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You may know that id Software is finally releasing their long awaited first person shooter Doom 3 in a couple of weeks. What you may not know is that there will soon afterwards be a book released that will detail the making of the game from acclaimed game writer and journalist Steven Kent and publisher McGraw-Hill. HomeLAN got a chance to chat with Kent to find out more about the book.
HomeLAN - First, how did you get the gig to write the making of Doom 3 book?
Steven Kent - When id unveiled Doom 3 at the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo, the game hit me right between the eyes. I had a pretty good reputation with several publishers because of the success of my book on the history of video games, so I contacted McGraw-Hill and said, "If I can get id to sign off on this book, will you publish it?" They said, "Yes." McGraw-Hill is a good publisher. That helped sell id on the idea of the book.
HomeLAN - How much access did id Software give you while you were writing the book?
Steven Kent - As id's inclusion under the "by" on the cover of the book suggests, id played a huge role in the creation of this book. I flew to Texas twice and
spent one full week interviewing everybody at id. Marty Stratton, director of business development, really spearheaded the project. He arranged my interviews, arranged for me to try the game, and saw that I got everything I needed. My interviewing style is informal, and many of the interviews took a couple of hours. As a company, id Software takes protective stance when it comes to its products and properties. Marty and company CEO (and now, co-owner) Todd Hollenshead insisted on reviewing every word on every page in my book to make sure it was accurate.
HomeLAN - While there are a lot of strategy guides for games, there are only a few "making of" books about games. What type of writing approach did you take when writing the book?
Steven Kent - I really wanted to capture the spirit of Doom 3. Chapter 1 was supposed to tell the story of the game. I ended up writing it into a 46-page story based on the original game storyboards. The game has evolved in interesting ways since the storyboards I used for my story--so that chapter is sort of a
"Director's Cut." Beyond that, I have chapters about the creation of the weapons, creatures, and areas. I have a full chapter interview with John Carmack followed up by a 7-page dictionary of the terms he used. THe goal was to create a book that works both on a technical level, for people who are into game design and graphics, and on a consumer level, for fans of the game.
HomeLAN - What are some of the more surprising or interesting things you learned about game development while writing and researching the book?
Steven Kent - You need to understand, it takes 12-times longer to create a square foot of Doom 3 than it took to create similar space on the original Doom. There was a lot of technical information to digest. Through interviewing the guys making the game, I found ways to apply this in a more digestable way. I think my favorite tidbit involved the way they made the teeth for the monsters. The teeth are 3D and even cast individual shadows. But they are encased in a perfectly clear polygon. By doing this, they were able to create single-polygon dental strips and free up space to apply other
polygons elsewhere. I thought that was really cool.
I also liked some of the inter-office chicanery. The designers hid rooms in the game that the other employees did not know about so that they could reload and regain health. The lead animator at id is appraently among the world's great Quake III players, and the hidden rooms have kept him in check during deathmatches.
HomeLAN - Doom 3 took quite a long time to develop and release. Is that long development time dealt with in the book?
Steven Kent - While I did not devote pages to discussions of delays, the book does mention that the project has hit many snags. It continued to hit some snags after the book was first completed late last year, and I have had to edit in some new information since.
More here.
You may know that id Software is finally releasing their long awaited first person shooter Doom 3 in a couple of weeks. What you may not know is that there will soon afterwards be a book released that will detail the making of the game from acclaimed game writer and journalist Steven Kent and publisher McGraw-Hill. HomeLAN got a chance to chat with Kent to find out more about the book.
HomeLAN - First, how did you get the gig to write the making of Doom 3 book?
Steven Kent - When id unveiled Doom 3 at the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo, the game hit me right between the eyes. I had a pretty good reputation with several publishers because of the success of my book on the history of video games, so I contacted McGraw-Hill and said, "If I can get id to sign off on this book, will you publish it?" They said, "Yes." McGraw-Hill is a good publisher. That helped sell id on the idea of the book.
HomeLAN - How much access did id Software give you while you were writing the book?
Steven Kent - As id's inclusion under the "by" on the cover of the book suggests, id played a huge role in the creation of this book. I flew to Texas twice and
spent one full week interviewing everybody at id. Marty Stratton, director of business development, really spearheaded the project. He arranged my interviews, arranged for me to try the game, and saw that I got everything I needed. My interviewing style is informal, and many of the interviews took a couple of hours. As a company, id Software takes protective stance when it comes to its products and properties. Marty and company CEO (and now, co-owner) Todd Hollenshead insisted on reviewing every word on every page in my book to make sure it was accurate.
HomeLAN - While there are a lot of strategy guides for games, there are only a few "making of" books about games. What type of writing approach did you take when writing the book?
Steven Kent - I really wanted to capture the spirit of Doom 3. Chapter 1 was supposed to tell the story of the game. I ended up writing it into a 46-page story based on the original game storyboards. The game has evolved in interesting ways since the storyboards I used for my story--so that chapter is sort of a
"Director's Cut." Beyond that, I have chapters about the creation of the weapons, creatures, and areas. I have a full chapter interview with John Carmack followed up by a 7-page dictionary of the terms he used. THe goal was to create a book that works both on a technical level, for people who are into game design and graphics, and on a consumer level, for fans of the game.
HomeLAN - What are some of the more surprising or interesting things you learned about game development while writing and researching the book?
Steven Kent - You need to understand, it takes 12-times longer to create a square foot of Doom 3 than it took to create similar space on the original Doom. There was a lot of technical information to digest. Through interviewing the guys making the game, I found ways to apply this in a more digestable way. I think my favorite tidbit involved the way they made the teeth for the monsters. The teeth are 3D and even cast individual shadows. But they are encased in a perfectly clear polygon. By doing this, they were able to create single-polygon dental strips and free up space to apply other
polygons elsewhere. I thought that was really cool.
I also liked some of the inter-office chicanery. The designers hid rooms in the game that the other employees did not know about so that they could reload and regain health. The lead animator at id is appraently among the world's great Quake III players, and the hidden rooms have kept him in check during deathmatches.
HomeLAN - Doom 3 took quite a long time to develop and release. Is that long development time dealt with in the book?
Steven Kent - While I did not devote pages to discussions of delays, the book does mention that the project has hit many snags. It continued to hit some snags after the book was first completed late last year, and I have had to edit in some new information since.
More here.