Mark Hoffman, who posts some amazing and intricate miniatures at Musings of Metal Mind, recently shared a set of custom miniature airships inspired by Square Enix's Final Fantasy series, each craft fashioned from bits of other small figures.

His airships include Setzer Gabbiani's Blackjack from Final Fantasy VI, the High Wind from Final Fantasy VII, Ragnarok from Final Fantasy XIII, and the Hilda Garde III from Final Fantasy IX. I hope Hoffman eventually gets around to creating a miniature for Cid's Lindblum in Final Fantasy XIII!

Continue reading "Final Fantasy Airship Miniatures" »

Posted by Eric Caoili at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those of you who can't get enough of Shatter's soundtrack -- we must have mentioned how great it is here at least half a dozen times already -- have a look at this music video for "Amethyst Caverns", one of several tracks from the PSN (and soon-to-be PC) game.

The scenes in the video really don't have much to do with the game, but it does feature an appearance from composer Jeramiah "Module" Ross halfway through. It was also shot and edited by Sidhe's lead artist Corie Geerders.

Again, you can stream for free or purchase/download Shatter's "electro rock and retro beats" soundtrack, which earned the game a finalist spot for the 2010 Independent Games Festival's "Excellence in Audio" award, at Bandcamp.

[Via Mario Wynands]

Posted by Eric Caoili at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Here's info on the latest issue of the evergreen Game Developer magazine - and it's a bumper GDC-distributed issue, actually, which you'll get in your attendee bag at the show this week, if you didn't get a copy in the mail already!]

The March 2010 issue of Game Developer magazine, the sister print publication to Gamasutra and the leading U.S. trade publication for the video game industry, has shipped to print and digital subscribers and is available from the Game Developer Digital service in both subscription and single-issue formats.

The cover feature for the issue is an exclusive postmortem of Naughty Dog's cinematic action game Uncharted 2. The article, crafted by designer Richard Lemarchand, offers insight on the challenges and successes experienced by the Sony-owned studio. It is introduced as follows:

"Uncharted 2 is Naughty Dog's latest foray into what they call the cinematic action genre. The game released to nearly-universal acclaim, and here they discuss everything from multiplayer mechanics, to over-ambitious scope, to the power of playtesting."

Also featured in the issue is the second roundup of dirty coding tricks, straight from the programmers who have employed them:

Continue reading "Game Developer March Issue Showcases Uncharted 2, Dirty Coding Tricks" »

Posted by Simon Carless at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

bitComposer Games, an independent publisher operating out of Eschborn, Germany, announced that it's secured the full rights to the Jagged Alliance license from Strategy First and hopes to release Jagged Alliance 3 some time in 2011.

Though the tactical RPG series has enjoyed a devoted fanbase since its debut by original developer Sir-Tech Software in 1994, Jagged Alliance hasn't seen a numbered release since 1999. Strategy First eventually acquired the license and even released the Wildfire expansion pack for Jagged Alliance 2 but has struggled to put out a full follow-up.

Strategy First announced that it was working with Russian developer MiST Land South to develop two sequels in 2004, Jagged Alliance 3D (essentially Jagged Alliance 2 using a new 3D engine) and Jagged Alliance 3, both of which were eventually cancelled due to conflicts between the companies and MiST Land South's closure.

The publisher then announced in 2008 that it was working with two other Russian studios, Akella and F3games, to create Jagged Alliance 3, but development on that project was cancelled, too. Since then, the cult series has remained dormant for the most part, other than a Nintendo DS port for the original Jagged Alliance released last May and a movie licensing deal several years ago.

Continue reading "BitComposer Releasing Jagged Alliance 3 In 2011" »

Posted by Eric Caoili at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[In a GameSetWatch-exclusive set of blog posts for the week of GDC 2010, Magical Wasteland blogger and Game Developer magazine columnist Matthew Burns starts off his journey to the show with some intriguing fellow travelers.]

I thought the flight I would take from Seattle down to San Francisco would be full of developers, so I am on the alert for the telltale signs of the game industry: the jeans, the hairstyle, the low-slung bag.

When the person next to me on the flight stashes William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition in the seat pocket, I am absolutely sure I am in kindred company. I blurt, “So, going to GDC?”

My neighbor nods and identifies himself as one of about thirty developers from CCP that are on board this flight, which has served as a connection from Reykjavik, Iceland. We exchange cards– he’s Vigfus Omarsson, Lead Technical Artist– and I can’t help but quiz him like an overeager policeman doing his first interrogation.

Do you guys use Max or Maya? (Maya.) How is EVE Online doing these days? EVE is doing rather well– much better now ever since CCP took control of its own destiny from erstwhile video game publisher Simon & Schuster. Some in Iceland look at the company with a certain amount of jealousy, he says, since the rest of the country is still digging its way out of a financial crisis that has made headlines for years yet has yielded no easy answers.

Continue reading "GDC, The Fantasy of Control, Part I: Monday, March 8, 2010" »

Posted by Matthew Wasteland at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Indie developer Derek Yu finally gave Spelunky fans a preview of his acclaimed roguelike/platformer's upcoming XBLA port with four screenshots from the project. These images show off the game's new high resolution, hand-painted graphics, dynamic lighting, and other visual effects that you won't find in the original PC version.

What you won't see in these screens, though, are all the other additions planned for the port: achievements, leaderboards, new game modes, new audio, new items, new monsters, and more. I presume we'll hear more about those as Spelunky XBLA's release later this year approaches. Jump past the post break for more images!

Continue reading "First Look At Spelunky XBLA" »

Posted by Eric Caoili at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With Final Fantasy I and II recently released through the App Store, Square Enix is continuing its push to bring the marquee RPG series to the iPhone with a new Final Fantasy XIII app. This new project, unfortunately, isn't very game-like, as it's merely a photo gallery with high resolution images from the new PS3/Xbox 360 title.

The photos are so high in resolution that you can actually zoom in for a close-up on characters's eyes, according to a report from Japanese gaming news site Famitsu translated by Andriasang. You can even set one of the images as a background for a clock and calendar on your iPhone/iPod touch.

Square Enix hasn't revealed pricing or a firm date for the Final Fantasy XIII app's release, but it expects to make the gallery available worldwide simultaneously.

Posted by Eric Caoili at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

[Since GDC is coming up this week, and with it the Career Pavilion, this guide -- originally published in Game Developer magazine -- compiles advice from hiring companies on what they're looking for, plus important do's and don'ts if you do want to get a job in the mainstream game biz.]

2009 has been tough for the games industry. Layoffs, consolidations and reorganizations mean that not only have talented staff found themselves without jobs, but fresh graduates have found themselves entering into an uncertain future.

Game Developers Conference 2010's Career Pavilion (Thursday, March 11th—Saturday March 13th in Moscone South Hall, accessible with all GDC passes, including Expo or Student passes) presents an opportunity to receive face time with recruiting studios and publishers, and with only three days to make an impression it’s important to not waste any time.

We’ve talked to some of the top recruiters from companies including Blizzard, Ubisoft, and Sony to ask them what they’re looking for, and with that knowledge at hand, you can ensure that every impression you make can be positive.

Really! Be Prepared!

Not only the motto of the Boy Scouts, “Be prepared!” is also overwhelmingly the advice of every recruiter we talked to. Before even beginning to research the Career Pavilion, recruiters strongly advised that all job seekers have a specific position in mind, and organize their preparation toward getting it.

“Too many times folks come to a booth and say they want [work as] an artist, programmer, or a designer,” said Maggie Bohlen for High Voltage Software (a multiplatform developer that recently developed The Conduit for Sega). “Don’t expect to leave your choice of career in our hands—know where your strengths lie and focus on that specific direction.”

Continue reading "Pre-GDC: Career Pavilion Hints & Tips For Success" »

Posted by Simon Carless at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Along with its gamer modeling services for events, motion capturing, voice acting, and more, Charisma+2 produces a magazine targeting female gamers. The online publication, which has already published a dozen issues, offers reviews, profiles on women working in the game industry (e.g. Brenda Brathwaite), and articles helping girls break into the business.

The latest issue of C+2 magazine includes a piece you won't see in traditional gaming magazines like Edge or Gamepro: a step-by-step guide for a make-up look inspired by Mass Effect 2's Miranda Lawson (pictured). The tutorial suggests products you can use and presents this "gamette make-up" as an
everyday look for girls wanting a "simple and sexy go-between".

I've included the video guide recorded by C+2 model Leigh Ann, an aspiring 3D game artist, after the break. She's also contributed an article in this month's issue discussing her first steps toward developing skills she'll need for that career. I've no idea where she finds time for these articles in between raising and maintaining seven World of Warcraft characters (leveled around 60-80).

Continue reading "Miranda Make-Up Tutorial For Mass Effect 2 Fans" »

Posted by Eric Caoili at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Inspired by the overhead world maps of 1980s RPGs and adventure games, Brett Camper created a Google Maps-style representation of New York City with 8-bit graphics. The map is interactive, allowing you to pan across the city and zoom in to see individual streets.

He wants to create more 8-bit overhead maps for other cities, but to fund that endeavor, he's looking to raise $3,000 through donation-ware platform Kickstarter. If he can raise that much in the next 30 days, he plans to use that money to cover web hosting costs and the initial computing time needed for drawing the maps (purchased using Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud).

Camper already has eight cities he hopes to re-create -- San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., Seattle, London, and Paris -- and will hold a vote for people to elect seven more cities they'd like to see rendered in this 8-bit style.

If you live in a small town that's unlikely to even appear in the vote, you could always pledge $200 to the project to reserve an additional city for Camper to create. Depending on the size of your contribution, you can also receive 8-bit NYC postcards, 8-bit NYC postcards, and personal markers on a map.

"I hope that these maps will evoke the same urge for exploration and abstract sense of scale that many of us remember experiencing on the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Commodore 64, or any other number of 8-bit microcomputers," says Camper. "Maps offer us visual architectures of the world, encouraging us to think about and interact with space in particularly constrained ways. Let's set out on an 8-bit quest!"

[Via alinear]

Posted by Eric Caoili at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[Continuing his 'Sound Current' series for GameSetWatch, Jeriaska catches up with the director of Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu's Dog Ear Records label to discuss the company's diverse set of video game and related soundtracks, from piano versions of game music classics through spinoff projects and solo albums.]

Currently on shelves in record stores in Japan, Dog Ear Records' two most recent releases are Nobuo Uematsu's Ten Short Stories and Pia-Com I, short for "Piano Meets Computer Games."

Performed by Keita Egusa, Pia-Com I marks the first installment of a series of solo piano albums. The collection arranges individual tracks from Final Fantasy II, Mappy, Elevator Action and Mother (the Famicom predecessor to Earthbound).

Hiroki Ogawa, director of Dog Ear Records, has been involved in planning recordings for Final Fantasy XIV, the animated series Guin Saga, and orchestral arrangements of Final Fantasy found on the album CELLYTHM: Those Who Distorted. In this interview coinciding with the release of Nobuo Uematsu's Ten Short Stories in Japan, Ogawa and Egusa offer their perspectives on the making of Dog Ear Records albums.

Continue reading "Sound Current: 'Classically Trained - Dog Ear Records on Pia-Com and Nobuo Uematsu's Ten Short Stories'" »

Posted by jeriaska at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Belgian indie Tale of Tales has ported The Graveyard, its short PC "game" originally released in 2008 and nominated for IGF 2009's Innovation award, to iPhone. As with the Windows/Mac versions, the mobile port has two editions, a Lite version available for free and the $1.99 full version, in which its possible for the protagonist to die.

In The Graveyard, players controls an elderly woman during as she hobbles around a cemetery toward a bench for her to rest. Once sitting, she sits and listens to a song, then leaves. In the full version of the game, there's a chance she dies while sitting on the bench.

"The Graveyard offers a player the opportunity to imagine themselves in a certain situation," explains creators Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn. "It's not a game in the sense that there is a way to win or lose or a puzzle to solve, or even a story to uncover. But the interaction does immerse you in a virtual world filled with narrative, an equally powerful feature of the medium of video games.

The developers note that because the iPhone hardware is less powerful than a PC, they made several changes to the game's graphics, removing post-processing, real-time overlays, animated trees, and birds. Samyn adds, "Still, if you ask us, The Graveyard is one of the best looking and sounding games on the iPhone."

Posted by Eric Caoili at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We mentioned here last week that Japanese musician and artist Baiyon (PixelJunk Eden) was working with renowned Metroid and Dr. Mario composer Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka for the third and latest volume of his In The Collaborations series.

Baiyon's private label Decanso released In the Collaborations 03 EP over the weekend, which includes three singles produced with Tanaka (performing under his live music handle "Hip tanaka.ex"). You can grab the entire EP on iTunes for $2.97; there's a lot of music for that cheap price, more than 25 minutes worth.

As a reminder, Baiyon plans to discuss his In the Collaborations series at this week's Game Developers Conference in his session with Naughty Dog's Richard Lemarchand (Uncharted 2) titled "Micro or Massive: It's Fricking Tough to Achieve a Vision." Don't forget that we're still soliciting questions for their discussion!

[Via Nobuooo]

Posted by Eric Caoili at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)