Joystiq

Get 7 Unreal-powered hits in Steam's Unreal Indie Bundle

Danny Cowan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:30:00 EST

Today's Steam Spotlight deal is the Unreal Indie Bundle, a steeply discounted collection of seven standout titles created using the Unreal Engine.

Priced at $19.99, the compilation features the multiplayer tower defense game, Dungeon Defenders, dinosaurian online shooter Primal Carnage, and first-person puzzle game Q.U.B.E. (Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion). The Unreal Indie Bundle also includes a second tower defense darling, Sanctum, along with the first-person adventure game, The Ball, side-scrolling puzzler Unmechanical, and twin-stick shoot-'em-up Waves.

Purchased individually, these games would normally set you back $79.93, making this a solid deal all around. The Unreal Indie Bundle will be available through May 6th.

Get 7 Unreal-powered hits in Steam's Unreal Indie Bundle originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unreal Engine 4 not designed to work on Wii U [Update]

JC Fletcher — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 EST

Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 won't support the Wii U, Epic VP Mark Rein said during GDC. During a theater presentation of the Infiltrator demo, Rein laughed and said "no" when asked if UE4 would run on Wii U.

"Our goal for Unreal Engine 4 console-wise is next-gen consoles," he explained to Kotaku. "That's really what our energies are focused on. If you want to make a Wii U game, we have Unreal Engine 3, and it's powering some of the best games on the Wii U already."

Battlefield series executive producer Patrick Bach told Eurogamer this week that not only is Battlefield 4 not coming to Wii U, the new Frostbite 3 engine on which it runs is also not designed for Wii U. "We right now don't have support for the Wii U in the Frostbite engine," he said. "The reason for that is it takes development time."

Update: Rein spoke with Engadget and clarified his comment from the presentation, noting that it's totally possible to run Unreal Engine 4 games on Wii U. "You heard the stupid gaffe yesterday about the Wii U," he said. "If someone wants to take Unreal Engine 4 and ship a game on Wii U, they can! If they wanna ship an Unreal Engine 4 game on Xbox 360, they could make it happen."

Unreal Engine 4 not designed to work on Wii U [Update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Unreal Pokemon Center is unreal

Mike Suszek — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 10:30:00 EST

Environment Artist Evan Liaw recently had some fun with the Unreal engine, and used it to create a Pokecenter from Nintendo's Pokemon series with a realistic twist.

Head over to Liaw's site to see more pictures of the fantastic interpretation of the Pokemon clinic. We can't tell if we're more or less excited for Pokemon X and Y now. It certainly makes us want a different Pokemon game.

This Unreal Pokemon Center is unreal originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 13 Jan 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Astronauts is new studio from People Can Fly vets

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:15:00 EST

People Can Fly vets Adrian Chmielarz, Andrzej Poznanski and Michal Kosieradzki are back with new studio The Astronauts. Showing that there is no bad blood between the trio and their former overlords at Epic Games, the team is creating an unannounced game for 2013 using Epic's Unreal Engine 3.

"We've worked with UE3 for the last six years, and we know its power," said Astronauts co-founder Chmielarz. "Choosing Unreal Engine technology for our future was the textbook definition of a no-brainer."

The trio's former colleagues at People Can Fly are currently working on Gears of War: Judgment, the latest in the chest-high walls franchise, which will leave cover for retail on March 19, 2013.

PS: We can't unsee the Obama logo, so join in our madness.

Continue reading The Astronauts is new studio from People Can Fly vets

The Astronauts is new studio from People Can Fly vets originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Primal Carnage roars into open beta for all pre-orders

David Hinkle — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 23:00:00 EST

Those who pre-order Lukewarm Media's man-on-dino shooter Primal Carnage will gain instant access to an open beta ahead of its launch later this year. In addition to instant access to the beta, those who pre-order will also unlock an exclusive Raptor skin for use in the final game.

Primal Carnage is a team-based shooter built on the Unreal Engine featuring ten different classes, five dinosaur and five human. No final launch date has been set for Primal Carnage yet - it'll launch some time in "Fall 2012" through Steam, GameStop, GamersGate, Rain and the game's official website.

Continue reading Primal Carnage roars into open beta for all pre-orders

Primal Carnage roars into open beta for all pre-orders originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unreal Engine 3 now on Windows 8 and Windows RT

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:00:00 EST

If you still have the capacity to be surprised by learning that Unreal Engine 3 now runs on a new thing, prepare to be surprised. Unreal Engine 3 now runs on both Windows 8 and Windows RT, Epic has announced. It's not exactly shocking that Epic's workhorse engine is on Windows 8, though the news is certainly good for anyone looking at the upcoming line of Windows RT tablets.

Epic showcased the engine running on just such a tablet, the Asus Vivo Tab RT, which you can see in the video above. The demo in question is "Epic Citadel," which was first used to showcase UE3 on the iPhone back in 2010. Epic VP Mark Rein noted that this is the full Unreal Engine 3, using the "full DirectX 9 pipeline, with shaders and materials," and not a "modified mobile version"

Continue reading Unreal Engine 3 now on Windows 8 and Windows RT

Unreal Engine 3 now on Windows 8 and Windows RT originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bleszinski: Fortnite on PC 'primary and first,' other platforms not ruled out

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST

Having announced Fortnite as Epic Games' first Unreal Engine 4 game, "exclusively for the PC," Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski took to Twitter this afternoon to make some breathing room. "We wouldn't rule out the possibility of other platforms later," he wrote. That is, while Fortnite will be "primary and first" on PC, it may not be exclusive to the platform forever.

Given that Fortnite is built using UE4, it stands to reason that those "other platforms" won't be of the current generation (none of Microsoft's, Sony's, or Nintendo's current hardware can run UE4-based games). What might they be, then? We'll have to wait until the next console generation to find out, it sounds like.

Gallery: Fortnite (San Diego Comic Con 2012)

Bleszinski: Fortnite on PC 'primary and first,' other platforms not ruled out originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fortnite is Epic's first Unreal Engine 4 game, heading exclusively to PC

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 14:00:00 EST

Fortnite is Epic's first Unreal Engine 4 game and it'll ship "exclusively for the PC," Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinksi said today during a San Diego Comic-Con 2012 panel. "We're here and we're announcing that this is a PC-designed game, it's shipping exclusively for the PC," he told a crowd of attendees.

"Next-gen's here. It's been here. It's a high-end PC," Bleszinski said. He added that the dudebro-free Fortnite didn't "make sense" for Unreal Engine 3, and cheered PCs as being part of Epic's "heritage."

Fortnite, which sees characters building bunkers and emplacements to defend against the monsters of the night, was suspected of being a PC exclusive earlier this year when it popped up on a LinkedIn listing for PC. The listing was quickly changed after we brought it to the attention of Epic Games.

We'll have more from Epic's SDCC panel as soon as we can (it's still going on!).

Fortnite is Epic's first Unreal Engine 4 game, heading exclusively to PC originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic's Mike Capps on opening the door to Tencent and its 'unparalleled expertise' in China

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:30:00 EST

Epic Games announced yesterday it sold a minority interest in the company to China's Tencent Holdings. It was the first time in 21 years the Unreal Engine creator and Gears of War and Infinity Blade developer accepted outside investment.

"We've always taken pride in being an independent developer of fun games and cutting-edge technology," Epic Games president Mike Capps said in prepared statements about why the company took a major investment deal after such a long time. "We want to assure our players and licensees that this transaction only brings more to the table in terms of what we can offer them."

"Epic has worked with Tencent for years through our Unreal Engine licensing relationship," Capps added. "They have fantastic inroads into attractive markets and platforms, and Epic has been carefully weighing its options for the next generation of games for quite some time. We can learn a lot from Tencent, and strategically aligning with them was an easy decision."

Capps explained that Epic will maintain all intellectual property rights and maintain the Unreal Engine licensing business. He wouldn't comment if this is just the prelude to a full buyout. Capps makes no secret of Tencent being a long-term partner, but notes Epic enjoys its independence.

Continue reading Epic's Mike Capps on opening the door to Tencent and its 'unparalleled expertise' in China

Epic's Mike Capps on opening the door to Tencent and its 'unparalleled expertise' in China originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pitbull Studio assisting with Unreal Engine 4, also developing UE4-based games

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:30:00 EST

Never heard of Pitbull Studio? Neither had we. Apparently the English studio specializes in hired gun work and is lead by ex-Midway Newcastle's Robert Troughton (Wheelman, etc.). While unknown, the three-year-old studio is working on two things for Epic Games: Unreal Engine 4, and a game built in said engine. Not too bad for a group of guys no one's heard of, eh?

Job listings for positions at Pitbull reveal the studio is "working on Unreal Engine 4 with Epic Games," but also, "games derived from that and Unreal Engine 3." Positions range from environment artists to engine programmers, with a variety of other roles in between. Epic confirmed the work with Joystiq this afternoon, and offered a prepared statement from director of engineering, Daniel Vogel. "Epic has a great history working with Pitbull Studio. We can count on them to provide reliable engineering resources, and they're helping us prepare for the next generation of games."

We'll see more from Epic's next-gen engine this June.

Pitbull Studio assisting with Unreal Engine 4, also developing UE4-based games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 May 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unreal Engine 4's GDC demo: exposed!

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:15:00 EST

Just around 30 lucky GDC attendees saw Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 demo. And one such person was Wired's Stu Horvath, who describes the two minute demonstration as "breathtakingly photo-realistic" in an exclusive reveal. The demo apparently follows the demon knight seen above, as he wakes from a frozen sleep ... only to set everything on fire. That scamp!

The demo runs on Nvidia's Kepler GTX 680 - a graphics card often described as "next-gen" - and it follows the armored demon dude as he shows off his fancy, graphics-heavy castle. Just 14 Epic employees put together the demo, which apparently runs in real-time within the Unreal Engine 4 environment (a feat for modern game engines, including UE3). Don't be surprised if we see this demo show up in a future Epic game - the company's past demos for Unreal Engine lead to some of Epic's biggest games.

Lighting is also improved, according to the piece, with "dynamic lighting" within the engine rather than being individually implemented after the fact. "The number of man-years that required was astounding," Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski said. But with all the additions, Epic's new engine requires much more horsepower; horsepower for which Epic is pushing the likes of Microsoft and Sony. Whether Epic (and us gamers) will get that horsepower, however, remains to be seen.

Unreal Engine 4's GDC demo: exposed! originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 May 2012 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unreal Engine 4 images demonstrate top-of-the-line evil eyes

JC Fletcher — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:13:00 EST

What better way to understand the capabilities of Unreal Engine 4 than to look at this creepy knight guy in various stages of rendering? Glowing eyes that evil need the next generation of rendering technology.

Gallery: Unreal Engine 4

Unreal Engine 4 images demonstrate top-of-the-line evil eyes originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 May 2012 11:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic Games to privately showcase Unreal Engine 4 at GDC

Jordan Mallory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:45:00 EST

Unreal Engine 3 is one of (if not the most) prolific gaming technologies in existence right now, powering everything from Mortal Kombat and Asura's Wrath to Gears of War 3 and Batman: Arkham City. If you're one of the many developers that depend on Epic's engine, the upcoming 2012 Game Developers Conference may be your first chance to see the next generation of Unreal Engine in action.

Epic will be showcasing Unreal Engine 4 to "select licensees, partners and prospective customers" behind closed doors at the conference; demonstrations will be given by appointment only, and all who attend must sign what we can only assume is the most air-tight, all-encompassing non-disclosure agreement ever written. For instance, developers allowed into Epic's demonstration area may not smuggle air out of the demonstration area inside of their lungs and then transfer that air to the lungs of another living person, under pain of chainsaw death. It's pretty serious stuff, but it's probably worth it to see some totally sweet tech demos.

Continue reading Epic Games to privately showcase Unreal Engine 4 at GDC

Epic Games to privately showcase Unreal Engine 4 at GDC originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The beautiful death of a planet in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

David Hinkle — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EST

As much as I'd like to feel sorry for the decimation of Cybertron, home of my childhood heroes, developer High Moon studios left me craving even more destruction with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron takes place during the final hours of a civil war that eventually destroys the planet. The Decepticons have won, driving the Autobots to seek a new home somewhere amongst the stars. As Optimus Prime and his Autobot buddies race to find a way off the planet, Megatron and his dastardly Decepticons seek to rid the universe of all Autobot life. They're big old meanies like that.

Gallery: Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (2/22/12)

Continue reading The beautiful death of a planet in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

The beautiful death of a planet in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unreal Engine 4 to be seen 'later this year,' says Mark Rein

Mike Schramm — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST

Epic's Mark Rein did some hit-and-run teasing at DICE last week, telling G4 that "people are going to be shocked later this year when they see Unreal Engine 4 and how much more profound an effect it will have." We've heard before that Epic is working hard on Unreal Engine 4, and while Epic doesn't expect to see games running on the engine until 2014, it makes a lot of sense that Rein would want to show it off, especially if we also see some next-gen console reveals later on this year.

As for what it'll look like, we can only say (and sorry for all of the technical jargon on this one) that it will probably look "very good." How do we know? Because 4 is higher than 3, silly. You probably wouldn't understand.

Unreal Engine 4 to be seen 'later this year,' says Mark Rein originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix licenses Unreal Engine 3 (again) for multiple games

JC Fletcher — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:30:00 EST

Square Enix has licensed Unreal Engine 3 for use in the development of "multiple games." Our first instinct is to assume those projects will come out of the western, "Eidos" side of Square Enix, but the announcement notes that Epic Games Japan is working with Square Enix on the agreement, suggesting that the license will be used in Japan as well.

Square Enix sought a similar license in 2007, which resulted in The Last Remnant, and nothing else -- which really makes that title ironic in retrospect.

Continue reading Square Enix licenses Unreal Engine 3 (again) for multiple games

Square Enix licenses Unreal Engine 3 (again) for multiple games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic wants Unreal Engine 4 ready for the next-gen console launch

Justin McElroy — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:45:00 EST

Like an inattentive uncle, Unreal Engine 3 didn't visit this current generation of consoles until it was around a year old. But if Epic's Mark Rein has his way, Unreal Engine 4 will be right there in the birthing room to catch the Xbox 720 and PS4 from their ... electronic womb.

"I want Unreal Engine 4 to be ready far earlier than UE3 was; not a year after the consoles are released," he told Develop. "I think a year from a console's launch is perfectly fine for releasing a game, but not for releasing new tech. We need to be there day one or very early. That's my primary focus."

When asked what he wants from that next gen, Rein focused on giving developers and publishers more pricing freedom rather than pure horsepower. He wants a beefy GPU as well, but it's telling to see the acknowledgement that the next wave of consoles will be as much about how games are delivered as what they look like.

Epic wants Unreal Engine 4 ready for the next-gen console launch originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unreal Engine 3 comes to Mac OS X, courtesy of September UDK release

Christopher Grant — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:50:00 EST

A scant four years after announcing Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3 were coming to Mac OS X, Epic has finally renewed its enthusiasm for the Mac with the announcement of native Unreal Engine 3 support, courtesy of the free-to-use Unreal Development Kit. "Every UDK game's potential user base has increased dramatically yet again," the announcement reads, promising a previews of the engine's Mac OS support in the September 2011 UDK release.

Considering Epic's high-profile support of Apple's Mac OS X-derived mobile operating system iOS, not to mention consistent Mac support from developers like Valve and Blizzard, Epic's entry in the space is hardly unexpected. But Mac support from Unreal Engine should extend far beyond Epic's own games; as one of the most popular development environments in existence, today's announcement (coupled with viable markets like Steam and the Mac OS App Store) should help UE-based developers reach an entirely new audience.

Unreal Engine 3 comes to Mac OS X, courtesy of September UDK release originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mario gets first-person in Unreal Engine 3

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EST

This isn't the first, second, or even third time that Mario's iconic Mushroom Kingdom has been translated into first person, but it is the first time anyone has ever associated the words "killing spree" and "goomba."

Mario gets first-person in Unreal Engine 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LucasArts licenses Unreal Engine 3 for long-term, multi-project use

James Ransom-Wiley — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:43:00 EST

LucasArts has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Epic Games to develop with Unreal Engine 3, the studios announced today. The deal will encompass "multiple projects" and looks to provide a shortcut for LucasArts "between inspiration and execution on a wide variety of gaming platforms," according to Zak Phelps, the company's director of technology.

Epic VP Mark Rein echoed that sentiment when he trumpeted "Unreal Engine 3's ability to scale across platforms, from mobile, through PC and console all the way up to the next generation of games." Epic's recent tech demo of the latest UE3 updates certainly looked incredible, but we didn't notice any new features promising to render a deeper Star Wars experience. Then again, we'd probably pay a buck just to see the Force unleashed on our iPhone, inspired or not.

Previously, LucasArts licensed Unreal Engine 2 for 2005's Star Wars: Republic Commando (pictured).

LucasArts licenses Unreal Engine 3 for long-term, multi-project use originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic Games' Tim Sweeney turned into a game character

Griffin McElroy — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EST

Man, are you guys ready to get meta? Epic Games founder (and Unreal Engine mastermind) Tim Sweeney was recently the subject of an Unreal Tournament 3 skin crafted by artist Gary Storkamp. Apparently, the guy is crazy about Burger King. And about hitting dudes with his keyboard.

Continue reading Epic Games' Tim Sweeney turned into a game character

Epic Games' Tim Sweeney turned into a game character originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mark Rein: Unreal's 'focus is all devices'

Mike Schramm — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:10:00 EST

Mark Rein's like an old-school tonic salesman with his Unreal Engine lately. You want it running on iOS devices including the new iPad 2? You've got it, friend! You want it on Android devices, including the Xperia Play and the Motorola Xoom? Say no more, chum! And you want it on next-gen devices that haven't even been announced yet? Yes, Mr. Rein's Unreal Engine elixir is just the thing to cure those ills that ail you. Try it today!

OK well, Rein doesn't get quite that archaic in his recent interview with Develop, but he's bombastic about the rendering technology, promising that it will run great on any device you can throw at it, far into the future. Rein says Epic does want to "raise the bar on mobiles" as it did with Infinity Blade, but that the recent DirectX 11 demo is targeted squarely at would-be new console developers. Rein wants the demo to be "the big leap that we think justifies that new piece of hardware you're going to build," whether that be the Xbox 720, the PlayStation 4, or whatever else hardware manufacturers dream up.

Also, that nasty back pain you've been dealing with? Rein doesn't actually say the Unreal Engine will get rid of it, but it's worth a try, right friend?

Mark Rein: Unreal's 'focus is all devices' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dungeon Defenders delivers Unreal Engine to Android next week

Andrew Yoon — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST

Will Unreal Engine be able to take over the Android sales charts, much as it has on iOS with Infinity Blade? Trendy Entertainment hopes so, as it plans on bringing the first Unreal Engine-powered game to Android phones next week, on December 23rd. Dungeon Defenders: First Wave is a tower defense-RPG hybrid that our own Mike Schramm described as "fast-paced, complex and, at times, utterly overwhelming."

Dungeon Defenders is already available on iOS for $2.99, and we're assuming the Android version won't differ significantly. If you're wondering if the game will work on your Android device, check out the system requirements after the break.

Continue reading Dungeon Defenders delivers Unreal Engine to Android next week

Dungeon Defenders delivers Unreal Engine to Android next week originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 18 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unreal Engine 3 overview video touts new visual effects

David Hinkle — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:30:00 EST

Directional light shafts, color grading and cascaded shadow maps may seem like gobbledygook to most of us, but to developers, they're important. At least Epic thinks these terms for Unreal Engine 3 features are important enough to use as selling points. Just past the break, you can check out a new video demonstration of the tech.

Additionally, Epic has released a new beta version of its free Unreal Engine 3 UDK today, now featuring an additional map and "many improvements to the Unreal Editor." If you'd like to grab it, head on over to the official site.

Continue reading Unreal Engine 3 overview video touts new visual effects

Unreal Engine 3 overview video touts new visual effects originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See gameplay 'target' footage of Spielberg's canceled Project LMNO

Randy Nelson — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:45:00 EST

It's common practice for developers to create "target" footage of their games early in the development process in order to give their artists and designers something to shoot for. Following its look back at the now-canceled collaboration between EA and director Steven Spielberg, Project LMNO, 1UP has posted what it says is target gameplay footage from the cooperative "escape" game.

It's a (very) brief clip, but it clearly shows the A.I.-driven future girl "Eve" from a first-person perspective, and actions that imply that it's the player's character looking at her. The player sniffs a rose that's sitting in a vase on the table of the diner they appear to be in, and passes it to her. Eve smells it next, showing a range of reactions on her face, then abruptly bolts from the table when a sinister black Humvee pulls up outside. This is presumably the beginning of an escape sequence, and sees Eve performing inhuman acrobatic moves to traverse the restaurant.

The footage is clearly pre-rendered, and it's not much to go on, but it's unquestionably neat to see what Project LMNO could have looked like. You can see for yourself just after the break.

Continue reading See gameplay 'target' footage of Spielberg's canceled Project LMNO

See gameplay 'target' footage of Spielberg's canceled Project LMNO originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1UP examines Spielberg's LMNO, the game that 'tried to do too much'

James Ransom-Wiley — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:00:00 EST

If EA and the Steven Spielberg couldn't pull of a first-person hybrid built on "escape gameplay" and driven by an emotional co-op dynamic, featuring an AI-controlled partner -- spoiler alert -- from the future, whose character evolution was to be determined by non-verbal interaction with the player, then who could pull it off? Probably no one. "LMNO," as this project was code-named, was officially canned by EA last month -- and it's been dead for at least a year, according to 1UP's new in-depth investigation into the game.

The report -- and definitely read the whole thing -- is a compelling tale in and of itself: the inside scoop on a big-budget experiment (a "hyper-replayable" 2- to 3-hour game with no multiplayer) that would later morph into an Uncharted clone (complete with "an alien version of Megan Fox"), dubbed The Escape Artist, before being canceled altogether. But the LMNO story is also a striking reminder of just how inflexible AAA game development has become.

EA tried admirably to invest in new IP several years ago, but its actually released games didn't provide the returns the publisher had expected from consumers. Had it come together as original designers Doug Church and Randy Smith once envisioned, LMNO could have been EA's most ambitious original IP to date. Instead, it fell apart as the industry fell back on iteration (you know, "sequelitis") and made jaw-dropping investments in socially-networked casual gaming as the path to future profitability.

LMNO once carried the heavy burden of being the video game that would finally "make you cry." Assuming that the industry has yet to recognize this milestone as having been achieved, the mission now seems better suited for an indie developer with nothing to lose; one free from the concerns of the corporate goliath: namely, staying in business.

[Pictured: Pre-Megan Fox "Eve" character concept; source: 1UP]

1UP examines Spielberg's LMNO, the game that 'tried to do too much' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DmC: Devil May Cry to utilize Unreal Engine

David Hinkle — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:20:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

It would seem that DmC: Devil May Cry is really going the distance with the reboot concept -- to the point that Ninja Theory's upcoming stab at the series will employ a completely different game engine than DMC4. The developer confirmed on its forums that Dante's next adventure will be powered by Epic's Unreal Engine (just like it's Enslaved for Namco Bandai) and not Capcom's go-to multiplatform development suite, MT Framework; which has powered many of Capcom's premier titles this console generation, including the last DMC game.

To date, only internal Capcom studios have created games with MT Framework, but the company has said it's willing to share with external studios. Earlier this year, Capcom published its first Unreal Engine 3 game in Airtight Games' Dark Void. Ninja Theory's Enslaved, which will be released next week (published by Namco Bandai), is also an Unreal-powered game.

[Thanks, original fred]

DmC: Devil May Cry to utilize Unreal Engine originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gears of War art director makes an Unreal movie pitch

Griffin McElroy — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Epic Games' Jerry O'Flaherty, art director for the original Gears of War title and once-reported director of the upcoming Thundercats film reboot, recently put together a unique pitch for a film tentatively titled Samurai. Well, okay, the film itself doesn't look too terribly unique (it's like 300, but with more wakizashi), but the fact that almost all of its backgrounds and special effects were created using the Unreal Engine sets it apart from most modern cinematic projects.

O'Flaherty explains in the pitch's description that it was created "with the intent of sharing all of the environment assets ... between the movie and the game." Seeing as how the pitch was shot with zero budget in two days, this simple proof of concept (posted after the jump) could lead to an even greater influx of cost-efficient video game-to-short film adaptations. Hey, don't give us that look! Those can be pretty good on occasion.

Continue reading Gears of War art director makes an Unreal movie pitch

Gears of War art director makes an Unreal movie pitch originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BioWare Montreal seeking multiplayer programmers with Unreal Engine experience

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:30:00 EST

A job listing for "multiplayer programmers" has appeared on EA's official website, specifically for BioWare Montreal -- a studio that describes itself in the same listing as "working on Mass Effect, one of the industry's most beloved and acclaimed franchises, as we build our way toward becoming a fully self-sufficient BioWare studio." EA's Montreal-based recruiter, Jeff Goldstein, apparently had a similar listing on his LinkedIn page (no longer available but captured by CinemaBlend), which pegged the multiplayer programmers as working on the "Mass Effect Franchise."

The position additionally requires "experience with the Unreal Engine" -- out of BioWare's current and known franchises, Mass Effect is the only one to use Unreal. Alarmingly, the listing fails to point out that, if applicants are to work on a Mass Effect 3 multiplayer component, they'll be working on the hardest game development task of all time. We can't even begin to wonder how multiplayer dialogue trees work.

When contacted for comment, an EA rep told Joystiq, "Mass Effect is a rich, dynamic fiction designed as a trilogy. The team at BioWare is working on new downloadable content for Mass Effect 2 and are in the early stages of Mass Effect 3 development."

[Thanks, Khai; via NeverKnowTech]

BioWare Montreal seeking multiplayer programmers with Unreal Engine experience originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic's free Unreal Development Kit adds Steamworks

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 26 May 2010 05:00:00 EST

Epic has released an update to its Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free version of Unreal Engine 3. The update includes a host of new features, but one of the most significant additions is support for Steamworks. According to the changelog, Steam has become the default online system for UDK and will handle online functions like friends, matchmaking and server browsing.

The update also adds Scaleform GFx, which allows game creators to build attractive user interfaces. You can check out a video of Scaleform GFx in action after the break. Head over to Shacknews for the full list of new UDK tweaks.

Continue reading Epic's free Unreal Development Kit adds Steamworks

Epic's free Unreal Development Kit adds Steamworks originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 May 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Half-Life 2 mod Age of Chivalry becomes commercial Unreal game

David Hinkle — Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 EST

Those of you entrenched in the Source mod community may recall Age of Chivalry, a Half-Life 2 mod set in medieval times. It gained a following, and now developer Team Chivalry has announced a new project: Chivalry: Battle for Agatha. This time around, however, Team Chivalry is ditching Source and going with Epic's Unreal Development Kit to build the latest version of its fantasy world.

Right now, there's no word on when the game will be released, but Team Chivalry is looking for alpha testers. If you're interested, check out this post on the forums.

Gallery: Chivalry: Battle for Agatha

[Via Shacknews]

Half-Life 2 mod Age of Chivalry becomes commercial Unreal game originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crytek interested in offering free development platform

David Hinkle — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:30:00 EST

When Epic offered the Unreal SDK free to all users, it got Crytek to thinking -- specifically, thinking about doing the same thing. Speaking to Develop, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli said that his company is looking to offer a free platform for budding game developers "that will be up to speed" with CryEngine 3.

It's nothing new to Crytek, which offered free versions of its previous platforms to the modding community, but this new venture is something different -- a "standalone free platform that people can run independent of CryEngine that will also be up to speed with the latest engine," Yerli hopes. While he's quick to point out it's not the same thing as what Epic and Unity are doing -- another popular game development tool that offers a bit of variety in free and premium toolsets -- we're hard-pressed to find much of a difference between the two.

Crytek curently has no timetable for release of the new platform, nor has it commented on potential tech and licensing agreements stemming from the new venture.

Crytek interested in offering free development platform originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC: This is what Unreal Engine 3 on iPhone looks like

Christopher Grant — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:35:00 EST

Unreal Engine 3 on the iPhone ... it looked better in person!

While we've yet to see Unreal Engine 3 ported to Nintendo's Wii or Sony's PSP, Epic did undertake the considerable task of squeezing its seemingly ubiquitous middleware platform onto Apple's similarly ubiquitous iPhone. According to Epic's Josh Adams - Epic Games' senior console programmer - that could be due to fundamental hardware limitations in the other platforms. You see, the iPhone 3GS has a PowerVR SGX graphics processor which supports programmable shaders. According to Adams, "Programmable shaders are something UE3 is pretty much dependent on."

Though you're probably most familiar with Unreal Engine on Windows, Xbox 360, and PS3, Adams says the engine also runs on Nvidia's Tegra 2 platform, on Linux, and on Mac, though (Adams notes) "we haven't shipped any games on those platforms yet." Adams says the iPhone port was "a fun 'Can we get UE3 onto the iPhone?' kind of project." Though Adams' presentation was exceptionally technical - this is the Game Developers Conference, after all! - it's fascinating to hear about the technical underpinnings and workflows that result in this type of outcome.

Continue reading GDC: This is what Unreal Engine 3 on iPhone looks like

GDC: This is what Unreal Engine 3 on iPhone looks like originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic showing off APB, new Unreal features at GDC

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:20:00 EST

As has become custom, Epic has announced that it will be showing off new Unreal Engine features during a press conference at GDC 2010. Some of the new features include a new "procedural artist-driven tool" for creating buildings and new tool for "continuous branching objects such as roads, sidewalks, tentacles, roots, vines, cabling, and railway tracks." A new foliage demo -- which will be viewable in 3-D -- is set to highlight the engine's new features. In addition to its Unreal Engine 3 conference, Epic will also host live demonstrations of the upcoming Realtime Worlds MMO, APB.

Joystiq will be on hand for both events, so stay tuned for coverage next week.

Epic showing off APB, new Unreal features at GDC originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Make Something Unreal winners announced

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:15:00 EST

Epic has announced the winners of its Make Something Unreal contest, in which several teams competed to create the best mod of Unreal Tournament 3 using the recently released -- and free -- Unreal Development Kit. The winner of the contest of the contest is the team led by Michael 'Hegi' Hegemann for its title The Haunted. A third-person survival horror action game, The Haunted looks something like a Wild West version of Left 4 Dead. As the winner of the contest, the team will receive $50,000 and a commercial license for the Unreal Engine, meaning the team can actually release an Unreal Engine title as a commercial product.

Assuming the team chooses to make The Haunted a retail product -- complete with what can only be described as a portable zombie blender -- consider us pumped. See the full list of Make Something Unreal winners, courtesy of Big Download, after the break. Also be sure to visit the Make Something Unreal website, where you can download all of the winning entries.

Update: As some commenters have pointed out, the team responsible for The Haunted is not ModDB -- which hosts the mod -- but rather an unnamed team headed by Michael 'Hegi' Hegemann. The information has been corrected in the above post. The team's work can be seen at hells-reach.com. Joystiq apologizes for the error.

Gallery: The Haunted (UT3 mod)

Continue reading Make Something Unreal winners announced

Make Something Unreal winners announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix explains The Last Remnant's technical shortcomings

Andrew Yoon — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:15:00 EST

The Last Remnant represented a major experiment for Square Enix. Not only was it one of the company's first Xbox 360 games, it utilized the Unreal Engine, a first for the Japanese publisher. Unfortunately, the experiment wasn't quite successful, with critics calling it "a technical mess." Thankfully, the company isn't simply ignoring its mistakes, with Square Enix's new chief technology officer explaining how the misuse of the Unreal Engine led to such disappointing results. "One of the traps with middleware (like Unreal) is that some game teams believe that, because they got this middleware, maybe they need less programmers on their team, or maybe they don't need that many skilled programmers," Julien Merceron told Gamasutra.

By relying too much on middleware, teams face precarious situations when issues arise that can't be solved internally. "You don't have anyone that is able to solve the problem on your team," Merceron explained. In the case of The Last Remnant, the "problem" happened to be a wildly inconsistent framerate.

Merceron isn't advising against using middleware, noting "it won't be possible anymore to work without middleware because of time, talent, and cost reasons." Hopefully, under the new guidance of Merceron, Square Enix won't repeat the same mistakes it made with The Last Remnant.

Square Enix explains The Last Remnant's technical shortcomings originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bioware: 'Mass Effect is for the PC and Xbox 360'

David Hinkle — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:20:00 EST

Okay, there seems to be some confusion out there. Gamers have taken a microscope to the code in the PC version of Mass Effect 2, which they claim hints at an inevitable PS3 release. Well, we hate to break it to you, but it looks like that's not gonna happen.

Bioware's Chris Priestly hopped onto the forums to bring some balance to the Matrix. "The Unreal Engine is cross platform, hence the PS3 code," he said. "This was brought up back in Mass Effect 1 days as well."

So, there you have it. Priestly also added one last quote, to help drive the point home: "Mass Effect is for the PC and Xbox 360."

[Via GameWire]

Bioware: 'Mass Effect is for the PC and Xbox 360' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unreal Engine 3 up and running (and shooting) on iPhone

Randy Nelson — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:30:00 EST

[AnandTech]

Epic Games has again shown itself a practitioner of the dark magicks by porting its powerhouse Unreal Engine 3 to iPhone. AnandTech got a peak at a playable tech demo, featuring a weapon and architecture from the Unreal Tournament series. Although, the site says it was told this shouldn't be taken as a sign that Epic is getting into iPhone game development.

The demo evidently ran quite smoothly, but the engine requires Open GL ES 2.0, meaning that it will only run on the iPhone 3GS or the third-generation iPod Touch. Check out a quick -- we're talking 15 seconds -- video of the demo, made by AnandTeach, after the break.

Continue reading Unreal Engine 3 up and running (and shooting) on iPhone

Unreal Engine 3 up and running (and shooting) on iPhone originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scourge Project 3rd-person shooting to Steam, XBLA

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:30:00 EST

click to enlarge

Tragnarion Studios has announced that it will soon bring its third-person shooter, entitled The Scourge Project -- first announced in 2007 -- to Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and Steam. The game, powered by the Unreal Engine, promises "a unique focus on co-operative narrative and gameplay," in which each of the four playable characters will have a unique perspective on the story. From a more meat-and-potatoes standpoint, the game features five hours of gameplay over four levels, nine different weapons and co-op for up to four players (each with different special abilities). The Scourge Project also offers versus multiplayer for up to sixteen players and includes deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and "Frontier."

The game certainly seems to be packing some graphical chops, especially compared to Tragnarion's previous project for the DS, a puzzler called Doodle Hex. The game is expected to debut on Steam this month, while the XBLA version is scheduled to arrive in March 2010. The press release does mention a PSN version of the game, though it doesn't appear in the body of the text. We've contacted Tragnarion to see if the PSN listing was legitimate or made in error.

Check out some screens in the gallery below and find more info on the official Scourge Project site.

[Via Big Download]

Gallery: The Scourge Project

Scourge Project 3rd-person shooting to Steam, XBLA originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Free Unreal Dev Kit already has over 50K users

Xav de Matos — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST

Epic Games announced that the free version of its Unreal Engine 3 development kit (UDK) has surpassed 50,000 downloads since it was released to the public last week. The UDK -- which affords developers the opportunity to create non-commercial games, or titles for sale with a royalty sharing option with the company -- has been downloaded in over 130 countries and 4,500 cities across the world, according to information Epic provided to news site Develop.

Epic vice president Mark Rein was "thrilled" the studio was able to provide the tools to schools and students, allowing them to use the same tool used by "many of the top game developers and publishers around the world." We're excited to see what the community can do with the tools, considering the issues certain teams have had with the engine in the past. Currently the tools only allow budding developers to create software for the PC.

Free Unreal Dev Kit already has over 50K users originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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