BigKid

Romero on 3D Nomenclature

monty — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 09:37:01 +0000

While discussing the UE3 editor, some friends and I wondered where the term “brush” came from to describe the pieces of 3D geometry that make up the base mesh of a level. So on a whim, I emailed ex-idSoftware (Doom, Quake etc.) founder John Romero for insight. He replied almost immediately (gotta love the iPhone). So for those few fellow geeks who have wondered the same thing, here is the answer from the horse’s mouth:

We came up with the term “brush” while writing QuakeEd in 1995. At the beginning we were moving around a 3d rectangle as the only building block for creating level geometry and as a level editor is akin to a paint program (and we were still using DeluxePaint 2 on Quake) the name “brush” made the most sense as the basic thing you used to “paint” levels with.

With Wolf3d and Doom that terminology wouldn’t have fit. I didn’t know UE3 used the word still - that’s cool! And deathmatch, spawn(point), frag, gib and telefrag are still used after 14 years :)

DM-Rankin Remake

monty — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:11:54 +0000

A colleague of mine is working on a remake of the original Unreal Tournament map favourite DM-Rankin for UT3. He’s already sunk 150 hours into it, and it’s only one third complete, but it’s looking pretty good. The complete level will be available in about two months for both PC and PS3. Screenshots and impassioned discussion on his choice of style available at Epic Forums.

Pre-fab Game Design

monty — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:07:44 +0000

There is something missing from most modern games. I have written a lot about this, and spent a long time trying to understand it. The last time I visited a computer games store I was struck by the fact that the shelves were filled with hundreds of titles, but only four or five different games. Everyone is copying everyone else, and very few game-makers seem to be coming up with anything new, novel, or - and this is the clincher - inspired. The industry is eating itself.

GDAA Lobbies Australian Government for Tax Breaks

bruce — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:36:22 +0000

From developmag.com:-

The Game Developers Association of Australia has written to the Government’s arts minster and opposition minister demanding that the state extend its generous film tax credits scheme to include games studios.

A letter sent last week and forwarded to Develop follows up from a previous call by the GDAA and requests the Government urgently respond to the call.

Those making films in Australia are granted a 40 per cent tax rebate, and the association wants developers to get the same treatment.

Flagship Q&A

monty — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 04:16:31 +0000

Ex-Blizzarder Bill Roper talks to Gamasutra about upcoming Diablo-esque FPS Hellgate: London and sister title Mythos.

IE 7 Workaround

monty — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:05:21 +0000

If you are having trouble with IE 7 throwing up the Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage page anytime it encounters a website that does a USER_AGENT check to find out what sort of browser you are using, head here to get a nice easy workaround. Or stick to Firefox like the rest of us.

Design Exploits

monty — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 04:44:51 +0000

Sometime MMO designer Damion Schubert recently spoke to a team member on the Shadowrun Demo about the decision to make it an FPS. It turns out some of the demo’s more novel mechanics were inspired by common FPS exploits:

That’s right. Shadowrun is, for lack of a better term, a game that has incorporated wallhacks into it’s core gameplay. And the results of this ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ mentality is so fascinating that every armchair designer should take this title for a swing.

Going Triple A

monty — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:23:49 +0000

After six years working in the Australian games industry, I decided to cast my net overseas. For several years I had been following a vague game plan to get OS. I wasn’t always sure that I wanted to make the move, but I figured I should keep the option open, and so made some important decisions that eventually allowed me to get here. For those who are interested, here’s how I did it, and my experiences so far.

eGames & Entertainment Expo

bruce — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 12:04:38 +0000

Byron Scaf wrote:

Australia’s largest electronic games and digital entertainment expo, the eGames & Entertainment Expo, is coming to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from the 17th – 19th of November this year. Showcasing the latest and yet to be released games, this years expo will be remembered for the chance to play Nintendo’s Wii console weeks before it goes on sale in Australia, along with loads of other product launches and new personal entertainment products to experience and buy.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia and New Zealand’s Managing Director, Michael Ephraim, will bring Playstation 3 to the expo presenting on the main stage four months before it arrives in Australia. Along with presentations by Microsoft’s David McLean showcasing Xbox Live, Nintendo demonstrating Wii, Intel pushing out Core2Duo power from the main stage and World’s First 3D gaming technology, there will be loads of other things to see and do. See the next level of home and personal entertainment at the Intel ViiV presentation area and see what the future holds.

Madman will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary with loads of great anime products to see and buy at the expo. You can go hands-on at one of the Head to Head podiums where winner stays on or join in one of the competitions that are being run at the Intel PC Zone and at the Xbox Zone. Watch and play against the best eSport players in Australia featuring Team Immunity and let the crew from Spectreworld introduce you to Xbox game playing at a higher level. Lot’s of great prizes to win. In fact, enter the door prize to have a chance to win a $4000 Scorpion Technology Stinger Gaming PC plus other great prizes like an LCD TV courtesy of Digital Hub, a PMP player and heaps more.

Experience first hand what the rest of Australia will be waiting months to see at the eGames & Entertainment Expo. More details are available at www.egamesexpo.com.au or blog.egamesexpo.com.au

Melbourne House Future in Doubt

bruce — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 16:45:48 +0000

SMH.com.au/blogs have provided a gloomy update on the future of Atari Melbourne House…

The future of one of Australia’s oldest and best-known development studios looks grim as its troubled parent company continues to offload its assets…

Atari has been searching for a buyer for development studio Melbourne House for at least six months after defaulting on loan payments and having its line of credit withdrawn. Atari’s net losses in the last financial year were US$69 million.

Console Wars hits E3

bruce — Fri, 12 May 2006 17:20:59 +0000

This 2 minute (!) video of the line-up at E3 to play with the Nintendo Wii says something about the interest out there.

Meantime, Kutaragi is defending the high PS3 pricing by comparing it to “dinner at a fine restaurant”… which doesn’t really answer questions about HD support and WiFi in the cheaper version.

The Nintendo Wii may be stupid branding, but at least now everyone has heard of it (did they expect such wide publicity?) and the interest above suggests that the focus on innovative gameplay is generating huge interest. Delaying the PS3 release to include a new optical drive format seems like Sony is betting their entire lead of market share. At last year’s E3, Nintendo seemed to me like a comfortable third place, but Sony’s stumbles since then have made the competition wide open. Even the 360 is making solid headway, despite a pausity of good games and even more surprising when you compare it to Microsoft’s day job, shipping Windows Vista.

If only the Wii supported HD.. I’d consider queuing in that line as well just to see how it stacks up against Oblivion at 720p!

Head-Tracking Game Dev Competition

neil — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 13:27:53 +0000

Seeing Machines and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) are hosting a competition to develop ideas into working examples of how head tracking technology can be used to enhance interaction in games. The competition aims to encourage new game interface control methods that incorporate 6-degree-of-freedom video-based head tracking. The games which best use head movement will be seen by major game console developers and the overall winning team will also receive an Xbox 360.

More information about the competition is available here (login as guest), or via Competition Brochure PDF Download