Saturday, July 24, 2010

Thoughts from Comic Con

Hey- just wanted to pop in and say a quick 'hey' to everyone, post a few pics, let you know what is up.

So we had a fantastic panel yesterday- packed house! To all blog readers who were there, thank you SO MUCH for showing up. We were so surprised we packed it. I shit you not: I expected about 20 people. Ya'll are too kind.

Will be posting some pics of stuff I saw and loved from the show a bit later in the weak. Meantime, two things:

#1- PICS FROM THE LIVE ACTION SHOOTS

Here are some behind the scenes pics from our ending movies for the new Twisted Metal. Lots more work to do on the post processing effects but I think we're off to a great start!

NOTE: YES, Tooth is gonna have flaming hair. As you can see from all the green, we're going to be doing TONS of post effects on these, from adding in the backgrounds, to adding in props, to- in this case- giving Tooth his signature hairdo.


Image of PREACHER represents the direction we're heading in for the look of the flicks. Not done yet by a long shot, but we think it's off to a cool start.

NOTE: A good 85% of the shots will be dream like slow motion with Twisted Metal:Black style voice overs. To be 100% frank, that helps reduce the cheese that can sometimes creep into these sorts of game flicks. Some scenes that we showed for comic con may end up feeling too cheese for our taste and so our secret weapon is to slow it down, add the voice over while still seeing the actors talking but no longer hearing the cheese dialogue. Again, most of the slow mo shots were planned way in advance but just so you know: we're looking out for the cheese and if it creeps in, we have a way to eradicate it! :)

#2- WE HEAR YOU! :) - Scott, Kellan, and I went to breakfast today to discuss the overwhelmingly positive comic con reaction (as well as to get some design work done). We also discussed the fact that some of ya'll are not digging only seeing 3 of the Twisted Metal characters in the game (4 actually if you count Preacher). Two things to that:

a- please keep in mind this Twisted Metal single player and co-op will be more varied than ANY TM you've ever played. We are NOT doing GTA style missions or vehicle escorts and such BUT we DO have mechanics laid on top of the core campaign deathmatch that adds to the play varied so you don't get bored. We also have more bosses than any TM game. We also have around 35-45 minutes of live action and- when it's done- super cool stories in the game (more than- I THINK- we've ever done). So while you may be disappointed by the fact that there are currently no plans for Marcus Kane or Bloody Mary or No Face, please know that the one player/campaign game you DO get is going to be the best one we've ever made.

b- we hear you. We talked about it at breakfast today and discussed possible ways to address the concern. Can we make those adjustments to the game in the time we have left? Not sure, no idea. But for those who respectfully voiced your issue, it is appreciated, the development and publishing team is aware of your issue, and we are looking to see if there is anything we an do about it. No promises at all. But just so ya know, ya'll are being heard. And it's appreciated.

Ok, heading home to get my kids. I always have them stay over in the last nite of the con (they are still so young that they get a mega kick out of staying in a hotel). Then in the morning we're gonna hit the Comic Con Kid's Day! Gotta bolt- hope all is well!

Later!

David