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Telling stories: Balancing gameplay v. narrative
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.How important are stories? How about endings? Over the next week this diverse group of personalities sounds off on these and other story-driven topics, starting today as we open up by asking whether or not narrative shares an equal burden as gameplay in carrying the video game experience.
All the Moon that's fit to watch
The audience seems a bit torn on the recently-delayed Moon, and considering the fact that Renegade Kid's first title, Dementium, saw the same sort of split in audience, it's familiar ground we're treading. Also familiar is the constant flow of media, which is never a bad thing. Not sure where you stand on Moon? Perhaps this new pack of videos will help you out.
A little Moon footage to tide you over
Moon may be delayed, but that doesn't mean Renegade Kid is going to make you suffer without getting peeks at the game. Not only did we recently get to check out a batch of new screens, but they've released a combat-heavy new trailer, too. With all the pretty, pretty lights in this footage, we kinda felt like we need a glow stick and a pair of very large pants in order to get the full effect. Gallery: Moon
Screens from a distant Moon
We're stuck waiting until January to play the atmospheric sci-fi first-person shooter Moon ... so here are some screens to make the wait more painful. Oh, well, it's supposed to take a long time to reach the moon, right?It's amazing how well Renegade Kid seems to be setting the tone for the game. Even while looking at tiny, still images on our monitors, we get a feeling of isolation -- like someone trapped inside an impermeable suit in a completely still, desolate landscape. Dementium may be the "horror" game, but this is a lot scarier in a way -- we can relate to extreme loneliness a lot more easily than monsters.
DS FPS Moon eclipses into January 2009
Publisher Mastiff sent word that the lunar orbit for its Renegade Kid-developed Moon has degraded, knocking back the DS first-person shooter from its previously announced November release date until January 13, 2009. As for the why, Mastiff top dog Bill Swartz tells Joystiq, "Moon is too important a product to rush it out the door, just to make a holiday," leaving us to wait another month before we land on the big ball of cheese looking for things to shoot with the stylus.
M-O-O-N, that spells delayed [update]
Moon, Renegade Kid's next atmospheric DS shooter, was initially set for release in the middle of this month, but if Amazon is to be believed (as well as reader Adam), looks like we won't be up for any handheld space exploration until mid-January. If Moon is delayed, that may be a little disappointing for us, sure, but in the long run, it may be better for the game, so it doesn't get lost in the holiday rush. We haven't seen an official statement on the delay, but for now, we're trusting Amazon and thinking January.As a side note, the box art on Amazon is slightly different, too; it's a little darker, with the face and the reflections in the helmet a little more clearly defined. Perhaps the game itself is getting a last-minute tune-up as well.[Update: Mastiff sent out a press release confirming the delay. Moon is now scheduled for January 13.][Thanks, Adam!]
NASA demos 2020's 12-wheeled, pressurized lunar rover concept car
We've all seen black and white footage of astronauts on the moon hot doggin' it over craters and dunes in a trick electric buggy, but that was over thirty years ago. In 2020, when a new generation of astronauts head there, they'll need a new generation of whip too, and that's just what NASA recently demonstrated to the public. Called the Small Pressurized Rover Concept, it looks to be an evolution of the 12-wheeled Chariot prototype we saw earlier this year, pimped out with an air-tight cabin that sleeps two and some bitchin' gold dubs. Inside a pair of explorers can go lunar RVing for up to two weeks at a time, covering 625 miles on one charge at a leisurely 6 mph, hopping out through rear-mounted (non-next-gen) spacesuits when something interesting catches their eye. You know, like aliens or something. Could happen. [Thanks, Peter D.]
NASA looking to go nuclear on the moon
As we've seen, NASA has some pretty big plans for the moon (which may or may not come to fruition), and it's now finally offering up a solution for how it might keep everything powered. Turns out, it's looking at going nuclear -- with a fission surface power system, to be specific. That system, seen above in an artist's concept, would consist of nuclear reactor buried below the lunar surface (which provides some handy radiation shielding), with the engines that convert the heat energy into electricity placed in the tower above the reactor -- those long radiators would "radiate into space" any leftover heat energy that wasn't converted to electricity. All told, the system promises to generate a steady 40 kilowatts of electric power, or enough for about eight houses on Earth, but with NASA's various power-saving measures, they say that'd be more than enough to sustain a serious lunar outpost.
Watch someone else access the Moon website
If you're a traditionalist and you want to go off and access the new Moon website yourself, you can. We guess. But why would you want to do that when you can instead sit back and watch Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham visit the site for you?Watsham's latest post on his IGN developer's blog doesn't include an actual link to the new site -- just the video of Watsham showing off the features. If you want to do something as renegade as checking out Moon for yourself, you have to get the link from the video.Keep an eye out in the future for the special limited edition Moon pack, which features not an actual game (as if), but instead, video of Watsham playing it. If you preorder, they throw in an artbook filled with shots of people who aren't you looking at the concept art.%Gallery-20245%
DS Daily: Moon
Click for hi-res version Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham recently posted this Moon boxart on his IGN blog, along with the planned back of the box. So, armchair analysts ... what do you think?%Gallery-20245%
Next-gen NASA spacesuit contract mothballed
It may be true that no one can hear you scream in space, but we'd be wagering that a whole lot of people can hear the yelling coming out of Houston-based Oceaneering International, Inc., who just lost their two month old $745 million NASA contract to build the next-gen space suit. Of course, the bid was not without its fair share of bitching and moaning by competing contractors (apparently long time space suit-makers Hamilton Sundstrand and ILC Dover made a big stink after the contract was awarded to their upstart competitor), but them's the breaks when your gear's headed to space. Too bad though, we were really looking forward to the gear -- especially since now we have absolutely nothing to wear to the astro-prom.
NASA delays unmanned trip to the Moon, Moon delays unmanned trip to Earth
NASA has delayed plans to send an unmanned robotic spacecraft to the Moon -- and the pause in action will cost $7 million a month, say reports. According to various news outlets, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was set to blast off for the Big Cheese this December, but officials have decided a February 27th launch will provide the team with more wiggle room. The $491 million device is being sent skyward to circle the Moon's poles and map a safe touchdown spot for actual humans, set to journey up onto the Lunar surface sometime in 2020. In addition to the Orbiter, the space agency plans to launch an impactor probe into one of the Moon's poles in search of water ice. It should be a blast.
New Moon trailer is short, but shows off plenty
We must admit, we're really excited for Moon. Renegade Kid didn't make the perfect game with Dementium, but they did create a moody and atmospheric experience that set a wonderful and scary tone throughout. It looks like they're set to do that again with Moon.Within the trailer above, you'll catch an eyeful of some combat and those oh-so-pretty environments we were swooning over before. Are you just as excited for Renegade Kid's newest FPS?%Gallery-20245%
OSU researcher developing GPS-like system for moon-bound astronauts
GPS on the moon may seem a bit far-fetched... that is, until you remember the US military's plans to launch a WiFi router into space. The same Ohio State University researcher who developed software for the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity is now developing a GPS-like system that would enable astronauts to navigate terrain as if they were simply routing themselves through a plot of land on Earth. Because of the moon's location (we're simplifying things here), Ron Li is having to create a similar system (read: not bona fide GPS) that relies on "signals from a set of sensors including lunar beacons, stereo cameras, and orbital imaging devices" in order to provide navigational output. Everyone involved is hoping to have it operational by 2020 (the next planned trip to the moon), but the team will be stuck testing in the Mojave Desert. Bummer.[Via Physorg]
DS Daily: FPS
The latest footage of Renegade Kid's Moon convinced us (and IGN's Matt Casamassina) that the game could be something special, though a few of you evidently still need some encouragement. In the comments, reader John B. argued that no matter how much impressive technology Renegade Kid throws at Moon, it wouldn't be enough, because first-person shooters just don't work as well on the DS.We're of the opinion that the handheld currently lacks a great FPS, but do you think the DS will ever see a triple-A game in this genre, given its obvious technical limitations?
Moon footage defies gravity, hardware limitations
Renegade Kid's Moon continues to look like the hotness in the latest videos of the game posted by IGN. These are by far the lengthiest direct-feed clips we've seen to date, and display a fluidity and style that managed to leave a strong impression on both us and Matt "I love Zack & Wiki, me" Casamassina."Moon Out-Metroids MP Hunters," proclaims the latest headline on the IGN editor's blog, and that's not just lazy hyperbole -- we actually agree with him.Take a gander at two more videos past the break.Read: Matt Casamassina frothingRead: Gameplay footage%Gallery-20245%
Moon trailer is short, but beautiful
Wait, are we dreaming, or does Moon look this good? We've seen the game in motion before, but not direct-feed like this. Sure, the clip is only seconds long, but those are some lovely graphics over those few seconds. While we'd like to have had some gameplay included in the clip above, we'll certainly take this. It looks like Moon is going to have to be bumped up a couple places on our list of highly-anticipated DS games.%Gallery-20245%
First Moon explorations were on the Game Boy Color
GamesRadar interviewed Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham about the company's upcoming DS sci-fi first-person shooter thing Moon, and about the DS in general. The Dementium creator, like other developers, sees too many cheap me-too DS games being thrown into the market, calling it "the inevitable cash-cow-console catastrophe." One bright spot in recent DS releases? Contra 4. When the subject turns away from the awesome Contra 4 and toward Moon, Watsham reveals that Moon has been in the works in one form or another for a long time. It began its life as a Game Boy Color game, before going through "many changes since that original idea" and ending up as an FPS built on the technology used to create Dementium. Technology that other companies want, and that Renegade Kid is considering licensing.While you're reading, you can also have a look at GamesRadar's new screens -- including a very special codec moment.%Gallery-20245%
NASA's new suits are one giant leap for space fashion
NASA just awarded its future spacesuit contract to Oceaneering International. The US firm must now design, test, and produce two suits -- the default suit (pictured after the break) worn on-board for launch and landing and a second, more versatile, cheese-proof suit worn during space walks and upon the surface of the moon. The suits must be ready for the first scheduled launch of the Orion Space Capsule in 2015. The contract is valued at the government special price of just $745 million. Hey, we have to keep up appearances at the International Space Station, you know.
Nintendo Power promises the moon
As it does every month, Nintendo Power closed its latest issue with a preview of the next installment, guaranteeing updates on Sonic Chronicles, Time Hollow, and Ghostbusters. The magazine's writers also hinted at "a surprise or two," suggesting readers study the Moon image above for hidden clues.Our eyes must be suffering from spring allergies, as we haven't picked up any clues after hours of staring at the page. Will it be a preview of Renegade Kid's Moon? Perhaps another entry for the Harvest Moon series? Or maybe Nintendo Power just wants our attention on the white satellite before it pulling off its grandest, most villainous stratagem yet -- carving its name into the Moon with a laser cannon.Give us your best guesses!
