Next-Gen: What's under the hood

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http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/ [...] 98654.html

Next-gen technology: What's under the hood

Reps from IBM, Microsoft, ATI, and EA emphasize the growing importance
of content and middleware in E3 panel.
In an E3 Expo Conference Program session held last week, four
high-level industry players representing the PC, Xbox, and PlayStation
2 platforms convened to discuss the next generation of game machines.

But for a panel that was originally slated to explore the
technological capabilities of upcoming game platforms, the speakers'
focus surprisingly centered on the increasing importance of content
and middleware.

Entitled "Inside the Next-Generation Game Machines" and moderated by
Sony's Mark DeLoura, the session featured Electronic Arts Chief
Technology Officer Scott Cronce, ATI Technologies Director of Advanced
Technology Marketing Andrew Thompson, Microsoft Technology Director
Laura Fryer, and IBM Fellow James Kahle.

From the very start, panelists pressed the issue of content. "We're
going to be able to create CGI level quality in real time," Cronce
predicted, continuing, "That alone isn't going to be enough for the
next generation." Cronce argued that the progression to more realistic
graphics will not seem as impressive as the jump from 2-D to 3-D
graphics. Cronce also observed that the industry is increasingly
focusing on gameplay as a result. Fryer echoed this focus, stating,
"It's about the content going forward."

Thompson also expressed concern over content--even when showing an ATI
CGI sequence demonstrating new advancements in graphics processing.
Prefacing the CGI video by commenting that developers must now tell
"cool stories" rather than merely showing "pretty scenes," Thompson
told the audience to "focus on the camerawork, the light." Most
impressively, however, was the ability to interactively move the
camera around the scene, a powerful new capability that Thompson
predicts new graphics hardware will allow.

In regards to developing the content of the future, all panelists
stressed the critical importance of middleware. Thompson even went as
far to assert that the advanced technology is in place, but that
developers just need "the right kind of tools and middleware" in the
face of increasingly complex computer architectures. Fryer explained
that game developers waste too much time writing the same boilerplate
code, proposing that 80 percent of development time should be spent on
features that makes a game unique.

Cronce estimated that 10 percent of EA's efforts are spent on
developing internal middleware--so much so that EA has become the
largest gaming middleware producer in the world. Cronce mentioned that
EA would love to just purchase the middleware, but that such tools
just don't exist.

In response, Fryer described Microsoft XNA software answer to the
middleware problem. Fryer touted that XNA, a software developer tool
suite based off DirectX, would allow fluid development between PC and
Xbox, and would offer an "ecosystem" of tool choices. Thompson also
stated ATI's commitment to "making the hardware as developer friendly
as we can."

Despite the software emphasis, the session did address several
hardware issues. In particular, Thompson asserted that "we can still
make the pixels look a lot better than they do today." In particular,
Thompson foresaw a more frequent use of anti-aliasing, increasingly
complex pixel shaders, and progress towards HDTV-sized resolutions.

Kahle, drawing attention to broadband, envisioned a convergence of
supercomputing, broadband connectivity, and entertainment. Kahle also
stated that architecture designers must figure out where the
computational power will come from--whether inside the game machine or
from the server side. Cronce, however, appeared more skeptical of
broadband integration, predicting that only 30 percent of gamers will
go online with the next generation of consoles. Cronce largely blamed
the high costs of broadband connection in the US.

Towards the end of the panel, Cronce challenged console designers to
tackle the issue of peripheral devices. Cronce first asked whether
general purpose peripherals such as DVD players might interfere with
game sales. As an example, Cronce related the concern of Nintendo
GameCube designers that "if you're not watching a DVD, you're not
playing games." Later, Cronce pushed the need for standardized,
cross-platform controllers. Fryer admitted the issue of peripherals
was tricky, remarking, "It's something we're going to continue to
struggle with."

By Douglas Wilson -- GameSpot
POSTED: 05/17/04 10:22AM PST