gdc-2011
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Interview: Cave Story's salaryman designer, Daisuke 'Pixel' Amaya
Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya is one of just a few Japanese names in the indie gaming pantheon, after developing 2004's Cave Story entirely on his own as a labor of love. This year, he came to the Game Developers Conference to present a long-overdue postmortem about the development of Cave Story and to promote the upcoming 3DS remake, which he's working on with developer Nicalis and publisher NIS America. During this presentation, Amaya showed never-before-seen footage of a beta version of Cave Story, including locations, characters, and enemies that didn't make it into the beloved indie game. Soon after the presentation, we sat down with the game designer, and found out that despite the popularity of Cave Story, he still has a day job. For now. " I still work full time as a salaryman," Amaya told Joystiq, "but from April I'm going to be a full time developer." He explained that he planned to leave his job as a programmer for large-scale printing equipment a year ago, but "everybody was like 'are you really okay with developing games?' They weren't really sure if I could support myself." As he also had to train his replacement, his transition to full-time game designer was delayed. " I have a wife, I have kids, so [his co-workers] were a bit worried. It's not like they doubt my skill."
The Razer Switchblade concept slithers its way to GDC 2011
Razer was on hand at the Intel booth on the GDC expo floor with a sealed-off concept unit of the Razer Switchblade, the company's new small-form gaming PC. Travis Wannlund, Razer's global community manager, gave me the ins and outs of the hardware. The unit has a touchscreen to replace the pointer and also accepts a USB or Bluetooth mouse as an input device. The keyboard is made up of small LED screens that work as contextual keys, changing to ability keys with pictures, alphabetical keys, arrows, and more. The Switchblade was cycling through games, showing off different context-sensitive key setups depending on the game. Quake Live placed down a row of abilities ranging from grenades and rockets, alongside buttons for walk and crouch. A WASD array also popped up, and presumably a mouse would facilitate the view space. I couldn't touch it, of course, as the machine was guarded by a nefarious plastic box, but it was there, working, and impressing the heck out of everyone who stopped by. The Switchblade looks very promising, even in its concept stage, showing that Razer intends to push a whole lot of boundaries with its new little darling. It is almost as if the machine were built with the express purpose of playing a game like WoW on the go, with other games as an added bonus. Now we just have to watch and wait, hoping this little beauty goes from concept to production as soon as possible.
Animales de la Muerte reanimated as PSN/XBLA game
Back in 2009, High Voltage Studios discussed its plan to shift Animales de la Muerte, a game with the irresistible concept of "zombie zoo animals," from WiiWare to retail because of a large amount of audio. The twin-stick shooter has resurfaced again, and has returned to the download space -- as an XBLA and PSN game. IGN saw this new version at GDC, noting that even though the game has existed for years, it's in a very early state again as a result of a newly rebuilt engine, with the HUD, many enemies, and even some basic gameplay elements like dropoff locations for rescued non-zombie animals yet to be implemented. Will we ever get to destroy undead penguins? In a game, we mean?
GDC 2011: Funcom talks The Secret World's PvE, PvP, and ARG
Many of you are no doubt as anxious as we are to get your hands on Funcom's new The Secret World MMORPG (with a new website!). The skill-based end-of-the-world riff has been shrouded in a good bit of mystery for a good long while, but we've finally managed to snag a few minutes of face time with the title. This year's GDC marked the first opportunity for anyone outside of Funcom's alpha team to lay eyes on the game, and we've got some pretty juicy details to pass on. Join us after the cut for the new trailer as well as a recap of Funcom's presentation, which was spearheaded by Ragnar Tornquist and featured designers Martin Bruusgaard and Joel Bylos. Discussion topics include PvP, PvE missions, and character progression.%Gallery-118804%
What's in a Name: Demiurge Studios
Albert Reed is the studio director and co-founder of Demiurge Studios, the Boston-based team responsible for the forthcoming Shoot Many Robots and a mess of contract work with Harmonix' Rock Band franchise, Gearbox Studios' Brothers in Arms and Borderlands franchises, and many more. Reed discussed the origin of his studio's name during an interview with us at GDC: "Late night with a thesaurus searching for words that mean 'creativity' and 'innovation.' So the demiurge was -- there's a bunch of different interpretations of it, some of which are sort of ... mean to religions. I don't know. But the one that we originated from was the Greek philosopher Plato needed -- there was no one in the Greek pantheon of Gods who sort of created the Earth, there wasn't much of a creation myth there. So the demiurge was sort of responsible for forming the material world. So the Earth and trees and all that stuff, right? And so since we make worlds inside of video games, that seemed appropriate." Shoot Many Robots is being planned for digital launch later this year on consoles, and currently has no publisher. Like this feature? Be sure to check out the What's In A Name Archives.
American McGee's Spicy Horse to focus on free-to-play games after Alice: Madness Returns
More than ten years after overseeing Alice with now-defunct developer Rogue Entertainment, American McGee is wrapping up a sequel with his Shanghai-based company, Spicy Horse. "This will be the first ever console triple-A game that's been developed from beginning to end in China, for the Western market," McGee told Joystiq during an EA event last Tuesday. "There's been a lot of stuff that's been outsourced, or various pieces of it have been made there, but in terms of production process we had to invent a lot of what we were doing to get this game made there." Spicy Horse was restructured to handle development of Alice: Madness Returns, and will restructure again once it launches the action game in June. "Well, we don't see that the future for us is in triple-A console games," McGee said. "We actually are trying to make games that are online, free-to-play, 3D advanced casual games, so as we finish this we're going to transition the company back to where we were intending to be when we finished Grimm." Spicy Horse was on track to follow up Grimm -- its fantasy-themed episodic series for games portal Gametap -- with more casual fare, but was temporarily derailed by an irresistible offer from EA instead. "So, we restructured for two years, we built the game, we did a great job, we're gonna ship it on time, on schedule, we never had a crunch and it's been really awesome. But now, it's back to what our belief is in terms of where things are going, so it's going to be all about free-to-play, 3D games for Asia." McGee claims that half of the development team has already completed work on Alice: Madness Returns, with ten to fifteen people doing "last-minute cleanup" -- of a project that has gone almost suspiciously (in this industry) according to plan. "I mean, we never had a freakout moment, we never had a crunch, we never had to work on a weekend and, in fact, we were always running ahead of milestones, so we would even give extra days off when the sky was blue, or something like that," he said. "So, it was a really pleasant development experience." Since Spicy Horse is set on transforming its production process once again, it's currently unsure about what would happen if EA asked for another Alice sequel. "That's a question to ask them. But it might take them another ten years to figure it out," McGee joked.%Gallery-118730%
Shinji Mikami on his Shadows of the Damned role and 'adult love'
Shadows of the Damned represents not only a partnership between EA and Grasshopper Manufacture, but also a reunion between Grasshopper and Shinji Mikami, who produced its Killer 7 for Capcom. Mikami is lending his action-horror expertise to Grasshopper's new game, completely separate from his work with the Zenimax-owned Tango GameWorks. "Grasshopper is making all these great games, with really a nice visual style," Mikami told us at an EA event during last week's GDC. "I'm there to make sure the gameplay is right -- make sure it's tight, make sure it's fun. That's why I'm there." He denied the assertion that Shadows of the Damned would feel strongly Mikami-like." "When you look at it, you're going to say this is a Grasshopper game," he said. "When you play it, especially if you've played a Resident Evil, you can kind of sense 'ah, there's a little bit of Resident Evil here.' But I don't think it's from the start it's a Mikami game. It's definitely a Grasshopper game." We asked Mikami about the heart-shaped buttons EA was handing out at the event, which seemed hilariously out of step with the outrageous violence and manliness of Damned. Is Shadows of the Damned a love story? "There's two sides to it: there's that aspect of a love story, but it's not the romantic type of love," Mikami explained, cryptically. "It's a very adult type of love. And you'll see that when you play through the game -- it's definitely conveyed in certain aspects." Apparently, the "adult" type of love is so strong that a man can be fooled by a giant, grotesque demon wearing the shape of his girlfriend like a costume. As the interview concluded, the subject turned to another violent, quirky action game from Mikami: 2006's God Hand -- a title that Mikami burst into laughter upon hearing. Mikami firmly denied even a superficial relationship between his own PS2 action game and Shadows of the Damned, but he did tell us that "I'd like to make a sequel to God Hand sometime." When we suggested he could make a spiritual "sequel" to get around the Capcom-owned IP, Mikami laughed again and said "Someday, I'll do it."
Uncharted 3(D) preview: Drake Drop Distance
When I say Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception has the best stereoscopic 3D presentation I've seen so far, I don't mean to imply that I'll shut my laptop after I complete this sentence and dash out the door to buy a 3DTV (an inconsiderate and fatal idea, given that I'm writing this from inside an airplane). The work done by Naughty Dog, with 3D incorporated from an early stage of development, is not an effective sales pitch for the technology -- and that's why it's good. The effect is subtle, unobtrusive, useful, and very distant from the eye-blasting nonsense of what you would derisively label a "sales pitch." Kneeling on the floor in front of a large 3D television, Naughty Dog co-founder Evan Wells appears childlike and completely involved as he marches Nathan Drake through the burning chateau, a now-familiar venue for Uncharted 3 gameplay demos. As Drake and stubborn sidekick Sully attempt to escape, the heat of the flames racing them to the top of the building, they're forced across a wooden beam that's fallen between the crumbling remnants of a floor. "This an inner ear thing?! Let's go!" Drake yells from the other side, firing at thugs as Sully slowly -- like, slowly -- walks and wobbles to the end of the beam. This is an interesting, tense scene regardless of your television, and in 3D it's very easy to gauge Sully's distance at a glance. That's not exactly mind blowing, I know, but I'd rather take a sliver of contextual usefulness over an in-your-face cheese slap.
Voice of the Damned: Suda 51 on being an EA Partner and surviving the Japanese market
At a preview event alongside GDC, EA offered the first playable demo of Grasshopper Manufacture's From Dusk Till Dawn-esque third-person shooter, Shadows of the Damned. Immediately after experiencing its floating skull sidekicks, baby-head gates, and demons in seductive-woman suits, we spoke to Grasshopper's CEO, Suda 51, and asked the first thing that came to mind: how did he convince EA to back such a strange game? Suda, of course, understood the intention, saying that "strange equals compliment for us." And besides, "Actually, EA has always respected our punk rock style. It was really easy, and we had a lot of freedom. EA is not just a giant corporation, but they're very accepting." He said that Grasshopper pitched the game to EA -- though later in the same interview, he told us that it was at EA's request that the game became a shooter. "We wanted to do well with the Western market," Suda said, "and we wanted to have that challenge of creating shooters," and so the studio agreed.
MMO Roundup: Massively's GDC coverage and more
Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future. GDC 2011: Impressions of the conference and what 2011 will bring The Game Developers Conference of 2011 has come to a close, and it's given us a better idea of what's to come in the world of MMOs this year. Head over to Massively for Editor-in-Chief Shawn Schuster's impressions of the conference and a glimpse at the future. Bungie admits to MMO hoax Is it or isn't it? This is the multimillion-dollar question for Bungie Studios, who had all but confirmed that it was working on a MMO of sorts. Apparently, this was either a ruse, a goof or a massive misunderstanding, as a Bungie representative clarified David Aldridge's comments at GDC as being nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek joke. BioWare's Damion Schubert on designing for loners Nothing stirs up a good MMO debate like the age-old question of whether or not the genre should cater to solo players. BioWare's Damion Schubert, lead systems designer on the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic, recently added a bit of fuel to that particular fire during a presentation at last week's GDC in San Francisco. Star Wars: The Old Republic: Another look at the bounty hunter It has been two years since the bounty hunter class was unveiled as the first player class in The Old Republic. BioWare has released another class video for its Star Wars MMO, highlighting the bounty hunter and his/her tricks and gadgets once again. Massively Speaking at the Games Developers Conference Looking for even more GDC information? Massively Speaking, Massively's MMO podcast, recorded a show live each night of the conference. Hear the team's impressions as they developed! Massively's week in review: GDC madness Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.
Shadows of the Damned preview: Goat toward the light
If you thought Grasshopper Manufacture was "selling out" by making a third-person shooter, of all things, with EA Partners, of all people, you need not worry about such a thing. Having played Shadows of the Damned for about 20 minutes, I can confirm that it is a true Grasshopper game, full of the punk rock style, weird humor, brash, sexy women (one of whom wears mechanical devices on her arms and legs, and causes earthquakes when she dances), and over-the-top melee violence you'd expect from Suda 51's studio. It just has better production values.%Gallery-118565%
GDC 2011: Firemint's Agent Squeek
Australia's Firemint is perhaps one of the most popular developers on the iPhone. Firemint's games, Flight Control, Real Racing and Real Racing 2, can be found in any Apple Store, and likely on most iPhones, too. The company's founder, Rob Murry, and his new acquisition, Infinite Interactive's Steve Faulkner, were in San Francisco last week to show off the third original IP that Firemint is creating for iOS, another line drawing game called Agent Squeek. In Agent Squeek, you control a mouse on the screen by drawing a line for him to follow, and the goal of each level is to collect various cheeses while trying to avoid hungry cats. But while the game starts out easy, the complexity quickly ramps up, and you can do things like psyche cats into chasing you before dodging the other way, or you can even build gadgets from blueprints that you find.
GDC 2011: Remedy brings Death Rally to iOS
Finnish developer Remedy Entertainment is known for making full-fledged console titles like Max Payne and Alan Wake, but it's stepping into the iOS arena with a touch-based remake of its old racing combat game Death Rally, originally released back in 1996. I got to see the game in action at GDC in San Francisco last week, and I liked it a lot. While it does make use of a virtual joystick (something that Graeme Devine had railed at in his panel earlier in the day), this one's done very well, providing both direction and acceleration to your little car as you race around the game's various tracks. Remedy worked with developer Mountain Sheep (makers of Minigore) on this one, and the polish and experience on the platform shows. The textures are clear and bright, and the gameplay is very solid. There are five cars to start (with possibly more coming later), and each of them handles differently, from a huge van down to a muscle car. The weapons are also very different, and all of them are upgradeable. Spending money earned after every race can be used to improve your car's stats or push your weapons up to the next level. As you race, you also unlock various challenges, like racing against just one opponent or going around a reversed track, that mix up the gameplay. %Gallery-118560%
Mortal Kombat preview: Didactic die tactic
After my release from school in the afternoon, I would march into the mediocre mall arcade with an earnest intent to learn. Rather than claiming the Mortal Kombat 3 machine with a coin, I'd drop a thick, stapled stack of A4 pages in the middle of the counter to signal my impending occupation -- and preliminary preoccupation with memorized violence. Starting with Shang Tsung in the top-left corner of the character select screen, I'd read and execute every move and combo for each fighter, line by line, glancing at the pages as I made my way through the arcade mode. If I could pull off every attack sequence for the active character, I'd allow myself to graduate to the fatality list and then cap my progress with a gory reward. This formulaic approach wasn't really born from any desire to be competitive -- rather, I envisioned defeating the game by seeing and knowing every attack, combo and piece of content. Victories against human opponents felt almost incidental. If you're the kind of player who enjoys the solitary, methodical act of executing and learning moves, you should know that April's Mortal Kombat reboot is very happy to show you the ropes, provided you're eager to strangle someone with them afterward.
Lost Pages of Taborea: GDC 2011 chapter 4 sneak-peek
The big news is chapter 4 is on its way. Runes of Magic is getting a triple-class system -- that should help players find groups -- and more content to explore as players make their way to the new level-70 cap. Besides that and the exciting news that RoM will soon be playable in all its glory on Facebook without any need to download a client, we now know what players will encounter when they first venture into the Land of Malevolence, thanks to the Frogster folks at GDC 2011 who last week gave us a sneak-peek into the coming update! As most veterans of RoM know, chapters have always been delivered to us in chunks, and so shall it be with chapter 4. This first chunk will introduce us to a new instance, the new area (spanning levels 62 to 64), and some interesting story -- which always makes me happy. Read on to see what new things there are to look forward to in RoM and why Mages may be smiling a bit more when this new content is released.%Gallery-116190%
GDC 2011: Grey Area's Shadow Cities redefines mobile MMORPGs and immersion
How does being the main character in a techno-cyberpunk fantasy MMORPG grab you? And when we say "you," we really mean you, as opposed to a digital avatar or a pre-made character archetype. While we're at it, how does playing said MMORPG in the real world, specifically your home town and any cities you may visit, sound? If you answered "pretty freaking awesome" like we did, keep reading. We sat down with the guys from Grey Area at last week's GDC to talk about the firm's slick new location-based iPhone MMO called Shadow Cities. We came away with the feeling that while many MMO companies talk a good game when it comes to innovation and driving the genre forward, this small Finnish startup is actually walking the walk.
GDC 2011: Impressions of the conference and what 2011 will bring
The 2011 Game Developer's Conference is behind us, and as we all recover from sleep deprivation and carpal tunnel syndrome, we can't help but reflect on our overall impressions of the event. This year saw a more efficient conference with the show floor consolidated into one hall and the usual Career Pavillion, Game Career Seminar and Game Connection events set up to help job-seekers find their dream careers in game development. But for the games press, most of the action happens off-site, where studios and publishers rent conference rooms and hotel suites to show off their latest game demos and conduct interviews. So while GDC is nothing like your E3s and PAXes, it is a place to gather info and get a feel for what to expect in the coming year. Follow along after the jump to see what I thought of this year's MMO offerings.
BurgerTime HD footage shows a twist on the coin-op classic
If you can figure out what's going on in this BurgerTime HD multiplayer footage IGN shot during GDC, we'll ... buy you a (virtual) burger. Here's the deal: It sort of looks like Data East's 1982 original in terms of the basic burger-building gameplay, but the HD-ification has clearly been taken to an extreme. The levels twist, the art style screams "cyberspace" circa 1992 and there's just so much happening. But hey -- it could be weirder.
GDC 2011: Chillingo's upcoming slate of titles
The good folks at Chillingo invited me to stop by their suite at GDC 2011 last week (which was actually run by EA, thanks to a new deal with EA's Partners program) to see the company's upcoming slate of titles on their way to the iPhone and iPod. On the next page you'll see previews of Blobster, Anomaly: Warzone Earth and Painkiller Purgatory, all due out in the next few months from Chillingo. Stay tuned -- I also got a chance to speak with co-founders Chris Byatte and Joe Wee about their role publishing games for the iPhone and the iPod touch, including, of course, Angry Birds.
CryEngine 3 GDC tech demo is all kinds of futuristic
Not only does the CryEngine 3 GDC tech demo posted below give us hope for the future of video game visuals -- it also fills us with anticipation for the future of dune buggy technology. Sure, pretty video games are great, but they can't hold a candle to a sleek recreational motor vehicle.
