MY FIRST RENDER

Since the start of the multimedia course I’ve avoided 3DSM for a number of reasons, but now it seems like it’s now or never… so now it is then.

Here is my first render of a weird blob like character, it’s not much but I am finally getting to know the lay of the land when it comes to 3DSM’s interface. I need to devote more time to the program really, no more running away and hiding from it.

GAME CITY 2007

Since last Thursday (25^th) until this Sunday evening (28^th) Nottingham has been host to Game City, a four day festival hosting a boat load of different video game related events and displays. Firstly I regret not going to as many as I could have, but I did end up a good number of shows and events including an exhibition put on by our very own Andy Love showcasing some interesting level design for the Unreal FPS game.

I also went along to a talk by Alexey Pajitnov, the creative mastermind behind probably the most played game in the world… Tetris! It was very interesting, talking about the mechanics behind Tetris and other puzzle games alike. I managed to ask him a few questions as well… he’s a big World of Warcraft fan so it seems and a really nice chap.

Nottingham's Market Square hosted a big tent with various consoles running inside, to be honest I wasn’t that impressed with the titles “on play”. The only game running that stood out for me was Guitar Hero, it’s been out for a while but this was my first exposure to the addictive button bashing, rhythmic frenzy that is Guitar Hero, such such fun!

I made some good contacts and swapped MSN addys with some guys from De Montfort University, Leicester, who were stewarding some of the events and are also studying games design, always good to know people in the field.

To round everything off myself and my girlfriend (Claire) managed to get our names on the guest list for a Microsoft party. Free beer, some freebies and I got my arse kicked on Gears of War (after spending 3 rounds out of 5 teaching my n00b opponent how to play, typical, I should have just PoWnEd him from the off) I had an awesome night and Claire won herself an Xbox 360 Elite in a prize draw… WOW!

I’m already looking forward to next years Game City and I really want to get involved, something that I am aiming to achieve.

YU SUZUKI

Recently I was asked to choose someone in my prospective industry that I admire and value, and then compose a short blog presentation about him / her.

Yu Suzuki works for AM-2 (Sega Amusement Machine Research and Development Department 2) He first worked for Sega as a programmer and then quickly moved onto the role of a producer, working on such classic titles as Space Harrier (1985), Out Run (1986), After Burner II (1987) plus many more… In 1993 Suzuki directed his first game, Virtua Fighter, a 3D computer graphics fighting game, which became enormously popular and spawned a whole series of sequels.

My favourite game series that Suzuki has created is the infamous Shenmue (1999). Original planned to be set over 16 releases (we are currently on number 2 btw) it follows the story of Ryo Hazuki who is on a quest to find his father’s killer. In this frustrating world where “ever game must fit into a category” (FPS, RPG, RTS…etc) Shenmue mostly falls into the RPG genera, but it’s not just an RPG, it’s a world that transcends games. Suzuki describes his own concept denoted as "FREE" (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment)

The majority of the game play mode is spent moving around the atmospheric, life-like eastern locations in a third-person 'chase cam' mode (talking to people, searching for things, solving puzzles, and so forth), it is interspersed with many 'mini-games', including forklift and motorcycle races, bar fights, chases down crowded alleys, full versions of old Sega arcade games such as 'Space Harrier' and 'Hang On' (both originally programmed by Yu Suzuki himself), dart games, and 'free fighting' sequences. Despite all of these user interactions and the fact that the whole project cost 70 million USD the game has a simple control interface, so even children can pick up and play.

My favourite aspect of the game is something called “QTE” (Quick Time Events). During QTE sequences, a button will flash on screen briefly and the player must press the relevant button or combination of buttons to trigger Ryo's actions. The story (thus also the game) can take on a different direction depending on the players success in QTE events. It made me wonder to myself when playing…“where would I be now if I had succeeded in that last QTE”… not unlike real life maybe?

If I ever accomplish a back catalogue of work like the mighty Yu Suzuki I will be a very happy man indeed.

PLAY TIME

Second year studies are slowly starting back up again at NTU and I’m yet to have my first ‘Games’ lecture and seminar, which I’m much looking forward too. I’m still working on my text adventure… slowly… but for now I thought I’d post about what I’ve been devoting most of my “play time” too. I use to PC game a lot and still do from time to time, but I’ve recently been playing Microsoft’s 360 console and Nintendo’s DS Lite (mine's black)

Ghost Recon Advanced War Fighter (GRAW) – Ubisoft

Although this game is getting on a bit in terms of shelf life (I picked my copy up for £8) it’s an amazing game and one of the first benchmarks in “next gen” gaming. It’s a 3^rd and 1^st person tactical shooter with some great movement controls that allows the player to move and use cover in a very realistic way. Apparently the soldier’s outfits, communications kit and weaponry are based on actually items in development for the US. (maybe it’s an insight into what we might see being used in Afghanistan and Iraq before all that comes to a close?) The AI is pretty tough, moving for cover when needed, attacking in numbers, flanking… etc. Graphics are outstanding with dazzling dynamic lighting really setting the visuals off. The controls take time to get familiar with, but once I'd mastered the basics I was hooked for about 6 hours in my first sitting. I’m a big fan of army related tactical shooters and this is easily the best I’ve played. Watch the review below…

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass – Nintendo (DS)

I’m just a Zelda fan boy and I wanted to plug this game! Although it isn’t out till this Friday (19^th) I wanted to post a review I’d seen to reinforce the how much I’m looking forward to its release. From what I have seen it looks like it’s taken the DS to a whole new level of interaction with the touchpad and stylus controls. Watch below...

TEXT-BASED ADVENTURE GAME

To keep myself occupied on the creative front I have been looking into creating my own text-based adventure game. I came across a great program whilst searching the net that constructs your text-based game for you, minimal programming talents are required and it’s simple to use.
Check it out at www.adrift.org.uk

I’ve spent the last few days trying to come up with a suitable narrative to base a text adventure game on, but after coming up with nothing but generic fantasy themed stories I came to the conclusion that conjuring up exciting, gripping narratives isn’t one of my ’skillz’. (also made me realize why 95% of MMORPGs are fantasy based, the narrative writes itself).

Without a narrative, a text-based adventure would simply be a series of puzzles. However, the reverse is true; without at least the odd puzzle, there isn't much to do except wander around, waiting for the story to expose itself. So I decided to put the story telling aside for the moment and focus on the puzzles that would make up my text adventure. This method of writing the game has proven to be much more manageable, focusing on the gameplay first then building a narrative around that. I have posted a quick screen shot of what my text adventure looks like so far, no exciting 3D graphics here...
this is old skool!

My finished game will be posted up here for download as soon as I have completed it, watch this space.