jdodson1

Joined 01/23/2012

I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.

2753 Posts

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I just sat down to play the Kickstarter Early Access for Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake. Needless to say the game is awesome and I was really impressed by it. After playing many Early Access games on Steam I have come to accept a certain amount of broken and bugginess from early previews. The Kickstarter Early Access for Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake transcends all of that and throws you into a very polished game oozing with charm. If I had any questions about how good this game will be, they were answered in first few minutes of playing.

Once you start the game you are brought right into the games story and meet the main character Niko. Niko wakes up on his birthday morning and finds that his cake has been stolen by the dreaded Boogin King. As you leave your house you head through the village and talk to the elder Altus and he imbues you with your first Biblio Monstrum. Your Biblio Mostrum acts as your guide cataloging all you know about in game characters, collected items, costumes, enemy boogins and the current level objectives.

After the brief introduction you head out into the world and the game teaches you it's puzzle mechanics. Like all great games it slowly teaches you each new mechanic in turn giving you plenty of time to understand the games elements. I found this a very nice touch as the game ramps up the puzzles quickly in a way that is fun and challenging.

The game art, tone, writing and music all lend to it's immense charm. If this is just an early access preview, I can't wait to play the final version.

The early access preview was released on Mac and Windows and the Mac version ran without a hitch. The Kickstarter backer email had a few bits of info I found interesting.

Q: But it’s still coming out on mobile, correct?
A: Absolutely. iOS and Android.

Q: Linux?
A: We’ve gotten this question a lot, and yes, we are seriously considering a Linux version. However, as it is not a part of our original timeline, it will probably be released a bit later.

Q: When is the full game coming out?
A: This summer.

Can't wait to play the final version this summer and when there is a final release date, i'll let you all know. If you are itching to see more of the game, here is another screen grab I took of the games over world. I may do a let's play of the first part of the game so stay tuned.

http://i.imgur.com/MhEC1ZQ.png

If you are interested in reading our interviews with SleepNinja Games, look here:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1887
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/919


I have been itching for a new version of Gauntlet for quite some time and it seems WB Interactive is tapping Arrowhead Studios to the task. They have announced the game will initially ship on PC with Steam and later come to SteamOS.

Snip from the press release...

"... Gauntlet, a completely modernized action RPG version of the celebrated dungeon crawler, will be available this summer via Steam for PC, offering full support for SteamOS and the upcoming Steam Machines shipping the second half of this year."

The trailer for the game looks like a nice next step for Gauntlet but I am curious how they will improve the hack in slash formula the game invented so long ago. What do you think of the Gauntlet reboot?

I may be wrong, but this also seems like the first game by a major publisher to be announced for SteamOS. Now that GDC is upon us till PAX East in April, I expect to hear about more games coming to SteamOS.


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Game Trailers show Pop Fiction recently produced a really great episode about the secrets of Super Mario Brothers. In this episode they find out if there are more secret levels in Super Mario Brothers than just the minus worlds. It's a very technical episode and goes over mechanisms on how people found these levels and how you can go about playing them now.

If you love Nintendo lore and knowing as much as you can about Super Mario Brothers you need to watch the video linked below, your inner nerd will thank you.

http://www.gametrailers.com/full-episodes/bbcd7o/pop-fiction-episode-35--the-lost-levels


"Videogames generally suck when it comes to storytelling. Their stories are often ineffective, clumsy, or just plain unnecessary. And so many cutscenes!!! We're disengaged, and it breaks our immersion. WE want to play the game, not have it told to us. Enter Dark Souls: the plot may seem threadbare, but when you dig in, whole new backstories and depth begin to emerge as you interact with the things you find. Is this the future of storytelling? Or should games even be TRYING to tell stories?"

This episode of Game/Show is pretty interesting as it brings up a point that was made in a recent Cheerful Ghost Roundtable, typically games contain pretty bad stories. Jamin talks about Dark Souls and how it goes about telling the story. Dark Souls lets you know the game narrative throughout the gameplay as you experience the game and collect items. Seems similar to how Portal 2 unfolds, as you play the game and solve puzzles the story is fed to you bit by bit.

What game have you played that had a memorable story and how did they tell it?


Not gonna lie, I am excited about Reaper of Souls launching in two weeks. That said, when I see something new drop about the expansion, I want to share it and this latest video showcasing more about the Crusader is pretty awesome

It seems the Crusader is very similar to the Diablo II Paladin except he seems to bring a few Barbarian like things to the table. It seems the Crusader has "auras" but also seems to have an ability that makes him almost giantlike.

Are you getting Reaper of Souls when it launches and if so will you play the new class? I know I will be.


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"During presentations and hands-on demos at Crytek's GDC booth, attendees can see for the first time ever full native Linux support in the new CRYENGINE. The CRYENGINE all-in-one game engine is also updated with the innovative features used to recreate the stunning Roman Empire seen in Ryse – including the brand new Physically Based Shading render pipeline, which uses real-world physics simulation to create amazingly realistic lighting and materials in CRYENGINE games."

Valve should be letting us know the publishers that will be coming to SteamOS soon and I hope this signal from the Cryengine folks is a recipe of what is to come. The Cryengine powers games such as: Crysis, Far Cry, MechWarrior Online & more. If you want to see more games come to Linux and SteamOS this is really good news.

http://www.crytek.com/news/conference-attendees-can-also-see-a-brand-new-mobile-game-extra-engine-updates-and-much-more-at-crytek-s-booth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryEngine


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As the days to the release of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls count down, Blizzard is letting out more information about the expansion. In this latest update they kicked out some really interesting bits of lore about the Crusader. I'll clip out a few things I found interesting:

"While there is some debate among scholars as to the true nature of Akarat’s prophecy—specifically, whether the "being" Akarat saw was the archangel Yaerius or simply an echo of Uldyssian’s sacrifice at the end of the Sin War—its significance is undeniable. It is said that the vision, manifesting as a magnificent flash of light and energy across the sky, ignited the fundamental belief within Akarat that humans were powerful vessels of light, and that all should seek their "inner light" in order to live good lives."

There is debate amongst scholars in Diablo's world of sanctuary as to if the being Akarat saw was the archangel Yaerius or is the echo of some warriors sacrifice? If I could portal myself into the world of Diablo III I would enjoy listening in at that scholarly debate.

OLD MAN THAT LOOKS LIKE DECARD CAIN BUT ISN't DECARD CAIN 1: "So yeah, I think it was homeboy Yaerius himself, in the flesh. I mean in angel-skin and not flesh, but it was totally him."

OLD MAN THAT LOOKS LIKE DECARD CAIN BUT ISN't DECARD CAIN 2: "Nah dude, it was just an echo of Uldyssian's sacrifice and I have some non-science to prove it!"

OLD MAN THAT LOOKS LIKE DECARD CAIN BUT ISN't DECARD CAIN 1: "Nah, I totally don't believe in your non science because I have some of my own that I actually think is true."

OLD MAN THAT LOOKS LIKE DECARD CAIN BUT ISN't DECARD CAIN 2: "Huh well thats a bummer, I felt good about my position. Hey, I have a question? Why don't we learn how to swing a sword, it seems like whever the undead return we all get murdered?"

Blizzard also posted a Q&A with fans on Twitter. I thought a few of the questions were pretty interesting.

"Golf Mike: Why did you choose the flail as the main weapon for Crusaders?

Blizzard: A heavily armored, deeply driven warrior is traditionally depicted with a flail or mace. Maces generally learn towards the clergymen or clerical type of character, and the Crusader definitely leans more towards the martial side of things. Plus, they’re just awesome!
"

I don't know what church the people at Blizzard go to but it sounds really dangerous. That said, they are right about one thing, maces are totally awesome. And because of that, I will play the Crusader class when the expansion drops. I mean, why not play a member of a religious order way more dogmatic than a Paladin? They might not be fun at parties but I bet they are very pious as they smash demons in the face.

You can read the entire history of the Crusader:

http://us.battle.net//d3/en/blog/13183881

You can read the entire Blizzard Crusader Q&A:

http://us.battle.net//d3/en/blog/13183883


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Curious to hear what everyone has been playing lately? I haven't really been playing anything specific and hope to hear something interesting that I can dig into.


I recently was let into the beta for Nekro and I am excited to finally be able to write about it. Nekro is a pretty dark game where you take the role of an evil Necromancer hell bent on usurping the sitting king in favor of replacing him with a dark lord of the undead. In the first few missions you learn the ropes of the game and spend in game "sins" to upgrade your Necromancers abilities. I really enjoy playing as the brawler Nekro and sunk most of my points into the bats as my summons. One aspect of Nekro is that your summons automagically target bad guys leaving you free to kite around taking shots at the games antagonists. Whereas you can use your Nekro to attack the game really wants you to lean on your summons as your bread a butter method for attack.

I felt at home with the games graphic style as it is well suited to the games very dark premise. The style reminds of Warcraft III at times and since Warcraft III has a special place in my heart, that isn't a bad thing.

To be able to use your Nekro's special abilities you need to kill living creatures to harvest blood. At first this is a bit creepy as when you acquire the blood the in game sound effect is of someone drinking. That said, Nekro doesn't seem to apologize for it's tone and content, which is something I respect about it. Plus if you have ever wanted to kill farmers, chickens, pigs or cows and have the game reward you, Nekro is your jam.

I recorded a video above that came out WAY darker than the game actually is. I link it above because I had fun making it, but don't take the quality as a reflection of the game, it looks way better than that. The guys at Yogscast did a video that is a bit longer than the one I did and doesn't suffer from any technical issues. I recommend you check it out for a better idea of what the game looks like.

http://youtu.be/GGlYey0TQeQ

Nekro will drop sometime this year on Mac, Linux and PC.


"To whet your auditory appetite, we've put together an exclusive preview track featuring just a small sample of new melodies you'll hear as you adventure through this haunting environment."

I really enjoyed the Diablo III score and appreciate the direction they took with this music for Reaper of Souls. The music shown in the clip above seems to have an airy choral quality to it. The songs are also layered such that the individual instruments really stand out in a way I didn't hear in the Diablo III score.

Blizzard also did a Q&A with the Diablo III music director Derek Duke. I cut a snippet from the interview for your viewing pleasure.

""Q. The world of Sanctuary is so diverse. When creating tracks for specific areas, how do you make sure you're creating a unique identity while also providing a cohesive sound across the game?

Derek: It's certainly a challenge, and hopefully one we've done well in Reaper of Souls.

One of the ways we've tried to bring musical cohesion into the Diablo franchise this time around was to filter all the music through a single person and process. The Diablo series was originally scored by a single composer and, while the other Blizzard franchises have benefited so much from having all of Blizzard's unique musical personalities contribute to a project, it really felt like Diablo—and Reaper of Souls in particular—wanted a single voice.

While writing a majority of the music myself, I was also able to leverage themes written by Russell Brower, Jason Hayes, Joseph Lawrence, and Glenn Stafford. Those themes were then built upon, arranged, stretched, and orchestrated to sound as though originating from a singular musical voice.

In addition, all our music was recorded with the same orchestra in the same decommissioned church with the same team over two years.
"

You can read the entire interview on the Diablo III blog:

http://us.battle.net//d3/en/blog/13154927