4. Communicated the power of the Hulk on the DS.

Over the course of development, the phrase "Feel the power of the Hulk" was our mantra. At every stage of production we kept in mind that Hulk needed to feel like an engine of destruction. The design of the game called for Hulk to be fighting enemies at a distance as well as up close, which necessitated a certain amount of space around him. On a device as small as the DS, that left us working to make a half-inch tall green guy feel like a powerhouse.

Just about every element of the game lends to that sense of Hulk's power. Sound effects were a huge bonus on this front, from footsteps that boomed with every step to powerful impact sounds from smashed objects. The fact that Hulk could destroy everything he could touch went a long way -- as did his abilities to knock enemies into each other, smash vehicles then hurl them at foes, and to turn giant boulders, tree trunks, and cars into weapons.

We also implemented two special features to add to Hulk's sense of power. One was a feature called "Gamma Boost"; while utilizing this feature Hulk essentially emitted a field of destruction that killed or destroyed everything near him, encouraging the player to run through the level with reckless abandon. The more Hulk destroyed, the longer his destructive state would last; however, if he took one hit, the Gamma Boost would deactivate.

The other feature was a series of "Rage Vaults." By grabbing onto a flagpole or a floating gamma detection satellite, Hulk could hurl himself through the world on a set path, destroying everything in his way. This feature not only added to Hulk's power, but also gave the designers some unique opportunities to create platforming puzzles by which the player could navigate the levels.

What Went Wrong

1. The gameplay came together late due to new technology implementation.

With our studio having developed numerous DS games, we had engines to support a variety of game genres for the platform in both 2D and 3D. Since none had tackled fully destructible environments, however, we had to undertake extensive engineering work up front to prepare. The benefits of achieving this goal did not end up outweighing the costs.

While the engine changes were underway, the art and design team could not develop on target. This affected our relationship with the client since it was relatively late into production before we had a solid build to show.

On DS projects in which we built upon existing technology, we have had working -- sometimes spectacularly so -- prototypes on platform during pre-production. On those projects, we instilled confidence with the client early on, which made everyone's job easier.

On Hulk, because we developed new technology for the game, the on-target build came later in the process, causing our client to grow impatient. The delay hindered the process for the remainder of the project.

On subsequent projects we have refrained from developing new technology, however impressive we think it might be. We've chosen to rely on proven tech during the dev process, with improvements and innovations to the tech coming from outside the project critical path.

2. Creating the technology to support destructible environments eroded time available for level creation and polish.

Again, the upfront tech investment limited our polish time. Rather than work at a measured pace from the start, we were pushing hard to get all content in the game and be feature complete by alpha and beyond.

While our client was enthusiastic about the fully destructible aspect of our design, the detracted polish time that resulted from its implementation was a warranted source of frustration on both sides.