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| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61800/213 |  kevinSpiess (156) Mar 01, 2007 - 12:56 pm » Edited on Mar 01, 2007 - 12:56 pm
| | But if you already have your game engine coded and your game-design formula well formulated, a year is a long enough time for a bunch of programmer-dudes to add something new to the mix. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62001/168 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 28, 2007 - 09:07 pm » Edited on Feb 28, 2007 - 09:31 pm
| | Added a little bit more to this article (mentioning a bit about the weapons, and the apparent difficulty in learning the complex maps), but I'm going to save an in-depth analysis for what I think will be an entry in the 2nd Video Prelim. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61800/213 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 28, 2007 - 08:13 pm
| | Looks like we agreed on many things about Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. The tedious nature of the game really, ultimately, kills it. If the game was designed with a branching story line (like you could choose either to attack dude X or dude Y instead of following a linear progression through the game), or if the game had some sort of strategic elements to it, it could have gone from being merely a pretty good game to a classic game. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14493 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 28, 2007 - 05:41 pm
| | Thank you for your comments, Brandon and Jakub, they are much appreciated. I am very encouraged! I was worried before that my review totally sucked because of the very low ratings I received on it -- but now, not so much. I think before the deadline, I'll put back a bit of the Marvel review that I cut-out. I also enjoyed Jakub's comment about that steal-of-a-deal, 5000$ computer that his parents bought. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62677/193 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 28, 2007 - 05:18 pm » Edited on Feb 28, 2007 - 05:18 pm
| | I think you are correct in saying that often, AI is given the short end of the programming stick. A particularly bad example from this year comes to my mind in Heroes Of Might And Magic V -- a good all-round game, but the AI was so terrible that the computer player was incapable of garrisoning its own castles or mounting any sort of reasonable attack. In my opinion, your article was pretty well written, but if I were to make one criticism, it would be that you did not mention your article's main point (AI) until the 4th paragraph. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62701/200 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 28, 2007 - 05:07 pm
| | A helpful, constructive article -- but this may have been even more useful to article-writers if it was posted at the beginning of the contest, as opposed to the last day of the 2nd preliminary. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62001/168 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 27, 2007 - 05:29 pm » Edited on Feb 27, 2007 - 05:39 pm
| | In my defense twophayse, the mod was only released this weekend -- I wrote the article within like 24 hours or so of the games release, so you can't really expect a full-on review of the product. Could I have said more? Sure -- but I wanted to err on the side of brevity, and write an article that was to the point. I think all your questions are addressed at some point in this page, but to tackle'm one by one: Is it fun? Yes -- very fun. How does it compare to similar projects? As stated, similar to Team Fortress; mod-wise, it is a accomplishment comparable with the likes of great Half-Life mods such as the first release of Day of Defeat. Do you know any background info on the creative team behind the project? I've been following the game for about 6 months, so I know a bit about the dev team (they are from all over the world, with many in Australia), but wasn't able to research this point too much due to the fact that their server forums were down this weekend for the release of the game -- nor did I feel that more information on the dev. team was vital to the article (that could be an article on its own). What made you interested in writing about it? Dystopia made me interested in writing this article; I like the game, know that many people will enjoy it, and feel that the mod deserves more exposure. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/39922/174 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 26, 2007 - 05:35 pm
| | Ah -- I didn't notice the Roger Kynard reference. Nor did I realize until a quick google search that Roger Kynard is one-as-the-same as Roky Erickson -- who by the way, I think is just fantastic. I was really into his music a few months ago. I like that song, what is called, but the chorus is "I Have Always Been Here Before". And "Creature with the Atom Brain" and "Night of the Vampire" ...yeah his stuff rocks. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/39922/174 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 26, 2007 - 03:47 pm
| | By the way, previous comments not-withstanding, I enjoyed your story :) . By the title "Good Morning, Al Seimers" am I correct in presuming that you are referring to the character having Alzheimer's Disease? Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/39922/174 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 26, 2007 - 03:25 pm » Edited on Feb 26, 2007 - 03:40 pm
| Although I respect and agree with your statements, I think you are a little misguided in posting them here. Firing Squad is not looking solely for creative writers; with this contest, they are looking for a writer who has the skills and ability to develop what their particular audience wants: which is professional-grade, game-industry related content. There are many venues out in the great wide world for other varieties of creative writing. This contest also offers you a huge amount of freedom in your choice of article. Ultimately, however, for a writer, he (or she) has to deliver what his audience wants: be it a review of the latest Thom Yorke album, a magazine article about getting rid of PMS, a thriller novel about lesbians and lasers, or whatever it is he or she has created -- it has to be in the right place.
There are no limits on creativity in the world of writing. But if you want people to benefit or enjoy what you have written, then you must enter a sort of 'partnership with the reader', and deliver on some of their expectations, and follow certain rules, such as grammatical conventions. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62001/168 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 26, 2007 - 02:34 pm
| | Thanks Droniac! Well, it seems the consensus is in; I think later on today I will inject some more info into this article -- maybe a paragraph 's worth, or so -- to fatten up the article a little bit. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62001/168 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 26, 2007 - 02:22 pm
| Thanks Kessandra. Yup, those are my screenshots; glad you like'em. And b.t.w, "Jack in. Kick Ass." is the pg official byline of Dystopia, so I just have to keep it as is!
As the resident Firing Squad FPS Girl I totally recommend you try out the game :) . Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62001/168 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 25, 2007 - 10:41 pm » Edited on Feb 25, 2007 - 10:46 pm
| | Maybe I should have mentioned the movie Johnny Mnemonic instead of the other two flicks. Who has seen that super-uber, horrible cyberpunk classic? Best line in it: "I...want...ROOM SERVICE!!" --Keanu Reeves, (aka, The Greatest Thespian of All Time) Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62001/168 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 25, 2007 - 10:38 pm » Edited on Feb 27, 2007 - 05:14 pm
| Thanks for your comments OldFriend. I forgot about System Shock's VR sequences -- good comparison there. Btw, the cyberspace is also similar to the maps in the Tron game (anyone play that?). In response to your constructive beefs: 1) I really wanted to keep this article short, more of a news release then in-depth look at the game -- but your point is valid; maybe I should've included more stuff. I did mention that "Your arsenal includes modern and Sci-fi weapons" but I guess a few examples would have been good.
2) Although you dead-on right about Blade Runner being the grand-daddy of film cyberpunk, I thought Matrix might've been better to mention instead, just because it is more recent and it involves hacking to some minor extent, and also features combat with fancy firearms. It is less 'cyberpunk' than Blade Runner, but the movie definitely has cyberpunk influence. On the other hand... I suppose Blade Runner is much more dystopic than Matrix is...but I digress...hmmm.. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62001/168 | kevinSpiess (156) Feb 25, 2007 - 07:33 pm » Edited on Feb 25, 2007 - 07:33 pm
| | Here is my second attempt at a Firing Squad worthy article -- in this case, a news release of sorts. I tried to make it more direct and succinct (learning from my perhaps too wordy review of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.) I wanted to submit another article to try to get myself into round 2, but I'm also happy to publicize this mod a little bit -- because it's pretty sweet, and about the only thing the game lacks is players (which, I'm sure will come soon enough). Thanks for reading; any comments appreciated, as always. Game on. Flag this | Edit this post |
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