I’d like to wish all SOE gamers a happy and prosperous new year!
Reflecting on many of the project teams I’ve had the pleasure of working with last year, I’m particularly proud of the expansions to EQ and EQ2, Secrets of Faydwer and Rise of Kunark. I always enjoy Frostfell season in EQ2 and the quests associated with McScroogle and the Gigglegibber Grump. I especially like collecting snowballs to throw later in June when everyone else has run out! Working with all the artists contributing to Legends of Norrath has been gratifying this past year as well. Many of the best card images now grace our hallways to show off some SOE’s illustration talent to tour groups.
This year I’m excited about our projects moving toward completion. A few words about the first ones up, Kung Fu Hustle and Free Realms: Both titles will have a low barrier of entry for users, meaning players can get in game quickly without large downloads or cost commitment. Last year in Shanghai I had the opportunity to work with martial arts and choreography talent to mocap avatar reference for Kung Fu Hustle. I got a new build of the game last month and its fast and furious fun. The application of captured performances overlaid with hand tailored polish gives the animations a very fluid feel. The authentic martial arts performances come through surprisingly well on the highly stylized avatars.
There is a solidly established stylized look for both of these titles. Establishing the art style begins by building a very solid concept and color palette plan at the prototype phase and keeping that vision throughout production. Free Realms is looking great in this regard. The art production quality is top notch and the team has a unified purpose and vision of what belongs in Free Realms. It’s shaping up to be the most visually cohesive game we’ve produced. Anyone looking for a game you can enjoy with the kids won’t be disappointed. Expect to hear more about these tiles during 2008!
Image from Free Realms
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