Change of Direction

Hi all,
Over the past week and a half or so (from posting the Splatterhouse update), I've began to realize something. This dated all the way back to our very first modification for any kind of game we worked on: Resident Evil Unleashed. This can also be related to my personal first project many years before that, "HellShifter".
Anyways, what I've come to expect from our game designing hasn't come far from...say, REU. For instance, our titles we're working on at the moment...it felt all...too rushed, not really put together. I thought we were doing it the right way...but then I started asking myself, "Why are we working on a completely new project every year or so?" It wasn't the technology preventing us from finishing the design document...no, it had to be something worse.
I finally sat down with the co-owners: Brendan Doe and Andrew Grimmer. Well, actually walked around mainstreet...for about two hours.
While we were there, interesting revelations came about. Suddenly, right before my eyes, Splatterhouse changed direction COMPLETELY from what I thought of it being like. The design, story, perspective...everything changed.
Was this the problem? No...games go from design to design frequently. But not like this. Ever.
I was walking as I noticed that none of our games ever really took a solid form before production. No, they were fleshed out and worked on, designed on, and built at the same time.
This isn't a serious flaw. Our past two games, Daikatana 2: Shadowcaster and Daikatana 2: Edge of the Sword were moving along just fine. Although the latter didn't get very far with what I was doing with it, Alex of Developers United actually came pretty far in his conception phase.
...Why was this? Why has every game that preceded Splatterhouse never became completed? Was it lack of resources? No...part of it was becoming burned out with the design phase. This is where we crashed and burned.
I think that our previous games lost a great amount of momentum because we started production even before the entire design was completed (!). It all became too much; the technology, the design, the workers...that's the wrong way to do it.
So the question you may be asking is: Why? I don't know, honestly. Maybe it was the excitement or my lack of real world experience (or both).
When we were walking a lot of questions and answers became apparent. For instance, taking a complete new direction on Splatterhouse.
In essence, Splatterhouse was supposed to be a quick-cut remake of the original, nothing more. Last night changed this as we became more involved with the game than the actual technology the game was going to run on.
This is called (in the industry) a Perfect World Situation (PWS); where money flows by the gallon, games get completed by the second, engines that write themselves, and life is always fun. This is NOT true. If anything, it begins destroying your life.
Recently, I spoke to a friend about all of this and he told me, point blank: You cannot rush anything you're doing. No matter how excited you are.
I concur; in the past 24 hours, I have had a completely new perspective on how games should be made. Instead of focusing on every part of the game, only focus on one part of the game (before you actually create it). Write everything down as in PWS situation, and we mean EVERYTHING. From that point, start editing and revising to fit whatever needs you can afford to do. Regardless of game quality, someone, SOMEWHERE, will like this game.

This next game will be Splatterhouse, completely built from the ground up. No more speaking of it, no more hyping of it, no more showcasing ANYTHING until the game is completed...on paper. This phase, being our first ever, might take months, or even YEARS. We are not shutting down or dissapearing from the scene, but we're simply taking all material and discussion out of the picture. For this game, however, the wiki site will be maintained, and material will still be updated on it.
Expect a lot of changes in our behavior and the way we do things. We're still talking (even now) and things are already looking to a new vista. However long this takes us, we will be sure to let you know when we're ready to start production (officially).

You know what they say...Welcome to the Next Level. And I think we achieved level 1. Until next time guys, "Use protection". Please. I'm tired of seeing perfectly fine girls mutilating themselves over unsafe you-know-what.
-Corbin
3dfx Development, Inc.

"Rick, it's time to play again..."

http://wiki.3dfxdev.net/splatterhouse
Yes, you may all have heard that 3dfx is spearheading a new project called Splatterhouse.

This game, not a prequel or sequel to the first three, depicts the story of Rick Taylor, the main character from the first three, in a post-modern, futuristic world, where corruption and darkness run rampant. In order to move forward, he has to forgive and forget his past.

The game plans on being more of a post-modern game, in comparison to the last three, which were more gory, 80's-inspired locales. It takes place in a futuristic city where the buildings reach miles and miles into the sky, and at the bottom lay the Wastelands, where Rick is throwing his life away, until a stranger one day presents him with the Terror Mask (created by Dr. Herbet West, The Reanimator), this time technologically fused. Rick must learn to let go in order to move forward and stop the evil corporation set to engulf the human race.

After that announement, I bring you...nothing! Eradicator 2 is currently in production limbo as I gather programmers for the project. As Splatterhouse is in the conceptional phase, work is indefinitely easier than actual development, but it's not dead. By far.

Check back for more updates as we progress.

Some confusion?

I got an email today from a user who complained that,

"There's no fucking way anyone can understand what you guys are or what you guys do. You guys say that you make games. How on Earth can you make more than one at a time? And business applications? I haven't seen any at all! What a load of crap! I suppose that you guys are still making Daikatana 2?? And Eradicator, while it sounds like a good concept isnt going to get you anywhere or be revolutionary at all. what it comes down to is that you guys are a bunch of stupid assholes who like taking credit for things that arent yours. 3dfx? i mean come on! what the hell kind of insult is that! what a load of crap. Good day."

If I say it once I say it a billion times: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all! I've gotten this kind of shit before in the past, but if you don't like the way we do things then don't bitch, and certainly don't insult any of us. We're doing this because we love to do it, there's nothing much more than that. You wonder where half of our time goes -- to fuckfaces like this! I mean, we keep you guys in the loop as much as we can but that's just absolutely uncalled for. Sure, he sounds like a fanboy ;) but I mean...you have to use profanity?
Anyways, I just wanted to share that with the rest of the planet. This is what I'm planning on going in to, and I have to start somewhere. Please, though, if you have no idea who we are or what we're trying to do, just stay away. This is for people who are interested in what we're accomplishing (or trying to).

MediaWiki Installed!

Yes everyone, it's official: we have our own Wiki. In case you don't know what a wiki is, it's like an online enyclopedia, much like Wikipedia.
Here's the link, http://wiki.3dfxdev.net, and get to posting! Look forward to hearing from you or about you there!

Again, more gripes.

Ok, so here's where the test of time leads...I am going to release this alpha version but that's the end of our run with FPS Creator.
Most of our troubles right now is our apparent lack of
a) Interest
b) Humans
c) Food

What we're looking for is serious people and serious commitment. I'm talking on a scale of 1 to 10 type of person, with 1 being "I'm doing this for money" and 10 being "I want to do this for the rest of my life". I would rather take the latter choice. If you are serious or want to know what we're like without flaking out, you need to get in touch with me. Better yet, CALL ME.
Here's the 3dfx Development temporary line, 1-559-736-4163, and our secondary line, 1-559-625-1407.
Don't be afraid, and don't give up! We need YOU!

And on a personal note, I want to let everyone know that I think I was being very very mean to CheapAlert, who is a respected member of the Quake community. Cheap, if you come accross this, I'm very sorry for all the crap that I put you through. I see now why you're always quick to judge us, and I shouldn't have taken it the wrong way. Cheapalert, please forgive me and my team!
With that, look forward to that alpha and more later.

E2; DevUnited troubles; New Project

Okay, so there have been a lack of updates, but work has been going steadily into this alpha to make it look and play better than it ever did before. The game showcases new weapons (not stock weapons from FPSC) as well as new enemies, and a weapon that every Daikatana fan should looovvee (hint, hint).
Not much has been going on with my personal life...I met this girl named Megeane who is really fun and vibrant. I'm having fun hanging out with her, so other than that plus side of my life right now...really nothing!
Now if Anita would finish the damn Demon character we could move on...;)

Also, if you're wondering about the status of Hitler Gone Wild (the new game from Developers United), you're out of luck: we experienced a complete loss of his system due to Water Damage in the office (the damn cat knocked over a cup of water on the desk into the PC). This means that he doesn't have a PC right now (he's using a P3 OptiPlex atm) which means that the HGW data is either
1) Wiped Out
2) Recoverable
3) Totally Fucked
So we're hoping for option 2. You won't see as many updates at the DevUnited website anytime soon but be assured we're working hard to get his PC up and running!
Alas, keep up with the forums because THEY'RE DYING! Also a heads up to everyone who is noble enough to keep checking there every now and then!

In this possible "new project" we're working on...I didn't want to announce anything just yet until it's solid, but word is floating around the office that we want to make our own version of Mortal Kombat. Everyone's been hooked on the game (Mk2 for Genesis) so it didn't come as a suprise to me when Mike came up to me and asked if we could do a parody of Mortal Kombat. I had him research it and as it turns out, there is a game out there called OpenMortal, which is basically a fighting game, open source. A game with no additional coding, just a recreen of our own actors and a couple of tweaks and a game is born! We purchased a big blue screen and we're currently looking for nice video cameras to film with. If you know of anything, please email me @ corbin@3dfxdev.net. It is appreciated!
We're very excited about the future that holds for us at 3dfx Development! Remember to bookmark us!
-Corbin

Yay! Almost Done!

Okay, so here's a little bit of news on E2: the Alpha is almost done. I just have to go through and finalize some key level elements. The executable will be broken down into optomization pieces based on your computer's performance. The Alpha will include 3 levels (all playable), 4 weapons and numerous bad guys (can't say much about their AI, though). The Alpha, while having almost nothing to do with E2 itself, is more of a continuation thing for the team to get used to the software we will be (hopefully) using.
On a personal note, I just left my ex girlfriend about a week ago so there should be more coming from us here very soon.

v0.001 Alpha Release Nears

Ok, so I told you there was going to be big news.
The Pre-Alpha v0.001 of Eradicator 2 is going to be released here in the next week or so, and already it's shaping up to look good. It comes with a single-player and a multi-player package, as well as a couple of weapons and other stuff.
I'm going to post some screenshots soon but be prepared to get a small sample of the next-big thing! Music in the game is provided by Avenpitch and The Headache.
-Corbin

Developers United

Yeah, it's finally done -- Developers United is back up again. Nobody knows how excited I am for them -- this is huge news! Finally, everyone's together and working. Except for me. ;) Not really, I'm just taking a small break. Became a part of the management team at my day-job so taking time off from E2 is crucial.
You can find DevUnited's stuff on the sidebar.

THE MADNESS!

You know, this isn't really a game post, but I decided to talk here anyways.
It says, back when I created this account, in my profile, that I liked to drink and all this shit...after being out of HS for a long time I was able to look back on it and realize how stupid it all was. Yeah, so this is saying I won't chill every once in awhile for alcohol (yeah, Budweiser seems to be an office favorite atm, and I don't drink beer) but I can't have too much because of my health (what it did to me). Smoking seems to be Andrew's thing but I can't do too much of that either, and now I have people accusing me of using Meth (because of my health conditions I scratch everywhere); I have people telling me that I'm just skin and bones (I also have that eating disorder...:/). Ugh, just shut the fuck up everyone. Let me live in PEACE. Jeeze. It isn't that hard.
Oh yeah, and Serious Sam II simply fucking ROCKS. I've been playing it for 3 hours straight (after I got through cleaning my damn apartment) and I love it! I was a huge fan of FE and SE so this one was simply stunning! Seeing as it also runs really well with my GeForce FX5900 (BFGTech) makes me want to...nevermind, you can't hear this stuff. :D Not everyone's PC in the office is capable of Sam II so we're defaulting back to the coop favorite, Serious Sam: SE. That one is always fun.
Also, here to announce that Jimmy Stager (Isotope Studios) has officially joined forces with me and my design team on Eradicator 2 (making him part of 3dfx! YAY!) and in turn, will redirect our forces to work on tBGoAT and DevUnited's project.
That's all I have. Adios.

Load of Updates!

I hope everyone's feeling good. I took some time off of the project to get a little R&R and sort out my day-job stuff. I'm feeling a lot better now, so here are some updates. Some may suprise you, others may just...annoy you. It's just part of the norm here @ 3dfx Development. Some people may even think I'm just spitting b.s. out of my mouth, but every word of it is true...you'll see here soon enough. I know E2's been through development hell (all of our titles have, duh!) but it will soon come together. Also, I'm here to introduce another Blogger, Andrew Grimmer, who works with his team (Developers United) in Visalia, CA. He'll be posting here soon enough with his own work.
UPDATE 1: ENGINE SWITCH

We've switched again, but this time we're able to take all of our work that we've previously done with Unreal with us: FPS Creator, a highly publicized program for video game creation. The Assistant Designer recently bought a copy of this program to test it out and our whole crew loves it!
Also, we were able to import all of our models and artwork previously created with Unreal with the FPS Creator Character Studio, and all we have to do is give them animations (well...among other...more complex stuff).

Using this software, we're able to code, model, design, level-design, and everything else associated with a game in the same program! Of course, we're still not going to abandon the Unreal counterpart yet because we're not sure if we want to make this permanent.

I was really hesitant to switch, because with my girlfriend buying me that 70 dollar book on UnrealScript really strained her budget. I am not going to stop learning how to program with it because it may come in handy later in our other titles. I figured that since we're starting small we should start with something equally as small. We're pretty excited.


UPDATE 2: BloodShot Officially Signs with 3dfx Development, Inc!

This is kinda old news, but my uncle, Tim Denver, plays for the band Bloodshot. Whether they're still in existence is questionable, but he gave me any rights I wanted to their music. So, along with Avenpitch, The Headache, Troubled Minority, and music from my artist Nima, that makes a solid lineup for our game demo (which we want out by the end of this year, pray to God).
Their music CD, which debuted in 2002, was an underground hit, but you can still buy their CD. Their music is also going to be featured in a compilation CD along with the other music for Eradicator 2.

UPDATE 3: DEVELOPERS UNITED NOT DEAD!
Okay, this one isn't really a suprise, but Alex's brother, Andrew Grimmer, has brought back Developers United with a new game title already under development for FPS Creator. The game, he says, is to have a fusion between espionage style gameplay and feriosious FPS combat. His team respectfully asked us not to post anything else about their game but to let everyone know that it's finished on paper and in development. We can't wait to see their progress! For everyone to know, Developers United (then DevUnited) was established by FPI in 2003 for a game called Shadowcaster (no relation to Raven's Shadowcaster). After the team was disbanded later in 2005, the Shadowcaster project was cancelled by FPI and then was acquired by everyone's favorite crazy dev team, 3dfx Development! While we share nothing else with this "new team", be sure to hear from them regarding their current title!

With that, the updates are complete, but be sure to check back often for more Eradicator 2 Updates!

Also, I have fixed the REU.rar release by actually including the Wad file in the RAR. It is now "playable". Sorry for the inconvienence in downloading a 7MB trash file.
[[Corbin]]

Not much since the last update

Not much to post since the last update. Work is going okay, nothing big. Most of my time was spent trying to get my cohort's PC up to date (his PC didn't even come with drivers!).
Other words, I completely was successful in setting up Windows Vista RC1 Ultimate Edition! This OS rocks the socks off of Windows XP, so if you get a chance to either upgrade or install on a new hard drive/partition, do so now! The Customer Preview Program (CPP) is finally open so go before it closes and get your damn Windows Vista version Activated!
Also, a special section is dedicated to my beloved Windows 3.11 for Workgroups, who just passed unexpectadly while Vista was being installed. I will never forget the times we shared together, and will do my best to forget the times where I neglected you for Windows 95. This Windows OS, while not the original OS I bought, has survived EVERY incarnation of upgrading I've done. From Windows 95 to Windows XP, I have kept this little OS-that-was for those tough times where DosBox wouldn't cut it. Playing Crystal Caves or Duke Nukem II, or even Monster Bash on Win 3.11 was just priceless. Farewell, 3.11!

Happenings

Not much has been happening over here at 3dfx Development as of late. My monitor exploded, if that's exciting news. We're just going over a lot of our stuff right now, no physical work is being done. We're wondering if we want to redo the design again or switch to another engine. As fun as Unrealscript is, if I'm the only one taking time to learn it, what good does it do? I'm not a programmer at heart, either.
Other news includes us having a deal (non-exclusive, though) with a Minnesota-based band called Avenpitch. They're real good with videogame-type music. They agreed to work on not only music, but Sound Effects as neccesary. While the release date for E2 is still a long ways off, this may rejuvinate some of your doubts you may be having.

Eradicator 2 (E2) Concept Art

Yeah, I've been hearing stories, again, that we're not for real and we're "fake". I decided to release some concept art. Some of this art was recycled from our previous attempt (you know which one I'm talking about), but several pieces are new.
These artwork come courtesty of our two main artists, Melinda and Anita. Here's some artwork for you guys, and hopefully, I can show you more as we make progress. This is just to show you that we are working on the game. Hell, I might actually release some BUILD-E2 screenshots.
Here you go..

Main Character Demon Goddess

REU Failures...

I have been notified that certain people are having problems installing REU with Doom 2.
All you have to do is "drag and drop" the REU wadfile onto the gledgeX.exe executable, or you can alternatively create a shortcut and have EDGE link to the wadfile.
The link to the EDGE site, if you are having problems, is at www.edge.sourceforge.net
I apparently had a problem with my PC as I began installing Windows Vista Pre-RC1...I'm kind of disgusted. I'm currently waiting for the RC1 build to begin appearing on Microsoft's site, so I guess I will continue waiting anyways.
Also, I have given the official company status report, on all employees or contributers [for 3dfx Development], and I will list them here:

Corbin Mathews - Lead Designer, Co-Founder (3dfx Development)
Brendan Doe - Lead Designer, Co-Founder (3dfx Development)
Jimmy Stager - Lead Designer, Founder (Isotope Studios)
Alex Seegar - Lead Designer, Co-Founder (Developers United) (current status debated)
Andrew Grimmer - Assistant Designer, Level Designer (current status debated)
Mick Hilvers - Assistant Designer (3dfx Development)
Melinda DeLeon - Art Director (3dfx Development)
Nima Naghibi - Lead Musician
Anita Posca - Lead Artist (3dfx Development)
David Quintana - Lead Level Design
Chris (ctd) - Web Development


We're currently looking for people with Talent!
Positions Available: Programmer; UnrealTech Coder; 3d Modeller; Game Designer. Qualifications and base pay will be found here in future blogs.

PS: I also want to tell you about Chris' FireFox extension.
Taken from his web site, where you can also download the extension http://code.yerblog.com/lastfm/ :
"I have created a Firefox extension that submits the tracks you play at www.Pandora.com to Last.fm."
Apparently, it's growing like wildfire and interesting to use if you browse the internet with Mozilla's FireFox Browser. If not, then you cannot use this extension. Sorry fellow IE users!
[[Corbin]]

Releases and more Releases!

Welcome back to the main site...
Well, it seems that I've managed to upload two test versions of modifications for the hit game by iD software, DooM II. One of them is called "Resident Evil Unleashed: Fusion" and the other is called "Smiley Head's Safari: Episode II - A New Nope". Installation instructions are available via their appropriate posts in the SMF boards.
I've delved a bit deeper into UnrealScript, but man, it's hard stuff. Yeah, we're using the Unreal tech, but it's just HARD. I've heard rumors that we're going to switch to the Quake 3 engine. I'm not confirming or denying that. If Unreal proves too difficult or the licensing far too much, we're going with a standardized engine. Possibly Quake 3, maybe not. It depends on how my programmers feel.
So, with that, enjoy those two releases of the Doom mods; first content I've released on my own in a long time. The source ports are located in the RAR files; EDGE for Fusion and your own source port for A New Nope.
Have fun and keep checking back for more updates!
SIDE NOTE: I've also added another message board, http://3dfxdev.net/moombasquare, for all you RPG fantasy nutcases. However, the Official 3dfx Development board can be found to the link to your right.
Have fun guys!
-Corbin

Finally Gaining Ground

Finally we're coming back from our long drought of nothingness. If you'd notice we have a new forum board set up, which you can access from this address: http://3dfxdev.net/smf. It's really awesome and easy-to-use software.
As far as the game development is concerned, I (Corbin) just recently hired some new staff members so the game should also start coming to life again. We're recently deciding if we want to even utilize the Unreal engine or if we want to switch to another, just as good open-source engine, which will remain unnamed.
I have also taken a look at our old BUILD engine version of Eradicator2, and I can say that it impresses me everytime I look at it. Too bad we abandoned it, but it would be fun to finish it on the side, while we're working on the main title. We've already got some other projects started (small mods, nothing commercial) and we ended one title (Defcon V: Millenium Edition) after interest wained in the project from the lead designer (not me, mind you).
I posted some new stuff at the 3dfxdev.net message board, though. Worth checking out if you have time.
For now, farewell, I will see you all in the message boards, and thanks for your steadfast support for us.
Regards,
-Corbin
3dfx Development

The Forever (Never)Ending Cycle

In a recent buzz, it seems that we're thinking about moving to the Unreal engine of technologies. The BUILD engine, although quite easy and flexible, just isn't giving us the edge we need. Eradicator II, our latest product, has undergone so many revisions, and now that the design is being started and the leveling is becoming more second-hand, the current state of the game just isn't suited for BUILD. While not official (yet), we're strongly thinking about moving engines, because, after toying with the BUILD editor (the level designers, I mean), the UnrealEd (program name) was like taking candy from an ugly baby = easy. I'm moving to another city which means my current design team will have to take most of the heat (our current office remains, but I won't be there much). In retaliation, I have taken the opportunity to make the most out of my Clearw*re service, so we can have teleconferencing across the 'Net.
Capitol One keeps bugging us about joining their Business Credit Line but we don't want to! We have Experian already crawling up our asses and some dude sent us a pen with our names engraved on them!
So anyways, we'll see as the game progresses. Sigh, the reason why we don't want to use BUILD anymore is because it's becoming more of an action-RPG (unlike Daikatana 2, which was just ALL RPG), sort of like Deus Ex (the current office-rave is that game -- we're all hooked).
On a more serious note, our team in Bakersfield (3dfx Architectural Design) is lagging -- bad. I don't know if it's misscommunication because of the city-difference, but we sure don't want to lose them (bunch of talented people).
Anyways, I'm out!
-Corbin
President, 3dfx Development