Our Relationship with Yuke's

I hope your weekend was well. I spent the weekend with visiting friends. We hung out in Venice, and then went to Anaheim to see the Angels play the White Sox. PLUS my Cowboys won, so I'm having a great Monday.

I wanted to give you guys a little information about Yuke's, our external developer. It's an interesting dynamic, and one that I wasn't used to at EA SPORTS.

As a development team, you have your Producers / Designers and Engineers. Producers / Designers come up with the vision for the game, and the Engineers physically build the game. (they understand code).

Since our developer, Yuke's, is external (and Japanese nonetheless), we have a MUCH different process. We, the production team are here at THQ. We come up with the vision for the game. We paint the picture for our engineers. So for the case of this blog, let's use WWE Universe, specifically cashing in the MITB briefcase in Universe mode as an example.

THQ: I would like to let the user in WWE Universe cash in the MITB briefcase if they won the MITB match at WrestleMania.

TRANSLATION

Yuke's: (Japanese)

TRANSLATION

Yuke's (Translated): Ok, that seems doable. Submit your design.

THQ: (Super detailed design from the colors and buttons in the menu you see, to the cutscene direction) We would like to have a cutscene for when the user chooses to cash in their MITB briefcase. Here is the design document.

TRANSLATION (Full design document is translated)

Yuke's: (Japanese)

TRANSLATION

Yuke's (Translated): Ok, this feature will take 14 days (14 engineering days if ONE engineer were working on this) to make because of new animations and art


That's a hint into our process, guys. It's designing through translation. It's a very rewarding experience, but it's also requires an insane attention to detail.

Now, I'm going to leave you with this thought:

Think about this process for EVERYTHING you see in the game. Consider how much time we have to make a game every year, and now how does this sound?

On most dev teams, we can't get to everything -- but in this case, we definitely can't get to everything.

Working with Yuke's is absolutely fantastic -- they are such hard workers. And I'm grateful to have this experience for my career. I just wanted you to get a little insight.

Not excuses, just facts.

Happy Weekend!

I heard the GamingRing GR8 podcast went very well last night. What did you think of it? I should be on next Thursday, and will have the game in front of me to answer some detailed questions.

I'm seeing the great impressions for the WWE Universe video we released yesterday. I really can't say enough about that mode -- it's a beauty!

This will be a pretty short blog today, but I did want to touch on something...

On Twitter, a guy tweeted that we had "piss poor marketing" this year. I'm a human being, and got offended and fired back at him. He then posted this response on his pretty awesome pro-wrestling site. Now, I didn't say exactly what he said in that podcast, but I understood that I rubbed him the wrong way. For that, I apologize not only to you but to everyone who clicked on that podcast and heard it.

I was so upset about it, that I offered to talk to the gentlemen right then on the phone. A few minutes later, I was having a real conversation with a very passionate fan of our game. It was a great conversation. It was much easier to convey my thoughts on the phone versus the 56 (exaggeration) characters I get on Twitter. He seemed pleased by my responses to his questions, and we ended on the right foot.

I guess the moral of the story is that I'll always be honest with you guys. Although I'll most certainly make mistakes, I'll always own up to them. I maintain that I'll talk to you the exact same way that you talk to me. I'm not trying to "sell" anything to you guys, and just want your help in making this game. Why would I just sit at my desk and try to think of all the ideas, if there are already thousands out there by you guys? That's my approach with the community engagement.

Anyway, do have a great weekend. Be safe, and enjoy yourselves!

Anything Can Happen in WWE Universe!

So I think we're releasing a video featuring Dan Ryan and WWE Universe later today. And if I were a betting man, I'd say you could probably find it on IGN.com.

WWE Universe is my favorite mode in the game this year. I was playing it all day yesterday, and while I was Sheamus vs Evan Bourne, The Miz came down to ringside and did commentary. I was skeptical, because I didn't know what was going to happen but sure enough, The Miz helped me get the win against an out of his mind Bourne. After the match, The Miz came in to celebrate with me and a new alliance was formed.

Just by chance, I played the next week on RAW and it was Sheamus and The Miz vs the Hart Dynasty. Guess who came and interfered? Yep, Bourne.

That's just a taste of what you're going to get in WWE Universe this year. Just when you think you know what's going to happen, the AI changes completely and tosses you into a storyline that you didn't expect to get into. The world revolves around the choices you make, and if you don't make any choices, that world smacks you upside the head and turns around on you. Let me know what you think of the video, everyone -- I'm really excited to see your reactions.

I saw alot of comments in my blog yesterday about not letting guys get to me. No worries guys, I've been around for quite sometime and understand how it works. When I respond to what you guys might say is "negativity," I'm just responding to it. I don't let it phase me, I'm just sending it right back to everyone because the facts are that you don't know what you're talking about. That's not a slight at all, it's just a fact. You aren't here to see what goes on, therefore you have no idea. And like I've said since I got here, my goal is to GET you guys to know what you're talking about, then we'll have very productive conversations. I see I've failed at that thus far, but we have some things planned with our fellow Community Leaders to help start the process of getting everyone informed on what we're doing, and how we do it.

But egos need to be dropped. I'm here to make the best wrestling game in the world, and I won't stop until it's done. We need your help, and we would be stupid not to ask for your help. So please take advantage of this -- we'll really appreciate it.

Enjoy today's video, everyone.

Spoiled

So I've seen a few threads, and tweets on my page, that we aren't doing a good job of releasing information this year.

Really?

Really?

I'm starting to wonder about you guys, really wonder...

Here are the beats of information releases so far this year:

- SummerSlam (released a TON of information)
- Multiple podcasts
- Gameplay Video
- Roster Reveal (both on Gamespot, and our website every week)
- Community Event

We have the best roster section in the history of video games (on our website), and members from THQ have been out talking with all of you.

So Really?

If you haven't done your research on all of the information that we've released so far, that's your fault...so go do some research. Because if you truly feel this way, you're not only wrong, but you haven't done your homework.

I had my first "next year" meeting with Yuke's last night. For those of you who don't know, Yuke's is our external Japanese developer for the SvR franchise. The meeting went well, and we went over what we can do to strengthen online for the future. I'll pose that question to you. What do YOU all want to see with online next year?

I'm hearing that we MAY be doing something during the weekend of WWE "Hell in a Cell" PPV. Could we possibly go over Online, RtWM, and Story Designer there? It seems like it's a possibility -- stay tuned.

I DO know that a WWE Universe video should hit the world wide web tomorrow. Dan Ryan at his very best!

My wife and I are getting visitors today. Some of our friends from Vancouver are going to stay with us, and one of them is a good friend of mine who is a Producer on NBA Elite 11. He designed the "Become Legendary" mode for the game. I think it's going to be a pretty fun weekend.

I'll be on the GamingRing.com GR8 podcast tomorrow night. I've seen the agenda for tomorrow night's show, and I can't wait. Just know that "community" isn't a one way street. And it's not all about you guys getting information. I told you I was going to teach you the development process of our game, so that you would better understand what we're up against every year, and make educated suggestions to us. If this is not something you want to do, and only want information out of me, that's fine. Just don't complain to me, because there are some who are invested in this community, and want to see it flourish.

I hope you guys are getting amped up for SvR '11, I can't believe it's just around the corner. And I've said it about 1,000 times already, but I'll do it again.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT ALL OF THE INFO BEING RELEASED BEFORE THE GAME SHIPS -- IT WILL!

That was meant as a newspaper headline. I'm not "shouting."

Cena joining NEXUS? Oh, the possibilities!

Night of Confusion?

So what's with Jericho? Is he gone, or is he staying? Very weird how the WWE played that one out. I have a feeling we'll see him back soon, though. And speaking of awkward, Kane beating The Undertaker? I hope Kane has Undertaker's urn, and that Paul Bearer is involved in some way. What did you guys think of "Night of Champions?"

I got to play a ton of SvR '11 over the weekend, and I had a lot of fun! (sorry for the tease)

What did you guys think of the full match gameplay video? I've seen some comments like; "If Legend difficulty is so hard, why was Bryan able to beat the CPU?" Really guys, really? You do know this is a game, and that the better you are, the easier the game is, right?

Do you say that when you play Madden on "All-Madden?" Or NBA 2K on "Superstar?" Not a sports fan? Ok, how about GTA on "Hard?" The point I'm making is that there are "experts" at every game, and I'm glad we have one working on our gameplay. Think you're great? Say that when the game comes out. Play on "Legend" difficulty with reversal indicators set to "off."

I had a great time on the GamingRing.com podcast on Friday. I love doing that stuff, and hope that you guys aren't just looking for info and would like to dig deeper into the development process of the game. I was happy to speak so candidly on the show, and I think Mike, Brad, Matt, and Seiryuga for their questions.

Pretty short blog this week, but I'm having a conference call tomorrow with Yuke's, and I'll let you know how that goes. We're already ramping up to that game we can't say is coming out, but you all know is coming out.

*UPDATE* To "Lesson for Next Year = Focus on Divas"

Hey everyone, some things are being blown out of proportion. I said that we should give Divas more of a focus next year. For example: 6-women Divas matches, etc.. I did not say that next year would be 100% Divas, or we would just focus on Divas. C'mon... you guys know we have a team working on this game, and that we all work on different parts of the game (old or new).

Lesson for Next Year = Focus on Divas

Hey everyone, I know the information that's coming out from all of the different outlets is extremely difficult to decipher, and I apologize for that. The thing with me is that when I came here, it was pretty (actually very)late in the process. I was overseeing a mode of the game this year, but it was pretty complete by the time I got on board. Because of that, I didn't design the game during it's inception and I wasn't able to follow along with all of the mode's progress to get a 100% great feel for everything that is in our game this year. THIS is the single biggest reason why it is hard for me to answer the really detailed stuff, and why I often second-guess myself. Because the game doesn't feel like second-nature to me.

I'm very much excited to be on GamingRing.com's GR8 podcast tonight. I'll have the game right in front of me, so as long as you can wait while I'm searching, be prepared to get a lot of your questions answered.

Divas...what can I say? You guys clearly want our game to have a bigger Divas influence. I've expressed this to our team, and we'll see where it comes out in the future. Thanks for your interest in this subject matter, that's what the power of community can do for the development process of a game. You guys shouted from the rooftops about Divas, so it's going to force us to take a look and see what we can do.

It's a bit concerning me that some of you think I'm just a mouthpiece for THQ. Now, I've been around the block and know the tactics that are used to bait people, but c'mon -- it's getting a bit ridiculous. If I haven't proven to you that I'm doing this off my own time, then you'll never learn and it's a waste of my time to talk to you personally because you'll believe anything you want yourself to believe.

I hope everyone has a great weekend -- and enjoy the podcast tonight!