Friday, October 31, 2008

Softimage's ICE Kinematics

"People are so used to working with bones and creating envelopes and weights - basically making a lot of unnecessary 3D objects that help to deform your character," he says. "ICE Kinematics will negate the need for all that."
How Softimage's ICE Kinematics will revolutionise animation
ICE Unleashed - ICE Kinematics, Dual Quaternion Skinning, Verlet Integration Cloth...

Playing Oblivion 4 hours while drunk and forgot

"It was Friday night in Tokyo and I had just come back from some lame club. Since I’m 20 and the drinking age in Japan is 20, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to equate this to me being royally housed.

But apparently I was much drunker than I remembered…or didn’t remember. A few days after this heavy night of drinking, I clicked on Oblivion eager to play. But then a message popped up stating “Insert Oblivion disc into drive.” I was confused; I never took the Oblivion disc out since the last time I played it. Or did I?

As I removed my Radiohead DVD and put the Oblivion disc in, the gears started turning. Did I play Oblivion without me knowing so? When I loaded up the files and saw what was there, the answer was yes.

But it goes further than that.

I am a monster!"
I played Oblivion blacked-out drunk and here's what happened (via picture story)

The Witcher has sold over 1 million copies

I've gotten to Chapter 5 (the last one) soo far, and I must say, if you haven't play this game yet, you definetly should. I was really close to turn off and throw the game away after the first battle, since it seemed like a "click on your enemy to auto-attack until he dies", without any tactics or skill involved.

The fighting system evolved much more since that first fight, with using silver weapons against monsters, steel against humans, three different styles of fighting (heavy, quick, group) and a myriad of spells and potions to exploit in combination with the melee bashing.

There's also a glossery that gets filled with information about monsters (their occurences, attacks, weakness) as you read books in the game, and there's also a really well-made alchemy part of the game.

But all of this means nothing to what really makes The Witcher special. It features moral choices that aren't drawn out to be good or bad (you're the one to judge), who have actual consequenses that changes what occurs to your character and the people around him, further into the game.

Once I've played this one through, it's going to make it to my top 20 list. And then I'll get started on Dead Space, Fallout 3 and Fable 2 :)

The Witcher sells 1 million in a year, hints at console future
The Witcher Enhanced Edition

Design Lesson 101 - Fallout/Fallout 2

"In Fallout 2, I was granted a temporary day-pass to go inside the gates of Vault City, a very closed-off city that could have information that would help me with my main quest. While inside Vault City, I spoke to a high-ranking official in a rather rude manner. As a result, I was immediately kicked out of the city and my pass was permanently revoked.

Unless I fought my way into the city and killed everyone within, I was now unable to get inside the walls of Vault City. All of the quests that I had accepted in the city, were now impossible to complete. The important information inside the city was unreachable. The people in the city would not speak to me, sell me goods, help me out. They reviled me.

In many games, this would be the end. The poor choice I made in talking to an official in a snide manner would result in the consequence of game over, since the critical information was hiding within.

However, in Fallout, while the consequence of making my life more difficult was apparent, the game wasn't over."
Design Lesson 101 - Fallout/Fallout 2

Prince of Persia - 1985 animation reference

"That's PoP creator Jordan Mechner's little brother, running around in baggy pants. Mechner took this footage, tracked his bro's movements then based the Prince's animation on them. The likeness manages to be both amazing, creepy and amazing all at the same time."
Prince Of Persia, Inspired By Jordan Mechner's Kid Brother

GDC'09 registrations now open

Mscone Center, San Francisco, March 23-27, 2009
I'm yet to attend to a GDC, but I'll probably not be able to make it this time neither.

Game Developer's Conference
GDC'08 or economics?
No GDC'07, aims for GDC'08 instead!

Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena - Spring 2009

- Remake of the original
- All-new full-length campaign
- Online Multiplayer
You'll get your moneys worth with this one for sure. But don't take my word for it, and check the reviews once it's out instead :)

Atari to publish 'The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena' worldwide spring 2009

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Good thing that the video is only like 5 years old

"Dear TheDopefish,

Video Disabled

A copyright owner has claimed it owns some or all of the audio content in your video 24 hours of my Life!. The audio content identified in your video is Broken Home by Papa Roach. We regret to inform you that your video has been blocked from playback due to a music rights issue."
-Best regards, YouTube team
"Your video might include copyrighted material"
"It might include copyrighted material"

Another present from the internets

This probably belongs to one of the more uncommon things I've ever got. I got a new lock, door handle, stuff that belongs to it, and all the tools needed to install it, from a very kind soul that thought my old hasp wouldn't cut it :)

All in all, it must've been quite an expensive package, and postal fees added to that, just to make me happy. Oh, and the arm belongs to my dad, since I'm not really that handy myself, and I got less armhair.

Thanks Arvid <3

syselkitna brought me some italian pasta
and here i thougth santa claus died of old age...
if the first one wouldn't do the job...

Cooking skill +2

The Wednesday's Volleyball Incident

The good news is that it's just sprained, no broken/shattered bones in it, and I'm actually able to move around quite well. Perhaps a little bit too well, considering it's becoming more and more beautiful as the day passes by :)

a hole in one...
the tuesday's floorball incident

Monday, October 27, 2008

Gone fishing - BRB new year

Sorry everyone that reads this blog in the passing by, and for those that frequently checks it out. I've not been able to post much lately, due to not being able to actually sit down infront of my computer and post things, and there hasn't been much interesting (imho) news to post about to begin with.

This will continue for a while, and I think it might be better to just put the blog on hold instead until new years eve, where it will hopefully get a overhaul on the design aswell as I'll hopefully be able to start blogging frequently again.



To top things off, I would like to dedicate my last post of this year to all the people at Avalanche Studios, who recently had two of their publishers cancelling two of their (previously unannounced) projects, forcing them to fire 77 people out of ~150 of their staff (among them, friends of mine), due to the financial crisis.

Rumors says it was going to be two of Avalanche best games aswell, , and the changes won't be affecting Just Cause 2 and The Hunter. One of the titles is being sold to another publisher, so it might yet see existance.

This is going to be a dark and cold winter...

Massvarsel hos Avalanche (swedish)
Storvarsel hos svenska Avalanche (swedish)
Avalanche prepares to lay off 77 staff (english)

Monday, October 13, 2008

Deus Ex - Burden of 80 Proof mod

"You take on the role of Peter Kent: gallant gamer, put-upon party-goer, ersatz errand boy, suburban swashbuckler.

Navigate a middle-class morass of whiny girlfriends, surly cops, slippery coworkers, surly bartenders, surly bosses, and more.

Your mission: procure an ever-growing list of supplies to ensure an appropriately inappropriate weekend of drinking, revelry, and what have you.

Features:
* All new, entirely original script (over 12,000 words)
* 18 new characters, 6 new levels, new sounds, models, textures and more, plus clever re-use of existing Deus Ex stuff (or "assets")
* A non-dark-and-dystopian vision of the future
* Awesome, old-schooly music brings luscious memories of past gaming goodness back into the now
* Robots
* Multiple solutions to problems and a world responsive to your choices, in the true spirit of Deus Ex"
Burden of 80 Proof
Deus Ex - Zodiac mod
Deus Ex enhancements
Deus Ex - Cassandra Project mod
First release of Deus Ex - HDTP

World of Goo - Launch Trailer

Another World of Goo trailer!
World of Goo
Independent Games Festival 2008 Finalists

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Mirror's Edge - Parkour at the DICE HQ

Dead Space - Animated Comic #6

Dead Space - Animated Comic #5
Dead Space - Animated Comic #3 & #4
Dead Space - Animated Comic #1 & #2

Mirror's Edge theme mix album (November 11th)

"DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that a remix album for their highly anticipated title Mirror’s Edge™ will be digitally released worldwide on November 11th in conjunction with the launch of the game on November 14th."
Tracks
Lisa Miskovsky - Still Alive (Mirror’s Edge Theme)
Benny Benassi - Still Alive (Remix)
Junkie XL - Still Alive (Remix)
Paul van Dyk - Still Alive (Remix)
Teddybears - Still Alive (Remix)
Armand Van Helden - Still Alive (Remix)
DICE Announces Mirror’s Edge Remix Album Hitting Airwaves This November

Monday, October 06, 2008

Alan Wake is all about the quality

"Well ”quality” is whats taking so long. Well of course something like this takes its time, we're still even if we've hired more people, a relatively small team when compared to other studios making similar games.

And when you're doing the game you put the quality standards pretty high and you want to make a good game, of course there is also large ambitions from the whole team in every area and that always takes time.. before the game is done."
Sam Lake Interview

Lisa Miskovsky - Still Alive (Mirror's Edge Theme)

MySpace - Lisa Miskovsky
The Top 12 'Still Alive' Cover Versions

The Underside: Exploration Platform Game

The Underside

Sunday, October 05, 2008

PC Zone #200 - Dues Ex 3 (magazine scans)

"Perhaps controversially this time around combat won't be influenced by stats, but will rely purely on your personal marksmanship skills. Instead stats will influence "a vast array of fully upgradeable and customisable weapons", and you'll be able to tailor your arsenal to your play style with mag upgrades, scopes and other add-ons.

What's more, stealth will now rely on a cover system rather than shadows, and damage will be dealt with by a very Call of Duty-style auto-heal."

"Deus Ex 3 is indeed an RPG. It's a hybrid action/RPG just like the first game. There is a skill system where you upgrade your character (Adam) based off experience points you earn and you can do the same thing with weapons.

It's a game with a very detailed plot with numerous characters you interact with. The gameplay takes the form of a consequence-driven multi-path, multi-solution approach in a non-linear space.

For stealth, that is another major pillar of gameplay and we do have it. The difference is that it's now cover-based rather than "shadow/light-based" as in the past games."

Seniath's Flickr Album
Tiscali - Deus Ex 3 images
First Deus Ex 3 Concept Art?

Cooking skill +2

Friday, October 03, 2008

Tiberium employees comment on cancellation

"On Jon Paquette, well, he was much loved by management, to the point that one time he recieved "employee of the month" even though he was out sick with ulcers for that entire month! I've personally also sat in a lot of meeting where these guys LIED through their fucking teeth to management about what was going on....You have to be kidding me! Alot of the designers forementioned would stand up to Pacquette and Dickson alike to correct their bullshit.

I recall a meeting where they wanted to cut some of the better and fundamental mechanics in moh...now they take credit for them!

I personally recall having a discussion which turned into an arguement with Orzlack about the number of hours the MOH team was putting in.. I use to walk around this area to see it empty for months...He claimed he was working, but his door was always closed and no one was home. While we slaved away on MOHEA he was gone....that was a fight to remember. I hardly talked to the guy after that....

Unfortunately, in EA culture, telling the facts is a NO NO. You must always paint a pretty picture otherwise you are a Naysayer. Talking about the FACTS and the Pink Elephant in the room is a no no as well. IT will Kill your Career.

They'd rather spend hours with 20 designers in one room trying to figure out the simplest of systems. Or hire a group f story board artists to design out the mission tempo, HOW STOOPID.

Why does this happen? Because EALA has never really had a real Design Director with Creative power. Just a crows nest of Producers."
EA Cancels Tiberium, Cites Quality Issues

Fable 2 Video Diary 7: Music and Audio

Fable 2 Video Diary 6: Art and the Hero
Fable 2 Video Diary 5: Magic & Multiplayer
Fable 2 Video Diary 3 & 4
Fable 2 Video Diary 2: Combat
Fable 2 Video Diary 1: Love