Yeah it’s like 30 minutes long, but seriously if you’re interested in the future of games this might just blow your mind.

I’m not really sure what’s going on here, but in a recently released Lost Planet 2 trailer it appears that Gears of War characters are making an appearance. Maybe it’s a ploy to get more western players playing this shooter. The first game was surprisingly good, so here’s to hoping the sequel will live up to expectations. I’m presuming that because these games both use the Unreal Engine it was a pretty easy transition. Here’s to collaborations!

Up untill now I’ve been using the Unreal Editor which came out in 2007. I had to patch that buggy piece of poo recently, just because it was becoming unworkable. Today I decided I’d upgrade to the new UDK…the free one. I’ve only had a 10 minute play, but the best feature so far is the ability to play in the viewport. The new screen space ambient occlusion looks absolutely rediculous, and the global illumination is seriously hot. Anyone on the games pathway should pick this engine up, because it’s free and it’s kicking ass.

Live Client Project will get the unreal treatment.

Me and Rob went to the steward briefing over at Clifton campus yesterday. Initially I think it’s fair to say we were a little unsure as to whether we should do it, simply because we need all the time we can get for our projects this year. I’m glad to say it totally seems like a worthwhile experience.

There’s some really exciting things happening at this years event, some of which I’m not allowed to talk about! Everyone interested in games should come and see it this year, especially as it’s completely free. I think this will be a brilliant networking opportunity for everyone involved as well. Hopefully being a steward I’ll get the chance to talk to some developers back stage and get some priceless advice.

So yeah, make a note in your diaries for GamesCity October 27th-31st. It’s gonna be awesome.

It was only a matter of time wasn’t it? A game as successful as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare deserves a sequel, and now it’s officially getting one. Announced at the Games Developers conference yesterday, it’s going to drop on November 10th, 2009. Not much was really revealed, and the trailer isn’t very telling. The best bit of news is that Infinity Ward are on the case.

Check out the trailer here http://modernwarfare2.infinityward.com/

Sometime before Christmas Free Radical Design was shut down, as I mentioned on my blog. Things are looking up for the U.K company today, as they’ve been acquired by Crytek. The Cry Engine is probably the most visually impressive in the industry right now, and some excellent games have been made with it. Hopefully the people at Free Radical can do their own thing with the Cry Engine, and put their skills to use!

Is it time to buy a PS3? Maybe…
I’ve been tracking Killzone 2 for some time, right from the pre-rendered lies they pumped out a couple of years ago. Now it seems that maybe what they showed is possible. Check out the awesomeness of the death animations in this sequence. After a little research it seems that Havok is being used here with some extensive mo-cap and animation thrown in.

“One source claims staff turned up to work today to find doors locked, and instructions to meet at a nearby hotel for a final company meeting.

It’s not the first time a developer has shut down, and it wont be the last time. When you know someone working at the company it kind of makes the story more prominant. I’m sure the guys will find work pretty soon, they’re a talented team. Good luck Brad!

I knew I wouldn’t be able to open the cat model we made with Andy in 3DS 2008, so I exported a 3DS file hoping to be able to open it fine. So it opened, and the polys were messed up. I was following Andys instructions of making sure all polys have 4 sides. Obviously somethings gone wrong in the translation. It means that turbosmooth doesn’t work. Here’s what’s gone on…

I’m calling shenanigans! I did some more to the model anyway so I can get it all done quickly in the next seminar. The eyes are set up with a dummy, and I added more edges to the elbow and knee areas.

Click To See Larger Image

I can remember first seeing Portal about a year ago when the previews were around the net. I was hyped at the time and I was dead set on buying the game. It looked original, quirky and fun. So what happened? I think it was a mixture of Bioshock, Halo 3 and Call Of Duty 4 that killed off Portal for me. Now I have Portal in my hands I’m ashamed I didn’t get it sooner.

Again the Half Life 2 engine shows how excellent it is. Take a look at the screen above to see how the graphics are holding up. The physics are still some of the best after all this time too. More importantly everything feels polished when you play a Source game. You can ramp all the settings up to max on a mid range PC and still have a good experience. What makes Portal fun is the game play. Solving the puzzles and using the portals is a bit of a brain exercise but I’m just happy to not be mindlessly shooting for once. The last time I had this much fun with a game was when I got Bioshock.