Welcome to Wrestling Gamers United Newsletter #284
1) Smackdown vs. PWX 2007 2) Boingy boingy 3) Link of the Week 4) Question of the Week
1) Smackdown vs. PWX 2007 **************************
Finally.
This week the artists got the game engine to bend to their will and we now have the characters showing up properly normal mapped and casting dynamic shadows against the ground and each other. So from a technical standpoint we have the potential for Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 level of graphics. Of course, we don't actually have the time or money to give PWX that level of detail nor do we really want to because it would mean raising the required system specs by quite a lot. As I've said from the beginning we can't afford to shrink our pool of potential customers if PWX is to be financially viable. I gotta say though, even though I've been vocally against spending much time on graphics as opposed to gameplay I am very impressed with the results of the recent upgrades and I admit that it was very much worth it. The latest playable version looks a hell of a lot more pro.
But with any good news there is invariably some bad. The upgrades done to the engine may have given us improvements in important areas like lighting, collision, and loading times, but they seem to have broken the animation system somewhat. There is now an unexplained bug causing random lag between button presses and animation playback. We can't have that. When I hit the attack button while I'm running I want to immediately jump in the air for my cross body attack, not slide on my feet for a half second before jumping and missing my opponent. And because of the lag bug sometimes the opponent doesn't even sell the attack until after the attacker has passed halfway through him. Kinda can't have that in a wrestling game now can we! Ah well, par for the course. We haven't come across a problem we haven't been able to fix yet. You come to expect to break at least one new thing for every two things you fix.
In other news the publishers are still calling us. One publisher is really pushing for us to release PWX as a very small digital download with a handful of characters and a short story mode. They propose we release something and call it PWX: Episode One. They are interested in releasing 'chapters' of PWX every few months. Another publisher says they would like to release a small version as well but in their opinion they would release it for free and offer new moves for micropayments. Top Rope Burning Hammer for $.49 cents., that kind of thing.
But yet another publisher got in touch with us last week about going to Xbox Live Arcade. They are a traditional publisher (I guarantee you probably own at least one of their games if you own a game console and like fighting games) and they told me they are definitely excited about the potential for PWX in some form (more on this later) on Xbox Live Arcade. However, they feel such a project would need a 'hook' of some sort in order to make marketing it easier and less risky. They suggested focusing on one aspect of PWX and going to market with that first. For example, perhaps we focus more on masked wrestlers, hardcore wrestlers, or old school wrestling. In hindsight I wish we had spent more energy over the last few years building the PWX community instead of lying low. That way we could argue that PWX itself is a popular enough concept to make any additional 'hook' unnecessary. Still, when you have the attention of a major console publisher you listen to what they have to say before puffing out your chest and getting in their face too much. We did take a small amount of time to put together some pics and movie clips to show this publisher we could deliver any wrestling project they wanted and the results definitely got the crew excited. A publisher wants to know if we can do hardcore? To quote Darrell after seeing a new ring and match type we put together, "...it looks like a murder scene."
But with all that aside, we've got to get this game glitch free and fun before any of these opportunities can be acted upon.
2) Boingy boingy ******************
My super wicked AWESOME web host informed me yesterday (after an email and an irate phone call) that all email sent to me in the last few weeks, maybe more, has been bounced back. Only one of my email addresses has been working. Awesome. AWESOME! So if any of you tried emailing me recently I didn't get it. Nice eh?
Think you can whip through Diablo or Super Mario in record time? Well check out the list (and videos!) at this site showing record walk through performances for a boat load of games:
A few people posed the same question to me this week and I think you guys might be able to help me:
"How could you show people with one screenshot what makes PWX so unique and special? Because one picture might be the only chance you get."
Good question. Because as much as I love our Hammerlock venue and characters any shot of PWX would look like a generic wrasslin' game to most people. So if you could compose one action shot of PWX how would you do it?
Please email your answers to Dave@WrestlingGamersUnited.com and thanks for the support!
In the meantime and in-between time, that's it. Another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.
SDA owns, respek to Dave for referencing me. As for the action shot, if you guys could find a way to include thumbtacks that stick into opponents (as someone mentioned in another thread) body, and blood drips out of their back realistically... I think that would amaze people. Or maybe if you can't do that, show a barbwire ropes match where someone gets thrown into it, and he bleeds from the back realistically at the places he connected with it.
OH NO!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T EPISODE THE GAME,NEITHER PUSH IT AS FREEWARE MICROPAYMENTS... Some of you probably know how Half Life - Episodes turned out?And with micropayments you single-handedly kill half of the gameplay.Why?Because I (Bulgarian resident,pretty poor too) can download the game,but can't buy the moves... Listen to the 3rd one - they rule (ooh,I acted too fast,you probably already did that :D) Cool...Sorry
Have P1 mid shooting star press off the hammerlock's little scaffold thing. Maximum height and completely upside down. With a low angle the shot would look a frraking mazing.
[quote][cite] Tonzophunn:[/cite]Here's how you compose the shot.
Set-up P2 on a table in the ring.
Have P1 mid shooting star press off the hammerlock's little scaffold thing. Maximum height and completely upside down. With a low angle the shot would look a frraking mazing.[/quote]
(if have a cage) jimmy superfly sunka bring back, hardcore style by having P1 jumps of the cage. While P2 lay on a table smashing him throw it, the pic color can have the old fashion look.
It should show a move or set of moves that you don't get in Smackdown games, something that'll make somebody interested in seeing the rest. At the same time, you should show off the interactivity. Problem is, the main selling part is the way the game is played and reacts, which isn't exactly easily caught in a screencap/image. A montage (sans montage music unfortunately) of scenes will probably help.
Alternatively, a picture of two of the crew playing the game with massive, cheesy, dorky grins on their faces and Fonz-like thumbs up everywhere. With the words "DIFFERENT THAN SMACKDOWN, WE SWEAR!" at the bottom.
Perhaps you could do a picture like the old set up with Dane (I believe it was) holding the title aloft infront of a giant X stage with the lighting up. The image straight away said that this was something different to the WWE games. Text would help, with a couple of key points.
The ideas are great guys, all of them really. But I have to agree that for the longest time I would have loved to see that promo shot with Dane holding up the title with all the lights, confetti, and such brought to life in full 3D with hi-tech mapping and all that jazz.
What about the people without XBL? I just wanna be able to buy my boxed game. And enjoy without having to go through and online licensing crap like Steam. And the buying moves idea was stupid. If people have to go threw the headache of buying moves. No one will buy the game.
Oh and more thumbtacks. Never can go wrong with thumbtacks. Unless you make them suck, then they would suck.
Hmm. If you only had one screenshot to sell the game I think you would have to set up some sick spot and take a frame from the middle of it. Like if you had one of the masked guys perform a Psycho Driver or some vicious move like that unto Dane or an unmasked wrestling that could make a scared look on their face and do the move onto thumbtacks, lightubes, a barbwire net, or something like that and just have the picture right before Dane starts doing down. So right after the torture rack position. It would just look so emotional and would probably get people really psyched.
I don't think promoting extreme violence is the best idea. For maximum market penetration pure wrestling should be promoted. But if this game will have a Mature Rating then I say buckets of blood
Yo BUYING MOVES SUCKS!!! I mean all it does is waste time and for what? I'm don't care that they will cost 49 cents but I really hate spending my tyme registering downloading and stuff like that About the screenshot I think that a good old famous moment of wrestling done with the PWX characters would be great. So I agree with the guy that offered the Bret Hart holding Austin in the sharpshooter idea.
Why not just do a shot then with a guy laid out on a table and someone coming down Senton Splash style so its more of an up to date look (kinda like that camera shot of Jeff Hardy nailing Abyss off the top of the TNA logo)
How about a low-angle, mid-flight shot of someone doing a "Razor's Edge" from the balcony, onto some tables, as the audience around the scene goes nuts?
Or someone doing a 911-style chokeslam(forward impact chokeslam) FROM some high place, again at a low angle and onto SOMETHING, through like a "spectator view".....
Add the words: "Taking wrestling to new heights."
Of course, you could always go for the "shadow man" silhouette image of someone walking out from between the giant "X" with some bright lighting from behind him, and add the tag line: "Wrestling's next big thing has arrived."
Spice it up in Photoshop(or leave it as-is).....and you got money. No blood, or extreme-ness required. Just the thought of how that move's gonna land should be enough to get people to wonder and be interested.
I think a shot of anyone standing on the middle turnbuckle holding the title belt up with conffetti and flares of camera flashes in the background would be a great screenshot.
Another good one would be an action shot of someone in a submission (as mentioned). I'd suggest a Boston Crab, with the attacker's back to the camera, and a clear view of the victim in pain, with the exact frame of animation being them tapping, with their hand in the air in mid-tap. I'm imagining something like benoit vs triple H in WMXX, if Triple H had tapped to the sharpshooter
This is exactly what dratsab is talking about, we're not trying to recreate moments we want something special. Lord Temjin has the right idea. All of them work imo.