Brian Nesse on MacSoft
MacSoft is a software publisher. As a software publisher, are you involved in programming and development?
Yes, MacSoft is indeed a publisher, but that doesn’t preclude us from being a developer as well. Many of our titles get subcontracted, many to Westlake, some to other developers. But we also have three programmers on staff, essentially our own internal “porting studio.” This means we can get one or two additional titles done and also gives us the flexibility to deal with the unexpected.
Could you provide our readers with a general outline of a typical game’s project schedule?
Generally product development follows a fairly standard path. You start out with a proposal: a short description, maybe a couple of paragraphs, which gives a general idea of the concept without going into any real implementation details. The proposal is submitted for review and, if accepted, the project moves on to the “storyboard” or “design document” phase. This is where the program is really fleshed out. All of the screens, program flow, user interface, and implementation issues are dealt with at this stage. Some prototyping may also be done. At this point the document is generally reviewed and there are possibly changes made. After this the project coding progresses. Milestones are generally used to make sure the project adheres to the timelines. Common milestones include alpha, beta, and gold master, though these tend to be later in the life of the project.
In an article on the porting business by Glenda Adams, she mentions that it is important to browse through the original source code to determine the workload. I assume this is to some extent always done first by some of your people?
Of course. We always review the code before committing to a project — or we let Glenda do it for us if we’ve already determined that her group will be doing the port. We can also use the code review as a measuring stick to determine whether we can give the project to a new untested porting group, or if we need to give it to a more seasoned group that we know can handle it.
Over the last few years we’ve seen a rise in PC publishers’ interest in the Macintosh platform. During the PC/Console development cycle, how far ahead are they thinking in terms of future ports, and technologies that will allow for easier porting?
In our experience very few publishers are thinking ahead to multi-platform products. The source code we see has generally been specifically coded to the PC. Titles that are brought to the consoles also appear to be ported from the PC source.
From a publisher’s viewpoint, is the extra effort to simultaneously release on Mac and PC worth it? Or is better to develop the code on one platform, and port at a later date?
If you’re asking about one development house simultaneously releasing a product on two platforms then I think everyone should be doing it. The benefits are many and the cost relatively small.
If you’re talking about one developer trying to port the work of another while that work is still in progress then I would say there are many issues to consider. You are at the mercy of the primary developer. If they are behind schedule, so are you. If they decide to redesign the program halfway through the coding process, you’ve just wasted the last few months of programming. If they start releasing patches you must do the same to remain compatible.
Do you consider MacSoft to be a technology pioneer of new Macintosh technologies?
The only thing we demand from our developers is that they produce a high quality product for us. We tend to use whatever technologies make the most sense for the problem at hand. I don’t believe that makes us pioneers as much as it makes us problem solvers.
It must have been great for MacSoft to see Apple return to the consumer market with the iMac and iBook lines. However, some critics feel that the increase in iMac users doesn’t necessary mean more gamers. What’s your impression on this?
Unfortunately this assessment appears to be a bit accurate. A large percentage of iMac buyers use it to access the Internet. It doesn’t seem to be a gamer’s machine. Most of today’s games are made for the avid or hardcore game player. I believe that iMac buyers generally fall into the category of casual game player. We are currently trying to expand our presence in this market.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he visited many core industries and spoke to their developers. In regards to the game industry, were there any people from MacSoft present during these strategy meetings?
Apple asked us for a list of things that we thought should be addressed, which we supplied, but we were not involved at any higher level than that.
Besides the titles from Logicware and Westlake, what approach does MacSoft take to finding a game that will appeal to Mac gamers?
We stay aware of what’s going on in the PC world and try to pick up the titles that either are big hits, or those that are likely to be.
We don’t have anyone assigned to this task, we simply keep our eyes and ears open, and listen to our development partners when they suggest a possible title.
By releasing for Mac and PC at the same time, it’s no longer possible to only choose the best sellers for a release. Does this bring extra pressure along?
This does cause some special problems. Ordinarily we can look at the PC sales and determine whether we believe it will sell well on the Macintosh. So we take a chance right out of the chute. Then, as I stated earlier, you are at the mercy of the PC development house during the development process. Finally, you have to review the product and see if it still fits your expectations. We ate a few months of development cost when we terminated a co-development project after reviews indicated that the PC version probably wouldn’t see up to expectations.
Bio:
Brian’s notable titles include Age of Empires, Civilizitation II, Falcon 4.0, Master of Orion II, Quake, UnReal.
1 Since this interview, Brian Nesse has left MacSoft to take a position with Netscape.
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