On Building Xbox and PlayStation Exclusives With Sumo Digital

Sumo Digital sits in an interesting position in the gaming industry. It isn't easy to work with partners like Apple, Microsoft, SEGA and Sony, often on parallel projects. With Microsoft and Sony's efforts to bolster their console sales, Sumo Digital has had the opportunity to work on exclusive titles like Forza Horizon 5 and Sackboy: A Big Adventure from both camps. The studio also got to work with Microsoft's nifty cloud-powered tech for the building-toppling explosions of Crackdown 3.

At IGDC 2022 in Hyderabad, India, I got to talk with Ganesh Chaudhari, a Technical Manager at Sumo Digital India. He beamed with pride as I professed my love for Forza's immaculately detailed supercars and the playgrounds they tear across. In this wide-ranging interview, we learn about Ganesh's journey into game dev, the tasks he juggles alongside the best studios in the world, and what it takes to get there. Some of the industry’s biggest games were forged with the help of Sumo Digital so let's dig into what makes them such a reliable team.

SUPERJUMP

Tell us a bit about your journey and your work.

GANESH

I initially worked at Motorola’s multimedia messaging team. I always wanted to work on interactive programming. 3D animation tools like 3DSMax were becoming more accessible so I started learning them after leaving my role at Motorola.

I planned on pursuing a master’s degree in the US but that didn’t work out. I got into the animation training business for 7 years where I worked on interactive presentations with game engines. Then I decided to focus on games programming and Unity came along.

I joined Micro Objects’ mobile development team in Kochi, India, and worked there for 4.5 years. I worked on a racing game and a first-person shooter game. I joined Sumo Digital in 2015, back when the engineering team was formed at Sumo Pune. Since then, I’ve been with Sumo.

I worked on Snake Pass, a puzzle solver where you play as a snake. Then I worked on Team Sonic Racing that you can see at the booth here. I also worked on the Windows port of Forza Horizon 4. I climbed the ranks to become a lead programmer and 2.5 years ago, I got into the technical manager role. I manage the engineering team at Sumo Pune and Bangalore. That’s pretty much a bird’s eye view of my work so far.

SUPERJUMP

You've worked with both Xbox and Sony on exclusive titles. How has your experience been with both console makers?

GANESH

We have a co-development model. We work with one of our UK studios and they take care of direct interactions with Sony and Microsoft. But yeah, when we fix bugs, obviously we have to meet people, say QA from Sony or Microsoft. Let’s take a programmer at Playground Games as an example. If I need to understand or modify their code, I’ll get to interact with them. But it’s mostly managed by our studio in the UK.

SUPERJUMP

With cross-platform development being a major point in the session you attended as a panelist, what are some things you've implemented across the developer pipeline to simplify it?

GANESH

At Sumo, we always aim for cross-platform games. We are ultimately telling stories and showcasing experiences. We need to reach as many players as possible by taking into account their platform preferences. That is why we ensure that all the features we implement are compatible enough to be implemented across platforms. It is a big consideration for us.

Game engines like Unreal are very mature. Take the decision to offer cross-platform support in the long term and it becomes a matter of when, not if. Sackboy entered the market as a PS5 exclusive but is now available on Steam. It becomes easier to do that once you keep cross-platform possibilities in mind.

SUPERJUMP

With Sackboy, you had to work on a port. Did that happen after the PS5 release?

GANESH

Sumo India wasn’t a part of the porting effort. In fact, we were a part of the development of the original PS5 title. We were involved across multiple departments and had a large art team working on characters, environments, and props. A sizable design team was in charge of Sackboy’s level design. We also had a programming team that developed the features and systems that you see in Sackboy today. Fixing multiplayer issues and contributing to multiplayer systems was one of our roles too. We made a lot of contributions to the Sackboy project.

The port was developed independently after Sackboy was released as a PS5 title.

SUPERJUMP

Did your development pipeline account for the fact that Sackboy would one day show up on PC?

GANESH

As I said, we keep these possibilities in mind while creating our games. You cannot be 100% bulletproof about it because it’s Sony who calls the shots. Our tools let us target every leading platform so we try to keep our options open.

SUPERJUMP

With respect to Sackboy and Forza Horizon 4, you’ve been given the reins to IP with incredible staying power. What are some considerations your team had in mind while handling legacy IP?

GANESH

We worked on Forza Horizon 5 as well, which was even more exciting than its predecessor. When it comes to well-known titles like Forza or Sackboy, the passion and interest levels are always high. If I’m starting out on a Sackboy project, I obviously want to contribute as much as possible. Because we work in a co-development environment, say with a studio in Sheffield, UK, we have our communication processes laid out really well.

When we begin our day in India, we carry out our standup meeting. Halfway through the day, the UK team shows up for a chat and we share updates on the tasks. We also plan sprints and development schedules together. This makes it crystal clear for the team with respect to what tasks need to be done and how far we’ve come together. They can ask the other team if some inputs aren’t available.

The same thing happens when we propose a feature to Sony or Microsoft. We lay out our Technical Design Documents (TDDs) and send a feature request. There’s a back-and-forth with the studio as they review it and offer feedback. When everyone’s on board with it, we get to work. A blueprint that can be broken down into smaller tasks lets us work on it until every piece functions as intended.

SUPERJUMP

Crackdown 3 is another title supported by Sumo Digital’s development efforts. Personally, I loved the cloud-powered destructible environments featured in one of its multiplayer modes. With cloud gaming on the rise, do you think we could get that kind of cloud-power computation in games in the near future?

GANESH

Theoretically, it is already possible. There are a lot of game studios trying to implement it. I personally think it should be ready in some time. Apart from the possibility, what matters is how a game intends to use it. How a game applies it has to make sense with respect to its narrative. We’re getting there.

SUPERJUMP

As a technical manager, what advice would you like to share with those aspiring to enter the videogame industry?

GANESH

I can only speak from an engineering point of view. Thanks to the abundance of game engines like Unreal, the barrier to entry is lower than it used to be. The passion is always there and I’m not doubting that. But it is very easy to fall into a pattern of doing things the easy way.

Unity and Unreal simplify workflows to the point that it detracts from the learning process. You might be unable to develop cross-platform titles in an optimal manner this way. If you have a few years of learning ahead of you, try to get your programming basics right. Focus on how game engines are built. Having that perspective can help you design your features in an optimal manner. You should also be doing a lot of system architecture and design reading.

There are plenty of samples available in the public domain. Add scripts and you have your own functional game or something close to what you want to create. But when you’re learning, it is very important to hold yourself back from that route. Focus on the programming aspects of it. At Sumo Digital, we pick people who are great at C++ programming.

Firstly, Unreal, our publisher engines, and our in-house engines use C++. Secondly, someone proficient in C++ can switch over to C# for Unity development. But transitioning the other way isn’t as simple. Get your programming concepts right. Memory management, performance optimization, algorithms, data structures, containers. These are some things you need a grasp on to be in a good position to design a game.

SUPERJUMP

One last question. You’ve worked with both Sony and Microsoft, console makers who are heavily pushing their game subscription services. What’s your opinion on them and how do you see them affecting game development?

GANESH

Subscriptions have been around for a long time. I think it works well. Services need to have large catalogues and that means there’s room for more games to enter them. Another part that is just as important is that it enables players to enjoy more games at a set cost.

Sony’s PS5 titles launch at $60 and while a subscription might not let you play it on day one, you could play it a couple of months down the line. Subscriptions are also a great way to explore classic titles. Microsoft’s PC Game Pass lets PC players explore titles that they would not have tried before. I think they contribute to awareness in the game industry as a whole.

SUPERJUMP

We’d like to thank Ganesh for making time for us. And best wishes to Sumo Digital for their upcoming projects.

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