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No More Heroes 2 dev diary is the swirling eye of madness
All things considered, you probably shouldn't watch the No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle dev diary we've posted above. It's pretty NSFW, it's chock-full of spoilers for the original Heroes (and even some for the sequel!), and it features more shots of Suda 51 sitting on the toilet than we're really comfortable with seeing. On the other hand, it also sets a new precedent for how enjoyable these developer diaries can be. Instead of a bunch of dudes sitting in a dimly lit room talking about how awesome their game is, it's just Suda, sitting in a bathroom stall, talking about how awesome his game is, and then his head explodes. We take back the entire first paragraph of this post. If you don't watch the video posted above, then we simply can't be friends anymore.
Mass Effect 2 marketing goes full tilt with flood of new trailers
In one week's time, rather than wading through the torrent of new media released today for Mass Effect 2, you'll be picking up your copy of the game and rushing home to get started on Commander Shepard's second big adventure. For now, though, if you're anything like us, you're raptly watching the above dev diary (and likely heading after the break to the five "Fight for the Lost" character videos), already plotting how your own Shepard is going to spread his intergalactic vengeance -- we like to play as the ruthless monster with sporadically humane moments. Also, the one who can charge into dudes real fast. Regardless of how you plan on playing it, the sheer amount of new media released today should suitably tide you over (at least in terms of time) until next Tuesday. Get a comfy chair -- it's gonna be a while. %Gallery-70022%
Dark Void dev diary introduces us to 'Teslapunk' technology
Quick question: In a hypothetical war between inventor extraordinaire Nikola Tesla and an advanced race of robots, who would win? The answer is, of course, entirely dependent on the version of Tesla we're talking about. Real-life Tesla stands a pretty good chance -- after all, that debonaire mustache is probably capable of disabling most electronic devices. The safe money's on The Prestige's Tesla, who was played by David Bowie, who can disintegrate any synthetic material using nothing but the power of his rocking. The Tesla in Dark Void looks like he'd stand a fair chance as well. Check out the above dev diary to see the warring factions of technology present in the game, and to get a few more sweet, sweet glimpses of the title's jetpack-based combat.
Dante's Inferno creators explain 'Violence' in latest dev diary
You might be wondering exactly how Visceral Games managed to get a level themed after "Violence" into Dante's Inferno -- a game where the lead character spends roughly 100% of his time killing anything near him. We were wondering too, and so it was really nice of Visceral Games and EA to release the above dev diary for the "month of violence" that the game's marketing campaign is currently embracing to promote the game's level based on the seventh circle of Hell. The real question now: what can we expect EA's marketing team during this month's theme? We're not sure just yet, but given its recent track record, we're hoping no one goes to our Editor-in-Chief's house to give him a lesson or two in violence. %Gallery-45836%
Black Prophecy technical director on game's physics
Black Prophecy from Reakktor Media is a sci-fi MMO that may ultimately be a bit more accessible to some gamers than reigning sci-fi champ EVE Online. It will be a very different sort of game than EVE, though. In fact, there is still much about Black Prophecy that has yet to be revealed, but the title's certainly got potential from what we've learned so far. While we're hoping to have more information for you about Black Prophecy in the coming months, the team at Reakktor Media is keeping fans up to date with dev diaries explaining some of the different facets of the game. The latest series of these blogs on the game's physics is being written by Black Prophecy's Technical Director Cyrus Preuss, which he continues today by focusing on the physics engine itself. His dev diary is a bit technical, but not all that difficult to follow either. Cyrus explains the concepts of the "physics loop" and the factors which ultimately define the game environment in space. (This includes collision detection, which triggers particle effects and sound effects, but there's quite a bit more to it than that.) If you're curious about this aspect of Black Prophecy's game design, have a look at Cyrus's dev diary or jump into the discussion by the fans on the game's official forums.
Borg, DS9 and more in this STO dev diary plus trailer double punch
Today we've got a double treat for Star Trek Online fans, as Cryptic has released both a new trailer (with a quick but awesome shot of Deep Space Nine!) and a developer diary that discusses some very cool stuff about the newly evolved Borg featured in the game. Yes, we said "new" Borg -- as in species and assimilation methods never before seen in the Trek universe. You can find the diary as well as the video after the break. Enjoy!
A sneak peek at Atlantica Online's new class and dungeon
It's time for this newest installment of NDoors Interactive's bi-weekly developer journal here at Massively. We've covered so much already, but now we're excited to see some news of a shiny new class, called the Druid Mercenary, and the Grand Canyon Dungeon. Here's what they had to say: Atlantica Online is proud to present our newest addition to our growing list of mercenaries, the Druid. In our next patch, players who have reached level 100 will be able to begin the recruitment quest for this axe wielding mercenary.
Newest LotRO developer diary looks at crafting in Siege of Mirkwood
The launch of Siege of Mirkwood today brings about quite a few changes, and the Lord of the Rings Online developer diary have been covering some of them pretty extensively. The most recent diary covered crafting and how it will be improved and expanded in SoM. The entry begins on a promising note: "Being an ally has its advantages! New recipes for weapons, armor, jewellery, and other items can be found amongst the elves of Emyn Lum in Mirkwood," and goes on to detail the many changes. The overall crafting experience was given an overhaul, and the diary included a handy tour of the new crafting panel to help you find your way around. Legendary and class item recipes have been added, as well as recipes for a new "crafted relic", an item designed to fit in a fourth relic slot for equipment, and all crafting professions will see changes in recipes and experience. Crafting guilds will find that they can now give unused guild reputation items to traders in exchange for larger reputation items. It looks like crafting is going to be much more interesting to both new and old players -- you can read all the details here.
Stack 'em up and watch this Socom: Fire Team Bravo 3 dev diary
Hold on to your helmets, soldiers, because SOCOM: Fire Team Bravo 3 is breaching stores on January 12, 2010, and the game's dev team is excited. How excited? Excited enough to sit in front of a camera and talk about the PSP title's action-packed story and "authentic" gameplay. SOCOM: Fire Team Bravo 3 is set to continue the series' (sadly forgettable) storyline and includes online co-op and over 70 weapons to show terrorist scum who's boss.
Black Prophecy dev diary gives peek at game's physics
Now that the sci-fi MMO Black Prophecy is free to keep moving forward, the game's developer Reakktor Media is revealing more about the title. Recent dev diaries focused on Black Prophecy's art direction but now Technical Director Cyrus Preuss is kicking off a short series on the game's physics. The physics in any game can be important, perhaps moreso in a space-based MMO where players can move about in any direction and potentially interact (and collide) with many other ships in a single area. Cyrus boils a complex subject down to some easily understood explanations of how game physics work in the first installment, and will explore more on the topic in the coming weeks. He writes, "But you don't need to be afraid that I will confront you with highly complex equations or formulas. With this diary I also want to provide a look behind the scenes to those who didn't take the advanced physics or mathematics courses in school." Fans of Black Prophecy or those curious about the underlying game physics in an MMO can follow along with Cyrus' dev diary on the official game site.
Engage: New Star Trek Online screens and dev diary
With our rudimentary knowledge of the expanded Star Trek universe, we have a hard time following Cryptic Studios' series of lore briefings for Star Trek Online (the latest installment of which is posted above). Still, you don't have to have a Ph.D. in Klingon-Starfleet relations to appreciate the gargantuan space battles featured in the video. You just have to have eyes. We suppose an appreciation for lasers helps, too. In addition to the moving pictures, Atari has released a batch of new stills, as well, which we've tossed into the gallery below. Unless you have some aversion to wrinkle-headed alien species, we think you'll like what you see. %Gallery-78862%
Star Trek Online VFX Lead on updating visual style of the IP
IGN recently posted a Star Trek Online dev diary written by the game's VFX Lead Michael Cavallaro. "Creating the visual style of Star Trek Online was no easy task," said Cavallaro. "You might think that everything we would be creating has already been done, but not only are references several years old but they vary across the board." If you factor in how the effects changed between the various series and movies, you can see how preserving the look of Star Trek as viewers know it posed a challenge for the Cryptic Studios devs. The idea, Cavallaro related, was for the Cryptic devs to draw upon elements from the original Star Trek series and update that now-retro 60's sci-fi look for a contemporary audience. The trick was to do so while keeping said elements recognizable from the original IP.
Atlantica Online dev journal: Thanksgiving festivities
It's time for this newest installment of NDoors Interactive's biweekly developer journal here at Massively. We've already covered the Stimulus Package event and the game's one-year anniversary, so now we turn to the upcoming Thanksgiving event. Here's what they had to say: Thanksgiving time in Atlantica Online has never been so festive, as we are introducing two new in-game event items this year. Players will be introduced to an NPC who will offer them a special Thanksgiving quest. The rewards for fulfilling that quest are new additions to your formation, as well as a new clothing item for your avatar.
Avatar's third dev diary is all about choices
Okay, okay – we'll admit that the transparent dry erase board thing is a bit on the "too much" side of things, but Avatar's third dev diary contains enough interesting information about the game in it otherwise that we feel okay forgiving the clip's director. The emphasis here is on the game's many choices, and, more specifically, the one major choice which mirrors the movie's plot. Will you choose the path of the human and murder a tall blue alien ... thing, or stand up for all that is righteous and good in the world? The choice is yours (you monster!). %Gallery-70590%
The aesthetics of Black Prophecy's Genide faction
We had some good news about Black Prophecy the other day and how things are looking up for the game's developer Reakktor Media. We're hoping more info will be revealed about the game in the coming months, and now they've released a dev blog on the art direction of the game's Genide faction. Whereas the Tyi faction is a cybernetic offshoot of humanity the Genides embrace biogenetic manipulation in their pursuit of perfection. The aesthetics of what the Genides have become is the focus of Black Prophecy Art Director Nick Ebenhoch's dev diary. Nick kicks it off by explaining the significance of the Genide faction logo and what the symbol was designed to represent. Unlike the more utilitarian Tyi faction which favors a modular complexity, the Genide's cleaner, minimalist aesthetic sense permeates everything they create. This is seen in the smooth and tall look of their various space ships, which have vertical wing orientation rather than the standard horizontal orientation typically seen on such vessels, explains Nick.
Assassin's Creed 2's final dev diary takes us into Ezio's villa
Like so many fancy Italian citizens in the Renaissance, Assassin's Creed 2's Ezio Auditore di Firenze has a sweet villa in the country to run off to whenever he's feeling overburdened by his ... ahem ... work. In this latest (and final) developer diary for next week's big game, we are introduced to the quaint villa where Ezio holds a vacation house. A perfect place to store weapons, explore family relics, and think about the world – a place where he can improve the economy to his own benefit and make life easier for himself. We picture the villa as a fully realized (and mid-1400s-styled) version of GTAIV's many save houses, but, ya know, with assassin stuff instead of gangster stuff. But then again, being an assassin is pretty gangster. Uh oh, this is way too confusing – we'll have to get back to you after Assassin's Creed 2 comes out next week.%Gallery-49869%
The Collectors, and the enemies of Mass Effect 2
Here are some of the creatures that will be wiping out humanity in Mass Effect 2: Collectors – an insect-like race, controlled by a single leader, that has access to the technology that "no one else in the galaxy" has. They can paralyze humans, and according to the video dev diary above, can abduct entire colonies. Oh, and they have beam weapons. Abominations – Husks from the first Mass Effect, but now on fire and 100-percent more suicide bomber-y. Scions – Three transformed human beings that have been grafted together onto a weapon. Essentially, super-zombies. With guns. Batorians – A "flying suit of armor" apparently made of thirty Husks that can "obliterate everything." The Geth will also make a return in Mass Effect 2. Legion, a Geth that has gained sentience, will hunt the player through the adventure, and it'll be up to you to figure out why. Provided your Commander Shepard, um, doesn't die first.
Sam Fisher uses Krav Maga martial art, according to Splinter Cell Conviction dev diary
"We had to find a martial art that fits the characters and the situations he would find himself in," animation director Gilles Monteil tells us in this new dev diary for Splinter Cell Conviction. "We needed something very quick, efficient and brutal -- something without any rules. That's why we chose Krav Maga.""Krav Maga is not a big flashy martial art," game designer Steve Masters adds, which may explain its relative obscurity. Turning to Wikipedia, we discover it has its origins in street fighting and literally means "close combat" in Hebrew, and that the Israeli Defense Force and Special Forces use the martial art to this day. Apparently, stabbing someone in the hand is kosher in a form that has "no rules."
Assassin's Creed 2's Ezio is a really popular guy
We can just see Ezio now, dashing from one social circle to the next like a débutante on her coming out party. And how could we picture anything else after watching the latest developer diary for Assassin's Creed 2, where the game's main character is depicted as a card-carrying socialite. So what if one of those groups happens to be full of vicious mercenaries? They'll help him learn how to fight! And sure, another group might be made up of "courtesans" (see: ladies of the night), but they'll teach him all about sneaking! And another group is full of ... well ... you get the gist, right? The game's handful of factions will assist Ezio as he murders his way through Renaissance Europe. One final thing: even if you don't care about each group, make sure you stick around for the surprise treat nestled after the end splash screen. You'll thank us.%Gallery-49869%
Bayonetta's first dev diary explains protagonist's origins
Platinum Games' Hideki Kamiya and Yusuke Hashimoto may not be taking the story super seriously in upcoming third-person action game Bayonetta, but that doesn't mean no effort was exerted in creating the title character's backstory. As it turns out, she came from the future to kill someone's mother so that ... okay, yeah, we're just making that up. Everyone knows that you couldn't bring back all those fancy guns through time! Duh! It's really that her family was attacked when she was a baby and even though the attacker came after her, she lived and ... alright, it's not that either. Rather than trust ourselves to relay it, we'll just let the developers explain Bayonetta themselves in the video after the break. %Gallery-22955%
