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.

2757 Posts

"After over 50 days of rendering FPM Endgame is finally done. I've always said that if I'm going to do a sequel it has to be creatively worth doing.

Software used: 3dsMax 2012, After Effects, FumeFX, Vray, Krakatoa, and Premier.
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Gratz to YouTuber @fredlew for making this really epic video. Hadn't considered id be able to see the World 8 level from this perspective. Nearly forgot that level was in the rain too. :D

http://www.youtube.com/user/freddiew?feature=watch


http://i.imgur.com/YUaI7T4.jpg
"Starbound begins with you fleeing your homeworld in a space shuttle, just as it’s destroyed by an unknown enemy. With nothing to guide it, the escape pod shoots into space without direction, becoming hopelessly lost in a sea of stars. As luck would have it, the space shuttle makes contact with an abandoned space station and an adventure begins that will take you hurtling across the universe. Starbound contains both quests and story driven missions, buried inside its vast sandbox universe.

So basically Starbound is a 2D sandbox in space with limitless procedurally generated planets to explore. They also mentioned you can "take over" certain planets if you want to, which I find really cool. I was pretty impressed to see spaceships and mechs as awesome vehicles to take you from place to place. Oh right and this 2D epicness comes with multiplayer and is slated to come out some time in 2013.

Recently they posted that you can try an online character creator to see what kinds of ways you can customize your character. Its not a final product, but shows off some of the features we can expect.

http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/online-character-creator-update-part-deux.15383/

Another interesting bit is that Starbound and Stardew Valley are both published by Chucklefish. Both games look amazing and it looks like Chucklefish is publishing a few others work looking into.

http://playstarbound.com/


"In the third of our three StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm preview videos, Community Manager Cloaken takes a look at how eSports looks to be evolving with the coming expansion, the look and feel of the multiplayer game, ladder play, and more."

Coupled with the majority of Indie Kickstarter and Greenlight games, I add SC2: Heart of the Swarm to my most anticipated games in 2013 list. Next month can't come fast enough!

Who else is going to pick this up at launch? Bueller, Bueller...


http://i.imgur.com/UPRWmC2.jpg
Many outlets are covering the new PS4 unveiling including Twitter, but for the part of you not following all that, I have compiled some interesting bits about the PS4. Please add the things you find interesting to this thread.

The confirmed specs will be 8G RAM, X86 CPU, hard drive and new video card. Not much in the way of details, but a few confirmed facts that were speculation just a few months ago. They didn't say much about if it will come with BluRay, but I can't imagine it won't. The new DualShock 4 has a touch pad and seems a bit nicer of a design but largely the same. No huge need to change the controller much, in my opinion its already quite good.

Blizzard announced Diablo III will ship on the PS3 & PS4 confirming to me that this current generation of consoles will get way more life that the last ones.

Did you see any bits in the unveiling you found interesting?

http://games.slashdot.org/story/13/02/20/2353229/sony-announces-the-ps4
http://us.battle.net//d3/en/blog/8717945


Over the last few weeks I have heard a fair amount of praise about the Skyrim score but only just recently picked up the 4CD set. Over the last week or so I have been listening to Jeremy Soule's score and needed to say a few words about it.

If you love ambient, earthy scores weaved with the right amount of classical you need to pick this up. The song featured in the video above "Masser" showcases how elegantly Soule weaves various elements to immerse you in Skyrim's Nordic ascetic.

Often times with other game scores I come to a song that is thematically out of place or more pomp and show than substance. The Skyrim score contains songs that are woven elegantly together in a way that start to finish there are no out of beat moments. Soule's score earns its high moments by taking the listener a journey. In fact, Soule's score might stand alone in terms of thematic elements that fit together, in my opinion. In the age of the iPod, where composers write each song to stand alone, often times this makes a score a tough thing to listen to start to finish. Soule's Skyrim score doesn't institute this philosophy and is a refreshing take on what a video game score can be.

Clocking in at 3 hours and 38 minutes the score doesn't feel its length and find that the end comes faster than I want. Soule's Skyrim score made me an instant fan and I am going to actively seek out more of his body of work.


RetroLiberty is a cool YouTube channel dedicated to retro games. I appreciate both guys on the channel because the production value is much better than the average retro video faire. In this video they are discussing their top 10 NES games. I track with them on the list for the most part, but personally would have handed the top spot to The Legend of Zelda. Mario 2 would have been my number 2.

I also slightly disagree with them in that Super Mario 3 was not a perfect game. I argue it would be perfect if it had a save feature so its close but not entirely perfect. The version that ships on Super Mario All Stars shipped with a save feature and the graphics were a bit nicer too. But I digress, check out RetroLiberty and their top 10 NES games video, its quite a bit of fun.

Oh and happy Retro Tuesday!

http://www.youtube.com/user/RetroLiberty


http://i.imgur.com/HVjg1MF.jpg
Typically the new games I am the most excited about launching are Triple A studio titles. For many years, to me, they have been the pinnacle of rad. But starting this year that has changed. My most anticipated games coming out this year contain only one large studio title and the rest are from Indie companies.

Since I reject the hipster lifestyle I can attribute this to a shift in gaming at large and my gaming tastes evolving. For the last few years, Triple A titles primarily released on consoles have ruled the roost but this is changing significantly as more great Indie companies release awesome stuff. This stuff isn't just on consoles, its primary release is PC and often tablets and phones. Its a pretty awesome evolution too as the average Indie company can, for the most part, release a game a year while some Triple A titles can be in development for 5 or more.

Plus many of the games just look like fun. And I wanted to share with you what games I am looking forward to being released in 2013. The list I would have written in December is now, much, much larger but if you read the site as much as I do, most of these games won't come off as too much of a surprise. But its fun to collect them all for posterity sake.


  • bit Dungeon II: KintoGames sequel to the horribly addicting browser & iOS Dungeon crawler. From the occasional post on the Kinto blog it looks like BD2 will include co-op, which is a pretty awesome trend in many of the games on my list. Apparently I love playing games with friends or something.

  • Mew-Genics!: Team Meat's next game. They had me at the soundtrack and I have heard through the grapevine they will drop some more meaty news soon. Regardless, I am really excited for Edward McMillens next game.

  • Monster’s Ate My Birthday Cake: This is the first game I ever Kickstarted and I can't wait for this to drop. The visuals, play control and goal of this game really floored me. I like fun puzzle games and I can't wait to play this on my phone and PC. Visuals featured above.

  • Hammerwatch: A retro themed Gauntlet styled hack-n-slash featuring co-op? I can't help but think this game is an answer to my geek prayers. This games pixel art ascetic, concept and dungeon crawling really look quite cool. Can't wait to feed this to my Wizard...

  • Delver’s Drop: Fluid gameplay, built for replayability & awesome graphics mean Kickstarter <3. I hope they blow the door out on their goals so we can get more stuff added to this one.

  • Stardew Valley: Don't judge me for wanting to chop grass and wheat all day. So I like tending livestock and getting all sustainable crops with my farm.. its all good! Add in 4 player co-op... I don't know if ill sleep.

  • Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm: I can't tell a lie. I love Starcraft. Zerg is my most beloved race. I pre-ordered the Collectors Edition. How could I not, its like a game about... Zerg.



http://kintogames.com/
http://www.mewgenics.com/
http://sleepninjagames.com/
http://www.hammerwatch.com/
http://delversdrop.com/
http://stardewvalley.net/
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/heart-of-the-swarm-preview/



An interesting time lapse video of TJ Townsend recreating a scene in doom in high res. You can download the scene as well.

http://elemental79.deviantart.com/art/Doom-Pinky-Demon-Blocks-the-Exit-353835625


http://i.imgur.com/MyilV17.jpg
Eric Barone is the creator of Stardew Valley the new open-ended country-life RPG with co-op. After posting information of the game to Cheerful Ghost I realized that most of you were as excited about seeing this game and needed to know more about it. In the original thread I asked people to submit questions for the interview and @WhiteboySlim & @scrypt stepped up the the challenge. I wish Eric well and a speedy launch of Stardew Valley!

jdodson: The first time I saw the Stardew Valley video my mind exploded in excitement. The game seems to focus on a community & co-op and I noticed an in game conversation about crop sustainability. As you were coming up with the concept for Stardew Valley what were some of your goals with it?

Eric Barone: I've always been a huge fan of the Harvest Moon games... but missed the feel of the first couple of titles in that series. I always craved another game in that style, but with "even more stuff". That's what got me started on Stardew Valley. In writing dialogues and stories for the game, some of my own personal interests and concerns inevitably get injected into the game. That's why you'll see some things about sustainability, the environment, existential angst, fear of failure... these are things I actually care about myself. So I guess my goal is not only to make the game I always hoped for, but also to connect with people out there through a shared understanding and experience.

WhiteboySlim: I am curious what game inspired you while making Stardew Valley?

Eric Barone: Well, there's an obvious harvest moon influence, as well as all the other old SNES RPGs I played when I was younger... but I also played a lot of minecraft, terraria and sim city during development so far, and definitely drew some ideas from those games.

jdodson: Since you have been showcasing Stardew Valley on Steam Greenlight and the web I wonder what you reaction to the response has been? Has anyone demanded you add guns, loot and hats?

Eric Barone: People haven't made too many demands, but there's definitely been a lot of requests for different things, including guns, loots and hats hehe. I like to hear everyone's ideas... if something seems really popular and not too insane to add in then I'll probably do it.

jdodson: There haven’t been a lot of games focusing on a thriving farm. I think the last one I played was Farmville and it was WAY too simple to be awesome. I wonder how you have approached adding a deeper element to Stardew Valley than just plant, harvest, plant.

Eric Barone: I want players to always have multiple ways to accomplish the different goals they strive for. So, if you didn't want to farm, you could just spend all day in the mines instead. Or you could become an all-star fisherman and cook the finest seafood platters. I am still working on the game, but I really want to add in more open-ended farming features, like crop or animal breeding, as well as plenty of end-game content to keep the game interesting for a long time. The possible area you can farm is actually pretty massive, so you'll need a lot of special equipment to be able to reach your full potential as a farmer.

WhiteboySlim: The video showed off quite a bit of combat. (Is that an orc at 1:24?) But I noticed the list of skills they mentioned don't seem to relate at all to combat. Will combat be a major part of the game, and if so, how will your character improve their fighting ability?

Eric Barone: Combat can be a substantial part of the game if you want it to. There's always other ways of getting the items you need than exploring deep into dangerous areas, though. Your character will improve fighting ability mainly through finding better weapons and accessories. You can also eat cooked meals and drink beverages to give yourself temporary boosts to combat skills and to heal yourself in dangerous situations.

jdodson: Lets say I have an awesome run in Stardew Valley but I want to start over from scratch. Is the game setup for multiple runs or is it fairly linear?

Eric Barone: There is a story in Stardew Valley, which includes little scripted cutscenes. So if you start another game you might have to watch some of those again, unless I include an option to turn it off. However, there are plenty of things that are less linear and will be worthwhile to try in different ways... for example, you can try to marry another person or make choices that affect the community in one way or another.

jdodson: What is your favorite riddle?

Eric Barone: What has it got in its pocketses?

WhiteboySlim: As far as the co-op goes, can you provide some more details about how that will be handled? Will co-op work over a LAN or will it be internet only? Will the other players just be dropped into your town as visitors or will you all exist within the same town?

Eric Barone: Co-op will work on both internet and LAN. What I'm planning is that any farm you create could work as a potential "server"... so there will be some way of setting your farm as "open", and then your friends can stop in and play with you. Friends could even set up a permanent home in your valley. So it's kind of up to the you and the people you play with as to how closely you want to play together--as a full co-op, or as separate valleys with visits to each other.

jdodson: Will the game allow you to change your appearance, house, clothing or allow any other kind of customization?

Eric Barone: Yes, there will be many ways to customize your game, including but not limited to furniture, flooring, wallpapers, accessories, haircuts, and houseplants.

jdodson: In the trailer it says you can “uncover the secrets of the caves.” I wonder if you can give us a bit a spoiler? What's so secret about the caves?

Eric Barone: The caves are deep and very old... There are rumors of strange, intelligent creatures living down there, in the darkness. Some say they snatch things from people's houses at night.

Scypt: I'm wondering if there are any story elements, or adventure objectives.

Eric Barone: There are story elements that will give you goals to strive for... and there will probably be smaller quest-like objectives as well, with satisfying rewards to make them worthwhile. All of these will be optional.

jdodson: In SimCity you could select things that would destroy your city. Like an earthquake, fire or in the Super NES version Bowser would rampage through your City like Godzilla. Will there be any events that could wipe out your crop, livestock or house? Sorry, I love things that have post apocalyptic elements. Speaking of, I have an idea for Stardew Valley 2. Or rather, Stardew Valley 2232. A few survivors are still on the earth and have formed a small society. Plants are growing again, some animals survived. Same game as Stardew Valley BUT its for the survival of the human race and the advancement of plants and animals on the earth. Throw in some mutants and an evolved Squirrel race that want to wipe out humans and I think we are talking a million units shipped. Throw in a Steam sale and its early retirement!

Eric Barone: haha interesting idea! I don't want to punish players randomly with terrible storms or hurricanes... but then again, in real life farming can be a challenge! I think that most disastrous things in Stardew Valley will be avoidable somehow, so you never feel like the game is trying to make you irritated and depressed and without hope...

jdodson: I am wondering what the coolest feature in the game is for you and the people that have played it so far?

Eric Barone: So far, I've really enjoyed giving myself tons of resources and just designing a really cool looking farm. But that's just me. Another one who's played Stardew Valley says she likes exploring and discovering new areas and monsters in the mines!

jdodson: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions before we go are there anything you want to say about Stardew Valley or its post apocalyptic survival sequel?

Eric Barone: I'd like to invite everyone reading this to come visit http://www.stardewvalley.net and help shape the future of this game with your comments, ideas, and encouragement! :)

(Maybe your apocalypse sequel idea will really take off ;)

Thanks for having me on the site!