NILES SANKEY AMA [Destiny 2, Nyan Heroes, Halo]
- Thread starter Niles Sankey
- Start date
Salazar667
Master
Hello Niles
It's an honor to ask you this question since you made my favorite teenage games with Condemned.
Considering that both FEAR and Condemned Criminal Origins released in the same year with FEAR releasing before and focusing on action more, did the idea of survival horror elements in Condemned originate in FEAR and were dropped during it's development or was the survival horror theme was just an original idea which you wanted to implement with Monolith's tech at that time?
Sorry if this is a bit of a long one
But even as a 40 yr old, your works have made me still adore gaming and will continue to do so.
It's an honor to ask you this question since you made my favorite teenage games with Condemned.
Considering that both FEAR and Condemned Criminal Origins released in the same year with FEAR releasing before and focusing on action more, did the idea of survival horror elements in Condemned originate in FEAR and were dropped during it's development or was the survival horror theme was just an original idea which you wanted to implement with Monolith's tech at that time?
Sorry if this is a bit of a long one
But even as a 40 yr old, your works have made me still adore gaming and will continue to do so.
MrLightningZoltt11
Veteran
Yo Niles! I ll skip the formalities and say it was so much fun to experience the Halo games a couple years back with my friends via MCC on Steam.
Anyways if you could answer this
What potential can you see in 343 creating a halo related title outside of spartans, like ODST as an example especially with uproar of fans from recent game like helldivers 2
Thank you for your work once again!
Anyways if you could answer this
What potential can you see in 343 creating a halo related title outside of spartans, like ODST as an example especially with uproar of fans from recent game like helldivers 2
Thank you for your work once again!
Hanzala02
Veteran
Hi Niles, I'd like to ask about the crunch culture in the industry.
How crunch is nothing more than exploitation and kills the team's productivity in the process. From an outsider's perspective decreased productivity would likely lead to worse results and products, which in turn damages all the prior hard work poured into it.
You have been inside the industry for 20+ years what's your take on this? Can you shed more light on what goes on inside?
Again Thank You for all your contributions
How crunch is nothing more than exploitation and kills the team's productivity in the process. From an outsider's perspective decreased productivity would likely lead to worse results and products, which in turn damages all the prior hard work poured into it.
You have been inside the industry for 20+ years what's your take on this? Can you shed more light on what goes on inside?
Again Thank You for all your contributions
inbulbus_
Elite
Hi Niles. I have a question regarding mass layoffs in the industry. Are these extremely big budget games with zero margin for error, and even with a little bit lower than expected profit causing hundreds of people to lose their jobs in the right direction the industry's going in?
Big budgets games will always be expected of big AAA studios but they seem to come at a huge cost. If you were to propose a solution for it what would it be?
Big budgets games will always be expected of big AAA studios but they seem to come at a huge cost. If you were to propose a solution for it what would it be?
Hey LIONT4MER,
Hmm yea, those game credits are "technically" correct but also misleading. I left Bungie in 2015, and while some of my work is represented, I wasn't really part the development after the initial release.
That said, there are two points to be made about the mission design in D1->D2.
1. During the D1 development, we were still trying to understand the game we were building. What works, what doesn't work, how to design missions, etc. The development team was not super happy with how vanilla D1 shipped. But the design team was learning.
2. The tools were very rough in D1. I often describe the situation like this: During Halo development, our tools would allow iteration of mission/encounter design in about six seconds (read: A designer makes a change and then to compile/test the change, it took six seconds). In Destiny1, many of the pipelines were re-written and this time changed to 15+ MINUTES. It was crazy. I'm sure you can imagine the impact that had on development.
Fortunately, we use the Unreal Engine in Nyan Heroes.. so iteration is typically very quick, although testing changes in a multiplayer PvP game still requires significant effort.
Hey Salazar667,
Thank you, I appreciate that.
I joined the Condemned team after the game's initial inception. Monolith was all about new ideas, so I think the survival horror themes were more an original idea. I know the original incarnation of the game was even more super-natural, but was changed to be a bit more grounded by the time production started.
There was also some disagreement within the team on how much to push horror vs action. I remember pitching/building the infamous "departments store mannequin hallucination" with another designer. We showed it to leadership and they hated it
They told us to remove the sequence.. but we refused Then when Sega (our publisher) came into the office to review the latest build, they loved the sequence, so we were vindicated, and the sequence was polished/shipped. That's kinda how game development goes. Often there are disagreements between passionate people. And this happens a lot on Nyan Heroes.. but I see this as a good thing. So many great movies/games/etc were forged in the crucible of creative disagreement. But if you have the right people involve, it can result in magic.
Hey thanks MrLightningZoltt11
The short answer is: Yes, there is infinite (no pun intended) potential w the Halo franchise. A Helldivers2 ODST game would be incredible, and I'd love to see it (although they'd have to bring some new ideas to the table, of course).
The longer answer is: Great ideas are 'a dime a dozen'. Execution is the incredibly difficult part. Everything from building a talented team, fomenting/maintaining great culture, engineering reliable tools, utilizing efficient development method, QA testing, community engagement.. etc etc. This is the hard part.
We're doing our best on the execution of Nyan Heroes. I've been at the company for 2.5 years now. There's been some ups and downs.. but I really feel like we're hitting our stride. The best is yet to come!
Hi, Hanzala02.. thanks for the question. It's a difficult one to answer.
Hmmm, if I'm being honest, I would argue there are two fundamental types of crunch:
1. A shared culture of crunch where a team voluntarily chooses to work extended hours in order to deliver an exceptional product.
2. A mandated demand of crunch where an employer forces it's staff to work extended hours at the risk of the individual's health and livelihood.
(and there are many shades of grey in-between, which massively complicates the discussion)
Some of the greatest games ever created (I would argue all of them) required #1 type of crunch. It's just a fact of life that greatness requires sacrifice and long hours. That said, it should be a choice, and it should be rewarded.
But I think you're asking more about #2. And you are correct that this type of crunch is counterproductive (and immoral). I believe it's a result of greed and incompetence.. which plagues all industry, including the game industry.
We do our best on Nyan Heroes to avoid any kind of crunch, but honestly it's tricky when milestones approach. Sometimes we have to encourage people to take vacation (we are blessed with passionate developers). I'll also say that the hardest worker in the company is probably our CEO/Creative Director, Max (this is the first company I've worked at where this is the case). And It's always easier going into battle when your captain is leading the charge.
Specter
Elite
Destiny 2 was a one-of-a-kind live service and an example of how to play the game correctly. However, we see today practically every game becoming live service, just for the sake of "this is where's the money's at".
My question is, should gaming really abandon its own original ideas and go for the live service route? Considering how the genre's filled with predatory games, do you think it's in gaming's best interest if this live service craze is abandoned now? And considering someone wants to genuinely make a live service with the players in mind, what do you think are the key points that make a solid, enjoyable, and genuinely praiseworthy live service?
My question is, should gaming really abandon its own original ideas and go for the live service route? Considering how the genre's filled with predatory games, do you think it's in gaming's best interest if this live service craze is abandoned now? And considering someone wants to genuinely make a live service with the players in mind, what do you think are the key points that make a solid, enjoyable, and genuinely praiseworthy live service?
Starkk1
Elite
A question regarding how the blockbuster, big budget AAA games have taken away the creativity and risk taking in today's gaming. Because of these extremely big budgets, companies don't stray from the tried and tested formula, as a loss cannot be tolerated. As such, new ideas and creativity have no place, only that which makes profit matters.
Ace_the_Cayde66
Master
Hey Niles!
Did not expect a dev who worked on Destiny to do an AMA and I'm glad that you did!
I really loved your work on the game, regarding the Witch Queen DLC, I know the raid team was incharge of it but could you tell as a design lead if you had anything to oversee the Vow of the Disciple raid's production? If not, could you instead tell us your reaction to that raid when you got to see it for the first time? TIA!
Did not expect a dev who worked on Destiny to do an AMA and I'm glad that you did!
I really loved your work on the game, regarding the Witch Queen DLC, I know the raid team was incharge of it but could you tell as a design lead if you had anything to oversee the Vow of the Disciple raid's production? If not, could you instead tell us your reaction to that raid when you got to see it for the first time? TIA!
VivyanNightingale
Paragon
I see Nyan Heroes is a free-to-play AAA game, but what will the monetization model look like? Will it be a standard battlepass thing with additional cosmetic sets or will there be some pay-to-win or pay-to-unlock content?
Keksis_theBetr4yed
Master
Heyo Niles, hope you're doing good man
Il get straight to it with this one
With the current episode model in Destiny 2 the final shape being received mostly as a mocked up version of seasons again, do you think Bungie can vasty improve this live service model to better incentivize players to keep them engaged with the game?
Il get straight to it with this one
With the current episode model in Destiny 2 the final shape being received mostly as a mocked up version of seasons again, do you think Bungie can vasty improve this live service model to better incentivize players to keep them engaged with the game?
Gypsydanger426
Seasoned
Hey Niles!!
We've got a thriving community of Destiny players here and it's nice to see you being here!
I'm really interested to know what was the initial pitch for weapon crafting or the idea of the Enclave during the Witch Queen expansion's development.
Like I know it was something players wanted for a while, but to keep it sort of balanced and fair, were there any challenges you faced in making sure this didn't disrupt the economy of the game
(And yes before the iconic Craftening bungaloo happened)
We've got a thriving community of Destiny players here and it's nice to see you being here!
I'm really interested to know what was the initial pitch for weapon crafting or the idea of the Enclave during the Witch Queen expansion's development.
Like I know it was something players wanted for a while, but to keep it sort of balanced and fair, were there any challenges you faced in making sure this didn't disrupt the economy of the game
(And yes before the iconic Craftening bungaloo happened
)
I want to discuss the matter of extreme realism in games. Right now, gaming is aiming to be extremely photorealistic, a precise imitation of real life. Is gaming supposed to be extra realistic? Or should it aim for just having fun doing dumb and unrealistic things, rather than gunning for extreme realism?
