Sunday, March 20, 2011
My new Site
You should definitely check out my site it's about Theology and Video Games: Theology and Video games
Monday, January 11, 2010
The End
The project is done, as in dead. This seems to be the fate of many start-up projects with no capital. Unfortunately I can’t say that I’m ultimately surprised as commitment to the project was in (understandably) short supply by those working on the project who were seeing no cash coming in. It was an overly ambitious game for a first attempt, and everything that went into it was a very heroic effort by a number of artists who did amazing work.
At this point, revealing details of the project isn’t really what I have in mind. Instead, I’d rather just let our game die a silent death after almost a year and a half of work and move on.
And moving on is exactly what 3 Magi Games is going to do. I (being the only actual employee, and owner of the company) am pushing forward with creating a new game engine for an even smaller game than our first project. Smaller, and art-asset wise, much more realistic. But from a game play point of view, it’s somewhat more ambitious.
However, with that ambition comes planning and caution. I am now entering the planning phase for the new game and its engine. I will hopefully be entering full on pre-production in the next month. The goal is to produce almost the entire game before bringing in a new artist or two to work on the project. This will hopefully allow me to optimize my time and effort and reduce the amount of time that the artists need to work on the game (and perhaps I can raise some capital at that point to help out with creating the project instead of people working on spec).
So, the project codenamed ATSS is dead, but 3 Magi Games marches on.
At this point, revealing details of the project isn’t really what I have in mind. Instead, I’d rather just let our game die a silent death after almost a year and a half of work and move on.
And moving on is exactly what 3 Magi Games is going to do. I (being the only actual employee, and owner of the company) am pushing forward with creating a new game engine for an even smaller game than our first project. Smaller, and art-asset wise, much more realistic. But from a game play point of view, it’s somewhat more ambitious.
However, with that ambition comes planning and caution. I am now entering the planning phase for the new game and its engine. I will hopefully be entering full on pre-production in the next month. The goal is to produce almost the entire game before bringing in a new artist or two to work on the project. This will hopefully allow me to optimize my time and effort and reduce the amount of time that the artists need to work on the game (and perhaps I can raise some capital at that point to help out with creating the project instead of people working on spec).
So, the project codenamed ATSS is dead, but 3 Magi Games marches on.
Monday, August 17, 2009
A Very Loud Silence
There hasn’t been an update from this site since, well…May, and anyone who might have been watching this site (though I have my doubts if anyone is watching it at all), might have concluded that the project was scrapped. How wrong that lone person would be! While we have been silent, much work has been getting done in the realm of final concept art and the beginning of actual game asset art. Yes indeed, we are actually in real production time now.
One of the first areas of the game has been created, animations and all, and now simply needs to get to the inker/painter to get the mood of the game slapped all over it. And yes, we’ve settled on a visual mood that I never expected for the game.
We are settling on a sound for the game as well. Our music master is coming up with a wide array of concepts for us to listen to and consider. We are zeroing in on a theme that will go along with our main characters.
The big announcement is that all of our efforts at the moment are headed toward a demo for the game which we are going to shop around. Essentially this game could be an “Indie” game for Xbox…but our hope is that we can turn it into a XBLA game or better.
So, we are mere weeks away from a reveal of the title and screen shots from the Demo, as well as the genera of the game.
So, while it’s true that there aren’t a lot of details here, I thought it was important to let everyone know that we are still here, and 3 Magi Games is still producing.
One of the first areas of the game has been created, animations and all, and now simply needs to get to the inker/painter to get the mood of the game slapped all over it. And yes, we’ve settled on a visual mood that I never expected for the game.
We are settling on a sound for the game as well. Our music master is coming up with a wide array of concepts for us to listen to and consider. We are zeroing in on a theme that will go along with our main characters.
The big announcement is that all of our efforts at the moment are headed toward a demo for the game which we are going to shop around. Essentially this game could be an “Indie” game for Xbox…but our hope is that we can turn it into a XBLA game or better.
So, we are mere weeks away from a reveal of the title and screen shots from the Demo, as well as the genera of the game.
So, while it’s true that there aren’t a lot of details here, I thought it was important to let everyone know that we are still here, and 3 Magi Games is still producing.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
A long overdue Update
So, things have been very quiet on the blogging front here at ATSS…or should I say 3 Magi Games, inc. Yes, that’s right, we’re officially incorporated and all filed…Website coming soon.
In other news, we have brought on our new artists now for several weeks and they are producing some really great concept work in preparation to begin working on game assets. We are in the middle of pinning down the exact art style we will use in the game, and once that is done we will hammer out a defined pipeline for our art production, and then we are off to the races.
Music is coming along well and we are getting closer and closer to a real “feel” for the game world. Our composer is very talented, and many of our hurdles are learning to do more with less as the game size will probably prune back what we would like to do musically. But then again, maybe not…more on that at the end.
We have also brought on a sound effects person who has begun working on some “sketches” of what the world might sound like. I’ve listened to his first run through of some ideas and they are very cool. One of the interesting things to consider will be matching up sound effects with animation speeds.
As far as the game data goes, I am in the process of entering the game data into our proprietary developer tool set. I’m about 70% of the way through entering the main section of the game data, though animations and scripted events are not currently included in that information. When the game data is complete, I will begin working on our game UI so that we can prepare for…
Game Demo submission to Microsoft. Yes…we may be moving this game from the Xbox Community game section of Xbox to the XBLA…if we can get some support from Microsoft when we submit our demo. This would be ideal as it would allow us to build a bigger game, include achievements, and fundamentally allow us to deliver the best possible experience we can to our customers on the Xbox.
So yes, there’s a LOT going on right now. Next time I’ll tell you about how we’ve moved out of the basement and into a “You Store It” facility where the rats are far fewer, there is not nearly as much deadly mold, and getting in and out without being seen has become our most constant problem.
In other news, we have brought on our new artists now for several weeks and they are producing some really great concept work in preparation to begin working on game assets. We are in the middle of pinning down the exact art style we will use in the game, and once that is done we will hammer out a defined pipeline for our art production, and then we are off to the races.
Music is coming along well and we are getting closer and closer to a real “feel” for the game world. Our composer is very talented, and many of our hurdles are learning to do more with less as the game size will probably prune back what we would like to do musically. But then again, maybe not…more on that at the end.
We have also brought on a sound effects person who has begun working on some “sketches” of what the world might sound like. I’ve listened to his first run through of some ideas and they are very cool. One of the interesting things to consider will be matching up sound effects with animation speeds.
As far as the game data goes, I am in the process of entering the game data into our proprietary developer tool set. I’m about 70% of the way through entering the main section of the game data, though animations and scripted events are not currently included in that information. When the game data is complete, I will begin working on our game UI so that we can prepare for…
Game Demo submission to Microsoft. Yes…we may be moving this game from the Xbox Community game section of Xbox to the XBLA…if we can get some support from Microsoft when we submit our demo. This would be ideal as it would allow us to build a bigger game, include achievements, and fundamentally allow us to deliver the best possible experience we can to our customers on the Xbox.
So yes, there’s a LOT going on right now. Next time I’ll tell you about how we’ve moved out of the basement and into a “You Store It” facility where the rats are far fewer, there is not nearly as much deadly mold, and getting in and out without being seen has become our most constant problem.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The more things change…
Well, a lot is going on here in our musty basement, and I suppose it’s time to fill you all in on everything.
First, we are going through a bit of a staff cycling. At least one of the artists who have worked with us since October will be winding down his development work over the next couple of weeks and finishing off some really great concept pieces showing the world of the game in general.
Because of this, we are looking to bring on a few new artists to do the actual game assets. We are currently interviewing a number of very talented people who have shown real interest in the project. We are very optimistic that we will be filling desks with people who can pick up from where our excellent concept artists have left off.
In other news, we are in the process of incorporating. We filed for S-Corp status as of Tuesday of this week, and we will be hopefully moving forward as a full fledged company by the middle of April. With that will come a real company website and a real honest to goodness name.
We are pushing forward with programming and music at this time and though a lot of my time is eaten up by speaking with artists, I am still working on getting our game engine in shape and looking into the new promises that XNA 3.1 is offering.
From a purely game engine point of view, there are a few things that still need to be developed. An engine for scripted events is in its infant stage and still needs to be further fleshed out. We currently have no audio system, and we are holding off until XACT3 comes out to really start to tackle that aspect of the game. And finally, cut scenes (as opposed to scripted events) are yet to be worked out. For everything that needs to get done in the game, these are small things (though audio is admittedly a fairly large undertaking).
We are also going through a series of small story changes and tweaks to flesh out some of the background of the game and the things you’ll be encountering. We’re hoping that this gives a slightly more engaging narrative experience for the player.
And that’s it, for now. Other than the large refrigerator with it’s obligatory flickering light we’ve just had installed in anticipation of becoming a corporation, we are still working in the same broken down sub basement that we’ve been in since August of last year. But there seems to be a slight breeze of change blowing through. Though that may just be the herd of rats changing direction again out in the far corner of our dank and dreary offices.
First, we are going through a bit of a staff cycling. At least one of the artists who have worked with us since October will be winding down his development work over the next couple of weeks and finishing off some really great concept pieces showing the world of the game in general.
Because of this, we are looking to bring on a few new artists to do the actual game assets. We are currently interviewing a number of very talented people who have shown real interest in the project. We are very optimistic that we will be filling desks with people who can pick up from where our excellent concept artists have left off.
In other news, we are in the process of incorporating. We filed for S-Corp status as of Tuesday of this week, and we will be hopefully moving forward as a full fledged company by the middle of April. With that will come a real company website and a real honest to goodness name.
We are pushing forward with programming and music at this time and though a lot of my time is eaten up by speaking with artists, I am still working on getting our game engine in shape and looking into the new promises that XNA 3.1 is offering.
From a purely game engine point of view, there are a few things that still need to be developed. An engine for scripted events is in its infant stage and still needs to be further fleshed out. We currently have no audio system, and we are holding off until XACT3 comes out to really start to tackle that aspect of the game. And finally, cut scenes (as opposed to scripted events) are yet to be worked out. For everything that needs to get done in the game, these are small things (though audio is admittedly a fairly large undertaking).
We are also going through a series of small story changes and tweaks to flesh out some of the background of the game and the things you’ll be encountering. We’re hoping that this gives a slightly more engaging narrative experience for the player.
And that’s it, for now. Other than the large refrigerator with it’s obligatory flickering light we’ve just had installed in anticipation of becoming a corporation, we are still working in the same broken down sub basement that we’ve been in since August of last year. But there seems to be a slight breeze of change blowing through. Though that may just be the herd of rats changing direction again out in the far corner of our dank and dreary offices.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Slow, Slow Progress
So here we are, the middle of March, when I had hoped to be getting our website up and the first few screen shots out to the public to reveal the game we’ve been working on since August. However, due to unforeseen hurdles, we’re not quite there yet. We are hoping now to have something by the end of April. Fingers Crossed.
From the programming side, I’ve been making a few changes to the way the engine runs and how object interact with each other. Things are getting much closer to done on the programming side, though there will be massive amounts of testing to do once I have real assets in the game building tools I’m designing.
This brings me to a point of discussion that the team has been having. Since the Xbox 360 limit for file size is 150MB compressed, we are going to have to make some sacrifices for the console version of the game. However, we are planning on a PC version that we will release afterward with more music, more sound effects, higher resolution art, and possibly an extra thing or two in the game. The PC version will probably be slightly more expensive than the Xbox version (we’re talking like a dollar here), to make up for the extra effort in that one.
We are also getting close to getting our website up and our game revealed. A bit more work on the team’s part and we will be giving you a small glimpse of what we hope will be an exciting new XNA game for both the Xbox 360 and the PC.
Until then, I’ll keep you posted on our progress as it comes up.
From the programming side, I’ve been making a few changes to the way the engine runs and how object interact with each other. Things are getting much closer to done on the programming side, though there will be massive amounts of testing to do once I have real assets in the game building tools I’m designing.
This brings me to a point of discussion that the team has been having. Since the Xbox 360 limit for file size is 150MB compressed, we are going to have to make some sacrifices for the console version of the game. However, we are planning on a PC version that we will release afterward with more music, more sound effects, higher resolution art, and possibly an extra thing or two in the game. The PC version will probably be slightly more expensive than the Xbox version (we’re talking like a dollar here), to make up for the extra effort in that one.
We are also getting close to getting our website up and our game revealed. A bit more work on the team’s part and we will be giving you a small glimpse of what we hope will be an exciting new XNA game for both the Xbox 360 and the PC.
Until then, I’ll keep you posted on our progress as it comes up.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Chugging Along
We haven’t had an update in a while since there really hasn’t been much to report. Things slowed down for about a month due to the fact that this XNA game isn’t our full time paying job (in fact, it hasn’t paid any of us yet, so it’s not even a part-time paying job yet). But we are back on track and attempting to make up for lost time. We are still hoping for a December release for the game, and perhaps some other cool milestones along the way. We are also now expecting to reveal the game some time in April with a new website and screenshots to go with it.
However, the current phase of production is exceptionally boring in the blog area. I am currently working on the game data for level layout and object placement/activity, all of the animations and game states. This is a long and tedious process that is so incredibly integral to the game that there won’t be one without it. However, when it is done, the artists (both visual and audio) will know everything there is to know about every level and object in the game. It’s pretty cool to see the ideas that started out as vague concepts in my head evolve into art, programming, and data.
Another side of our production has born some fruit. Dave, our composer has put together a few great concept pieces for the game’s music. They really are incredibly impressive for the short amount of time it took him to put them together.
So, things are moving along here. We are trying to reach out and touch base with a few different people in the games journalism side of things to maybe give them a first look to get our name out there a bit when we finally do move to reveal the game. So far, we’ve been met with total silence. I’m hoping we have a little more success in the coming weeks.
Ah, that’s the service elevator; the exterminator is here for this noon-time trip to try to hold back the growing infestation of what look like mutated rats that have been trying to eat our office furniture. I’m off to do what I can to defend our small fragile development studio.
However, the current phase of production is exceptionally boring in the blog area. I am currently working on the game data for level layout and object placement/activity, all of the animations and game states. This is a long and tedious process that is so incredibly integral to the game that there won’t be one without it. However, when it is done, the artists (both visual and audio) will know everything there is to know about every level and object in the game. It’s pretty cool to see the ideas that started out as vague concepts in my head evolve into art, programming, and data.
Another side of our production has born some fruit. Dave, our composer has put together a few great concept pieces for the game’s music. They really are incredibly impressive for the short amount of time it took him to put them together.
So, things are moving along here. We are trying to reach out and touch base with a few different people in the games journalism side of things to maybe give them a first look to get our name out there a bit when we finally do move to reveal the game. So far, we’ve been met with total silence. I’m hoping we have a little more success in the coming weeks.
Ah, that’s the service elevator; the exterminator is here for this noon-time trip to try to hold back the growing infestation of what look like mutated rats that have been trying to eat our office furniture. I’m off to do what I can to defend our small fragile development studio.
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