Next Level Games were once again at the footsteps of another transition in regard to Nintendo Hardware. At the studio, we were all assuming our next game would be released on the Wii-U Hardware. The Wii-U was an interesting piece of hardware. A home console with a unique controller with its own screen. Nintendo were asking developers to think outside of the box. Can we create a game that has asymmetric gameplay, where players have different experiences depending on which controller scheme they use. It boggled the mind and we were looking for unique ways to create a Luigi's Mansion game that made use of this asymmetric gaming platform. We had some terrific ideas but then everything changed, we weren't creating a game for the Wii-U....
There was something brewing at Nintendo. Only an entitled few really knew what was happening. At the back of the studio was a locked door, within this room were a few Next Level Games employees that were lucky enough to have been selected to sign an extremely in-depth NDA and pass all of the necessary security protocol in order to have the privilege to know what was coming next. They were in there for months, sure they got to come out for lunch, bathroom breaks and to go home at the end of the day but whatever happened in that room was staying in that room. The room had been carefully selected, away from the rest of the development floor and employees, no windows and a scanner on the door so only people with the necessary security could pass through. Most of us had been guessing what it could be and the majority of us had correctly guessed that it must be a new type of hardware console from Nintendo.
After 12 years at Next level Games I felt it was time to move on. What an amazing experience it was to work at NLG for a good majority of my career and I truly got to work on some exceptional projects and work with some kind, passionate and talented individuals. I am especially fond of the Spiderman: Friend or Foe game as it is one of the most complete gameplay experiences I have ever worked on and also the Captain America: Super Soldier game as it was made from the ground up, including the engine. The basic design principles that we have learned from Nintendo were reinforced for the Captain America game and it showed. The core gameplay is fantastic. However, nothing can beat working on Luigi's Mansion, both Dark Moon and LM3 are by far the best games I have had the pleasure to be a part of. Both are great selling games and in mind, are console sellers, but it's the sheer brilliance in their designs and gameplay that make these such exceptional products and i'll always be able to say that I got to work alongside the legend, Shigero Miyamoto on a product and to be able to chat with him and thank him for being an inspiration. My signed copy of Dark Moon will stay with me forever.
In the spring of 2006 I received a phone call from a recruiting manager at Next Level Games. They were looking to expand production overseas and needed a Production Art Manager to help with organizing both the internal and external art teams. NLG were in the final production stages of their Mario Strikers Game but I was informed that the game that I would be working on was a non-Nintendo title but an exciting license that would be very cool to work on. There was a little bit of negotiating as I informed them that I was happy being at home building my own games and that I didn’t need the full time work, this couldn’t have been further from the truth. My games were going nowhere and my funds were running thin. I needed full-time employment desperately. The offer was attractive from NLG and a signing bonus to get me to join as soon as possible.
Captain America: Super Soldier was something new for Next Level Games. It was the studio's first "Next-Gen" title, requiring the studio's proprietary engine to be revamped and updated, especially the rendering engine component. This was lead by Kris Lang. Kris worked tirelessly with the entire Art Team to educate and support them through the process. He also created and amazing shader for the engine that offered the artists the opportunity to create extremely realistic shaders while also keeping memory and vram usage low. One of my fondest memories on this project was Kris teaching the Art Team what Fresnel was and how it could be used effectively in a shader. We brought in various objects into the studio and then studied and analyzed these objects to fully understand the Fresnel and how to duplicate this in the shader. We all became better artists by going through this process.