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Ex-Rare dev discusses Killer Instinct 3, Kinect's 'Savannah' prototype and Microsoft acquisition
A former artist at Rare has given us a peek behind the curtain at the studio's "Savannah" project and the eventual elimination of Killer Instinct. Speaking with NotEnoughShaders, Donnchadh Murphy, who was a 3D modeler at Rare but now works at an animation studio, revealed the developer was working on a project called "Savannah" for Kinect.Savannah (models pictured) was going to be a Kinect title where players raised a lion cub from birth, teaching the animal survival skills. The game was only ever a prototype and was never greenlit.Meanwhile, Murphy said, the company was always interested in revisiting the Killer Instinct franchise in HD, as is often requested by ardent Rare fans. "We all wanted to make KI3, but Microsoft [was] more interested in broadening their demographic than making another fighting game," he said. "So it never got made, I doubt it ever will."
Geekend steps its game up with a 24-hour Hackathon, promises boost to nerd cred
For the past two years, all sorts of gadget, social media and design geeks have descended upon Savannah, GA. The goal is clear: to spend the weekend hearing from the nerds they look up to, including our pal Major Nelson, who spoke back in 2009. This year was no different -- and to make things even more interesting -- event organizers invited attendees to participate in the first ever Geekend Hackathon. Teams of up to four members, fueled by a copious supply of Mountain Dew and pizza, were given 24 hours to come up with the most innovative desktop, mobile or web application they could. There was just one catch: teams had to incorporate at least three out of five key words that were randomly assigned to them. The only other stipulation was that if the code used to create each app wasn't already available online, they had to place the open source that they developed in a web repository before the event. We were there to catch the results, which showcased a mixed bag of entertaining (and useful) applications. Projects ranging from an app tracking vegetable eating habits to one that uses image recognition to bring your favorite comics to a mobile device showed just what could be done in a day -- given enough caffeine, of course. Another allowed you to feed your urge to hug every cat, while a neighborhood advocacy community enabled concerned citizens to vote on issues in their area. Rounding out the field was a field trip database for teachers to share ideas on sites to take their students for the best experience. Two winners -- judge's choice and people's choice -- received a super geeky trophy (pictured above) and a major boost to their street...er online cred. If you're yearning to find out more about this year's happenings, hit the coverage link below and start booking your trip for next year. [Gallery credit: Geekend] %Gallery-139340%
Savannah giving one year of free work space to qualified developers
The Creative Coast Alliance and Savannah Economic Development Authority announced today that they will give up to one year of free rent to game developers in the Game Development and Digital Media Center, currently under construction on the first floor of a new office building along the Savannah River. The year of free space, when combined with the potential of 30 percent off in Georgia taxes, could equal significant savings for start-ups.We contacted Savannah-based game designer and industry advocate Brenda Brathwaite, who apparently spearheaded this program, which is being dubbed "the offer." She told us, "Having seen one company close after another, I know there are a lot of amazingly talented developers out there who would like to continue developing games. These are my friends in many cases, and I started to think of possible things that I could do to help."She continued, "I got the idea to approach the Savannah Economic Development Authority about this concept of free space for game developers. They're pretty progressive, but at the same time, I knew I was asking for a lot. When they not only agreed but were incredibly enthusiastic about it, I was honestly thrilled. After months of layoffs, it felt like a bit of sun on the proverbial horizon."
DirecTV uncorks HD locals in Springfield-Holyoke, MA / Savannah, GA
Now that we've officially hit fall here in the US of A, we suppose DirecTV should revamp is HD rollout plans to include this season. Nevertheless, the satcaster is slowly but surely wrapping up its summer plans by bringing HD locals to the Springfield-Holyoke, Massachusetts and Savannah, Georgia DMAs. Both markets can now tune into their local CBS, NBC and ABC affiliates in HD, though FOX was strangely omitted for both. Hope you weren't looking forward to the World Series in high-def or anything...Read - Springfield-Holyoke, MA rolloutRead - Savannah, Georgia
Game recruiter speaks this week about breaking into industry
Next week the Savannah College of Art and Design will be holding two game related events over two days: The Women in Games International Conference (WIGI) and Game Developers eXchange Conference (GDX). If you're an academic, there's probably plenty of goody gumdrop information to be had. However, if you're looking to get into the industry, one of the featured speakers is Marc Mencher, president of GameRecruiter.com, who will be running the panel "Breaking In: How to Acquire the Skills and Get that First Job."Mencher says, "I always look forward to the opportunity to give meaningful career guidance to up-and-coming game developers. Speaking at WIGI-Savannah provides another targeted opportunity to pull from my first-hand experience and provide young people with the knowledge, encouragement and wisdom they will need to thrive in our industry." GameRecruiter.com is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and now has offices in Austin, Las Vegas and San Francisco.Registration for WIGI-Savannah is available online for $50, with student registration priced at $20. The registration fee includes admission to GDX 2007 on Friday, April 27, an all-day event where game development experts share behind-the-scenes knowledge about the gaming industry. If you live in Savannah it may be worth checking out to try to meet some people, 'cause remember, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
