New Blog

Hey guys I usually have a friday post but I'm in the middle of sorting out my new blog, Next week I'll be moving on so this will be my last post! be sure to check it out once it's completed. You'll be able to find it at my website.

cheers

Future Developments

Hey ladies and gents!

Some may have noticed the changes to the blog, what do you guys think? feedback is welcome. Although I'll still be keeping this open I will be creating a blog through my web hosting at grimlegacy.com just for convenience really.

In the next coming weeks I'll be updating the website with a new design and fully updated information such as what Grimlegacy is, full contact details, places to find Grimlegacy as well as a full section on the various games under development. I want to get this done as soon as possible before the 16th of September so I can concentrate on my games as well as finishing off the masters course I'm on.

I'll keep you posted on the new developments as well as the start of the overhaul of my game: 'This is a Zombie Town!' this means new assets, game modes and a full gutting of no essential code in the games engine. The problem I was having was the game was getting far too big for the 80Msp price bracket. So expect to hear about that soon.

Later.

Time for a Break

Hey guys, another obligatory Friday blog post.

Some of you may be aware that this week I've taken a small break of not (trying) to do any work. I haven't had a break since last December and I've been working my socks off so to preserve what sanity I have left I thought I'd chill out for a bit.


That doesn't mean I haven't done any work at all, I've been working hard getting everything sorted for the 16th for my presentation at the Game Horizon member meeting. It's 33 slides so far but don't dismay! it's mainly just pieces of work I've done previously. I've been trying to select the best bits without giving to much away! So I'm really looking forward to that. I'm also in the member directory at Game Horizon as well!

Well that's about it, back to work next week on games and Uni work. I'm giving This is a Zombie Town! a major overhaul as well as my website and my blog. I'm thinking about integrating my blog into my web space for convenience but I'll probably still keep this one open.

that's it for now, have a good weekend.

Rowan.

Blimey! Celebrating 1000 tweets

Blimey! Another Friday Post!

Hey Guys Rowan here for another Friday post

First off another slow week, Ive been concentrating on my Uni assignments more than my games. I have got an extension on my module so that's great news. It loosens up my time some so I can get things done.

I'm thinking about migrating to another blog or just turning my whole main website into a blog using a plug-in. I haven't really got the time to make a whole new site so I'm going to look into it more next week. What do you think?

I had a meeting with Game Horizon (Which I'm on their member directory!) on Tuesday and went really well, we talked about what we both were doing and bouncing ideas off each other. Great experience and I'm looking forward to doing my presentation on the 16th.

I've went back to the drawing board with my zombie game: This is a Zombie Town! meaning new ideas, new levels, new game modes, new zombies and new characters. I really want to make this game 2 player co-op so I'm catering the design from the get go to that. I'm going to start making the assets next week and see how it goes. Essentially I was doing far to much work on it, it was getting to the size of a Arcade game. I've just taken a step back and I've got a fresh new perspective on things. Size issues have always been a problem because of the Xbox Indie Games pricing system so I've got to cater to those needs. The project was getting out of hand and I can put down to experience considering this is my first major game project.

I'm hoping things will pick up next week, get back into contact with a few people about various things like my games and my website. I'm looking forward to getting them sorted. I've got a surprise in store for my Twitter account! I'm about to reach 1000 tweets, it's going to be a good one so stay peeled!

Later for now.

Zombies like you've never seen them before!

Hey folks, its Rowan, a very late blog post, I forgot all about it!

There's not much that has happened this week besides getting the revamp of my zombie game started!

The original preface I had for the game is what I've originally went back to. I was going to do the assets in 3D with a 3D character program and found out later I couldn't use them...great. Ah well back to the drawing board so then I went with stop motion. Thing is with stop motion its very...very time consuming and with my final submission in my master degree it's just not physically possible.

So I've went back to my cartoon-ish type graphics, it'll fit the overall humour to the game as well as making the game light a fresh. A great game to play and get into, with the revamp comes new game modes some of which haven't been done before, soon as I get the new build I'll be able to introduce them to you all. I'm really excited about these new game modes, honestly it's nothing you've seen before.

I've got more going on next week, two meetings: one with Dave Sharp on Monday and one on Tuesday with GameHorizon. I'll let you know how they both go.

Again I've still got my poll up so don't forget to answer it! I'll be posting up mock-up HUD comparisons next week to see what you guys like the most.

Revamp

Hey Folks, Rowan here.

My first title 'This is a Zombie Town' will be going through a lot of major changes in the coming months up until December and I need your feedback. Each week I'll be asking a different question in my poll for you to answer, It's appreciated, I'd give you cake. (if I had any)

The first question is about the HUD design, Would you prefer the old health bar indicating your health? or no health bar? so you die instantly or would you like some kind of regenerative health much like on a FPS?

I'll also be asking questions on my twitter so all feedback is great! and appreciated. If I like your feedback so much I'll even put a special mention up on the games credits. You'll be famous!

More news to come about the game shortly, I'm just revising everything at the moment.

I'll be back on Friday for my obligatory blog post, have a good one!

I had a funny title but I forgot it

Hey folks, its Rowan and its that time again for the obligatory Friday blog post.

Getting work done has been tough this week, I've been suffering from a bit of insomnia (which usually happens to me every summer) so I haven't had much sleep this week. I've also been concentrating getting University work done, what's frustrating me is that I have no clue when it's supposed to be in for, presumably my course isn't long finished so it feels more like a rush to get it all done. It's the final module and the most important one so getting this work done is pretty important. I've got a good head start on it so that's good...right? wrong. Lack of sleep has caused me to get right stressed out about things ah well...I aim for next week to be different!

I really need to get a few things clarified about my zombie game and whatever so I aim to get most of those things sorted next week.

I've also been working on my other games, sketching, composing music and also making the story better, giving it a bit more meat and life. I know there's only one of me and I should really concentrate on one game at a time I've just been so stressed with the zombie game, I needed a change of pace and one of my new games encompasses that. I've also done a couple new blog posts about me and how I work, I hope you all checked them out =P I'll be doing more soon.

I've also set up a couple of meetings in the coming weeks and I snagged my 5min slot at the new Game Horizon member meeting. Good stuff! I'll also be meeting up with them next week sometime. (I was originally going to meet them this week but I wasn't feeling to well)

Well I'm hoping things will be better next week (I said that last week) but I'm going to make the most of it and get things sorted.

Stay tuned for more updates!

The power of the sticky note

What helps me the most when I'm making games? (or doing anything for that matter) The answer was simple, sticky notes.

One of the walls is my room is plastered with sticky notes, some of which are just random sayings or words and others are reminders and other things. The best thing you can ever do when starting off a new game project is buying some sticky notes. Usually I've got so much going on in my head at one given time I need something to remind me, this is where sticky notes come in handy. For example if I have to remember what the co-ordinates are of a certain object in the game - if I write it down on the sticky note it's easily remembered. I wouldn't have a clue otherwise because I'm off doing something else somewhere else.

Think of it as if you were working with a team of people and you have individual tasks for each member, instead of meeting each one individually wasting your time and theirs - use sticky notes to your advantage. Go see what they're doing and then write them a sticky note of what needs to be changed. It's a lot more productive.

Sticky notes have got me out of one or two pickles, they get to the point (because you don't have the space) and are great reminders.

(You can also doodle on them when you get bored ;) )

Get some sticky notes, they rock.

Why do I make games?

I was recently asked to do an interview for a 3rd year university student. Various questions were asked about my favourite game, least etc but what I need to ask myself is: 'why do I make games?' and then you have to stop and think and say: 'hang on, why do I make games?'

I could give the most generic answer and say 'I love games' but I'm never about the straight forward, never excepting something 'just because'. The more I think about it the more reasons I come up with, like a checklist I could mark them off one by one and tell you, but that's boring and it would bore me telling you.

Some of my early memories are playing the Super Nintendo with my brother and father, we had it for so long and accumulated quite a collection, first the cable went from the SNES (snez ;) ) to the TV so that ended up being replaced then the power cable went and had to be expertly positioned for it to turn on. Ah the memories. I also found out that I was quite competitive when it came to games, I could never beat my brother or my father but I found out during the years I got better and better and then eventually I was able to beat them. (Yes!)

To me games encompass all of my creative strengths, I love music, art and games, but surely that means I just love games the most because art and music are what make games. That's not to say my world revolves around games. I've studied Art and Design for 4 years and I've also been in a band writing a lot (and I mean a lot) of lyrics and music.

What I bring from my background is reflected off my games, I'm under this notion that I want to do things differently. There's nothing to say I should do things a certain way because no one else has bothered to break the mold for years. I'll try something new out and if it doesn't work then I'll try something different. Games allow or these changes to be made for example: why is a tree called a tree? because no -one has bothered to say otherwise. I could create a world where tree's are named something completely different. That's the difference between other interactive media's. If anything games can be called and expression like a piece of artwork, it's modern day art. In which I intend to utilize to it's fullest potential.

(Some people may disagree with me, but I don't care. These are my views in which I am entitled to.)

Screenshots, all in one place!

Ladies and Gentlemen, It's Rowan here. (Lead designer and pretty much everything else)

I'm proud to present all in one place some screen shots of my game 'This is a Zombie Town!' feedback is welcome so send a comment below! I've got to note that these are early images (many which have been seen before) I'd just like to gather some feedback on them, what's good, what's bad and suggestions for improvement. I'm thinking more along the lines of the HUD. (head-up display) There's only me left to say enjoy!

(Yes there is a dynamic zoom feature in the game, it relates to how many zombies are on screen at a given time)

(You've got to use your surroundings to your advantage, the 'depth mechanic' means that you can shoot over the barrels and the zombies can't attack you)


(Zombies have a behaviour mechanic mean that some zombies are really aggressive and will go for you instantly, some are minding their own business until you come closer in contact with them)

Fridays here, another obligatory blog post!

Hey Guys, it's Rowan

Welcome back to another exciting Friday blog post, although not so because it's been another stale week. Along with the beasty module I've got for my final submission on my Masters course I've also been working hard on my games. I've been concentrating more on 'This is a Zombie Town!' and I've finally...finally! been able to get all the maps done for the main story of the game. whoo! *sticks a party hat on* It's about bloody time. The reasoning behind this is because the program I use to create the maps can't handle huge sizes (it's either that or my computer). The maps are ranging from 5000px (pixels) with 100dpi (dots per inch) so they're really high quality, but again they need to be for the game. Here's a little sneak preview of map 07, this will be the last preview for the games maps until release (I don't want to give it all away! ;) )


So what else have I been up to? Well I've been finilising some articles Ive been working on so I'll be posting them fairly soon. I've also had word that GameHorizon are doing another member meet up so I'm striking up the opportunity so show progress on 'This is a Zombie Town' as well as announcing one of my new games. I'll also be having a meeting with some of people at GameHorizon next week, just to have a general discussion on things.
I have been working on my secret projects this week, I'm really excited about them but I have to fight the urge to talk about them till the time is right!

I spent some time composing some music this week, it's something I have a passion for and I'm working on one of my games soundtrack, I maybe posting some sneak previews of some music in the foreseeable future.

Also I've set up a Friends section on my blog, If you want to be affiliated with me, just let me know through my twitter. @Grimlegacy


Well that's it for Fridays post, I'm off to have a cool beer.

Hospital Map

Hey, Its Rowan

I managed to complete the 'Hospital' map for my game, This is a Zombie Town! this week. It was a pain with all the crashes I had trying to complete it -_- but it's finally done! Here's a sneak preview of it.


As you can see from the preview there will be lots of tight spaces to get trapped in. On the side is an spawn point for Zombies so I wouldn't spend too long in one place. Hope you all enjoy it once it comes out!

Later.

Updates Updates Updates

Yes its that time again, its me Rowan.

Back to work this week but again have been pretty uneventful except today. I've been working my zombie game - This is a Zombie Town! and out of the 8 maps there is only..practically one more to go! I know exactly what it is as well so that's an added bonus. So the map I've been working on is a Hospital map, it has various cubicles in which the player will be able to weave in and out of to fool the zombies, however the problem I've been facing is the perspective which has taken up a lot of my time. I think instead of pain and suffering of precise Isometrics, I think I'll leave it the way it is because well I don't have the time. I will be posting up a small section of the map soon as I've 'Zombified the map' meaning put lots of blood everywhere. I should have the map finished by Sunday.

Should be back to uni on Monday or Tuesday, depending if I can get through to some people at uni to set up meetings with. I've sent a series of emails but Google spat it back at me saying sorry there's a problem. So it seems I've been in the dark in that respect.

Well I promised some kick ass articles and they will be coming, you may have noticed the little Zombie newsletter I made, see if you can spot them in the game when its out! Yes there will be more to stay tuned!

That's me out for now see ya!

The Dead Walk! well...mostly shuffle and crawl.

No you may not!

I said I'll be making more blog posts and here I am again.

Maybe its because I'm slowly going insane or the fact that I've got not money and I can't go anywhere, yeah its probably that. Most of the people I've got helping me with my zombie project are away on holiday (why didn't I take one!?) and so are my contacts as well.

I finally got to see the last 60 credit module for my Masters degree on Friday last week, it seems good and I'm excited to get it over and done with so I can concentrate on my games. In essence it goes hand in hand because the course is 'Software Enterprise'. Building innovative software products - I just happen to pick games because my background is in Art and Design but I like playing games also so it seems a perfect combination.

I've just created a new personal twitter account called @Moosashche so please follow me, I find myself posting personal stuff on my professional account so I'm trying to distinguish the two.

I've got a couple of interesting posts lined up on here during the next couple of days to stay tuned. Of course they'll be the obligatory Friday progress post, I bet you're all looking forward to that eh?

later for now

Rowan.

Please Sir...can I have some more?

Hey Guys its Rowan with the promised Friday blog entry.

I must admit that not a great deal has happened this week, its mainly due to the fact that everyone's buggered off on holiday at uni! so I've had no one to talk to or set meetings up with. I did however have a meeting today about the last module of my master course. Looking forward to getting it done and finishing.

You may have noticed I've changed up the blog! I started making pages and changed the whole layout completely. I never liked the other one that much and this one is easier to manage. I'll be re-vamping the website soon as well to go along with the new blog.

In terms of how my games are progressing I'd say this week has been pretty uneventful, This is a Zombie Town! development is slow, I added shadows to the character sprites but I still have the problem of getting more people involved in it so I can turn them into zombies for the game. I did create a draft wallpaper for the game so you can check it out here...yes! right now!


I've also been working on my other game projects little by little, I'm sure once everyone gets back from their holidays things will start to pick up again, I haven't done much myself this week because everyone needs a break! although I still find myself doing bits of work at midnight.

I'm also going to be posting a series of articles next week on a few things I'm doing and done and what I'm working on so look out for them!

well I think that's for now, have a good weekend!

Rowan.

Not so same old!

Hi Guys its Rowan.

What have I been up to this week? har har! what have I not been doing this week?

seriously though if I didn't need to breathe or go to the toilet once and awhile I'd be constantly working on my new projects. Speaking of projects I've got two new games I'm working on! One is really a self indulgence for me but the game is essential a piece of art - I'm using paintings I did myself in inks for the background so you can imagine this game to be a beautiful piece of art work to be appreciated, great moody, melodic music accompanied by a intriguing story about time and death. Expect to see and here from it soon. I'm building it using the Torque X middleware engine. I've also go another great idea for a game which is really secret for the moment but I've had a couple of meetings this week about and and who I've told they're incredibly interested in it - a quote from one of them "Best game idea I've seen in years" from a bloke who's been in the gaming industry 5 years. So I'm pretty excited about my new projects! =D

I've also been approached by a year 3 student doing his dissertation. I've just had a interesting interview/conversation with him about the games industry, multiplayer/co-op designs, casual and social gaming. It was great and I'm happy to help anyone out. Send me a email at rowan@grimlegacy.com

I got an email from the guys at Game Horizon since I'm a member they were after a detailed description and logo to place on their website http://www.gamehorizon.net/ so I should be featuring on their website pretty soon!

Things are taking a steady pace, I've a few emails to send out to various people next week and couple more meetings. I'll post the progress next Friday. I'm also going to start posting a series of articles on the games industry let me know what you think of them.

Out for now!

Oh yeah one more thing, I've posted some images I took at the Game Horizon conference 2010 a couple of weeks ago, be sure to check them out on my Flickr page.

Rowan.

New Games New Developments!

Phew Hey Guys, Rowan here once again.

You may have noticed I haven't updated the blog in quite some time! well that's because I've been quite busy! really busy in fact so here's what I've been doing!

I attended the Game Horizon 2010 conference at the Sage in Gateshead. From a personal view I think it was great, what made it stand out was the fact that it wasn't just about the UK it was about the whole industry in general and it was nice to see a common theme throughout the conference. What's big in the gaming industry at the moment? SOCIAL games. Developers have went crazy for this and understandably so - there's a hell of a lot of money in it.
What I did see a lack off though was innovation, I think it's a key area to look for in the future because innovation allows the industry to grow. It seems to me less and less AAA titles are about innovation and they're sticking to what they know works. It's us the 'indie' developers that have the creative freedom to create some really fantastic games and be the leaders in creativity and innovation. Since our development budgets are so small it means we can take these risks and personally I think it's worth it. It becomes more about the game than money (although money is nice) but the game being a game is a driving factor. All you see in the console market is sequel after sequel which isn't necessarily a bad thing but can be detrimental in the long run to the progress of the industry.

Right well what have I been doing with my games? I've now got 4 unique projects on the go now, yes 4! and there's only me 0_0 no wonder I've not been getting much sleep. Well I think I'm going to break these down: 2 full games and 2 demo's. I know I can't make them all because I have to leave time to breathe, eat and sleep. I'm looking into a variety of publishing options for my demo's which then can be funded. There's one game in particular I'm very excited about and it aims to help with bipolar. So if anyone's interested to know more drop me a line at rowan@grimlegacy.com

I'm also going to revamp the website (when I have time) something again simple but good, so drop me a line with any comments and suggestions on what it should look like.

I forgot I posted up some screens of my Zombie game for you all to gaze upon, I must stress that this is a early version and in no way resembles the final product.




So there you have it! thank you for your time and I think from now on I'm going to update my blog every Friday so be sure to come back for some more Grimlegacy goodness!

Cheeryo

Rowan.

Well now heres a turn around

Hey Guys, Rowan from GrimLegacy here. (yes its only me but it makes it sound so official)

Originally I was going to change my blog to a different service however googles gave me loads of new toys to play with so I've stayed put. I hope you like the new layout and features. Feel free to drop some comments down or send me a message over twitter. (I'm usually on)

So what's been happening?

Well last weeks been quite busy, had a few deadlines and I also attended the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker event at Uniqlo in London. 3 1/2 hours on the train, man I'm tired out. It doesn't help at all getting up at 6 in the morning and going to bed a 2 at night. People will start thinking I am a zombie next. (^ yes that's a picture of me up there)

I had a presentation today on the market readiness of my game, I thought it went well besides the fact that most of the people had left before I was able to do my thing. Ah well they missed out on seeing a demo of my game and my new announcement!

The game is coming up to 2 months in development and its going really well and at a good pace. All of the games maps are nearly finished, if you've checked out my website recently you'll notice Ive changed the design to reflect the game. Its a temporary site for the moment, I never have time to work on it so usually all my news and updates go through Twitter and my Facebook be sure to check them both out and follow and like me! I appreciate it.

I will be updating my blog more regularly because it looks half decent now! thanks to a pretty cool design. Thanks to the person who made it.

I'll also be posting pictures of the even down London as well as creating some trailers and screenshots of the game! This is Zombie Town will be seeing a summer release for the Xbox Indie Games.

Thanks

Rowan.

Moving on to better things

Hey Guys, just a quick update Im going to be revamping everything very soon, this means: new site, new blog, new facebook, new twitter (already done). Just changing things cause it needs to be done bigger and better.

On gaming news This is a Zombie Town presentation went without a hitch, game played as well as hoped for so I'll get some new gear on it soon ( its been quite hectic trying to sort everything out) So I think I'll get the website sorted first before anymore stuff comes out on the game.

I'll keep you guys in the loop

cheers

Rowan

GameHorizon Member Meet up

Hey Guys, I'll presenting a demo of This is a Zombie Town on Thursday of this week. The game is really coming along and I hope I can get a solid demo out. Once its finished next week I'll be announcing one or two things to do with the game and maybe the other project I'm working on!

see ya

This is a Zombie Town Teaser Poster!

Well I'm hoping to get a good demo out for the GameHorizon member meet up on June the 3rd. I thought I'd go ahead and start making some promotional material for the game. Introducing the Teaser Poster!

Dev Diary 3.0

Hey Guys, I thought I'd do a quick update on the game. Stop motion went great and the new assets are being worked on as I speak. I also finished up the first map for the game. Originally I was going to do them in 3D but this was going to take far too long. I started out with a mock up of a design and then went from there.

Here's a segment of the first map, I didn't want to show you guys the whole of it cause it'll spoil the game. You can only see whats on the screen at any given time so you need to explore the map.


Ive been given permission to use a fantastic font and you'll see these little notices dotted around each map. There's another survivor besides you! who is it?
The Maps are very moody and atmospheric with lots and lots of blood. No Bodies though cause they've managed to get up and shuffle off on their own accord.

I'll be publishing some more pictures and videos soon!

See ya!

New Game Project!

I'm working on a new secret project for the iPhone. It's going to be something that isn't anything like what is on the App store at the moment! I'm really excited about this project because it embodies what I'm aiming to achieve.

More announcements on this project soon!

Dev Diary 2.0

Hi There this is Rowan Haddow, the game designer on 'This is a Zombie Town'!

I'm sorry I haven't put up another Dev diary in while, we hit a major snag in development. Originally I was going to use a popular 3D program for character models but it doesn't seem the case now.

Oh well! never mind, I'll will now be using 'Stop Motion' for the games character assets. First I think I'll tell you a little more about the game.

The game is a zombie top down shooter, you're thinking "oh I haven't seen that before??" well Zombie Town is going to be a lot different to anything out there and anyway, who doesn't love killing zombies? Ahem.
The game stars you as Sean Noland, a guy desperate to find his daughter after a virus had unexpectedly struck a large desert city in the middle of no where called 'Rocky Fields'. The city used to be an old mining town but the mines were shut down under mysterious circumstances. Eventually they built a city on top of the remains and is now a historical site with many day trips from nearby schools.
Sean's daughter was on one of these day trips at the time of the attack and Sean rushed passed the barricades and entered the quarantined city. Sean's only focus was to get his daughter back, he had nothing on him though and didn't know what to expect. He certainly never thought the locals would be zombies. Sean picked up a gun from a nearby cop car and ventured further in.

The game is in 2D on a top down angle but gives a perception of 3D because the game has been created to look realistic. Sean needs to explore the city to find food and supplies and also find his daughter. You will explore various regions of the city each with different strategies fending off the waves of zombies. You'll be given a set time limit to survive and escape and then you'll move onto the next level. The game is about strategy as well as shooting anything that moves, I'm not going to go into much detail at the moment but you'll have to definitely think how you're going to survive each level cause standing still and shooting isn't going to cut it. Some I think with smaller scale zombies games there's isn't an element of. You'll have fun, trust me.

Most of the 3D work will be created in Blender a great open source 3D program. Some of the textures come from a fantastic royalty free texture website called CGTextures.

Sorry no pictures yet, the game is still early in development but soon as I'm happy with the design I'll do a Dev Diary on each of the sections of the game.

What makes a game a game?

What makes a game a game?

Well to me, a game is an experience. It's something you can interact with and be apart of it. Given the nature of the game you can control it, manipulate it to your whim. It gives your a sense of freedom in a shell, a bubble of complexity that goes behind the game. A freedom which in the real world you cannot do.

Games create a persona - be it as the main character or a sci-fi world. You are in control so it plays upon the emotions of the player. Emotions in games can be extremely powerful because of the added virtual sense of interaction with characters and environment. The most recent example of this is with Heavy Rain, it's this balance which makes the player think instead of it being Sean's son that has been kidnapped - it's your son. That's really powerful. I remember playing Metal Gear Solid 4 for the first time and some who don't understand the underlinings of the game wouldn't have been so moved when Snake is going through the microwave chamber. The button tapped creates a sense of fatigue and the gives you a will to keep going making Snake push harder and harder as you are nearly breaking the controller with the damn tapping.

Its very rare with something such as a film can convey that emotion, maybe its the fact that its being presented with real people but the fact that most films you sit down to watch you switch off, the emotional connection is gone. There have been some instances where I have been moved by a movie but its few and far between, it's simply that films do not provide the same scope and depth as a video game can.

Games are an experience where you immerse yourself in a fantasy world where you can control it in a small or large way. Video games provide a different outlet to the creative world which should be taken more seriously.

State of the Games Industry today

The games industry is rapidly changing, gone are the days where game development studios created something by monopolising publishers. A new age of Independent game houses have arisen to combat and overthrow the throne. They may be small but grow in numbers allowing for creativity and freedom to be it's drive and ethos.

In the last couple of years we've seen a dramatic growth in every sector of the games industry. This is partially associated with the rise of social networks and casual gaming. The Nintendo Wii is a classic example of this, Nintendo tapped into the hidden reserves of the gaming industry changing from iteration to innovation. From Hardcore to Casual in a blink of the eye and now the major players in the industry want to jump in on the band wagon. Apple's iPhone is another example of this innovation with the inclusion of the App store now supporting hundreds of thousands of apps and billions of downloads.

Time to think differently someone said, what we've been doing is fine but there needs to be something extra. That something extra has given a giant leap into the new age. It's the quality of interactive controls which sparked off casual gaming.

But what about what came before? what about the hardcore? the loyal? the people there before? have the game industry abandoned them? The answer is no. There is more opportunity now to tap into the hardcore market as well as a mixture of the two. The reasoning behind this is the inclusion of the Indie games developers.

Indie games developers self publish as well as develop allowing for total creative freedom. This produces games such as Braid and Trine, two excellent examples of an Indie game. Now I wouldn't say the Braid is hardcore or casual, its in between, focusing on both sides of the coin. Realzing the potential here all of the major companies have joined in, Xbox Indie games, WiiWare, PlayStation Mini's small games having a big impact on the industry.

Social games are another big factor in the games industry allowing people to share there ideas with friends and family and also the ability of making new friends. Websites such as facebook have seen tremendous growth and holds impressive figures with the games developed for it. Little Big Planets motto is play, create, share. An on going trend.

It's an exciting time to be in the games industry at the moment, these trends: casual gaming, motion controls, social gaming, indie development. Have sparked something new and fresh these wont last forever but for now are going strength to strength.

Games are not just about the game, they are an experience. Games mean lots of things for different people but they still give you that experience and will never change. It's something which other media's cannot do.

The old gaming foundations are washing away with the new tide of industry standards. New genre's are being added all the time, new game play styles, new rules, new innovations. The industries like a steam engine. Soon it will run out of steam but for the moment keeps on getting faster and faster and doesn't stop of any of the old gaming foundations.

This article was inspired by the events of the 'State of independence' conference in york.

If you'd like to view some images from the SOI conference please go here to our Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/grimlegacy/

Happy Holidays

There's not a lot to report this week since its Easter the team has taken a week off of development so no news on the game! however we should be getting a start on the 3D game backgrounds next week.

On another note GrimLegacy productions was at the "Sate of Independence" conference on in York. It was fantastic and we had a great time there. The whole conference was on Indie games development companies which self publish their own games which is exactly what we do! We met some great people like Charles Cecil from Revolution studios, creators of Broken Sword such a classic game.

We will be attending the GameHorizon Conference on at the Sage in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on the 29th - 30th so if anyone is going look out for us and we'd be more than welcome to talk to you.

Stay tuned in for next week, thanks guys.

Developer Diary 1.0

Evening folks! this is the first entry in a series 10 developer diaries for our first title: This is a Zombie Town! which will be out for Xbox Indie games in the summer. Check back later for a proper release date.

Well development begun on our first title last Friday so we thought it only fitting to give you a run down on what the game is about. This is a Zombie Town! blends two genre's together: tower defense and top down survivor shooter. Here at GrimLegacy we like to mix things about - make something different so we've been racking our brains for quite some time to come up with a great concept. Instead of the game being the same mundane shooters you often see these days we try to do things differently to make sure the game-play is fresh and exciting. We'll be going into more detail in later installments.

A lot of people ask us why zombies? well...why not zombies? Zombies are quite popular these days so what are the benefits of killing zombies?

1/ well for one you can't kill a zombie - you cant kill something that is already dead.
2/ Like aliens zombies aren't humans
3/ They're funny?

er...we could go on all day but you catch my drift. We've wanted to do a zombie game for a long time so this is the perfect chance to do it for our first title.

Well that's it for now but in later installments we'll be going through the game in much greater detail showing off game assets and also some video demos of the game so stay tuned! We'll be doing a Dev entry every week for the next 10 weeks. Next weeks will be on the story of This is a Zombie Town as well as looking into some of the zombies in the game.

If you would like to contact us please feel free to send us a email at contact@grimlegacy.com or send us a message in the comments section.

Bye for now!

Website up and running!

Finally after a couple of hitches and snags along the way the GrimLegacy productions website is live! The community section still needs some work but I'll keep you posted on its progress. The first GLP title will be called This is a Zombie Town! created for the Xbox 360 Indie games for a summer release. I'll keep you in the loop about when the mini site will open too.