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.
The moment has finally come, Street Fighter V is out (well almost a week now) and the question is-
"Is it worth purchasing?"
After all the "controversial" reviews, the question of is it worth purchasing is even more common than before. Fear not, I have your fast and true honest answer to that question right here, right now.
Ok, so it came to my attention (mostly from watching Jedi Council on Collider where it was brought to my attention there) that there is a theory among some that Snoke is Vader.
Although I too dismiss this idea, as that would completely go against the story of redeeming Vader and it would really in all sense be a big finger at all Star Wars fans ever. We even saw him in a Ghost Form "redeemed". I will go to say that it got me thinking of another theory that kind of mixes many things together into one.
Who is Snoke is the question every Star Wars fan is asking (well, after another question of who is Rey). In my Spoiler Review I mention how I believe that he is indeed Darth Plagueis, you can read that there (Under the "06. Snoke. Is he Darth Plagueis?" bit) were I explain my reasons and all the things that point to him being Darth Plagueis.
Now with this new theory, and imagery from Vader, Snoke, Vaders helmet, and some other ideas out there, I found myself thinking of a new theory that although could be wacky on the one hand, on the other stranger things have happened in the Star Wars universe.
Here I take apart some of the main plot themes in The Force Awakens, character evolutions, questions the film might have created and what I thought about all these along with the entirety of the film all together. I even try to nitpick whatever I can possibly nitpick in the film and I also go into making some comparisons to the classic trilogy to back up my personal score of a 10/10 that I believe SW7 deserves.
This is a spoiler heavy review, if you are after the Spoiler Free review you will find it here. The rest of you that don't mind spoilers or have seen the film, move along... move along.
Spoilers ahead (as the title implies), as I dive into giving my thoughts on the SW Episode 7 plot and explaining it along with things that I notice many either complained about or didn't get.
