Tag Archives: Justin Korthof
This week was the first of five big Insider Access twitch streams where we tune in to Robot staffers revealing some of the plans and details about Phase 2 of the Orcs Must Die! Unchained closed beta kicking off early next year.
In this weeks episode we learnt a number of things. Perhaps one of changes that will be sure to excite fans will be the return of the much missed trap – Barricades! Thats right, barricades will be coming back in phase 2. Robot have worked out all the niggles that have prevented them appearing so far. Barricades add a whole new layer of depth for defenders. Of course, barricades is just one example of the things being discussed on Insider Access. There was also discussion about trap caps, which will now be capped at the team level and not individually.
Be sure catch up on this weeks Insider Access with Justin Korthof and Ian Fischer to hear more about thats coming up in phase 2!
Watch live video from OrcsMustDie on Twitch
The next reveal will be December 16, 2014
Did you catch the Insider Access stream earlier this week? If you have not had a chance yet you will surely want to watch the VOD. Community Manager SixOkay sat down with our friendly Mother, OMDU’s Design Director to discuss the state of the game. The stream started with Q&A from things posted in the forums and on the stream chat.
As the stream progessed we began to talk about patch 1.7 and “phase 2” of the beta. The 1.7 patch is expected to land pretty soon and it will contain a number of things in similar vein to the kind of things we saw in patch 1.6, though there is no word on any new heroes, maps or specific detail at this time. Though expect Guardians to change a bit. More details will be revealed later next week.
In even bigger news we learned about the projection for OMDU’s development over the next few months. Following patch 1.7 Robot is going to take a break from regular patches over the holiday season. Instead they are going to focus on delivering a much bigger round of content in changes in what is being called “Phase 2” of the closed beta.
There’s been a lot of great discussion going on lately in the meeting rooms and hallways here at Robot. We’ve been digging in deep to review the mountains of detailed feedback we’ve received from Closed Beta players. You guys are really good at this. As we’ve continued to play the game and to watch you play, we’ve come up with a long list of ideas that we think greatly push the game forward. We’re eager to start adding these ideas to the many plans we’ve already outlined to you on the forums, and some of them are pretty big. Like, Mountain Troll big.
Robot are going to be spending time looking closer at the overall game and working on some much bigger core changes to the game. Taking into account both internal feedback and feedback received from the community. Phase 2 of the closed beta is expected to land some time in February 2015.
Whilst we await patch 1.7 to be released and whilst we wait for details on Phase 2 of the closed beta the community will no doubt have a ton of questions. Robot are very keen to keep the community engaged as we enter this longer stretch of content releases. As such the studio has announced five important dates for our diaries.
- December 2, 2014
- December 16, 2014
- January 6, 2015
- January 13, 2015
- January 20, 2015
These dates correspond to the Insider Access streams which take place each Tuesday. Be sure to make a note of these dates as each will contain an exciting announcement about OMDU. In the meanwhile check out this weeks Insider Access VOD below and the forum post on the community forums to read more about what is happening with OMDU over the next few months.
Following on from our first part of Robot’s PAX Panel review we now move on from looking at the studios history to present day to looking at some of the interesting prototypes they have been working on in-between OMD2 and OMDU. For the first time we get a glimpse at some of he games that could have been from the creative minds at Robot.
Mithril
The first concept that came up at the studio was a game called Mithril, a project that Lance Hoke worked on. It was an accessible hex based browser game that would have the feel of Age that would work well on web browsers and tablets like the iPad. Similar to Tribal Wars but with a much deeper level of strategy. We saw the following concept art from the PAX slides:
There wasn’t too much detail on this one, it sounds like it didnt get very far along before the next concept came to surface, not much to report on this one but be sure to check out the commentary on the Twitch VOD.
Lonestar
Lonestar was the next concept the studio worked on. Ian Fischer described it as emergent gameplay which refers to the gameplay adapting to the actions of the player. For example in games like The Sims where players can tell their own story and the gameplay is shaped by the actions they take. Another example might be games like Fable where players actions can shape the world around them.
In Robot’s case with Lonestar they set out to create a sci-fi sandbox world that woul have completely randomly generated planets. The players ship had crashed on one of these planets and the player was tasked with finding a way to survive and escape the planet. Everything about the planet would be a randomly generated simulation including the beings that were already living on it.
The only downside with Lonestar were the challenges of managing the in-game ecology and for a number of other reasons, the project would have been a very large under-taking. Robot went on to scale down the project for their next prototype called “Victory”.
Victory
The biggest thing that you’ll notice about Victory when watching the PAX panel video that it was a shooter. A big departure from the typical type of game for the studio to work on. Once again it involved planets that were generated emergently and colonies would be formed on each planet. The generated planets would all have their own unique environments and properties and everything in the game would be a simulation. One simple example would be how close and far the planet would be from the sun would affect the properties and environment of the planet. Players would take the form of a space troubleshooting team who would travel out to these planets. Players would have to figure out what was happening on each planet and what problems there were that needed fixing.
Ian game some example of problems such as overheating reactors and being taken over by space pirates as just two possible scenarios amongst many others. Players would be challenges to resolve planet problems as quickly as possible before things got too bad. For instance enemies might get bigger and stronger over time, like this monster:
Robot considered making a very early preview of Victory at PAX the year before, but in the end decided they would return back to Orcs Must Die! for their next game based on TONS of feedback they were getting from the community and press alike. As great and as interesting as these concepts are, there was just so much overwhelming demand to continue the OMD franchise and out of that Orcs Must Die! Unchained was born.
Orcs Must Die! Unchained
Following two very successful games of OMD the bots at Robot had long heard the calls to expand the multiplayer element of the game, first adding co-op in OMD2 and then having to cater for the desire to have PvP OMD gameplay. It was out of this that Unchained! was born, and Robot is set to deliver all the things a budding OMD fan could want including full 5v5 fortress siege multiplayer action.
For the first time in the series players would be able to experience the offensive side of playing OMD.
We are able to see some excellent early art of the game coming together from its early stages. It is interesting to see the steps Robot took before getting to what we see today in the closed beta. They even had long hair for the War Mage and Sorceress at one point to show that they have aged between OMD2 and Unchained. Here we can see one of the very early levels and early UI design:
We can can also see some early hero designs below, some of which may still make it into the game. These are actually just a selection of hero ideas that are currently sitting on the walls at Robot HQ. They have a ton of ideas and there certainly isnt a shortage of ideas on the OMDU hero front. Check out some of these cool designs:
Thoughts to take away
Things that we can learn from the PAX panel is that Robot is a very diverse studio with very creative minds and can work on a number of different projects over an array of different game genres. We can get an idea that the studio is still interested in strategy but also have a keen interest in emergent gameplay. As we move forward into the future looking at Unchained and beyond, its an exciting time to be a Robot Entertainment fan and I’m sure the studio to continue to keep us guessing even more so from this PAX panel on what kind of other concepts are being though up from the orange pod inside the studio!
Some of the bots from Robot Entertainment have been hanging out at PAX Prime this weekend, hosting their very own PAX panel titled “An afternoon of fun with Robot Entertainment”. In our first part of our two part series we cover the first part of the panel which looks at Robot history including their time at Ensemble Studios and the games that lead up to Orcs Must Die! Unchained. For anyone who was in attendance there were plenty of free things being given out including a bag, poster, buttons, t-shirt, band and “Founders PAX” access to the Closed Beta.
Fans who tuned in to the stream on Twitch were also in for an opportunity to win these sweet prizes. Also making an appearance again is the exclusive Cardboard Tube Samurai skin for the War Mage. This exclusive vanity skin is only being made available to PAX attendees and lucky Twitch stream winners.
Ensemble days
Digging into the panel things started off with an introduction to the studio including highlighting Robot’s internal biergarten that they have in the studio and the colour coded pods for each discipline of staff (artist, programmers, design, community etc). Following an introduction of the studio the panel began to talk about Robot’s roots including their time previously at Ensemble Studios taking the audience through the past legacies such as the Age games and Halo Wars, including the big Halo MMO project codenamed “Titan” that was unfortunately cancelled by Microsoft.
The panel go into some detail about the cancelled MMO project and is well worth watching the stream for any Ensemble fans. Ian Fischer confirms previous Ensemble staffer comments that the game was largely cancelled due to Microsoft’s desire to pursue more casual games.
Age of Empires Online
The panel went on to talk about Age of Empires Online and how it started out as Age 4. Ian Fischer described how they originally thought about going back to the old caveman Age 1 settings whilst still at Ensemble Studios. When the studio was shut down, Microsoft wanted to continue the Age 4 project but didnt want it looking like another Age game and wanted to pursue a more casual look. It is this reason why Age of Empires Online adopted the casual more cartoony look in the final product.
Robot also pushed to have all the Age games put on Steam instead of Games of Windows Live. Although they never did it in Robot’s time managing the Age Community, Microsoft has finally got round to it recently and the Age games have been top sellers on Steam for some time now.
Prototyping new games
Whilst most of the studio were working on Age of Empires Online there was a small group in the Orange Pod who spent time prototyping new games for the studios first original IP. Before things morphed into Orcs Must Die! the studio worked on a “tool kit” that would allow players to build their own games. This tool kit idea then turned into a game codenamed “Saber” which later became “Orcs Must Die!”. Here are some early art and designs for the game:
You will notice that Saber started off looking much darker more serious than the lighter more comic feel of OMD today. As the development progressed and things like physics traps were added the OMD we see today was born. Of course it was soon time for the studio to name the game beyond its prototype name “Saber” and there were alot of discussions in the studio.
“Orc Invasion”, “Overrun” and “Onslaught” were some of the names that were considered alongside Chris Rippy’s “Orcs Must Die!”. In the end it was whittled down to just two, “Onslaught” and “Orcs Must Die!” and the studio was split 50/50 on each name and in the end a decision was made to go with OMD. The OMD name also helped Robot’s art and design move the game into a more lighter setting. This can also be seen in the War Mage’s art development where he started out more serious before becoming the more goofy hero we see today:
Orcs Must Die! shipped in 2011 and went on to win AIAS Strategy Simulation game of the year.
Hero Academy
Robot’s next original IP was to be Hero Academy a mobile game on Android, iOS and Steam. Once again the project started out from the orange pod. Patrick Hudson talked about the Team Fortress 2 integration and the relationship with Valve and also that they got approached by a number of other IP’s about adding more teams in the game, but it was felt that those would not be as good a fit. Hero Academy also won an award at AIAS, Mobile Game of the Year.
Echo Prime
The next mobile game spearheaded by Chris Rippy was a sci-fi RPG “Echo Prime” on iOS and Steam. Which by the way has recently had a price reduction if you haven’t already picked it up.
Orcs Must Die! 2
OMD2 was released 30 July 2012 and added a whole bunch of extra monsters, a second playable character (Sorceress) and added Co-Op. After OMD2 the studio decided that they were going to let OMD rest for a bit.
More prototyping – coming up in part 2
Whilst the OMD series was placed on hold the bots began prototyping more new original games across various genres from strategy to FPS. We’re going to cover these very interesting prototypes in part 2 of this blog series later this week. Be sure to check back where we discect some of the other original ideas what have been toyed around with in the studio.
In the meanwhile… be sure to check out the stream VOD of the PAX panel where you can see the hour long panel talk about all of the things mentioned above and some of the things we are covering in part 2 later this upcoming week which includes these awesome never before seen concept ideas, and of course Orcs Must Die! Unchained. Check back soon!
This week on the Insider Access stream over on the official Twitch channel saw community manager Justin Korthof (SixOkay) sit down with Art Director Dave Kubalak (Kube) and designer Jerome Jones (Bugs911) to talk about some of the hero designs in OMDU. the War Mage, Master, Sir Winston and Bloodspike took center stage this time around.Each of these heroes as it happens, had origins from previous games in the OMD series. Bloodspike was first considered a boss fight in OMD2 where he would be in a mine cart throwing dynamite.
The name “Sir Winston” also has a very interesting past. It all goes back to this YouTube video by level player “Sips”. When he encountered the paladin he called the paladin “Winston”. Later in the game when he was able to place paladins on the map he called them “Sons of Winston”. This became a running theme in his videos all from there on all the way through OMD2. Robot decided to name their Dark Paladin concept Sir Winston as a nod to Sip’s YouTube videos. If you skip to 1:40 on the video below you can hear Sip’s first mention of Winston!
During the rest of the Insider Access interview we get to see tons of concept art never seen before and even some sneak peaks at some awesome new skins coming out soon.
Along with some Q&A on the Twitch chat and some answers to some forum threads this insider access is once again well worth watching. Check it out on the video below!
Some of the bots from Robot Entertainment are on route to PAX Prime in Seattle later this month. While there is no Robot booth this time around, a number of the bots will be hosting their own PAX Prime panel. The line up includes Patrick Hudson [CEO], Justin Korthof [Community Manager], Lance Hoke [Producer], Ian Fischer [Design Director], Chris Moffitt [Art Director].
The panel will include talk about studios history including their time at Ensemble Studios, Age of Empires through to modern day Orcs Must Die! For those lucky enough to be in attendance there will also be prizes being given out at the panel. No word on what these are as of yet, but hey, who would say no to free prizes?!
If you’re at PAX Prime be sure to head to the HEDGEHOG THEATRE on SATURDAY 8/30 1:30PM – 2:30PM
Earlier this week on the Twitch stream was the second of the Insider Access streams. Last week saw us chat to Robot artists Bart Tiongson and Dave Kubalak. This week, community manager SixOkay is sitting down with Robot Entertainment newbie designer “Danger Mike” to discuss the new tutorial that will soon be making its way to the beta masses.
No doubt one of the gripes at the moment from OMDU regulars is the incoming swarm of new players who have struggled to grasp some of the key things about the game before starting matchmaking. In particular things like not spending leadership points, closing gates, putting traps in the wrong places etc. As of right now it has been difficult for new players to find out how to play owing to the current tutorial being very basic. Danger Mike is new to Robot Entertainment and his task his to create a brand new, engaging tutorial system for players. On the Insider Access stream we get our first look of his hard work so far. Lets check it out!
As you can see from the video it looks like Danger Mike is doing an excellent job on the tutorial so far. We learn that the tutorial as seen above will be mandatory before players can get into their first game. However as a bonus players will gain experience as well for completing it. We also learn that there will be a number of other optional tutorials as well for players to get to grips with some of the finer details. As such the tutorial above just covers what Robot believes to be the core basic principles of the game.
What do you think about the new tutorial proposals? REF wants to know! Have your say in our poll!
