Interested in finding out what it's like to develop on the PSP and console simultaneously? We sat down with Wes Culver, Associate Producer on Dante's Inferno for the PSP, and dug deep to find out what this unique experience is like. Take a look at the below Q and A session we had with him, and be sure to let us know if you have any additional questions here on this site, on the Facebook, or even our Twitter channel.

Q : We've often seen games for the PSP come out after the console release, and as a different version of the game. What are you guys going for with this particular release?

A: The main thing we're focused on is that you can get the full experience that you would on the Xbox 360 or the PS3, just ‘to go.' Sometimes, compromises are made for the PSP versions of console games for a variety of reasons. Our goal is to avoid compromises wherever possible. As an example, we're going to have the same number of levels and bosses as the console counterparts in Dante's Inferno for the PSP.
The PSP is a great portable gaming platform, and I think the reason why some games - first and third-person action games in particular - have been less exciting to play on the PSP is because it lacks right analog stick, which is usually reserved for camera control. I've played many games where I've found it was cumbersome to navigate the camera around during intense action sequences. To remedy this, we fixed the camera so the player won't have to deal with it. So all you have to worry about is running around, jumping and fighting. Additionally, we're aiming to spread out the checkpoints into kind of 25 minute experiences so you'll have the option to have short play sessions (if you're on a train or plane, as an example) or continue through for hours.

Q: What are some of the challenges of breaking down levels from the Xbox / PS3 to a PSP version? 

A: Putting together the same level that's on the PS3 / 360 versions and making it feel the same is a challenge. We've been doing so many huge and exciting things on the console side that we are always concerned how it is going to translate onto a portable handheld. The PSP developer, A2M, takes each level and has their artists optimize and strategically get rid of polygons here and there so it can actually run on the PSP. After that's done, Engineering and Level Design take over to implement all the unique features to each circle of hell.
Scale is another difficult thing, because on the console you've got more pixels and HDTV's while Dante still needs to be viewable on the small PSP screen. I've seen some areas where Dante looks like a dot on the console versions and I (sarcastically) think to myself, 'well... this is going to be fun to bring to the PSP.' It's one of those things where we want to maintain the camera angles we have on the console, but we're going to have to adjust them so Dante doesn't get lost in the screen. 
Controls are also an issue, as the PSP has less buttons than your standard 360 / PS3 controller. It doesn't have a right analog stick so we had to change around control schemes a bit. A good example is that a roll used to be on the right analog stick, but on the PSP because there is no right analogue stick we made it so you hold both the shoulder buttons and tap one way or the other and he'll roll. It's a familiar control scheme to other games as we didn't want to re-invent the wheel here. 

Q: Do you work side by side with the rest of the team? I imagine that's a lot different than working on just one platform. 

A: Yeah, it's much different than taking a finished game and porting it to the PSP. We're working on an unfinished product. It's not like we have the same artists working on both titles, so it's a lot of change. As we review and decide we're going to change a part of a level, we've then got to go back into the PSP version and make the same tweaks. There's always that challenge because the game's not done, so anything is subject to change. 

Q: Do you get to take advantage of some of the things the Xbox / PS3 development team is learning as they build?

A: We've set up systems where, instead of having to manually remake assets from the console version and put them in the PSP version, a somewhat automated process helps translate assets down to the PSP version. There's no way we could get everything done if we didn't have that set up. As an example, there are so many different animations in that game that we'd have to have a monstrous team of people just to get animations done by hand. 

Q: Are you guys using the same cut-scenes on the PSP that you are on the PS3 / 360?

A: Yes, both the full-motion videos and the in-game cut scenes will be the same as the console counterparts. The in-game cut scenes will be the same as the cut scenes on the Xbox 360 / PS3, because they're non-interactive and there's no reason to take away from the scene if it's already in there. Having the cinematics come over 100% in-tact from the console versions is very important, since the story is such an integral part of the game.

Q: Do you have any moments from your experiences in development that you can share with people? 

A: I showed the PSP animated shade wall (Dante literally climbs on a wall composed of moving bodies) to the Art Director of the console version, who then grabbed the Technical Art Director. After checking it out, our TAD asked, ‘Can I have the assets that you guys used? We want to do something like that.' The PSP developer, A2M, was really pumped, seeing it's usually the PSP version borrowing ideas from the console side. It was nice for A2M to get that kind of recognition from our console art directors.

Q: If I were playing this game on an airplane next to somebody's grandmother, what's the worst image that could come onto the screen?

A: Probably be killing babies... or having naked Beatrice video playing. I don't worry about it too much, I've been on planes with movies and laptops with naked chicks and there's always that guy that goes out of his way to watch my screen. 

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