Yes, working away . . . my wife is going to start a Hothead Spouse blog any day now . . . .
Favourite games eh? (Hope that is Canadian enough for you)
Well, you asked so here we go--ordered roughly based on time (will probably forget a few):
1. Let's start way back . . . with my Starpath Supercharger on the 2600! I loved both DragonStomper and my personal favourite, Escape from the Mindmaster.
2. Castle Wolfenstein for Atari IIE--broke into the science lab after to school to play that one.
3. Hacking the C64 to play Beachhead. ( While I liked the game, I loved the hacking better)
4. Loved Dungeon Master on my Amiga 500 (with memory expander).
5. Fairy Tale Adventure on Amiga
6. KingsQuest 1-6
7. Secret of Monkey Island
8. The original Wing Commander on my 386 PC
9. Day of the Tentacle
10. Doom on my 486DX50
11. VGA Planets (Dos version)
12. Resident Evil on my Playstation
13. Resident Evil 2 on Dreamcast
14. Total Annihilation
15. Half-Life
16. Everquest
17. Eternal Darkness N64
18. Half-Life 2
19. Resident Evil 4 Gamecube
20. Khoo is right in that Portal is one of my favs for the year--oh and best credits ever!
You will note a lack of PS2 titles--many solid games just none that stick in my memory like these others. Same goes for RPGs and other genres. Betrayal at Krondor jumps to mind as a special game for me before say Final Fantasy VII. Okay, there are many more. Hope this satisfies . . . but time to get back to work.
Thanks for the question. I'm going to answer this, but be aware that you just pushed the game's ship date out 10 minutes.
I started gaming with my Tandy Color Computer 2 back in the mid-80s. That was also the machine that initiated my love of programming. I of course wanted to write my own games. Typically this would have me start by making the most AWESOME splash screen ever, after which I would abandon the project. I ended up with a lot of pretty useless splash screens, but did actually finish one game. It was a text adventure, and reflected the love for that genre that I discovered playing the King's Quest series at my friend's house. It's that love for the adventure genre that makes me excited to be working on Rain-Slick and now working with Ron Gilbert on DeathSpank as well.
Another type of game I always come back to is top-scroller coin-ops like Raiden or Twin Cobra. When I was a kid a buddy and I used to call these "shoot everything that moves" games, and we definitely blew a lot of quarters on them. It actually wasn't until I was in the industry a few years that I realized they were called top scrollers. There's something very satisfyingly reptile brain about them.
If you read my post on the PA blog from a while back, you'll know I've got a passion for Flight Simulators as well. Mind you, in some corners of the Flight Sim community if you call it a game you'll get beat up or kicked out of the club house. But I still think it's a ton of fun and am fascinated at the lengths people go to push the boundaries of realism.
Lastly, I have to put a word in for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Back in 2000 I was at an arcade and found Guitar Freaks and was blown away. So when Guitar Hero brought it to the console-playing masses I think it was a very good thing for gaming overall, and I still haven't gotten sick of playing. To me these games deliver the ultimate fantasy fulfillment experience to the player. Anytime a game is successful in taking you out of your reality I think it's a great game. It could be playing Freebird to a screaming crowd or blowing up buildings with a rocket launcher.
Since you asked about relating to the PA project, I will say that I'm personally motivated by making games that make people laugh. I've been lucky to work mostly on funny games in my career, and so working with Gabe and Tycho on this hilarious little gem has been great.
I am personally of the opinion that anyone who does not count Sensible Software's Cannon Fodder as one of the greatest games of all time is not human. I don't think that's an unreasonable opinion to hold, considering.
Have any of you fine gentlemen played Cannon Fodder? If not, what do you usually store in your hollow tin chest?
Just wondering... Is PAAE1:OTRSPOD (awesome) coming to PS3/PSN? All I've heard about it is that there's going to be PC, Mac, Linux, and XBLA versions, but "other platforms haven't been ruled out yet."
Now, I've never been a big RPG guy--I've only ever really liked the Mario RPGs--but since I am a big Penny Arcade fan, I figure that the humor will be worth playing through it.
Yes, I played it on my Amiga but much like many games that I played and loved such as Alien Breed which I played a ton in co-op with my friends, they just don't stick to my ribs like these other games. I would put them on my tops list if I wanted to keep going but not before these other titles. However, I totally understand why you hold it close to your heart . . . alas, I cannot as I don't have one and my status as human is definitely questionable.
Just wondering... Is PAAE1:OTRSPOD (awesome) coming to PS3/PSN?
Our philosophy at Hothead is that you play our games on the system of your choice--within reason. I made the mistake of mentioning that at PAX and now half the company is working on the Jaguar version . . . .
We are a smaller company and, despite it being filled with amazingly smart people, there is only so much we can do. As we are certain that we can deliver a great experience on additional systems, we will make the appropriate announcements. Stay tuned . . . .
Yes, I played it on my Amiga but much like many games that I played and loved such as Alien Breed which I played a ton in co-op with my friends, they just don't stick to my ribs like these other games. I would put them on my tops list if I wanted to keep going but not before these other titles. However, I totally understand why you hold it close to your heart . . . alas, I cannot as I don't have one and my status as human is definitely questionable.
Our philosophy at Hothead is that you play our games on the system of your choice--within reason. I made the mistake of mentioning that at PAX and now half the company is working on the Jaguar version . . . .
We are a smaller company and, despite it being filled with amazingly smart people, there is only so much we can do. As we are certain that we can deliver a great experience on additional systems, we will make the appropriate announcements. Stay tuned . . . .
Haha, a Jaguar version would be awesome just for the novelty of it.
But yeah, that's why I've been kind of skeptical. Didn't think you guys were a big developer, so I was actually pretty impressed that you were shooting for four platforms at launch. Anyway, I'll stay tuned and hope that you guys are able to "deliver a great experience" on PS3 that matches the other versions.
Just don't pull a Newell and disregard the PS3 version. The Orange Box is amazing, but boy do they need to release a patch for it. A substantial one. I guess that's just a slightly off-topic mini-rant, but it just sucks that Valve cares so little about the PS3 that they're willing to let hundreds of thousands of gamers experience their games for the first time, buggy and unreliable.
Just don't pull a Newell and disregard the PS3 version. The Orange Box is amazing, but boy do they need to release a patch for it. A substantial one. I guess that's just a slightly off-topic mini-rant, but it just sucks that Valve cares so little about the PS3 that they're willing to let hundreds of thousands of gamers experience their games for the first time, buggy and unreliable.
I think it's fairly common knowledge that unless you have Sony backing you it's pretty golly gosh darn hard to code games for the PS3.
Yeah, I suppose, but is that really an excuse for them to deliver an unfinished product, late, with no real word as of yet of a patch beyond a couple forum posts? I mean, they did just kind of dump the PS3 version on EA London and concentrate on the 360 and PC versions.
That's off-topic, though, and I don't want to derail the thread with my venting, so to justify this post, I actually do have two more questions after having watched some gameplay footage from GameTrailers:
1) So... how are you guys compensating for the lack of a mouse on the XBLA version? Seems like there's a lot of clicking on stuff.
2) The text (like, all of it) was really tough for me to read on my 480i TV because it was so small. There seems to be a lot of unused space left in those text bubbles for instance. This isn't so much of a question as a concern.
1) We have had the Xbox controller working in game for testing UI/control layouts for a while now. We have more experience as a team with console than PC which is why the QA process is taking longer for us than what we are used to but we are on top of the OS and hardware related issues now. I think that you will be happy with how the controls feel.
2) We have not yet gone through adjusting text for tvs, especially 480i but we know all about safe zones and font sizes on consoles/tvs. We built in support for 640x480 displays for PC with the associated font related work. We will build off that to ensure that you can enjoy the game. It is part of the QA process.
1) We have had the Xbox controller working in game for testing UI/control layouts for a while now. We have more experience as a team with console than PC which is why the QA process is taking longer for us than what we are used to but we are on top of the OS and hardware related issues now. I think that you will be happy with how the controls feel.
Does this mean we could, if we wanted, use an Xbox 360 controller on the PC version?
Yes and no That means we cannot commit just yet. You have to remember that there is a big difference between having something coded to work for designers and putting a feature into a shippable state with proper QA, setup screens, UI support, game tuning, design changes etc. I know that some people will want this but more people will want the best experience possible for mouse and keyboard on the PC version and that is what we are focused on for PC right now just as we are focused on the best controller implementation possible for the Xbox. That is separate work and, in some cases, can be mutually exclusive. It is also not easy to say just leave it in as is either as it is not our style to ship something half-baked.
I assure you that whatever HH says the most challenging part is, it's a lie out of politeness. I'll be up front and say we are a real pain in the ass to work with... Mike and Jerry have some pretty high standards and we know we have to get this right.
I assure you that whatever HH says the most challenging part is, it's a lie out of politeness. I'll be up front and say we are a real pain in the ass to work with... Mike and Jerry have some pretty high standards and we know we have to get this right.
Someone (Tycho, I think), once mentioned that if this flopped, he would roll right along and not care.
Can I assume that this is also a lie and he will instead be very annoyed, as well he should, especially if he is putting his all into it?
Oh very much so. Mike and Jerry have both put an insane amount of time into this project - it's definitely been the biggest thing we've ever worked on.
Can anyone from project comment on the system reqs for RSPD?
They've said before that this is one of the last things to be finalized.
It's built from the Torque Engine, which was originally the Tribes 2 engine. Can your computer run Tribes 2? If so, there's at least a chance that it can run RSPD. They've certainly added features to it, but it's likely you can also turn the pretty back a bit if you need. If you can't run Tribes 2 though, you're probably up a certain creek with no convenient method of transportation.
HitScan on
Unstable like the isotope that resolves the fate of the theoretical cat in the hypothetical crate.
It looks about as complex as a Korean free-to-download game graphically-speaking. I don't think anyone's going to have a ton of trouble getting their hands on a system that can play this thing.
Man I have not played Tribes 2 in years... I still have the disc!
1) All our character stats will carry over, right?
2) Are there any voice overs?
3) What would you say the average length of completion is?
4) Since all Xbox 360 games must have achievements, will you also give PC gamers achievements?
5) If we buy the game on Xbox 360 (I'll be going PC personally), can we expect updates around the same time the PC gets them? Or will Microsoft certification hold you back?
6) When you roll for initiative in the videos, you can't see a number . . . is the die just flair?
1. I know the characters carry over - as far as their specific stats, I'm not 100% sure on that. One of the HH guys will probably pipe up to confirm that, since I knew that was a technical challenge.
2. Yes, but not for the characters - we realized that everyone has their own "voice" of what Gabe and Tycho sound like and after it tested great with the comic speech-bubbles, continued with that direction. We're glad we did too - we haven't received a single "man you should have given G/T voices" comment from anyone that's playtested it.
3. It took me 9.5 hours to play through it the first time, but i'm also a completionist. I believe you can expect between 6-9 hours of gameplay.
4. Not that I know of.
5. Not sure about this - I'll ask around though!
6. Since every character and enemy is rolling for initiative, the numbers they roll appear above their heads as opposed to on the single die that comes out. It worked out better this way, trust me.
6. Since every character and enemy is rolling for initiative, the numbers they roll appear above their heads as opposed to on the single die that comes out. It worked out better this way, trust me.
Posts
Favourite games eh? (Hope that is Canadian enough for you)
Well, you asked so here we go--ordered roughly based on time (will probably forget a few):
1. Let's start way back . . . with my Starpath Supercharger on the 2600! I loved both DragonStomper and my personal favourite, Escape from the Mindmaster.
2. Castle Wolfenstein for Atari IIE--broke into the science lab after to school to play that one.
3. Hacking the C64 to play Beachhead. ( While I liked the game, I loved the hacking better)
4. Loved Dungeon Master on my Amiga 500 (with memory expander).
5. Fairy Tale Adventure on Amiga
6. KingsQuest 1-6
7. Secret of Monkey Island
8. The original Wing Commander on my 386 PC
9. Day of the Tentacle
10. Doom on my 486DX50
11. VGA Planets (Dos version)
12. Resident Evil on my Playstation
13. Resident Evil 2 on Dreamcast
14. Total Annihilation
15. Half-Life
16. Everquest
17. Eternal Darkness N64
18. Half-Life 2
19. Resident Evil 4 Gamecube
20. Khoo is right in that Portal is one of my favs for the year--oh and best credits ever!
You will note a lack of PS2 titles--many solid games just none that stick in my memory like these others. Same goes for RPGs and other genres. Betrayal at Krondor jumps to mind as a special game for me before say Final Fantasy VII. Okay, there are many more. Hope this satisfies . . . but time to get back to work.
I started gaming with my Tandy Color Computer 2 back in the mid-80s. That was also the machine that initiated my love of programming. I of course wanted to write my own games. Typically this would have me start by making the most AWESOME splash screen ever, after which I would abandon the project. I ended up with a lot of pretty useless splash screens, but did actually finish one game. It was a text adventure, and reflected the love for that genre that I discovered playing the King's Quest series at my friend's house. It's that love for the adventure genre that makes me excited to be working on Rain-Slick and now working with Ron Gilbert on DeathSpank as well.
Another type of game I always come back to is top-scroller coin-ops like Raiden or Twin Cobra. When I was a kid a buddy and I used to call these "shoot everything that moves" games, and we definitely blew a lot of quarters on them. It actually wasn't until I was in the industry a few years that I realized they were called top scrollers. There's something very satisfyingly reptile brain about them.
If you read my post on the PA blog from a while back, you'll know I've got a passion for Flight Simulators as well. Mind you, in some corners of the Flight Sim community if you call it a game you'll get beat up or kicked out of the club house. But I still think it's a ton of fun and am fascinated at the lengths people go to push the boundaries of realism.
Lastly, I have to put a word in for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Back in 2000 I was at an arcade and found Guitar Freaks and was blown away. So when Guitar Hero brought it to the console-playing masses I think it was a very good thing for gaming overall, and I still haven't gotten sick of playing. To me these games deliver the ultimate fantasy fulfillment experience to the player. Anytime a game is successful in taking you out of your reality I think it's a great game. It could be playing Freebird to a screaming crowd or blowing up buildings with a rocket launcher.
Since you asked about relating to the PA project, I will say that I'm personally motivated by making games that make people laugh. I've been lucky to work mostly on funny games in my career, and so working with Gabe and Tycho on this hilarious little gem has been great.
Back to work....
DAMMIT.
This is everyone's fault but mine.
Joel, did you ever play Raptor? It was an Apogee top-scroller for the PC. I loved the hell out of that game. How about Ikaruga?
Joel
Have any of you fine gentlemen played Cannon Fodder? If not, what do you usually store in your hollow tin chest?
Just wondering... Is PAAE1:OTRSPOD (awesome) coming to PS3/PSN? All I've heard about it is that there's going to be PC, Mac, Linux, and XBLA versions, but "other platforms haven't been ruled out yet."
Now, I've never been a big RPG guy--I've only ever really liked the Mario RPGs--but since I am a big Penny Arcade fan, I figure that the humor will be worth playing through it.
Our philosophy at Hothead is that you play our games on the system of your choice--within reason. I made the mistake of mentioning that at PAX and now half the company is working on the Jaguar version . . . .
We are a smaller company and, despite it being filled with amazingly smart people, there is only so much we can do. As we are certain that we can deliver a great experience on additional systems, we will make the appropriate announcements. Stay tuned . . . .
I love you, and I want to have your babies.
Haha, a Jaguar version would be awesome just for the novelty of it.
But yeah, that's why I've been kind of skeptical. Didn't think you guys were a big developer, so I was actually pretty impressed that you were shooting for four platforms at launch. Anyway, I'll stay tuned and hope that you guys are able to "deliver a great experience" on PS3 that matches the other versions.
Just don't pull a Newell and disregard the PS3 version. The Orange Box is amazing, but boy do they need to release a patch for it. A substantial one. I guess that's just a slightly off-topic mini-rant, but it just sucks that Valve cares so little about the PS3 that they're willing to let hundreds of thousands of gamers experience their games for the first time, buggy and unreliable.
I wouldn't want the same for PAA.
I think it's fairly common knowledge that unless you have Sony backing you it's pretty golly gosh darn hard to code games for the PS3.
That's off-topic, though, and I don't want to derail the thread with my venting, so to justify this post, I actually do have two more questions after having watched some gameplay footage from GameTrailers:
1) So... how are you guys compensating for the lack of a mouse on the XBLA version? Seems like there's a lot of clicking on stuff.
2) The text (like, all of it) was really tough for me to read on my 480i TV because it was so small. There seems to be a lot of unused space left in those text bubbles for instance. This isn't so much of a question as a concern.
2) We have not yet gone through adjusting text for tvs, especially 480i but we know all about safe zones and font sizes on consoles/tvs. We built in support for 640x480 displays for PC with the associated font related work. We will build off that to ensure that you can enjoy the game. It is part of the QA process.
Does this mean we could, if we wanted, use an Xbox 360 controller on the PC version?
Someone (Tycho, I think), once mentioned that if this flopped, he would roll right along and not care.
Can I assume that this is also a lie and he will instead be very annoyed, as well he should, especially if he is putting his all into it?
It's built from the Torque Engine, which was originally the Tribes 2 engine. Can your computer run Tribes 2? If so, there's at least a chance that it can run RSPD. They've certainly added features to it, but it's likely you can also turn the pretty back a bit if you need. If you can't run Tribes 2 though, you're probably up a certain creek with no convenient method of transportation.
Man I have not played Tribes 2 in years... I still have the disc!
1) All our character stats will carry over, right?
2) Are there any voice overs?
3) What would you say the average length of completion is?
4) Since all Xbox 360 games must have achievements, will you also give PC gamers achievements?
5) If we buy the game on Xbox 360 (I'll be going PC personally), can we expect updates around the same time the PC gets them? Or will Microsoft certification hold you back?
6) When you roll for initiative in the videos, you can't see a number . . . is the die just flair?
7) Will we always be using a rake?
Thank you!
2. Yes, but not for the characters - we realized that everyone has their own "voice" of what Gabe and Tycho sound like and after it tested great with the comic speech-bubbles, continued with that direction. We're glad we did too - we haven't received a single "man you should have given G/T voices" comment from anyone that's playtested it.
3. It took me 9.5 hours to play through it the first time, but i'm also a completionist. I believe you can expect between 6-9 hours of gameplay.
4. Not that I know of.
5. Not sure about this - I'll ask around though!
6. Since every character and enemy is rolling for initiative, the numbers they roll appear above their heads as opposed to on the single die that comes out. It worked out better this way, trust me.
7. I can't say!
Oh, I didn't even notice.
Thanks for the answers! :-D
MANDATORY!
The short answer is no, you don't need to buy it twice.
Joel
Any plans for PS3 or PSP?
I would love to have this for PSP for on the go gaming! =D