Journals
Hey guys,
Long time no see. I'm currently working for Beatnik Games and they asked me if I could help spread the word around that they're re-releasing Plain Sight on Steam for £2 on Wednesday which is around $4 for you Americans.
http://plainsightgame.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlICI85HqLs
It might also interest you to know that they've redesigned the gameplay mechanics to make it more challenging and rewarding. In the past you could explode your character after just 1 kill and usually you'd catch at least 1 player with the blast. Now they've made it so you can only explode once per every other kill. For example, 2 kills = BOOM but you can only explode after 3 and then 4 and so on. Each blast getting bigger the more you kill.
I didn't work on the game but I've been watching them over my shoulder for the past week and they've put a lot of thought and effort into improving what they once considered to be an unfair game.
Please help support them as it's only 2 pounds. Hell, I might make a few Plain Sight related hats for TF2 if you do
Cheers.
Long time no see. I'm currently working for Beatnik Games and they asked me if I could help spread the word around that they're re-releasing Plain Sight on Steam for £2 on Wednesday which is around $4 for you Americans.
http://plainsightgame.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlICI85HqLs
It might also interest you to know that they've redesigned the gameplay mechanics to make it more challenging and rewarding. In the past you could explode your character after just 1 kill and usually you'd catch at least 1 player with the blast. Now they've made it so you can only explode once per every other kill. For example, 2 kills = BOOM but you can only explode after 3 and then 4 and so on. Each blast getting bigger the more you kill.
I didn't work on the game but I've been watching them over my shoulder for the past week and they've put a lot of thought and effort into improving what they once considered to be an unfair game.
Please help support them as it's only 2 pounds. Hell, I might make a few Plain Sight related hats for TF2 if you do
Cheers.So my internet was spazzing out lately and it turns out my modem was dying. I was still using an old NTL box which is funny since NTL got taken over by Virgin Media years ago.
The bloke was surprised I was using such an old relic. But hey, if it works, why change it. Well, in this case, changing it made me realise what a dope I was. The old box didn't really support the speeds I was paying for but I was never bothered for some reason.
In other news, second week at Beatnik Games was average. I did more level design and played some Left 4 Dead 2 with a few of them. I also watched a video playthrough of Amnesia Dark Descent. I see why people find it scary but there's no way I'd play it cause dark games, at least as dark as that, frustrate me to no end. But I do like my horror, Silent Hill, Resi Evil etc
Finally, Portal 2 eh? I replayed Portal an hour ago. It's a really short game although they did say it was more of a test and they didn't expect it to be such a big hit. I'm just getting ready to record a playthrough like I always do. Why? Well, I was bored one day and recorded HL2 EP1 and suddenly got a few subs. After that it became tradition. I don't record anything else except Half Life related games.
I think that one comment from an afghanistan gamer made it worthwhile. He said something like not being able to afford the game and thanking me for allowing him to continue to follow the Half Life universe.
The bloke was surprised I was using such an old relic. But hey, if it works, why change it. Well, in this case, changing it made me realise what a dope I was. The old box didn't really support the speeds I was paying for but I was never bothered for some reason.
In other news, second week at Beatnik Games was average. I did more level design and played some Left 4 Dead 2 with a few of them. I also watched a video playthrough of Amnesia Dark Descent. I see why people find it scary but there's no way I'd play it cause dark games, at least as dark as that, frustrate me to no end. But I do like my horror, Silent Hill, Resi Evil etc
Finally, Portal 2 eh? I replayed Portal an hour ago. It's a really short game although they did say it was more of a test and they didn't expect it to be such a big hit. I'm just getting ready to record a playthrough like I always do. Why? Well, I was bored one day and recorded HL2 EP1 and suddenly got a few subs. After that it became tradition. I don't record anything else except Half Life related games.
I think that one comment from an afghanistan gamer made it worthwhile. He said something like not being able to afford the game and thanking me for allowing him to continue to follow the Half Life universe.
So, probably wondering how my work experience went?
Yeah it was good. First day was just meeting the people and using VUE to make some sky domes. Easy to use since it's all numbers and sliders.
Second day wasn't that good. They got me to do some art tests and I wasn't doing so well. For some reason the 3DS Max on their machines weren't working properly. For example, snapping was snapping meshes 5 cm away from where I wanted them and shift click didn't select loops or faces.
Third day I did level designing which I enjoyed the most. I got to be creative and my ideas will most likely end up in the final game.
I can't talk about the project itself since I signed the typical NDA contract but I can say it'll be a nice addition to the portfolio / CV.
You're probably wondering where the other 2 days are? Well I don't go in on Mondays and Fridays cause Monday is meeting day which is pointless for me and Friday cause train tickets cost a lot and I'm working for "free".
So I go in on Tues, Wed and Thurs and get the rest of the week off to do some remote work and enjoy the sun.
Yeah it was good. First day was just meeting the people and using VUE to make some sky domes. Easy to use since it's all numbers and sliders.
Second day wasn't that good. They got me to do some art tests and I wasn't doing so well. For some reason the 3DS Max on their machines weren't working properly. For example, snapping was snapping meshes 5 cm away from where I wanted them and shift click didn't select loops or faces.
Third day I did level designing which I enjoyed the most. I got to be creative and my ideas will most likely end up in the final game.
I can't talk about the project itself since I signed the typical NDA contract but I can say it'll be a nice addition to the portfolio / CV.
You're probably wondering where the other 2 days are? Well I don't go in on Mondays and Fridays cause Monday is meeting day which is pointless for me and Friday cause train tickets cost a lot and I'm working for "free".
So I go in on Tues, Wed and Thurs and get the rest of the week off to do some remote work and enjoy the sun.
Got myself my first work placement. Some work experience at Beatnik Games. If all goes well they usually hire fulltime.
They said I'll probably start on tuesday and they're arranging a machine for me to use. God help them if it's a mac.
They said I'll probably start on tuesday and they're arranging a machine for me to use. God help them if it's a mac.
Luminesca - A Game by Matt Glanville
An old friend of mine from university is working on a new game and the least I can do is help support it and spread the word. I studied alongside Matt for three years and he always had imaginative game ideas. This is one of them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxsfKhtExdM
Check out his development blog @
http://luminesca.blogspot.com/
An old friend of mine from university is working on a new game and the least I can do is help support it and spread the word. I studied alongside Matt for three years and he always had imaginative game ideas. This is one of them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxsfKhtExdM
Check out his development blog @
http://luminesca.blogspot.com/
Might as well combine two topics. Which one is more interesting I wonder.
Crysis 2 and What's Happening with Habboi.
I'll start with my life. Nothing special. Basically I graduated in December and since then I've been working on my portfolio, applying for jobs (getting very little back) and working on my Iphone game with a friend.
Making an Iphone game can be a pain sometimes. It's not super powerful and you have to consider a lot of things especially memory. My coder buddy is new to the language he has to use so he's learning as he goes and I'm impressed so far. I'll quote a part of his last email to me:
"A new Media class and support for Texture Atlases
"This was the big thing i've been working on most of last week and the weekend. Rather than loading up graphics and audio here there and everywhere as needed, I now have one class that searches in the application bundle for all the media files at the start and stores them in a dictionary. When I need to use a graphic, I just call one of the methods of that class giving it the name of the media I want. Trust me this is huge! I've managed to cut out tons of code with this approach alone and it means that determining which backgrounds to use is as simple as combining a string such as "foreground_lvl" with the level number. This way, it's not hard-coded in and it's easy to change. The individual sprites in the texture atlas are called foreground_lvl1 and so on so getting at them is easy. This is also how i'm pulling Spencer's animations (oh, the animation is gone!lol But only because this is a hi-res version of Spencer and I haven't made any more frames yet, but the functionality is still in there and i've added the same to all the other bugs: they just need more frames)."
Man, that's just a small segment. He writes emails the size of essays. Not that I'm complaining, I'm glad he works hard. As for me, I'm doing the art and I've gone with a style that I'm comfortable with, vector art. So far so good.
So yeah, I'm concentrating on this game now. Maybe it'll be as big as Angry Birds?
Second topic: Crysis 2.
I got the first game when it first came out and was quite disappointed at how generic it was. It had some good ideas but I don't think it delivered. Now number 2 is out / will be out in 2 days (EU) and I'm wondering whether to get it. I enjoyed the MP demo and so did Hunter / Urby it seems judging from their video.
What do you guys think? Are you interested?
Crysis 2 and What's Happening with Habboi.
I'll start with my life. Nothing special. Basically I graduated in December and since then I've been working on my portfolio, applying for jobs (getting very little back) and working on my Iphone game with a friend.
Making an Iphone game can be a pain sometimes. It's not super powerful and you have to consider a lot of things especially memory. My coder buddy is new to the language he has to use so he's learning as he goes and I'm impressed so far. I'll quote a part of his last email to me:
"A new Media class and support for Texture Atlases
"This was the big thing i've been working on most of last week and the weekend. Rather than loading up graphics and audio here there and everywhere as needed, I now have one class that searches in the application bundle for all the media files at the start and stores them in a dictionary. When I need to use a graphic, I just call one of the methods of that class giving it the name of the media I want. Trust me this is huge! I've managed to cut out tons of code with this approach alone and it means that determining which backgrounds to use is as simple as combining a string such as "foreground_lvl" with the level number. This way, it's not hard-coded in and it's easy to change. The individual sprites in the texture atlas are called foreground_lvl1 and so on so getting at them is easy. This is also how i'm pulling Spencer's animations (oh, the animation is gone!lol But only because this is a hi-res version of Spencer and I haven't made any more frames yet, but the functionality is still in there and i've added the same to all the other bugs: they just need more frames)."
Man, that's just a small segment. He writes emails the size of essays. Not that I'm complaining, I'm glad he works hard. As for me, I'm doing the art and I've gone with a style that I'm comfortable with, vector art. So far so good.
So yeah, I'm concentrating on this game now. Maybe it'll be as big as Angry Birds?
Second topic: Crysis 2.
I got the first game when it first came out and was quite disappointed at how generic it was. It had some good ideas but I don't think it delivered. Now number 2 is out / will be out in 2 days (EU) and I'm wondering whether to get it. I enjoyed the MP demo and so did Hunter / Urby it seems judging from their video.
What do you guys think? Are you interested?
Anyone seen this indie game? http://vimeo.com/21082507
I like the art style and the music reminds me of Portal mixed with Minecraft or anything retro.
I like the art style and the music reminds me of Portal mixed with Minecraft or anything retro.
How come no one has posted this yet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSRtYpNRoN0
Well lets discuss it here then.
Looks awesome, each area looks diverse and the animations look pretty awesome. Oh and the sound effects really hit the nail.
P.S. Giant spiders, my arachnophobia is tingling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSRtYpNRoN0
Well lets discuss it here then.
Looks awesome, each area looks diverse and the animations look pretty awesome. Oh and the sound effects really hit the nail.
P.S. Giant spiders, my arachnophobia is tingling.
So anyone else excited about Skyrim?
I must admit it makes me want to play Oblivion again but I've played the shit out of it and know that I'll just get bored after an hour.
So by pure accident I came across this new "German" mod that is meant to be a total conversion.
http://www.moddb.com/mods/nehrim-at-fates-edge
They have an english version but me thinks it's still German voices but with english subtitles. Either way I'm gonna try it, maybe you should too.
I must admit it makes me want to play Oblivion again but I've played the shit out of it and know that I'll just get bored after an hour.
So by pure accident I came across this new "German" mod that is meant to be a total conversion.
http://www.moddb.com/mods/nehrim-at-fates-edge
They have an english version but me thinks it's still German voices but with english subtitles. Either way I'm gonna try it, maybe you should too.
So looking for jobs didn't go so well. Most of the studios didn't reply and the ones that did said they were only interested in professionals and not graduates.
Fair enough but this industry will not grow if that attitude keeps up. Personally I blame the market and the demand for high tech games which take a lot of manpower. It means the demand is moving faster than our tools can let us. Why sculpting a single prop can take days.
So what now? Well I'm gonna look for a couple of agencies and see what I get. Other than that it's back to working on my Iphone game with my programming partner, carry on working on my latest UDK scene and seek out another job in the meantime.
Speaking of my UDK scene, here's a new one I'm working on:
My next project. My aim with this one is to learn some Z Brush and so far all the textures and normals are made using Z brush. Well, the diffuse consists of ref pictures from cgtextures but the normal, height and spec are not.
Progress Thread: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80495
Fair enough but this industry will not grow if that attitude keeps up. Personally I blame the market and the demand for high tech games which take a lot of manpower. It means the demand is moving faster than our tools can let us. Why sculpting a single prop can take days.
So what now? Well I'm gonna look for a couple of agencies and see what I get. Other than that it's back to working on my Iphone game with my programming partner, carry on working on my latest UDK scene and seek out another job in the meantime.
Speaking of my UDK scene, here's a new one I'm working on:
My next project. My aim with this one is to learn some Z Brush and so far all the textures and normals are made using Z brush. Well, the diffuse consists of ref pictures from cgtextures but the normal, height and spec are not.
Finished that scene I've been posting lately. Made a timelapse video for those that are interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJyYhZOI0wY
Direct Link to Finished Picture:
http://www.habboi.co.uk/images/personal-work/sci_fi_final.jpg
Going to start applying for jobs now. My first target is Rocksteady.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJyYhZOI0wY
Direct Link to Finished Picture:
http://www.habboi.co.uk/images/personal-work/sci_fi_final.jpg
Going to start applying for jobs now. My first target is Rocksteady.
Not sure when the second chapter to a game called "The Dream Machine" came out but I bought it today and enjoyed it. Sadly it's a bit short but I think the amount of work they put into the style of the game merits the small 4 pound price.
http://www.thedreammachine.se/
It's your typical point and click adventure game but falls into the down to earth category and later develops into fantasy. All I'll say is it's an imaginative story and I'm looking forward to the next part.
http://www.thedreammachine.se/
It's your typical point and click adventure game but falls into the down to earth category and later develops into fantasy. All I'll say is it's an imaginative story and I'm looking forward to the next part.
Hey everyone! Merry Christmas and good fortune to all etc etc.
Haven't been around that much lately because I was either playing Demon's Souls and being a trolololo or I was working on a scene for my portfolio.
I'm not gonna work on it anymore till way after Christmas but hopefully by then I'll have my design document for an Iphone game I am working on done.
Long story short is that I planned to make an Iphone game based on one of my old uni games and make some moneys but my programmer buddy is slow and has a life of his own so it doesn't matter. The real purpose however is to use this Iphone game and pitch it to EA in London who specialise in...you guessed it, Mobile Phone games.
Not to mention they take on graduates and the fact I have 1st honours degree. I'm like a polished turd made of children's tears!
So that's my life this year in a nutshell. I wish you all luck in your future's and have a nice day today/tommorow whatever.
What you guys getting for Christmas anyway?
I know I'm getting Star Trek Next Generation season's 1-7 and the Sly Cooper Collection for PS3. Oh not to mention Donkey Kong Country Returns but I'm skeptical cause I'm a HUGE fan of the classics and I doubt Retro Studios can match the old magic of the originals.
Haven't been around that much lately because I was either playing Demon's Souls and being a trolololo or I was working on a scene for my portfolio.
Long story short is that I planned to make an Iphone game based on one of my old uni games and make some moneys but my programmer buddy is slow and has a life of his own so it doesn't matter. The real purpose however is to use this Iphone game and pitch it to EA in London who specialise in...you guessed it, Mobile Phone games.
Not to mention they take on graduates and the fact I have 1st honours degree. I'm like a polished turd made of children's tears!
So that's my life this year in a nutshell. I wish you all luck in your future's and have a nice day today/tommorow whatever.
What you guys getting for Christmas anyway?
I know I'm getting Star Trek Next Generation season's 1-7 and the Sly Cooper Collection for PS3. Oh not to mention Donkey Kong Country Returns but I'm skeptical cause I'm a HUGE fan of the classics and I doubt Retro Studios can match the old magic of the originals.
Sigh. Can't I escape the clutches of bad hardware. I bought Assassin's Creed 2.5 for the PS3 and I get some pretty nasty frame rate issues when walking, running, climbing in the main town area. It's the NPC's. They've increased the number yet again so it's taxing my PS3.
Thing is, not everyone is having bad frame rates and videos on YouTube are showing this. At first I thought it was a bad port to PS3 but now I'm not sure. I've contacted Ubisoft so waiting on their thoughts but I might have a dying PS3 >_>
This generation, for me, seems to be the generation of laggy games and hardware problems. I wonder what the next generation will be.
P.S. Yes, yes, PS3. Sometimes I like to play my games on a big TV and not worry about lag. lul.
Thing is, not everyone is having bad frame rates and videos on YouTube are showing this. At first I thought it was a bad port to PS3 but now I'm not sure. I've contacted Ubisoft so waiting on their thoughts but I might have a dying PS3 >_>
This generation, for me, seems to be the generation of laggy games and hardware problems. I wonder what the next generation will be.
P.S. Yes, yes, PS3. Sometimes I like to play my games on a big TV and not worry about lag. lul.