Hello Bethblog!
In case you missed the interview with gstaff a few weeks ago, I am the Community Manager over at id Software, and recently I asked QUAKE LIVE Executive Producer Marty Stratton about the project’s beginnings, as well as where it is headed. Read on after the (rocket) jump.
The latest developer profile for Splash Damage is up on their site. This time around, we get to meet Brink Animator Boris ‘Zobbo’ Lowinger.
Before coming to Splash Damage, Boris worked on games like MotoGP, Republic: The Revolution, the popular quiz franchise Buzz!, as well as the short film “This Way Up“, which was nominated for an Academy Award.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview…
What are the best and worst parts of your job?
Best part of the job is animating people/weapons/miscellaneous bits and bobs and getting things like our SMART animations looking great.The worst part for me is that I’m sometimes too busy to join in the internal play-tests. Well, that and having to sit near mantegra.
Read the rest here.
From the Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech, this week we meet Bethesda forum moderator Chris Bryant (aka Ratwar). Chris recently graduated from Georgia Tech and is looking for a job as a civil engineer. Also, today happens to be his birthday! Happy Birthday!
How did first make your way to the Bethesda Game Studios forums?
Well, it wasn’t the puzzle box! I actually came because I just couldn’t get enough of Morrowind by simply playing it. At first I just lurked reading the Morrowind General forum, but eventually I decided to start actually participating in the discussions, so I joined up.
Quick news roundup on WET….
Bitmob has a new interview up with Creative Director Patrick Fortier discussing WET’s Bad-Ass Influences. Here’s an excerpt:
The Story: “The storyline is more of a ’70s-flavored affair inspired by the Charles Bronson movies of the same era — Death Wish, The Mechanic, etc. — with elements of betrayal and revenge.”
Elsewhere, IGN has fleshed out their walkthrough for the game. If you’re finding yourself stuck in the game, bookmark this page.
Today I thumbed through the new Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition Game Guides from Prima Games — which will be in stores, along with the game, tomorrow. Available in regular and individually-numbered Collector’s Edition flavors, the guides feature all the content from the original Game Guide, plus new pages for Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, and Mothership Zeta.
I gotta say, these books are absolutely massive. Author David Hodgson tells me the book actually weighs in more than a pound heavier than the original book. And with 752 pages of content, it is officially the largest Prima Guide ever written! For those wondering, the guides once again include a movie-sized game map — now updated with new locations from the DLC content..
Hit the jump to see the unique back cover of the CE guide — complete with moar Vault Boy action!
This week we introduce a new segment to Bethesda Blog, Beyond the id, to highlight our friends and colleagues at id Software. This week we’re kicking things off with Peter Sokal — the Community Manager for id.
How long have you worked as the Community Manager at id Software?
I’ve been working at id for about 10 months now, and it has been quite the ride.
That’s all I could think of when I saw the above image of Todd in the second “Codec Chatter” interview at the revamped Game Informer website.
Here’s a snippet of the interview:
Now that you’ve successfully reinvented Fallout, is there another classic franchise you’d like to bring to the next generation?
Todd: I’d go with Wing Commander. I think the world needs a cinematic space shooter reboot. Maybe I can swing the Battlestar Galactica license and sneak it in that way.
Head here for the rest. Enjoy!
Hope everyone has had a great week. Here’s a web roundup with some of the latest news I’ve come across.
This week we’ve got a trio of Splash Damage developers answering questions about Brink. Over the last three days, Xbox 360 Achievements has been updating their site with new segments featuring Creative Director Richard Ham. Click the links for interviews one, two, and three. Be on the lookout for the final video tomorrow (I hear it’s a doozy).
Richard isn’t the only answering questions. Edge has a two-part interview with Senior Game Designer Ed Stern. Head to these links (part 1, part 2). As the intro indicates, you can expect more coverage on Brink in the upcoming issue of Edge – due out on October 27th.
Meanwhile, Hooked Gamers hooked up with Paul Wedgwood for more details on the game. Here’s a great answer to one of the questions I hear most often about the game:
Hooked Gamers: It is possible to join any running game, turning a single player game into a multiplayer game. How does this work? How do people find each other when they are already playing? Is it possible to join a running game on either side of the conflict?
Paul Wedgwood: Yes – I’ll explain. In Brink you take on a combat role that suits your playing style, and then fight through different environments to complete big objectives as part of a coordinated squad. When you first start playing offline, you’ll play alongside an AI squad. When you see a friend come online, you can invite them in (up to seven of them), and they’ll join your game, replacing your AI squad mates.
For more on that answer and the remainder of the interview, head here.
News on Fallout 3 and WET after the jump.
This week we’ve got a modding interview with Kevin Ryan (aka DragoonWraith). Kevin spends a lot of time working as a “Sheriff” for both The G.E.C.K. and TES Construction Set wikis — he’s helped us add some really cool features to both.
The 21-year-old hails from New York City and attends school out in Claremont, CA, where he’s studying to be an engineer at Harvey Mudd College.
Check it out after the break…
It’s only been about a week since our last blog post on Brink, but there’s already plenty of new coverage — courtesy of the game’s appearance at GamesCom and PAX.
We begin with Giant Bomb — watch Brad Shoemaker’s interview with Game Director Paul Wedgwood above.
Additional PAX interviews can be found at the following:
Need more interview action, Richard Ham did a beast of an interview (28 minutes long) with Videogamer.com. Watch it in HD here. Additionally, Richard answered questions for MTV Game One at GamesCom.
PAX also set the stage for a trio of new previews — check out impressions at Endsights, 360 Sync, and GamePro.
Finally, yours truly made a brief appearance on Insomniac’s Full Moon Show to discuss Brink and our other titles at PAX. Watch it here.
Update: There’s an interesting preview written by Alec Meer at Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Here’s an excerpt from ’Splash Damage’s Brink: This Is How It is’…
“That said, Me will be Me in Brink. There is, thank grud, no Alec Meer player model, but there is an elaborate character editor, a little akin to City of Heroes and APB. You choose your face, your body type, your hair, your tatooos, your beard, your clothing…”
Read the rest here.