31-03-2005, 09:23 AM
(This post was last modified: 29-04-2005, 06:45 PM by Vitor Barreto.)
Este texto trata-se do nascimento do Lfs e o que os 3 devs fizeram até ao lançamento da s1 com algumas partes sobre a s2. É longo mas vale a pena ler.
Out of the most exciting prospects for any gamer at heart is to develop his or hers very own game. Start to finish, in their image, the profits going solely to their pockets and to that of their friends. Tailored to their liking and vision, this game would go so far as to be their mark on the world. A mark that in this day an age could be seen and played by anyone, anywhere. Sound's exciting don't it?
Three friends have realized this dream and this is their story. Two from the UK, Scawen Roberts, (pronounced scän, rumor has it), and Eric Bailey. The third is a Dutchman named Victor VanVlaardingen.
Before the saga began, Scawen and Eric were toiling away in a development company named Lionhead Studios, working on a game called Black & White. Their talents flowing from the heart and the results putting money into corporate pockets. Victor was fighting his own demons while serving as a lackey to an evil bakery owner in Dutch people land.
The game? Live for Speed. A GT style racing simulation that, (for a third the price of a triple-A title mind you), you get 26 different track layouts and 8 different cars and reportedly the best racing physics in the genre... and they're only at the first stage of development. The next stage, (S2 due out this year), will bring in several more cars, tracks, tire wear, damage, even better physics.. pretty much everything that all other sims have promised and have only marginally be able to deliver.
The best bonus of this game, however, is not just the game itself, but the community that comes with it. We're talking racing teams from almost every part of the world - some now with sponsors like ATI and Intel, leagues to race in that have cash prizes and competition so fierce you'll be screaming at your monitor and sweating bullets. And all for a song.
This, however, is a story about the developers themselves and the intricacies of their new world. As their popularity and bank accounts grew, many changes came. Three friends that walked off the corporate train, (pastry train in Victor's case), and threw their hat's into the ring of successful independents.
The Number one
Scawen Roberts. A very enthusiastic dreamer who had his vision from the very beginning. At the start of his career he walked into Lionhead studios and laid out his intent up front. "Even in my job interview I stated that my aim was to have my own company.", he says, (Imagine the corporate yes-men snickering if you will...), "It wasn't long before I was reminded why I didn't really want to work for someone else."
During his coffee breaks when the other employee's were chatting and eating donuts, Scawen was secretly hatching his plan. "I made a simple but lively car simulation where a mouse controlled car could go over bumps in a strange looking world and do crazy stunts." We could say something along the lines of 'little did he know', but let's face it, I think he knew.
One day his little game caught the eye of a passing corporate tool named Eric and they were soon friends.
Eventually Scawen left and set up the beginnings of Live for Speed in his London apartment. The game took form and it's initial release, S1, caught the sim racing community off-guard. What you did was download the demo, and if you liked it you could download the full game and purchase a license to release all it's content. No need to trip to the local software store. And the people came. Bored of NASCAR and the sim-on-life-support that was Gran Prix Legends, the community took to Live for Speed like... like...umm... well they really liked it. Soon there were licenses being sold in the tens of thousands, the money started pouring in, the dream started becoming a reality.
There were other racing games too, of course, but Scawen could only snicker at most of them. "I'm just not interested in any car game with canned effects, where you can only do specific actions with the car, that were individually programmed in there, by doing specific actions with the controller that have little or no connection with what you would do in real life. I'm only interested in a simulator where the forces are simulated at the wheels, so that a wide range of things are possible, even if the programmer didn't think of them."
The community that formed around LFS was something else that Scawen didn't think of. Imagine if you will seeing such a niche genre game being shown on German television! A Live For Speed community standout named Joachim Fiess managed just that. Says Scawen, "I think it was the first tv-appearance for LFS, so yes, it was kind of a shock. A positive one." There is also events like the ESL Pro series where drivers actually race for a decent sized purse. When I asked if LFS will get big enough for driver's to make a living he replied. "Sponsors like many people seeing their advertisements. So with more people attracted to the sim racing community, advertisers might show more interest, allowing bigger and more frequent events (with prize money) to take place. But making a living with sim-racing would still only be for the best of the best I think. But that's with most sports I guess."
Now his vision is realized, now his game is in the making, how does he spend his leisure time? Scawen still has the same girlfriend he had when it all began, and I asked him how he managed to keep their relationship strong and I found out that they own a motorcycle and he likes to take trips with her on the back. Says Scawen, "As always, my girlfriend and I go somewhere on my bike, usually Ireland where my mum lives or France where they have nice roads and cook good food."
I asked him if marriage was on the table and he replied, "Not married, my ever patient girlfriend is still with me and I'm still waiting for LFS to get big!". He won't have to wait much longer, here's a punch on the arm to his GF for bagging a good one.
As we delve deeper into this trio, things get interesting. We now waltz into the life of Eric Bailey.
The Graphics Guy
Eric Bailey also worked at Lionhead with Scawen as we know. He was in the animation division and was just barely keeping his head above all the corporate muck while working his tail off. When Scawen said they should get up and leave he didn't need to think twice. "I've always been addicted to racing sims but never considered developing one. Once I saw an opportunity I guess it was the right thing to do."
Lionhead was brought to their knees as their best coder and animation employees walked off the gangplank that one rainy day. As an extra kick, the women at Lionhead were depressed for months after when the news of Eric's departure hit them. It's amazing they ever got Black & White 2 off the ground, though it's still not released, and I have to give them kudos for surviving this incredible blow.
Once out on his own, Eric never looked back. A visionary in his own right, he also had the tools to translate that vision onto our screens. Sprawling race tracks in three different settings that we've driven over countless times. From the video store in South City to the girls in bikini's at Fern bay, we thank him for every little easter egg and are still in love with the very cool looking cars.
S2 is where Eric's abilities hit their stride though. You can catch a glimpse of them in the videos found on the main site. It's just one track, but the view is breathtaking. The Blackwood track becomes real, with an open feeling from the view, we also get the crowds, tents and trailers, and the feeling that people have come from miles away just to see us race. The new car's even more fantastic, with weather drifting by and reflecting on their bonnets. The man's a prodigy.
Eric says, "Money was the main reason to use fantasy cars and tracks. But the advantage of using real cars and tracks is that theres nothing to design. You just copy what you see. Design takes extra time." Extra time doesn't come often for Eric, "I went to Gibraltar last year after S1 with my girlfriend, but I haven't taken many holidays abroad since starting LFS." Here's hoping he can get some quality leisure time in the future, he's more than earned it.
The Everything Else Guy!
There's not much you can do in a bakery but dream. This goes doubly so for bakeries in the Netherlands, as the owners tend to be despots of the worst kind. I asked if his rescue from an evil bakery owner was the primary motivation for LFS and he replies, "I doubt if that was really the motivation, but there's definitely _some_ truth in what you said ;)"
Victor's favorite escape from his reality was, of course, his computer and his music. He was a drummer for several garage bands but veered his talent towards making music on the computer for commercials, games and dance tracks etc. He had become moderately proficient in web design and was well liked in every community he got near. The fact that the man could gain friends with anyone he contacted is what caught Scawen's attention. Just as Scawen was a natural at coding and Eric at graphics, Victor was a prime candidate for the interface with the world they needed.
He designed their first website and hustled to get the word out to the community. Scawen also let him pick the background music for the game as a gesture, which turned out to be a better decision than he thought. The music is like his personality, it appeals to everyone and offends none.
Once the game took off, Victor put his charms to good use in every aspect. At conventions and the like, Victor was like a gauntlet of social interaction. He'd spend hours with reporters and customers and managed to create a halo around the LFS development team with his presence. He was a natural too, just in a social way but every bit as important.
So how does this guy have fun? Say's Victor, "My vacations are nearly always in Europe. I try to go skiing every year - normally go to Austria. Summer holidays vary from staying in my own country, Holland, to something like France." I asked him if he was married and tried to get some dirt, but got this response: "Not married - and you have a weird view on racesim-dev-fame". Indeed :)
The results are in !
Just look at that team eh? Three guys beating the odds and loving life. How did they get this far? They found something to love and they did it right. They only caved in to the needs of the game, and gave it all the attention they could muster. And they stuck to it. One could only admire this dedication and know that all their rewards are deserved.
-----------------------------------------------------------
By Enzoblue
Lfs News
Out of the most exciting prospects for any gamer at heart is to develop his or hers very own game. Start to finish, in their image, the profits going solely to their pockets and to that of their friends. Tailored to their liking and vision, this game would go so far as to be their mark on the world. A mark that in this day an age could be seen and played by anyone, anywhere. Sound's exciting don't it?
Three friends have realized this dream and this is their story. Two from the UK, Scawen Roberts, (pronounced scän, rumor has it), and Eric Bailey. The third is a Dutchman named Victor VanVlaardingen.
Before the saga began, Scawen and Eric were toiling away in a development company named Lionhead Studios, working on a game called Black & White. Their talents flowing from the heart and the results putting money into corporate pockets. Victor was fighting his own demons while serving as a lackey to an evil bakery owner in Dutch people land.
The game? Live for Speed. A GT style racing simulation that, (for a third the price of a triple-A title mind you), you get 26 different track layouts and 8 different cars and reportedly the best racing physics in the genre... and they're only at the first stage of development. The next stage, (S2 due out this year), will bring in several more cars, tracks, tire wear, damage, even better physics.. pretty much everything that all other sims have promised and have only marginally be able to deliver.
The best bonus of this game, however, is not just the game itself, but the community that comes with it. We're talking racing teams from almost every part of the world - some now with sponsors like ATI and Intel, leagues to race in that have cash prizes and competition so fierce you'll be screaming at your monitor and sweating bullets. And all for a song.
This, however, is a story about the developers themselves and the intricacies of their new world. As their popularity and bank accounts grew, many changes came. Three friends that walked off the corporate train, (pastry train in Victor's case), and threw their hat's into the ring of successful independents.
The Number one
Scawen Roberts. A very enthusiastic dreamer who had his vision from the very beginning. At the start of his career he walked into Lionhead studios and laid out his intent up front. "Even in my job interview I stated that my aim was to have my own company.", he says, (Imagine the corporate yes-men snickering if you will...), "It wasn't long before I was reminded why I didn't really want to work for someone else."
During his coffee breaks when the other employee's were chatting and eating donuts, Scawen was secretly hatching his plan. "I made a simple but lively car simulation where a mouse controlled car could go over bumps in a strange looking world and do crazy stunts." We could say something along the lines of 'little did he know', but let's face it, I think he knew.
One day his little game caught the eye of a passing corporate tool named Eric and they were soon friends.
Eventually Scawen left and set up the beginnings of Live for Speed in his London apartment. The game took form and it's initial release, S1, caught the sim racing community off-guard. What you did was download the demo, and if you liked it you could download the full game and purchase a license to release all it's content. No need to trip to the local software store. And the people came. Bored of NASCAR and the sim-on-life-support that was Gran Prix Legends, the community took to Live for Speed like... like...umm... well they really liked it. Soon there were licenses being sold in the tens of thousands, the money started pouring in, the dream started becoming a reality.
There were other racing games too, of course, but Scawen could only snicker at most of them. "I'm just not interested in any car game with canned effects, where you can only do specific actions with the car, that were individually programmed in there, by doing specific actions with the controller that have little or no connection with what you would do in real life. I'm only interested in a simulator where the forces are simulated at the wheels, so that a wide range of things are possible, even if the programmer didn't think of them."
The community that formed around LFS was something else that Scawen didn't think of. Imagine if you will seeing such a niche genre game being shown on German television! A Live For Speed community standout named Joachim Fiess managed just that. Says Scawen, "I think it was the first tv-appearance for LFS, so yes, it was kind of a shock. A positive one." There is also events like the ESL Pro series where drivers actually race for a decent sized purse. When I asked if LFS will get big enough for driver's to make a living he replied. "Sponsors like many people seeing their advertisements. So with more people attracted to the sim racing community, advertisers might show more interest, allowing bigger and more frequent events (with prize money) to take place. But making a living with sim-racing would still only be for the best of the best I think. But that's with most sports I guess."
Now his vision is realized, now his game is in the making, how does he spend his leisure time? Scawen still has the same girlfriend he had when it all began, and I asked him how he managed to keep their relationship strong and I found out that they own a motorcycle and he likes to take trips with her on the back. Says Scawen, "As always, my girlfriend and I go somewhere on my bike, usually Ireland where my mum lives or France where they have nice roads and cook good food."
I asked him if marriage was on the table and he replied, "Not married, my ever patient girlfriend is still with me and I'm still waiting for LFS to get big!". He won't have to wait much longer, here's a punch on the arm to his GF for bagging a good one.
As we delve deeper into this trio, things get interesting. We now waltz into the life of Eric Bailey.
The Graphics Guy
Eric Bailey also worked at Lionhead with Scawen as we know. He was in the animation division and was just barely keeping his head above all the corporate muck while working his tail off. When Scawen said they should get up and leave he didn't need to think twice. "I've always been addicted to racing sims but never considered developing one. Once I saw an opportunity I guess it was the right thing to do."
Lionhead was brought to their knees as their best coder and animation employees walked off the gangplank that one rainy day. As an extra kick, the women at Lionhead were depressed for months after when the news of Eric's departure hit them. It's amazing they ever got Black & White 2 off the ground, though it's still not released, and I have to give them kudos for surviving this incredible blow.
Once out on his own, Eric never looked back. A visionary in his own right, he also had the tools to translate that vision onto our screens. Sprawling race tracks in three different settings that we've driven over countless times. From the video store in South City to the girls in bikini's at Fern bay, we thank him for every little easter egg and are still in love with the very cool looking cars.
S2 is where Eric's abilities hit their stride though. You can catch a glimpse of them in the videos found on the main site. It's just one track, but the view is breathtaking. The Blackwood track becomes real, with an open feeling from the view, we also get the crowds, tents and trailers, and the feeling that people have come from miles away just to see us race. The new car's even more fantastic, with weather drifting by and reflecting on their bonnets. The man's a prodigy.
Eric says, "Money was the main reason to use fantasy cars and tracks. But the advantage of using real cars and tracks is that theres nothing to design. You just copy what you see. Design takes extra time." Extra time doesn't come often for Eric, "I went to Gibraltar last year after S1 with my girlfriend, but I haven't taken many holidays abroad since starting LFS." Here's hoping he can get some quality leisure time in the future, he's more than earned it.
The Everything Else Guy!
There's not much you can do in a bakery but dream. This goes doubly so for bakeries in the Netherlands, as the owners tend to be despots of the worst kind. I asked if his rescue from an evil bakery owner was the primary motivation for LFS and he replies, "I doubt if that was really the motivation, but there's definitely _some_ truth in what you said ;)"
Victor's favorite escape from his reality was, of course, his computer and his music. He was a drummer for several garage bands but veered his talent towards making music on the computer for commercials, games and dance tracks etc. He had become moderately proficient in web design and was well liked in every community he got near. The fact that the man could gain friends with anyone he contacted is what caught Scawen's attention. Just as Scawen was a natural at coding and Eric at graphics, Victor was a prime candidate for the interface with the world they needed.
He designed their first website and hustled to get the word out to the community. Scawen also let him pick the background music for the game as a gesture, which turned out to be a better decision than he thought. The music is like his personality, it appeals to everyone and offends none.
Once the game took off, Victor put his charms to good use in every aspect. At conventions and the like, Victor was like a gauntlet of social interaction. He'd spend hours with reporters and customers and managed to create a halo around the LFS development team with his presence. He was a natural too, just in a social way but every bit as important.
So how does this guy have fun? Say's Victor, "My vacations are nearly always in Europe. I try to go skiing every year - normally go to Austria. Summer holidays vary from staying in my own country, Holland, to something like France." I asked him if he was married and tried to get some dirt, but got this response: "Not married - and you have a weird view on racesim-dev-fame". Indeed :)
The results are in !
Just look at that team eh? Three guys beating the odds and loving life. How did they get this far? They found something to love and they did it right. They only caved in to the needs of the game, and gave it all the attention they could muster. And they stuck to it. One could only admire this dedication and know that all their rewards are deserved.
-----------------------------------------------------------
By Enzoblue
Lfs News
![[Image: cyberuserbar2xw7.gif]](http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8974/cyberuserbar2xw7.gif)
