Article Type: Interview

Kevin Dill is the latest developer in a series of interviews I’ve done with the authors of Game Programming Gems, 8th edition. He wrote a chapter on patterned approaches to modular artificial intelligence (AI) games. These are some excerpts from our interview.

Veering away from painstaking authenticity and turning back to the white-knuckle arcade races which initially defined it, high-stakes driving game Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit appears to be cruising in the fast lane toward success. You can credit not only an impressive sensation of speed, but also the introduction of savvier computer-controlled opponents and a suite of new social networking elements that enhance online play. Producer Hamish Young drove by to tell us how publisher Electronic Arts is steering the storied franchise back on course.

The directors and producer of Day & Night and Tick Tock Tale discuss how small films really are big at their studios.

Having sold more than 9 million­­ copies of medieval hit-man simulator Assassin’s Creed II, publisher UbiSoft opted to take a bold step with its sequel, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Unsatisfied with simply letting players stalk targets through ancient Rome’s streets and make acrobatic getaways, Ubisoft decided to add eight-man online head-to-head support to a leading franchise known primarily for its story-driven solo campaigns. It was a potentially fatal gamble, but Arnaud Mametz, lead designer at UbiSoft Annecy, reveals how the series successfully made the jump without committing career suicide.