Particles - It's What I Do

Hey, everyone. If you haven't been following my blog or haven't looked at the "about me" section on the side of the page, I am a Game Design student at SCAD. This also means that I make games, but I haven't really posted anything about that on the blog yet...so...why not start now, eh?


Over the past month, I've been helping with a senior project that a few of my friends were doing. We were making a mobile game using UDK. My job on the team was the Technical Artist. As the Technical Artist, I was in charge of some of the more complex materials like water and others that involve glowing, moving, pulsing, or anything else really cool. Along with that, I was also in charge of the particles in the game. Particles are basically the special effects in a game including fire, water spraying, explosions, and other similar things. Rather than describe all of these, I have posted a video of the particles I did to make it more interesting.



Also, Dead Island releases on the 6th...which is actually in about an hour. And that's when it unlocks on Steam. I am personally pretty excited about the game because its a zombie game on a tropical island. Since tropical islands are awesome and zombies are fun to kill, this game sounds like it might be promising. But you can't judge a game until you have played it, so I will post later with my review of it.


Another thing that needs to be pointed out is a new "project" I'm going to be working on over the next few weeks or so. It can be found here http://thezombievacationjournal.blogspot.com/ . So keep an eye on that page for an update in the near future.


That's all I have for now. As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know in the comments. Also be sure to follow the blog and twitter. Thanks for reading and happy gaming!

An Incredible Indie Game - Terraria

Hey, everyone. It's been far too long since my last post. I usually get busy with school but right now is the summer so there is no excuse for taking so long to post...and for that, I apologize. I keep saying that I will keep posting more often but that always ends up making me post less, so I'm gonna skip that part this time around.

Before I get into the main topic of this post, I'll start out with my list of upcoming games I'm looking forward to.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. Dead Island
3. Battlefield 3
4. Star Wars: The Old Republic (Which has also recently been available to pre-purchase...and has a release date for THIS year!)

In other news, Dungeon Defenders is still not out yet. And there is still no release date set in stone. Maybe it will come out before November, the month that it was originally supposed to come out last year.

Also, for those of you who love cheap games, Steam is a great way to get a variety of games for cheap. Especially since they started having a daily sale that changes each day in addition to their usual weekly sale and weekend sale. Sometimes they will even have special sales events (like a summer sale) in which many different games are on sale for a week or two. In the summer sale that just passed, I bought an incredible indie game for only $2.50 (it was actually supposed to be a $5 sale but someone goofed when it went on sale.) Some of you may have heard of this little game called Terraria.

When I say little game, I mean in terms of hard disk space. But this game has an enormous amount of content packed into a little package. It's even more incredible when the game took less than 6 months to make and has been one of the most played games on Steam since it's release. Another added bonus is the free content updates that the developers have promised.

I like to describe Terraria as a mix of 2-D Minecraft and the old side-scrolling Castlevania games. It's also, in my opinion, really well designed because it rewards the player for exploration at just the right intervals to keep the player interested and satisfied without getting bored or tired. There are also events that happen throughout the game, some by chance and others by using certain items, and these events also keep the game exciting and, at times, intense.

Another great aspect of the game is the social aspect. This game can be played completely in single-player, but the developers really wanted it to be experienced as a multi-player game. The multi-player can support up to 8 people on the same world by default and as many as 24 or more if server mods are used. Lately, I have been playing with a few of my friends and have had a lot more fun than I probably would have if I had stuck to single-player.

The whole point of the game is to mine (or dig), explore, create, and fight monsters. The creating can be anything from buildings to furniture to weapons and armor and many other things. It's these different activities in the game that all work together to make something that feels very rewarding when you play it.

I recently had an event happen in the world that my friends and I play on called a Goblin Army in which we received a message at the bottom of the screen telling us that a Goblin Army was approaching. After a few minutes, we were surrounded by goblins on both sides of our house (that we built) and had to defend ourselves until we had defeated the entire goblin army. It's events like this and others that really keep me from getting bored quickly.

The screenshot below is one that I took while fighting the goblin army.


(click on picture for larger size)

If, after reading this post, I have given you any interest in Terraria. I highly recommend checking out this piece of indie gold. The original price of the game is $10 which is very cheap for a project of this quality. Until next time, happy gaming!

Hidden Gem

Hey everyone. It's been a while. I was very busy with finals the past few weeks. Anyway, it was a good quarter and I'm glad it's over.

When the quarter was finished, I purchased HOMEFRONT. Since I pre-ordered it via Steam, I also received a free copy of Metro 2033. HOMEFRONT had a good story but it was a bit short. The single-player can be finished in about 5 hours but the multiplayer is the addicting part of the game.

But this post isn't about HOMEFRONT. This post is about Metro 2033. For those of you who don't know, Metro 2033 is a game set in Russia in the year 2033. An apocalyptic event has occurred and mutant demon creatures have taken over the surface. Radiation is everywhere and humans have been forced to live in the subways and tunnels underground. Sound like a pretty solid concept, right? Well it was released about a year ago and it was one game I feel did not receive enough attention.

I had heard of Metro 2033 when it came out but did not see too much about it. Probably because some big title belonging to a well known franchise had come out and stolen the attention. Or perhaps it was the lack of multiplayer in today's market of competitive gamers. Either way, I'm gonna give this gem what it deserves.

I know I already said that it had a lack of multiplayer, but Metro 2033's single-player experience makes up for it. The story is an interesting concept but perhaps a little bit cliche or similar to other stories from books, movies, and other games. The way the story is told is incredible though. Immersion plays a big part in helping to tell the story because you never leave your character's view. You may not always have complete control over your character but you never completely lose control either.

For the most part, there aren't many cutscenes in the game. Most of the scenes that help to drive the story along are scripted events in which NPCs talk to one another but you still have control over your entire body and/or your head, depending on the event. The game doesn't really break immersion, which really gets me into the game's story.

The graphics are also impressive, with support for DirectX 9, 10, and 11. The lighting and environment effects help to improve the games atmosphere. The tunnels underground have an interesting haziness about them which prevents seeing things from far away...which, in turn, provide for some spooky moments.

The sound also adds to the experience with more ambient sounds than music. The sound definitely creeps me out with growls of mutants coming from far off in the smoky distant tunnels and ghostly sounds of anomalies and other supernatural things.

Most people are probably thinking that no game is this good without a little bad. Well, the game isn't perfect. The AI are a little slow sometimes but most of the time they are pretty challenging. Though, my main issue are the bugs. Sometimes the game will mess up if an animation or cutscene is skipped or interrupted, leaving the player with no ability to use any weapons, look at their objective journal, or do any other actions. However, there are many checkpoints in this game and players can load any checkpoint from any chapter in the game to play through (granted the checkpoint has been reached at least once). Loading the game from the previous checkpoint will fix this bug and I've only had to do this one time.

All in all, Metro 2033 is an interesting, worth-while single-player experience that is a bit of a hidden gem. I recommend checking it out if you are looking for an immersive experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat. And it's only $20 on Steam!

As always, thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

Updates

Hey everyone. Just a short post today. It's a new year and that means a lot of games can come out in the next 12 months.

To start off, Star Wars: The Old Republic might come out this year. The developers have announced that they are anticipating a spring 2011 release but I would not be surprised if it is later. However, I know that BioWare will only delay it to improve it.

The Nintendo 3DS might also come out this year. I am really curious as to how well it will sell. I would like one but will most people be able to switch to a 3D gaming platform? As long as there has been 3D games, there has been the debate about whether or not it is good. The 3DS has also been given a early 2011 released date.

As far as Diablo 3 is concerned...there is not a release date yet. Many fans are speculating at summer 2011 but all that Blizzard tells us is "When it's done".

Minecraft entered Beta on December 20th which means the game is closer to completion! The game can be purchased for 25% off while it is in Beta and all future updates will be free. I recommend everyone to try out the free creative mode at www.minecraft.net. For more info on Minecraft, check out my previous posts or just click on the Minecraft tag at the bottom of this post.

There were a ton of great sales on Steam over the past two weeks. Today is the last day so if you haven't seen them, go check them out now. Not all the games are on sale but there are enough for everyone to find something they like.

My stomach is telling me that it's dinner time. Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

News Update

Hey, everyone! Lots of new things going on in the world of games and many of which I am pretty excited about. So let's just get to it.

First and foremost...a series I have been waiting to hear about for a few years has finally announced something big. I'm sure most people have heard of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but not everyone realizes that it is actually the fourth game in the series. A few days ago, the fifth game in the series was announced with a name, trailer, and release date!

I do not own anything in the video nor to I claim to own it.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been set to release on November 11th, 2011. That's less than a year away! Let's see if it this date will stay or change. It has also been revealed that it will use a brand new engine!

Another big thing I'm excited about is Minecraft going into Beta. If you have never played Minecraft before, click on the link and play the the classic single-player minecraft for free just to get a taste of what can be done in the game. It is currently in Alpha but will be going into Beta on December 20th! This doesn't mean the game is almost finished. In is actually far from finished. The developer still plans to put a lot more content into the game. If you buy the game while it is in Alpha, you can get it for 50% off and get all future updates for free. But I guess I should answer the question...what is Minecraft?

Minecraft is a simple game in which the player mines, builds, fights, and survives. But there is a lot of depth in this simple game. Players can farm, build, mine, craft, create, fight, and more. This is the amount of things to do currently implemented with more to come. There are some fun physics in the game as well as dynamic lighting. The classic free mode is fun but only gives you a small taste of the things that can be done. Try it for yourself to see exactly what I mean.

It is also getting very close to the release of Dungeon Defenders (I hope). The game was already delayed due to some issues with consoles and their weird policies, but this is not a bad thing. The developers have already promised us even more content because of the delay. Dungeon Defenders is a tower-defense action role-playing game. Think of it as tower-defense meets Diablo. It is played from a third-person point of view in which you control a single person who can place defenses. The Diablo aspect of the game comes with the fighting. You can use your character to fight off the monsters invading your castle so the defenses you place to have to do all the work. With killing monsters comes loot...also much like diablo. And who doesn't like getting better equipment. I'm looking forward to this game very much.

And did I mention that Dungeon Defenders was made in the Unreal Development Kit (UDK)? This makes me even more excited because I know how to use UDK and it shows just how powerful this development tool is.

That's about all the major news that I am currently excited about. As always, keep an eye on Steam for good deals on games. Especially since Christmas is just around the corner. Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

New GoldenEye Site

Hey, everyone. Just a quick update. I have a twitter account now for my blog.

In other news, the GoldenEye website in my last blog post has had a major update. Everyone should go check it out. If you look carefully, you will find small puzzles and hidden objects around the site. On top of that, there is more to come in the future! So click here to see the awesome new website for the upcoming Wii exclusive. Also be sure to see the new Multiplayer trailer here.

Steam is having a weekend sale this weekend. You can get the Stalker bundle for 75% off this weekend. That's 2 games for only $10!

Here is the link to my twitter account. Please follow me. Thanks!

Lately, I have been playing Oblivion...again. If you have never played it, check it out. You will thank yourself for it.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please follow me if you liked the post (you can find that off to the right side). If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

GoldenEye and More Steam

Hello, again. The final game I'm most looking forward to is GoldenEye 007 for the Wii. And with a November release date, I don't have to wait very long.

This game doesn't need a long explanation. Anyone who remembers playing the original GoldenEye for the Nintendo 64 will find this game very familiar. It is a remake of that classic game. Most of the game will be the same except with a "facelift". There will be a few differences in the single player storyline and Pierce Brosnan, who played Bond in the movie, will be replaced with the current Bond actor, Daniel Craig.

Another big plus about this game is something that could not have been incorporated in the first one due to the technology at the time...online multiplayer! Most people kept playing the original because the of the multiplayer. It was a perfect game to play with a few of your buddies and now you can play with your buddies with having to leave your house! The online multiplayer will allow up 8 people and will have 16 different modes including "paintball" and "melee only".

And with this game being a Wii exclusive, things are looking up for the future of the Wii. I will keep my ears open for more news about this version of GoldenEye. You can look forward to owning this game in November.

The Steam QuakeCon 2010 sale today is Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition. It is on sale for 50% off today only! Or you can buy the complete QuakeCon 2010 Pack, almost $300 worth of games for just $70.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please follow me if you liked the post (you can find that off to the right side). If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Star Wars and Steam!

Hey, everyone. My second game I am most looking forward to is Star Wars: The Old Republic. And today, the good people at BioWare have released some more information about the Jedi Knight class in the game.

The Jedi Knight class will be split into Guardian and Sentinel. The Guardian side of the class will be able to take more damage but will lack in the damage dealing. The Sentinel will not be able to take as much damage but will be able to deal a lot more damage than its Guardian counterpart. You can check out the Jedi Knight class here or watch the trailer for the Jedi Knight class below.

Please note that I do not own this video. It belongs to BioWare and Lucasarts.

Now, what makes this MMORPG stand out from the rest of the MMO's out there today? This MMO is fully voiced. FULLY VOICED! That means everything that any character in the game will say has actual audio to go with it! And the decisions you make with your character will affect your character's story. Even though I'm not quite sure how this will work with an MMO, I think that BioWare will be able to do it well because of their previous experience with things like this.

Although making the game fully voiced makes it easier for people who would rather listen instead of read, it also helps to make the game more immersive. This is not just a good thing, this is a great thing. The more immersive a game is, the harder it will be for people to stop playing it. As a game design student, I believe immersion is a key factor to think about when working on a game.

Come back at a later date for more updates on this game. On another note, Steam's QuakeCon 2010 Sale today is Doom. They are selling every Doom game for 66% off! Or you can buy the Doom bundle and save even more! Buying the bundle will give you every Doom game for $14.00! That's right. That's not a typo.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please, follow me if you liked the post (you can find that off to the right side). If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Diablo 3

Hey. So my last post was a list of the top 3 games I'm looking forward to most. The top game is Diablo 3 from Blizzard Entertainment.

Even though there has not been much information on this game yet, there is enough for me to get excited about it. I think it also helps that Diablo 2 is one of my favorite games of all time and the third one is looking to bring back the hack and slash gameplay that everyone loved about Diablo 2. It also looks like it will be bringing in some fresh new gameplay, too. This time around, the environments will be interactive. For example, you can break pillars to crumble down on your enemies or simply just push enemies off a ledge into darkness.

For anyone who enjoys cinematics, go to the official Diablo 3 website, click on media, and scroll down to watch the cinematic trailer. This cinematic is and excellent example of the cinematics seen in the Diablo series of games.

I will bring more updates about this game when more information is released. Blizzcon 2010 is coming up in October so there may be more updates about this game around that time.

On a side note, Steam is having a different sale everyday for the next few days in celebration of QuakeCon 2010. Today's deals are The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition and the Deluxe Edition. Check back everyday for new deals on games from Bethesda and Id.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Alien Swarm

About a week ago, Valve released Alien Swarm for free through their Steam client for PC and I've been strangely addicted to it since I downloaded it. Alien Swarm is a tactical, co-op shooter with an overhead view.

Normally, I don't play too many tactical shooters, but this one is fast-paced so I don't fall asleep while team members are planning everything out. It is also easy to get into the action and plenty of variety becomes available early on. The missions are pretty short with each one lasting about 10 minutes on average. In fact, the whole game is pretty short and can be played through in an hour or so with a good group, but the game is free so there shouldn't be any complaining. Even though it is a short experience, there is a lot of replay value with 4 different difficulties, 4 different character classes, and a ton of weapons and items to unlock.

In the game, you will begin to see more items and weapons become available as you play. Your Steam account saves your progress in the game as you level up. When you level up, more stuff is unlocked and you can use it. This becomes useful because there are items that are improvements upon standard equipment (i.e. the medic can unlock an item that heals group members faster). The difficulties are similar to those of Left4Dead2 if you are familiar with another great game from Valve. Normal difficulty will provide a nice challenge for new players and the higher difficulties will do the same for more experienced players who have unlocked more equipment.

My favorite part of Alien Swarm is the co-op aspect. I love games that involve working with other players to accomplish an objective, and this game does it very well. The co-op aspect of this game also helps to shorten the learning curve because other experienced players can tell you what weapons to use and when to use them. I highly recommend trying this game. It is a great product from Valve. And why not try it? Since the game is completely free, you have absolutely nothing to lose.

Thanks for reading. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.