Unity Preview - Jeff Minter's Latest Trip?

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a new preview of the abstract Gamecube shoot-em-up, Unity, over at TotalVideoGames.Com. Unity is being created by the infamous Jeff Minter at his one-man ungulate-loving Welsh development house, Llamasoft - Minter is especially well-known for his psychedelic shooter remakes like Tempest 2000 and his interactive VLM ('virtual light machine') programs for the Atari Jaguar and the ill-fated Nuon. Fortunately, Unity is being made for a non-dead platform, and has help and backing from Peter 'Populous/Black+White' Molyneux's company Lionhead. On a related note, iainsimons points to a rare public appearance by Minter to talk about Unity - at an Indian restaurant in Nottingham, UK, no less. We hope there's no llama curry on the menu.

Comments

original?

[mandalayx]

It will appeal to the ladies as well - some experiments with Rez have proved that both sexes equally love crazy mad abstract shooting stuff with excellent sound and visuals that does something they've never even imagined before.

Original? hmm....

Re:original?

[easychord]

In an earlier interview with Edge magazine, Minter called Rez "Panzer Dragoon wearing Trance Trousers" or something similar.

I think that he is aiming for something different to Rez but not a million miles away.

Jaguar? Nuon? Argh!

[Yorrike]

Noooo! Get away from my favourite gaming platform you Llama loving hippy freak! You'll doom it to failure!

Re:Jaguar? Nuon? Argh!

[Yorrike]

Perhaps I should expand on this. .

I'm actually very happy that Jeff is bringing such an innovative looking game to the GC. I was slightly annoyed that Sega decided to take Rez to the PS2 rather than the 'cube, as the PS2 version seemed to lack the sole and spirit of the Dreamcast iteration.

The GameCube is the right place for a game like this. Older GameCube owners are almost gauranteed lovers of fine gaming, and I'm sure Unity will find a fan base amoung the people who lapped up Eternal Darkness and Zelda:WW.

Even though the game seems like more of a graphics demo at the moment, I'm eagerly awaiting the time when I can play Unity. However it ends up being played : )

Re:Jaguar? Nuon? Argh!

[iainl]

Actually, I think that the Cube is the worst new platform in years to bring Unity to, since an important part of it is going to be the music. Why bring what is currently the latest version of the VLM to the one platform out there that can't read CDs?

OT

[Anonymous Coward]

I went hunting a few months ago and found Jeff Minter's blog. When I was a kid I had an Amiga 500 and had several of his games, and tribute games. I remember a game like missle command, with evil guys floating down towards our hero - a large Llama sprite running back and forth shooting diagonally and ricocheting off the side of the screen. There was this blog post during Columbia's descent, which was kinda sad.

Anyway - I should clearly get an account named "The Rambler".

Re:OT

[hyphz]

> I remember a game like missle command, with
> evil guys floating down towards our hero - a
> large Llama sprite running back and forth
> shooting diagonally and ricocheting off the
> side of the screen.

Metagalactic Llamas Battle At The Edge Of Time.

I'm scared I know that.

Fate of the Jaguar

[jcenters]

...the Atari Jaguar and the ill-fated Nuon...

Um, the Jaguar wasn't ill-fated?

Re:Fate of the Jaguar

[Spyrus]

Sure, the Jaguar was ill-fated, but at least it got a few games and a little support during its lifespan. Only seven games were ever released for the NUON, including Tetris and Space Invaders. At least the Jaguar saw Tempest 2000, Defender 2000, Aliens Vs. Predator, Rayman, Battlesphere, Doom, enhanced Wolfenstein 3D, a buttload of Amiga ports, VLM, and more. That said, a NUON-equipped Samsung N-501 is a bit more functional in 2003 than a Jaguar. You can play the unreleased DOOM port on it, VCDs, CDRs, MP3s, and of course DVD movies and those seven NUON games. Just make sure you upgrade the firmware to prevent audio skipping.

Re:Fate of the Jaguar

[Zathras11]

Well, I own a Jaguar (and 40+ other systems) and
I've never even heard of a Nuon...

Nuon - Pure Minter Yak!

[Anonymous Coward]

I still use my Nuon DVD player everyday. There's something fun about having a DVD player with Jeff Minter code built into the chip.

The Nuon is an amazing chill-out box. The VLM is built-in, and (IMHO) much trippier and fluid than the Jaguar version (and it's got joystick control! That is, if you can find a Nuon joystick!)

It's also got some great homebrew stuff:
- Bomb by Andreas Binner (a very fun, cartoonish Bombuzal clone)
-several whacked out apps by Tim Prezzano (Ambient Monsters! A strange underwater journey, and an Atart2600 pacman port)
- and some future stuff by Skah_T that looks amazing.
Screens at http://www.nuon-dome.com/download.html

It looks like Unity will finally allow the Gamecube to surpass the Nuon as the ultimate chill-box!! Sweeeeet..

Re:Nuon - Pure Minter Yak!

[simoniker]

As a big fan of the Yak, I actually picked up a Samsung N501 DVD player a few months ago, which comes with Nuon capabilities and the best VLM built in to the BIOS - you could get them for as low as $80 on close-out in some Web stores.

Incidentally, beware - some Nuon players like the Samsung Extiva have non-interactive VLM, it's a lot more fun to be able to control the effects with a joypad too.)

Re:Nuon - Pure Minter Yak!

[Anonymous Coward]

Indeed! I forgot to mention that - The Samsung N-501 is the machine to get!

They do appear on eBay now and again, often new (!)

Re:Nuon - Pure Minter Yak!

[hyphz]

Pity us poor UK folks who can't get these because the ******d sellers won't ship internationally.. :( :(

Re:Nuon - Pure Minter Yak!

[Anonymous Coward]

Have a look at the forums on http://www.nuon-dome.com

There are some international users there who know about various Samsung Nuon players (N-504??)
They can advise which machines are available, and which ones play the homebrew stuff!

But Europe

[Anonymous Coward]

This looks awesome, but what are the chaces that the game will come out in Europe? I'm still waiting for Animal Crossing.

Gotta buy that Freeloader

Re:But Europe

[easychord]

They should release it in the PAL market first.

American gamers arn't sophisticated enough for a game like this. It would take a while for them to change the Llamas to Deer and repackage it as "Deer Hunter: Unity". <gd&r>

Ack! Gack! *cough* YEEAAHHHHHHHHH!

[eyepeepackets]

Sheesh, not one mention in either the article header or the messages of what was probably the wildest, weirdest game of all time: Llamatron! *Beeyoooowwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaggghhhhhh I love youuuuuuu!*

I love that game. Minter is always good for something original that will make me laugh like a kid whilst getting my llama butt eaten by a frenzied burger.

Go Jeff Go!

Oy, now I gotta get that Atari ST emulator installed on my laptop and get the *tron. Man, you guys are cruel -- my schedule will be totally horked for the next week.

Atari Jaguar == Tempest 2000 Machine

[clu76]

I love and still play Tempest 2000. It's the only reason to own the Jaguar. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to Unity.