Game Developer August Issue Features Final Fantasy XII Postmortem

Author: by Staff

The August 2007 issue of Game Developer magazine, the sister print publication to Gamasutra.com, and the leading U.S. trade publication for the video game industry, has shipped to subscribers and is available from the Game Developer Digital service in both subscription and single-issue formats. The cover feature for the August issue is 'Postmortem: Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII', giving a rare and exclusive look into the development of the seminal franchise. As is explained: "The twelfth installment in Square Enix’s wildly popular series was developed in a fashion quite unlike the others. No one on the team had worked on a major Final Fantasy title before, and most had been accustomed to mid-sized projects, not massive ones. General manager of R&D Taku Murata focuses more on what went wrong in this honest postmortem." Another major feature for the new issue is 'Programmers’ Roundtable', featuring notable technical directors and programming veterans such as Neversoft's Brad Bulkley, Maxis/EA's Chris Hecker, High Moon's Clinton Keith, and others - "in this exclusive roundtable interview, five top technophiles discuss what’s right and wrong with game programming these days, from in-house procedures to multi-processor systems to code reuse." Finally, the August issue also looks at 'The Code/Art Divide: How Technical Artists Bridge The Gap' by Jason Hayes. The story is outlined as follows: "Game studio Volition (The Punisher, Saints Row) makes a case for hiring a few technical artists, their value ranging from time savings to smoother in-house communication. As linchpins, technical artists keep programmers and artists bonded in their mutual cause, helping to ensure that each department gets what it needs from the other—and within reason according to the project’s schedule." The issue is rounded out by the customary in-depth news, code, art, audio, and design columns from Game Developer's veteran correspondents, as well as product reviews and editorial columns. Worldwide paper-based subscriptions to Game Developer magazine are currently available at the official magazine website, and the Game Developer Digital version of the issue is also now available, with the site offering six months and a year's subscriptions, alongside access to back issues, all for a reduced price. There is now also an opportunity to buy the digital version of August 2007's magazine as a single issue.