to push out annual TR games. And then, of course, came the mess that was AoD's development and then after that Core's cancelled Anniversary Edition. ArsTech had a pretty great article on it all not too long ago: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/03/it-felt-like-robbery-tomb-raider-and-the-fall-of-core-design/

 

[SomTervo]

Sounds awesome. GL JS/PSF

 

[Beeblebrox]

Oooh, so looking forward to it. Good luck Jason!

 

[Baleoce]

Please call it the "Press Sneak Book"

 

[Shredderi]

This is a book I am very interested to read. Way to go Jason!

 

[thekiddfran]

Thanks, guys. Pretty stoked about this. The list of games I'm going to cover isn't finalized yet, so if you have any requests, feel free to post them here. (Can't make any promises, of course - some stories will be difficult if not impossible to uncover.)

I'll probably be pretty quiet about this project for the rest of the year as I report/write, but expect to hear lots more in 2017!

Metal Gear Solid V, FF15 and The Last Guardian

Also, nice hardback edition Jason please!

 

[Acosta]

He should get in contact with some of the people who worked on the Tomb Raider games at Core Design (if he hasn't already). Eidos totally burnt them out during the PS1 era to the point where they tried to kill Lara off at the end of TR4 just so they'd be free of having to push out annual TR games. And then, of course, came the mess that was AoD's development and then after that Core's cancelled Anniversary Edition. ArsTech had a pretty great article on it all not too long ago: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/03/it-felt-like-robbery-tomb-raider-and-the-fall-of-core-design/

Thanks for the link, that was interesting.

He put the pieces together in his head and pitched Eidos/SCi (SCi having taken over Eidos in 2005). They loved it, so a team of Tomb Raider veterans at Core set about remaking the original game in the new engine. It was going well, Rummery recalls—both looking and playing great. But Crystal Dynamics didn't want Core back in the picture, and the American studio built a rival demo.

"They convinced whatever the politics in SCi was like that it made more sense to just keep it all in one studio," says Rummery. "Keep the franchise in one place. And so ours was killed, and you'd have never heard if it hadn't been leaked by someone."

I have lost a chunk of respect for CD after reading this, what an assholish movement.

 

[BumblebeeCody]

We need more stuff like this that gives an insight into game development. Then maybe we won't have people complaining video games taking so long or assuming developers are the worst people ever.

 

[dracula_x]

We need more stuff like this that gives an insight into game development. Then maybe we won't have people complaining video games taking so long or assuming developers are the worst people ever.

btw, speaking about this, I can suggest that book:

How Video Games Are Made: My 16 Months Inside the Development of Defense Grid 2 by Russ Pitts

 

[#1 defender]

Mr. Schreier, if you're reading this, postmortem on Uncharted 4 please!

 

[Bright-Light]

Yeah, that's the plan. The goal is to put a spotlight on game development in general, so I imagine it'll look at a bunch of different problems (and solutions) that devs have faced over the years, from bureaucracy to fan outrage to nobody wanting to admit they just broke the build. Should be fun!

Any plans to name and shame any gaffers for their cry baby, entitled, crazy posts?

 

[Harlequin]

Mr. Schreier, if you're reading this, postmortem on Uncharted 4 please!

Oh man, I so want to know what happened behind the scenes of that one, what with Amy Henning's departure and the story rewrite.

 

[Oblivion]

There aren't that many books on Nintendo, so would be cool if you interviewed one of their studios. Particularly discussing the SNES period.

 

[DistortionOfReality]

Some more digging into exactly what went down with Team Bondi over the LA Noire mess would be pretty cool to read about too. Or Red Dead Redemption, that was meant to be pretty troubled.

Would also be awesome to get an insight to a game that develops and releases 'perfectly' - Like Uncharted 3 or one of the better Assassin's Creed's, purely because they turn out a great game in such a short time period.

Looking forward to reading it!

EDIT: oooh fallout 3 too, to see the insights they had picking up such an ageing franchise and reinvigorating it, and dealing with some of the backlash they got from fans.

 

[jschreier]

About to go on sabbatical for four weeks to travel to some game studios and write the bulk of this thing. I'll get more into specifics in the coming months, but if you're curious, my next two stops are Los Angeles and Poland...

 

[Abilidebob]

Poland...

Awww yeah, we're going to get some Witchery action.

 

[Darryl M R]

About to go on sabbatical for four weeks to travel to some game studios and write the bulk of this thing. I'll get more into specifics in the coming months, but if you're curious, my next two stops are Los Angeles and Poland...

Get some of that good Cyberpunk info my friend.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

if poland = cdpr that will be an interesting one seeing as some people say that they don't have the best worker treatment.

 

[moltonasty]

Awesome, I can't wait. Jason is the man with the plan.

 

[Gator86]

Jason should go talk to some people outside the industry for perspective too. His work is generally solid, but some of it is cringe worthy stuff. Like this bit on why metacritic is harmful to the industry:

It’s harmful to developers, whose careers can be tied to the whims of a critic who may be in a bad mood when he or she plays their game.

That's hilariously reductive and likely inaccurate for a number of reasons in many contexts. If he's really trying to get insight into the industry, talking to some social scientists wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[LordCiego]

Enjoy your travel, the stories you hear are going to be interesting thats for sure.

No stop in Seattle?

 

[J-Skee]

Thanks, guys. Pretty stoked about this. The list of games I'm going to cover isn't finalized yet, so if you have any requests, feel free to post them here. (Can't make any promises, of course - some stories will be difficult if not impossible to uncover.)

I'll probably be pretty quiet about this project for the rest of the year as I report/write, but expect to hear lots more in 2017!

The Last Guardian
Final Fantasy XV
Metal Gear Solid V

We HAVE to know what went on during these development cycles.

EDIT: You know what? I'm actually really interested in what it took to make Grand Theft Auto V.

EDIT 2: Annual sports games as well. I feel like those guys have the hardest time. Especially the NBA Live series & what went wrong over there.