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Looks like the blog got two searches for “nightrise + spoilers.” Yes, I know there’s a book coming out with the same name but let me just say this now: my game and the book have NOTHING to do with each other. And if you’re looking for spoilers into my NightRise’s plot than look somewhere else. No spoilers for you. Maybe in due time you will learn more about it from previews and the like, but for now, all you get is what’s on the About pages. So read that if you need more info. Stop searching for spoilers. Especially if you’re looking for info on the book. My suggestion for those of you looking for spoilers about the book is, read the damn book! If you’re reading spoilers, you might as well just read the book. Ya know? Psh.

The latest model has been completed. It’s of a “Kurosawa Samurai” and yes, this one will appear in NightRise.

So I was watching through a bunch of trailers at Gametrailers and have begun to wonder why the state of PC gaming is absolutely shameful right now. So many of these trailers looked absolutely terrible. For example, Loki. This trailer made absolutely no sense, and it doesn’t look like there could be any game worth playing in it. The in-game graphics look like a slightly updated Quake 2 engine, plus texture-stetching.

Then there’s Supreme Commander. This game did look sweet. Then I started watching actual trailers for it and realized just how much the GUI interferes with the actual gameplay. Think Warcraft II or the old Might and Magic games, where the actual gameplay screen was extremely small compared to the GUI. Plus, the demo decided that it didn’t want to be installed on my computer, so I’ve pretty much given up on that.

The few games that do look interesting seem to be published by the same company: Gamecock. Now, when I heard about these guys, I knew they had the right idea. They have a great sense of humor about their name, the games look decent, and they kind of remind me of G.O.D. back in the days of Jazz Jackrabbit 2.

I think the biggest problem is that nobody is making good PC-only titles anymore. Everything is coming out on multiple consoles. Like Bioshock. That game could very easily be Windows only, but it’s also coming out on the 360. Then you’ve got games that are ported to PC from consoles, like Devil May Cry 3, which always end up being terrible on the PC (Megaman X8 is the exception to this, as I feel the PC version is superior).

With mostly ports and bad games coming out for the PC, you’d think I’d be nervous about NightRise’s potential. I’m really not. I’m approaching it very carefully though. Many people think that a game has to focus on either creativity or graphics, action or story. Who’s to say a game can’t have all four? Look at Prince of Persia. I’m playing through Sands of Time and, as old as it is now, the scenery is fantastic, the gameplay is engaging, the story is deep, and the fights are challenging. The biggest challenge, of course, is making a PC game that does not require a gamepad. Because as soon as a game is easier to play with a controller than it is with a keyboard/mouse setup, it might as well be on a console. So the Nightweb GUI, which is very minimal, is designed to work with both a mouse and a keyboard, and less-so with a controller.

I just feel that PC gaming needs a revival, something to make people take it seriously again. I also need a team. I’m sick of trying to tackle this alone.

Here’s a quick shot of it untextured for those who may be interested.

Textured version should be up at some point soon.

I swear there is nothing to do. The Wii is always being used. Nothing new out for PC. Too much work to be done in 3D Studio MAX. Maybe I’ll do some reading, since I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. Checkhov? Genius. Hemmingway? Okay. James Langley? God no. I don’t understand why he’s considered an amazing writer of the last century if you can’t understand a word he’s saying if you’re not from Ireland. Wow I keep making typos. That’s bad. I actually haven’t typed much in a while. I’m out of practice. And my fingers feel weak from all the mouse clicking in 3D Studio MAX.

Speaking of 3D Studio, I’m currently working on a house that is about to push 100,000 polygons, a new record for me. Roommate doesn’t think that’s good. I think it’s amazing. I’m all for high poly models, and I’m going to be doing a very high-res texture map, at least 1024 x 1024. Might even push it to 2048 x 2048 just to get the right amount of detail in there. I need at least one A this quarter, though if I keep working as hard as I am I’ll end up with 3, which would bring my GPA up to a ridiculous 3.35. I’m all for that.

I’m gonna go do my laundry. Peace.