At Last! A New Name!

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Brad Carney

So I’ve spent the past few weeks discussing new game names, and I think I’ve finally hit the jackpot!

While discussing possible names, we’ve had a lot of talks about what goes into a great name. Some people have told me short, simple, powerful words are the way to go; others like a sleek, catchy phrase; some like acronyms… but I told them “No! You know what makes for a great game name? SPONSORSHIP!”

You see, financing a big indie game like this is tough – we have a lot of up front costs and don’t see any revenue until much farther down the road. But by working some product placement into the name, we start getting revenue immediately! It’s brilliant! :) Sure, it might cheapen the gaming experience and make me look like a cheap whore, but that’s better than going under, right?

Anyway, I know you guys are just dying to know the new name, so without further ado, Project Vega’s permanent new name is…

VIAGRA ADVENTURES

Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do! Thanks to Pfizer, Inc. I think our financial future looks bright!

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Last Bastion Is No More

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Brad Carney

… the name “Last Bastion”, that is!

To avoid confusion with another game that’s coming out sometime soon, we’ll be dropping the name “Last Bastion” (which – let’s face it – a lot of people didn’t care for anyway!). I was hoping to have a new name for you guys, but despite weeks of trying to think of something new, I still have yet to settle upon something I really like. I want to get it right this time, and don’t want to settle for a sub-par name. Hopefully we’ll be able to announce a new name soon. … oh yeah, and when we do, it will likely be accompanied by a new website! :D

Also, big news concerning our first release!

I’m changing up our first release plan. Instead of releasing an alpha, we’ll be doing a pre-order system. By pre-ordering episode 1 of the game (I almost typed “Last Bastion” there – oops!), you’ll get an account which will give you access to the current version as well as updates as we continue to make it! So, instead of getting stuck with an incomplete and possibly buggy (and shitty) version of the game, you’ll get to come along for the ride as we make it! We’ll be able to fix issues, listen to your requests, add features for modders, and most importantly – continue to develop content for, and finish up the game!

That should all be a lot of fun, and it’s coming up soon! Hopefully we’ll be all done and ready to go this summer. Until then…

Posted in News, Updates | 7 Comments

Merry Christmahanakwanzika!

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Brad Carney

Well, with the holiday season here, what better to celebrate this time of giving than with a new batch of screenshots! We’ve all been hard at work trying to finish up the alpha of Last Bastion (which is actually getting close to being finished!), and now have a bunch of screenshots for you from the second map of the game, E1M1 (though that may change considering how thoroughly confusing that is). Enjoy! :)

Posted in News, Screenshots, Updates | 11 Comments

Hey, An Update!

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Brad Carney

So, we’ve been getting ready for our very first release! Considering that this project hasn’t exactly been free to produce, my plan is to help raise some money to finish up the first episode with… a 3-map alpha! For something really cheap (probably $5 or so), you’ll get the first 3 levels of Last Bastion, as well as the level editor! So, not only will you finally be able to play Last Bastion, but you’ll be able to start creating your own custom content as well! More on this later :)

Lately, we’ve been focusing on the theme for the next two levels after what we showed at QuakeCon. In these two levels, you’re traveling through a waste disposal area, so it has a grungy industrial type of look with a lot of damaging nuclear waste. Here are some screenshots of the first area. Enjoy :)

Posted in Screenshots, Updates | 11 Comments

Resolving Color Issues

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Brad Carney

Some of you may have noticed something about the level shown at QuakeCon – it was really gray! This was never intentional, and is something we’ve worked on since then. The reason the level was so gray is because before we knew what we were doing, two texture sets were created – a highly saturated blue texture set, and a fairly desaturated gray texture set. Here’s why I ended up using the much less colorful gray texture set.

Looking at a screen where the majority of the color is super saturated is a bit unsettling – kind of like eating a cake made entirely of frosting. What we’ve discovered is that it’s much better to have most of the screen be a fairly desaturated color, and then use more highly saturated colors in smaller amounts – such as for object textures, HUD graphics, and borders/supports. Had I used the highly saturated blue texture set, looking at the level probably would have been akin to eating too much candy – nice for a bit, but then made you want to puke after awhile. The gray texture set might have been more boring, but at least it didn’t make anyone nauseated :P

So while the gray textures set provided a nice desaturated base for us, it lacked color, and was pretty boring. … until now, that is!

With some additional color (in small amounts!) and texture detail, I’d say it’s greatly improved over the way it looked at QuakeCon!

So, the lesson here is: Keep most of the screen a fairly desaturated color, and then do more saturated colors in small amounts. Are you paying attention budding texture artists? :)

Posted in Game Design, Screenshots, Updates | 7 Comments

New Last Bastion Interview

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Brad Carney

As I mentioned previously on my Twitter feed, a camera crew from The Astringent Gaming Journal came by and shot a piece on Last Bastion at QuakeCon. A couple of them had come by before and seen LB in action, liked what they saw, and returned later with the rest of their camera crew! As a result, I sat with Brad Winders of TAGJ, and answered a bunch of his questions while he played through it.

Enjoy! :)

Posted in News, Screenshots | 2 Comments

QuakeCon Wrap Up – And New Shots!

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Brad Carney

Well, after a great weekend, QuakeCon is over, and we’re all back home. I had a blast this year. It was great getting to meet a bunch of new people and share the latest version of Last Bastion with everyone – something we’ve all worked very hard on.

I was really surprised at how well it was received. Even though this has been in development for a couple of years now and we’ve been working really hard on it, it’s still far from being a finish product – even the first level. But all weekend, people were really intrigued by what we had so far, and I constantly had people coming up to me asking me about it, with the majority of them sitting down and playing through it. With only a couple of exceptions, the feedback on both the visuals and gameplay footage was overwhelmingly positive! :D Needless to say it was a really great feeling.

But hey, don’t take my word for it! Now that QuakeCon is over, I have a full set of screenshots from the first level that was shown there! Enjoy! :)

One last thing: Some of you may be aware that our site got hacked over the weekend. Thankfully, I was able to restore it thanks to the help of Eruanna and Wartorn! Without their help, getting this back up wouldn’t have been possible (and definitely wouldn’t have been possible in such a timely fashion)! They deserve all of our thanks for getting this back up and running! So, thank you! :D

Posted in Screenshots, Updates | 16 Comments

QuakeCon – Back On!

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Brad Carney

As luck would have it, I was able to find a much cheaper hotel that some other Doomers are staying at! I’ll be staying at a Motel 6, which will end up being far more affordable. To give you an idea, a single night at the Hilton Anatole (where QuakeCon is being held) is much more expensive than all three nights combined at Motel 6! (It’s roughly $160 for 1 night versus $120 for 3 nights). Thanks to AwesomeSauce for pointing this out to me! Without him, I likely wouldn’t be going!

If you’re going, let me know so we can coordinate!

Well… I guess this means I actually have to get this thing done! :P

SEE YOU ALL AT QUAKECON!

Posted in News | 8 Comments

One Screenshot

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Brad Carney

Well, I may not be going to QuakeCon, but since I don’t want you all out to dry (and to prove that we actually have been very hard at work and making a lot of progress!), I’ve decided to give you all… a single screenshot! Enjoy!

Posted in Screenshots, Updates | 13 Comments

No QuakeCon This Year

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Brad Carney

I have unfortunately made the decision to not attend QuakeCon this year. While I was previously looking forward to going, I recently discovered that due to the extremely high cost of the hotel rooms, I simply cannot afford to go. The rooms are roughly $150/night, and at 3 nights plus tax, I would be paying $500 simply to have a place to sleep at night (and on top of that I would have the cost of food and gas). Since I don’t have anyone to share a room with, I can’t split the bill with anyone else. My only other option is to find a cheaper hotel somewhere else, but after doing that last year and seeing how much of a hassle it was going back and forth, and given how few people were there last year and are expected to be there this year, it just simply isn’t worth the effort.

I wish things were different. A lot of work has been put into preparing Last Bastion for QuakeCon, but it looks like everyone is going to have to wait awhile longer to see what we’ve been up to.

Posted in News | 7 Comments