EIEIO 2: Austin, Texas
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 03.14.2008
Cold rain didn’t stop this gamer from having a kick ass time at EIEIO 2008. Ready to check out some of the most in-depth coverage of the event? (Warning: Some videos may self-play.)
I am back from the capital city, Austin, TX and have plenty to report on EIEIO, Gamecock’s second annual press event. After a seven-hour drive to Austin, and about 3 hours of sleep I was running on pure adrenaline and Redbull. Why? That’s just how we writers roll.
Taking the advice of my friends from Austin, I woke up at 6 AM to avoid rush-hour traffic, stumbled into the car and made my way to downtown Austin. We all met up for an 8 o’clock breakfast at Jamie’s Spanish Village courtesy of the wonderful folks at Gamecock Media Group. There, I met many other writers and we all talked videogames for a few hours until the event kicked off at 10:30.
The journalists were assigned colors to help keep things organized and give everyone a chance to meet each of the developers and discuss their games. I became one of the Polka Dot Roosters; I quickly jotted down my schedule and made my way across the street to Stubbs Barbeque for EIEIO 2.
Wideload Games:
Hail to the Chimp: May 2008: Xbox360, Playstation3
First on the list was developer Wideload (the developers behind Stubbs the Zombie), presenting Hail to the Chimp. Tom, Alex and John of Wideload Games Inc greeted and introduced us to their Xbox360 project, Hail to the Chimp.
Hail to the Chimp, in their words, is a party game that is meant to appeal to everyone. The humor and friendly, cell-shaded animation is friendly enough for kids despite the T rating, but the political humor and media satire works well for adults.
We were given some hands-on time and so far the premise is simple: The lion was denounced after being caught eating at a vegetarian restaurant with a wildebeest, and now other animals are competing for the top spot in the animal kingdom. Players must collect clams (votes) in a series of party games in a competition to prove who is the new supreme leader of the animal world.
Hail to the Chimp’s mini-games are free-for-all battles in which up to four players can duke it out as one of the ten animal candidates competing for the animal presidency. Players can even pair up for some awesome team attacks on other characters. Don’t let any of that fool you, because as soon as the duration of the attack is over, it’s every animal for himself again.
Between minigames we get up to the date news reports from GRR news anchor Woodchuck Chumley, who announces winners and losers and describes the game related events as they unfold. Also included in the game are literally hours of commercials with everything from campaign ads to hilarious TV spots for CD compilations. Check out GRR news for daily updates from the developers:http://www.grrnews.com/
Blazing Lizard:
Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodge Ball: March 2008: Xbox360 (XBLA)
Next on the list was Christopher Stockman of Blazing Lizard to explain the XBLA game Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodge Ball. The name sums it perfectly; it’s dodge ball with teams of pirates against teams of ninjas. For being a downloadable XBLA game I have to say that things are looking pretty detailed, for instance, the snow stage actually deforms and crumbles under the feet of the players as they run around. The four-person development team (who was also the lead team on Saints Row) wanted buyers to get some of the features that would normally be seen in a full retail game, and that they barely skimmed by the 150 MB limit for XBLA.
As you play, more stages, teams and difficulty levels will open up. I had to opportunity to see the four teams featured in the game, pirates, ninjas, robots and my personal favorite, the zombies. Each team has its own stage and back-story and Blazing Lizard promises more teams and stages as downloadable content in the future.
Every character also has a set of special moves, for example, one of the zombies in the game can summon his dog to fetch him the ball another can burrow under the ground to pop up from underneath an opposing player for a surprise attack. While there is no exact date set for the game (sometime this month), the guys at Blazing Lizard did let us know that the Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodge Ball will set you back 800 points.
Crackpot Entertainment:
Insecticide: March 11, 2008: Nintendo DS Episode 1: March 2008, Episode 2: Q2 2008: PC
(Authors note: This article was written before the DS release) Insecticide is one of those games that I have been looking forward to for a while already, so it was great to finally see it in action and test it out a bit. I love it when games go full 3D on the DS, and really try to push the hardware. Insecticide is one of those games. Larry Ahern (Who also worked extensively for Lucas Arts and is also one of the guys behind the classic, Zombies Ate My Neighbors), Creative Director at Crackpot Entertainment, was at the booth to explain both the PC and DS versions of the game.
He did a quick run of one of the levels of the PC version just to give us an idea of what the game looked like. The game features a lot of platforming and chasing down the bad guys then interrogating them to gather clues. Some of the words they say may not immediately give away secrets, but over time things start to come together. One of the main goals in this game was to find a fun way to provide interactivity, which is why the detective genre became the main theme of the game. Larry Ahern explained to me that he wanted the character to be able to run and gun in action scenes as well as going to crime scenes to investigate and find different kinds of evidence to help solve the case. Their approach was to allow players to interact with both the action elements and the investigative elements, rather than provide non-interactive cutscenes explaining everything between the action sequences. The conversations allow the player to choose responses and questions in order to make the story flow and put pieces together as they progress. Insecticide also has a deeper back-story than I had originally thought; insects have evolved into human-size creatures due to humans genetically engineering crops. Any humans who do remain have actually devolved into what are called hominids, and now have to wear HAZMAT suits in order to protect themselves from the now deadly pollen. The only human character I saw in the game was kept in a cage in the precinct and was completely hairless and seemed horribly malnourished.
A look around Chrys, the main character’s desk, allows you to examine evidence, read case files and check out conversations recorded throughout the game. Simply put, all your important stuff goes here. If you check out your sloppy partner’s trashy desk complete with moldy pizza and a mini fridge you will often see him working at his desk. It will be an interesting mix of game styles.
Fire Fly Studios:
My next stop was a cozy little room with a billiards table and a few rows of seats to meet with Simon Bradbury and Eric Ouellette of Fire Fly Studios. It had a fireplace with a virtual fire playing on a continuous loop, much like the Yule log, on a little flat panel monitor, giving a much needed warm vibe after having spent the last few hours outside in the freezing cold drizzle. Our group, the Polka Dot Roosters, along with the Firefly team, took a little breather to enjoy some barbeque chicken sandwiches and drinks (in my case, another Red Bull). Soon, after a quick lunch the guys were ready to present two games.
Stronghold Crusader Extreme: May 2008: PC
They started up Stronghold Crusader Extreme, a Real-Time Strategy game for the PC, and began explaining the features and gameplay. They quickly started building units and food supplies. He panned around the area and showed us two other castles that were being built. We got to see archers in action and fairly large troops getting hammered with arrows.
The game is huge; it contains Stronghold Crusader Extreme, the original Crusader, some unreleased content and the War Chest. Simon Bradbury himself said, that even if a player where to play continuously everyday for seven days a week it would literally take months to get through all of them.
Where the previous Stronghold maxed out at 1,000 units on screen, this one maxes out at over 10,000 units. You can expect several new modes of gameplay along with it, like the 20 mission Crusader Extreme Trail that is said to test the skills of even the best Stronghold players out there.
This RTS game will be available May of this year, and is sure to keep fans of the genre busy for a while.
Dungeon Hero: Q1 2009: Xbox360, PC
The next game presented to us was Dungeon Hero, a game about a huge-ass mofo who goes into a living, breathing dungeon to offer some help to an underground community in need.
We were treated to some introductory gameplay footage of a very, very early build of the game. It showed our hero (as of yet, I don’t believe he has been named) walking through the underground world of goblins and trolls. The atmosphere was awesome, everywhere you go there are goblins working and living their everyday lives. It all helps to set the mood they want to convey. The creatures of this underground world are at war and it is apparent, you will see some of the goblins building swords and one of them is sitting down strumming away at his acoustic instrument. Mr. Bradbury made sure to tell us that this was still a very early build of the game and that there would be many more NPCs running around through the underground world to help give the sense of a living breathing impoverished underground world at war. Something you typically see in a dungeon crawler.
Eric Ouellette was playing through part of the level showing us some of the fighting as Simon Bradbury explained that they wanted to go for a realistic combat system. Don’t expect exaggerated physics and attacks, because the game is about storytelling and trying to get a damage system that is somewhat more realistic than your typical action title. If you get hit on the head, it will do significantly more damage than an attack to the body. I asked them if there was a challenge in finding a fun balance between the realism and still trying to keep the gameplay action-packed and fun. They assured me that they would be keeping the action real while making sure that things such a knife to the head won’t mean instant death, after all, they did say, to a degree every videogame has to exaggerate elements at least a little bit in order to keep it entertaining. They are working carefully to maintain those factors within the combat system, and give it RPG elements so you become stronger and gain more abilities as the game progresses. It is still very early in development and we probably won’t be seeing this game for at least another year, so it will be interesting to see how it evolves.
Red Fly Studio:
After finishing up with Firefly Studios it was time to hit up Redfly, who were also indoors, which was great for us because by this time the cold drizzle outside had turned into a cold rain. We met up with Chad Barron and Kain Shin of Red Fly, as they introduced two of the games that have this little Nintendo Fanboy excited as hell.
Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi: Summer 2008: Nintendo DS Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars: Fall 2008: Wii
A meteorite has hit Earth, now plants and mushrooms are becoming animate, Mushroom Men’s world happens while humans are not around. In both versions you play as a three-inch tall mushroom hero with a set of attacks and moves that will get you through the game. In both versions of the game you pick up skav, which is trash and other junk left behind or lost by humans, you can then build weapons out of the junk. An interesting weapon on the Wii version was a DS Stylus that can be used for close combat. Along the way you can combine pieces to form more complex and powerful weapons. For example, by combining a razor blade, a matchstick and a piece of string you can make a sickle-like weapon that will deal some mucho damage. Luckily, there is not too much guesswork involved, there are recipes for different kinds of weapons that you can acquire throughout the game. On the Wii version, rather than having to keep combining and taking apart weapons you can use these recipes to change weapons on the fly. We were informed by Chad Barron though; that due to the DS limitations we will have to take apart weapons and leave some stuff behind while keeping others we may need for later, kicking the challenge up a notch.
Also, both games have you make use of your surroundings so that you can advance. For example in the DS game, there was one point in the tool shed that the player had to climb up on a ledge to knock over a can that in turn clicked on a buzz saw that rolled forward on the shelf to narrow an otherwise impossible to jump gap. In the Wii version you can use telekinetic mushroom powers to move objects that cause chain reactions. For example, one of the very first enemies encountered in the demo was a killer rabbit, the player has the option of taking it head on, which is very possible, but these guys deal some massive damage. The other option is to use your surroundings to get an electric fan to fall onto the rabbit for a brutal, yet comical instant kill.
In the DS version, a prequel to the Wii, you move on a 2.5D plane. Red Fly has worked around the little handhelds limitations and made use of the two screens. One screen serves as a map while the other shows the gameplay. The first level works, as a brief introduction to some of the different ways players will have to overcome the seemingly impossible obstacles by making use of their surroundings. There are 3 different character types: heavy, sage and scout, all with different specialties and abilities.
For the Wii, the developers made sure to make full use of the Wii pointer by adding in a sticky arm that works similarly to Link’s hookshot in Zelda, and a cool telekinetic ability that allows you to grab and make use of heavy otherwise unmovable objects. Your character, Pax, can also use his mushroom top as a parachute and glide down to areas to help make your day just that much easier. As the player takes damage you will see his cap being torn to pieces, and exposing his little mushroom brain. Luckily, you can use your Spore Power to heal, but don’t celebrate just yet…it is limited. There are ways to replenish your Spore Power, such as hitting certain plants that will release it and refill your gauge.
With Mushroom Men’s dark atmosphere, it will be interesting to see what comes out of the final result. Talking plants, killer rabbits, evil spiders and a jackalope boss fight are only the beginning.
> More on EIEIO from Texas.
Nintendo DS
Wii
Replay: Velvet Assassin: Q3 2008: Xbox360, Playstation 3, PC
Then it was off to see Replay Studios and their upcoming title, Velvet Assassin (formerly Sabotage). Based on the real life story of British Agent Violette Szabo who joined the Special Operations Executive after her husband was killed in The Second Battle of El Alemein.
Sascha Jungnickel walked us through the beginning of the game, and even though it’s in pre-beta, it is looking great. Velvet Assassin is a tactical espionage adventure game in the tradition of the Metal Gear series. The team explained that the concept is not a new one; they just took a proven concept, and built upon it.
Immediately apparent at the title screen, which shows a dying Violette Szabo lying in a hospital bed, Velvet Assassin has a more serious tone than other titles in the genre. The entire game takes place in flashbacks as she lies there hooked up to an IV.
In the first mission, allies have been captured and are going to be tortured by the enemy soldiers in an attempt to get information out of them. Your job is to find the allies and give them cyanide pills so that they can die before they are forced to speak. It was also made apparent in this first mission that the developers like to play with light sources. At one point, the main character peeked through a keyhole to see a guard standing in another room. Sascha then explained that the light source behind him would alarm the guard if he opened the door, so he pushed a wooden crate in front of the light to block it out before opening a door to avoid being noticed by the guard. At one point Sascha did get spotted, and he hit a button that injects morphine into the main character. Because the hero is actually lying in a hospital bed having flashbacks about previous missions, she can actually get a dose of morphine from time to time. As the Sascha explained, it puts her back in a state where she realizes, “hey I didn’t die here” and she is able to attack or evade her enemies in a sort of slow motion state not unlike the bullet-time featured in the Matrix.
As the developers said, they wanted a new take on the WWII era videogame. They are right, there is so much that can be done on World War II, but there have been enough first-person shooters on the subject. A third-person espionage adventure definitely seems like a good direction. Once again, the game is in pre-beta stages and still has a long way to go, but already looks impressive.
Spark Unlimited: Legendary: The Box: Q3 2008: Xbox360, Playstation 3, PC
The guys at Spark (Call of Duty: Finest Hour) brought along a gaming truck equipped with a row of HDTVs, surround sound, a bunch of PS3s, 360s and a PC. ROCK! More hands on time!
Scott Langteau, Chief Operating Officer at Spark, gave us a quick rundown of the game. It’s a modern day Pandora’s Box; you play as Charles Deckard, a thief who is tricked into stealing and opening the box. Once opened, all hell breaks loose, griffins, werewolves, a giant minotaur and an ass-load of other mythological creatures of every kind burst out wreaking havoc on our world.
This game shows definite potential, so far it seems to have all the elements of an AAA first person shooter, and then some. The AI is amazing, as many people kept commenting on. Werewolves will jump around and attack you and your fellow solders, they can climb any walls and rooftops freely and with ease. None of that is scripted, the enemies move according to the flow of the game. I also noticed two types of werewolves, one more common smaller type, and a bigger, meaner breed that was actually pretty intimidating. A cool feature is that you are actually linked to these creatures, being the one that opened the box; you are the person responsible for setting things straight. The player can actually draw energy from downed enemies to restore health, because of a little insignia that appeared on the main character’s hand after releasing the beasts; this insignia serves as the link between you and them.
Near the end of the playable mission, a giant Minotaur smashed through a wall, causing debris to fly everywhere. He immediately grabbed on of the fellow soldiers, tore him in half then tossed him aside then proceeded to crush another soldier with his massive mace. The fight happens in a sort of maze, much like in the Minotaur’s mythology, and this guy is huge. He doesn’t take crap from anybody; you are on a constant move to avoid getting bull charged. There are almost no safe grounds; hiding behind a wall only puts him out of your line of site. He tears through the brick walls as if they were children’s building blocks. Eventually he is defeated, but damn was that a fight.
Legendary definitely looks awesome; the game has what it takes to be a best-selling FPS. We will find out later this year, that’s for sure.
Freakin' Sweet eh?
Check out the Vid:
TimeGate Studios: Section 8: Q3 2009: Xbox360, PC
Section 8 is the upcoming epic first person shooter that will combine strategy elements and the shooter elements in ways we haven’t seen before. There is not a whole lot of info on this game, because it is extremely early in development.
Robert Siwiak and Phillip Morales of TimeGate told us that their aim is to make game of the year type material. They don’t to advertise themselves as the Halo killer or anything of the sort. In fact, they have a deep respect for all those epic and multiplayer first person shooters, and that is what led them to develop Section 8. It seems that one of their main focuses is real-time strategy. They want to produce a game where the player has to adapt to ever-changing conditions such as unit changing and vehicles dropping in on the fly.
The name Section 8 refers to a discharge for reason of being mentally unfit for military service. The only ones who will go on these suicide missions are the elite Section 8 troops who are willing to drop down into battle from 15,000 feet and smash through enemy defenses with little regard for their own safety.
While it is much too early to say a whole lot about this game, we were presented with some footage, and I am looking forward to seeing how Section 8 turns out by its release late next year.
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Extras:
Renegade Kid:
Gregg Hargrove and Jools Watsham of Renegade Kid where there for their European launch of Dementium for the Nintendo DS. Now, I don’t know if any of you have played this game, but its pretty wicked. It is a full 3D first person survival horror shooter that pushes the little dual screen system to the max. This is actually the first Gamecock published game I bought (Before I really even knew who Gamecock was, come to think of it, I think its the first game they published) and I was hooked, the game is phenomenal. Thanks for being really cool guys and giving me the DS skin. Best of luck with the European launch!
Killer NIC by Bigfoot Networks:
I also ran into Harlan Beverly of Bigfoot Networks, and he along with his crew were showing off the Killer NIC. It is a network interface card that takes the load off your processor and reduces lag and latency that players often experience in MMO’s and FPS’s. The card in itself is actually a processor that bypasses the Windows network stack to reduce in-game ping to give you the gameplay you need. They also gave us some cool bling! Check it out here: http://www.killernic.com/
The End:
Well, that’s about it for actual game coverage. Aside from that there was the VIP after party, and the cock sock courtesy of Gamecock. I want to say thanks to all the guys at Gamecock and all of the developers for making it a great experience, despite the weather conditions. It was really something to see all the work that these guys pour into their games, every single one of them has several months to years of development time and promoting that really gives the average gamer an appreciation of the work put into this stuff.
Insecticide is one of those games that I have been looking forward to for a while already, so it was great to finally see it in action and test it out a bit. I love it when games go full 3D on the DS, and really try to push the hardware. Insecticide is one of those games. Larry Ahern (Who also worked extensively for Lucas Arts and is also one of the guys behind the classic, Zombies Ate My Neighbors), Creative Director at Crackpot Entertainment, was at the booth to explain both the PC and DS versions of the game.
Renegade Kid:
