Train2Gamestudents can go behind the scenes of Journey in a developer diary from thatgamecompany.
Journey is a PlayStation 3 downloadable title, that sees plays go on a mystical adventure. In the world of Journey, it’s entirely possible to encounter others playing the game, but there’s no way of voice or text communication, and you’ll never know who they actually are.
The developer diary details the story behind Journey, how it came to have its distinct artistic style, why there is no communication and more.
Watch the video from thatgamecompany below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.
Journey is available now to PlayStation Plus subscribers and from 14th March if you’re not.
Thatgamecompany previously produced much praised indie title Flower, and as previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, studio co-founder Kellee Santiago says testing is an integral part of their game development.
So Train2Game, have you played Journey, if so what are your thoughts? And what insights have you gained from the developer diary?
Train2Game students can get a first look at XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the reimagining of one of the most loved strategy titles out there that’s being developed by Firaxis, the studio famous for Civilization series.
XCOM gives you the task of commanding a special paramilitary force to defend the earth from an alien invasion.
The developer diary sees the Firaxis team discuss their reimagining of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, explain some of their game design choices and talk about how they’re making a turn based strategy game ‘sexy’
Watch the XCOM: Enemy Unknown developer diary below for an insight into life at Firaxis.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown from Firaxis and 2K Games is scheduled for release in Autumn this year.
So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on XCOM: Enemy Unknown? What insights have you gained from the behind the scenes video?
The developer diary not only features Executive Producer Mark Darrah, Art Director Matthew Goldman and Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw talking about the concepts and ideas behind Dragon Age 2, but it also features gameplay, concept models and even some nice looking animated videos. Train2Game artists will be especially interested in the latter!
The Dragon Age 2 developer diary begins with Executive Producer Mike Darrah stating that meetings about the game had begun in 2009 before Dragon Age: Origins had even been released. This cumulated in an impressive looking animated first build which the team say contains many of the elements that feature in the opening of Dragon Age 2.
The developers also say that there were ideas they had in these opening stages that in the end didn’t make the cut. For example, Art Director Matthew Goldman says he wanted protagonist Hawke to be a he lycanthrope that tasted his own blood and howled like a werewolf. Obviously, this idea hasn’t made it into Dragon Age 2!
Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw also talks us through one of the main changes for Dragon Age 2, where choices the player makes will have affects right away, rather than at the end of the game:
“Where Origins really shone by having this huge epilogue with thousands of variations based on the choices you made, we’ve instead moved that into the gameplay.”
“People you have interacted with at the beginning of the game are going to have their situations profoundly affected by their interactions with Hawke – your character. You re-interact with them. You see how that worked out. So we believe [this] be our most interactive game to date.”
The team also discuss how they’re aware that some of the changes they’ve made are big, but they believe that it will change Dragon Age 2 for the better.
Interested Train2Game students can watch the Dragon Age 2 developer diary below, courtesy of GameSpot UK.
Long time Train2Game blog readers will know that we’ve previously been massive advocates of Dragon Age: Origins, even going so far as to say that it’s a game that all Train2Game students should appreciate. The sheer open nature of the game means that the game designers needed to put a lot of effort into writing the different outcomes, while game developers and game artist and animators would have worked on parts of the game that the majority of players may not have even seen!
Dragon Age 2 is scheduled for release for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on March 11th 2011.
So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Dragon Age 2 developer diary? Does it provide you with a good insight into how producing a game as massive as Dragon Age 2 works? And what do you think about the changes that have been made to the game since Origins? Has the game perhaps been tailored to a console audience?
It’s Friday, so that means Obsidian Entertainment have released another Fallout: New Vegas developer diary. In this latest developer diary, the team behind Fallout: New Vegas tell us a bit about the different factions in the game and how interacting with them can change the dynamics of New Vegas.
The developers explain how they want the Fallout: New Vegas player to interact with a large number of different groups, and that there are no ‘black and white’ decisions. There is no good, or evil and Fallout: New Vegas is developed in such a way that the player will have a hesitation before joining a faction, while they think about whether it’s the right thing to do.
We’re also told a bit about the main factions competing for power in the Fallout: New Vegas Mojave Wastelands. The New California Republic, or NCR for short, are the government of the New Vegas area. However, we’re told that the NCR has grown to big for its own good and is now struggling to control its territory and protect its citizens.
Meanwhile, Cesar’s Legion are a group of slavers coming from the east and conquering all that they come across. They’re fighting against the NCR, with the two factions in a stalemate at the Hoover Dam, the most important point in the New Vegas area.
The third major faction in Fallout: New Vegasremains rather mysterious, but what the developers do reveal is that its led by ‘Mr House’ and he doesn’t want NCR to take control of the New Vegas strip.
In addition to these three major factions, Fallout: New Vegas will have many smaller factions each with their own politics and ideologies. The developers say the decisions you make as to which of these you help will really make a difference to the Fallout: New Vegas game world. Of course, you also have the option of playing Fallout: New Vegas and not helping anyone at all…
You can watch Fallout New Vegas Developer Diary #4 – Factions, below.
Here’s Fallout: New Vegas developer diary number three from Obsidian Entertainment. This time around the main focus of the developer diary is on the art direction of Fallout: New Vegas. This Fallout: New Vegas developer diary is definitely one for Train2Game Art & Animation students!
The developers explain how they make sure that Fallout: New Vegas holds onto the weird 1950’s setting of the post-nuclear world while still adding Las Vegas glamour to the game. There’s a lot of talk about making sure that when exploring the world of Fallout: New Vegas, that the player will feel as if there in the Rat Pack era of the 1950’s.
The designers explain how they’ve given crown jewel of Fallout: New Vegas, which of course Las Vegas, its own distinct classic style, but have made sure make every location in the game world feel truly authentic be the architecture based on the 1950’s, or the earlier Wild West.
It sounds like the artists behind Fallout: New Vegas had a lot of fun designing the famous casinos, which each have their own individual themes. They go so far as to say the Fallout: New Vegas strip is one ‘big artistic playground.’ You can see the Fallout: New Vegas ‘Art Direction’ developer diary below.
Bethesda Softworks and Splash Damage have released a third developer diary about their upcoming first person shooter Brink. (You can watch a previous Brink developer diary over at Gabe’s Train2Game blog.) This latest Brink developer diary is titled ‘Brink: The end of the genre as we know it’ in which the developers discuss Brink’s ‘unique meld of single and multiplayer modes’ which form the basis of the game.
This third Brink developer diary begins with Creative Director Richard Ham telling us that the squad based shooter bridges the gap between single player and multiplayer games. Brink Game Director Paul Wedgewood echoes this theme by adding “We’re finally blurring the lines between offline gaming and online gaming” Splash Damage certainly want to let gamers know that this is the unique feature of Brink!
The Brink developers are very keen to push through that the game doesn’t have a pre-set path, with the player being able to choose their own story whether they are playing online or offline. Completing team based objectives in both modes will earn Brink players experience points which they can spend on customising their character with their own unique selection of clothes, weapons and other accessories.
Brink does look very impressive and it’ll be very interesting to see if the amalgamation of the single player and multiplayer experiences work when Brink is released in Spring next year.
Train2Game students can watch ‘Brink: The end of the genre as we know it’ below.
So Train2Game, do you think the idea behind Brink is a clever one? Or do you believe it might fall flat in reality? Are you looking forward to Brink? And do you think you could combine single player and multiplayer experiences into one whole game?
Ninja Theory have launched the first in series of Developer Diaries that allow us – that’s you too Train2Game students – a look at their upcoming title Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.
The first Enslaved Dev Diary is titled ‘Building Story & Character’ and looks at the process of doing this for Odyssey to the West. The developers talk about creating the characters of Monkey and Trip, along with developing the relationship between the two. (Monkey is apparently ‘Like Tarzan having a bad day) We also find out a bit about the Chinese origins of the story.
The Ninja Theory team also discuss how the importance of both the acting and writing of Enslaved. Actor Andy Serkis provided character motion capture for Monkey, while screen writer Alex Garland – famous for his work on 28 weeks later – has provided help with writing the game.
The key thing to take from the video seems to be how the developers want Enslaved: Odyssey to the West want the game to feel like a movie. You can watch the Enslaved Developer Diary below.
So Train2Game, what do you think of the Enslaved Developer Diary? Do you think having film writers involved will help the game feel more like a movie? Will you be buying Enslaved: Odyssey to the West?
Ubisoft have released the first of a series of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood developer diaries. In this first one titled Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood ‘The Birth’; the Ubisoft team explain the history behind the story which may be useful for those not familiar with Assassin’s Creed or Assassin’s Creed 2.
The video also tells us a bit about new features in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood including the recruitment system, a little bit about multiplayer and the fact that the game starts exactly where Assassin’s Creed 2 left off. You can check out the first Assassins’ Creed: Brotherhood Developer Diary below.
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood game is scheduled for release in Europe on November 19th. Despite this being just one year after the release of Assassin’s Creed 2, Ubisoft are keen to stress that Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood isn’t a rushed sequel and is a full part of their planned story.
So Train2Game, What do you think of the Assassin’s Creed Developer Diary? Are you a fan of the franchise and if so, are you looking forward to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood? And how important do you feel pre-planning a storyline across multiple games is for franchise titles?
You can leave your comments about Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood here or on the Train2Game forum.
Here’s another little developer diary that Train2Game students may find interesting. This one is from Freestyle Games, and features Creative Director Jamie Jackson talking about their upcoming title DJ Hero 2.
During the two and a half minute video, he speaks about DJ Hero 2’s six new multiplayer modes. These include Party Play, which lets you and friends freestyle through continuously running mixes at will, and Streak, a battle game that also let’s a vocalist join in on the action.
The other modes are DJ battle, head to head, Accumulator and Checkpoint challenge which are all explained in a bit more detail in the developer diary.
Jamie Jackson says the main idea behind the multiplayer modes of DJ Hero 2 is to ‘inspire a party in your living room.’ He also adds that the bars gone up and claims the games multiplayer modes have something for everyone. Reckon he’s right, Train2Game? Why don’t you tell us after watching the Developer Diary from Freestyle Games below? (Careful now, it contains ‘Mild Suggestive Themes!’)
So, have you thought about designing multiplayer games? Do you think it’s more difficult than doing it for a single player game? And do you like what you’ve seen of DJ Hero 2?
Codemasters have released another F1 2010 developer diary and once again it should make interesting viewing for Train2Game students, particularly the Games Designers.
Entitled Live the Life, and describes what is essentially the games story. You start off as a new driver, with the expectations placed upon you depending on your team and difficulty setting. The video is once again fronted by Formula 1 driver and Technical Consultant on F1 2010 Anthony Davidson, and he explains how your teams expectations are very authentic.
“The expectations for the driver playing the game are the same as in real life given your machinery. At the end of the day, the teammate that you have is the only direct competition you’ll have through the whole season. There’s a strange balance of having to work together but also this desperate competition. Where it gets a little bit personal is events like qualifying and the race where you’re just out there to beat him, no matter what.”
The video also demonstrates how you won’t just be driving the car, but will be involved in press conferences and other media duties with the in-game journalists’ questions depending on how well you’ve been driving. The video doesn’t reveal how this’ll affect the game, but perhaps it’ll be in the style of Football Manager where your reactions can either boost or lower the morale of your team. Or will your comments cause your rivals to almost run you into a wall?
Interestingly, the developers discuss how they’ve striven for realism in the garage by using motion capture from real F1 mechanics to make everything as close to the real thing as possible. Of course, there are also pit girls, whether or not they were motion captured isn’t revealed…
If you missed the previous developer diary, which examined the work put into recreating the cars, you can watch it here.
So Train2Game, what do you think of this latest Codemasters F1 2010 Developer Diary? Did you expect Games Designers to have to include a story and scripts for a racing game? And how would you like to use motion capture in one of your future games?
Train2Game students can go behind the scenes of Journey in a developer diary from thatgamecompany.
The Train2Game Blog 