The Ascent interview: How Neon Giant is delighting Xbox fans with its small team, powered by Unreal Engine

Source: Neon Giant

Neon Giant'southward upcoming isometric office-playing game The Ascension takes identify in a cyberpunk dystopia, a globe of crime where the autumn of a major corporation creates an immense power vacuum. The gameplay previews shown so far accept been visually striking, and the 11 staff at the studio working to make a noticeable first impression. Information technology seems like a lot of game for such a small studio, but that'south an advantage they have.

"But we could never make something as big every bit the biggest studios. It'due south simply not feasible, simply we tin can make something that's good. And that's what we're trying to go across, that it doesn't matter how big or pocket-sized y'all are," said Neon Behemothic co-founder Arcade Berg.

I had the chance to speak with Berg virtually how the team developed the upcoming title, including how it used Unreal Engine four features like ray tracing to heighten the fine art style, the perks of working as a smaller team, the challenge of working across multiple platforms, what anybody is looking forward to playing effectually with in Unreal Engine v, and more.

Why 'The Ascension' uses Unreal

Samuel Tolbert, Windows Key: Just starting things off, how long has Neon Behemothic been working on The Ascent?

Arcade Berg, Neon Giant co-founder: It's a layered answer. I would say three years. Back in April, we celebrated three years with the studio. And this is our showtime game. We started working on it day one, simply information technology's been a roller coaster ride considering nosotros've too started a studio, we've built a team, you know, that whole thing.

Since this is the team'southward first game, why did you cull Unreal Engine 4 instead of another engine?

Berg: I'll go out on a limb and only say it'due south the all-time engine. A lot of united states of america are a bit fanboy because, me personally and several of us, we have experience working at Epic [Games], you lot know, where the engine is actually made. So I was working on Unreal Engine 4 earlier information technology was even released to the public. So a lot of us come up with feel from beforehand. Several of us have also shipped games on Unreal Engine 3, and obviously, a lot of that know-how carries with us and for u.s., it was never really fifty-fifty a give-and-take. We knew nosotros were going to exist on Unreal, we know that whatever we exercise next is going to exist on Unreal, because that'southward where nosotros know how to brand games, basically.

The Rise takes place in this cyberpunk globe with some noir influence, with lots of neon lights, lots of very metallic surfaces. Did that art direction lend itself well to a lot of the features you're working on, like ray tracing?

Berg: Yep, it's very much in our favor. My colleague and partner in law-breaking Tor Frick, if you were to look at his history in art and as an art director, he has this art way regardless. So of grade, we wanted to play with that and employ that. When starting this game, we also wanted to play to our previous experiences, to know that we tin can evangelize. So this was really just the obvious way for the states. Merely yes, it does play really well with Unreal Engine, and it does play actually well with newer technology, and next-gen and all that stuff. So luck perhaps?

Ray tracing can be used in a couple of dissimilar ways. Tin can y'all talk more than in-depth almost what kind of ray tracing yous're opting to implement in The Ascent and what that process has been like?

Berg: We always attempt to play with the new toys and nosotros've been working with NVIDIA on playing with everything. They've actually helped united states write code and optimizations and everything because, with our camera, we are not your typical game that uses ray tracing. A lot of it that yous see out there is first-person, then we do a lot of things that weren't tested earlier. So together within NVIDIA, we've found solutions for that — mostly them to be honest — and we have them into our game with everything from distances to angles because it'southward not your typical get-go-person camera.

Are there any features in Unreal Engine that you wanted to have advantage of but you weren't able to for some reason or another, similar information technology didn't fit with the design of the game or you only didn't have the staff power?

Berg: I'd say we did manage to use nearly of the stuff we wanted to apply. Once more, this comes from u.s.a. really having used the applied science earlier considering we moved over [from Ballsy Games] so we're using their new special issue tools, Niagara, instead of the quondam Cascade, I think we have some Cascade stuff in in that location even so but we're definitely on the new tech there. We have a sugariness bridge betwixt Houdini, which is a tool that a lot of people use for procedural stuff from destruction, animation, smoke, and stuff similar that. And that's the aforementioned affair we've gotten a lot of credit for from fans. I'thousand not sure if I should say fans because they haven't played however, but from believers on YouTube, etc, is that they, really, really liked the devastation. And that'due south thank you to a very, very good workflow between Unreal, Unreal's physics, and Houdini and that whole thing is quite a sight to behold.

It doesn't matter how big or small you are.

And then obviously nosotros've used a lot of blueprints, which is their visual scripting, which allows united states non-coders — you don't want to pay me to program your game — to still create a lot of content and raw gameplay that'due south really what you use in-game, you can accept it mode past prototyping. Then I recollect nosotros've been pretty good at using most of their toys and tools, I can't think of 1 that we wanted to use that nosotros didn't. There are of course tools we didn't utilise because they just didn't fit what we're making. But this is always something nosotros were keeping a peachy eye on whenever at that place's an update, and we keep talking to the guys at Epic, saying 'Well, when this is out, nosotros're definitely going to use this.'

Edifice a 'AAA' game with a small squad

Now, going dorsum to Neon Giant itself, you're a very small squad of 11 people. Was that ever a hindrance in developing the game? Or did you lot capeesh the tight focus that merely having a very small group afforded y'all? Or is it maybe somewhere in the middle?

Berg: I really appreciate the benefits because we're small by pick. Information technology'due south easy to build a large team if that'due south what y'all really want. But for people that have followed us and the press, y'all're gonna hear me say 'it's dull to turn a large ship.' But it really is that because we tin act and change and adapt so quickly. And part of what you lot were asking with the tools, the reason we can apply the new toys is because we don't need to teach l people or 200 people how to use it. Then we can be much more flexible at that place.

There are times, of grade, when nosotros say 'had nosotros had an entire team for this feature, we could have washed this.' And we always need to be very sensible in what we do. Considering one of the reasons nosotros proceed saying that we're a small squad is considering we desire people playing the game to also sympathize that we are non a 500-man squad, we're not a 2,000-man team. We can compete in quality, not in scope. I think people will be amazed by how big the game is, how much content there is, and it's thank you to our people, of grade, just also pipelines and how we really create content. Simply we could never brand something every bit big as the biggest studios. It's simply non feasible, but we can make something that's expert. And that's what we're trying to get beyond, that it doesn't matter how big or small you lot are.

You mentioned scope, permit's talk about telescopic. The Ascent is coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Serial S, it'south coming to Xbox One as well. And and so Windows 10 PC, a wide range of hardware. What was balancing that beyond multiple platforms like?

Berg: That's definitely one of the toughest points because we wanted to brand something modernistic and cool. So we are basically forcing the old Xbox to run a very new game, and it takes a lot of brute force. So at that place are definitely things we asked to pull dorsum a flake. But the fox is that we can't pull back on anything that affects gameplay because we have cross-play. Then if Xbox 1 wants to play with Serial X, they need to take the same game, right? Even if we pull back on maybe some physics effects or something that only the Serial X can afford, but that's just 'sexy, yous tin can't have less enemies. It'south like 'On my screen, there'south eight!' or 'Oh, actually? I only have two,' nosotros can't practise that and that'south the challenge.

That'south a lot of what we're working on. Now, close to release, how much can nosotros bring up the lower terminate? Because it likewise runs on very, very apprehensive PCs, only it'southward simply completely unlike compages between PC and consoles.

Was getting cantankerous-play running difficult or was that fairly simple to get people playing together?

Berg: Getting it running, it was actually easy. I'll give credit to Xbox for that. Because that's something they provide in their software. And the challenge is the optimizations and making certain that you tin play on parity that nosotros're playing the same game, even if mine is possibly a scrap sexier because I have a creature of a auto.

Source: Neon Behemothic

Obviously, you're working in Unreal Engine 4 right now. Only Unreal Engine five is right effectually the corner. A lot of studios have their easily on information technology and are playing around with it. Is there annihilation in Unreal Engine 5 that you're looking forward to in the future?

Berg: Aye, a ton. The Nanite stuff with basically infinite polygons? It's just mind-extraordinary. I'm not an creative person and then I shouldn't comment too much on that, but that definitely inverse the landscape. Simply also they take a bunch of new tools considering we've been opening information technology up, just playing around a flake. They have in-engine modeling tools that you can curve meshes inside the engine.

"I desire to run across people beingness surprised that, to rip off Transformers, it'south more than than meets the eye.

Then it'southward this concept, you might accept heard of greyness battle, when you're just playing with very archaic shapes, you tin can accept that to a whole new level. Today and previously, it'south been fairly rudimentary; it's been cylinders, spheres, and boxes, then you scale them and y'all tin can describe. You can make doors and door frames and stairs and everything. But now yous can twist and turn, I think we'll come across a lot more organic layouts in the prototyping and gray box interfaces. Then something players won't encounter because they don't see the game three years agone.

Simply development-wise, if nosotros have more powerful tools while we're figuring everything out, that should be able to aid united states brand a better experience in the end, right? Considering in some games, you can definitely come across that what was once a gray box now has an curvation. Hopefully, y'all won't encounter that with The Rise because we didn't build it that way. But you tin actually run across that and I think there will be much less of that. Information technology's tools that are so easy to apply. So you don't need these specialists to come in — everyone can accept a play.

What advice would you be giving to new teams who are on the debate and thinking about using Unreal Engine? What would be your advice to them in getting started?

Berg: Exercise it. Don't be afraid, I think if anything, particularly when it comes to people that have decided to brand a game but they haven't decided what engine (and there are, of form, competitors out in that location). I think something that might scare some people is that 'oh, but Unreal and Unreal Engine and Epic, information technology'southward then huge. It was Mass Effect and Gears of State of war and Unreal Tournament, it'southward just massive games by massive people and of course they have 100 programmers...' Yep, you don't need that, especially with Unreal 4; Unreal 3 was a bit trickier.

Unreal five is probably making it fifty-fifty easier, but it is much more welcoming than yous might at first anticipate. And you tin practise a lot without having that full team in every aspect. There'south also — and at present I only sound like an Unreal Engine poster boy — there'due south a ton of tutorials. There's a ton of Discord channels, forums, there'south so much fabric out there. And then similar you don't really take whatever excuse to not just take the leap.

Source: Neon Giant

Looking ahead

So when The Ascent launches, what are you almost looking forward to seeing players experience in this world?

Berg: I desire to meet people being surprised that, to rip off Transformers, it'southward more than than meets the eye. Because the art is astonishing (and I can say that considering I didn't make information technology) and people volition be blown away past that. Merely they know that coming in, if they watch a trailer, it'south going to be a proficient-looking game. They know it'southward going to accept explosions... But I hope that when they become to play it and take that whole thing, information technology's all, 'this all adds up to something I did not get from the trailer. It didn't come through in the manufactures or the reviews, simply at that place's a world here for me to explore.'

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The Ascent is currently gear up to launch on July 29, 2022. It'll be available on Xbox Series Ten, Xbox Series S, Xbox, and PC and is included in Xbox Game Pass at launch.

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