It's GDC time, and in the light of the now defunct E3 show, this seems to be becoming one of the high-points of our calendar. I have a sort of indifferent view on the big Preview Shows as a whole, although GDC seems to serves a somewhat greater purpose, in that it's largely about keynote speeches, workshops and all that kind of thing, where developers are the main audience, rather than the reputed bearpit of the nakedly commercial E3, which is, or rather was, more for marketing people than anything else.
Anyway, for proper coverage of the thing, do check out Virgin Worlds, where the Prognosticator is attempting some kind of Podcast Marathon - one a day - throughout the show. Good stuff, but the one that caught my ear in particular, was Tuesday's interview with
Magnus Bergsson, chief marketing chap at CCP, makers of EVE Online.
Virgin Worlds: Podcast #56 - CCP Interview
Sounds like quite a personable chap, and it's quite surprising how many new things are in the works for the veteran internet spaceship game, not least of which is the upcoming ability to get out of the spaceships, at last. Of course, this has been mumbled about for quite a long time, but Bergsson actually demoed a work-in-progress look at this startling leap in the way players will soon play EVE, for Brent during the interview, talking through the various features as he went.
I must admit, I figured it'd be a bit underwhelming, mostly because of the insane detail that goes into making a character's portrait shot on character creation. Surely a full-body avatar with that level of detail will never work in realtime rendering?
For those not used to EVE, when you start a new person, you get to play in this staggeringly complex and stylish 'head shot studio', which even today, allows an almost unbeaten level of facial customisation, all done in a very unique elegant, yet universally brooding style. It's almost impossible to make a 'cute' EVE character, and even the most superficially 'pretty' Gallente Women tend to come out looking more 'haughty chic' than 'vapidly sexy'. All great stuff, but then you press Go! and it basically just takes a snapshot of the results of your careful fiddling, and from then on, only ever refers to the snapshot. Mostly in EVE, you are your spaceship, pretty much, and it's a shame.
That seems all about to change, but being somewhat used to Second Life, I figured these would look horrible, and just end up as a rather sidelined toy. Few people are in EVE to play dress-up. I should have had a bit more faith in the general art direction of CCP though. Ten Ton Hammer seem to have got their hands on the video Brent was shown, so we can all judge for ourselves:
Ten Ton Hammer: Exclusive EVE "Avatars" Video from GDC 2007
Definitely worth a look if you're at all interested in EVE Online. "Is that pre-rendered?", someone asks in the background. "No", Bergsson replies. It's using the massively revamped graphics engine coming soon to EVE, and will probably need a bit of forking out on better PC hardware, I shouldn't wonder, but then we of the PC have to do that kind of thing all the time anyway.
What impresses me, from both Brent's interview and the video clip, is the attention to detail going into the human touches - fidgeting, expression, gestures, all of which from that small clip, seem more realistic than anything I've seen in Second Life, which isn't bad for a bolt-on cosmetic extra to an already solid game. The same brooding style found in the character creation stage, and headshots, seems translated perfectly, allaying my other fears for the new avatars, and all in all, it looks to add a massively cinematic touch to an already Space Opera-esque setting and game.
I'm somewhat more dubious about all this "wardrobe creation tradeskills attracting more girls" notion mind you. Pretty it up all you like, but EVE Online is still a very nerdy and very harsh kind of place. Not that theres anything wrong with that, but those gamers looking for dressing up games would probably still be best off in The Sims or Second Life. I have to admit to being morbidly fascinated by the Hawt Gallente Cyb0r Action Potential of the new system, knowing as I do, the the lowest common denominator usually wins.
Once, not long after launch, I actually saw, and I swear this is absolutely true, an EVE Online In-Game Wedding. It was at the Ceremonial Grounds beacon in the New Caldari system, and had various marker buoys in space for the guests to float near. There was this huge floating ring thing, and the bride, a Caldari Raven Class Battleship measuring several hundred metres long and a crew numbering in the hundreds, resplendent in her running lights, was joined in holy matrimony to the groom, a Caldari Scorpion Electronic Warfare Battleship, by a GM in a Polaris Frigate. I'm not kidding...they parked up and stared into each other's...er...bridges! Vows were read! I just sort of floated there, at the back, mind boggling in overdrive, and had to leave before the end because my giggling was in danger of rupturing something. Presumably when the ceremony was concluded, they warped off to some secret safe-spot, and...gah....my mind is going...
ANNNNNNNYWAY...on the whole, I'm looking forward to the new Avatar system, which looks to be largely cosmetic, yet should still completely revolutionise the way EVE looks, feels and is played, while retaining the core style and art direction that I've always loved about the thing. Still, time will tell!
(No N00b Club or EVE card game this week, both sessions scuppered by unavoidable RL commitments. More on those next week, and apologies to all concerned!)