Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Undead Nightmare
One hour in to Undead Nightmare, and I am already hugely impressed. When Rockstar announced that they were going to be putting out a zombie themed add-on for Red Dead Redemption, I was pretty uninterested. I, like many others, am suffering from zombie fatigue. They're everywhere, and many games are cashing in on their newly found main stream appeal.
When I heard about it I assumed it would be a rather dull multiplayer mod. It seams I should have had more faith in Rockstar. It is a full narrative single player experience, rivaling many full releases in length. It takes all the familiar characters form the main game and places them in the midst of a series of typical horror movie scenarios beginning with, but not limited to, a zombie outbreak.
One of the most fun things is meeting the old characters again. The writers did an amazing job the first time round and their creations are being put to good use here again. An early encounter with the mad grave digger Seth is particularly enjoyable. The blending of familiar characters with fimiliar scenarios in a unfamiliar way has been extremely successful.
When I heard about it I assumed it would be a rather dull multiplayer mod. It seams I should have had more faith in Rockstar. It is a full narrative single player experience, rivaling many full releases in length. It takes all the familiar characters form the main game and places them in the midst of a series of typical horror movie scenarios beginning with, but not limited to, a zombie outbreak.
One of the most fun things is meeting the old characters again. The writers did an amazing job the first time round and their creations are being put to good use here again. An early encounter with the mad grave digger Seth is particularly enjoyable. The blending of familiar characters with fimiliar scenarios in a unfamiliar way has been extremely successful.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Best Game Coverage 2010
I was watching the Big Live Live Show on Giant Bomb last night and was really blown away by the interview with Supergiant Games. Retrospectives are pretty common these days but Giant Bomb are doing something different here by giving a very intimate look at the development process as it happens.
The segment has two parts, the first is a video of their trip to PAX to show off their game, Bastion, for the first time. We get to see their reactions to peoples first impressions, both on the floor and online message boards.
The next segment is a live interview. They show a very early build of the game, discuss changes they made after PAX feedback and the merits of the lack of a design document. Also, they dish out some advice to aspiring game developers. Its really inspiring stuff.
The PAX video is first up and the interview starts at around 16 mins.
The first minute of the video is black, dont be dishartened.
This is going to be an ongoing segment. I am really looking forward to the next segment already.
The segment has two parts, the first is a video of their trip to PAX to show off their game, Bastion, for the first time. We get to see their reactions to peoples first impressions, both on the floor and online message boards.
The next segment is a live interview. They show a very early build of the game, discuss changes they made after PAX feedback and the merits of the lack of a design document. Also, they dish out some advice to aspiring game developers. Its really inspiring stuff.
The PAX video is first up and the interview starts at around 16 mins.
The first minute of the video is black, dont be dishartened.
This is going to be an ongoing segment. I am really looking forward to the next segment already.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Haunted by abandoned Board Game idea
I am haunted by the first board game idea I had that I abandoned due to time constraints.
Luckily I have started building it in Unity.
I think it could make a good iPhone game and it would be great to release something in to the app store this year and see how it goes.
As is becoming apparent I am finding it easy to generate Big Picture Macro ideas but I am struggling with the finer points.
Perhaps I will be able to collaborate with some people in class to bring this to completion.
I will upload my work so far later.
Luckily I have started building it in Unity.
I think it could make a good iPhone game and it would be great to release something in to the app store this year and see how it goes.
As is becoming apparent I am finding it easy to generate Big Picture Macro ideas but I am struggling with the finer points.
Perhaps I will be able to collaborate with some people in class to bring this to completion.
I will upload my work so far later.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Board Game Design Exercise
I have found this weeks board game design exercise to be extremely challenging.
For days I endeavoured to generate a great idea to build a game on, but was eluded. Finally today I thought that perhaps the key to creation was not to wait for a great idea but rather try to improve a good one.
With this in mind I sat down with a pen and paper and awaited inspiration.
Nothing.
I decided to leave the house, and had a nice little idea as I drove around. Excellent, this is something I could work with. Again I hit the couch, once again armed with pen and paper. Ready to polish and develop.
I soon became bogged down in a quagmire of details. There was definitely a good idea in there somewhere, but it so om became clear that it was going to take more than a day to develop.
It has become clear that sitting down with a pen and paper is not a very productive scenario for me. So I decided to try and recreate my earlier success, this time by cooking.
I ended up coming up with somthing simpler, and combining it with a few discarded idaes from earlier in the week, pairing it down again and adding a few more ideas.
In the end I have come up with somthing usable. Its not the amazing idea that I had hoped that I would have, but at least I feel that I am learning more about my own design process.
For days I endeavoured to generate a great idea to build a game on, but was eluded. Finally today I thought that perhaps the key to creation was not to wait for a great idea but rather try to improve a good one.
With this in mind I sat down with a pen and paper and awaited inspiration.
Nothing.
I decided to leave the house, and had a nice little idea as I drove around. Excellent, this is something I could work with. Again I hit the couch, once again armed with pen and paper. Ready to polish and develop.
I soon became bogged down in a quagmire of details. There was definitely a good idea in there somewhere, but it so om became clear that it was going to take more than a day to develop.
It has become clear that sitting down with a pen and paper is not a very productive scenario for me. So I decided to try and recreate my earlier success, this time by cooking.
I ended up coming up with somthing simpler, and combining it with a few discarded idaes from earlier in the week, pairing it down again and adding a few more ideas.
In the end I have come up with somthing usable. Its not the amazing idea that I had hoped that I would have, but at least I feel that I am learning more about my own design process.
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