Recently we got a peak at the reboot is it? of Quake 3 Arena... Quake Champions.
The footage showed us what is possibly, evidently, the use of skills in this classic shooter from 20 years ago. Needless to say people lost their shit over it.
As an old time gamer myself, here are my thoughts on all this which started to develop and unfold the more I looked into it, and so I chose to share them in hopes that people start looking from the brighter side of things rather than the cliche hating mentality that we have been (rightfully so as well most times) accustomed to hearing these last many years.
Right to it. The question is simple. Do skills belong in a classic FPS shooter?
As some of you already know, we have been working on bringing you a concept and showcase teaser trailer for our dream FPS title, Operation Hellstorm.
This trailer has been released, and although only a glimpse into the direction we are going and the greatness we hope to achieve, I believe it is a good start to get you all into the feel of one of the aspects we are aiming towards.
For those of you that have not seen it yet, enjoy :)
Coming the following weeks we are going to launch a Crowd Funded campaign on Indiegogo in hopes to raise a budget towards the materialisation and completion of this game.
Kickstarter unfortunately only cooperates with a limited amount of countries. We are situated in Greece, Athens, and our only viable option for a crowd funded campaign is through Indiegogo.
The simple and quick answer is that we do not currently have the budget to pull us through without any help.
We are a small team and aspiring to grow. At the moment game development in Greece is rather new, and we are starting from the ground up.
There is a collective and average experience of over 15years in our team from various fronts of the graphical industry and smaller gaming development projects. Team Leader and Game Designer for now is none other than the one writing to you right now. Me. Jim Soufrilas.
I have been involved with 3D graphics for over a decade, and 2D graphics (including traditional) for 2 decades now. Born in 84' and have been a dedicated gamer and content designer on small personal projects for the entirety of my life, with scope of reaching the point of both expertise and comfort with undertaking the direction of a complete game project of my own.
At the moment the budget is very limited (if at all present to be honest) and all content that has been made thus far has been done around the clock whenever possible and without the entire team being able to put in the work hours needed. Both a result of the limited budget.
You may also find us on Facebook, for a more detailed look at a released portion of this said content.
The teaser trailer is just that, a teaser trailer. Within it the content is a showcase of the direction we are aiming towards. In this instance, all content within the trailer is 1 of 3 things.
1) Completely made for the purpose of the trailer alone and only a simple reference to the game (the level design and some effects).
2) Concept designs that will evolve and posibly make their way into the final versions (the HUD and again some of the effects).
3) Content created directly for the game (the character model and the weapon).
Even as a small studio, we are boasting quality over quantity for now. And with the help of crowd funding, we will be able to boast of quantity as well.
What you can expect from us, at the very least, is a constant dedication to improving this title and making it the best it can be. Furthermore, the trailer, although a showcase, was designed by one person alone (aside from the music, composed by Steve Cupani and further proof of our ambition to make each aspect of this title of both quality and its own). The team was working on tech testing and solving some engine workflows that are not on a visual level as of yet.
This can be used as a direct comparison for the quality and quantity of future content, as the trailer was achieved with no budget, with only one member (me) assigned to it, and with little time available.
The results of what can be achieved with a budget, and a larger team all working full time around the clock towards the title, will be a significant improvement on all levels.
Aside from this, our dedication despite all the current budget difficulties is a show of our determination and passion for making this title. Giving up on the project you all supported is not an option!
As lead Game Designer and Lead Artist, I will be overseeing all design elements to the game. Having experience in both Visual Graphics and FPS games for over 20 years (and as far back as the very first Doom), you can rest assured the ship is in good hands. Add to this the feedback from the community, you, that we are able to easily gather in our time and age, and the project is capable of being shaped into something that can truly stand out in the F2P FPS front.
You are the most important cog in this sci-fi fps machine we are building. We need your help to get the word out there for Operation Hellstorm so that like minded FPS gamers that could be interested will know where to find us and that we even exist. Your support in Founders Purchases from there on is the backbone to our new company and our endeavour to making Operation Hellstorm. This will further become the foundation to our Game Dev studio that we seek to enrich with more titles in the future.
Founders' Purchases range from as small as $3 all the way up to $150, to give you the flexibility with supporting the title with whatever seems right to you!
We are starting an "aggressive" push of information here and on our facebook page to release details on the direction of our title and what we hope to include and achieve in it.
This content will come in the form of Blog Posts and if possible also YouTube videos (the later will probably simply be a video version of the Blog Posts as an easier and more direct way to explain/spread more information on our upcoming title) and will be posted here and on the Facebook page.
For direct access to the videos as they come, you can also subscribe to our YouTube channel right here:
We are looking forward to meeting you all and together bring to life the title that can change the Free To Play First Person Shooter genre towards the better.
Stay Tuned, share, and as always, thank you all for you support.
A future-past first person shooter arena title like no other, aimed at bringing the best elements of classic 90's first person shooters and modern shooters all into one. An accomplishment of the last 20 years of gaming, aimed at nothing else other than addictive fun.
DOOM 2014 (previously named DOOM 4 and of late simply known as DOOM alone) is finally here... Well not exactly, it's some corners away at least. Nonetheless sooner than we had hoped, since Doom 4 seemed for a long time a dead project that was sluggishly finding its way to late 2015 if that. When the teaser came out, I was excited to say the least but didn't heed much to expectations with regards to seeing it any time soon.
The teaser surely took me by surprise, news on development on the new Doom were till now elusive and covered in a haze of mystery and smoke. With the project scrapped and rebooted at least once that we know of, and id software making statements of the likes "we will reveal information on the game when we have something to reveal..." all hope of getting it any time soon seemed futile. Of course we also had the occasional "it is going to be great" comments and the tease of what it "might" include or be like. But all we could do is push back release dates in our minds and make empty speculations of what it might be like or when it would arrive.
Until now.
Doom is indeed closer than we think, and from the sounds of it, is shaping up into a great experience created around fun and plenty fan service unless I am mistaken. Fingers crossed, but the horizons look good with the latest reveals and sooner that we had hoped.
Well as the title itself says, Video Games are a form of Art. "Games" is a title given and used far too lightly nowadays with some still clinging on to the impression that it means "child's' play" and other outdated notions that should have been left in the past by now.
We Gamers are not children with no responsibilities, neither people that have nothing else to do in their lives, neither individuals with no interests other than having fun and playing. Some cling to these notions and try to force gamers to believe that video games are for children and not for grown ups. Naturally they are prompting gamers to grow "out" of them eventually. Such beliefs couldn't be more wrong and couldn't be based on falser assumptions if they tried.
Believe it or not, there are indeed many people that still think like this. An arrogant and pretentious mindset knows no limits after all. Such people try to force their belief systems on others, judging harshly with some pretty ridiculous notions that can even lead to discrimination and cause more harm than good. Instead of understanding that they are of a different mindset and that each person has a right to chose which ideals and qualities they will warm up to in this world, these people that do not agree to gaming in the form it truly is find it fitting to try and make others that do not agree with them change by force and discrimination. Such childish behaviour.
Gamers and what are the defenders of this entire form of entertainment will have you know it is no less a child's game than half if not all the activities in our lives that we all partake in for entertainment. Like going to the cinemas, or playing cards, playing pool, bowling, and so much more. Pretty hypocritical to rule out what one does not understand or like as being childish when all these activities are of the same form.
It is 2014 and the time for such misinformed notions to come to an end is overdue.
To put it simply, Video Gaming is 1st and above all a form of Art and 2nd a form of Entertainment. The two intertwine and become ultimately one.
It's time everyone started to respect it as such, and further respect gaming as much as any and all other forms of entertainment and art out there. The same way films, books, paintings, music and other forms are here to express the inner worlds of creators so that they can be shared with hundreds of others, thousands or even millions, games are here with the same purpose and were established with this idea and need in mind. They simply just take things up a notch by comparison, making the experiences interactive and thus being the only difference with the other forms. At this point it is pointless to argue over the differences and further define each form to a specific target market alone (like that of children) as each form is and should be unique in its own way and is more than capable of being directed to any target market out there and of any age. Art and entertainment takes any form it needs or requires itself to take, it is free of any boundaries and templates, and that is why it is both an artistic expression as well as entertaining.
-"Someone that believes graphics are important should go and watch an anime or something, they are not real gamers"
-"I don't care about the graphics if the gameplay sucks"
-"Graphics are not important, it's the gameplay that counts"
-"Wish they would cut back on paying so much attention to graphics and make better gameplay"
-"Who cares about the lack in graphics? It has great gameplay."
Those few quotes, among many others, are some of the common phrases the "real" gamers of our time use to the extent that now people even write articles to defend such a notion... Being, that graphics are not important.
Funny story, I was going over this whole concept again not more than one day ago, and today I wake up to read a related article including opinions and comments enforcing the idea that graphics are indeed not important and further more, stating that they actually are not important "any more" in the industry in general and not just for their liking. I wonder at such perspectives from such gamers and turn to question what wonderful book or insight of facts gave away this notion for articles and comments of the like to exist?
Just finished Crysis 3 a small while back and have been meaning to get to a review for it...
So we're doing that now. Talking about, reviewing and comparing all the titles in the Crysis trilogy. Four titles actually for those that include Warhead as a separate title rather than an expansion-ish stand alone addition. Crysis has been after all as a franchise giving us top end experiences and pushing technology along with first person shooter standards for almost 6 years now (end of 2007 - 2013) and deserves it's own thorough look. And as we do it here, we get as thorough as it gets before it becomes a quantum theory molecular level kind of thorough.
Crysis has not gone unnoticed one bit in the gaming industry. Either by haters, or fans, and from both ends of the gaming spectrum including PC's and Consoles, at least one of the Crysis titles has been subject for a lot of back and forth debating for most gamers if not all gamers of our time.
I being no different and having now completed the trilogy, am ready to dig deep inside the Crysis titles and meet the heart that beats beneath it all face to face.
The 2nd video for the HAWKEN closed beta event is up.
Although I seldom tend to make reviews or commentary videos, I took the chance to look into this new free-to-play mech themed first person shooter once having attained a closed beta key for the event during the weekend of 28/10/2012.
In the video I showcase all the maps available in the beta event, the three mech classes, and the four game modes.
I take a thorough look with extensive commentary on most if not all aspects of the game, leading into the last hour of gameplay only (no commentary) with the remaining items, game modes and maps, profile menu coverage, and showcase of the Andromeda map with no other players online (an even more thorough view of the map designs and the graphics without anyone around to fire at me or to aim at whilst I take my time to look at the environments).
I also uploaded a week before this video the first part, made a day before the event began, dwelling into a detailed coverage of the mech customization menu.
