Inside Star Trek: Shattered Universe
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DGD: What development tools (hardware or software) do you use to create your games?HM: Our general development PC’s are Pentium 4’s with lots of RAM and lots of storage! As for software, our code base is C/C++ and our programmers mostly use Microsoft Visual Studio as their base environment, while the compilers vary based on the target platform. Our artists use 3D Studio MAX coupled with our custom plug-in for creating 3D art, and in general use Photoshop for creating 2D art. We also have a full suite of custom tools that play a prominent role in our development process.
DGD: What advantages and disadvantages do you face when developing a franchise title like “Star Trek: Shattered Universe?”
HM: The thing that is advantageous about Star Trek is the fact that its “universe” is well known and established. The challenge for us has been to extend this universe in a way that makes for a fun gaming experience while staying true to the source material, and we believe we’ve accomplished that with the premise for “Shattered Universe.” The disadvantages are the same that one would encounter for any project based on a licensed property: the license comes with certain restrictions (ex. ways in which it can be utilized) that the design must adhere to.
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DGD: Do any official Star Trek business associates have any input into the storyline or development of “Star Trek: Shattered Universe” or do they turn over all creative control to you?
HM: The original concept and design was done by Starsphere, but it had to go through an approval process with Paramount (the license holder.) For the most part, this is the standard in the industry.
DGD: Aside from your current project, what would you consider your best work to date and why?
HM: If I had to pick one project, it would be “You Don’t Know Jack” due mostly to the fact that it was the one game that I could play with friends who had otherwise never played a video game. I was also tremendously proud of the SNES version of “Wing Commander.” Technically, it was amongst the most challenging projects that I’ve ever worked on.
DGD: Some developers go over way over budget and some cut corners to get a product onto store shelves. How do you manage to control your budget and resources while maintaining the integrity of the game?
HM: Bidding on projects is very difficult, since the job entails estimating all the requirements of a project that in most cases is well over a year long. Several factors do help in the bidding process. In particular, knowing the capabilities of the core team members is critical, and having previous development experience, and by that I mean completed projects, is also invaluable. We’ve managed to do well in this regard, as our core team members have worked together for many years.
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