VITA DEVELOPMENT | BETA
And, says Troughton, with Sony relying on
SPU processing power to drive the audio capabilities of the PS3, the fact that they opted to include a dedicated codec engine to drive the audio on Vita makes for an interesting decision that enables for the potential of an especially detailed sound experience. “Sony have backed this up with some
excellent tools and libraries, such as Sulpha, the audio debugging and analysis tool,” Troughton suggests. El Hiba, who also sings the praises of Razor – in his case for its ability with CPU and GPU and the help it provided in hitting 60fps – has equally kind things to say of SN System’s SN-DBS, which he says saved his team a substantial amount of time with its distributed build abilities. To paint too kind a picture of the experience of developing for Vita, though, would be to do those considering the platform a disservice, for it is not without difficulty. Back touch pads and other eccentric hardware features, after all, don’t make for an unquestionably simple development process. “One of our biggest challenges was
wrestling with all of the new functionality – Near, the Vita’s social tools, etcetera – while various testing environments, like a useable 3G network, were still in various stages of completion and readiness,” admits Mielke. “Fortunately we had a lot of excellent
technical support from our publisher Ubisoft, who lent their expertise in a variety of areas to help our programmers with optimising the game’s performance. Sony’s developer
DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET
network was also a huge help for us in tackling any technical issues we had along the way.”
APPLE IN ITS EYE And it is that functionality, of course, that provides opportunity in abundance. A pair of touchscreens, dual analogue
sticks, twin cameras, a magnetometer and the Vita’s various other functions make for a potent combination.
Not only is PS Vita a powerful system in
its own right, but as a fixed platform it’s much easier for devs to really push the
hardware. Michael Troughton, Ubisoft
This gives developers a potential surfeit of options in contrast to the tablet and mobile platforms that, while having a far higher installed user base, offer crowded marketplaces and typically a lack of physical buttons. In fact, according to Troughton, there’s another significant factor that, from one perspective, makes developing for Vita ‘easier’ than making games for that bastion of accessibility, iOS. “Not only is PS Vita a powerful system in its own right, but as a fixed platform it’s much
easier for developers to really push the hardware as they only have one set of specs to worry about, rather than several iterations of iOS hardware, or the minefield of different Android hardware configurations,” says the quite possibly smitten Ubisoft Reflections director of technology. “The developer tools and libraries also make it possible to get much closer to the metal than other mobile platforms.” If Troughton and his globally scattered
colleagues are to be believed, then the Vita really may be Sony’s first console to finally put an end to those aforementioned clichés. And if that happens, it could be the Vita’s
saving grace. If the platform has one key challenge, it is building a software catalogue both varied and expansive enough to tempt consumers to put down their smartphone and pick up a device physically centred around gaming; a tough task given mobile’s apparent domination of the market. A user friendly, low friction developer
environment, in conjunction with the likes of Sony’s indie-centric Pub Fund, which matches the development costs of a game project in return for varying degrees of exclusivity, could mean that the PS Vita can attract a variety of studios from beyond the realm of the triple-A studio giants. Aside from giving the new handheld a fighting chance at a time when mobile gaming has overshadowed handhelds in the consumer conscience, it means through simplicity, Sony’s Vita might just present a significant new opportunity for developers across the world.
APRIL 2012 | 23
Some of Ubisoft’s PS Vita launch games (clockwise from top-left): Asphalt Injection, Dungeon Hunter Alliance, Michael Jackson: The Experience and Lumines Electric Symphony
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