http://pwned.com/reboot/blogs/ Pwned.com - [GSI]reboot's Blog Feed en-us http://pwned.com/showblog/2640/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----38/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Game ReleasesExecution (Indie)MICROLAND (Indie)Tactical Assassin 2 (Indie) Tool ReleasesPathEngine v5.16 (Pathfinding/Movement SDK) That's all for today. If you know someone on Pwned.com who would be interested in reading these daily blogs in the future, please tell them to add me as a friend! If you're interested in starting your own game development project (or already have one), don't forget to check out ModCenter, which can help you manage your project and move efficiently towards a successful release. http://pwned.com/showblog/2640/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----38/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2633/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----37/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. ModCenter Articles:Interview: Phil Jones of Dialogue Design - I had a chance to sit down with founder Phil Jones and pepper him with questions about his experience with Tank Universal's development and what the future holds for him and his studio. Industry Articles:Creating Intrigue In Prototype's Open Worlds - Gamasutra asks Tim Bennison of Radical Entertainment some specific questions about their upcomign title Prototype, an open-world game set in New York that is scheduled to be published next year by Vivendi. Developer Events:Registration and Website Open for Austin GDC '08 - Registration is now open for attendees of this year's A http://pwned.com/showblog/2633/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----37/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2582/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----36/ I've been out of the office for a few days, so I apologize for the lack of blogs this week, but I'll be picking back up again starting today. Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:Lesley Matheson On New Studios, Tech, And More - Lesley Matheson, design director of High Impact Games (Ratchet amp; Clank: Size Matters), participates in this Gamasutra interview discussing PSP development, the Los Angeles development scene, and the advantages of building a game engine over purchasing one."Epic's Rainmakers" Article - Planet Unreal (link) reports that The Escapist magazine has published an article about the history of Epic Games, from the "modest shareware developer" http://pwned.com/showblog/2582/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----36/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2548/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----35/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:Interview: Metanet - Independent Minds - The team behind N and N+ discuss the advantages and disadvantages of developing on XBLA in this Next Generation interview.Opinion: 'All The World's A Sandbox' - Chris Plante looks at Grand Theft Auto IV and Crackdown as examples of games with open-ended narratives, and what the challenging and sometimes inverse relationship is between player freedom and the quality of narrative in sandbox-style games. Game ReleasesStar Wars: Movie Duels v1.01 (Mod for Star Wars: Jedi Academy)Gundam Universe v1.0 (Mod for Quake III)Nexuiz v2.4 (Indie)TypeRacer Beta (Indie) That's all for today. If yo http://pwned.com/showblog/2548/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----35/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2504/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----34/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:IDGA Column: Culture Clash - Columnist Matt Sakey touches on a popular theme of late--the innovation behind some of the newest student-developed indie titles--and explains why it's important to the industry as it evolves.The 'Kitchen Sink' Attitude To Visual Design For Games - Game commentator Chris Dahlen examines the benefits of throwing 'everything plus the kitchen sink' into a game's visual design, referencing frantic indie titles from Noitu Love 2: Devolution to Jets 'N' Guns GOLD along the way. Game ReleasesDroid Assault (Indie) Tool ReleasesTorque MMO Kit (Middleware) That's all for today. If you know someone on Pw http://pwned.com/showblog/2504/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----34/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2486/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----33/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:cactus_squid Interview - GWLog has interviewd cactus, creator of such games as Fuck Space! and the IGF finalist Clean Asia. The interview covers catus' inspiration for creating games as well as his design process. The interview also includes a sneak peek at one of cactus' new titles.Interview: Robert Lupinek (The Cleaner) - The IndieGames blog has posted an interview with Robert Lupinek, a freeware game developer. The interview covers his experience with game design, and goes into depth about his title The Cleaner.IGDA Column: The Games Games - Industry veteran Tom Sloper is back with another installment of his monthly IGDA http://pwned.com/showblog/2486/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----33/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2442/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----32/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:Jenova Chen And Thatgamecompany - flOw creator Jenova Chen talks to Gamasutra about why he chose to break from Maxis and Spore and start his own studio, Thatgamecompany.How to Practice Game Design - GameCareerGuide.com and Game Developer Magazine editor Jill Duffy answers a question about how to begin building your game design portfolio when you're young, inexperienced, and/or underfunded. Game ReleasesCamp;C 3: Retarded RC1 (Mod for Camp;C 3)Bootfighter Windom XP SP-2 (Indie)Jailbreak! v0.4 (Mod for Half-Life 2)Mockingbird: The Game Making Game (Indie) That's all for today. If you know someone on Pwned.com who would be i http://pwned.com/showblog/2442/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----32/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2402/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----31/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:Casual Games, Broad Topics - In its newest blog entire casualindie.com discusses techniques to appeal to not-so-typical audiences when striving to create a successful casual title.nbsp; Since casual titles are commonly played by demographics not represented in the "gaming community," special considerations have to be made when designing the titles for them to be successful.How Can A Game Be Subversive? - EALA's Borut Pfeifer examines different games and contemplates if a game can truly provide a subversive message or not. Game ReleasesMEET IN (Indie)The Sewer Goblet - The Wu-Tang Clan and the Wu-Tang Baby (Indie)in the wood http://pwned.com/showblog/2402/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----31/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2391/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----30/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:Building a Mindset for Rapid Iteration Part 1 - David Gregory, VP of Emergent, analyzes the issues that can arise when iterating game concepts with a large development team, and provides solutions to potential obstacles. Game ReleasesScorching Earth (Indie)The Beard (Indie)Conflict 2142 (Mod for BF2142) Tool ReleasesFX Composer v2.5 (Shader IDE)Shader Debugger (Plug-in for FX Composer)IncrediBuild v3.20 (Framework) That's all for today. If you know someone on Pwned.com who would be interested in reading these daily blogs in the future, please tell them to add me as a friend! If you're interested in starting your own gam http://pwned.com/showblog/2391/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----30/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2350/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----29/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:Family Gamers - In this Gamasutra featured article, a focus group made up of children served as a sample for a study on how games can better reach the mainstream market. The study involved subjecting the participants to a large variety of game titles and then analyzing their responses. The notes were consolidated into ten main issues and are presented in this interesting write-up.Todd Northcutt Interview - As part of it's "Meeting of the Minds" interview series, ION Connection writer Paul Philleo asked GameSpy Technology's Todd Northcutt a number of questions about multiplayer communities and their means of social connection http://pwned.com/showblog/2350/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----29/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2342/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----28/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:Postmortem: Sins of a Solar Empire - Gamasutra has this in-depth postmortem of the space-based real time strategy game, including the lessons learned and the benefits of Ironclad's development approach that allowed this relatively low-key title to take the gaming world by storm.Behind The Scenes Of Uncharted - Game Developer magazine is running an exclusive postmortem on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, but for those of you who don't get the magazine, Gamasutra has a brief write-up of the article's main points. Game ReleasesAttack of the Meeplings (Indie)Hello Panda (Indie)The Sewer Goblet (Indie)Get a Life v1.1 (Mod for Half-Li http://pwned.com/showblog/2342/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----28/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2275/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----27/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent.nbsp; Most of this news can also be found daily on ModCenter. Industry Articles:Design Lesson 101 - In the first installment of a brand-new bi-weekly column, Raven Software game designer Manveer Heir plays through Monolith's Condemned and posts how the experience was a learning process in game development.Interview: Mark Johns (Space Barnacle, Rotrix) - Indie Games has posted an interview with indie developer Mark Johns, discussing his development background and his many games including Space Barnacle, Shit Game, Space Bits, and more. Game ReleasesKillawatt (Indie)Trials 2 (Indie) That's all for today. If you know someone on Pwned.com who would be interested in reading these daily blogs in the fu http://pwned.com/showblog/2275/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----27/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2259/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----26/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Gamers And The One-Game Diet - Gamasutra's newest editorial touches on the question of what game developers should focus on; making games for "one-game" players, or making games for those who want to play quicker, cinematic experiences. Developer Events:Dobbs Challenge First Month Challenge Winner - The first month challenge $1,000 winner and runners-up have been announced for the Dobbs Challenge, along with descriptions of their entries.nbsp; If you're participating in this contest, be assured that there is over $9,000 of money still to be awarded for future challenges, so stick with it. Game ReleasesEndless Forest (Indie)The Fog Fall (Indie)After DOOMSDAY (Indie) That's all f http://pwned.com/showblog/2259/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----26/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2253/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----25/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Interview: Tommy Refenes (Goo!) - The editors at the Indie Games blog sat down with PillowFort (Goo!) founder Tommy Refenes and grilled him about his IGF finalist entry and his experiences both at GDC and beyond.How To Start Your Own Games Studio, Pt 2 - Introversion's Mike Morris picks up where he left off in Part 1 of his "How To Start Your Own Games Studio" series, this time covering the prototype phase of development and the concerns one must have while creating something for potential publishers.Student Postmortem: Savannah's ARG Project Loyola - GameCareerGuide.com has posted a student post mortem from the team behind Project Loyola, an alternate reality game and senior http://pwned.com/showblog/2253/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----25/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2248/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----24/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Nakazato On Lost Odyssey And The Future - Ray Nakazato of AQI-owned studio feelplus answers a few questions from the Gamasutra staff regarding Lost Odyssey's development, feelplus' future plans and the advantages of developing in the West compared with developing in Japan. Game ReleasesThe Dawn of the Tiberium Age v1.07 (Mod for Tiberian Sun)Tiny Hawk (Indie)Ballmen v1.5 (Mod for Half-Life 2)Voxelstein 3D (Indie) That's all for today. If you know someone on Pwned.com who would be interested in reading these daily blogs in the future, please tell them to add me as a friend! If you're interested in starting your own game development project (or already have one), don't forget http://pwned.com/showblog/2248/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----24/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2035/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----23/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Opinion: One Love, One Format? - Game Developer Magazine writer Brandon Sheffield looks into the concept of a "one-console future," outlining the advantages such a situation would provide for consumers--and at the same time, the disaster it could spell for mid-level game developers.Qamp;A: Ankama Discusses Dofus-Arena, Wakfu - Dofus is the most popular flash-based MMORPG on the web, with over 7 million players. Gamasutra interviews Ankama Studios' Ceacute;dric Geacute;rard and Frederic Brunet about their popular (yet relatively unheard of) title, as well as their future development plans. That's all for today. If you know someone on Pwned.com who would be interested in readi http://pwned.com/showblog/2035/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----23/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2031/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----22/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Interview: Eric Goldman About User Generated Content - ION Connection posted an interview with assistant professor at Santa Clara University School of Law Eric Goldman about his views on the present and future of user-created content in the game industry. Goldman has worked with a number of game companies and his views provide an insightful look at some of the pros and cons of the new trend in game development. Game ReleasesZombie Panic: Source v1.25b (Mod for Half-Life 2)Dragonball Source v0.1.4 (Mod for Half-Life 2)Gymnast (Indie) That's all for today. If you know someone on Pwned.com who would be interested in reading these daily blogs in the future, please tell them to add http://pwned.com/showblog/2031/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----22/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2016/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----21/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Fewer Mechanics, Better Game - John Rose uses God of War, Bioshock and Team Fortress 2 as examples of why the "less is more" approach is important when it comes to creating an optimal gameplay experience.Opinion: The Risky Potential Of WiiWare - Gamasutra writer Chris Remo discusses some of the upsides and downsides of WiiWare's future in the independent game development industry, calling out quality control as one of the main concerns to address as the community expands. Dave 'Captain ducks' Johnston - In the third installment of the Splash Damage interview series, Dave Johnston (better known as DaveJ of de_dust fame) answers questions about how he came to join Splash Damage as a http://pwned.com/showblog/2016/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----21/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2000/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----20/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Microsoft's Chris Satchell - In this interview, Eurogamer asks Microsoft's Chris Satchell about the beta of their community-based content platform for Xbox 360, XNA. In some disappointing news to developers, Satchell admits that XNA will not be supporting the mod community for "security reasons." Opinion: On Scaffolding And Masonry - In this editorial, modder-turned-professional Tynan Sylvester outlines why gameplay is immensely more important than graphics to the average gamer, which he metaphorically refers to as "scaffolding" and "masonry." Game ReleasesOffWorld: fall of Mars (Mod for Battlefield 2)Unpredictable Q4 v0.8 (Mod for Quake 4)Idealism (Indie) Tool ReleasesDI-Guy v9 http://pwned.com/showblog/2000/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----20/ http://pwned.com/showblog/1970/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----19/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Design Language: The Portal Paradoxes - LucasArts veteran Noah Falstein writes a personal review and breakdown of Valve's Portal, explaining exactly what makes this game "the next Citizen Cane" of video games.Student Postmortem: SCADrsquo;s Rats - In this postmortem of a board game, Rats developers explain issues that are experienced by the gaming industry in general: working with a deadline, recruiting beta testers, and proving the product prototype.Qamp;A: Flavius 'Flawe' Alecu - In the second installment of its amusing "Things You Were Too Afraid To Ask..." feature, Splash Damage asks programmer Flavius "Flawe" Alecu about his role and experience with the company.How To Start Y http://pwned.com/showblog/1970/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----19/ http://pwned.com/showblog/1937/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----18/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. ModCenter News: We've just implemented our brand-new project navigation system. This version is a huge improvement over our original project maps, both in terms of loading speed and robustness. Only categories with existing projects are shown, and the tool will auto-complete drill-downs if there is only one sub-category or project in the next tier down.nbsp; This should help you find the exact projects you're looking for, in a much more efficient and enjoyable fashion. The project navigation is on the left hand side of the ModCenter homepage.nbsp; Check it out! Industry Articles:'Student Postmortem: AudiOdyssey' - Singapore-MIT Game Lab has created AudiOdyssey, an innovative Wiimote-utilizing gam http://pwned.com/showblog/1937/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----18/ http://pwned.com/showblog/1921/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----17/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Moving The Industry Forward: Peter Molyneux Speaks - Lionhead co-founder and Fable 2 developer Peter Molyneux discusses the current "barrier" that game development experiences while trying to truly reach mainstream culture, and also talks about the inspiration for his epic series in this five-page interview on Gamasutra. Game ReleasesFistful of Frags v1.35 (Mod for Half-Life 2)Space Fuck! (Indie)Gymnast (Indie)Burn The Rope (Indie)Gunreal (Mod for UT2004) Tool ReleasesCannon Macro Language (Script)Eat 3D (Video Tutorials) That's all for today. If you know someone on Pwned.com who would be interested in reading these daily blogs in the future, please tell them to add me as a f http://pwned.com/showblog/1921/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----17/ http://pwned.com/showblog/1887/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----16/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Clean Asia's Jonatan Souml;derstrouml;m (IGN Insider) - This IGN Insider-only interview is with IGF finalist "Cactus," creator of Clean Asia!.Postmortem: Saber Interactive's TimeShift - The TimeShift developers outline what went right and what went wrong during the uniquely-convoluted, 4-year development cycle of their game.nbsp; Gamasutra has this 8-page exclusive feature--a must-read for new and seasoned developers alike.RAM, VRAM, and More RAM: 64-Bit Gaming Is Here - Gamasutra's official XNA portal has published its 4th featured article; this time author Chuck Walbourn discusses the recent progress made in the 64-bit gaming market, as well as the advantages of developing for 6 http://pwned.com/showblog/1887/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----16/ http://pwned.com/showblog/1875/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----15/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Gaming Addiction: Clearing The Air, Moving Forward - Writer and researcher Neils Clark looks at whether game design can influence healthy play, and what his MMO analysis has to say on the phenomenon.Sharing the Design - GameCareerGuide.com posted this article about how to begin working as a professional game designer; in particular, how taking ownership of key pieces of design early on can help newcomers learn the business efficiently.Jupiter One's Colwell Talks Music-Game Convergence - Gamasutra sat down with the band Jupiter One and discussed the increasing convergence of the music and video game industry. Developer EventsEpic Announces New 'Make Something Unreal' Mod Contest - http://pwned.com/showblog/1875/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----15/ http://pwned.com/showblog/1864/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----14/ Each workday morning I will be bringing you the latest events, articles and releases in the independent and mod development communities, as well as any mainstream news that seems pertinent. Industry Articles:Fixing Online Gaming Idiocy: A Psychological Approach - In this humorous yet informative article, Shadowrun developer Bill Fulton examines the causes and solutions to "Fuckwad" gamers and the reason that they should be of concern to game developers--namely, because they can cause a decline in game sales.Certain Affinity's Hoberman Talks Plunder, Cross-Platform Politics - Gamasutra asks Plunder developer Certain Affinity about their work on the title as well as their Xbox 360 port of the upcoming blockbuster title Left 4 Dead.Famous Last Words - IGDA columnist and attorney Jim Charne continues his monthly article with a response to a question about how an indie team should proceed http://pwned.com/showblog/1864/reboot/----ModBlog----Morning-Dev-News-----14/