The release of Quake that was leaked had a bunch of stuff cut out from the final. One thing I remember was a huge room you shoot part of the ceiling, and this gigantic spike when across the room. Why they took that out I have no idea. What level? Oh, that one with the square pillars and the brownish dark walls.
I agree that episodic games can be successful, even at a $20 price point, if they are done in a timely manner. Look at series DVDs, like Anime, Lost, 24, etc. These DVDs usually cost about $15-$20, and only contain 2 or 3 episodes, which is about 4 hours, or less. A 5 hour game that costs $20 is either equal or greater value. However, just like a series, if the next episode takes too long to become available, then I start forgetting what has happened, pick up another interest, or just stop caring about that series.
I don't understand. Were they not shut down by their producer by not producing any cash flow from that item? Perhaps there were other reason, I am curious about them. Now Ubisoft is giving them money to continue not making money. I guess Ubisoft is betting on their next project. As an investor, if a company came to me asking for money for a project, and they said their last project put another investor in the hole, namely me, I would be weary. Again, there must be more to this story.
I suggest that EA does two things to make up the money. First, get rid of some programmers. They have way too many. Second, the programmers that stay should work a little over time. I mean, they are so lucky working for a oompany that puts out so many great games.
XBox, especially XBox live, has to be Steam's target audience. Live users are used to the pay-to-play model, and that is what Steam is about. While there are millions of PC users who bought games over Steam, there are even more over Live. Eventually Valve will make the mistake and make a Live-only expansion or game thinking it will bring over PC users to the Live market. They will at that point see drop in sales, and will have to get a publisher/investor for their next project, bringing them out of their download haze. This cycle has been seen before with shareware in the early 90s. I am curious if it really will come back to pass again.
Hmm..Second Life might be a perfect place for me to vent my rage against games that want to charge me money to own virtual land. To do this, I will pick a day...let's say May 2nd, where I will resist building anything and not buy anything. That will show them that there are far more of us who don't want to pay than those who do!
Most credit cards offer an service that allows you to obtain a cc number worth a specified amount. this is usually done through their online services. For example: I want to buy X from Russian site Y, I log into my CC page, type in Z amount, get a CC number, and use that to purchase it. No more, no less can be deducted from it. If your CC doesn't offer it, you need to change.
It has been stated in several places the Rev will support the Cube joysticks. Any developer who has trouble with the new stick, can just calm down and stay old gen if they want.
That would be great to see a semi-Second life model come about. People with PCs can create mods, which everyone, including XBox owners, can buy with in-game gold. Of course XBox owners would complain, but I guess paying 'so much more' for my PC was worth it after all!
When I first saw the article, I too was dissappointed it was finally coming out, as if a part of me had died. When I read it ran in a browser, I was happy again it was not out yet. Had me fooled until I read the Ajax comment.
There is in fact a lot of 3d people in the US who will work for a normal wage. I think you are right in their budget might be low, but they could still afford them. As I mentioned, I went to animation school in Japan. I am not doing animation work because they get paid about $1 a frame. I am slow as hell, and would only get about $10/day. To make it worse, people in Korea are now the major production houses for Japanese animations because they do it for less. Less than $1?! Yep. Garriot again should not say there is not any talent in the US. He should say that it is cheaper in Korea, which is why he is dealing with NC Soft of all people. Nothing really wrong with it. The US modelers I speak with always give their stuff away for free until it becomes contract work. Then they want an arm and a leg. Same goes with the Japanese artists I have worked with.
Ah, that is totally true about the 3D modeler aspect. They probably meant that. However, I would also think more quality 3d modelers reside in the US than anywhere else. Not only do we produce all the major 3d software out there (Max, Maya, Lightwave, etc), we have all the people that use it for major movies and productions. Saying there isn't enough good modelers in the US is total crap.
As far as the line thickness goes, it is a major part of the style. It was heavily enforced in the cell animation class I took in Tokyo (Yoyogi animation school).
They just couldn't find enough people who could contribute to the game's art at the level they wanted in the US.
Now, while some of my favorite comics/manga are from Japan, I dissagree with this statement. Most manga is crap, and 90% of anime is an animated version of a manga story. I guess they forgot about our collection of artists that make all the comics we have today. Sure, it seems today the comics styles are trying to fit a Japanese/Asian mold, but they hold up well enough. What I think the author should have said is there were not enough artists in the US that fit their style.
I kind of hate how US artists are tying to look more 'anime'. They miss the core concept that the drawing style comes from the same strokes that form Kanji, which is why I can almost always tell US and Korean drawn 'Japanese Manga' style art apart from a Japanese drawn version. For example, US and Koreans tend to drawn lines with the same thickness all the way around, which is a direct relation to our writing style.
I still remember when EA bought Origin. Garriot was quoted saying that Origin will still have control over their games and EA will just allow them to make bigger and better games with a wider distribution. I remember this because I remember it happened around the time Ultima 7 came out, and it worried me. While I never bought an Alienware box, these statements seem similar. As mentioned by others, Dell's hand will be there pushing in one direction or another. Maybe I am just jaded because my programming job at Dell was outsourced to a $5/hour Brazilian, but Dell is evil. No body smiled at work, and was always worried about loosing their jobs. Evil biz practices, like the Printer fiasco, and all of that makes me avoid Dell products.
The point is, they have money coming in from a published title. Money that can fund full time developers for an entry into the contest. Money that most independant developers don't have, whatever 'independant' means now.
Between titles, id has 0 funding from outside sources except income, just like the hominid team, so what is stopping id from being considered independant and entering this contest?
The term 'Independant Game Company' has forever changed. When I hear it, I think of un-funded, garage types. Dad N Me was made by the Hominid group, who now have a PS2 title. Doesn't that put them in the professional rankings outside of independant?
How does this hurt Sony when no one can get the 360 anyway? By the time the 360s are readily available, the Rev and Ps3 will be about to hit the shelves and most parents will be in the 'wait until Christmas' mode. Sony knows this, and are just making sure their product is not rushed to market. Just like in games, I am happy when releases are delayed, as long as that delay is less than 9 years (and counting).
..when the game first first announced. Man, goldmine! How could they go wrong with a full universe of stories and creatures, gunslingers, heros, villans, etc. A perfect universe for a MMORPG. Wow, it took SOE to screw it up.
Slashdot Mirror
The release of Quake that was leaked had a bunch of stuff cut out from the final. One thing I remember was a huge room you shoot part of the ceiling, and this gigantic spike when across the room. Why they took that out I have no idea. What level? Oh, that one with the square pillars and the brownish dark walls.
I agree that episodic games can be successful, even at a $20 price point, if they are done in a timely manner. Look at series DVDs, like Anime, Lost, 24, etc. These DVDs usually cost about $15-$20, and only contain 2 or 3 episodes, which is about 4 hours, or less. A 5 hour game that costs $20 is either equal or greater value. However, just like a series, if the next episode takes too long to become available, then I start forgetting what has happened, pick up another interest, or just stop caring about that series.
I don't understand. Were they not shut down by their producer by not producing any cash flow from that item? Perhaps there were other reason, I am curious about them. Now Ubisoft is giving them money to continue not making money. I guess Ubisoft is betting on their next project. As an investor, if a company came to me asking for money for a project, and they said their last project put another investor in the hole, namely me, I would be weary. Again, there must be more to this story.
Big difference....in one game you get oral sex, in the other, you see plain breasts. Oblivion's problem should not be compared to Hot Coffee
I suggest that EA does two things to make up the money. First, get rid of some programmers. They have way too many. Second, the programmers that stay should work a little over time. I mean, they are so lucky working for a oompany that puts out so many great games.
Why is Kasumi wearing pants?! This is just wrong!
XBox, especially XBox live, has to be Steam's target audience. Live users are used to the pay-to-play model, and that is what Steam is about. While there are millions of PC users who bought games over Steam, there are even more over Live. Eventually Valve will make the mistake and make a Live-only expansion or game thinking it will bring over PC users to the Live market. They will at that point see drop in sales, and will have to get a publisher/investor for their next project, bringing them out of their download haze. This cycle has been seen before with shareware in the early 90s. I am curious if it really will come back to pass again.
Hmm..Second Life might be a perfect place for me to vent my rage against games that want to charge me money to own virtual land. To do this, I will pick a day...let's say May 2nd, where I will resist building anything and not buy anything. That will show them that there are far more of us who don't want to pay than those who do!
Most credit cards offer an service that allows you to obtain a cc number worth a specified amount. this is usually done through their online services. For example: I want to buy X from Russian site Y, I log into my CC page, type in Z amount, get a CC number, and use that to purchase it. No more, no less can be deducted from it. If your CC doesn't offer it, you need to change.
..is to get more info on DOA:X2
It has been stated in several places the Rev will support the Cube joysticks. Any developer who has trouble with the new stick, can just calm down and stay old gen if they want.
That would be great to see a semi-Second life model come about. People with PCs can create mods, which everyone, including XBox owners, can buy with in-game gold. Of course XBox owners would complain, but I guess paying 'so much more' for my PC was worth it after all!
When I first saw the article, I too was dissappointed it was finally coming out, as if a part of me had died. When I read it ran in a browser, I was happy again it was not out yet. Had me fooled until I read the Ajax comment.
Well, since it is going to be a year before this ep. 1 comes out, I think that might be enough time.
Good, that will give me a chance to finish Oblivion before it comes out.
There is in fact a lot of 3d people in the US who will work for a normal wage. I think you are right in their budget might be low, but they could still afford them. As I mentioned, I went to animation school in Japan. I am not doing animation work because they get paid about $1 a frame. I am slow as hell, and would only get about $10/day. To make it worse, people in Korea are now the major production houses for Japanese animations because they do it for less. Less than $1?! Yep. Garriot again should not say there is not any talent in the US. He should say that it is cheaper in Korea, which is why he is dealing with NC Soft of all people. Nothing really wrong with it. The US modelers I speak with always give their stuff away for free until it becomes contract work. Then they want an arm and a leg. Same goes with the Japanese artists I have worked with.
As far as the line thickness goes, it is a major part of the style. It was heavily enforced in the cell animation class I took in Tokyo (Yoyogi animation school).
Now, while some of my favorite comics/manga are from Japan, I dissagree with this statement. Most manga is crap, and 90% of anime is an animated version of a manga story. I guess they forgot about our collection of artists that make all the comics we have today. Sure, it seems today the comics styles are trying to fit a Japanese/Asian mold, but they hold up well enough. What I think the author should have said is there were not enough artists in the US that fit their style.
I kind of hate how US artists are tying to look more 'anime'. They miss the core concept that the drawing style comes from the same strokes that form Kanji, which is why I can almost always tell US and Korean drawn 'Japanese Manga' style art apart from a Japanese drawn version. For example, US and Koreans tend to drawn lines with the same thickness all the way around, which is a direct relation to our writing style.
I still remember when EA bought Origin. Garriot was quoted saying that Origin will still have control over their games and EA will just allow them to make bigger and better games with a wider distribution. I remember this because I remember it happened around the time Ultima 7 came out, and it worried me. While I never bought an Alienware box, these statements seem similar. As mentioned by others, Dell's hand will be there pushing in one direction or another. Maybe I am just jaded because my programming job at Dell was outsourced to a $5/hour Brazilian, but Dell is evil. No body smiled at work, and was always worried about loosing their jobs. Evil biz practices, like the Printer fiasco, and all of that makes me avoid Dell products.
Between titles, id has 0 funding from outside sources except income, just like the hominid team, so what is stopping id from being considered independant and entering this contest?
The term 'Independant Game Company' has forever changed. When I hear it, I think of un-funded, garage types. Dad N Me was made by the Hominid group, who now have a PS2 title. Doesn't that put them in the professional rankings outside of independant?
How does this hurt Sony when no one can get the 360 anyway? By the time the 360s are readily available, the Rev and Ps3 will be about to hit the shelves and most parents will be in the 'wait until Christmas' mode. Sony knows this, and are just making sure their product is not rushed to market. Just like in games, I am happy when releases are delayed, as long as that delay is less than 9 years (and counting).
...nothing like a good game of 'burn the ant with sunlight' to cure a case of ADHD.
..what about 'Their'?
..when the game first first announced. Man, goldmine! How could they go wrong with a full universe of stories and creatures, gunslingers, heros, villans, etc. A perfect universe for a MMORPG. Wow, it took SOE to screw it up.