Author Archivetaking a short break traveling back home to Singapore…hopefully have some fun with what’s left of this Summer break that’s gone by too quickly. im posting from Seoul, Korea. The airport here has free WiFi … San Francisco’s airport didnt… poo. hoping to finish work on a couple self-projects over this short break, as well as work on other projects i’m collaborating with friends on. summer..too..short..especially when like half of it was spent busting my ass with the summer class. kays ciaos. ok this is a rant … thoughts going through my head as i was working on my painting homework all day. earlier yesterday was spending time on another of those MMORPGs (massive-multiplayer-online role-playing-games)..yes i could rant another whole post just about my take on MMOs.. but yesterday, i happen to be chatting to one of the players (usually target audience for these game developers are teenagers if not younger), who happens to be just 13 years of age. what really started me thinking is just how much our society now has changed, we are in the age of “the computer”. My parents and your parents didn’t have the privilege of being able to “send mails electronically at the clik of a button”, they never had the opportunity to “google it”. They were, as i quote from my other literature i’ve read regarding Video Games & our modern society, the Baby Boomers, and we’re Generation X! alright so back to my chat with this kid..this game has an “Upgrade system”, which is pretty much what all MMORPGs thrive on and are designed around. The player has the opportunity, not forced upon, to further enhance his character/avatar of himself, making his/her virtual self stronger, more respected, etc. A “sword+1″ is not as impressive as a “sword+3″. And upgrading it to a “3″ is, a simple feat within the game. You are allowed to enhance your item up to a “10″, which will be the maximum power your character can attain. However, as logic shows it, the further you upgrade, the tougher it will get to achieve that level of power. Getting a “5″ to a “6″ might take you only a few attempts, and going from “6″ to “7″ will more than likely double that number of attempts to achieve. Majority of the players in the game boast anywhere from a “sword+5″ to a “sword+8″. This kid had a fully upgraded item “sword+10″, he had “beaten” the game system in a sense, achieving the highest goal within the game(well there are plenty other goals to achieve within any given game, this was just one). The game designers dont wish for players to be able to reach the max. They want you to keep “trying”, buying upgrade-recipes over and over again, giving the developers your money & time. I talked to him, asking how many times he had to try, to upgrade his “sword+10″. He replied “hundreds”. I asked him “why did you decide to spend your money (virtual game currency) buying upgrade-items to attempt that? You could have just spent your money else where, for example buy a new pair of boots for your character..afterall, everyone in the game knows it’s ground breaking hard to achieve a “+10″ item…you would be left with nothing if you did not get the 10, since you’re spending everything you have to get this 10.” He replied confidently “yes i know, i heard it was a 0.1% chance of success going from 9 to 10 alone…” that’s it right there. that’s what sets children these days apart from “us”. He’s a risk taker. He’s 13, a very young age, and he’s already developed a mindful for taking risks. Yah sure, to him its all just fun and games, but subconsciously, he’s already grasping important life skills that will take him beyond his “friend in the next cubicle”. He did not know how many times he would have to attempt to achieve that “item+10″, he simply went for it, disregarding other temptations or distractions (like a new pair of boots) or that chance that he might come up empty and fail it all. Now compare that to a real life scenario. A good example will be that movie “Pursuit of Happiness” with Will Smith. He struggled at the beginning. He failed some times. It was all not easy. But he had it in him. He was one of the very few at the time to be able to solve a Rubix cube puzzle. Everyone else gave up on the puzzle. Everyone else gave up on life when they ran into troubles. Everyone else gave up on “upgrading that sword further” to get to the top. He saw that “small chance”. This 13 yr old kid saw that “0.1%” chance. There is a chance. Now are you bothered enough to pursue it? How far you going to go.. how much you willing to risk..how many times are you willing to fail..? There’s a chance in life that me, Sam, will achieve my personal goals for life. I’m willing to go all out for it. There. is. a. chance. While the normal-day-average person will settle for a comfortable job, earning in just about good to support his family comfortably, there is that minority that is willing to take risks and push it further. While the average MMORPG player may simply settle for a “sword+8″, there is that minority that will choose to go for the “10″ and risk it all. Many “Life Lessons” in my terms, can be learnt, from playing video games. You just have to Game Responsibly. When i have kids next time, i already know, i’m not gonna be that parent that says “GET OFF THE XBOX & DO YOUR HOMEWORK”. There’s a good book i read a couple years ago now, Got Game, a study about this growing Gamer Generation and how it has changed our society significantly. We can’t hide and lie to ourselves anymore. Video games are, part of our lives now just as much as television and radio is. Embrace it. Everybody wants to win..no one wants to lose. If you want to win today, it’s no harm to pick up 1 game quietly and sit down one evening, give yourself a chance to experience the fun. Good Luck & LOL. Started work on an outside project with Kike... been asked to animate his artwork/illustration he did. this is what we have done today..his illustrations, my animation works.
Animated Version (Requires Flash Player to View) Enjoy & Comments welcomed [: Wooo … yes, again a console development, this one for the Xbox systems.. This is Bennu, for the Xbox Live Arcade. (i think hehe) but it looks like an interesting game design. Casual, yet still seeming to offer a good depth of gameplay..it says it’s unreleased yet, but it looks great so far for a ‘work in progress’ … check out the gameplay videos, its really cool. I digg! hummmm … the gift of programming… or shall i say .. the art of programming. 3d modeling/digital Art is a different field from coding/programming. It takes alot alot of dedication and skill to become a strong Technical Artist (i belive is the name crowned for digital artist that have strong programming skills simultaneously). i’m certainly far from that. And at the present moment, i’m beginning to truely appreciate the people that do understand coding and know how to write code. sure i can model, texture, and maybe rig, the cutest looking piglet.. but that piglet wont oink if there’s no commands given to it to make it oink. i need programmers..or software engineers! friends that are interested in starting programming for a game development career, please drop me a note/email this is not a ‘game studio recruitment’ … its a casual, indie development startup project. The terms of the project are still only in pencil & sketch book, i’m just looking for a team of interested artist. Yesh, this will be a fun process, the goal is to completely build a fully playable, online/multiplayer game, current design plans include porting this game onto the iphone (granted the tools i’ve found are indeed the correct tools for such a task). my work from the last semester…improving on the technique/basics of workin in Maya, but art-skill still just amatuer and growing..one day..i’ll get there to that level of demand. Room Environment project, base model given to us to texture. Texture budgets were determined before beginning the project. Munny project, base Munny models were given to us to texture. Munnies (or Munnys) are vinyl collector toys made by KidRobot. They are sold as white/unpainted toys, where artists take ‘em home to create their own characters, coloring them with any available media (crayons/sharpies/paints/etc). (clik image for full size)
Hmmmmm …. there doesnt seem to have been much “epic” game titles released for the PC in the past couple of months.. the recent big hits have mostly been just for the console side of the industry, which is a good thing too, finally the PS3 is getting some thing worthy to talk about. Alot of the upcoming games that has my attention are all console-based, be it xbox, xbox live arcade, ps3, ps3 network, wii … where’s the PC family at? 2 months since i wrote anything… shows just how much of a vacation i’ve been on … well kinda.. been very tied up with my project development with the Torque engine, and most recently the start of my Summer Class, painting my heart out.. it’s a very tough and tedious class. It grades particularly on how perfect you can get..gosh. anyways, gearing up for the upcoming 4th of July celebrations…enjoy the weekend everyone (: Have a safe & fun July 4th!
Wow… the classics live on. Still can’t beat the simplistic designs of the good ol’ games.. like Donkey Kong & Arcade fighting games. It wasn’t too long ago Street Fighter IV made it’s come back on the modern home consoles, bringing back many good memories to the fans (comments/writeups are all over google). Lode Runner is kicking back into the scene as well! (seems to be Xbox-Only..ew) I remember playing that game when i was in the 4th grade… oh geez. This new modern Lode Runner is all up to speed with modern 3d visuals now (byebye sprites!), and from what i see in the videos, additional gameplay twists.. i guess it’s an attempt to keep it fresh.. but i’m so excited to see these classics still live on in us, and enough for some to bring them back for us
haha. i was doing a little research on the Torque game engine, and i stumbled(again..i love stumbling!) on this really great write up about starting a MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game. It’s not as easy as just “getting a team” and “producing the game”! There’s sooo much more to the ‘behind the scenes’ of running a successful MMO. But, is the effort and hard work worth it? In my perspective, heck yes. $$ For those interested in starting your own MMO in the near future (or working for)…i recommend reading this writeup GarageGames Torque Community: Starting a MMO Learn learn learn, soak it all up like a sponge! After reading that, and was reflecting and digesting the information, i’m actually proud to say i do, in some sense, already have the experience of running an MMO (is it “a MMO” or “an MMO”? lol)….having hosted, maintaining, troubleshooting, upgrading, and running my own game servers for Counter-Strike back in 2003-2006. Not to mention also having run forums & managing the forums for those game communities. So this beats having no clue about “the business”, and it’s a great starter boost for me ———sidenote for today———— omgosh i got an email from an olldd friend. He’s started his own studio with his girlfriend (jeff has a girl haha!) and is going to be developing a new MMO, and he requested me to be Assistant Producer/Manager! He said he tracked me down via Google and found this site, and he claims that i have potential to fit the role he envisions, based on all the writeups i’ve done on my site (haha) and his past experience working along side me. I previously worked with him to develop a modification (Game Mod for Counter-Strike, back in 2002ish), and consequently helped manage that small community, providing technical support, game support, game server adminstration work, etc. He says the position unfortunately, has to be full time, and it’s in So-Cal…so i had to unwillingly turn it down for now.
Demigod finally released, for the PC, last week. Developed by the same people that brought us Supreme Commander, Gas Powered Games, and i guess published, by Stardock (same people that created WindowsBlinds? o-o). Word about the game been around for over 2 years now, and this was one I had my hopes for. The creature designs and visuals are simply captivating. The towering oversized Rook character is so iconic for this game, i simply love it. I’ve managed a demo version of the game, it’s really quite cool…but, like other ‘pro’ review sites have said, this game has something lacking that does not justify it to be a commercial title, found on the store shelves. The art and environments and presentation is spot on beautiful. The audio just amplifies the experience so much more. But as i’ve said in my other posts, good art does not make good games. If you’ve played or heard of the superbly popular “Defence of the Ancients” (DoTA) from Warcraft III, then you pretty much already have the full concept of Demigod. In this game, you pick a demigod character, and you duke it out with other demigods in a Capture The Flag or Destroy your opponent’s HeadQuarters (Citadel). Your character levels up like a standard RPG format, increasing it’s stats and unlocking new skills at each level. The maximum level your demigod gets is to 20, and along with that a whole shelf of items you can purchase to further enhance your character for that battle. And on top of having your character’s growth, your HQ also gains experience points that the Team, can use to gain enhancements for the entire team’s strength/performance..like a giant blanket. This game has been flooded with comments like “Dota rip-off” etc…and i agree. It’s pretty much a spruced up version of DoTA. My opinion is that the developers of Demigod saw the market potential for a game like Dota, and hence decided to create their version of Dota to make a buck of it. Not sure if that’s true, but it’s just too similar to Dota to think otherwise. Demigod is alright…just not worthy enough to justify the pricetag put on it. If you do get your hands on it, it will nevertheless be addicting the moment you sit down and start a battle. The action and adrenaline flows instantly..and remains or maybe grows, even more as the battle goes on. Great game concept & design (though it’s not very original), feels nicely balanced and polished. Visuals and art design is oh so stunning, audio is mesmerizing. I’d still say go check this title out. Enjoy this video of it! stumbled upon yet another really inspiring article. Flash game Desktop Tower Defence(DTD), now averages millions of visitors a month. The flash game itself is nothing over-the-top fancy, rich visuals, that require intensive hours of hard work to develop or produce. All you need is a good game concept, that’s simple, elegant, and, most importantly, addictive and easy to catch on to. Oh, and even better, make it the most easily accessible as you can. This single game alone, DTD, brings in, quote “4 figures” a month, for just being a website. The revenue comes from Advertisement campaigns on the site, and being such a popular website that gets 20 million visitors a month, it’s not hard to see where all the Ad money comes from. This is so motivating for me, personally. I’ve gone through the full process of creating a Flash-based game from scratch already, and it’s playable on this site too. Yea, my creation’s amatuer, and really not that great..just .. a start. But, i do already posses the skills and fundamental knowledge of Actionscript(Flash) that i will need the next round to create another game. A plus for me. After reading that article (which, is now 2 years old, so who knows just how much BIGGER the revenue has gotten by now), i am now further motivated to sit my ass down, and polish up my Flash skills and create another game. There’s thousaaands of flash-based game websites and thousands of other flash games, and not every one is successful overnight. This is just the way of the Gaming field. You try, fail, and improve. Just remember to be humble, and listen to any critiques or feedback you get about your project..it’s the best & fastest way to grow. wowwww sooo freaking outta control. what the heck is this thingy of a thing? o-o its.. a mouse, costs over 400bucks USD for it… its called a SpacePilot Pro, and it certainly looks like something created in space for space. the SpacePilot Pro is designed and aimed at the CAD professionals, 3D modeling and animation artists. wack. Read full article: SpacePilot Pro Check out this custom Unreal tool (or Maya?), that the team working on Project Offset has for building their environments. Why can’t texturing in Maya (or 3DS Max) be this way ? Paint direct on our models…shadows, cracks, bumps, layered.. gosh..directly onto our model, in real time. Be gone, UVing! ;x Watch the vid! (..and drool)
this is another game that examplifies just how much room there is left, to innovate the way we play our games today. Here’s Fez, a very very simple looking game, that’s not key on “epic visuals” like Gears of War and Crysis, but still, very epic in it’s presentation and design. Fez combines the very classic days of gaming, side-scroll platforming, like Super Mario World, with a modern “3d game” system. At first it might take a while to get a hang of “seeing” into the game world, being such a rare and, new, way of playing a game. But after getting into the mechanics, this game brings out so much creativity in the design, its not easy to mock up a side-scroller that has to work when viewed from a different perspective. Gah i’m terrible at explaining it, but once you seeeee this, you’re gonna be Wowed yourself. I love games like these, bringing new fresh concepts to our gaming world…a good break from just another ‘blockbuster epic game’…games like World of Goo, PixelJunk Eden, Mirror’s Edge..etc..it’s not always about a super high-res high-quality artful game. Good art/visuals don’t make good games, just the same as being good at a tool does not make you a good artist. Enjoy this video of Fez! |
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I’m not saying there hasn’t been any new games for the pc, but there’s very very few pc-exclusives lately.. oh well .. looking forward to hear more ’bout the new Blizzard games (you guys know which titles alrady).
