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South Park behind-the-scenes shows importance of 'authentic crappiness'
A new behind-the-scenes video for South Park: The Stick of Truth has revealed just how the game came to land in the hands of developers Obsidian, as well as some ... enlightening information on the importance of the game's aesthetic and farts. Language NSFW. Obviously. Come on, it's South Park. Show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone noted that it's "harder than you think" to make a game look like the show; there's an "authentic crappiness" to the animation that Stone and Parker felt couldn't be pulled off until the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 came into existence. The two men also stress how important it is for the player to feel powerful. "In Zelda, you become master of the wind, in Infamous, you have electricity as your weapon. In Stick of Truth, we made it farts, which is probably not the biggest surprise." No, can't say it is.
On developer interaction and behind-the-scenes info
There's an interesting thread going on right now on the official forums, concerning the possibility of an ongoing series of interviews or video content exploring the behind-the-scenes at Blizzard. CM Zarhym chimed in with a mention of the A Day in the Life series that was released during Blizzard's 20 year anniversary celebration. But more importantly, he noted that it takes a lot of resources to put that kind of feature together, which is why Blizzard tries to pair things like interviews and behind-the-scenes info with big announcements. And that's completely understandable. It takes time, effort and resources to put together a feature -- time and resources that could be spent on better things, like improving and working on that game we love to play. But after many other inquires and suggestions on the subject, Zarhym shared another, longer post that made everything just a little more clear -- and raised some good points about developer interaction in general.
The Soapbox: The horror of embargoes
We're right on the cusp of one big holiday or another. Festivus, I think? I don't really pay attention to the calendar. So we're going to take this opportunity to talk about something near and dear to our hearts that a lot of you don't even know exists because you aren't working here. It's the magical miracle known as the press embargo. Embargoes work something like this. Let's say that Bungie is hard at work developing My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Online, and the company wants to reveal a new piece of information on August 9th. The company sends a lot of different press outlets a release with all of the information on August 2nd, mentioning exactly when the embargo lifts. So on August 9th, everyone can cover it at the same time! It sounds like a great way to ensure that the press knows things in advance and that every big revelation is nicely coordinated across all media. In practice, though, it's something less than beneficial due to failures to communicate and the very nature of the beast. Giving more time between the information and release just means more space for things to go wrong.
Get a behind-the-scenes peek at Infinite Crisis in new video
Sometimes when you look at an aspect of a game, you think, "Wow, where did the devs get that idea?" Other times you wonder "What were they thinking?" In both cases, a nice behind-the-scenes look at things can at times help answer those questions. And Turbine Entertainment has released one such video for Infinite Crisis wherein the development team talks about how the DC Multiverse is integrated in the game design, from various champions to the items available in the artifact foundry. For your own peek behind the dev curtain, check out the video after the break. And if you want to join the closed beta, head on over to the official site to sign up. [Source: Turbine Entertainment press release]
Destiny behind-the-scenes video shows weapon options
Bungie unveiled a new behind-the-scenes video for Destiny today, delving into the environments, weapons and abilities players will explore in the game. Titled "Out Here in the Wild," the video noted that players can carry three weapons at a time, from assault rifles to a heavy weapon slot reserved for guns that cause "unrealistically large amounts of damage for a very small window of time." Destiny is due out in 2014 for PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Infinite Crisis shows off what's going on behind the scenes
On one level, Infinite Crisis feels like an obvious premise. Take a setting that already gives players plenty of reasons to beat one another up as iconic heroes and villains, give those players plenty of iconic heroes and villains, enjoy the show. But according to the new behind-the-scenes video, the game took a fair bit more effort than that. It's partly a result of game technology finally matching up with what players need and want in this sort of game. The video features commentary by both DC Comics creators and Turbine Entertainment staff members. One of the big elements of the game is that environments are not static things, that they can be interacted with and damaged during play, and that helps contribute to the feel of a game of superheroes rather than just another MOBA. If you want a closer look, check out the full video embedded just past the break. [Source: Turbine Entertainment press release]
World of Warcraft: Ultimate Visual Guide available for preorder
Today Blizzard announced a new book release in partnership with DK Publishing--the World of Warcraft: Ultimate Visual Guide. The guide features many pages of new and unreleased artwork, in-depth character profiles for famous WoW heroes and villains, location information, famous battles of Azeroth's history, lore references, and even a guide to the different types of magic found in the Azerothian universe. Oh, and there's a glimpse into the creative development process behind WoW, as well, something I don't think has ever before really been explored in a Blizzard publication. The pre-order pages on Amazon and Barnes & Noble cite the release date as September 30th, so mark your calenders. This guide is sure to interest any WoW lore fan or art enthusiast. A full preview is available on the official DK landing page.
Titanfall goes behind the creative wall and finds more mechs
Beyond the wall of Titanfall's development lies – well, a bunch of mechs wreaking havoc on each other. It's pretty much the same as the scene on this side of Titanfall development, but the people over there have the power to make the mechs look like giant purple dinosaurs if they wanted.
Castle of Illusion video looks back at the original platformer
This behind-the-scenes video for Castle of Illusion shows the developers at Sega reflecting back on the original game and how some of its elements will translate to the remake currently in development. Castle of Illusion is coming to PS3, PC and Xbox 360 this summer.
Ken Hartsook discusses Ultima Forever from behind the scenes
Looking forward to having some nostalgic adventures with Ultima Forever when it releases this summer? Then you might enjoy a trip behind the scenes of development with Ken Hartsook, a software engineer working on the title at Mythic. Hartsook is the subject of a new video detailing some of the programming challenges associated with bringing Ultima Forever to the iOS family of devices as well as his favorite parts of the game as it approaches launch. According to Hartsook, one of the biggest challenges was finding a control scheme that worked for tablets and smartphones, which meant deviating substantially from classic control models. He also discusses the tilesets in the game and his experience playing a Fighter in the test version of the game. So if your iPad is ready and waiting for a chance to take the jump into Britannia, check out the full interview just past the break.
Massively Exclusive: Neverwinter pre-launch interview, part two
We're back with Cryptic Lead Producer Andy Velasquez to continue our discussion of Neverwinter's beta lessons, launch preparations, and post-launch plans. We also touch on some of the comments and concerns that players had for the title and how Cryptic is addressing them. If you missed the first part of this interview, make sure you check it out before continuing!
Massively Exclusive: Neverwinter pre-launch interview, part one
Andy Velasquez has seen his fair share of MMO launches, but that doesn't make a new one any less exhilarating or terrifying. As lead producer, he's the captain of the Neverwinter ship and must make sure it's seaworthy before slipping out of drydock and heading into the unknown waters of release. Metaphor or no, it's a daunting job with little downtime, especially in this final week leading up to the soft launch of open beta. Velasquez took a half-hour out of his busy schedule to sit with us and talk about the preparations being made for Neverwinter's big moment. Read on for his candid insights into beta stories, launch day, and making tough calls when tough calls had to be made.
Champions Online dev blog goes behind-the-scenes of the Lemurian Invasion
Last week, Champions Online's Lemurian Invasion event hit the live servers, and since then players have been valiantly fighting to defend the world against the alien forces. But as the latest Champions devblog notes, "an invasion force like the Lemurians doesn't come out of nowhere." With that in mind, Cryptic has released a brand-new devblog that takes players behind the curtain for a look at the making of the Lemurian invasion. In the post, Champions Online's new Live Producer, Tom "Lord Gar" Edwards, takes players on a brief tour of the process behind creating a live event. Edwards details all of the hard work that went into the Lemurian Invasion, from the event's initial conception to 3-D models, animations, and playtesting. But perhaps more importantly, he takes a few paragraphs to talk about the future: "[In] the first half 2013, [Cryptic's] plan is to release several story arcs of a similar scale to the Lemurian invasion." He adds that "each arc will have a lockbox, some smaller missions, and then a larger mission at the end." According to Edwards, each mission will " have its own themed rewards and new items [that will] sometimes focus on character improvements, and some on vehicles." Champions' next arc will involve "gladiatorial combat" and will focus on the aforementioned character improvements. Edwards promises that more info is coming soon. Until then, how about heading over to the Champions Online devblog for all the tasty Lemurian Invasion details? [Thanks to Matixzun for the tip!]
Go behind the scenes of the God of War Super Bowl ad
This video shows the folks at Quantum Creation FX creating Kratos for the God of War: Ascension live-action Super Bowl commercial. If you're sick of eating buffalo wings after watching the finished ad, kick back, grab a burrito and watch this trailer and the other making-of video.
Fallen Earth devs explain how schedules are made
As January is fairly quiet for the devs working on Fallen Earth, they've used the monthly state of the game post to share a behind-the-scenes look into the production process. The team begins by making a list of all of the ideas it wants for the game, and then reviews this list quarterly. Out of the list comes the schedule to bring these ideas to reality. Schedules are almost impossible to stick to 100%, however. Issues and limitations pop up, requiring the team to be flexible. "This is actually where the strength of the team comes into play," Napalm posted. "They're very adaptable and adept at changing direction or coming up with 11th hour solutions. And despite the best laid designs there are ALWAYS 11th hour solutions." The state of the game does mention that the team is cleaning up some bugs relating to farming and has hopes that the new system will be more integrated in the future. There's also a sneak-peek at the sector 3 coresuit, which is currently being modeled.
RuneScape explains why it does what it does
Have you ever wondered how an MMO studio plans its upcoming content delivery? A new RuneScape dev diary takes us behind the scenes at Jagex, where Mod Mark outlines the nuts-and-bolts of the process: "We think about the next 12 months of content and what we want to achieve within those 12 months and have a broad idea of what we want to achieve over the next three years. We think about what sort of players we've got and we try to make sure that the content we have planned over the next year is appropriate for all of those groups of players." Mod Mark said that the team also considers what it's focused on recently, what areas haven't been touched on in a long time, and what parts of the game may have become dated. Content additions and improvements are then scheduled according to the time available to the team. One lesson to take away is that it always takes the development team a lot more time and effort to create new content than players assume. Sometimes even a single quest may spend up to a year in development before being pushed to live. You can watch the full dev diary after the jump!
Behind the scenes of Ni No Kuni's art style
This latest development diary for Ni No Kuni focuses on the game's art style, pioneered by world renowned Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. As you might expect, literally every single thing about Ghibli's creative process is completely adorable, even the old dudes. Especially the old dudes.
Making Halo 4 Spartan Ops with the group behind the Dead Island trailer
The Halo 4 Spartan Ops episodes don't just magically appear; they're painstakingly crafted by Axis Animation, the same studio that created that memorable, heartbreaking trailer for Dead Island in 2011. Take a peek at the process in the above video.
Behind the scenes of that Black Ops 2 live-action commercial
A few ads, usually those that air during the Super Bowl, have enough money, creativity and star power to earn the label of "an experience." The live-action trailer for Black Ops 2, apparently, deserves that title. That's the only reason we can think of for this behind-the-scenes video to exist.
Mists of Pandaria Collector's Edition half price at Amazon
In part of its Cyber Monday week deals, Amazon is selling the Mists of Pandaria Collector's Edition for $39.99 $34.99. Not only is this half off of the usual price, it is the same price as the normal edition. This price is for the box, not the digital edition version. The Collector's Edition includes the following The Imperial Quilen mount, also included in the Digital Deluxe version The Lucky Quilen Cub pet, again in the Digital Deluxe version as well Behind-the-scenes Blu-ray and DVD Chen Stormstout mouse pad The Art of Mists of Pandaria hardback book Collector's Edition Soundtrack CD We don't know how long this sale will continue. So whether you want the physical goodies for yourself or for a gift, this price is likely to be the lowest of the season. Update Nov 26: The price for Cyber Monday is $34.99.
