Another Friday means it's time for the next episode of Zipline, the official Zipper Interactive podcast. Travis Steiner, Lead Designer on SOCOM 4, returns to the show to tell us about S4's recent gamescom showing and reveal a number of new trinkets of information.
Another Friday means it's time for the next episode of Zipline, the official Zipper Interactive podcast. This week, Brian Soderberg, Zipper's President and Co-Founder, talks about the studio's past, present and even hints of its future...
It's a proud week for us here at Zipper Interactive as tomorrow marks the 8th birthday of our first-ever PS2 game and the title that started a huge multimillion-selling franchise, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs. To celebrate the eight-year mark, we've put together a special video for our fans.
In it, you'll experience the gamescom 2010 SOCOM 4 demo in its entirety with commentary by lead designer, Travis Steiner. This is the first time anywhere that you'll see the gamescom demo played all the way through and in high-definition, making it a "must watch" for anyone even remotely interested in what we have in store for 2011.
Let us know what you think below, and please accept our sincerest thanks for making the first eight years of SOCOM as great as they have been. Here's to many more to come!
Our Developer Profile series introduces you to the many faces of Zipper Interactive. From designers to artists to programmers to audio engineers to producers, you’ll meet the creative minds that make Zipper what it is (and maybe learn a few surprises along the way).
This week we go straight to the top and get the scoop on Brian Soderberg, President and Co-Founder of Zipper.
Job Title: President, Co-founder Years at Zipper: 15 Years in the Industry: ~16 officially. Prior to starting Zipper, I dabbled in games for the Atari systems on the side while I was working in the defense simulation and research industry. When we formed Zipper we first focused on PC games, then moved to console games when we joined forces with Sony. Favorite Zipper Game: SOCOM, with MAG a close 2nd. The most recently released Zipper title tends to be my fave. =) Favorite Non-Zipper Game: Well, as a golfer, I’ve put the most time into Hot Shots Golf (I've finished every version on PS2, PSP and PS3). =) Motto: Quality over quantity.
What is it that you do specifically, and can you walk us through your typical day?
From a high level, two things:
1. Helping set the overall course for Zipper strategically. We frequently update our "5 Year Plan", attempting to adapt quickly to the ever-changing video game business and development areas.
2. Addressing “issues” that come up on a day to day basis at Zipper. As I’m sure you know, video game development is an organic & hectic process; there are always several things that require attention. We are continually trying new ideas to make development go more smoothly and make our games better. Our latest process change is to do the majority of our development with cross-discipline “Strike Teams”, where small teams (of artists, designers, and programmers) are physically co-located to make sure all areas are addressed quickly and efficiently based on the strike team’s collective goals. This is going quite well, but any change is tough and requires careful management.
How did you get into the industry?
Back in college I was hooked on standup arcade games, starting with Asteroids, Galaga, Donkey Kong and dozens more. When I got a job in the Boeing 757 Flight Controls Group, I spent my lunch hours in the nearby bars playing arcade games. Later, while working at Loral on military simulators, I started a game group within the company. Shortly after that I quit and started Zipper to do computer and video games.
What are some other games or projects that you’ve worked on in the past?
My first game, a one man effort, was developing “TimeBomb” for the Atari console, then 400 and 800. It fit in an 8K cartridge by a few hundred bytes. =)
Followed by the Zipper releases:
1. DeathDrome – PC
2. Recoil – PC
3. Top Gun – PC
4. Crimson Skies – PC
5. MechWarrior 3 – PC
6. SOCOM 1, 2, 3, Combined Assault, Fire Team Bravo 1 and 2 – PS2 and PSP
7. MAG – PS3
8. SOCOM 4 – Coming soon...
In the beginning, I did quite a bit of programming and project management. Around the time of SOCOM 2, I started to do much less programming and focused on the management side.
What’s your proudest moment?
I would say 3 things in this order:
1. Finishing SOCOM 1 – this was a huge title, our first with Sony (our new publisher at the time) and we were attempting many new things for Zipper, as well as firsts for the industry. I was super proud of getting this completed and then enjoyed the positive feedback from the SOCOM community.
2. Finishing DeathDrome – since this was our first Zipper title. It was a good game, but it had a stealth launch, which is never a good marketing approach. =)
3. Finishing my first personal game project, TimeBomb, that I actually received a check in payment for. We won’t mention how small the check was. =)
Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans?
I’m super excited to get SOCOM 4 complete and out to our fans. It’s been great to get back to working on this fantastic series and I’m really looking forward to the launch and the feedback from the community.
Also, thanks to ALL of our fans of SOCOM and MAG. We love hearing from our community! We do listen, and having the SOCOM & MAG players give us feedback really helps us when we’re working on our current game development effort as well as when we’re charting our longer term 5 year plan and beyond!
Another Friday means it's time for the next episode of Zipline, the official Zipper Interactive podcast. Seth Luisi, Game Director here at Zipper, returns to the show to answer many oft-asked questions. Mysteries are revealed!
Our Developer Profile series introduces you to the many faces of Zipper Interactive. From designers to artists to programmers to audio engineers to producers, you’ll meet the creative minds that make Zipper what it is (and maybe learn a few surprises along the way).
This week brings us the dirt on Seth Luisi, Game Director here at Zipper. Having had a hand in the creation of the SOCOM franchise right from its inception, we know that a lot of you have been waiting to see how Seth would answer some of these questions. Wait no longer...
Job Title: Game Director Years at Zipper: 6 months at Zipper, 16 years with SCEA, 12 years working with Zipper. Years in the Industry: 16 Years. I started with Sony 7 months before the original PlayStation launched in December of ‘94 (Japanese launch). Favorite Zipper Game: SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs Favorite Non-Zipper Game: The first year of Ultima Online and Ultima 2-IV. OOOoooOOoooo Motto: "Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." —John F. Kennedy
What is it that you do specifically, and can you walk us through your typical day?
I am responsible for providing direction on all of the Zipper game titles. I evaluate the status of the title and what we should be focusing on. For the day to day, I have a lot of meetings with the various teams to discuss approach, implementation and status. It is a collaborative process where I work with the teams to help come up with the best solutions possible and provide direction where needed.
How did you get into the industry?
I used to buy a lot of import games from the Recycler magazine (the print precursor to Craig’s List). One of the guys I used to buy import games from told me about a store in Mission Viejo, California, which sold import games. I got to know the owner of the store as I was one of his best customers. I also met a lot of people that worked at Virgin Games and Interplay as they would visit the store as well. The store went out of business and the owner got a job at Sunsoft and then Sony Imagesoft as the QA Manager. He offered me a job and I started with Sony Imagesoft in May of 1994 as a game tester. I spent about 6 months testing Sega CD and Super Nintendo games and answering the Sony Imagesoft tip line before being promoted to Assistant Producer.
What are some other games or projects that you’ve worked on in the past?
I was the Assistant Producer for some Sony Imagesoft licensed properties on the Sega CD. I was the Associate Producer and did design work in the “early” days of Blasto. I worked as a localization producer on many, many Japanese and European titles which were released in North America. I was the SCEA Producer for Spyro the Dragon, which meant that I mainly assisted Insomniac with the coordination of QA, PR and Marketing efforts. I’ve worked on a number of games that never made it. SOCOM was my baby and I’ve worked on all of the SOCOM titles from concept to finished product.
What’s your proudest moment?
From a professional/work stand point, it would definitely be the release of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs. To see a product which I worked on the original concept for be released is a wonderful thing. We pushed the boundaries with the game and in many ways created the Modern Warfare genre on the home game consoles. We were not the first but we defined the experience and many games have “adopted” features we innovated. The fact that millions of people enjoyed SOCOM and we’ve gone on to sell over 13 million SOCOM games made it even better.
Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans?
We, as a team, feel that SOCOM 4 is shaping up to be the best SOCOM game yet. We cannot wait for the SOCOM vets and new players to get their hands on it.
Zipline returns once again for its first 16th episode! Kurt Manning, Assistant Producer on MAG, stops by on a spooky Friday the 13th to give us the latest news on the game's 1.07 patch while Chris and Jeremy dish out some SOCOM 4 details.
One of the things that we're happiest to allow people to experience firsthand at shows like E3 and the San Diego Comic-Con is SOCOM 4's incredible soundtrack. Bear McCreary, famous for his work on Battlestar Galactica, has composed a score that reflects the game's setting to a "T", infusing a number of unique and rare instruments to create something that could easily stand on its own outside of our action-packed tactical shooter.
Wired recently met up with Bear during a recording session for SOCOM 4's soundtrack and sat down to ask him about his work on the game. The video provides a nice tease of what you'll hear from S4's score, so take a look:
Our Developer Profile series introduces you to the many faces of Zipper Interactive. From designers to artists to programmers to audio engineers to producers, you’ll meet the creative minds that make Zipper what it is (and maybe learn a few surprises along the way).
This week's profile brings MAG Assistant Producer Kurt Manning to the forefront. It's his job to help ensure that everything goes smoothly with MAG's day-to-day production, but that won't stop us from peppering him with SOCOM questions on this week's Zipline podcast.
Job Title: MAG Assistant Producer Years at Zipper: 4 Years in the Industry: 4 Favorite Zipper Game: SOCOM: Combined Assault Favorite Non-Zipper Game: Tough to choose a favorite. I really love RPGs. Those are always my favorite, but depending on my mood I could play anything. Motto: Motto? Motto?! I don’t need no stinking motto.
What is it that you do specifically, and can you walk us through your typical day?
I’m like a project manager. I create schedules, make sure everyone is driving towards the same goals, call meetings to organize and cost specific tasks... I spend a lot of time tracking progress and getting the right people together to make sure no one is blocked by a different discipline. On a typical day I arrive in the morning, check mail, respond to any immediate concerns and check the status of the latest builds. If anything has stalled overnight I contact the appropriate parties to get things moving again. We have a scrum each morning with all the leads to make sure everyone knows the current project status and we can talk about any immediate or long-term needs. I organize playtests, send status reports, track patch contents and bugs, and keep in touch with the Sony producers so they know our status at any given time. I just try to keep the wheels greased so everyone else can keep working and not have to worry about things out of their control.
How did you get into the industry?
I used to test courseware for Microsoft. I had a friend who worked at Zipper and spoke highly of them. He gave my resume to the QA Manager and I ended up with a contract here. I got hired on full time when my contract expired and have been working my way up ever since.
What are some other games or projects that you’ve worked on in the past?
I tested SOCOM CA when I started here (that’s why it’s my favorite) and then moved onto MAG as the Co-QA Lead. I've been working on MAG for about three years now.
What’s your proudest moment?
Getting MAG buttoned up and out the door was a really good feeling. Of course, we never felt like it was finished which is why the upcoming DLC and patches are so amazing. It just keeps evolving.
Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans?
Thanks! Without you guys MAG would have never happened. Your continued support is amazing and much appreciated by all of us at Zipper.
Right on schedule, we're back once again with the latest episode of Zipline, the official Zipper Interactive podcast. We're joined this week by Mary Olson, the Audio Manager here at Zipper. Mary gives us some insight into the sound production for both SOCOM and MAG, fills us in on the status of S4's soundtrack and even brings along an audio sample for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
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