Evolution Studios

Hey all,

Work on MotorStorm: Pacific Rift continues apace, and the press are starting get the information they're after - we've done about 20 Question and Answer sessions now, so you'll know much more about the game soon.

There's a much greater weight of expectation on us this time round, as we at Evo have changed from "those guys who did that little rally game" into "oh yeah, Evolution". Not quite as well known as EA, Ubisoft or the other giants just yet though.

When you're working on a game, you get used to changes that have been made surprisingly quickly. New games take time to take shape, so it's not as if we're playing MotorStorm one day, and the new game springs into life, fully formed, the next. But that's probably how it's going to appear to the greater gaming public.

So I'm actually quite excited about how you lot out there are going to react. Interested? Surprised? Bored? I guess we'll see. But whatever you think, we're going to quietly monitor the feedback, taking note and perhaps making changes accordingly. Genuinely though, we hope you like it.

Cheers

Hal

As I'm sure you can all tell, we've been extremely busy lately, hence the lack of new posts. It's been a hectic few weeks but hopefully things will be slowing down a little again soon, so you should start to see new posts trickling through more and more often. I wish I could tell you exactly what we've been up to, but it would probably bore you anyway - let's just say that we're making incredible progress and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is looking really, really nice (even if I say so myself).

Stay tuned for more updates soon!

Ryan

Today is my birthday. I'm another year closer to thirty, and I'm not ashamed to say I'm a little down about it. It feels like just last year I was still at school, wondering what I'd be doing when I got to my age, and joking about losing my hair and getting fat, both of which have tragically come true. But I refuse to wallow in self-pity, and instead focus on all the things I'd like to get from my family and friends to celebrate turning 27.

Dammit, I can't think of anything.

That's another problem, I've discovered, about getting older. It gets really difficult to think of suggestions for presents, because the items my loved ones can afford to buy me are the items I can already afford to buy myself, so that only leaves really expensive things like iPods and Game Consoles and the like, which of course are all far too expensive for birthday presents. I'd ask for some games, but I can't think of a single title that's been released this year that I'd want to own, and I've already got everything I wanted from last year, so what does that leave me with? No idea. But then again, at least I'll be surprised!

Ryan

You might have seen the recent trailer that was released to publicise the new MotorStorm game. It's a prerendered visual, and not in-game footage. In case you're not sure how to tell the difference, the camera angles are always a dead giveaway . We make these primarily for ourselves, to give us something to aim for in the absence of anything else out there. Last time we cam pretty damn close, and what you lost in visuals you gained in the interaction. You can't play with a movie ;)

MotorStorm sold really well, and we launched it at the right time as it's always much easier to launch a new franchise at the start of a console's lifecycle. It also paved the way for a new popularity of off-road racing games.

As ever, there were elements of the game that people wanted changed, or more of (or less of). New features, extra game modes and greater ease-of-use are constant goals for all videogame developers, and we are no exception. We know what the most commonly requested additions for MotorStorm have been and have gone a long way to try and address those for the new game.

So yes, we were predictably interested in how the wider gaming public would respond to this information, as it is the first time any news has been officially released. Splitscreen is a big new addition - it's hardly the newest invention in racing games but was notably absent from the first game. We've also worked hard on the vegetation of the island; something that the PS3 has allowed us to pursue that would not have been possible with the previous hardware. And the new monster trucks are a blast to play. But there are so many small improvements too that we cannot get across in a trailer; you'll have to wait for the previews and reviews for more details of them.

We were also interested to see how people would react to the trailer being prerendered. The original MotorStorm was first announced amidst great hoohah, and the movie caused a great deal of debate about whether it was in-game or prerendered. It seems that Sony, and perhaps Evolution in particular, have not been forgiven for the confusion that arose. We can't do anything about that, which is why we generally keep quiet and just get on with making games that we think are pretty bloody special. We hope you do too.

 Cheers

Hal

This years GDC was especially inspirational. There were some great talks (including one from our good friends Sam and Graeme), and a sense across the event that the industry is beginning to realise just what a powerful thing we can become in this century.

Someone who has long-held such beliefs is Jason Della Rocca, the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association. Jason was an unsung hero of our industry, working extremely passionately across many areas including the quality of life for developers, the liaison with academic and educational sectors, and the ongoing battle against censorship of what we do.

I say was unsung, because at the annual Game Developers Choice Awards, Jason was handed the inaugural Ambassador Award for his support to the industry. It's well-deserved and will hopefully raise awareness of what the IGDA continue to do so well.

You can read his acceptance speech over on his blog.

Sincere congratulations to Jason from all at Evolution Studios

\Matt

OK so I love Star Wars! There I've said it. I'm not particularly ashamed of the fact that I have lost count of the number of times I've watched the movies, know so much about them that some people think it borders on insanity, or the fact that up until recently I had a loft rammed with merchandising.

I was 6 when Star Wars came out in the UK and it's still one of the most vivid memories I have from my childhood. Like many, it was my first glimpse of a whole new universe that was going to have a profound effect on me not just then, but also throughout my continuing life.

I've always been a huge fan of science fiction, not uncommon in this industry of course, but I still think I have seen perhaps more than many. My father is partly to blame for this. As a child I was 'forced' to watch all sorts of sci-fi madness he had come across, being a massive fan himself. This could be more mainstream TV shows like the original Star Trek or old black and white Flash Gordon and Quatermass, classics of cinema like The Day The Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds and Forbidden Planet to more obscure titles such as Robinson Crusoe on Mars and 5 Million Miles to Earth.

Anyway I digress. Sitting here and thinking about it, I'm on the brink of going off on a tangent and talking about the all the films and TV shows I've wasted my life watching; perhaps for a future posting.

So back to Star Wars! Along with many I suppose I was slightly disappointed with the 3 prequels even if by the end Revenge of the Sith was a decent enough movie. If you've never seen the Simon Pegg,/Jessica Stevenson show 'Spaced' then please check it out; the disappointment of the prequels has never been so eloquently put!

Now you can put this down to being a kid and being a lot more receptive to ideas, but even today many many years later I still see them as outstanding movies. The prequels lacked the strong characters, intriguing story development, and also the imagination of Ralph McQuarrie driving the 'look' of the universe.

So, other than my love for the Star Wars universe, what is this posting about? Well I am worried. You might be thinking is everyone at Evo worried about something…. well perhaps. My worry though is the potential dilution of the Star Wars universe.

As I have mentioned, as a child I grew up with the original Star Trek, but that's where my interest in this universe ended. Why? Well ultimately there was just too much of it! Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, on and on. It became almost overwhelming to the point where I only bothered with the movies as opposed to trying to keep up with all the TV shows too. And the holo-deck annoyed me; wasn't that just an excuse to dress the cast up in silly clothing? Now I am sure there's an army of Trekkies going 'tut' and perhaps even 'pfffft', so I should point out these are merely my own opinions, and after all, what do I know…….

Today I was reminded about the CGI Star Wars film, The Clone Wars, which is to be released in cinemas on August 15^th 2008. As well as this there is also talk of Lucas working on a Star Wars TV show too. Now I hope it's obvious why I am worried.

Is Star Wars going to go the way of Star Trek? I hope not! If there is too much dilution of the characters, narrative and universe, I think all the things that made it so important to me in the first place will begin to be lost. To a point this is already happening with the hundreds of comics, books, games etc already creating their own take on the universe, and not always getting it 'right'. Whether it be time lines going askew, spaceship designs looking totally out of place, or just blatant contradictions to the stories already told, it is indeed a worrying time. For me…..

I hope that the development of these new shows and movies are overseen by Lucas with perhaps a firmer hand than the prequels were. Did they not just descend into flashy toy commercials? Only time will tell I suppose, and perhaps this is just so close to me that is actually 'matters'.

You may be sitting there reading this thinking 'well who cares anyway, as long as there's a good light sabre battle and things blow up'. Which is fine of course, but on the other hand there is a whole generation of grown-up children for whom it does matter….. and it matters a lot!

And just to prove that I've not lost all faith in Star Wars, I am still collecting!

www.swminifigs.com

Chris

I’ve discovered recently that I spend considerably more time playing games on my console than my trusty PC which is fast becoming redundant in that department.

In fact, I’d have to go back several months and even then it was only a recommended demo for about half an hour and not a full game.

I’ve bought my fare share of gaming rigs in the past but for me I really noticed the mood change among the public in general when I first played Panzer Dragoon on my Dreamcast and Wipeout on the Playstation – I clocked up an enormous amount of hours playing those two titles but more than the PC? – Surely not?

My son would challenge this by pointing out to me that he practically lived and breathed Starcraft on his PC for 5 – 6 months straight (I still hear the music building in my head as the Terran army advance to annihilate Protoss or Zerg in Behemoth Class Battlecruisers) and it sounds crazy but I actually enjoyed watching as a spectator with Starcraft more than playing it since I believed that you needed 2 mice working simultaneously to control all the units at any one time.

Obviously he made it look all too easy but would he have enjoyed playing it on a console? - I should ask him about that sometime since he told me over this weekend that he reinstalled Starcraft and Brood Wars on his PC - His girlfriend will not be happy.

So could I live without my PC? - I think not.

Looking at how each successive console release brings us closer to gaming nirvana by incorporating all the good things that the PC offers and the ease of use, price and accessibility that a games console brings, it’s easy to see why it’s become so popular but the question remains - will a games console actually replace a PC for playing games on or offline in the future?

It’s all down to personal preference but we are influenced by what's happening in the business and Joe Public tends to follow the prime movers within the industry for a heads up on where it’s all heading. I read with interest the other day Gameplayer's chat with Mark Rein who towards the end of the interview indicated that he has switched to console gaming and this in turn generated a huge discussion at the good old Beyond Unreal Forums

Colin M

A few of the designers and other bods here are big fans of NFL and when the 07/08 season started last year, a handful of us signed up to run our own fantasy NFL league. I've never really been interested in Football american style but they needed to make up the numbers so I signed on for it and the Maiden Minotaurs were born.

When I say "never really been interested" what I mean to say is "have trouble understanding what's happening". A casual glance at the sport on TV just looks like a lot of stopping and starting with one minute of action for every five minutes of standing about and talking but I let it slide now that the no-nonsense Minotaurs were on the case. It was about halfway through the season though, before I decided to learn the rules. It made picking players for the squad a lot easier when you understood what the hell each statistic means and who I want to be trading for. Kris Pope, one of our QA guys and manager of the esteemed Runcorn Rodents, adopted a trade strategy of "I'll give you two of my worst for one of your best". Funnily enough for the entirity of the season no one ever took him up on that offer. Curiosuly, he finished the league with an unbeatable losing streak of 1-12 or something ridiculous.

I must say though, I've become something of a convert to the sport. If only on a basic, spectator level, but at least I know what "first and ten" means. To celebrate the end of the inaugural EvoNFL Fantasy League, Rushy had us all over to his bachelor pad to watch the Superbowl in High Definition, stupidly large screen, surround sound bliss on the sunday night. For me, it was the first game I'd have seen but with friends to fill me in on crucial information like who the hell the guy with the black and white striped shirt was really full of himself, the night was set to be a great one. To assist the immersion in colonial culture, we were only allowed to bring American food and drink to the party and by the time everyone had arrived the fridge was bursting with bottles of Coors, Miller and Bud.

We were in for a good night, and the pre-superbowl games of Madden '06 were in full swing when I arrived with the game just ending and a new one beginning. It was Me and Hal up first, I picked the Ravens to sort out Hal's Vikings. After watching The Wire all week, I was sure my boys from Baltimore would take care of bid'nis.

*Ahem*. Each quarter we passed the controllers around and by the end of the first both me and Hal had failed to put any points on the board at all, locked in a dead heat. In my mind I'd like to think were were in complete equilibrium but  more likely I knew less about playing Madden than I do about the sport in general. And that's saying a lot.

After a quiet start, the game took off in the second quarter with Baltimore taking chalking up three touchdowns with Minnesota only grabbing a pair for themselves. A last-minute field goal at the end of the third quarter left the Ravens in front at 21-17. Things were looking up and victory was in sight, but the last recipients of the controllers would have the game's ultimate fate in their hands, production assistant Dave Bramhall and artist Richard Weaver. Dave has been playing a lot of Madden '08 and was already very familiar with the controls and Weaver was still trying to pass the controller to someone else asking about how exactly he gets his guys to shoot. Unfortunately for Baltimore, their winning game was about to be thrown away under his leadership.

Dave cleaned up for most of the fourth, intercepting Rich's attempt to extend our lead and sorting himself out with a touchdown to bring the score up to a Viking lead of 21-24 after a good conversion. Rich was on the offence again and with only half of the quarter left, the pressure was on to get things moving. A good kick from Dave put Rich at 1st and 10 on the Raven's 20 yard line, it was going to be a tough two and a half minutes. Rich did well, considering, but Dave was all-out defence shutting down every play Rich tried to make, just running down the clock as best he could. With thirty seconds to go, Rich was still only on the 50 yard line and defeat looked almost inevitable. 1st and 10 became 2nd and 6 became 3rd and 8 became 4th and 5. There was only 10 seconds on the clock and half the room were scrambling to get the controller and call time-out before the clock completely ran out. With 8 seconds left, we needed a miracle, a breakaway, something to get us a score. Murmerings from complacent Vikings fans that we should check the Superbowl coverage were being hushed as the four Raven players talked "strategy".

By strategy I mean we all just decided to welly it and see what happens.

So with 8 seconds, Rich Weaver jogs backwards with ball in hand looking to pass down field at an open reciever. There are three, but as I'm counting Dave tackles one to the ground. A viking, pumped with all the adrenaline he can muster, the five yards to first down aren't important, just getting the ball out of play is the only thing that matters to him. Weaver beatifully dodges his tackle and remains standing but with three seconds left he needs to find that reciever. The ball is away to a small cheer of those still interested and people wander back from a smoke outside or getting another beer from the kitchen, mildly perplexed that the game is still going. The two remaining recievers are already hotfooting it to catch the ball with Dave's defenceman in pursuit, gaining on the pair. Dave takes a gamble and drops one, one second remains as the other keeps going, into the end-zone and, with zero seconds on the clock, like every high-school football film about underdogs in the 11th hour, scores the finest touchdown the sport has ever seen. I guess that's the appeal of this game. I get it now.

We settled in to watch the Superbowl and had a great night, but come the next morning, it was the hail-mary throw for 'our' game that got talked about the most.

-Will

I love some of my videogames. I think they're a thrilling form of popular culture, and have far more interesting things to offer than many of the material I've seen that gets called 'art'.

I think that strictly speaking they aren’t an art-form, because their fundamental basis is the desire to play – which predates the very notions of art and culture.

I learned this by reading Johan Huizinga, the father of ludology. In his book ‘Homo Ludens’ he said ‘play is older than culture, for culture, however inadequately defined, always presupposes human society, and animals have not waited for man to teach them their playing’.

Fantastic.

Having said that, I still believe that you can sit some fantastic, moving, revolutionary art on top of the play mechanics of a videogame, or overlapping with them. It’s just that we haven’t yet. We’re still, in the majority of cases, dealing with crude stereotypes, an emphasis on action, and quick dumb thrills.

But it’s happening…

We’re beginning to move people in more sophisticated ways. We’re beginning to really talk to people.

You can sense it, right?

Provided we continue to push for improvement – in the face of disdain, ridicule, ignorance and censorship - our crude current state is nothing to be ashamed of. It was the same with novels, plays, movies and much more during their respective infancies. Many were thought of as ‘just for children’; many were slated or banned for being puerile or offensive or a waste of time. Throughout the ages, pioneers have had to struggle for artistic freedom in the face of...idiocy.

We’re only about three decades old. That means we’re only just starting to grow despite our technological leaps. When movies were the same age, they were still silent. Jack Warner (of Warner Brothers) once asked “who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” Nobody could have predicted what an incredible art form they would become – but they did.

So, if someone chooses to ridicule your passion for videogames by saying ‘these silly wastes of time will never be considered art’, please reply by saying that they are already more important than that. That we’re on an inexorable march to cultural domination.

And that we’ll show ‘em in the end.

We’ll show ‘em ;)

\Matt

I love co-op games. Single-player experiences are all well and good, but there's simply nothing better than working with friends to beat a game. In the last 7 years or so there has been a distinct absence of co-operative games, but recently that trend has  been changing - "Gears of War", "Crackdown", "Resistance: Fall of Man", "Halo 3", "Hellgate: London", "Kane and Lynch" and "Lego Star Wars" to name a few. Co-op modes are famously difficult to do, and even harder to do well, but it's great to finally see developers making the effort and doing a good job of it. "Halo 3" is an obvious example of an excellent co-op experience, as I'm sure "Left 4 Dead" will be when that's released later this year.

What's really interesting me at the moment are the websites that developers are putting up to support their games and the communities that have formed around them. Bungie.Net and SteamCommunity.com create for you a profile page based on your in-game statistics, where you can browse the profiles of friends, set up groups, view in-game screenshots, and more. Very much like MySpace or Facebook, but centred completely around their games.

The two co-op/multiplayer games I'm most looking forward to this year are "Age of Conan" and "Left 4 Dead". What co-op or multiplayer games are you most looking forward to this year?

\Ryan