Develop 97 out now

Looking for something to desperately postpone that Monday morning ennui? Fear not, friends: the latest issue of Develop is out now, and we’d like to think it’s a good ‘un.

And if you’re not a print subscriber, don’t fret – you can download the magazine as a PDF here, or view it in your browser magically here.

Our big feature this month is a detailed overview of the Scottish games development scene from those who know it best – Denki’s super Brian Baglow, who might as well be renamed Mr. Scottish Games Industry, and regional agency Scottish Development International. We also profile some of the region’s most innovative studios and even a new digital arts event.

We’ve also got a look back at the Develop Awards in pictures, so you can see if one of our undercover pappers caught a picture of you at your worst. And, straight off the back of Codemasters’ Grand Prix win, we catch up with VP and general management of Codemasters Studios, Gavin Cheshire, to talk about the firm’s saving of various UK studios and the balance between internal and external development.

Technology-wise, we’ve got an interview with Trinigy and Havok to discuss why the former’s Vision Engine is the first engine to get a Havok Physics integration; we round up the leading audio solutions on the market today, plus we take a detailed look at the latest version of modo, modo 401, and how Luxology is finding its tool at the centre of triple-A developers’ pipelines.

There’s also an interview with Guerrilla Games’ sound director Mario Lavin on how he made the visceral battlefields of Killzone 2 come alive, and the Epic Diaries focus on how Korean developer Softmax used Unreal Engine 3 to power its new RPG blockbuster Magnacarta 2.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, Lightning Fish Games’ Phil Marley tells us exactly why the company is putting live action video at the core of all its games, plus gives ten top tips for executing and managing video shoots to make sure valuable time and money isn’t wasted.

That’s not to mention all of our regular columnists, each as sparkling as always: Nick Gibson puts Giant Interactive under his microscope in the second part of the Extraordinary Games Businesses series; while Owain Bennallack worries that the increasing physicality of games will lead them to being seen as just sideshow distractions.

Meanwhile, Ruffian’s Billy Gibson takes a look at ways to encourage players to play cooperatively; and Black Rock’s David Jefferies looks at Microsoft’s dropping of the 1280×720 forced TCR and how most LCD TVs aren’t running at quite the resolution you may have thought.

Finally, there’s also a look at the trouble facing the IGDA, Jagex’s plans for consoles, and Sir Charles Cecil’s iPhone masterplan, a look back at the Develop Conference and our guide to the forthcoming GDC Europe in Cologne.

So, now that you’re suitably raring to go, you can download the PDF here or view it in your browser in amazing flick-o-vision here. Enjoy, and keep your questions, comments and criticisms coming in to the usual address. Maybe not criticisms, actually, come to think of it. Unless they’re couched in praise, anyway.