Adventure Developers has put up Tip 21, the final note in the series of tips for game-making, written by Bill Tiller and Larry Ahern, who have worked on a number of LucasArts games in years past. And what is that final, and therefore most important tip of all, you ask? Isn't it obvious? To Have Fun.
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Adventure Developers has put up Tip 21, the final note in the series of tips for game-making, written by Bill Tiller and Larry Ahern, who have worked on a number of LucasArts games in years past. And what is that final, and therefore most important tip of all, you ask? Isn't it obvious? To Have Fun.
Worthplaying.com has some new screens from Emperor's Tomb showing off some seedy looking rooms and seedy looking women. Maybe that's not what's really going on but none of the screenshots have captions. Go take a look.
Source: Marek
JBRAA points out that a Canadian technology website has published an interview with Bob Donatucci, a Collective enviornmental artist who worked on Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. The interview is a bit on the long side, primarilly discussing his history of being an architect and teaching himself computer graphics. However, here is a fairly interesting highlight:
Donatucci realizes that his job is a kid's dream. When he was beginning to design the Indiana Jones game, his studio sent him to Disneyland to photograph the rides and displays.I can identify... well, except for the part about wearing a fedora. If you've got some time to kill, you can read the whole interview if you really want to.
"I must have ridden the Pirates of the Caribbean ride five times," says Donatucci with a smile, as he absently runs his fingers along his fedora.
In the March issue of GMR magazine, there is a small article written on page 19 about Tim Schafer and his new company, Double Fine Productions. The article doesn't really contain any new information other than the fact that Tim eats breakfast and wears pants. Still, it might be worth taking a look at. Thanks to Pirateking for the scan!
Are you depressed because you live in Europe and couldn't get your hands on a copy of Dave Grossman's book, Ode to the Stuff in the Sink? Well cheer up, because Dave's website now accept orders from over 40 different countries!
But wait, there's more. The website now offers five illustrated Christmas stories by Dave for only $2. With titles like The Happy Lump of Coal and A Gift from Satan, how can you resist? The answer is: you can't.
Stop by Dave's online store to find out more and place your order. God bless you, little hoverdrawer.
LucasArts.com updated again this Friday. This weekly update included a few PC screenshots for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, information on how the Gladius combat system works, and a look at the Sith troopers found in Knights of the Old Republic. Unfortunately, it looks like we didn't get to see any Indy orchestral score clips in January after all...
The venerable Quick & Easy toolset has received a massive overhaul, boasting two new programs, and updates to the existing three. The Quick & Easy software, written by Mojo help forum admin bgbennyboy, is a series of tools designed to help people get their old LucasArts games up and running on newer OS's.
Available for download include updated versions of LucasArts Quick & Easy, ScummVM Quick & Easy, and CMI Launcher, and the two new tools: Entertainment Pack Launcher, and CMI Launcher - Coin Edition (see screenshot below for CMI Launcher Coin). For details about what each of these programs does, check out the Q&E website.
A very important news scoop here. Apparently the fat skeleton dude from that one cutscene in CMI is not content with his CMI cameo alone, or even with his numerous appearances in our polls, and is kicking off a film career with a bit part in the upcoming Pirates of the Carribean movie. You can see him and his taller, slightly thinner pal, in the concept art recently put up on the POTC website, or in the screenshots below.
Source: World of MI
Interested in the amateur/homemade adventure scene? If so you should check out Underground, a full new section of Adventure Gamers dedicated entirely to coverage of the amateur freeware adventure scene. Featured in their initial installment of articles is Adventure Architect Part 5 featuring some art by Monkey Island community artist Dan Lee. Check out this and more at Underground.
As part of their "Flashback Friday" series, Adventure Gamers has reviewed the LucasArts classic Loom, giving the game a respectable 3.5 stars out of 5. Here's a clip explaining in part where the other 1.5 stars went:
Unfortunately, the game's length is its fatal flaw, as many will feel that despite all of Loom's inherent good qualities, it is too insubstantial to get your money's worth. Although the drafts alter every time you start a new game, this fails to add any real replayability and may leave experienced gamers feeling Loom is over before it even began.Check out the whole review and some nice screenshots here.
The ScummVM website was updated yesterday to announce that they've been voted Best Emulator at the Linux Game Tome site.
Aside from that, they've updated to remind everyone that Curse of Monkey Island support is coming along nicely (which, I must admit, is especially exciting for Mac users), and gave a quick roadmap for the next few months of development, including Maniac Mansion and Loom EGA support. To check out their current progress you can always download a daily snapshot build, or get the source and compile your own.
In response to our previous news post, I contacted the Game Developers Conference to ask if audio CD's will available sometime after the conference is over.
The good news is that the online store at Gamasutra will be selling audio recordings of the conference about a month after the event.
The bad news is that these recordings will only be of lectures and panel discussions. That means that you won't be able to listen to the full day workshop given by Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer, Dave Grossman, and Noah Falstein. However, you will most likely be able to purchase recordings of the lectures and panel discussions led by Sean Clark, Clint Bajakian, and other LucasArts-related people.
So... any volunteers to sneak into the GDC and record the workshop?
World of Monkey Island has published page 20 of Paco Vink's Secret of Monkey Island online comic. As usual, the new page looks great, even if it is missing the part about the gophers and a yak. Go look right now!
LucasArts.com pointed out today that many of their employees will be speaking at the Game Developers Conference March 4-8 in San Jose, California. Among the highlights of the conference, the following seminars should peak your interest:
Art and Science of Brainstorming, a full day tutorial led in part by Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman, and Tim Schafer.
How to Write Good "Bad Dialogue": Cramming Storytelling Into an Action Game, an hour long lecture by Sean Clark and Ryan Kaufman (Full Throttle 2 co-designer).
What Producers Should Know About Audio, a panel discussion led by Clint Bajakian and members of the LucasArts sound department.
Now I know, you're probably not qualified to go or unable to afford the travel expenses. Not to fret. Recordings of the conference are usually made available on audio tapes and CD's. Pretty neat, eh?
Rum Rogerz from The Ultimate Indy Jones site sends word that he is looking for some skilled individuals to assist him in the redesign of his site in time for the launch of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Anyone interested should email him at rum_rogerz@hotmail.com!
Lots of cool stuff up on LucasArts.com today. First, the Gladius site has been updated with a new character class called Berserker. This new screenshot has also been released.
Next, there is a renovated and slightly annoying Flash site for RTX Red Rock which includes a screensaver, information on the characters, an FAQ, and more.
Finally, the Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb site has also been updated with a new screensaver, featuring some really cool gameplay video of Indy smacking people around. I really recommend checking that one out, even though it's a bit brief.
Time for more LucasArts.com updates. The Gladius product spotlight has been updated to include new concept art and information on a new arena. I would type more, but I can't think of anything else to say.
Marek points out that IGN has posted an Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb Development Report written by Art Director Brian Horton from The Collective. In the report, Brian discusses the elaborate consideration and work put into creating the Indy model. Here's a quote which clearly suggests that Brian is in love with Harrison Ford:
Usually, when modeling a face or body, I only model one side and mirror the face when I'm done, not the case with Indy. The greatest thing about Harrison's face is the asymmetry, his nose turns slightly to the left, his top lip is higher on the right than the left, and of course you can't forget the scar on the left side of his chin and the mole to the left of it. His eyes were very difficult to capture, the lids are buried under his brow and turn down slightly. On either side of his nose are heavy laugh lines that I modeled into the form as they make for another important landmark.The report has some interesting screenshots of the work in progress on the model, so click here and read this thing.
Source: VE3D
More LucasArts.com updates. The official box art has been posted on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic product spotlight. Several new screenshots have also been added, and judging from these new screens, it seems that the game might actually have some funny dialogue.
It has also been revealed that an Xbox demo of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb will be released in the March issue of the Official Xbox Magazine. Sadly, no word on a PC demo, but this new screenshot may help to dry up those tears of disappointment.
The official Gladius homepage at LucasArts.com has been updated. On the webpage, you can now find five new screenshots, new character models, updated character classes, and an update of the game's progress from the production team. Here is a highlight from the team notes:
Focus on the art side is now turning toward telling the story of Gladius? in hand painted and real time animated cutscenes. In December '02 we finished voice recording for the two storylines and we are quite happy with the results. We managed to get great talent all around especially for our lead heroes, Valens and Ursula.Also, QueZTone points out that Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb is now available for pre-order along with some kind of free crazy pen. You can also buy some new Indiana Jones Boxer Shorts (???) from the official company store as well. Enjoy!