

Naughty Dog used Google SketchUp for Uncharted 2 development - ukdm
http://www.geek.com/articles/games/naughty-dog-used-google-sketchup-for-uncharted-2-development-20110217/

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humj
I'm an architect by day (like real buildings), and sketchup is used really
heavily in my field, cuz it just works. The problem with more advanced
software is that with large teams, you'll get different people working in
different ways and if 1 person doesn't conform to the standards, it screws up
the organization of the entire project. You can't really screw anything up in
sketchup since it's so simple. Also, Import and export between other programs
works really well also, which is key. Components/blocks and whatever
associations are often preserved.

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dan335
Someone please fix 3d software. Max is 15 years old and Maya is close to that.
Any new 3d software that makes things simpler and faster like Sketchup is a
major improvement. I'm a 3d artist at a video game company and using Max feels
like I'm in a wrestling match. I have to beat through Max's buggy tools and
antique UI to make it do what I want.

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aristus
It's not new. I saw Sketchup demonstrated at SIGGRAPH 12 or 13 years ago, when
I first heard about Maya too. At the time I thought Sketchup-style UI would
take over the industry. Possibly it hasn't because of this:

<http://www.google.com/patents?vid=6628279>

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colanderman
How is there no prior art for that? I thought extrusion was a concept that had
been around since the dawn of 3D modeling.

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JabavuAdams
Didn't Canoma and other photo-modeling packages do this?

I did some experiments in going directly from concept sketch to textured level
geometry using photogrammetry software, some years ago.

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pkaler
In a previous lifetime, I worked on SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs for the PSP and PS3.
Designers created levels in Sketchup before the artists prettied them up in
Maya and Photoshop.

Looks like Naughty Dog uses a similar workflow and asset pipeline.

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JabavuAdams
Did you have problems with SketchUp generating messy topology?

That's been the typical argument I've heard from artists against using it in
production.

When I say "in production", I mean to generate data that is read into a game
engine (and thus needs to meet stringent constraints), as opposed to data that
is used to generate non-simulation images (e.g. concept art).

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swaits
As a game developer, I'd expect the SU stuff to require considerable cleanup
in Maya or Max. That said, I can see its use in concept and design.

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mrcharles
Use of Sketchup is actually really common in games nowadays. It's an asset for
a level designer to know how to use it, and a lot of tools pipelines have
importers which will pull Sketchup data directly in to the game.

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Bossman
Really? Do you know of any companies that have admitted using Sketchup? Hadn't
really heard anything at GDC the past few years (besides Google giving copies
away at their booth).

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mrcharles
I don't know any that have talked about it in public but in general, companies
are getting better at using off the shelf tools rather than building
everything in house, if they can. Baby steps, but it's still progress.

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krakensden
Well, the technical leaps have tapered in the past few years, so it's finally
starting to make more sense.

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exch
Good to see a great tool like this getting some well deserved publicity. It is
most definitely my tool of choice for architectural work of any kind. I have
been using it for this purpose since before @Last was acquired by Google, so I
had to pay for my licence at the time, but it was (and still is) well worth
it.

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Tomek_
I imagine that if you use it for professional purposes you still have to pay,
Pro version that comes with, for example, ability to export to other formats,
costs around 500$.

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elq
now with less blogspam

[http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/2011/02/art-and-design-
of-u...](http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/2011/02/art-and-design-of-
uncharted-2.html)

~~~
corysama
Tracing back to original content requires digging through 4 layers of
references. HN->geek.com->google blog->sketchup blog->OC

[http://www.sketchupartists.org/spotlight/artists/robh-
ruppel...](http://www.sketchupartists.org/spotlight/artists/robh-ruppel-
google-sketchup-in-game-design/)

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bryanh
My brother had an internship at a nuclear power plant and used Sketchup to
model the new reactor core head (just for fun, you know). The rendering itself
blew everyone away, but I think the fact that he did it in just a couple hours
was really impressive as well.

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illumin8
Uncharted 2 is one of my all time favorite games. The art and story are
amazing.

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nickpinkston
Don't forget that you can use it for 3D printing as well!

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StavrosK
That was my first thought when I saw the 3D printer article the other day.
Between that printer and SketchUp, there isn't much the average Joe can't
print.

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sev
Thanks for posting this, I hadn't heard of SketchUp and it looks very useful
(and Naughty Dog seems to agree!)!

