Jumpgate's evolution(ary) inspiration
By now you know I'm a sci-fi geek, reporting on everything even remotely interesting (and some of our readers would say, not even that on occasion) about Tabula Rasa, Jumpgate Evolution, Stargate Worlds, Earthrise, etc. I also have a fondness for the guys and gals at NetDevil, makers of the now defunct and often criticized (yet loved by it's core of loyal fans, myself included) Auto Assault.
In a new dev diary posted on MMO Gamer, NetDevil programmer Steve Hartmeyer talks about the inspiration behind the evolution of Jumpgate. We've reported before that the space combat in JGE will be reminiscent of X-Wing vs. TIE fighter, but until now I didn't know what the impetus behind that comparison was. Apparently Scott Brown (founder of NetDevil) is a lot like me (and many others I'm sure). In 1977 both of us saw Star Wars - and it changed our lives indescribably. JGE stems from his passion for that masterpiece, but it's not the only ingredient. Hartmeyer goes on to include Battlestar Galactica as another key inspiration. Apparently the original Jumpgate development team was inspired by other shows I watched (and obsessed over), such as Space: Above and Beyond and Babylon 5.
They had me at Star Wars. With the addition of these other sci-fi franchises which I loved so much, well... The rest of the entry is chock full of inspirational goodness. If you've been sitting on the fence about this game, it might be the very thing that makes you finally say: Hells ya!
