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Max Payne Development Update
Today's Development Update comes from Petri Jarvilehto's .plan file:
Just saw someone doubting that Max Payne E3 showing was more 'smoke and mirrors' than actual game development. The funny thing is that the remark came from a person who hadn't even seen the game running real time ;)
This is something I'd like to set straight: when preparing for E3 we chose to do a video of Max to show on the main floor and show the actual development in the backroom demo. This approach was chosen specifically to avoid any 'E3 Demo syndrome' from happening (it seems to be common practice to spend even months polishing up a demo for the show, which essentially is away from the normal development). So all in all, we ended up working 3 days to get the video done in time, and avoided quick & dirty hacks. The stuff that was shown in the backroom was an actual snapshot of the development phase we were during E3.
To sum it up, the technology that was shown at E3 is solid (as I think anyone who saw briefly the tools we've developed for the game will confirm) and we've invested immense amounts of time and effort to really create an environment that allows for flexible and strong game-development. If this also happens to look visually good enough the get the CEOs of other companies nervous I would figure we're on the right track here :-)
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Max Payne Development Update
Sam Lake of Remedy Entertainment has done a Max Payne Development Update. This is actually the first in a three part series of development updates. Here is a snippet of the update:
In this first part I'm going to talk about the game's story-line, and the most important way the players will experience it, i.e. the comics.
First of all, Max Payne is a crime thriller. The story-line has plot twists and surprises galore! We don't want to reveal anything besides the background story beforehand, don't want to spoil any surprises here, but I can tell you this much, the players will be kept on their toes to the very bullet-spitting end. You'll have to play the game to know what the hell is going on ;).
If you want to check out the entire update, head over to the Official Max Payne Website for all the details!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Gaming News in Washington, D.C.
Our friend Mark Shander sent me this Email this morning about a political happening in Washington that has importance to us. Check it out. Thanks to Mark Shander for Emailing this to me...
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
GamePAC SHOUTS, OUR VOICE IS FINALLY HEARD IN WASHINGTON
Atlanta, GA - June 26th, 1998 - GamePAC (Political Action Confederation) is an organization which intends to represent the interests of the computer and videogame industry in Washington and at the state and local level.
The group officially launched during a trade industry organization meeting at the E3 Expo in Atlanta last month.
GamePAC (Political Action Confederation) was formed by rank and file members of the computer game industry, and is a grass-roots lobbying effort. The group intends to develop a political action confederation made up of people who develop, promote and publish computer games, as well as consumers.
At his 1998 Computer Game Developers Conference presentation, 'Playing Games with Washington: Government Report '98', Daniel Greenberg said, "The bigger and more profitable our industry becomes, the more we'll attract government attention. We can no longer rely on our obscurity to avoid regulation. In the past, computer game developers were caught off guard by the government's scrutiny of our games and vital new technologies. In the future, we can continue to sit out the fight and hope for the best, or we can have a place at the table."
GamePAC was created to assure our place at the table, and that our voice is heard.
Members of GamePAC believe our industry is under siege. In a successful campaign waged by the IDSA, a bill that would have banned violent videogames was defeated in the state of Florida. An even tougher fight is expected next year, and the coordinated efforts of our developers and publishers together with others in our industry is key to maintain our liberties.
It is time that our voices be heard. As an industry, we have more political power than we can even imagine. Except for a few voices -- such as the IDSA, an industry trade association representing software publishers -- our industry is not heard in Washington and state capitals. However, the voices of lawmakers who want to blame our industry for violence in our society - who want to mandate a ratings system - who pass Internet censorship laws - ARE heard, while WE remain silent. As Thomas Paine pointed out, it is up to each generation to guard its liberties.
When Congress convenes, our liberties are in jeopardy. GamePAC is here to help facilitate and focus the political voice of the gaming industry, to investigate and inform game developers about government intrusion, and to help the game industry represent itself better in the halls of Washington and state capitals.
The GamePAC Web site, currently in development, will provide a conduit for support from game developers and publishers, enabling it to protect their industry's right to exercise creativity and imagination. To produce truly entertaining games for their audience, developers must have a strong voice in the outcome of laws that affect their ability to create. This freedom of expression is at the heart of the expansive growth of our industry. We need donations, contributions and your support NOW, to begin the real work of protecting our mutual rights. Protect your freedom to produce the games YOU want to produce.
For more information, please contact:
Verin Lewis - CKO MRI/CyberROM MINDS Alliance 541/488-0595, [email protected]
Michael Bendner, Former Editor, PC Multimedia & Entertainment Magazine 604/728-6443, [email protected]
Special thanks to the following people for their early support of GamePAC:
Vince Desiderio, CEO, Running With Scissors
Gail Markels, General Counsel, IDSA
Derek Smart, Ph.D - Designer/Lead Developer, Battlecruiser: 3000AD
Bobby Seale - Founder & Former Chairman of the Black Panther Party, head of production for R.E.A.C.H. Cinema Productions, Inc.
Mark Shander - President Club Gameholio, Director or Marketing, IcePick Games
Daniel Greenberg - President of Paradigm Productions and Washington
Correspondent, Computer Game Developers Association (for his inspiration)
...and to all of the other game developers who have helped us get here.
More on this developing situation later...
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Apogee/3D Realms & Windows 98
As I'm sure you already know, Windows98 is set to be in the stores tomorrow. Putting aside the DOJ talk about Microsoft for a minute, I wanted to answer a few questions about our titles in advance on Windows98.
We have only one native windows game, that being Balls of Steel, and that has been tested on Windows98, and it runs just fine. Of our three games under development, all are Windows native game, and are currently geared towards Win95/98. Final release info (and NT compatibility) will come later when the games are closer to release.
Our older DOS games will generally run under Windows98 with the same kind of restrictions that they had on Windows95, which is.. "It will run if your system is powerful enough and it's configured correctly". We do have info online about creating multi-boot configurations for Windows95 here. You might want to take a read, it can be useful when dealing with problematic computers, Windows95, and MS-DOS games.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem Time to Kill Updates
Here's some news updates about Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, the all new Duke Nukem game coming this year for the Sony Playstation. Check 'em out:
1. Gamespot - This article has new information about the multi-player modes of the game as well as multi-player screenshots!
2. Gamefan Online - This is a fabulous article on the game - some major spooging going on here. :)
3. Game Informer - Has a brief synopsis of the game, with some new screenshots.
Also, we will have our own pages coming soon for Duke Nukem: Time to Kill here. We'll post another announcement once they're closer to being ready for prime-time. :)
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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E3 Booth Babe Update - Nell McAndrew
This isn't really 3D Realms related, but it is related to our Booth Babe story, so here goes... :)
As many of you know, when we were at E3 in Atlanta last month, we took rather a lot of pictures of the "Booth Babes" that were at the various booths. One of the most popular was the woman playing Lara Croft at the Eidos booth.
Well, I've been tipped off to an article about her on the net by a user who goes by the name of "Negative Nine". This woman's real name is Nell McAndrew, and the website "The Croft Times" (dedicated to all things Lara Croft) is currently running an article about Nell called "The Many Faces of Nell". This article talks a great deal about Nell, as well as the other three women to play Lara (briefly). This picture is apparently taken from a promotional tour she's doing for the Tomb Raider movie. You might want to check out the article, as it has several other pictures of Nell from other things she's done (including more E3 shots - including some of ours).
The Booth Babe Report Returns! - To commemorate this news article, we've managed to unearth three more E3 Booth Babe pictures. Two of them are from our own Martinus, and the other is from our own Steve Blackburn. Check 'em out! While you're thinking about it, make sure to check out our 1998 E3 Picture archive for our own pictures of Lara, including several with Duke Nukem!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem Forever / Unreal Coverage Continues
Today's Daily Dementia program has Mark Rein of Epic MegaGames as the guest. Mark talks about several Unreal topics, not the least of which is the recent announcement that Duke Nukem Forever will now be using the Unreal engine. Check it out!
There is also a new interview with George Broussard on PlanetQuake. This interview was done at E3, before the Unreal announcement broke, but otherwise has tons of great info, (plus they have a bunch of commentary on the Unreal switch, too) so make sure to check it out.
The Unreal News site, "Unrealized" has updated their Duke Nukem Forever preview with a new angle taken from the recent DNF/Unreal announcement.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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More Reaction to Duke Forever / Unreal Decision
The reaction to our announced decision yesterday to switch to the Unreal engine for Duke Nukem Forever continues to pour in. Here's some more of the reaction, including several polls that have popped up on several web sites about this (thanks 3D Portal).
1. Our own msg boards - In the Duke Nukem Forever area, several discussions are active.
2. The Daily Dementia - TC and Lithium talk about the decision on the Real Audio program.
3. Gamespot - Their news article about it, with some remarks from Craig Lafferty of Epic.
4. 3D Gaming Experience - Another article about the switch, focusing on why it happened, not simply a "reaction".
5. Lights Out - An Editorial on the switch.
6. Meccaworld - They're running a poll asking which game engine you think DNF should use.
7. C|Net's Gamecenter - A poll online asking if you agree with the decision.
Yesterday, the Adrenaline Vault ran a poll asking if you agreed with the decision. The question was Do you agree with 3D Realms' decision to switch to the Unreal Engine for Duke Nukem Forever? That poll is now over, and here are the results:
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Max Payne E3 Videos Released
To complete the trilogy of videos released from the recent E3 show in Atlanta, today we present the Max Payne videos. Available now on the master downloads page are two versions of the Max Payne floor video.
The two videos available are a full length AVI (not an MPG this time) of the video, as well as a RealVideo conversion of the same thing. Check 'em both out on our master downloads page.
In other Max Payne news, we've officially launched the Max Payne site at http://www.maxpayne.com. Issued today is a press release announcing the site, as well as these videos. Make sure to check that out as well on our Press Releases page.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem Forever to use Unreal Engine
From George Broussard's .plan file:
We are switching to the Unreal engine to finish the game. You will be able to find a press release online at www.3drealms.com in the next 24 hours. We are very excited about this decision, and we think our fans will be as well.
We don't feel there will be a significant development delay, but there will be a slight one as we move over to the new engine. But this is analogous to people moving from the Quake 1 to the Quake 2 engine. Our game data will convert right over, without a hitch.
It's very important to note that this was a tough decision for us. It does not stem in any way from hard feelings, nor in fact, anything to do with id software. Our relationship still remains very good. This was a business decision and based on what we wanted to do with Duke Nukem Forever as a game.
Now, if you will excuse us, we have a lot of work to do ;)
UPDATE: The press release from 3D Realms regarding this decision (with explanations as to why we did this) is now online. You can view it at http://legacy.3drealms.com/press/dnfunreal.html.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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The E3D Realms Report
Well, we finally have all of our (usable) pictures put online. This finishes our E3 Photo Archives for 1998, so if you've glanced at them before, take another look. Enjoy!
In other E3 News, games.net's E3 review of Max Payne is now online. Here's some of what they had to say:
1. This third-person action game heavy on the storyline was as close to a movie as gaming has gotten without FMV.
2. File Max Payne on the games-to-get-in-'99 list.
Also, David Laprad of the Adrenaline Vault has written a very cool wrap up of his attending E3. Check out the article, he has several things to say about our games, such as:
1. Duke is back, flexing all-new polygonal muscles in the sequel of the year, though this time he has some on-screen competition in the form of the sharp and sensuous female protagonist Bombshell.
2. 3D Realms is known for taking an established genre and innovating it to the max, and this game will be no different. (Duke)
3. There is enough energy contained in this single, dazzling sequence to fuel a dozen action games. (Duke)
4. The level of detail and sense of scale Schuytema flaunted (in Prey) is unprecedented in a 3D action game.
5. A lot of naysayers have been poo-pooing the use of portals, but the implementation here is definitely worth noting, and will leave you slack-jawed with disbelief. (Prey)
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Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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The E3D Realms Report
3D Realms has been nominated in several categories of the UGO Best of E3 Show awards. These awards are given out on June 22nd, but in the meantime, here's a list of what we're nominated for..
1. Most Promising New Game - Prey (Awarded to a title not part of an existing franchise)
2. Best PC Game - Duke Nukem Forever
3. Best Action Game - Duke Nukem Forever
4. Best Action Game - Prey
In other awards news, The All Games Network has handed out their awards from E3, and this is what we won:
1. Best Action Game - Prey
2. Most Anticipated Game - Duke Nukem Forever
3. Titles to Watch - Max Payne
In Photo Archive news, I've placed 20 more pictures online. That brings it to a total of 80 regular shots, and 70 Booth Babe shots. I'm probably about halfway done with the regular shots - I hope to have them all online before the end of the week.
UPDATE @ 7PM: 20 more pictures put online! That's a total of 100 now. I've got about 40 left to go.
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Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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New Duke Nukem Action Figures Coming!
Resaurus, the makers of the Duke Nukem Action Figure are back! This time they've got some variants to the original Duke Nukem Action Figure.
This new one is entitled "Nightstrike Duke Nukem". There is also a very limited edition "SWAT Team Duke" in addition to the Nightstrike variant. For more details (and some pictures), please see our Action Figures Page.
These are expected in July, and then the previously announced enemies (Pig Cop, Octabrain, etc..) will go into production. Please see the Resaurus site for more details on the enemy action figures.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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The E3D Realms Report
PC Gaming.com has placed two reviews of our games online. The two games covered by them are Max Payne and Prey. Make sure to check out what they have to say about our games. PC Gaming had this to say about Prey:
* This game (Prey) is so awesome that it�s not a Quake Killer, it�s not an Unreal Killer, but an industry killer. Nothing even comes close.
They had this to say about Max Payne:
* They'll get my money when it comes out, as they make a great game.
* Max Payne was one of the top titles at E3. Nuff Said.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Balls of Steel Review
There is a new review of Balls of Steel online. This one comes from www.gamesages.com, and the game was reviewed by "The Merchantment". Some of what they had to say about the game:
* BALLS of STEEL is also attention-grabbing. It has a level of detail that's breathtaking.
* Each device looks real -- because they are rendered in 3D -- and each has convincing mechanical operation.
* Fortunately, unlike a host of other titles, they did not loose sight of pinball fundamentals in the process
Check out their entire review by clicking here.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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The E3D Realms Report
UPDATE (5:00PM): OGR has given out their E3 "Best of Show" awards. Among the awards were:
1. Game of Show (Runner Up): Max Payne
2. Most Promising First Person Shooter - Prey
3. Most Promising Action Game - Max Payne
4. Most Promising Software Technology (Runner Up): Prey
They also ran a separate "Best 25 Games of the show", and all three 3D Realms PC Games (Duke Nukem Forever, Max Payne, & Prey) all placed. Click on any of the links here to see what OGR had to say about the games.
Also, we have more shots of Lara Croft! That's right, more Booth Babe shots! (I thought I was done). The first two were given to me by Onethumb from Ritual Software (shots #64 and #65) - Thanks Don! The remainder (#66-70) come from our own Keith Schuler. The Babe Shots Return! :)
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Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem 3D a "Greatest Game"
PC Games magazine has put out their August 1998 magazine, and the cover article is "Top 100 Greatest Games of all Time". In this article, Duke Nukem 3D placed in the Top 10! This is what they had to say about Duke Nukem 3D:
Simply put, no first person shooter can touch Duke Nukem 3D for character, charm, humour, absurdity, and most of all, interactivity. Just about everything in Duke Nukem 3D is breakable, shootable, switchable, or explodable: toilets flush, mirrors reflect, light switches work...
They had a lot more to say, so make sure and check out this article, and see where your favorite games placed. Also, they had a sidebar article where they asked several prominent game developers what their most important games were. Some of the folks asked were Steve Jackson, Mike Wilson, Brett Sperry, and our own Scott Miller & George Broussard.
Scott's Top 5:
1. Doom
2. Mule
3. Planetfall
4. Tetris
5. Ultima III
George's Top 5:
1. Warcraft II
2. Doom
3. LucasArts Adventure Games
4. Dark Forces/Jedi Knight
5. Duke Nukem 3D
The article also gives reasons why they chose these games; make sure to check it out.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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The E3D Realms Report
From Joe Siegler (at 11:45AM)
Now that we've gotten this "regular" news out of the way, :) I can get to the important work of the day. More booth babe pictures. :) Look for them later this afternoon. I'll report back here when they're online.
UPDATE (2PM): The booth babe pictures have been completed and are online. Check 'em out!
UPDATE (5:15PM): I've gone through and updated/added reviews on all the pages I set up for our games that were shown on the E3 floor. They all have some material now, and they were all updated since yesterday. Thanks to 3D Portal for keeping track of this stuff, I would have had a much harder time tracking this stuff down if they didn't keep it all in a nice neat pile. :) Click on the E3 logo here to get to these pages.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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The E3D Realms Report
From Joe Siegler (at 11AM)
I've started sifting through all the reports and reviews online about E3 and our games there. Yeesh, are there a lot of them. We're getting extremely positive feedback on our games, and I hope to hit all of the ones online.
Also, I heard that a certain Internet Radio reporter has asked where my "special duty" pictures are. TC, I'm working on it. :) Seriously, I'm still dumping them to my HD (yesterday was less than a full day due to extreme sleep), and I hope to have at least some of them online today.
I expect to be updating several times over the next couple of days, so make sure to keep looking. I've started things off with some Prey reviews, and starting our Picture Archive. Click on the E3 logo here to get to our E3D Realms Report.
UPDATE @ 2:45PM: I've added more Prey reviews, as well as some for Max Payne & Duke Nukem Forever. More coming later today, including some pics.
UPDATE @ 5:45PM: I added the first 20 of the "booth babe" pictures to the site, as well as two more pics of Duke Nukem & Lara Croft! I have around another 40 or so booth babe shots to add to the site, as well as around 200 general shots of people and games to add tomorrow. Click on the E3 logo above to get to our E3 coverage page, where you can check out the photo archives. Make sure to check back again tomorrow for more shots as well as more coverage of the games themselves.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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The E3D Realms Report
Well, we're all back from Atlanta, and this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. It was long, it was hot, and it was cool!
We're really excited about all the good coverage about our four games we had on the floor at E3. There's a ton of remarks and coverage about them on the net, and because of this, we will be putting together a rather large list of people's reviews, pictures, and the like taken at E3 1998.
Our webmaster, Joe Siegler, also took the digital camera and took many hundreds of pictures, and once we sort through all of them, we'll be placing them online for you to check out.
And, if anyone remembers the pictures we took at the 1997 E3, you'll be pleased to know we will be having the "3D Realms Booth Babe Report". :) Look for that on Tuesday or Wednesday, once we sift through all the pictures. However, as a little tease, we have placed online (as a preview) a picture that we had taken of Duke Nukem with Lara Croft! Check it out. More coming soon.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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