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Scott Miller Visits Remedy in Finland
 Recently, Scott Miller had the chance to take a trip over to Finland to meet face to face with the Remedy Entertainment guys (they're the folks that made Death Rally, and are working on Max Payne now). The meeting was to cover game design, but he did manage to get himself digitized as a villain for Max Payne. The Remedy guys posted a blurb about Scott's visit on their web site, here's what they had to say:
Scott Miller from 3D Realms dropped by recently. We spent most of the time working on Max Payne game design and content, but one of the highlights of the visit was a chance to get a look at Duke Nukem Forever. The image shows that once the game was running, it was getting quite crowded around the computer (Scott is somewhere there behind the crowd :-) We also used the opportunity to digitize Scott's face as one of the bad guys in Max Payne.
If you visit their web page, and check out their news link, you can see the screenshot of the Remedy guys looking at Duke Nukem Forever.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Game Design: Secrets of the Sages
 Shown to your right is the cover of a book entitled "Game Design: Secrets of the Sages". This book, by Marc Saltzman is a book that you should check out if you've ever been interested in making a computer game. It covers such topics as "Getting Started", "Creating your Masterpiece", "Ensuring Your Success", and finally "Getting in the Front Door and staying there". Here's some text from the book itself..
"So, you want to be a game programmer, design or create the next Myst, Final Fantasy, or Quake? Where do you begin? How do you get started, break into the industry, and then become a successful game designer and programmer? This book answers these questions and more. Over 100 industry specialists were interviewed and provided their individual views...
Packed with details on how to turn your joystick skills into a lucrative career from the people who have already done it, this book is the ultimate guide to your dream job."
If you've wanted to know how to do it, this book is a good read. Our own George Broussard is quoted on the book cover promoting this book. George said, "Budding game designers should carry this around in their back pocket. Come get some!" If you're interested in purchasing this book, you can do so by clicking on the book image above (which will take you to Amazon.com's page for the book.
That's not all! The author of this book contacted me and informed me that this book can also be obtained as part of a larger package entitled "The Game Programming Starter Kit v3.0". This package consists of "The introductory edition of Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, Genesis 3D SDK engine and level editor, a suite of development tools, a developer's guide featuring insights into the industry, and a digital library of three best-selling programming books. As an added bonus, a 470+ page book entitled "Game Design: Secrets of the Sages" is bundled with the Game Programming Starter Kit 3.0."
If you're looking to jump right in, the Starter Kit might be just what you need - it includes the Secrets of the Sages book in the package. Either way, check out the book to bone up on how to break into the industry!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Balls of Steel v1.2 Released!
Today, we've released the shareware download of Balls of Steel. This new version is v1.2, and is primarily a bug fix release (for video issues), but there are some game play issues as well. Here's a complete list of all the fixes/updates in v1.2 over v1.1.
* added DirectDraw support option for the display
* fix to Firestorm 3-ball totaling for undefused bombs
* change to double for scoring, rather than custom 64-bit ints
* updated magnetic lock parameters to prevent ball getting stuck
* fix to Firestorm Powerplant and Freeway ramp scoring awards
* super combo scoring cap introduced
* kickback cheat code on Mutation now properly opens kickback gate
* powerball mode now correctly resets gas cylinders on Duke Nukem
* ball blocker gate bug corrected
* ball dumping from cyclotron dish during Mutation 3-ball improved
* free 4-billion points in Duke Nukem video mode corrected
* high score sorting problem corrected
* crashing after final ball of Darkside 3-ball corrected
* parental lock extended to cover text of hurry-up message
* Firestorm outlanes no longer turn off novice ballsaver
* suppressed false display of combos values in Mutation
* fixed Barbarian element missions to ensure correct display on completion
* corrected bug in Duke Nukem multiball modes in conjunction with elevator
* removed references to Worldscores, as they no longer track Balls of Steel scores
This list is for the registered version, obviously issues relating to the registered tables don't apply to shareware.
In addition to this shareware episode, you can also download patches that will update your existing game to v1.2! As a convenience to our customers, these patches will update either v1.0 or v1.1 to the new v1.2! You can download the shareware episode or the patches from our FTP area right away by visiting our Master download page. Please remember, if you have any problems attempting to apply these patches, you will need to remove your game (with the Add/Remove Programs icon in Windows), and then reinstall and reapply the patch.
If you've never tried Balls of Steel, than now's the time! Visit our Balls of Steel Pages for more information about the #1 PC pinball game!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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The End
No, no, no. We're not shutting down or anything. We wanted to point out an article over at 3D Gaming Network about game endings. Most computer games don't spend a whole lot of time on their endings (who can forget Doom's "awesome" ending), and this article hits on this much ignored aspect of our game genre. This article covers several games such as Final Fantasy 7, Starcraft, Warcraft, Wing Commander, and others.
They do talk a couple of times about our own Duke Nukem 3D. They thought our endings were hilarious.. Here, read what they had to say about it.
For humor, take a gander at Duke Nukem 3d. The ending to each episode was freaking hilarious, and the last one had me laughing for quite a while before I calmed down. It may not have had the depth of Warcraft 2, but it made the ending "fun", and it made people laugh.
The author (Eric Rasmussen) makes some pretty cool points about how a good ending could actually help the game in question. Make sure to check out what he has to say, it's a pretty cool article!
In other 3DGN news, I got an email from Rick Stutz over there after I posted the articles about the "Quickies" yesterday. He wanted to point out that they have some bitmaps available of that character art in addition to two other similar types of characters. If you like that graphic, you can download a larger version for a windows background! (You can get #2 and #3 via these links)
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Duke Nukem: Zero Hour Preview
As Duke Nukem: Zero Hour inches closer to it's street date, Gaming Age has a new preview. It's a pretty cool preview, which lists several things N64 fans are sure to like about the game, including weapons, game play, graphics, and (of course) screenshots. Here's some of what they have to say about the game.
* Similar to other Nintendo 64 titles, there are two graphical options for Zero Hour. The first is playing without the Expansion Pak which brings in speedier frame-rate, but a lower resolution. The other option is playing with the Expansion Pak enabled, which brings in a higher resolution, but a slightly choppier frame-rate.
* The big difference between Duke Nukem 64 and Zero Hour is not only the graphics but also the viewpoint. Instead of the norm first-person-shooter, the entire adventure takes place behind Duke�s back in the third person.
Gaming Age does a bang-up job on whittling down the important issues of the game into a good quick review. Make sure to check it out today, and if you're interested in learning more, check out our own Zero Hour pages. Thanks Patrick Klepeck.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Matt Wood Interviewed
Our own Matt Wood (level designer, Duke Nukem Forever) was interviewed recently by the '3D Map Realm' Web site. The interview covers things like Duke Nukem Forever, map design theory, and where Matt thinks level design is headed. Here's some quotes from the interview.
Q: What exactly is your part in making a game?
A:My part in the design process is to work with all the other mappers and help create the 'game' you will actually play. I'm also in charge of physically making the specific levels that we've come up with.
Q: Most people have their own ideas about what working in your industry is like. What is it REALLY like?
A: For the most part it's really great, but i do relate it a lot to high school sometimes. You have freshman who can act like seniors and seniors that can act like 5th graders.
Q: Anything else you'd like to say?
A: You guys wont be disappointed with Duke Nukem Forever. You will be no less than blown away by it. 'Hail to the King, Baby....'
This interview gives you some good insight into the mind of a professional map designer. Check it out!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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A Duke Quickie
 If your Max Payne quickie wasn't enough, then you can also get a Duke Nukem quickie!
3D Gaming Net has a Duke Nukem quickie online too. It's their preview of Duke Nukem Forever (with the same cool header graphic, some of which is shown here - Duke would like it ). The preview has a few screenshots, but they're from the video we released at the 1998 E3. They seem to be really jazzed for the game, check out what they said about it.
* They (3D Realms) have said they have "God-like" control over their brushes and models allowing for a level of interactivity surpassing any current game.
* If you aren't excited about Duke Nukem Forever then you're obviously not human but rather an alien.
* Some fun things that are rumored to be reappearing in Duke Nukem Forever are the Shrink gun and pipe bombs, blowing holes in walls, the exotic dancers (now motion captured!), and the aforementioned Dr. Proton from the Duke sidescrollers (Duke Nukem 1 and Duke Nukum 2).
They really seem to be eager for this game to come out, go check out why!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Max Gets a Quickie
We have a few things for you in the way of Max Payne coverage. Check out this stuff...
Petri J�rvilehto Interview - Petri is the Max Payne project lead, and he was interviewed recently by the "Before it's done" gaming news web site. Petri talks about the game story, the game engine, and several other Max Payne related items. Here's a tidbit of what Petri has to say about Max Payne..
* Q: How many weapons will there be in the game? If there is a melee weapon, what is it?
A: We're not releasing exact weapons specs (we don't want to spoil the experince by telling all the details beforehand). There is a melee weapon, and it's something that fits the storyline well.
* Q: How far into the game's development are you?
A: We're not on the final run yet, but the game engine is now robust, and the bulk of the environments is now done... we still need to spend some time working on the technology, and soon we get to play around with all the fun gameplay stuff.
Make sure and check
out all of what Petri has to say today! (Thanks Greg Miller)
A Max Payne Quickie - 3DGN has the latest Max Payne preview online. Entitled "A Max Payne quickie", this covers information that's already out there on the game. There's not a whole lot new in this "quickie", but you should still check it out, as it does summarise several things nicely. And there's a really cool header graphic that's worth checking out. Here's a bit of what they have to say about it.
* While dealing healthy doses of lead poisoning to anything that moves, the action will be seen by you through the standard behind and about 3/4 up view.
* This game will blow you away like a drunk intern at a presidential dinner.
Go get your quickie today! (Thanks Richard Stutz)
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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Happenings
For those American visitors of ours, we hope you had a happy and safe Fourth of July!
Several things have happened around the web about our games on or around the recent July holiday, and we thought we'd like to bring you up to speed. Check out all the news stories below - there's a lot of good stuff here.
Sorry about the lack of updates in the last few days - the Fourth of July holiday had something to do with it, and a software crash of epic magnitude on our webmaster's computer had a lot to do with it, too.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:00 PM
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