Monthly Archives: September 2008

The End of September Vespers Thing

September 30, 2008

Another month has come and gone, which means it’s time for a quick Vespers update.

Nope, it’s not finished yet.

Was September a good month? In general, I’d say it was pretty good. On the one hand, another student animator has left the project, which means we’re down to three. At least I’m assuming he’s left the project — like so many that came before him, he’s just no longer responding to e-mails. It’s not too troublesome since he never really got off the blocks with this project, but still…is it just animators, or are other people like this as well? In the face of overcommitment or disinterest, is it everybody’s instinct to lie low and hope nobody notices? Or just animators?

On the other hand, the remaining three animators are progressing nicely, and one in particular, Shawn, has agreed to devote a good deal of time and effort over [More...]

Category labels: Vespers | 3 Comments

A Treasure of LucasArts and Sierra Oddities

September 27, 2008


I caught this one from GameSetWatch, through Unseen64.net. A website by ATMachine that showcases a pretty impressive amount of info on some of the old LucasArts and Sierra adventure games, much of which was probably unseen. Not sure why or how it came to attention at this point in time, considering the site appears to have been around for a few years, but I’m glad it did since I hadn’t noticed it before.

There’s a wealth of cool stuff there. Development and design images from games, early (WIP) screenshots, alternate art and GUI interfaces that were never used, comparisons of the same games on different platforms, comparisons of demos and full releases, and other oddities. Some of the games featured include LucasArts’ Monkey Island 1 and 2, some of the many Indiana Jones adventures, Loom (which I never played), Dark Forces (ah, the memories of that one), [More...]

Category labels: adventure games | 3 Comments

Day Three (at the AGDC), Part Two

September 20, 2008

As I mentioned last time, there were some really intriguing presentations on the third day of the conference. One in particular was a technology demonstration given by representatives of two companies, Emotiv Systems and 3DV Systems, which are developing innovative ways for players to interface with computers or other entertainment devices.

Randy Breen from Emotiv Systems demonstrated what he called their “Brain-Computer Interface”, a device that fits on the head and is based on EEG machines. It basically translates brain waves into actions after a period of training. It’s compact (I didn’t even notice him wearing it during his talk), lightweight, and wireless, and includes a gyro to detect head movements. It can also detect facial expressions (blinking, smiling, eyebrow movement) and can essentially monitor emotional states. It can also detect cognitive intent to manipulate objects. Wild, but apparently true.

During the demo, he displayed the tool’s SDK which exposed [More...]

Category labels: game design, story in games | Leave a comment

Day Three (at the AGDC): Stern on Linear Storytelling

September 18, 2008

The last day of AGDC was an excellent day, with two talks in particular that led to a good deal of spirited, academic discussion about storytelling and a third lecture that demonstrated some very slick next-gen controllers that could have a significant impact in the future on game design and interface.

The first talk of the day was given by Andrew Stern, he of Façade fame, although he did not focus specifically on the accomplishments of that project. Instead, his talk, provocatively titled “Linearity is Hell: Achieving Truly Dynamic Stories in Games,” explored the possibility of truly dynamic storytelling in games and how a system like that might be designed. Stern did acknowledge that this was more of a theoretical talk and that he has no claim to a solution for this; rather, he was hoping to express his understanding of what such a system might entail.

He began by [More...]

Category labels: characters in games, game design, story in games | 1 Comment

Day Two (at the AGDC)

September 16, 2008

The second day of AGDC was pretty fun, although perhaps not quite as informative as the first day. For me, the day started off with a lecture by Andrew Walsh on the topic of “On-Demand Storytelling” as it applied to Prince of Persia, subtitled “The Death of Linearity.” It seems that non-linear storytelling is all the rage these days, with all sorts of mechanisms for implementing it, some of which sound very creative. I have no idea if they work, though — or, if they do, how effective the resulting story is.

One thing that was clear from Walsh’s talk is that he falls on the side of those who support and promote the use of cutscenes, when used properly. I’m a cutscene fan myself, so that was good to hear. But at one point, Walsh hammered developers who allow cutscenes to be bypassed (like with a “skip” [More...]

Category labels: Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Day One (at the AGDC)

September 15, 2008

It was an entertaining first day at the AGDC. It’s certainly more fun listening to talks about interactive storytelling, cinematic design, and writing characters in games than it is listening to talks about pharmaceuticals and obscure research findings.

As expected, Chris Crawford’s talk was, to a large extent, a rehash of material that I believe he has presented previously. Still, seeing it in person, particularly with his entertaining delivery, was worth it. His talk was titled “15 Conceptual Shifts: Moving From Games to Interactive Storytelling,” and it reviewed many of the points he has tried to make over the years — among other things: stories are about people, not things; the importance of interactivity; and the role of verbs as opposed to nouns. And, of course, the last few concepts dealt largely with his Storytron project, although unfortunately he did not provide a demonstration.

Much of this is material [More...]

Category labels: characters in games, story in games | 4 Comments

Brewing at the AGDC

September 15, 2008

So it’s been a crazy September to this point, and it’s been tough finding time to blog. But with the mad rush of work, at least temporarily, in the rear-view, I find myself relaxing at my first GDC. I’ve made it to Austin, and I’m now sitting in Ballroom B with a couple of other stragglers waiting for the first session, a lecture by Chris Crawford. In fact, Chris is right now sitting about 10 feet away typing on his MacBook Pro, probably finalizing his talk.

It’s a little odd; I’ve read much about the man, and even watched one of his talks from many years ago on YouTube. But I’ve never seen him in person. I’m looking forward to his talk on Interactive Storytelling, although I expect it will contain considerable material from other recent talks he has given. I’m sure he’ll focus on his Storytron, but I haven’t [More...]

Category labels: miscellaneous | 3 Comments

Holidays Are Good For Gaming (And Coding)

September 2, 2008

Following on the heels of Scorpia’s and Coyote’s posts, I just felt the need to say how great long weekends can be for gaming. Especially game coding. I had a mess of spare time to myself over the weekend, so I was able to get in some quality gaming and coding sessions that I hadn’t had in some time.

I had an itch to replay Doukustu (Cave Story), so I downloaded it again and fired it up. It never ceases to amaze me. Such simple gameplay, and yet it’s so engrossing. Everything just seems to work well in that game — the graphics, story, interface, music, you name it. Even though there is never any direct communication depicted between the protagonist and the other characters, and even though your only communication is equivalent to the simple “TALK” mechanic, it still manages to feel like a series of conversations [More...]

Category labels: Vespers | 1 Comment