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The Week Ending November 15, 1999
Daily editorial
on trends in the gaming
industry and
hot topics.
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Interested in the process of game development? Sound, graphics, code, and design are all covered
in our game design section.
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Quake 3 Tour Bus
Two weeks ago I had a chance to visit the Quake 3: Arena tour bus, which has been traveling across the Western United States for the past few months. Although the idea of a bus traveling around the country to promote a game is nothing new (Starsiege: Tribes had a similar promotion last year), I have to admit to being very impressed with the whole experience. Best of all, visitors to the bus receive an advanced look – and a chance to play – two maps which have yet to be released on the Internet by id. After having a practice round on one map, you get a chance to move onto a labyrinth-like castle map for the actual deathmatch game against other fans on the bus, with a 20 frag limit. Besides offering an exclusive peak at new game content, I think these bus tours serve as a great way for fans to unite and get to know each other. Let's hope the Quake 3: Arena bus tour is a sign of things to come!
Delta Force 2
Let me tell you a little story about a company named Novalogic. It was circa 1993, and there I was, playing this incredible new helicopter game called Comanche, which used a nifty graphic trick called voxels to create vast and realistic landscapes. All told, Comanche was a great game. Now, six years later, Novalogic still seems sold on voxels, despite the fact the entire game industry has moved toward 3D acceleration. Case in point: Delta Force 2, Novalogic's second entry into the much-contested tactical simulation niche of the market. I have to admit that Delta Force 2 has a lot going for it in terms of the variety of missions and Internet voice support out of the box (the game even comes with a headset). Unfortunately, all this doesn't matter one iota, because Delta Force 2 is a voxel-based game. There I was, just a few days ago, loading up the game and being dropped into a pixilated environment. To add insult to injury, the frame rate was as slow as molasses on a P2400 in 640x480 resolution. Sure, I may seem shallow, but when a game's graphics are so behind the curve, does the rest of the game really even matter? The graphics in Delta Force mar the gameplay experience so much that it doesn't matter what's beneath the surface. I think Novalogic has the talent to pull off a good tactical combat game, but the first thing they need to do is drop those darn voxels!
Although I seldom venture into discussing game marketing outside of my advertising Gist List, I can't help but spend some time this week congratulating LucasArts and Product Marketing Mananger Tom Byron on the fantastic campaign developed for Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, arriving in stores next week. You may remember I praised the game's teaser ad with an "A" rating a few weeks ago. Now, I can't help but give the whole campaign a big thumbs up. The latest 2-page ads to hit the gaming magazines are fantastic, the box art looks incredible, and best of all, LucasArts has put together what I'd argue is one of the best video trailers of gameplay I've ever seen. Most game trailers in this industry are nothing more than a haphazardly assembled hodgepodge of boring gameplay footage, but this trailer breaks through the clutter thanks to impressive action sequences, great editing, and some help from John Williams' famous Indiana Jones theme music. If you're looking for one of 199's most salient marketing campaigns for a PC game, look no further than this one. I simply cannot wait to play the game – Let's hope it lives up to the excitement generated by the marketing material. You can check out the video trailer and other Indy information here at the official site.
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