What we’re currently working on;

-Building a simple 2D tile based game engine

Building the game engine is going to be one of the most time consuming and challenging steps in the project.

-Creating basic concept art

Designing the physical appearance for each of the playable races in the game, designing items such as weapons and armor styles, and environment samples.

-Gameplay Mechanics

Designing the combat system; we are currently planning an innovative magic/spell casting system and an improved melee combat system that allows players to take advantage of their particular weapon type.

-Storyline, history, cultures, characters, and character dialogue

The game will feature a very original storyline and an impressive variety of characters, races, and cultures for players to interact with.

I once told a friend that there has to be some kind of checklist of topics that every rap song must include, because I keep hearing the same themes in different rap songs over and over again.

My list sample;

1. I’m so rich
2. I’m so great
3. I’m tough
4. I get all the women
5. I shoot people
6. I sell drugs

I think there might be some more that I’m leaving out…but you get the idea.

Well, I’m not the only one who noticed this trend and the video below is great. Super Content Warning – Foul/Sexual Language (Nothing you wouldn’t find in a real Rap song though)

How long does it take for the Raccoon City Police Department to book someone they’ve arrested? You need a key, but its in some statue, but you need a pendent first, and you need to light a fireplace to get a hidden gem from a painting. Its amazing any work gets done there….

So is there some eccentric architect running around the world designing off the wall mansions and police stations?

No these are puzzles and they can be both a useful and innovative way to enhance gameplay.

The Concept

Puzzles can be a fun way to exercise our minds, but they can also serve many other clever functions during gameplay.

The Benefits

Puzzles can be an important form of covert control over a player’s actions. Designers can effectively guide players where they want them to go by placing the appropriate items to solve puzzles at certain places in levels. For example, you can guide the player to a cutscene trigger or a scripted scene to advance the story.

Also, imagine Resident Evil 1 or Resident Evil 2 without puzzles for a moment. How quickly could you beat the games without them? The puzzles make the games feel longer than they really are, and create more game content in relatively small levels. Finally, there is the feeling of accomplishment that comes when a puzzle is completed, which can make it an important part of a game’s reward and punishment system.

All right let me preface this rant by stating that I feel odd criticizing developers at one of the biggest game studios in the world, as I am a student on the lowest rung of the ladder who is just trying to make it, but I’m too much of a fan of the Command and Conquer series that I need to vent.

There will be no base building in Command and Conquer 4, all units will be produced by one massive mobile structure named The Crawler. There will be no harvesting resources on maps, and you will be fighting to capture and hold control points instead of wiping your enemy off the map. If you your Crawler gets destroyed you simply respawn and continue to battle. That’s not the end of it, there will also be a maximum unit cap.

And no this is serious, it’s not an early April Fool’s joke.

EA producer Jim Vessella said this concerning the radical idea

“I think in terms of serving the hardcore market, that we usually call the classic base-on-base RTS gameplay, we’ve served them pretty well. I think Red Alert 3 was a great game for that type of audience, Starcraft 2 is going to a great example of a game for that type of audience.

But what we found was that it’s really tough for new players to come in and play a game like RA3, especially those who didn’t grow up in the generation of that style, who didn’t go through the days of C&C, Starcraft and Warcraft II. So what you’ve seen is that the market’s just shrunk a little bit and shrunk a little bit and shrunk a little bit…

So what we want to do is try and open it up to a new generation of gamers who want to try strategy but are too intimidated to go and play online in a Starcraft II match, cos they’re gonna get Zerged rushed. So I wouldn’t say that the genre’s failed – I’d say that it needs a bit of a kickstart to bring in new players. It just needs to evolve a little bit. I think we’ve seen that happen in other genres as well, over the years.”

So to translate what Vessella said, they are changing the gameplay, so that casual gamers don’t have to think too much about building structures or managing map resources.

Casual gamers have not been the core audience/fan base whose dollars have kept the series they love so much going for over a decade now. If they want to play a game where they don’t have to think/plan/strategize too much, let them go find another game. There is a reason why fans go to internet forums and endlessly debate strategies…because its fun!

Base building and resource collecting/management are core gameplay mechanics of Command and Conquer and many other popular RTS games. They have served the genre well for a long time and they also play an integral role in player strategy, without them you really only have half a game.

Having no unit cap, allows players who harvest and control more resources to create more units than their opponent, which is realistic. If you don’t want to be simply overwhelmed by your opponent than you better develop map control skills.

Unless the developers of Command and Conquer 4 can pull off something really new and spectacular with the combat units, I don’t think the game will be as good as its predecessors.

Lastly, Command and Conquer 4 will be the final installment in the Tiberian storyline, so this is how it’s going to end.

The majority of fans aren’t liking it ……WOW WHAT A SURPRISE……..and it looks like the game is too far into production for there to be any changes. So if you hate what is being done you are not alone, here are some quotes from angry fans on forums and other blogs.

-“I won’t be getting C&C4 as it seems its soul has been removed.”

-‘When i read; ‘Mobile base, no base building.’ I felt my anticipation to this sequel drop from 100 to 0.1 – 0.05”

-“no base building in the upcoming C&C4 (WHAT?! WHY? That’s crazy)”

-“What the ****? No bases? Thats the stupidest thing I’ve heard.”

-“I know I have always been the one that was like “so what if it deviates from the old CNC, these changes made the game better!” but this is just going too far. This is just not a command and conquer game anymore. Mobile bases, tiberium no longer a resource, your freaking base respawns after being destroyed, etc. etc. I don’t care if CNC4 gameplay turns out to be ****ing amazing, I just cannot accept this game as the finale of the great CNC legacy.”

EA gets a ton of criticism for the quality of its games, and I used to defend them by pointing to the outstanding game Command and Conquer: Generals and its expansion Zero Hour. I hope the critics and myself are wrong and that this somehow turns out to be the best game in the series.

/END RANT

However, I found this and it made me laugh.

Possible Resonance Cascade Scenario in the making………

Throughout the Half-Life series Gordon Freeman never says a word, but what was he thinking with all the craziness going on around him?

When you combine the Black Mesa research facility, an experiment gone horribly wrong, hostile aliens, and a disgruntled MIT graduate in Theoretical Physics, you get one hilarious youtube series. Ross Scott gives voice to the inner thoughts of Gordon Freeman in Freeman’s Mind. If you’re a fan of Half-Life then you are going to love this.

Here is James with a Marlin model 60, chambered in 22LR. The Marlin 60 is semi-automatic and has a 14 round tubular magazine.

Here is James with a Saiga rifle, chambered in 7.62x39mm. The Saiga is a semi-automatic civilian variant of the AK-47 platform and has a 15 round detachable magazines.

Here I am with the Saiga

In these videos, we are shooting the Saiga rifle at the 50 yard range. Disclaimer: Numerous pieces of target paper where harmed in the making of this film.

James

Me

We shot a couple of other guns that day, but I forgot to take pictures of them, so I found some pictures from the internet.

Mosin-Nagant 91/30 with Bayonet

The Mosin-Nagant 91/30 is a bolt action rifle with a 5 round internal magazine. The Mosin-Nagant was the main infantry rifle of Russian soldiers during World War I and World War II. It fires a 7.62x54mm round, which packs a lot of punch, and you will feel it in your shoulder every time you pull the trigger.

Sig Sauer Mosquito

The Sig Sauer Mosquito is a semiautomatic double action handgun chambered in 22LR, and uses 10 round magazines. The gun is pretty accurate and a lot of fun to shoot.

Venezuela To Ban Violent Video Games

http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/wjw-news-venezuela-bans,0,6176663.story

Reading this reminded me of something that happened a while back. In 2004 I managed to make it to E3, the largest video game conference in North America. Besides running around to see all the game previews, fan fun, and tech demos, I attended a couple of game industry seminars where guest speakers discussed a variety of topics such as creating good games, and evaluating game markets.

One seminar I attended discussed the burgeoning video game market in China. This seminar only had one speaker, and instead of sending a game developer or someone at least connected in some way to the field to speak to the audience, the Chinese government sent a Communist bureaucrat. The bureaucrat explained how all games developed in China first had to receive approval by his office before they were allowed to be created and released. To this man censoring ideas and words was not only acceptable, it was natural.

It was something I had personally never witnessed before, but it was important to understand. This was different from occasionally hearing a few loud mouth U.S. politicians crying “Won’t somebody please think of the children!” and blaming the ills of society on things like a nameless pixilated space marine who blasts hordes of monsters with a chaingun. This was real censorship, real oppression: bold and shameless.

I value freedom of speech and freedom of expression. I feel that it must be protected, because there are people in the world that would take it away from you in an instant. Never forget it.

Oh and by the way, video games have a rating system. Developers are not responsible for what your children play, you as a parent are.

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp

Counter Strike for Kids!

R.I.P. Duke, there never was an FPS hero with more attitude and better one-liners

Well this may be it, Duke may be dead. Duke Nukem Forever, the LONG awaited sequel in the Duke Nukem series may have been officially cancelled. As most fans know, Duke Nukem Forever has been in production for around twelve years. The average game takes around two and a half to finish. No one really knows for sure what went on behind the scenes that caused the incredible delay.

During development the studio declared its release day to be “when it’s done.”

So people began calling it Duke Nukem….FOREVER and Duke Nukem Never.

Hitler took the news especially hard, and this may be the real reason why he committed suicide…

Warning video contains dirty and hilarious content.

Publisher Take-Two Interactive is now suing 3D Realms over the canceled project and the lost money they invested.

There may be hope on the horizon for the army of loyal fans who have been waiting well over a decade for the return of Duke Nukem. Shacknews reports that Gearbox Software was mentioned in Take-Two’s lawsuit with 3D Realms, and that Gearbox is currently developing a prequel in the Duke Nukem series.

The mystery character is a character that we know very little about, yet many times plays an absolutely crucial role in the storyline of a game. The less we know the more intriguing the character is to the players.

The Benefits

Besides simply being interesting, there is an incredible degree of flexibility with this approach. If you don’t have a complete story, for example one that evolves as sequels are created, your character is not penned in a box. The character has more possibilities for development and the storyline could take interesting turns.

Examples

I’m going to use two of my favorite mystery characters as great examples of this. They both share similar traits. Both seemingly have special, sometimes superhuman powers, and both have mysterious motives and goals in the storyline.

#1 – The “G-Man” (Half-Life Series)

The G-Man

Rise and shine Mr. Freeman, rise and shine…..

The G-Man is a mysterious character in the Half-Life series who with inexplicable powers exerts influence over the protagonist/player Gordon Freeman

The name “G-Man” was created and spread by the players, after some found the character model’s name in the game’s engine. A name for the character has never been given by the developers and no other game characters have stated a name. The phrase “G-Man” is a real term that is used to refer to government agents.

During Half-Life 1, silent protagonist Gordon Freeman (the player) will sometimes catch a brief glimpse of the G-Man as he progresses through the Black Mesa research facility. The G-Man always appears to be watching you, always out of reach, and this created a very creepy effect. One of my most memorable experiences of Half-Life 1 was attempting to follow the G-Man around a corner to only arrive at a dead end with him nowhere to be found.

In Half-Life 1, the G-Man may have intentionally caused Earth to be invaded and conquered by alien forces. However, after completing Half-Life 2, it becomes apparent that the G-Man places Gordon Freeman in the right place (the start of the game) to trigger a series of events that lead to a desired outcome, the partial liberation of Earth from the alien forces. The G-Man’s words at the start of the game to the player/Gordon Freeman come true. “The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference”

So whose side is the G-Man on, or is he on any side? He occasionally makes references to his “employers” but nothing more. He has the ability to teleport, slow down time, and is seemingly omnipotent or at least able to predict certain outcomes. The goals of the G-Man are still unknown.

So who is the G-Man? Is he human, a government agent, an alien, or something else?

Alien theory proponents point to the G-Man’s awkwardness whenever he talks, stating that he is not comfortable with speaking the English language.

Some believe that he is a government agent with access to advanced technology.

Others believe that he is actually the protagonist Gordon Freeman from the future, believing that the word G-Man is another way of saying Gordon Freeman.

Until more is revealed in the upcoming sequel Half-Life 3, the debate rages on.

# 2 – Kane (Command and Conquer: Tiberium Series)

Rejoice Children of Nod! The prophet is here and he brings the technology of peace!

Kane (The Messiah!)

Command and Conquer is a real time strategy game that follows a futuristic war between two factions. On one side is the United Nations Global Defense Initiative or GDI for short. On the other is the Brotherhood of Nod, an army of fanatical followers of a man named Kane who claims to be a messiah.

In the storyline, a meteorite crashes onto Earth, seeding it with a new plant that would come to be called Tiberium. Kane is a charismatic leader who prophesized that it would arrive on Earth. Tiberium emits deadly radiation, and spreads rapidly, however Kane creates technology that harvests it and unlocks its power. GDI views Tiberium as a threat, while Kane views it as beneficial and necessary for humanity.

The entire story is told through wonderfully cheesy live action videos that fans have come to love and appreciate.

Kane makes an appearance in the alternate game series Command and Conquer: Red Alert, where he works as an advisor to Stalin. Red Alert takes place in the 1950s while the Tiberium series takes place between 2000 to 2050. Kane never shows any signs of aging despite this timeline.

Kane is seemingly killed several times throughout the game series, yet always reemerges to lead the Brotherhood of Nod. Also like the G-Man from the Half-Life series, Kane appears to be able to predict certain outcomes in the near future, and Kane never clearly states his end goals.

Who is Kane, or quite possibly what is Kane?

The fans debate on and on…..

Is Kane the biblical Cain? Some of his supporting characters in the game series seem to think so, although Kane never says anything himself to confirm this. The hints might be there. Kane is seemingly immortal, there is the name Nod where Cain goes to live in the bible, and Kane’s enemies seem to suffer greatly (biblical 7 fold vengeance) whenever they “defeat” him.

Is Kane a time traveler who uses this ability to see the future, learn about advanced technology, and seemingly defy death? Time travel was available in the Command and Conquer: Red Alert series where Kane makes an appearance. Time travel would certainly explain his foreknowledge.

Is Kane merely one of an endless series of clones that is created upon each death?

Is Kane an alien? Is this why he has superior knowledge of Tiberium and the technology to unlock its potential? There are aliens in the Command and Conquer: Tiberium storyline.

The interesting thing is, all of these could fit into the Command and Conquer universe and it wouldn’t surprise the player.

The Interesting Results

A simple search of videos of these characters on YouTube will yield pages of video comments of Half-Life and Command and Conquer fans debating on who these characters are and what their real goals are.

You will find the same in many video game forums, consisting of page after page, where people not only state their beliefs, but will cite various parts of the games to back up their arguments. The debate never ends! You know that you have created an incredible character when people spend hours of their free time arguing points of view.

I will conclude with this…..You can’t kill the messiah.

Kane for president 2012!!!!  YES WE KANE!!!!!!