Freitag, 24. Dezember 2010

My wife's first exhibition

My lovely and talented wife Anna had her first photo exhibition ("constructed reality") last week at T-systems in Saarbrücken ! I am soooo proud !!!

Donnerstag, 23. Dezember 2010

Great drawing book

Its fantastic what awesome drawings with painting like quality can be achieved with coloured pencils...this book can teach You how and some tricks or two...

The Art of Dying

It is interesting to see how a persistent feature like "collecting hearts, coins, bananas and puzzle pieces" actually can imply that the player can sacrifice a "life" to get more bonus symbols. This way, dying in "Donkey Kong Country Returns" can indeed be rewarded like any other gameplay challenge, and can be considered a game design success !

Sent from my iPhone

Mittwoch, 22. Dezember 2010

Animated backdrop element...


Used some LightWave in combination with Grafx2 and ProMotion...working on more animated backdrop elements for our game...

Samstag, 18. Dezember 2010

Donkey Kong Country Returns



RETRO STUDIOS is the developer this time, and many of You will know them from the popular METROID PRIME series of First Person Adventures on Gamecube and Wii.
For those of You who played the Donkey Kong games on Super Nintendo, this new entry in the series is not drastically different in gameplay.
The original Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country Returns
For those who don't know any game of the franchise, this is a so called jump'n'run platforming game, where You control the ape Donkey Kong (in two player mode You also can play Diddy Kong, Donkey's young sidekick) in his adventure to get back all the bananas that have been stolen by mysterious creatures.
There are two control schemes, one with and one without nunchuk support, and they both work well after a short while of learning.
The game plays on an island and is divided into different levels, with each level subdivided into smaller stages.
To advance to the next level, You have to jump and run and climb Your way through the different stages and finally beat an end-of-level "boss" to unlock the next level.
Those levels are nicely shown on an animated map of the island, where You can progress from stage to stage, a bit like in Super Mario World's map.

The Stage Map of the Beach level
While running and jumping through the various beautifully done stages, You must avoid the enemies that walk along predetermined paths, or get rid of them by jumping on their head à la Super Mario.If an enemy touches You, You loose one heart, if You loose two hearts You loose one life and have to use a "continue" in the form of a balloon that slowly floats down from above.
Besides the enemies, You must overcome "natural" environmental obstacles such as spikey spears, lava and the like, and collect as many bananas, coins and puzzle pieces as possible. For 100 bananas You get one extra life (up to three max), the coins can be used in a shop to buy more balloons, hearts, keys (to unlock secret passages), and the puzzle pieces unlock bonus stuff like concept art and songs.
There is quite some variety in the gameplay, too, as Donkey Kong has often to use different "vehicles" to progress through the stages, each with its own way of handling.
Donkey Kong about to ride on an rocket barrel 
The graphics in DKCR are really colourful,from the lush detailed tropical forests to the firey volcanic mountain tops, vibrant and vivid, each level has its own theme, and the environments and creatures You encounter are superbly animated and full of personality, the textures are sophisticated and the mood and look fit the Wii like only few other games.
Donkey Kong in "Super Guide" mode
The sound effects and songs are moody, jazzy and offer a lot of "whistling along" qualities.
The game also features Nintendo's "Super Guide" mode, which players can use to overcome difficult parts.The game automatically detects how many times You failed at a certain point and offers You kindly this mode.Of course, with "Suoper Guide", You can't collect any coins, bananas or puzzles.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is a great platforming game with a great longevity, partly because of its higher difficulty, partly because its easy to learn, difficult to master and very rewarding through several playthroughs (bonus items, bonusstages, time trials for beaten levels etc...).
The cooperative two player mode is a blast and will keep You and friend busy for countless hours, I would say this is one of the best two player coop games out there.

Conclusion: If You like old school platforming games, don't mind a moderate difficulty, love finding bonus items and unlocking new content, have a friend to play with, enjoy great graphics and own a Wii, this is a must buy for You.Donkey Kong Country Returns is one of the best, most entertaining titles this year on ANY platform (no pun intended).



Freitag, 17. Dezember 2010

Wii rule the world...

...at least for video games :)
Considering VGChartz  chart, Wii is still selling more games and hardware than any other platform .
It has sold already 4 times more than the "Gamecube" and 30 million more than the "Super Nintendo".Next to beat are the "Playstation 1" and the "Playstation 2" (still selling 200,000 units per week worldwide), the latter will be pretty tough, but who knows what happens when Nintendo cuts the price of "Wii".
If the Wii keeps on selling like that, it beats the sales figures of the "Game Boy Advance".
"WoW:Cataclysm" is out for a week and kicked "Wii Sports" to the second place (although in the US, Wii Sports holds the top spot with almost 80k units more than Cataclysm).
The top five contain 3 Wii (first party) titles, with combined sales of almost 95 million units !
The Top 20 has only 2 third party Wii games :/
Interesting is that "Kinect Adventures" can be found there, with almost 4 millions sold worldwide, and no PS Move title in the Top 20, only one at spot 37.
Looks like Move looses against Kinect.
Personally I am happy for "Donkey Kong Country Returns" (1.7 million in three weeks) and "Epic Mickey" (more than 500k since launch).
And "Kirby:Epic Yarn" has also sold past the 500k point, great :)

Donnerstag, 16. Dezember 2010

Tickets ordered

Sunday is TRON:LEGACY day, can't wait.I hope it'll be good, it better be.
I love TRON and its visionary style for the period, the pictures I saw from the new one seem almost too wanna-be cool, but I am open minded, and I like seeing Flynn again after all these years.Hopefully it'll inspire me like the first one.

Mittwoch, 15. Dezember 2010

Stop talking, start acting, for the PS3's sake..

Most game comparisons of titles appearing for both the PS3 and the Xbox360 end with the box beeing da winna.
And every once in a while some developer stands up and states that their game (plese insert Your favourite hardware pushing exclusive) "only uses a fraction of the power of the PS3".
I am not the smartest person in the world, but even I start to wonder, if Guerilla state that Killzone 2 only used a fraction of the PS3s power, then why is this so ? Why didnt they give paying customers 100% of the console's power ?
Wouldn't we exspect that 4 years after the PS3's release, devs should be able to use all its power and thus fulfill the "next gen promise" of 30fps at 1920x1080 (which almost no game except for a handful ever achieved).
Slowly I start to think that maybe its all just masquerade and the PS3 has already been used to its fullest but no licensed developer is allowed to say so...

ALAN, WAKE me up, I fell asleep cause I am so bored...

Well, so Time magazine crowned ALAN WAKE "Game of the Year 2010" because its oh-so "mature", and meta and whatever, because You have to use light against Your enemies etc.
My buddy Matze and I played it together, and we found it to be boring as hell, repetitive, disappointingly vague, without any interesting conclusion and pretty much a waste of time.
The graphics are splendid, and the atmosphere is great at the beginning, but the further You play, the more confusing and aimless the whole thing gets.
In Alan Wake, You basically run from lightsource to lightsource, kill enemies and push the occasional switch (aka "puzzles in Alan Wake").
It clearly aims to be something like "Silent Hill", and fails totally.
I played "Silent Hill: Homecoming" afterwards and half an hour with that game gave me more story, more suspense and more TO DO than the 10 hours or so of Alan Wake.
And please don't count on AW's "story", as it has none, at least nothing that merits a game.
I have been following AW's development starting back in 2005 or 2006, and I really wonder what happened in those 5 years...

Montag, 4. Oktober 2010

Shantae comes to DS via download !

"Shantae: Risky's Revenge" comes to DSiware. Any lover of pixelart should check this out, as the most talented Henk Nieborg made it, and it looks GORGEOUS.Multilayer parallax scrolling, colourful sprites and fancy animations !



Mittwoch, 29. September 2010

Prinny

Thats our cute little dog Prinny (10 months).
She has to undergo two more surgeries.But she is fine and happy and keeps us busy :)

Montag, 27. September 2010

Photokina 2010

Hi folks,

ben at photokina 2010 this weekend, really an amazing show, great atmosphere, great on stage presentations.
Had some fun with Luxology's own Andy Brown, loved my first experience with the Wacom Cintiq  and learned quite a bit of tricks for the work.
Check my facebook page for photos from the show floor !

Great animated short from France !

Now this is something really amazing: three guys, one year, and a hell of lot of work and talent.

WATCH THIS

Montag, 20. September 2010

Mega media output ;)

Hi folks,


posted some media stuff at our Graveyard Dogs blog, www.graveyarddogs.blogspot.com.
Enjoy, while I wait for our new living room furniture to be delivered.
Its 5 weeks now since I last played a game on any of my consoles...it's about fraggin time !!!!

Mittwoch, 1. September 2010

Moving is hell

Four weeks in, and we are still merely scratching the surface and living with unpacked boxes...this takes forever it seems...

Mittwoch, 4. August 2010

Colour Cycling is *still* awesome (check the link!)

My buddy and development partner Ed showed me this (link) and I think its just great.Mark Ferrari really knows how to use colour cycling !

Mittwoch, 28. Juli 2010

Alan Wake "The Signal", tip for early code redeemers

I have redeemed "The Signal" right when I purchased the game.
By then I was told I would get an email with a new code.This email hasnt come yet, BUT I was able to simply download "The Signal", as it was titled as "free" to me.Probably because I had already redemmed the add-on.So if You have not received the email with the new redeem code yet, just try the traditional way, go to the download and see if its "free".

Samstag, 10. Juli 2010

Monkey Island 2 SE in App Store !

So I HAD to get my hands on the lite version of Monkey Island 2 SE for iPhone, and already after a few minutes with the game, I found two things: blurry graphics, and outstanding controls.
Bundled with great voices and the typical Monkey Island humour, this is a no brainer for anybody who can even REMOTELY appreciate a great, funny story, hilarious situations and weird characters.For adventures in sitcom style, it doesnt get any better than this !
Now if the character sprites were a bit sharper it would be the best iPhone game of the year for me !
Grab it now and start grinning along the ride !

Donnerstag, 8. Juli 2010

William Shatner stole Leonard Nimoy's bike !

Priceless !

Bruce Willis: Smell Hard !

Well, well, first Harrison Ford wears an earring, now John McLane has a fragrance...this IS armageddon....

Twilight: For Guys!!

Finally ! It was about time...

Looking for new display

My old Samsung has bad problems with brightness variations in the corners, when I move a piece of artwork from center to corner, it gets darker and darker, very bad for judging.So I need input on what screens are good, and which ones have the best viewing angle and brightness values all across the panel.
Any ideas or suggestions or experiences are very welcome. I am tending to the HP ZR24W (with S-IPS panel)...but have doubts about the backlighting and brightness and stuff...

The Last Story Trailer

Wow, now this looks just great, Wii is finally getting some mindblowing visuals AND gameplay !

Amiga - Fire and Ice

Ahhhh, Graftgold, IIRC.Stunning visuals and too cute gameplay :D

Lionheart

Another technical AMIGA masterpiece, this time from THALION.
Back then, german games where technical leaders on the platform, a bit like Crytek today.

Mr. Nutz

Mr. Nutz was just a TERRIFIC game on the Amiga 500, technically up there with the best.
Multilayer parallax scrolling, tons of effects and sprites, Mode7-style 3D zooming and rotating, really, really
technically amazing, and the gameplay was like a mix of Super Mario and Sonic, gorgeous !
This one made the AMIGA truly shine, thanks to the masterminds at NEON.

Dienstag, 6. Juli 2010

Dienstag, 29. Juni 2010

Interview with Studio Liddell, Creators of iPhone hit "Slippy Feet"


Today I offer You dear readers a special treat: I interviewed Pete Caddock from Studio Liddell, the creators of iPhone smash hit "Slippy Feet" (click here to see it on iTunes) !
Lets get behind the scenes...

Hi Pete,please describe Your company, how and when did You start, whats Your position ? Any prior game dev experience ?

The company I work for is Studio Liddell Limited, an independent 360 creative agency based in Manchester and London in the UK. The company started out as an illustration, design and finishing studio, progressing into 3D, animation and interactive areas over the last 10 years. I began working with Studio Liddell whilst running my own company "SmartScreen Digital Media Limited" and in 2004 we teamed up to develop a real-time 3D ship simulation for SS Great Britain. We went on to create a number of visitor attraction installations, culminating with our pride and joy (at the time) "Quantum Sheep and the Wonderful 'Wolds" - a 3D console game, styled into a PC based kiosk. This was a joint production with Stardotstar, and it currently tours the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to encourage kids to visit certain hsitorically interesting places in the Cotswolds. It's about a time travelling biped sheep who has to travel back to the prehistoric time period, the Roman age, the Medieval period, and / or the Victorian period (you can use any of the images on our web site under Interactive "Quantum Sheep") to rescue lambs which have gotten lost in time! My position at Studio Liddell is Head of New Technologies - I get to research new technologies and look for new ways of creating revenue streams, as well as developing some internally as test beds. I have been programming since I was at school in the mid 70's, I started in CESIL and moved onto BASIC, then 6502 and from there into STOS, AMOS, BlitzBasic 2, Flash, Director, Authorware, Scala, Blitz 3D and more recently Unity. My first commercial game was "Astrowarp" which was published by Page 6 on the 8-bit Atari in the mid 1980's. I wrote my first simple multiplayer games in 1989, using MIDI on the Atari ST. Most of my more recent commercial work has been for companies requiring interactive multimedia for visitor centres such as ss Great Britain Museum, the National Space Centre, the Royal Institute, the Science Museum, for whom I design and develop simulations and games both single player and multiplayer.

That's an awesome track record !How was the idea for "Slippy Feet" born ? 

Studio Liddell adopted Unity in 2008, and with the iPhone version began looking into App creation. Slippy Feet was born out of a Flash game I designed when "Happy Feet" the movie came out, we wanted something which was simple and wouldn't take too long to develop from scratch.

How many people worked on it, how long ? Did You use any third party tools/engines, and why ? How did they perform ?

"Slippy Feet" actually underwent three major revisions during development, mainly because we were getting used to new tools and the Apple SDK. There were two people involved, myself (designer, coder, tester) and Lewis (a young 3D artist and animator). We used 3DS Max for the 3D assets, Photoshop for the textures and backgrounds, and Unity iPhone with the Apple SDK. There's a lot to learn with the Apple SDK and at that time it was very new, so newcomers had a bit of a struggle to get up and running from being a PC based developers, to learning a new OS and Apple SDK and Unity too, it caused a few headaches. All good for the soul though! :) The SDK and Engine performed really well together, making iPhone development much easier for 3D games than if you were to start with OpenGL. There's also a lot to consider and re-learning to be done, as the iPhone is a small device with limited power and graphic capabilities. Ligthing was very costly in terms of rendering, large textures had to be reduced greatly, amazingly with little overall quality issues, frame rates were slow to begin with as we found ways of squeezing more out of the little device. We designed 18 levels but only managed to get 12 into the final build, due to memory restrictions and the fact we wanted to make a small download.

What was Your "best moment" during
development ?

Getting the game accepted into the App Store was probably the best moment during the whole development period.

Hehe, I know exactly what You are talking about ;)
How do You like the iPhone as aplatform for game development ?

iPhone is so exciting as a platform to develop for and now as iPad begins to take it's place next to the iPhone and iPod touch the platform will just go from strength to strength. iPhone itself has a few limitations which get less and less with each new generation, but you still have to keep older units 'fed' with Apps so don't neglect them. It is exciting as there are so many different Apps for it, and as many possibilities for Apps as there are grains of sand on a beach.

Any special advice for the fans playing Slippy Feet, like a special gameplay tactic or a hidden gem ?
Yeah, whilst playing the game, stop for a moment and keep the device still. Watch carefully as the camera moves right into Slippy and have a laugh at the amusing, five different idle animations and blinking we programmed into this little chap. Also, whilst playing the game, double tap the screen. Another is tap the screen higher up for a bigger jump and lower down for a little jump.

Any advice for people starting out with game development (no matter what platform) ?

Yes, never give up, always keep going. If you get stuck on an issue, walk away for a few minutes or even come back to it with a fresh mind (after a sleep for example). Also play and test all the way - re-iterate and although you should mainly always keep to your design, never be afraid to ask "why?" am I doing it like that - if it works - it works - if it doesn't then change the design! Oh and Good Luck!

Thanks, Pete, and much success for your next projects !

Gandalf Goes to the World Cup

Soooo funny !!!!

映画 SPACE BATTLESHIP ヤマト TV-CM TRAILER

Sonntag, 27. Juni 2010

Donnerstag, 24. Juni 2010

1Up has a great article about "Ni no Kuni" for PS3.Now THAT is the kind of awesome graphics I wished they would use for Zelda:The Skyward Sword.

Dienstag, 22. Juni 2010

Donnerstag, 17. Juni 2010

Rage Demo

Deus Ex Human Revolution E3 2010 Trailer [HD]

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Trailer - E3 2010

PuckSlideHD is here for iPad !

Finally, "PuckSlide HD" is available for Your iPad right now in the app store !
This is a classic game for two players that will probably pretty fast become one of the most popular iPad games, due to its ease of access and everlasting fun !
Challenge Your friends, hold tournaments, battle it out one-on-one !

Get it here: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/puckslide-hd/id375680833?mt=8

Mittwoch, 16. Juni 2010

Nintendo's E3: The Fall of Wii

Well, that was it.While the 3DS will probably rock the handheld world, the Wii has been dropped like a hot potatoe.
I had big hopes for the console to show its power again in 2011, but it seems Nintendo gave up on it, degrading it to the basic party- and casual console it always was called and stepping back to sidecrolling platform wii-makes like DKCR (amongst sidescrolling things in Epic Mickey which sucks big time, sidescrolling in the new Metroid, sidescrolling in SMG2...hey Nintendo, wasnt that like 20 ago on the Super Famicom ?).
So if You (like me) had hopes for cool new games in the style of God of War, Darksiders, Resident Evil 4, TimeSplitters, which the Wii could handle without problem, You'd be disappointed: Mario Sports Mix, Wii Party, Wii-makes of classic Super Nintendo titles...that the future of Wii.
Cling to Your Monster Hunter Tris, as this is as far as the Wii could go, sadly enough :(
Oh, and whoever decided on the new (final ?) graphic style of the new Zelda should be fired: flat, undetailed, Mario Kart meets Zelda style graphics, which is like two generations behind Twilight princess.On the other hand, if You know one Zelda, You know them all...

Freitag, 11. Juni 2010

What is good gamedesign ?

As I have retaken my role as tutor in Heidelberg, teaching "Gamedesign and prototyping", and I want to ask YOU, dear reader, what You think makes a good game design, and what a game designer should be skilled in especially ?
Please let us discuss, let me hear Your opinions !

XCOM teaser

StarCraft 2 teaser

Sonntag, 30. Mai 2010

Also awesome: Sculptris 1.0

Ohhhh, the choices are so hard...

Now since I am playing with 3D-coat and like it quite much, I am wondering if I should buy this or the standard sculpting tool, zBrush.
Since I wanted to buy software for my iMac 27", I am undecided, especially since both tools dont support my Mac as well as they support Windows :/

Wow, now thats nice !

Freitag, 14. Mai 2010

Our first iPad release

Getting close to our first iPad release: PuckSlide, a contract work we did and are currently finishing.
Check it out here at facebook !

Donnerstag, 15. April 2010

SYNDICATE returns ?

Another one of the 90's classics, SYNDICATE, seems to be subject of rumours since quite some time.
Gamasutra has the latest on it, stating that Starbreeze (of "Chronicles of Riddick" fame) might be doing a new game with the IP....
I wonder if someone has some statistics of "old IPs ressurected vs new IP created", as this might prove interesting.
Does the industry now rely on "zombies" instead of "newborns" ?

Mittwoch, 14. April 2010

XCOM (aka UFO:Enemy Unknown) returns ?

If we use this website as an indicator: yes, it does ! Probably for consoles...at least I hope so :)
If You want to know more about this very entertaining sci-fi strategy/rpg series, check mobygames.

Dienstag, 13. April 2010

Gears of War 3 teaser OFFICIAL

Longer campaigns for single player ? Nah !

Kokugamer wants longer single player games.
Well, having finished "Darksiders" just recently, which I mastered in about 30 hours, and felt had some lengthty parts, I would tend to disagree.I would even dare say that I prefer shorter games, but it depends on the genre.
A game like Mass Effect, Fallout etc, RPG, RTSs, they can be longer, as there is a huge story arc and quite some levelling.
But a game like "Darksiders" could have been like 20 hours max for me, as I feel the whole story doesnt offer that much to justify 30 hours.
Lets face it, rarely a game offers such a dense and interesting story that You would want it to be stretched.
So I vote: no more than 20 hours max, or I get bored !

Montag, 22. März 2010

Gamedesign basics, Part 1

During all those I have been doing games now (since the early 90s), I wondered how I could convey a maximum of "experience" with the most simple effort.
Its not cause I am lazy (which I am), its rather because I like idea that not the big badda-boom stuff is groundbreaking, but the small ideas and gameplay innovations.
Blizzard for example is a company You can hardly call "groundbreaking" in terms of gamedesign.
They take an established idea, throw away the useless crap, and focus and enhance the core gameplay so that it makes You an addicted "Insert Your favourite Blizzard game"-player.
Lets not forget that it took them about 20 years to get there, back when the company was started they called themselves "Silicon&Synapse", and their main business was porting games. The experience they gathered through all their games is what You find today in WoW.
Now, if You look at gamedesign today, it still boils down to what makes games fun and worthwhile .
Why do we play ? Why not watch the grass growing, or do some outdoor sports, watch TV or read a book ?
The fundamental thing about games is that they offer a kind of reward
compared to the effort, which You don't find elsewhere.Sports require You to go out, move, sweat and risk injuries.Sports are often affected by weather conditions, health conditions and the like.
Watching TV is a pretty passive, pre-built experience.Reading a book as well, although You can have Your fantasy paint the pictures that illustrate the story.
Watching the grass growing is probably something for the most passionate Zen-master.
Games require not much effort.You can play "Solitaire" by sitting at a table.
Games reward You with the illusion of having achieved something (like sorting cards).And people consider this fun.
Games can be rewarding beeing played alone or in groups, which makes them pretty flexible.
The thing behind it all is that You get something worth Your time, that affects Your senses and gives You the feeling of "achievement", which is absolutely subjective.
More advanced games not only give You achievements, but they add a story (like a book, but more active), motion (like some Wii games or the fact that Your reflexes are tested) and visual satisfaction (like watching a movie).
Games unify all the things that other media offer separately, into one big package.
Playing something like Mass Effect is like reading a story, playing the hero, train Your reflexes, improve Your coordination, provide a visual satisfaction, provide Your with satisfying achievements, offer "milestones" where You can say "OK, thats it for today, I finished that quest, tomorrow its a new one", which gives You that warm, fuzzy feeling that Your time and effort were met with a sense of accomplishment.
So, if You design games, what You need to design is basically a framework to provide any if not all of these things.Its all about satisfaction.That "makes" Your game.

Sonntag, 14. März 2010

Dienstag, 9. März 2010

Tron:Legacy teaser trailer

Get it while its hot:

http://www.program-glitch-esc.net/

Awesome trailer, this will be a hard wait :)

Montag, 8. März 2010

We live in dark times, youngling....

Well, beeing of an extraordinary old age (for a gamer) shows its symptoms.
I can remember playing the "good old games" like The Bard's Tale, Ultima, WingCommander and Tomb Raider.
I have grown up with these, they inspired me to do what I did and still do: games.
The Bard's Tale was a hugely successful hack and slay RPG in first person perspective, a real hardcore game by the time.
Ultima was groundbreaking in its way of simulating life in a fantasy world (baked bread, anyone ?).
WingCommander pushed hardware sales like not much before it, by giving gamers that awesome graphics engine with believable, memorable characters (Paladin, we miss You, Bhurak Starkiller, You are dead!).
Tomb Raider, well, two good arguments and that "this could have been Indiana Jones" along with kick-ass action gameplay made this an instant classic.
Today, what is left of these "historical" milestones ?
The Bard's Tale is a mere hack'n'slash like Diablo and has been given up.
Ultima, is now "Lord of Ultima", the browser game.Talking about catching up with the rest.
WingCommander is now "WingCommander Arena", some kind of fuzzy PvP shooter.
Tomb Raider is now a high score focused platformer.
There is still some games they can abuse like that.Why not make the next System Shock a sidescrolling
jump'n'run ?
Why not take Thief and make it a fun racer ?
Oh, and while we are at it: there is still a chance for a mini game compilation called "Half-Life: the troddler years".
Please lord, save us all...

Donnerstag, 25. Februar 2010

Mittwoch, 24. Februar 2010

NeoCairo: The Rising

Hi folks, these are excerpts of an old school project, "NeoCairo", which deals with the rebirth and rising of the old egyptian gods and their secret manipulations of our "moden" society.
It is also a story about destiny and personal loss.
I did this in cooperation with Prof. Tamas Walicky at the art academy where I graduated.
Here is some concept art for the characters (Anubis, Horus) some design concepts and testrenderings....I aimed for an integration of celshaded renderings into more hand rendered backdrops, in a style similiar to "Ghost in the Shell".

Samstag, 20. Februar 2010

Meet SWOFFZA !

Meet the mean, green SWOFFZA !!!
He owns one of the largest industrial complexes on his homeworld, so he joins the "iSmashem Galactic" tournament just for fun.
And watch what he does when he gets upset...disgusting....can YOU beat him ?

Donnerstag, 11. Februar 2010

Stop the press: iSmashem Galactic released on App Store :D

Great news today, finally our baby has been released to the app store:

http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/ismashem-galactic/id353586627?mt=8

Here are some behind the scenes pictures.The game has been done completely with LightWave3D, my favourite 3D package (also used for Avatar, *sigh*).


I really wanna thank my wife Anna for her support, without her, this would have been WAY less fun !
Love You, goddess divine :)

Dienstag, 9. Februar 2010

iSmashem Galactic release iminent !

iSmashem Galactic, our first game for portable Apple platforms, has been accepted without problems, and is due to be released to the public ! Awesome !

Sonntag, 7. Februar 2010

Game Art: What stands the test of time better: attempted realism or artistic vision...?

Personally, I love to dwelve in my nostalgic memories of the "good old times", when it comes to games.
I am a huge fan of classics like WarCraft III, Prince of Persia Trilogy, Outcast, Beyond Good and Evil, Deus Ex, Daikatana...I love games which do not to harshly attempt realistic graphics, but rather approach their subject with more fantasy and artistic touch.Granted, it deos not suit all genres, but I find that those artistic games stand the test of time much better than those who try to look realistic.
I think that drawn/painted textures look better after 5 years than realistically rendered textures.
Of course engines have evolved, lighting systems have been refined, much more is possible today than 5 years ago.
Yet, who cares about those technical advancements, if the requirements for a game like Outcast or Kingdom Hearts are just solid artistic skills ?
Yes, I do like a bit of Oblivion from time to time, and yes, I do like some Mass Effect.
But if I had the choice, I would always prefer the sights and sounds of the grandiose Final Fantasy 12, the awesome timelss style of Rayman: Hoodlum Havok or the dreamy, inspired scenery of Price of Persia: Sands of Time.
These titles age with dignity, something You can't say about stuff like Medal of Honour, Call of Duty or Your average FPS...
 
  
 

Samstag, 6. Februar 2010

iSmashem Galactic Screenshots

Hi folks, here are some screenshots of my new iPhone/Ipod Touch game "iSmashem Galactic".The game is currently beeing reviewed by Apple.