Fanboy Love!
LOL
Its both annoying and funny… So I thought I’d answer some of the ‘thoughts’ here.
Last year I did about at least 2 crunchs of 3+months 12 hours, 7 days a week each. I’m not sure how many days I did out of the year but a worked most days of the year on HS by a massive margin. Nina had to order me to go home at one point, cos she was getting worried that working everyday for 100+ days isn’t healthy (specially when most were 12 hours days…). Haven’t had a chance to look at this years numbers but I’ve been in the office every day for at least the last month, maybe two or three.
I pioneered a method of getting more out of RSX than the then current libraries, a good year before Sony provided there own version of it. The infomation was provided back to Sony (and in few cases Nvidia) and is now ‘standard’ for all developers.
And have done a lot of the design and implemention of the army sections of the game, doing AI, gameplay, physics etc. all on the SPU. So much that Sony used it in the GDC2007 as a case study in advanced SPU usage. I think the SPUs are the best peice of technology in a console for at least 2-3 generations… Once you get to grips with them, they just keep giving and giving… So much so that I suspect everybody has underestimated there power.
So I’m insulted by the implication I’m not committed (well some would say I should be 
)
So I use XNA at home?? Ever wondered why my posts are often months apart (hint I might be at work so much I can’t work at home…). At home I try out game designs, so I use the best tool for the job and is legal (ever considered I’m not allowed to do PS3 development in my own time?) And I hope that any gamer is happy that devs try developing stuff in the own time, trying out new game designs and stuff. The fact I publish about it here? Erm well hopefully some people will find my work useful and quite frankly its better than it being lost.
And for the record we use MS Visual Studio/SN Systems at work, as does almost everybody in the industry who work on PS3!! Even SCEA are using .NET for there some of the PS3 tools… Sony brought SN Systems cos the alternatives (Eclipse IDE) were so bad. However much you dislike MS, they are the largest software company in the world and make the best Development Environments.
And yes surprise surprise I can say more about my home stuff than I can about my work stuff (some of which is still covered by arms export laws!!!)…
Sorry I’m not a fanboy of MS or Sony (maybe Nintendo tho ). I am a fan of games tho and I do more than is healthy to ensure the industry and the games I make are the best they can be…
Monday, May 21st, 2007 @ 10:41 am 
Development, Random Rubbish
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May 21st, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Deano..keep up the good work. Everyone at PS3blog.net appreciates you and the work you do. Take everything as inquisitive more so then insulting.
You have the first game thats going to put the PS3 on the map…the first AAA title.
With all of the negative Sony news in the world…one could only assume that the next leak of news is also..negative.
Its good to hear that you enjoy tinkering with the PS3 and we eagerly anticipate this game.
May 21st, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Damn that was funny. XNA sounds fun. I also read in one of your previous blog entries that you find developing on the PS3 relaxing (to some extent). Funny that it should worry people…weird.
May 21st, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Such openness to the community is very rarely seen, we can all thank you for your insights into the graphics/system programming independent of the platform. As you said you are fan of games and that’s a good attitude. But I still love the fact that this title will be out on only one system, again independent of the platform, because only then can you people at Ninja Theory make your work really shine.
So a big thank you Deano!
May 21st, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Deano, I do apologize for suggesting that you might not be dedicated to HS. And I am very honored to get such a comprehensive response from a lead programmer on such a project. As ehandlr said, everyone at ps3blog is extremely excited about HS.
However, I strongly disagree with a lot of what you said.
“the alternatives (Eclipse IDE) were so bad. However much you dislike MS, they are the largest software company in the world and make the best Development Environments.”
Eclipse is “so bad”? Visual Studio is the best IDE? You are fully entitled to that opinion, but you are incorrect to claim that as a fact. That is an opinionated viewpoint on a very common and hotly debated subject. There are many developers, including myself, that love Eclipse and prefer it over Visual Studio (although it’s popularity is mainly for Java Enterprise work rather than it’s C++ features which is probably what game devs would mostly use). NetBeans (my personal favorite) and IntelliJ are two other popular choices. I’m not saying this to get into an IDE debate, but to point out that your statements are partisan personal opinion rather than fact.
BTW, IBM, the company behind much of the development and funding of Eclipse, is a larger company than Microsoft, contrary to what you said.
“Sony brought SN Systems cos the alternatives (Eclipse IDE) were so bad.”
Yes, Sony bought SN Systems which is based on Microsoft Visual Studio. It wasn’t simply a decision of Visual Studio vs. Eclipse. The underlying IDE is just one part of the SN tool chain. Sony bought the company as a whole. This doesn’t mean that Sony thought that Eclipse was terrible at all.
“And for the record we use MS Visual Studio/SN Systems at work, as does almost everybody in the industry who work on PS3!! Even SCEA are using .NET for there some of the PS3 tools”
Look at my original post. I pointed this out already with the SCEA owned Warhawk team as an example. Many devs are familiar with Microsoft tools and prefer them and that’s completely fine. I’ve seen other game developers use Java to develop tools (and entire MMO games themselves) or UNIX or PHP for web sites as well. That’s all based on their choice and preferences.
I’ll post an update on ps3blog later tonight.
May 21st, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Thanks for the post Deano!
Much of the typewritten word can and does get mis-interpreted. Including the “apology”. Lets not get caught up in semantics shall we?
I’m looking forward to seeing more of HS! Keep rockin’!
May 21st, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Don’t worry about the idiots out there DeanoC, we appreciate Heavenly Sword, day one purchase ftmfw. ~_~
May 21st, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Wow Darrin – you are a major douche.
May 21st, 2007 at 7:44 pm
No need for name calling. Darrin is a fellow blogger of mine on PS3Blog and I fully support his right to have an opinion and express it.
However, I have to disagree with Darrin this time!
I have used both Visual Studio and Eclipse extensively, and I continue to use Eclipse day to day. I much prefer Visual Studio. It is a much more responsive and easy to use environment compared to Eclipse. Of course, this is my personal opinion! 
May 21st, 2007 at 7:51 pm
I’ve had a comment here but deleted it cos Darrin was right it was just getting in an IDE personal opinion debate.
And yeah Henning is right, there no need for name calling. Darrin said what he thought and I’ve replied and hopefully we are both a little wiser.
And BTW this applies to Darrin or anybody really, if you have a question or query you can send me a email or leave a comment I will respond
May 21st, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Deano, you internet superstar
Watch what you say, your digital walk of fame is coming up soon, lol 
May 21st, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Being a senior project manager (in IBM funnily enough) I do know how dedicated developers are to their projects and software. It doesn’t matter if it’s a huge undertaking like HS, or a simple driver – everything is a show piece for them and they become very attached to it. It’s an art form – it truly is – and developers are the Rembrandts of the technological world. I don’t have to know Deano personally to know that as a developer, and a lead one at that, he will have put more than just coding effort into his work. This will be a piece of him. A legacy. Something which will live on in his memory, no matter how many years pass after HS. You only have to trawl the net to see developers who still support their code years after the publishing company has disappeared. I truly believe he is as committed to the development of this as anyone could be to anything.
Good luck Deano and I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labour. I am certain I, like many others, won’t be disappointed.
P.S. Glad you like the cell
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:54 am
Dean (or is it Deano?), you’re an awesome dude. Glad you post here and fill people in from time to time. Keep up the good work, you are a genius!
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Legally its Dean, but everybody knows me as Deano and that’s the name I use.
May 28th, 2007 at 3:24 am
I know that for some Sony enthusiasts (I try to avoid using the term fanboy) that all things may not have to be all Sony, as long as there’s no Microsoft involved in it. That’s the fact of life, using one odd thing to to the work of another. Not too many people know that at least initially the Devkits from Microsoft were made from APPLE MACS! While you could question quality issues, especially since the XboX has been sited by at least one website’s poll as having a 61% failure rate, you could also probably see some guy in the company as being humble and likely telling a room full of angry guys to just face the fact the their Devkits will work better if they were Apples.
Pride cometh before the fall. As long as guys like you are working for Sony, I know there’s at least one guy not too proud to try other things and that alone may just be enough to keep the Colossus named Sony from falling. Also: See that man dilligent in his work? He shall stand before kings. I fully expect your hard work to allow you to stand before many kings.
Peace be unto you.
P.S. My website is pending… I need to follow the quotes I just gave you!
May 29th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Deano, I fear you are treading a very fine NDA line.. be very careful I would suggest.
Darrin – name calling is what you deserve my friend, comments like this make you look like an ignorant and arrogant idiot (very presumptuous too)
“However, there is very little mention of the PS3 or Sony on his site, and what is there has a somewhat negative tone.”
Read around – I would class the tone extremely well balanced, you are being a little extreme and negative yourself by making these statements.
“With this Heavenly Sword lead programmer, I get the strong impression that he can’t stand working on the PS3 and isn’t giving it his full effort.”
Again completely presumptuous and arrogant – you know Deano personally? There is certainly no reflection here to validate your statement.
“He’s probably very bitter that his job carried him in a PS3 centric direction and tries very hard to cleanse himself of the feel of programming on a PS3. Unfortunately, this probably means that Heavenly Sword will not be the best showcase of PS3 technology. The best work in this world is done by people who love what they do, not by people who bitterly wish they were doing something else.”
This is hyperbole.. from someone who wants this to be true – plain silly fanboy banter.
“So, what do you think? Am I overreacting?”
Yep – in fact you are being quite rediculous. How is it possible you are surprised people think your comments are plain stupid?