GDC '08: Monster Lab, I fancy the animation!

Another game that I've been lucky to be part of is a title called "Monster Lab" for the Nintendo Wii and DS, developed by Backbone Entertainment Vancouver, and animated by me. Well, not entirely by me, as much as I'd like to take credit for everything, game development is a serious team effort. With an animation team of only three animators, (with a fourth animator near the end of production) getting this game looking it's best was a tall order, but I think we managed to pull it off! Thanks to a strong art department consisting of concept artists, modelers, riggers, texture artists, animators, and environment artists.

Featuring a large chunk of NIS animation and a fair amount of gameplay animation, Monster Lab is part of the rare few in Vancouver that utilize only key-framed animation for all aspects of the game, as opposed to solely mo-cap, or a combination of both. It's an animators dream if not a preference most of the time to create a characters motion from scratch, rather than using recorded information from an actor. Working on Monster Lab provided that opportunity for creativity which animators (such as I) need to survive. The game was animated entirely through Autodesk Maya with a variety of tools created by our Technical artists to help in the work-flow and pipeline. There's enough NIS animation in the game to rival Saturday morning cartoons!

All smiles: Monster Lab Producer, with the 1UP Crew.

Backbone's presentation at GDC was pretty solid, drawing attention from various media outlets such as 1UP (seen above), and Gametrailers (Seen below). The game has come a long way since I joined the production a year ago, and it was definitely a fun ride.

Monster Lab is a unique action RPG not only for it's art style, but it's quirky mini-games, combat, and monster customization. And though it's targeted towards those around the age of 10, I'm sure older games would find it somewhat entertaining.

I'm terrible: video from Game Trailers.

GDC '08 - Go Go Break Steady

A unique game for the XBLA. The debut of Go Go break Steady.

Somewhere in the crowded North Hall lobby at GDC this year, was a game that seemingly flew under the radar to most conference goers, yet it still managed to draw some attention with it's hybrid rhythm and puzzle based gameplay. It stood out from the rest of the Microsoft games branched under the XNA umbrella. And though this particular title wasn't developed using XNA tools, it shared a space alongside the rest of them; games like The Dishwasher, and some atrocious sheep-herding dog game.

Go Go Break Steady combines hand-drawn animation with a break dancing theme, in a package that should interest fans of the puzzle, and rhythm game genre looking for some fresh entertainment on their 360. There's enough Button combination tapping and puzzle piece placement to keep players interested. It fits into that Casual gamer niche perfectly. Developed by Vancouver based Little Boy Games, the pre-release version on display at the conference was obviously still a work in progress, with an estimated release date of summertime for the XBLA. Gamers should definitely keep an eye on this title. Telling from the early previews from different sites, and by asking conference goers who've tried Go Go, the game has been positively received for the most part, but it needs a little more punch to take it to the next level. Don't listen to me or anyone else though, you be the judge and demo the game when it becomes available.

Having been somewhat part of the games production since 2006, it's been fun seeing how two ex-Electronic Arts software engineers have slowly but surely become a startup indie game development company, working out of their basement no less. The game's almost there! In an article I wrote for the Game Career Guide, the Little Boy Games team contribute their thoughts on being an indie startup in today's industry, with multiple outlets of getting their games to consumers. Read it here. The blood, sweat and sacrifice (financial or otherwise) of indie game development is best embodied by the team at Little Boy Games. They're totally "indie", which is why you should support them!

Be sure to check out the Little Boy Games Blog for updates. Definitely let the team know you wanna try (and buy) the game!