About HCA - game engine and business plans

[soundguy]

Hey !

I have not got the chance to play HCA, it looks nice from the screenshots.

Similar questions to what i've been asking other developers around.
1. What game engine and technologies have you been using to create HCA ?

2. how did you start up your business, and managed to finance the production of HCA ?
Are you considering online game purchase, so people like myself could download and play it ?

3. How much did the production cost and what's the commercial success of HCA so far ?

[JacobBuck]

1. We use Ogre3D as 3D core engine and wrap a lot of our own stuff around it to get the prerendered 2D backgrounds blend with the realtime 3D. We actually use a lot of open source components to obtain this and our own proprietary AI engine to control the characters.

2. Guppyworks was partly formed based on an internally developed AI technology with support from investors who saw a potential in using this in games. Based on this and a few game concepts (HCA and another project) we managed to get support from the European Commision Media Desk support program to bring the initial ideas into a more detailed design and prototyping. All this required a solid business plan and a lot of hard work. As we did not want to rely fully on publishers funding the development we then got a few investores involved (including digging in our own pockets). As soon as we had secured funding for the full development we ramped up to full production around March 2005.

We are looking into digital distribution methods, but we do not yet have anything set up.

3. It cost us about 6 mill. danish kroner which is approx. 800.000 Euro. We've only been on the marked for a short while and not yet received sales numbers. Unlike the big AAA hardcore hit games that need to sell 1-2 mill. copies in a few weeks to be successful this kind of game has a more flat life cycle on the market. Also, some markets will not see the game before Q1 next year.

[JacobBuck]

The environments are created in XSI with some modelleing imported from 3D Studio MAX. Some virtual geometry is then exported to Ogre format and used in real-time to handle things like depth clipping and collision.
Character modelling and character animation is mainly done in 3D Studio MAX (some motion capture done in Motion Builder and some other tools I'm not fully aware off but then finally tweaked in MAX. Most of the HCA character's animation was done in Maya.

[soundguy]

Thanks for the VERY enlightening info.
Our companies sure has more then a few things in common.

I've seen a few adventure developers using Ogre3d, but for our first game we'll be using WME, but would very much like to know which other open source components you have used, so it would benefit myself and other independent game developers.

I wish you luck with HCA, and awaiting to play it myself, and see what's your AI technology all about.

[JacobBuck]

I had actually promised a list of technologies for a local tech magazine, so I might as well share it here:

Run-time technologies:
MS C++ (core run-time system)
GWAI (Guppyworks Artificial Intelligence engine)
Ogre3D (3D engine)
CEGUI (user interface system)
OggVobis (audio codec)
Theora (video codec)
Xpad ML parser (XML parsing)
FMOD (audio engine - NOT open source and NOT free for commercial projects)

Development & Production Tools:
XSi (3D location design and rendering)
3D Studio MAX (3D modelling & animation)
Maya (animation)
Ogre XSi&MAX exporters (3D file export)
OgreMeshViewer (3D preview)
Photoshop (texture design, GUI design, postprocessing environment shots)
Microsoft Excel & Visual Basic (scripting)
Phython+GDK (internal tool creation)
Misc. internally developed tools
CELayoutEditor (user interface design)
CrazySkinEditor (user interface design)
Inno Install (installer design)
Bugzilla (internal task & bug tracking)
Subversion (source revision control)

On top of this we've used a ton of plugins for XSi og i MAX for effects, rendering, lighting, animation, texture handling, etc.

During the development we used the following componts but phased them out/replaced them:
OpenAL (3D audio system)
LUA (scripting language)

[soundguy]

wow. nice list.
Thanks again for the info, gonna look up some of names i'm unfamiliar with on the list..