Rebuild 2

I've been keeping this schtum for a while but the latest game I've been working on is actually 'Rebuild 2'.

If you haven't heard of Rebuild, it's a brilliant Zombie strategic survival game by Northway games. It's been played by squillions of people and is still in the top 40 on Newgrounds.

They started working on the second one recently and were looking for an artist. Frankly I loved the first game a lot, and after playing it (for a long, long time) I actually had already envisualised what it would look like with my art stamped all over it, so this was a dream job for me.

Despite the gameplay being top notch, the first game's graphics were a little too simple and it seemed like they wanted to take the game to a darker place visually this time. That's where I've stepped in.

Have to say Sarah Northway has been great to work with. She's definitely a smart cookie and knows exactly how to manage this thing well as well as being constantly supportive and generous with the compliments. Made this first collaboration for me relaxing and stress-free.

Many fans of the first game showed concern that the second game would be a little too heavy if it featured the same variety of gore as I've used in the Insanity games. With that in mind we decided to go with a more cartoon-esque look.

We've both been getting various influences, her from The Walking Dead books, I myself have been heavily influenced by the work of Beksinski recently, so expect to see a bit of his stuff in the work I do.

Only the final end of game images will feature anything as nasty as what you can see in The Insanity games.

One bonus is the new customized character screen that features photorealistic art for each 'survivor'. We've scanned in all our faces for the game so you'll actually be able to see our ugly mugs as a 'leader' or 'scavenger' etc . I think I look pretty cool with a shotgun in one hand, cowboy hat and an old grey moustache.

Anyway, I'm excited and working my buttcheeks off to get the visuals to a level where they truly add another dimension to this already fantastic game.

CHRONICLE:- a chronic failure hahahaaaaa!

Well, seems like the latest news is that the latest game of mine- 'CHRONICLE' is a flop *sigh*

A giant turd of a flop. Couldn't get the bastard sponsored even after weeks of trying.

If nothing else I've learned that arcade games- specifically shooters, are not my bag. Both Bounty Hunter and this one went nowhere fast. This one cuts me up a little though, because although it wasn't reinventing the wheel I personally felt it was a pretty good game. That's 6 months of hobby time largely wasted.

Still, the dude here always remains positive, and here's what I've learned;

a) Don't make games just because you think they'll score you a cashcow.

b) Be original

c) Don't waste time working on games you don't like.

d) With Flash, less is more.

e) Mochiad rates still suck compared to CPMStar.

The game didn't sell even despite quite a few sponsors taking a peek at it. Most of the feedback came saying great music but not original enough. Also had a few comments about the graphics being inconsistent and the game difficulty being a little high.

I didn't send out any e-mails to sponsors and perhaps that was the biggest error on my part- not enough self-promotion.

I think I'm guilty on relying too much on Flash Game License to get my game sponsored. But at the end of the day I was just dying to move away from this turkey and couldn't be bothered with all the hassle of tracking down all the big-wigs in the industry, I didn't believe in the game enough to really play the salesman role. I kind of think of the whole scene like FrightNight where Jerry Dandridge (Sponsor) is coming down the stairs in full vampire mode and Roddy McDowell (me) holds out his crucifix(the game), then Jerry starts chuckling sardistically 'You've got to have FAITH for that to work on me, Mr.Vincent'

Yeah. Lack of faith. And I was dinner.

The dangers of spending long amounts of time with a game are:

a) Oftentimes you can't tell if your games sucks or not as you're too washed out on it or just bored of playing it. Even StreetFighter gets dull after playing it all day. Try 80 days.

b) You've a hundred other, better concepts built in your imagination that you're dying to start work on, but you can't because you've got this lame duck you have to wrap up.

I'm thinking of trying some new. Perhaps making very small games, almost like demos that are fun, a quick fix and not too challenging. For example I might split 'The Damned' into 3 highly polished mini games. Sure people will nag about the game length but you don't have the right to complain when you're getting something for free. Certainly would equal less stress for me. Either way, Insanity 3 will probably be my last, and hopefully greatest full game until the day when microtransactions are fully accepted and we can actually get rewarded properly for our work instead of relying on scraps from the sponsors and pay per click routes.

Hydrophobia Prophecy

 

Hydrophobia Prophecy - 1DVD

System Requirements
Intel Processor -  Core 2 Duo E6540 2.33GHz 
AMD Processor -  Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5200+
Nvidia Graphics Card -  GeForce GT 240
ATI Graphics Card -  Radeon HD 3850
RAM (Memory) -  2 GB
Hard Disk Space -  8 GB
Direct X -  9

Prejudice Section 8

Prejudice Section 8 - 2DVD

Intel Processor -    Core 2 Duo E4600 2.4GHz   
AMD Processor -  Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4000+
Nvidia Graphics Card -  GeForce 9800 GTX
ATI Graphics Card -  Radeon HD 4830 512MB
RAM (Memory) -  2 GB
Hard Disk Space -  5.5 GB
Direct X -  9

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Retribution

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Retribution - 1DVD

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Relic Entertainment

Release Date:

Genre: Real-time Strategy

Features: (source: wikipedia.org)

    * Dawn Of War II: Retribution will offer a campaign for every race, including the new race:
    * The Imperial Guard. Players will be unable to import old campaigns from Dawn of War II and Chaos Rising.

Minimum System Requirements

* OS: Windows XP SP2, Vista or Windows 7
* CPU: Pentium IV 3.2Ghz, or any dual core processor
* RAM: 1GB (XP), 1.5GB (Vista), 1.5 GB (Windows 7)
* HDD: 8.5 GB free disk space
* Graphics: 128 MB Graphics Memory with Shader Model 3
* Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible
* DirectX: Version 9.0c

The Witcher 2 - Assasins of Kings

The Witcher 2 - Assasins of Kings - 4DVD

Minimum System Requirements
* OS: Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7
* CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or similar AMD
* RAM: 1 GB (XP) / 2 GB (Vista/7)
* HDD: 8 GB free disk space
* Graphics: 512 MB Graphics Memory Nvidia GF 8800 or similar ATI card
* Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible
* DirectX: Version 9.0c

Portal 2

Portal 2

2DVD

System Requirements* 

Intel Processor -  Pentium 4 3.0GHz

AMD Processor -  Sempron 3600+

Nvidia Graphics Card -  GeForce 315 512MB

ATI Graphics Card -  Radeon HD 3600 Series

RAM (Memory) -  1 GB

Hard Disk Space -  8 GB

Direct X -  9