Game Developer Weekly
Issue 1
A letter from the Editor
By h POKE
AS ANY true lover of video games can tell you, there was a time,
albeit long ago, when America ruled the market. Yes, those where
the good old days, now long lost to the sands of time, or more ac-
curately the floods of profit.
You see, way back in 1983, things changed. A market, bloated on the
sheer quantity of product flying out of it (with little to no con-
cern at all to quality, I might add), finally collapsed on its own
weight. On that day, the day the ticker tapes stopped for many
cash-hungry American men, I think the industry changed as a whole.
Gone now was an age of innocence, where nobody had experienced the
harsh consequences of a truly cold market, and in its stead was real-
ity.
Thank God for reality.
To these people, the realization that ANY market will collapse if
there is little concern to the consumer came bearing upon them like a
Mac truck. And with a swish of concession by the groveling Americans,
in came the Japanese, with force.
Once again, our eyes were flooded by marvelous technicolor wonders,
almost as great to be played as they were on our store shelves. Those
hesitant consumers (i.e, those regular kids) eventually came out from
underneath the covers, and were willing to embrace the video game again.
Looks like a happy ending for our fair consumer, but what about all that
reality? We see the reality of the video game industry every day, you
maybe just don't notice it because failures, well... fail. In truth, most
failures of today are no longer simply based on a lack of quality, but a
failure on part of the consumer. The Bioshock and the Fallout 3 is put
center-stage because of advertising, whilst The Last Express, Psychonauts,
and countless others sit on the sideline waiting for some person to learn
that good stuff comes from the least expected places.
The principle this website was founded on, I should hope. Sure, we all have
experienced our crashes like those Americans in 1983, but the gold, the real
gold comes from here as well. And that is what I know this newsletter was
founded upon. So, continue to create, to inspire, and even to work together
because no matter how pointless all this deigning may seem some time, know
that I've got your back.
Sincerely,
J.P. Ryan
Other news------>
Spoiler:
Reviews
Rising Star, Setting Sun
Pokemon Uranium
My Rating: 8.5/10
Popular Rating: 3.88/5
More Info
Demo Unavailable
Official Website (none)
"Between two of the islands of Tandor, out in the middle of the ocean,
there was once a Nuclear Power plant in which your mom, Lucille, worked.
Ten years ago, when you were just a baby, there was a nuclear meltdown.
One of the workers who managed to escape said that in the wreckage of
the plant, he had seen what looked like a Pokémon--but none that he had
ever seen before--rising out of the wreckage...
Now it's your turn. In the ten years since the meltdown and your mothers'
disappearance, your Father (an established Pokémon ranger) has been
journeying the region in search of your mother who he is sure is still
alive. You live in the care of your aunt in Moki town, and at twelve years
old you are ready to take the Pokémon Trainers' exam and journey out,
following in your fathers' footsteps to undertake the Tandor league
challenge... "
Spoiler:
Pokemon Moonlight Review by Delta
Spoiler:
Pokemon Flame of Destiny
My Rating: 4/10
Popular Rating: 1.57/5
More Info
Demo Unavailable
Plot and Story Review
"You live in Antler Town. It's your first day with a Pokémon. When you go down
from the stairs, your mom gives you something so new--the Pokégear 5310
XpressMusic and the trendy Running Shoes. She said that Professor Cleo is
looking for you--maybe the Professor will give you something...
When you go to the lab, you answer her questions and, depending on your answers,
she'll give you your first Pokémon. Her teacher, Professor Oak, drops by to
give you a Pokédex. After some conversations in the lab you go to one of the
houses there where an old man will give you a free S.S. Ticket to Bibbur-Si's
cruise ship--Princess of the Stars! Outside Antler Town, you'll meet one of
your rivals.
As you advance into the game, you'll hear anything about the villanous team in
the entire Bibbur-Si Continent, known as Team C.A.T. They kidnap Trainers to
become their grunts, known as officials..."
Spoiler:
Interviews
Interview with ~JV~
Spoiler:
Interview with POKEM4NlAC
Spoiler:
Protip of the Week
Mapping
1. Mountains: Mountains can become very boring if you don't vary the edge on them. Instead pf making each level follow the same path, you should add gaps and ledges. This isn't altogether very difficult, it's simply the memory required to keep each level seperated from the next and in a logical order in your head. I could keep blabbing, but it would probably also be helpful if I gave you a picture:
Spoiler:
As you can see, it's a simple yet effectively intersting map. Not my best work, but that's not the point. You should build from the top-down, starting with a small, top layer, then creating progressively larger layers until you have a considerable mountain. Once you've created the mountains themselves...
2. Decorate: This is an important part in map making. It may not seem that way at first, but creating a good amount of detail and random features can really excite not only players, but viewers about your game. On top of your mountains, you should put trees, although not necessarily forests (a lot of flat space would be required, something that can detract from the effect mentioned before. Rocks of different shapes and sizes used in small quantities across a range certainly adds a rugged feeling as well.
3. In cities and towns, one of the great things you can do, is to add greenery. So, you can place various houses, spread out along a road, and that would be okay. But, if you created a row of trees separating the houses from the road, and placed flowers (or lampposts) sparingly on the non-house side of said treeline, you would have a significantly more interesting map. Additionally, placing borders between two different types of terrain, especially between certain conflicting road surfaces found in the maps of big cities, is simple method to drastically improve the look of a map. Something that would get a bit more complicated, but is equally interesting, is the use of strange roads. Instead of straight lines and quadrilateral intersections, stretch around your roads a bit and make objects meet at odd places, rather than head on. once again, I might be confusing you, so it'd be easier to look below:
Spoiler:
The top intersection is a good example of what I was talking about. A bit on the large side for a piece of road, but good all the same. Note: In case you didn't know, big road is most often not the idea for a map, unless you're creating a large city. I also think I could varied the road a bit more towards the bottom as well. One of the keys to mapping success is moderation. If you're missing stuff, the finished product will seem empty. If you have excess of a good thing (most often decoration), your map will look busy, if not just plain silly.
4. Vary: This is important as well. I mentioned the concept underhandedly a few times before, but it should be something to keep in mind whether you're making a town, city, or even a little route. People hate straight lines in maps. They also generally hate patterns. Although the latter is arguable (think about making a system of equal-sized blocks in a city map...), if your theme is "nature", a pattern is bad. Grass is an example of a good thing to vary. Don't DON'T make a big, solid chunk of grass. If you look above, you see I put spots in the patches of grass, something that almost always looks better than a solid patch (of course, everything has to be in moderation. Even a great technique like that is limited to routes and the fringes of towns...)
Contact Us
Be sue to send in your letters for next issue. Feel free to comment on anything you like.
Staff Position open: Text Formatter
You would do the work of formulating the magazine itself. You would take all the articles, and place them into a printable format (in CSS).
Cheers,
The GD Crew
h POKE
Delta
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