It’s been quite a while since my last update on anything! Firstly I’ve moved the Out Of Hell main site onto this blog which should make things easier to update in the future. I’ll be changing this and that as time goes on but this will be sort of my ‘Projects’ page now and will eventually list the projects that I’m working on or have worked on. Typing in http://www.outofhell.net should also redirect you to here soon.
Lately people have been asking what I’ve been doing.
So as far as games go, I played a lot of City Of Heroes/Villians and Age Of Conan, both of which were really fun but I got tired of the endgame. Also ran through Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (which I didn’t care much for) STALKER: Call Of Pripyat which was one of the best games I’ve played in a long time, some more Blair Witch: Rustin Parr (I repeatedly play through it a few times a year)
Clive Barker’s Jericho which was very nice (especially the monster art) despite some game mechanics, got my hands on a used X-Files: Resist Or Serve for the PS2 (I’m a huge X-Files freak and that game had so much more potential…so much!!!) bought the FMV X-Files game for the PSone at a flea market for 10 bucks, got my hands on used copies of both BW: Legend Of Coffin Rock and BW: The Elly Kedward Tale and finished those (which I didn’t enjoy much and which were nowhere near as good as RP)
I finished the Splatterhouse Remake (which was much better than I thought it would be but I wish it was less humorous and more sinister) and finally got onboard the COD train with Blops. So as you can see I’ve been playing a lot of games in my downtime!
Now, onto the projects!
I’ve begun worked on my next horror game. It’s not a mod or Total Conversion but will be an indie game which I plan to take commercial. At this point in time I’ve got a nice design doc all fleshed out and all monsters and weapons completed (modeled/rigged/textured) Player and NPC’s have been modeled and rigged but are in the process of being textured. Not very much has been made official yet regarding this project but I will say that it is new intellectual property and not a remake of Out Of Hell but will borrow elements from it, it is a game that heavily focuses on the survival aspect of things and it will feature a fairly open world to explore. I’m really excited about it so please stay tuned for more news as I will go official with the project sometime soon.
HEY WAIT! What happened to that other game you were working on?
Ah yes, the medieval tactics game I talked about in a previous post. Unfortunately I had to put it on the backburner some time ago despite making some models for it as I could not find a suitable coder to help in prototyping it. A tactics-type game requires a lot of complex coding (which I wouldn’t be able to ‘wing it’ on) Without at least a basic functioning proof-of-concept I would be stuck with just a bunch of artwork so I set it on the back-burner before committing too much time into it.
Today I edited a small texture file for one of the OOH forumers and so I had to go through my old master files to find it. After going through the old texture packages and then loading up OOH to test out the changes, I ended up playing the thing for about 45 minutes and it was actually great!
It was really something to visit it again and play it from the perspective of a gamer and not a developer. Before, I was always critical of this or that during testing, always thinking that ‘Oh, I should have done this, or that could have been done so much better’ but this time, I went through it and really appreciated the whole package. I found myself really drawn into the the atmosphere and music and was constantly hit by pangs of nostalgia.
It truly is my baby and it really was a great experience working on it. It was a little saddening knowing that it was all in the past, that I could never have the same experience again. It’s sort of like walking past a childhood place or home and remembering how important it was for you during that time of your life. Ah nostalgia!
But now it’s passed and I know that it was merely a stepping stone (important as it was) onto bigger and greater things. Now that I’m aware of this and onto a new project, I’m going to savor every little experience I get from it and perhaps in a couple of years, I’ll write about this new project with the same fondness.
Over the last while (since GDC) I’ve tried setting up other projects but it’s been difficult. One of the projects was a remake of Out Of Hell utilizing the UDK. I created a nice concept map but unfortunately nothing much really came of it due to lack of motivation and a few other issues, so I took a break from the Out Of Hell universe. I plan to revisit it again one day and give it the treatment that it deserves with a full team of experienced artists and coders by my side.
Shortly after that I began toying around with the UDK and set up a foundation for a side-scroller game. I drew up ideas for a mech-themed game, a space SHMUP, a Metroidvania-styled game and even played around with converting Out Of Hell into a sidescroller! At the end of it all I couldn’t come up with anything fresh to add to the genre and inspiration dwindled.
Then I remembered something I created way WAY back in the day, years before Out Of Hell. It was a board game that I designed and built in the mid 90’s that (surprisingly) turned out to be really fun, really addictive and quite unique. I went on to design new boards and updated the game rules over the years and people always came back to it. A few friendships even ended because of in-game events, so you know it’s got to be good!!!!
Work on this new project has already begun and utilizes the UDK. It’s unique, is something that will be worth the time and investment to make and something I believe people will play and enjoy!
I haven’t officially announced the game but it will be a multiplayer, medieval-themed tactics game. I’ve started building art assets for it and am looking into laying down the game foundation. It is again a solo effort (at the moment) but I hope to build a team for it as it progresses. The rest of the details must be left in the dark until an official website is launched.
Honestly, I haven’t been this excited to start a project for years. It’s easy for me to remain inspired and motivated and it’s always something that I wanted to bring into the digital realm. I’ll keep you all posted on any new happenings and I hope you’ll all come along for the ride as you did before!
It’s ironic that during the development of Out Of Hell, I couldn’t wait to get it all done and out the door so that I could be free. It was a project that I loved and loved working on but after a few years, it really felt like a burden at times. I couldn’t do certain things, couldn’t play certain games because it would cut into too much project time. I spent nearly every weekend during those 7 years sitting in front of the PC building that game. Imagine my relief when it was fully uploaded and done with! I wouldn’t have to deal with it again…
But now, months after, I find myself missing it! How weird is that? I guess I don’t miss the project itself as much as I miss having something to do, something to pour my time and investment into. I guess it’s sort of like living with someone and getting sick of them and then missing their company after they’ve moved out! Oh the irony.
Pre-GDC I spent some time winding down and catching up on some games that I hadn’t had the time to get into but now that GDC has come and gone, I’m beginning to get the development-crazies again. Itchy fingers, my mind swims with ideas and concepts, I get restless doing nothing with my time.
I had a few project ideas, ones that I came up with during the OOH years but put off until OOH was done. Now I’ve begun on another project, one that I think will surprise many of you. Could it be an addition to the OOH universe? An expansion, sequel, remake or……
…neither?
My head is full of ideas; a ghost-themed game, something futuristic with mech combat, an old-school top-down space shooter, even a Double Dragon-ish beat ’em up! With the UDK available and the upcoming release of CryEngine for indie use, it’s an exciting time for us all!
I’m going only where the motivation and inspiration takes me and will be officially announcing the project in the coming months! I’m sure you’ll all be pleasantly surprised with what I cook up!
I was fortunate enough to attend GDC 2010 in vibrant San Francisco and WOW, what an experience! It was a very busy few days with lots of running around, meetings, talks and gatherings! I wish I took more pictures but I’m lousy at photography and the ones that I took are all very ‘meh’.
Justin and I had the honor of meeting with Hitoshi Sakimoto on our first day there and he was one of the most pleasant, soft-spoken individuals I’ve ever met. Hitoshi Sakimoto (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitoshi_Sakimoto) has composed music for games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy XII, Ogre Battle, Legaia 2, Odin Sphere, Breath Of Fire, Valkyria Chronicles to name only a few. He also composed MY FAVOURITE shmup soundtrack ever for Gradius V, which in my humble opinion, is the finest space shmup ever built. (I nearly bought a second copy of it for the PS2, just to have in it’s original wrapped form! It’s a rare gem IF you can find it.) We spent some time sharing stories and actually talked about Out Of Hell and our plans for the future. At the end we exchanged business cards, he wished us luck and success on our future projects and took some pictures! This was an unbelievable start to an unbelievable trip.
(From left to right: Dmitri, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Justin Lassen, Long Nguyen)
Our next order of business was to visit the Epic booth which was an ‘unreal’ experience! There were really kind and motivational things said of Out Of Hell, the hard work and the time that had gone into it. We sat in on a UDK demonstration outlining some new and powerful features and tried our hand at UDK running with 3D Vision support which was fantastic. If the GDC trip had ended there for me, I still would have left a very, very happy man.
We dropped by the Intel booth where I saw an Out Of Hell video used as part of a demonstration to show off some really exciting new sound technology! It was surreal seeing that, especially when one of the zombies got shot and groaned, and I let out the EXACT same groan only louder (I recorded myself doing all the zombie noises for Out Of Hell) and everyone at the booth burst out in laughter! It was great times!
Here is one story I’m sure all of the Silent Hill fans out there would appreciate. After our final meeting on the second day, I was completely wiped so I told Justin that I needed to head back to the hotel to rest up for a couple of hours or so. About 30 minutes after I left, Justin met none other than Akira Yamaoka! AKIRA YAMAOKA!!!! Legendary composer and producer behind the Silent Hill series, THE MAIN INSPIRATION behind Out Of Hell!
GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!
When Justin told me about this later at a party my jaw hit the floor and didn’t come back up for a good 15 minutes! If only I hadn’t wussed out and stayed just that extra half hour!
WTGQERQTEREWQDFWFQGFWE!!!!!!1!!!1
So here is what I learned from going to the GDC folks: SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!
(From left to right: Justin Lassen, Akira Yamaoka, David Chan.
On the far right: NOT ME **Slaps forehead**)
I was also honored to attend a party full of game industry vets and legends on one of the nights. The evening was actually kind of a blur to me. I didn’t feel worthy enough to be shaking hands with, let alone being in the same room as these people! I met so many great people that night from indie devs (some with roots in the modding scene) to legendary game creators responsible for some of the greatest games in the industry. I even met with geniuses Tim Cain of Fallout fame and Lorne Lanning who created the Oddworld series! It’s definately one of those times where I wish I could redo over again just so that I could have more meaningful things to say but in all honesty I was too awe-struck and I blanked!
I have so much more I’d like to write but it would just become a wall of text, so I’ll end it here by saying that my first GDC experience was AMAZING, we had a lot of great meetings and I met so many great people, all of whom I never thought I’d have the pleasure of shaking hands with! Thanks to all of those involved for making this such a memorable trip and I hope for many more like it in the future!
ZOMG! There really isn’t any other word that I can think of at the moment! Out Of Hell was nominated by the editors of Moddb.com as having the “Best Original Art Direction”, one of the categories in their yearly “Mod Of The Year” award that goes back quite a few years! I’ve put countless hours into establishing a unique, deeply atmospheric experience with visuals that are both inspiring and disturbing.
Here are some quotes from the editors at Moddb:
“Best Original Art Direction Is…Out of Hell – Unreal Tournament 2004. It’s one thing to give this award to a mod who uses an engine which is known for it’s graphical fidelity. It’s another to award those who push the limits for older engines. It’s for this reason that Out of Hell, wins best original art of 2009. Amazing vistas, horrific surprises and a thrilling atmosphere to boot. No other mod nominated raises the bar for what games can look like, with just a little bit of TLC.” – MODDB.com
“…Original in the sense means that it was created for this game and the direction it took did not change during the entire mod, the atmosphere, the art even the music and story are all fresh and unique…” – Moddb
What an absolute honor it is to be recognized in this way! I’ll close this post off by saying THANK YOU to all of those that voted for Out Of Hell and allowing it to place among the Top 100 mods of 2009, THANK YOU to all of those in the Out Of Hell community for your ongoing support, and THANK YOU Editors of Moddb for your nomination!
You can view the page here: http://www.moddb.com/events/2009-mod-of-the-year-awards/winners#customtab
Video Announcement here: http://www.moddb.com/events/2009-mod-of-the-year-awards/features/best-original-art-direction-2009
The results of the Out Of Hell screenshot contest are in! We had a great turnout and it was difficult narrowing down the winners but here are our picks! We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who submitted their screenshots and the community for it’s part in helping us achieve over 30,000 downloads! Thanks for continuing to support us!
We would also like to thank the following sponsors: Valve Software, Creative Labs , Epic Games, and Nihil Records for their support and donations!
Without further delay, here are our contest winners! (Click on the links below the images to view full size)
1st place winners:
(All of our first prize winners get a copy of Left4Dead 2 and a Synesthesia CD pack!!)
Best Atmosphere
DEAD DAWN by Snuffs
Best Horror
EYES OF THE DEMON by Heyheymueha
Funniest Caption
RUSSIAN ROULETTE by Graykin
2nd place winners:
(All of our second prize winners get a ARENA SURROUND USB Gaming Headset!)
Best Atmosphere
DESOLATION by Dremth
Best Horror
DEADLY DUSK by Doggy
Funniest Caption
GIVE ME A BITE by REV
3rd place winners:
(All of our third prize winners get a GEARS OF WAR Comic signed by the creators!)
Best Atmosphere
ABANDONED IN HELL by Trunkwontopen
Best Horror
CORNERED by Purple Tear
Funniest Caption
TOO MANY LEAVES by Bradence
There you have it! A huge thanks to all of those who participated! Since this is only the first, look forward to similar contests in the future with more cool prizes!
LONG NGUYEN | Digital Artist & Game Designer 