Turning numbers into creativity with a new WAR dev diary
We usually don't think about the fact that our favorite MMOs have mountains of numbers and formulas behind all the eye candy, making everything work smoothly. If you've ever wondered just how EA Mythic (or any other developer for that matter) makes all the inherent numbers/formulas in their games into unique creativeness, then this new developer diary is just for you. Steve Marvin, Lead System Designer on Warhammer Online gives a few examples of how such concepts as the Squig Herder's ability to jump down the throat of his pet gets translated into actual gameplay mechanics -- but that's actually the easiest example.
It's one of those jobs where the easiest sounding concepts become the biggest headaches. It's always interesting when a developer peels back the surface of their games to reveal how everything in the proverbial engine clinks together. We have to admit that the whole numerical process tends to go way over our mathematically-challenged heads, but it's an incredibly interesting read nonetheless.
