Compulsion Games Community and PR Manager Sam Abbott, developers of PlayStation 4 launch title Contrast, recently did an AMA [Ask Me Anything] on Reddit. The PlayStation 4 version of the game is marred by several glitches and Sam has assured that development team is working hard on pushing out a patch as soon as possible.
In the thread, Sam revealed that patching on the PC is much easier. But that does not mean that development on the PlayStation 4 version is any harder. He also revealed that Steam/PC platform gives them more control compared to the PSN and Xbox Live.
Yes, absolutely! The PS4 is way easier to develop for, and that will only increase as engine developers increase their support. My comment was absolutely not about development or “porting” (which is a bit of a maligned term, in many cases).
The reason why we test on Steam is really simple. We control the patch management, and so we can put up a patch, ask people to let us know what they think, update, respond, etc. PSN/XBLA is much more restrictive. So, think of it this way: all the Steam/PC testing etc has contributed to the development of the PSN patch.
Contrast is free for all PlayStation Plus users and this has obviously made a lot of subscribers happy. Sam chipped in with his thoughts about the PlayStation Plus stating that it is a outstanding platform.
I think PS+ is outstanding. We’re moving towards a future where there are a crazy number of games available – what will make the difference is great curation systems, like PS+.
Sam also mentioned that those looking to develop games on the PlayStation 4 need to be highly experienced to get an SDK. In short your work should speak for you. In short, beginners will probably be turned down by Sony.
You need to get in touch with them [Sony], basically. They’re friendly and open, but they will be looking for devs with experience. You’d need to show them some of your previous work, or a working game.
Building the game on PS4 isn’t a significant stretch from building on PC, if you’ve got an engine that supports PS4 🙂
For more on Contrast, read our full review of the game here.
