A Game Development Blog

Smears of War? 720p Gears 2 screens

The eagerly awaited Gears of War 2 footage was released last night to the delight of fans and gamers. What we saw was some great looking action with far more happening on screen than Gears 1. I was floored when I saw the down sampled video. Upon further inspection of the 720p feed though, it appears that Epic isn’t rendering on screen what we might think.

Check out these full 720p direct feed game captures. Jpgs are not compressed.

720p screen 1
720p screen 2
720p Screen 3
720p Screen 4
720p Screen 5
720p Screen 6

It appears that Epic has applied a strong smear filter to the engine. This smear effect is also similar to the median blur in Photoshop. Why is it there? Is it there for effect? Perhaps. But does it make the game look better? Maybe if you’re using lower res textures and lower poly models. View the images and decide for yourself.

GTA4 Exclusive Xbox 360 Content: Why Retailers Don’t Care

You might be noticing a lot more GTA4 adverts in flyers, websites, and stores of late. You can sometimes see GTA4 plastered on the front pages of some online stores, advertising the game. But I’ve noticed something. I’m not sure I’ve seen more than one store, website or flyer that is mentioning that the Xbox 360 version of GTA4 will be getting exclusive content.

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Free Radical Talks Haze Coming to the PS3

Recently I got the chance to speak with Rob Yescombe from Free Radical, Screenwriter on the hot new PS 3 Shooter Haze. I got the chance to play an early version of the game at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, and Rob was kind enough to take the time to update me on what gamers can look forward to from this hot new titles.

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Some Cool Game Art from 2007

Check out some of the awesome concept art from games from last year of 2007.  Some of the art included is from Viva Pinata, Lair, Team Fortress, Guild Wars, and more.

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Chains of Olympus Dev Backing PS3 Over 360

“I think PS3 will win this generation when all is said and done,” Ready at Dawn’s president told us in an interview published Friday. “What I’m more curious about is the next one really. Microsoft made a dent this time around and can stand to finally get the upper hand if they stick it out and/or if Sony stays complacent like they did early on in this generation. That’s where the real fight is going to be in my opinion.”

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User-generated content the “Holy Grail,” says Home team

The creative director and lead artist of Home want to push user-generated content as a feature, but recognizes that moderation and the quality bar are big issues.

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MGS4 Not the End for Hideo Kojima

Metal Gear Solid 4 will bring an end to the Solid Snake line of Metal Gear games. But, just in case you’ve heard rumors to the otherwise, it won’t bring an end to series creator Hideo Kojima.

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Exciting Video Game Innovations Around the Corner

From time to time, gamers are treated with an evolutionary leap in game design. Or at the very least, a refinement that takes a genre to another level. With the power and innovation being showcased already through the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii, gamers can expect some truly next gen leaps in the way we view and play games as a whole in 2008. We’ve decided to take a closer look at a few of the video game experiences that look to raise the bar.

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World’s 100 most successful studios named next month

The world’s 100 most successful studios in the world will be named in the 2008 edition of the Develop 100 next month.

Released at the start of April with that month’s issue of Develop, the Develop 100 is an establised and authoritative must-read book which is referred to year-round by the global publishing and development community.

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Some other Great Game Dev Blogs

Most of the knowledge available to keen gamers about the gaming industry can be of a pretty low quality. This is because that knowledge is third or fourth hand. As a very minimum it has been “spun” by a marketing department (I have done loads of this) and then “interpreted” by a journalist. But there is a way round this, keen enthusiasts can get their knowledge directly from the horses mouth, if they read the right blogs.

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