Development Diary #3 – The New News

Hello, I’m James. Some of you may remember me from long ago, forget what you remember because we’re about to make new memories, and they’re going to be better.

Anyway, I was reacquired by War for the Overworld to make the news and, upon re-entry I was told “we have two weeks!”

Well, I took that more literally than I should have, apparently I was talking to a past-version of Josh (or he was talking to a future-version of me, I suppose it’s a moot point really. Anyway, past-he assumed that future-me and current-he were on the same timeline. Such was not the case, but we’re on track now.

Tl;dr – This news is 2 days late (we’re all in the same timeline now) and I apologize for that. Fortunately for you – this is going to be a weekly thing, so cut me some slack. Now sit back, grab a glass of lemonade and enjoy:

THE NEW NEWS

-A weekly slice of what we’ve been doing-

September 27, 2012

Somewhere far beneath the earth a darkened door creaks open. Inside you can make out the shadows of countless dark denizens deployed dangerously close to you. Their sinister shadows slide across walls splashed red with conquest, lit now by the fires of horrid and malevolent production.

Various wails and cries spill from the deepest passages as you step through the door into a dank and decidedly dastardly corridor. Around you drips of fetid water drum against the cobbled ground as a faint whisper echoes swiftly through the halls. A tingle climbs up your spine as you hear the long awaited words: “Welcome home.”

We are pleased to welcome you to the first of our recurring news posts – too long have we remained behind locked doors, tirelessly working to create what will be, we are sure, your favorite game of all time.

While I can (apparently) not yet offer you a release date, I can give you weekly updates of our progress. Feel free to do a little dance to celebrate this.

Without (much) further ado let me introduce you to some new tiles, produced by our very capable Art Director, who is affectionately known as “The Most Vile Art Defiler – His Unholy Prince of Goodly Debasement & Desecration” around our little dungeon; his mom calls him Garrett.

Sacred Earth [Wall Tile] & Sacred Ground [Ground Tile]

This tile will be excavated in the same way as dirt is – however once mined out it will reveal a “Sacred Ground” tile… something strange emanates from this ground tile and we have heard tales that certain spells can not be cast upon this hallowed ground. Also, it appears our devilish hand is much weaker and is unable to move simple objects, let alone our minions, around these tiles.

We expect that this addition will make skirmishes and battles much more interesting and prevent certain
exploitative strategies that attempt to circumvent map design. It should also give our map designers more control as they design levels. In short (too late?), we believe that it should keep gameplay more fluid and force players to adapt and be mindful of their environments when positioning and moving their armies.

Ice [Wall Tile]

Ice tiles are extremely fragile and quick to be destroyed, even a careless fart could rend these delicate blocks apart. This tile may be used to point the player in certain directions as their progress will be substantially faster than digging through normal dirt. Think of Ice as a guide tile, with the possibility of blowing your mind with its staggering level of pure awesomeness (see: next).

We hope to make these tiles somewhat transparent – and I don’t need to explain to you why this would be awesome, but we hope it can be and we know it will be, if it is (see: convoluted). [ed. This is not a promise and War for the Overworld refuses to accept responsibility for: shattered dreams; substance abuse; broken hearts. -James]

Permafrost [Wall Tile]

Another block that should increase gameplay & allow for more diverse strategies – this tile is extremely difficult to mine, however it can be reduced to rubble by the protracted and steadfast pick-picking of your workers. Alternatively one can reduce it to nothing with clever use of a well placed gout of flame from a minion’s staff.

There have been notes of late of a particularly clever worker who has locked himself in the Foundry, as
explosions reverberate down the inky halls from behind the closed door we find ourselves wondering if he has perhaps found a way to reduce permafrost to rubble in a different way…

Brimstone [Wall Tile]

Brimstone is similar to impenetrable rock in its idle state, and is unable to be mined by your minions, however with creative use of an ice spell perhaps it could be cooled enough to be bypassed?

That clever worker in the Foundry recently enlisted additional help and the explosions that once rocked the hall seem minute compared to the thunderous tumult that emanates from behind those doors. Whatever it is they are crafting, we hope it ends soon – we are beginning to get a migraine.

The following is news, but it is less “newsy” than the previous paragraphs. Feel free to skip straight to the bottom if you have no desire to work with us on War for the Overworld for some parting words.

Positions Available!

We are currently accepting resumes for the following positions, if you have a heart of pure evil, work well under pressure (by pressure we mean “menacing demons & otherworldly beasts eyeing you and drooling all over your keyboard as they wait for the perfect moment to strike), always tread lightly (there are traps everywhere), produce a mean sandwich, or are generally a talented and dedicated worker please feel free to drop us a line if one of the below positions is something you are amazing at.

If you are interested in applying for these positions please include the following details in your email:

• Name
• Age
• Timezone [GMT]
• Experience (years)
• Specializations (if applicable)
• A portfolio of your work
• A brief paragraph about yourself
• A (slightly longer) paragraph about why you would be the absolute best candidate for us to choose.
• What dish you’ll bring to our potluck (no more desserts please!)

Concept Artist

Role: As a concept artist you will be charged with taking an idea and making it into beautiful concept art. As with all open positions you must be “in it” for the “long run” and be able to produce content in a timely manner on a regular basis.
Requirements:

• Proficient in Photoshop or other digital painting
• Skilled in creating all types of concepts from characters to props/room environments
• You must be a wonderful team member and collaborate well with your fellow designers!
• (You certainly must eat, sleep, and poop video games)
• Have gone to art school for 2 or more years

An ideal candidate would have:

• Experience on a previous title

Contact or use your preferred browser based email to contact: [email protected]

Hard Surface Modeler & Character Modeler

Role: Your job in this position is to model like a champion. Seriously, you’ll probably be modeling holy champions. Then again you’ll be modeling other stuff too. You should really know what this job entails if you read the title – right? (Note: modelers do not need to know how to read or write, so if you can’t read this feel free to apply anyway).

Requirements:

• Proficient in 3d modeling software (e.g. 3ds Max, Maya)
• Skilled in modeling as well as texturing all types of concepts from characters to props/room environments
• Team player and ready to work & collaborate with other artists
• (And of course you must love, live, and breathe video games)

An ideal candidate would have:

• Experienced Modeler who has worked on a previous title (or in a related position / different medium)
• At least 2 years of art schooling in 3d modeling

Contact or use your preferred browser based email to contact: [email protected]

Programmers

Role: As a programmer you will be responsible for the nuts and bolts of the game. If you have particular specialization(s) or experience please include them in your resume.

• Solid understanding of & experience with C#
• Solid understanding of & experience with Visual Studio
• Coherent communication skills, well documented (commented) commits, an ability to update tickets in Assembla (this is not hard)
• (You must certainly dine, wine, and call video games when you take them out on a date)

An ideal candidate would have:

• All of the above & some (or lots of!) experience with Unity

Contact or use your preferred browser based email to contact: [email protected]
(There is more than one position available for prospective programmers. Don’t be shy!)

Additionally we are looking for someone who can set off some (or all) of these traps for us, they’re seriously killing productivity and just today we lost one of our favorite dish washers. (No experience required).

I guess we’re also looking for a new dish washer… (No experience required).

It has been our pleasure to serve up this week’s portion of news, dine well upon the succulent and meaty flesh of progress. We’ll see you next week around this time.
– WftO Team