earlofmonkey
01-09-09, 09:50
Hi Guys,
Apologies that it has taken me a while to put this up, but it was all a little hectic last week following GC in Cologne. Anyhoo, here are some words from Morgan Gray, the Capcom Producer working on Dark Void:
Hey everyone. So at this point you all have heard about Dark Void’s announced street date, coming fresh on the heels of the change of the year. Believe me when I say that I also want to make sure you all get a chance to play the game as soon as possible, but I’d be lying if I didn’t also admit that having extra time to help refine and gussy up the experience makes me very happy.
So what are we doing with the time?
Well, for one, we’re in heavy focus test mode. All the best laid plans are all for not unless you sit someone down and watch them play your game. Think of it like having someone read over a school paper, or check your resume for you. After looking at the whole game from sketches on a whiteboard to the point its running on screen, its easy to lose a bit of perspective. Focus tests always show you things that make you slap your head and say “why did we/why didn’t we do that!?!?!”. Having the time to take this data in, mull over pros and cons, and then apply it to the polish pass for the game is a development dream.
In spite of getting to see some of the choices we made validated, and others we made thrown to the bricks it’s been a very positive run the last several weeks. You’d think that we’d cry when someone said they didn’t like something, actually it’s the reverse, we’re like “thank you!”. It’s the game development equivalent of having someone tell you that you have a booger coming out of your nose. Awkward, embarrassing, but pretty much the best thing for all involved J
We’ve been hammering early game tutorials, play path clarity, enemy AI fundamentals, and our weapon upgrades. All good things to refine to make sure all you need to concentrate on is kicking Watcher tail (literally!!!!!…hahaha…uh…sorry…)
One of the larger additions we have included is changing the way our hover mechanic works. We had intended for hover to be a tactical advantage for combat, and as a way to slowly land without splatting on the ground. As such, we had it as a transition between flight and ground, with no ability to hover up (we we’re hoping players would just fly straight up and switch to hover to slowly descend down as they took on enemies). The feedback kept coming back that people loved it, and wanted to see it included in a more robust way, so true to our theme of Rising Up!, you now have better control of your hover options. The player can now boost straight up to take the fight to the skies against watcher enemies. Meeting them on their own terms, or even getting over and behind them. As such, all of our combat spaces have become ground/air dances of death.
The included video can help illustrate some of the possibilities now available. (Rich - ahem, you can see the 'Hover Gameplay' video at http://www.capcom-europe.com/games/Dark-Void-Xbox-360 (http://www.capcom-europe.com/forum/../games/Dark-Void-Xbox-360) - its great fun and really makes a difference to your tactics and gameplay experience)
Other changes we have made are much smaller of course, but I wanted to sneak something out to you guys to hopefully help with the wait.
So there you have it, a little peek into the end of the summer for Dark Void. If anyone is interested in joining future Capcom focus tests, being a Capcom Unity member is a great start, we often post announcements concerning tests we are running. It would be cool to have you help making awesome games.
Thanks,
Morgan
So there we go. That's the latest from Dark Void. Don't forget you still have a chance to ask him any questions on the first Q&A!
All the best
Rich :horray:
Apologies that it has taken me a while to put this up, but it was all a little hectic last week following GC in Cologne. Anyhoo, here are some words from Morgan Gray, the Capcom Producer working on Dark Void:
Hey everyone. So at this point you all have heard about Dark Void’s announced street date, coming fresh on the heels of the change of the year. Believe me when I say that I also want to make sure you all get a chance to play the game as soon as possible, but I’d be lying if I didn’t also admit that having extra time to help refine and gussy up the experience makes me very happy.
So what are we doing with the time?
Well, for one, we’re in heavy focus test mode. All the best laid plans are all for not unless you sit someone down and watch them play your game. Think of it like having someone read over a school paper, or check your resume for you. After looking at the whole game from sketches on a whiteboard to the point its running on screen, its easy to lose a bit of perspective. Focus tests always show you things that make you slap your head and say “why did we/why didn’t we do that!?!?!”. Having the time to take this data in, mull over pros and cons, and then apply it to the polish pass for the game is a development dream.
In spite of getting to see some of the choices we made validated, and others we made thrown to the bricks it’s been a very positive run the last several weeks. You’d think that we’d cry when someone said they didn’t like something, actually it’s the reverse, we’re like “thank you!”. It’s the game development equivalent of having someone tell you that you have a booger coming out of your nose. Awkward, embarrassing, but pretty much the best thing for all involved J
We’ve been hammering early game tutorials, play path clarity, enemy AI fundamentals, and our weapon upgrades. All good things to refine to make sure all you need to concentrate on is kicking Watcher tail (literally!!!!!…hahaha…uh…sorry…)
One of the larger additions we have included is changing the way our hover mechanic works. We had intended for hover to be a tactical advantage for combat, and as a way to slowly land without splatting on the ground. As such, we had it as a transition between flight and ground, with no ability to hover up (we we’re hoping players would just fly straight up and switch to hover to slowly descend down as they took on enemies). The feedback kept coming back that people loved it, and wanted to see it included in a more robust way, so true to our theme of Rising Up!, you now have better control of your hover options. The player can now boost straight up to take the fight to the skies against watcher enemies. Meeting them on their own terms, or even getting over and behind them. As such, all of our combat spaces have become ground/air dances of death.
The included video can help illustrate some of the possibilities now available. (Rich - ahem, you can see the 'Hover Gameplay' video at http://www.capcom-europe.com/games/Dark-Void-Xbox-360 (http://www.capcom-europe.com/forum/../games/Dark-Void-Xbox-360) - its great fun and really makes a difference to your tactics and gameplay experience)
Other changes we have made are much smaller of course, but I wanted to sneak something out to you guys to hopefully help with the wait.
So there you have it, a little peek into the end of the summer for Dark Void. If anyone is interested in joining future Capcom focus tests, being a Capcom Unity member is a great start, we often post announcements concerning tests we are running. It would be cool to have you help making awesome games.
Thanks,
Morgan
So there we go. That's the latest from Dark Void. Don't forget you still have a chance to ask him any questions on the first Q&A!
All the best
Rich :horray: