I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have an online interview with Bill Carlson, a game developer for Sony Online Entertainment. Having first started at Amaze Entertainment in the Seattle area, this 28-year-old has a few game titles under his belt. In this interview, Bill shares with us some of his experiences, and a few tips, on becoming a game developer.
Mick
If you can’t wait ’til next month’s mega-release, head over to the Nintendo marketplace and download the sassy new demo today!
Not much more to say beyond that, eh? It’s available February 7, 2012 for $49.99 and it’s rated M for mature.
Oh, here’s a teaser vid!
Aaron
Apparently, the fact that I draw silly little cartoons about video game characters makes me an authority on art tablets, so naturally when the uDraw tablet arrived at our offices I go asked to review it. In truth, I live and die by my ability to use my Wacom tablet, so I guess it makes sense. Let me be clear, though. I did NOT want to do this. For a point of reference, consider if you drove some super-clean little race car and someone said “hey…. Take my Yugo out for a test drive and let me know what you think.”
Shockingly, the Udraw tablet actually isn’t half bad.
Ce n'est pas un tablet...
First off, Wacom will not be trembling in their boots. The tablet’s ability to track the stylus when not in contact with the drawing area is virtually non-existent. Because of this, you have to seriously apply pressure to the pen to make marks on the art board. To most people this isn’t that big of a deal, but for anyone who’s used to higher end tablets it’s annoying as hell. To the vast majority of people, the first hurdle will be learning to look up at the screen while drawing on the tablet. It actually promotes good drawing habits, but it will take some getting used to.
Mark
Star Wars: the Old Republic is LucasArts and Bioware’s latest foray into the MMO market and it is both beautiful and engaging.
There are the obvious 2 factions (Republic or Sith Empire), with four classes and multiple races per faction. Each class has it’s own unique story arc, with 100-150 hours of storyline and multiple choices all along the way, which can affect the overall arc on a micro- or macro-cosmic way.
When looking at a new MMO, the two big factors are feel and playability. The Star Wars feel, permeates the game, from the opening credits to throughout the game. It is very obvious that you are a hero/anti-hero in the Star Wars universe. Along the way, there are many interactions with NPCs, all voiced (so play with the sound on). The voice talent is by far an additional plus and really helps pull you into the game. The graphics are on the higher end of the spectrum as well.
Jedi Sentinel
Mick
Catchy, innit? They’re never one to pull punches, and we here at The Co-Operatives feel exactly the same! But they put it much, much prettier than we ever could:
Now that we’ve got your attention, we want to draw your attention to a threat that threatens the very core of the gaming community.
The “Stop Online Piracy Act”, aka SOPA, and the Protect IP Act, aka PIPA, are proposed bills in the United States Congress that, if enacted, would effectively end the internet as we know it. In a ham-fisted attempt to combat piracy, Congress has opted for the “Nuke from Orbit” approach, hurting both the community from whom they benefit and developers they seek to protect. We cannot allow this to happen.
If this is the first you are hearing of SOPA and PIPA, take a moment to read the bills themselves by visiting theElectronic Frontier Foundation for more information.
Allow us to stress, Razer does not condone piracy in any way. We feel it damages the industry and we will stand against anything that hurts either the gaming community or the developers. However, we firmly believe that SOPA and PIPA are the absolute wrong way to combat this problem and we are not alone in thinking this. Other gaming companies like Red 5, Riot Games and Mojang stand with us in opposition. However, these bills do not only affect software and game developers and we hope our actions will lead other gaming hardware vendors to join our protest against SOPA and PIPA.
So please join us in a day of protest. We will be taking down our site for one day, January 18th, to give you a taste of what the future may hold if we fail to put an end to SOPA, PIPA, and similar ill-conceived legislation. In its place, we will upload the image above as a placeholder for our site. While this may have an impact on our business, we believe this is a small price to pay to show how the Internet could become if this bill was to be supported.
For Gamers. By Gamers. It is not just a motto, it is our way of life. We work hard to do right by our community. We’ll be damned if we’re going to let an attack like this go unanswered.
For more info, visit Google’s dedicated SOPA/PIPA education page and sign the petition.
> Mick
Radical Entertainment, the creators behind one of 2012's most anticipatedKristin Kill
open-world/action games - PROTOTYPE 2 - and Dark Horse Comics, the leading publisher of gaming comics and
graphic novels, have joined forces to create an all-new comic series set in the PROTOTYPE universe. With the game due out April 24, 2012 from Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI [http://www.activision.com/]), fans looking for a jumpstart at getting a deeper look into the world of PROTOTYPE 2 should keep an eye out for this exciting collaboration launching February 15, 2012. The all-new digital comic series will be broken into three original stories that bridge the gap between the original blockbuster game and the highly anticipated sequel, PROTOTYPE 2. The first entry, "The Anchor," illustrated by Paco Díaz, continues the story of Alex Mercer, the protagonist from the first game, while the second story, "The Survivors," illustrated by Chris Staggs, follows a small group of residents of New York trying to escape the city after it has been transformed into NYZ with the outbreak of the Blacklight virus. The third and final story, illustrated by Victor Drujiniu, is "The Labyrinth" and provides fans a deeper look into the backstory of PROTOTYPE 2's new protagonist, Sgt. James Heller. Each comic in the series will be available at Digital.Darkhorse.com every other week beginning February 15, 2012. "We're always looking for meaningful ways to expand the PROTOTYPE universe, and Dark Horse Comics is an industry-leading creative powerhouse delivering best-in-class graphic storytelling that integrates deeply to the core of our IP," said Ken Rosman, Studio Head, Radical Entertainment. "With this partnership, our fans will finally be given answers to some dramatic loose ends from the first PROTOTYPE game, as well as the truth behind Alex Mercer's descent and evolution into a twisted shadow of his former self for PROTOTYPE 2." "Sgt. James Heller's heart wrenching backstory meshed with the sheer amount of over-the-top shape-shifting action in PROTOTYPE 2 lend themselves perfectly to a comic book series," said Dave Marshall, Editor, Dark Horse Comics. "We worked extremely close with Radical Entertainment's story team for PROTOTYPE 2, and can't wait to visually walk fans through the many dark secrets strewn throughout the tattered world of New York Zero!" The sequel to Radical Entertainment's best-selling open-world action game of 2009, PROTOTYPE 2 takes the unsurpassed carnage of the original PROTOTYPE and continues the experience of becoming the ultimate shape-shifting weapon. As the game's all-new infected protagonist, Sgt. James Heller, players will cut a bloody swathe through the wastelands of post-viral New York Zero with unparalleled locomotion, building up a vast genetic arsenal of deadly, biological weapons and abilities as they hunt, kill and consume their way toward the ultimate goal - to kill...Alex...Mercer!
Mick
It was inevitable: sooner or later, Nintendo would realize how much we loooooooooove them, and send the team a 3DS.
Well, it took a couple months, but not only did we get a 3DS…we got the ZELDA edition 3DS. Mmmmmmm. Zelda. But this isn’t about Link or his poncy schemes to deprive Gannon his jollies. No, this is something darker, more sinister. This is about mermen in Carmen Miranda hats…and dragons that are more likely to headbutt their enemies, than burn them. Yes, that’s right, we’re revisiting Skylanders for 3DS.
I know, I know. Console to portable conversions usually are greeted with overly dramatic eye rolls and sighs of derision. And largely, they’re merited. But not in this case…
I mean, if you were looking to make a case as to why Skylanders might not be “for you”, check out our review on its console sibling.
Ooooh! Pretty, innit? (3DS not included...did you really need to read that, though?)
Not a big fan of reading? I’ll make it easy: at $69.99, the price tag is roughly $20 to $30 higher than other 3DS titles, and the fact that you have to purchase additional figures to 100% the game (which will set you back ~$30-40 depending on when and where you buy ‘em). Read the rest of this entry »
Kristin Kill
Yup, it’s time to start counting down again. Mass Effect 3 is only a few short months away, and now they’re beginning to roll out the benefits of preordering. What benifits, you ask? Well, aside from the ability to get the super sexy N7 Collector’s edition, everyone who preorders gets a lil’ somethin’ somethin’.
The N7 Collector’s Edition includes:
Look down...
But what if you don’t have the extra $20 to drop? That’s ok…a standard preorder will net you the M55 Argus Assault Rifle, and if you’re preordering from Gamestop, you’ll also get the N7 Warfare Gear!
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are long gone and so are the great deals, but there are still plenty of good deals on gaming gifts and gadgets to be had.
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck requires Flash Player 9 or better.
The Co-Operatives is a team dedicated to bringing you the most important news, previews, interviews and reviews dealing with co-op gaming…and gaming in general. We are a group comprised of expats from previous gaming sites, newsmen from “legitimate” publications, tabletop geeks, PC nerds, hapless technoweenies and niche artists, all looking to get out from under the thumb of broad, family-focused censorship that permeates most current gaming publications. Let’s be honest here: would you rather read “This game is flawed, mass-produced shit; don’t buy it” or “This title leaves much to be desired, from the framerate issues to the poor voice acting and story structure, yet the graphics are good”? The problem is, when publications try to sidestep profanity (or abject truth) with eloquent terms and “quid pro quo’s”, it leaves the possibility that ‘maybe the game’s not that bad after all.” And well, that’s bullshit. If something’s barely worth renting, it ought to be labeled as such. We’re writing our stories for the everyman…the gamer that doesn’t have limitless money to drop on flawed products. So, it is our goal to bring you the simplest, strongest critiques we can, without worrying about offending the delicate sensibilities of mainstream readers. So here we are: rock you like a hurricane.
