PAX 2010: Former GameSpot editor-in-chief, Red Alert 3 producer, and 2K Games publishing producer talks about the interaction between the three game-industry factions.

Who was there: Former GameSpot editor-in-chief, EALA line producer, 2K Games publishing producer, and current Super Giant Games creative director Greg Kasavin.

What he talked about: Greg Kasavin gets around. GameSpot's one-time editorial leader, Kasavin left the games journalism beat after 10 years in 2007 to join Electronic Arts' LA studio, first ushering Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars to the finish line and then contributing to C&C: Red Alert 3's development. With EALA's operations in flux following Red Alert 3's lukewarm reviews, Kasavin left the publisher in 2009 to join 2K Games publishing arm, overseeing teams that included Yager's Spec Ops: The Line.

Just this week, Kasavin moved onto his new role at startup Super Giant Games, which is developing the action role-playing game Bastion. Nonetheless, he took the time to take the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo
stage to recount his experiences in a session titled "Memoirs of a Triple Agent." After giving a brief rundown of his various roles in the game industry up to this point, Kasavin kicked off his talk by noting that there exists a substantial amount of misconception and animosity between the fields of games journalism, development, and publishing that he'd like to shed light on and hopefully dispel.

GameSpot editor emeritus and newly minted Super Giant Games creative director Greg Kasavin.

Beginning first with where he began his career, Kasavin began by noting that the field is often chaotic and intense, and throughout the course of his career at GameSpot, he never quite felt like he had things under control. Offering a quick tutorial on how to break into the games press, he said that working for free by playing games, writing up or filming impressions, and building an audience is the best way to gain the attention of the various outlets.

He also hit upon a theme that stretched throughout his presentation, which was that of cultivating a reputation of transparency and accountability while exhibiting an intense work ethic is the best way to achieve success. He also noted that it isn't a particularly good idea to simply drop whatever else is going on in life to launch a gaming journalism career, saying, "if you can't juggle the work, then you're probably not a good fit."

As for industry relations, Kasavin said that the press and developers are often on the best of terms between the three factions. This is on account of the admiration that the press often feels for the people who make their favorite games, and the appreciation of the attention that developers get from the people who write about their games.

However, this bond can be a cause for concern, he said, due to the possibility for a conflict of interest that exists. Kasavin said that intentionally segmented himself off from the development community while at GameSpot, because it is much more difficult to give an honest assessment of a game when the writer is friends with the developer. He noted that the press' first responsibility is to their audience, not the development community.

Ultimately, this is the best tack to pursue, he said, because the audience will appreciate the press' coverage more, while the development community will respect the principals behind it.

Of course, making friends isn't exactly an easy task for the press, because publishers work diligently to restrict access to those who actually make the games. The motivation behind this mentality, Kasavin said, is that publishers often fear what a developer may say that could reflect poorly or be twisted in such a way to reflect poorly on the game in question.

Publishers, he noted, have a love-hate relationship with the process. "They will love you when you give their games 9s and 10s, but in general, the interaction is very tense," he said, emphasizing that publishers often only see this as a business. And because the press' critical opinion can lead to diminished sales, publishers are under a good deal of pressure to manipulate critics into giving the best scores to games.

For the press, the way to approach publisher relations is through a "gentle but firm" attitude, while also standing in a defensible position. It also helps to understand that a publisher's PR department is often under a good deal of stress, as they are often seen as the reason why a game is given high or low marks, and not the actual quality of the game.

Kasavin's talk then shifted to his experience in the development field, working for EALA. He noted that the development scene has long since left its humble beginnings of small teams and small budgets, but the industry as it operates now lacks balance. "People are crunching themselves to death," he said, referencing long work hours without reprieve. He also bemoaned the fact that dev teams are getting quite large, and it is very difficult to control the interaction of people on that scale.

But for those who want to break in to game development, he again returned to the concept of initially doing the work for free, taking a game engine such as Unreal or Starcraft II's level editor and simply making levels. He said that building mods and the like is the best way to circumvent the catch-22 scenario of studios requiring experience to get any kind of job in the industry.

"Start doing the work on your own time, and it might work out in the future," he said.

He also noted that the development community often has an antagonistic relationship with the publishing side of the business, a situation that was brought into sharp focus withActivision's Infinity Ward fiasco earlier this year. One reason for this is publishers' decision to enact sweeping layoffs following the completion of a game, a situation that has been all too familiar this summer.

Another reason is the meddlesome nature that many publishers exhibit toward their creative talent. Because development is done on the publisher's dime, they are risk-averse. Also, the importance of every game being a hit means that publishers must spend substantial amounts on marketing. So if a developer asks for more time to up the quality of a game, a publisher must balance the money it's already spent on hyping the game's release versus the additional time it will remain in development.

As he only spent about a year on the publishing side, Kasavin offered only a superficial account of his experience at 2K Games. The difference between being a producer on a development level and a producer on a publishing level, he said, is that the publishing side is often overseeing multiple projects at once. He offered a military analogy to illustrate the ideal publishing producer, saying that the best operate as chopper hovering ahead a battalion of troops, offering support when needed but largely staying out of the way.

Kasavin closed his presentation by listing the five rules that he has followed and that have helped define his career. First, it is important to empathize with people, and understand why they do what they do. Second, "give a damn" about the results, a point he called the most important. Third, be like Charlie Brown, which is to say, don't act like a hotshot. No one knows everything, and it's important to keep learning.

His fourth and fifth rule he conceded are somewhat paradoxical. "Go work, then go home, and then work," he said, saying that becoming a workaholic is an excellent route to accomplishing goals. On the flip side, he said that it is important to make time to not work, whether that be through exploring another medium such as books or movies, or simply taking a walk.

Quote: "Bastion isn't the first game I've poured my heart into, but it's the first game that you'll be able to tell."

Takeaway: Kasavin's extreme work ethic notwithstanding, the secret to his success within the three factions of the games industry has been fueled by a focus on integrity and a devotion to the medium.

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A decent strategic foundation is rendered all but meaningless by horrific bugs, missing features, a poor interface, and plenty of other defects.

Score: 4.0 / poor

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Labor Day week sees massive wave of releases, including Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Otomedius Excellent, and the latest Dragon Age: Origins expansion.

Next Monday is Labor Day, a national holiday in the US and the traditional end of summer. And once the barbecues have cooled and the last cold beverage has been plucked from the cooler, the week will see the start of the end-of-the-year game flood.

Superhero fans will get a double-dose of games on Tuesday, when Warner Bros. releases Batman: The Brave and the Bold (DS, Wii) and Activision ships Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Xbox 360, DS, PlayStation 3, Wii). Unlike the dark and violent Arkham Asylum, the former title is geared to a younger audience, with a cel-shaded look and co-starring the caped crusader's longtime companion Robin. Meanwhile, the T for Teen-rated Shattered Dimensions will see four different versions of the famous webslinger trade blows and quip webslinger trade blows and quips with villains as he tries to reassemble a broken artifact.

Gamers will play as four incarnations of Spider-Man in Shattered Dimensions.

Ubisoft is releasing two titles this week in two different genres. After a slight delay, the feint-focused World War II strategy title R.U.S.E. will arrive on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Those same platforms and the Wii will also receive HAWX 2, the sequel to the decently reviewed, Tom Clancy-branded air combat simulator.

Hockey fans will fans will also have a pair of games to choose from this week, both from Electronic Arts. NHL 11, the latest annual iteration of EA Sports' rink-and-puck franchise, will ship for the PS3 and X360 on Tuesday. The company is also releasing NHL Slapshot, a more arcade-style hockey game for the Wii.

The PSP will see a major release in the form of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, the newest installmentin the Square Enix'-Disney crossover franchise. The role-playing game lit up Japan's game software sales charts upon its debut in January, selling some 445,000 units within its first week on the market.

Fans of more bizarre Japanese games can sample the Xbox 360-exclusive Otomedius Excellent. Konami's hybrid game combines Gradius-style side-scrolling space warfare and combines it with visuals of exaggeratedly proportioned, attractive anime girls.

Otomedius Excellent is…excellent?

For further details on the week's games, visit GameSpot's
New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 (LABOR DAY)

Photo World DSi--DS--Puzzle--Interworks Unlimited, Inc.



TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

101-in-1 Sports Megamix--DS--Puzzle--Atlus

Aion: Assault on Balaurea--PC--Role-Playing--NCsoft

Batman: The Brave and the Bold--DS, WII--Action--Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Brunswick Cosmic Bowling--WII--Sports--CokeM Interactive

Dawn of Heroes--DS--Role-Playing--Majesco Games

Dragon Age: Origins - Witch Hunt--PC, PS3, X360--Role-Playing--Electronic Arts

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep--PSP--Role-Playing--Square Enix

Kung Fu Rider--PS3--Action--SCEA

Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy--DS--Adventure--MumboJumbo

NHL 11--PS3, X360--Sports--Electronic Arts

NHL Slapshot--WII--Sports--EA Sports

Otomedius Excellent--X360--Action--Konami

R.U.S.E.--PC, PS3, X360--Strategy--Ubisoft

Saints Row Diamond 2-Pack--X360--Puzzle--THQ

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions--X360, DS, PS3, WII--Action--Activision

The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff--MAC, PC--Puzzle--Electronic Arts

Tom Clancy's HAWX 2--PS3, X360--Action--Ubisoft

UFC 2010 Undisputed--PSP--Fighting--THQ



WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

Amnesia: The Dark Descent--PC--Adventure--Frictional Games

Plants vs. Zombies--X360--Strategy--PopCap



THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

No releases scheduled



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10

Recettear--PC--Puzzle--Carpe Fulgur

Operation Barbarossa - The Struggle for Russia--PC--Strategy--Matrix Games

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