Kameo: Elements of Power Interview: Software Lead Phil Tosell

Phil Tossell dove straight from college with a degree in Computer Science into the deep water at Rare. He was 21, and that was nine years ago. When he first arrived, he spent some time watching and learning from the guys working on Diddy Kong Racing for N64. For his first real project, he served as junior programmer on Star Fox Adventures (SFA). He told us, “My first task I can still remember, and it was to implement the camera system.” Later, he was promoted to programming lead on SFA and saw it through its move to GameCube. He joined the Kameo™:Elements of Power™ team while it was still being developed for the original Xbox. His initial task was to implement all the new monsters, but again he found himself promoted to the lead position.

What has been your greatest challenge while working on Kameo?
Every day is a challenge, and that’s what I really relish about making a game. One of the biggest overall challenges has been ramping up a small experienced team into a much larger team. Rare normally has very small teams (and still does by industry standards). It was difficult to find talented people in the quantities required and manage them into an effective unit. Thankfully we’ve been blessed that the new people we have found have really fit in and contributed greatly. It’s also been a personal challenge for me since I’ve had to try and develop new people skills, and this is perhaps not something that comes naturally to me.

It’s also been the first time we’ve made a launch game, and the intensity and pressure are quite frightening. Towards the end, things come so thick and fast, and you’re trying to get content in whilst trying to stay on top of the ever growing bug list. This—combined with the obvious flux in various stages of development hardware we receive—ensures there is never a spare moment.

How many people did you have on your team of developers and programmers?
When I joined the team there were only seven engineers. This was a typical size for a Rare team at that time. We only really started ramping up once we’d actually switched to 360 and the ground work had been laid. Now we have 13 engineers. We’ve also had superb help and support from our internal R&D team who provide the core of the engine that we work with.

What has been your greatest joy?
The chance to work with such a great team of people. From engineers, to artists and designers we have a great team of talented people. Especially on the software side, we have a wealth of experience and also newer, talented and enthusiastic people who just want to make the best game they can. Although I’m obviously biased, I really do feel I’m working with some of the best people in the industry, and long may it continue. Of course, the other obvious joy is in putting out a game that I can be proud of and look back and say “I helped make that.”

If you have to name only one bit of code genius that you hope players will appreciate in Kameo, what would it be?
It’s very difficult to single out any one aspect since there are so many things I think are amazing: the atmospheric effects are awesome, especially the water, grass, and clouds and the subtle use of depth of field and heat haze. The quantity of trolls on the battle field just looks amazing and was no mean feat code-wise. And of course, one of the slickest parts of the game is the core principle, which is the morphing. It’s a simple concept, but to be able to seamlessly switch between ten unique characters and deal with all of the attendant problems really is the greatest of achievements, and something which I don’t think has been tried before.

How did the advance to high definition graphics affect the nature of the software in Kameo?
Really just from the point of view of: “How are we going to fill a screen four times as big whilst still increasing the quality in all areas?” Nearly all of the effects had to be re-done with hi-def in mind as everything was just too low-res to be acceptable. It took us a while to get used to it and hit our stride, but the stuff we’re producing at the end really is awesome. When you see Kameo in hi-def with depth-of-field, heat haze and all the surfaces looking like you can reach out and touch them, I think you’ll be amazed.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into a career doing what you do?
It sounds like a cliché, but study hard and get good grades. If I’m recruiting I personally prefer someone who has done a straight computer science degree who shows raw ability versus any particular experience. It’s also fundamental that you can work well within a team. The idea of a solitary anti-social programmer working by himself just doesn’t cut it anymore. You also need a certain patience and tenacity, since making a game can be very painful at times. It’s such an iterative process that you need to be willing to redo work many times on occasion to get it just right.

If you had to fight at either Kameo’s side or on the side of the Trolls, which would you choose, and why?
Kameo of course!

I’m always a sucker for heroic characters, and with such an arsenal of cool warriors, there’s no real competition.

How has your vision for the game’s software changed from when it was first conceived to more recent work done to make it ready for Xbox 360?
Vision is a bit of a strong word and for far greater people than me! As I said, I wasn’t there from the beginning, so my view of the game was perhaps slightly different from others’The thing that really grabbed me, and still excites me, is the morphing [of the Elemental Warriors] and the freedom and fluidity of mechanic that this gives. This became of central importance for me, and indeed is the reason I was first brought on to the team.

So, my main input initially was in the creation of the Elemental Warriors and the combat aspects. I really wanted to create 10 (at that time it was more) Elemental Warriors that looked, but more importantly felt, completely unique. So, if I’m playing Rubble (the rolling rock warrior) I really wanted him to feel like a pile of rolling rocks with the right inertia and physical animation control the player would expect. I also wanted to create attacks for each warrior that encapsulated what they are all about and that are sufficiently different that the player doesn’t just feel they are clones of each other.

The move to Xbox 360 really opened the floodgates in terms of possibilities, but given the short time frame and the harsh realities we had to stick closely to what we already had. Technically we obviously wanted to utilize everything that the 360 has to offer, but from a gameplay perspective we just went for the one main new element which became the battlefield. This was obviously a technical feat as well since we had to create a whole new system to deal with the numbers involved.

Did you have any concerns about switching over to the Xbox 360 platform? If so, what were they and how did you overcome them?
Yeah, lots. How do we get the art and code up to the required standard in such a short time frame? Do we have the resources to do this? How are we going to deal with the expectations of the public? How do we deal with all the new technical aspects (LIVE, multiple CPU cores, no hard drive by default). The list was endless. We overcame them as people always do; through sheer hard work and commitment. There really is no magic answer.

What primary complications does including an Xbox Live-enabled element to the game pose to software developers?
Just the sheer amount of testing required and the complete lack of experience we had within the team. We had under a year to go from Xbox to Xbox 360; and we had no Xbox Live component, no Xbox Live programmers and no experience. Our primary Xbox Live programmer was taken on specifically to do this, and for a good while he was the only programmer we had working on this. We were able to leverage support from other teams within Rare to help us out, but it’s thanks to him and the other two engineers who came on subsequently that we got it done.

What benefits and frustrations did you have as a result of Kameo’s extended development period?
The main frustration is always the same: keeping enthusiasm, drive and focus over such a long period. It’s also difficult to keep the vision coherent and intact. It’s really crucial that one person has the overall vision which in our case came from George, our lead designer, and that everyone else buys into this. There were stages during development when things meandered a bit, but all throughout I was able to keep drawing inspiration from George.

The benefits come from the chance to really develop lots of unique ideas and push them as far as you can. So, with the extra year we’ve had moving to Xbox 360, we’ve been able to push the Elemental Warriors and the gameplay much further than we would have been able to. The game is much better now than when we were coming to a close on Xbox. Another benefit is the ability to forge a tight team that knows each other and works well together. This really can’t be overstated. It is team that makes games and not individuals. If the team doesn’t work, the game doesn’t get made, or you end up with something mediocre.

In conclusion, I’d like to re-iterate my thanks to all the other team members. Without you all, each and every one, we could not have done it. Also just to say to everyone out there, please buy Kameo and enjoy it!