BONUS CONTENT: Interview with Shawn Kittelsen, SVP, Creative for Skydance Interactive
Jan 8, 2025
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In this engaging discussion, Shawn Kittelsen, SVP of Creative at Skydance Interactive, shares his journey in the gaming industry and his influence on titles like Behemoth. He explores the future of VR gaming, including expansive environments and the technical hurdles of 360-degree rendering. The conversation delves into balancing game mechanics post-launch, overcoming player motion sickness, and the unique design philosophy that drives Behemoth. Kittelsen emphasizes the importance of community feedback and emotional connections within the development team.
Skydance's Behemoth distinguishes itself in VR by exploring vast open-world designs that enhance epic gameplay experiences through immersive landscapes and significant boss fights.
The development process for Behemoth illustrates the importance of player feedback in refining VR mechanics, balancing accessibility and challenge to improve overall engagement.
Deep dives
The Ambitious Vision of Behemoth
Skydance's Behemoth embraces a vast and open-world design, setting it apart from other narrative-driven VR games that typically confine players to tight corridors. The developer aimed to explore the sense of scale, incorporating large environments that players can traverse toward menacing behemoths, rather than restricting gameplay to smaller, intimate spaces. This concept was pursued to create a sense of epic, grimdark fantasy, allowing for engagement in both massive boss fights and expansive landscapes that evoke feelings of awe. To accomplish this vision, the team had to overcome significant technical challenges, focusing on maintaining a native frame rate across platforms to ensure fluid gameplay and responsive physics.
Overcoming VR Development Challenges
Developing a VR game like Behemoth comes with unique hurdles, especially when accommodating the player's 360-degree viewpoint in an expansive environment. Developers had to create intricate systems to manage rendering based on the player's position, which is challenging given the diverse and unpredictable ways players can navigate. Testing required meticulous attention to detail to prevent instances of 'pop-in' where the environment fails to load properly. This complexity demanded constant iteration and fine-tuning to create a seamless and immersive experience, emphasizing the necessity for rigorous testing beyond conventional flat-screen games.
The Evolution of Combat Mechanics
Updates to Behemoth significantly altered gameplay mechanics, notably balancing the game’s stamina system to enhance player enjoyment and responsiveness. These changes were instigated by player feedback that highlighted areas needing improvement, revealing the challenge of balancing difficulty and accessibility in VR environments. Developers sought to create a more engaging experience, where players feel a sense of control and agency throughout combat rather than being hindered by restrictive mechanics. This iterative process signifies a commitment to refining gameplay and adapting to community responses, demonstrating the evolving nature of VR game development.
Pushing the Boundaries of VR Experience
The VR landscape is currently filled with potential and competition, as major developments like Behemoth aim to redefine the genre and provide players with rich, immersive experiences. Developers emphasize the importance of experimentation and tackling challenges to ensure VR remains relevant and engaging as a medium. The aim is to expand the capabilities of VR while inviting a wider audience to participate, regardless of their gaming background. The ongoing efforts highlight the necessity of collaborative innovation within the industry, promoting a culture of support among developers to elevate the gaming experience for all.
This bonus content interview went out first to patrons, releasing on December 20th. If you want to support the show, get bonus content like this interview early, get access to Wednesday's Paid DLC show, Feeling This seasons, spoiler chats, and more, check out Patreon.com/DLCpod
Shawn Kittelsen, SVP, Creative for Skydance Interactive, including Skydance’s BEHEMOTH joins Christian and Jeff for a broad conversation about making games in VR, where VR might be heading, the technical aspects of working in VR, and what has changed in Skydance’s BEHEMOTH since launch.
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