GZ Interviews the Masterminds of Jak & Daxter, One of the Year's Best Games

by The Badger

Unless you've been living in a cave, you know Jak & Daxter, published by Sony and developed by Naughty Dog, is one of the must-have titles of the year. It's been earning rave reviews from across the web, including a glowing review by our own GZ reviewer Louis Bedigian. A platformer of epic scope, top rate graphics, sharp and witty humor, and gameplay so addictive we're surprised it doesn't need a prescription - it doesn't come as a surprise that the team behind the game have just that type of gaming passion that's needed to create such a standard-raising title.

This month, I had the immensely good fortune to have a Q&A session with Evan Wells, Co-Designer, and Josh Scherr, Animator for Jak & Daxter. It's always a pleasure to speak with different individuals who take part in the various processes of game creation - but this interview in particular gave me the special privilege to get into the minds of the creative gurus that made Jak & Daxter the new, fresh, and incredible gaming experience that it is!

If you've already played Jak & Daxter, you'll love to get the chance to get further insight to the creators who gave it life. If you haven't played it yet, then I'm almost certain that once you read this interview, it won't be long before this is added to your collection! 

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Q: One must never underestimate the importance of comic relief. How much improv goes into creating a side-kick like Daxter? Does input come from the team as a whole, or do you assign script-writers to take care of the dialogue?

A: (EW) There is some improv, and some on-the-spot script changes in the studio, but for the most part the dialogue is all worked out beforehand.  With the amount of time it takes the animation team to create the scenes, there isn't a lot of room for adding very much.

Of course the whole team is welcome to add ideas and contribute as much as they want, but the responsibility for writing the script is left to the design department.

A: (JS) It's a very collaborative process, and while the animators always start with the script – penned by Dan and Evan (our game designers), there is still plenty of room for interpretation.  Max Casella, who voiced Daxter, helped bring the character to life; while he generally stuck to the script, he performed several takes of each line with slightly different nuances, allowing us to choose the one that best fit the scene.  There's also a certain amount of improv that goes into any animated scene, as you're essentially giving a performance through the character.  To that end, before we actually started animating a scene, we'd sometimes act things out in front of a mirror, do quick little sketches, or film each other acting a scene out.  And sometimes, especially when Daxter didn't have any dialogue, we'd try to have him doing something funny in the background.  For example, in the scene where Keira is peering through a telescope, Daxter is hopping up and down trying to look through the window.  Or when Keira walks in the Samos’ hut during the intro, Daxter tries to impress her with a heroic pose and fails to even draw her attention.  He was a very fun character to animate because he's so goofy and so flexible; he can be funny just standing still.

Q:  What do you think the biggest challenges are in creating a truly realistic AI?

A: (EW) The biggest challenge is coming up with AI that is both fun and not too computationally expensive.  First and foremost the AI needs to be fun.  That should always come before realism, because after all we are making games!  Then, you've got to make sure that it runs fast, because invariably you're going to want to have several creatures coming after you at once (over 20 in Jak and Daxter).

Q:  How much of the game creation process consists of the creation of the game engine itself? Are there any particular aspects of your new game engine that were particularly challenging to create or that you're particularly proud of?

A: (DM) At Naughty Dog, a lot of work goes into the engine, which in Jak & Daxter's case is actually a collection of engines that each got re-written many times before we were happy with them.  The biggest challenge overall was to get rid of all the loading times. It makes everything else much more complicated.

A: (GO) The game engine is worked on until the end of the project. You are constantly trying to squeeze a little more performance out of the hardware. The thing I am most proud of is our level of detail system. You can see forever and still have this incredibly lush environment. We have all of these small details near the character and can see other parts of the world far away. This is exactly what our design goal was and I'm proud of what we've achieved.

Q:  .Can you tell us a little more about the A-Grav Zoomer and Flut Flut? Will you have access to these two alternate modes of transportation throughout the whole game, or will you acquire them at certain points of your journey?

A: (EW) The Zoomer and the Flut Flut are only in available in areas specifically designed for their use.  The gameplay has been engineered to take advantage of their abilities in those locations.  Personally, my favorite level in the game is devoted entirely to the Zoomer.  Every task that you complete on that level must be done while speeding along on your hover bike.  It really adds a lot of diversity to the game.

Q:  Naughty Dog has a long history in gaming and platform titles specifically. What would you say helped the most when creating a whole new world in a favorite genre? Does consumer feedback or play-testing play a strong role in the formulation process?

A: (EW) One of the things that we really pride ourselves on, is our focus testing.  We get the game in the hands of the consumers as soon and as often as possible.  Every focus test in every territory is attended so that we can see first hand, the play experiences that the testers are having.  We also save extensive playtest data on the memory cards so that the problem areas can be charted and tracked across each demographic.  This gives us invaluable tuning and gameplay adjustment information.

Q:  What's the hardest thing about a free-roaming 3D platformer? Does making a free-roaming title make the level design process more difficult or does it actually allow more leeway in creative level design?

A: (EW) It is absolutely more difficult than linear level design.  Coming from work on the Crash Bandicoot series, it couldn't be more obvious.  Jak and Daxter also had the added difficulties of the world being completely connected and seamlessly loaded.  But even with the challenges, there is an amazing satisfaction that comes with not just doing "level" design, but actually creating a fully realized world.

A: (DM) In a lot of ways it makes it more difficult because you have to keep the player interested and challenged, yet the player is free to roam around and miss all the wonderful things you have laid out for him. It's a difficult balance between giving total freedom and steering slightly to make sure the player doesn't miss something important.  We’re very excited about where we netted out.

Q:  How much concept art do you work with on a game like Jak & Daxter? Does most of it occur in the very beginning of game creation, such as in character design, or is it an ongoing process?

A: (EW) There was an enormous amount of concept art work done for Jak and Daxter. Enough to fill several books.  We have an artist on staff devoted to doing nothing but concept art.  There is nothing that went into the game that wasn't sketched first.  From the most minute shrub, to an overview of the entire world, the digital artists always had concept art to work from.

Q: .How do you go about making a platform title appeal to as wide an age-group as possible? Do you think that platformers have increased in their target audience scope as technology has progressed?

A: (EW) As I mentioned before, we put a lot of effort into the focus testing process.  From the data we receive from these tests, we are able to make adjustments to the gameplay that allows the broadest range of people to enjoy the game.  Also, building the world as an immersive experience with the beautifully animated cut scenes, I believe, will extend the appeal of the game even further.

A: (DM) I believe the secret is in offering something for everyone and letting the game have multiple layers of humor and difficulty.

Q:  With a visually intensive game like Jak & Daxter, how do you go about "proofreading," per say, the game process? Does the same team who is involved with the actual gameplay development also take an editorial position to look over the work as a whole, or do you have a separate team that looks over the product as it progresses toward completion?

A: (EW) Early on, we had our focus test groups offer their feedback about the development of the game.  We listen closely to what they have to say, and adjust accordingly.  Of course we have the SCEA internal test department to help us track down the bugs at the end of the development cycle.  And we also hired a sizeable staff of testers on site at Naughty Dog for good measure.

A: (DM) The game designers have the hardest job at Naughty Dog because they are directly in the line of fire of the entire team’s opinion. But we are so proud of the caliber of people we have on the team – we all work towards delivering innovative and fresh interactive entertainment – we may be very critical of our own work but we can only deliver the best when we push ourselves. 

Q:  Do you think platform titles are moving toward including more adventure aspects than in previous years? What other elements do you see becoming an increasing part of the platform genre, if any, as time goes on?

A: (EW) Clearly the addition of a more adventure-like feel was one of our major goals in the development of Jak and Daxter.  I really believe that it has enhanced the overall feel of the game.  The addition of story-based gaming gives players a purpose for the tasks they are completing and a greater sense of accomplishment.  I think that the days of simple do-or-die Crash Bandicoot-like gameplay are numbered.  Today's gamer is more sophisticated and wants a more complete experience.

A: (DM) I think story is becoming a huge part and people are becoming more and more annoyed with plotless games or plots that are just made up to justify a certain section of the game. What we tried to do with Jak & Daxter was to have a story which makes sense and takes place in a world which makes sense and I think this is definitely something that you'll see more of in the future.

Q:  How did you get involved in the gaming business? Are there any directions you haven't gone yet that you might like to tackle in the future?

A: (EW) I grew up living and breathing video games.  From my first trip to the arcade I was hooked.  Eight years ago, when I was offered the amazing and generous opportunity to work at ToeJam and Earl, I knew I had found my calling.  As far as the future is concerned, we'll see.  This industry moves so fast, and there is always new technology just around the corner, so I never know what to expect next.

A: (DM) I've always played games and I used to program at home as a hobby. So when the time came to look for a job, I jumped onboard a game company that a friend was starting so that I could do my hobby all day long and get paid for it.

I'd like to explore what possibilities online games bring, especially with creating communities of players around a game or a series of games.

Q:  Is there anything else you'd like to share with our users about Jak & Daxter as they head on out to their local retailer to pick up the title?

A:  (EW) Jak and Daxter is the perfect blend of action and adventure.  The animations, and environments are beautiful, and the gameplay and story will keep you immersed in a world like never before.

A: (DM) I'm sure they'll have a blast with the game. It's very hard to describe how fun it is to evolve in the world of Jak & Daxter and everyone is always amazed at how coherent it is when they start playing the game.  Have fun!

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The Badger would like to thank:

Evan Wells, Co-Designer and

Josh Scherr, Animator

for their generosity, time, enthusiasm, and all of their talents in giving us a game that reminds us what gaming is really all about!