I've nearly come to the end of the initial six-week run of my GameSpot show Secret Code. The show I decided to do after we wrapped the second season of Escape From Mount Stupid and I felt like talking about the reason I dumped a popular show to focus on games not many people know or care about.

I've always had a massive love and respect for the independent games development scene. For one I used to be a programmer. Mostly web-interface stuff but I tried my hand at games development on Actionscript and C# in various college projects. Secondly, I love the idea of small start-up companies. Before coming to GameSpot I ran a gaming website with a group of people across the world, and before that I was always working on small projects with friends. I love the camaraderie that comes from collaboration, and the fruits of passionate group projects are usually pretty damn tasty.

I did some counting last week and realised that Escape From Mount Stupid has been watched 1.6 million times. That's a lot of people. I try not to get focused on numbers too much, but the fact is they're an important part of gauging interest in videos you make. Sometimes other factors come into play. Specifically with my shows it's usually down to how much time they get on the homepage (exposure), the quality of games in the title (AAA get more clicks) and the length of the video (traditionally long videos don't get played).

So when EFMS did quite well, and I knew I wanted to do something else I decided to cash-in any and all goodwill I had with the community and my peers and do a show that broke the second rule.

So how do you get people to watch an indie show? Nobody had ever cracked the formula so I decided to ask as many people as possible. When I had the opportunity to visit PAX East earlier this year I spent a lot of time talking to indie developers of all shapes and sizes. Capy's Nathan Vella told me short-form, entertaining videos were the best way to show off a game without boring people. Interviews and features are fun, he explained, but most gamers don't care about the industry or the developers. I used a lot of this advice in the first few episodes of the series.

Another issue on my mind was how to get to expand the gaming palette of visitors to GameSpot who are only interested in AAA games. I had a great chat with everyones favourite ex GameSpot editor turned developer Greg Kasavin who interestingly told me he didn't care about trying to sell his games to that audience. He told me there are enough people who love the games that Supergiant want to make already. I was glad for his insight but I wasn't sure how to take it. Did that mean an indie show would do okay because fans of indie games would watch it? Or did it mean that trying to appeal to a wider audience was futile? I'd find out soon enough, it was three weeks to episode one.

In the end I decided on a formula that would attempt to appeal to both crowds. To create a show that championed indie games, but put a weird game front-and-center as a piece of bait on the GameSpot homepage. The first episode showed off The Splatters and Lone Survivor, but the image on the homepage carousel and the first item on the intro focused on the controversial simulation game JFK Reloaded.

The indie features were short-form, punchy and focused on entertainment and delivering core information about the game. In terms of style they were basically trailers. Over the course of the season I tried different lengths and combinations of episodes. Three games - five games - two games and a quick-fire round - one game and an indie everytime we kill fifteen people.

I still wasn't sure if people were watching because of the indie games or the weird games, so on episode five I decided to take a punt and focus on one single game. To my surprise and delight our Monaco episode is looking to be the second most popular episode we made. I still don't have any decisive answers, but the massive drop-off in views I had nightmares about didn't happen. So at the very least I know that the indie games aren't the weak link.

We haven't nailed the formula, but I feel a lot more clear about the desires of the audience. We've one more episode left in this six week run, but I'm looking to continue Secret Code in a less structured style.

It's not all about the numbers, but we've done 113,000 views on YouTube in five episodes, and that makes my job of justifying the show a lot, lot easier!

Special Thanks to all the indie developers who helped me out so much during the course of this show's initial run. We've got some amazing games like Thomas Was Alone, Natural selection 2 and Retro City Rampage coming on future episodes.

Yea....bloody hell. *pinches self*

I'll be presenting some of the GameSpot live stage on Tue/Wed/Thurs. Might see my big Irish head on the the Giant Bomb late night show at some stage too.

@dannyodwyer on Twitter if you fancy seeing pictures of dumbness as they happen.

Updates coming soon, in the meantime here's a photo of jet lagged/drunk Seb Ford trying to close an ironing board.

Remember when I said I was working on an actual game? Yea that's still happening. So I guess it's time for an update!

Apparently it's not difficult to start work on a game. There's no shortage of things that need doing be it programming, graphics concepts, gameplay brainstorming, figuring out the story and it's characters let alone all the legal and business stuff. I guess the difficult part is figuring out what matters most, especially with such a small team.

To us it seemed important to first figure out what the game was and to make a prototype to make sure it all worked. As good as we think the concept is, it's pretty important we dive into the nitty gritty as early as possible to make sure it's as fun in real life as it is in our heads. A common theme of our progression is doubt. It stems from that fact that apart from programming knowledge and passion for video games, none of us have much of a clue about developing and creating an "actual" game. At least at this stage in the development we can use that doubt to be critical of everything we do and hopefully come out with something that's refined to a high level. Either that or it will cripple us emotionally and the game will be a hideous wreck - time will tell!

Gallery

Another reason to get a prototype working as soon as possible is we're going to be pitching this game to at least two parties and the game we show them will more than likely be a big brother of the original prototype. The two organisations in question are Valve (to secure a Steam release) and Microsoft (initially for entry in the Dream-Build-Play competition). The deadline for both of these is the start of June. Tick tock!

With that in mind, we all got to work on setting up whats needed for the prototype. These include:

Platform: Can we design for multiples concurrently, what coding framework to choose, do we concentrate on PC or console?

The Rules; win conditions, AI states, controls, goals, time and ability constraints.

Planning level design; How it looks, how the graphical styl3 influences gameplay, how graphics influence our ability to design varied levels, how we can use levels that properly utilise AI and player movement, where a level starts and ends, scalability.

Graphics; Whats the styl3 and how easy it is to reproduce, how long does it take to make each element, how many do we need, menu graphics, logo, character art.

Controls: How it works on each system, are they simple, do they reflect the actions on screen.

Difficulty: Scaleability, learning curve, replayability, challenge, reward.

That basically means a we're not allowed spent any time on the "NOT IMPORTANT YET" list which includes the soundtrack, the story, mission structure, the game's title and loads more. In fact blogs are supposed to be on that list as well, so I better cut this short. On the next blog we'll have an actual prototype so look forward to more actual screenshots, actual gameplay footage and actual solid facts about the game - perhaps even a title!. But for the time being I better get back to work.

For instant updates on the project follow us...
on Facebook
on Twitter
at www.tripledgames.com

Oh, and take a guess about what type of game it is....here's a clue:

Almost as tough as falling out of love with a project you've devoted four years and endless work hours to. That happened quite recently, and I'm wise enough to stop flogging a dead horse. Maybe the old mare will lurch back into life if someone else is doing the whipping - but my time on the reigns is coming to an end.

So when a programmer buddy of mine asked If I could help him on his next project, I jumped at the opportunity. And that's where I am. After four years of operating on one side of the gaming fence, I've jumped over to development. So after all these years my college programming experience may actually pay dividends and thanks to my varied and scattershot project history - I feel quite at home running production, PR and marketing on my own.

I haven't used this blog much in recent years as I didn't think it fair that I use it to publicize my own website, but I plan to use this space throughout development to keep you guys updated and get any feedback you'd be willing to give.

So that's it for now. We're currently working on the fundamentals of our game world so won't have anything of significance to show for a few weeks at least. The development life-cycle is looking between 5-7 months, and though I can't give specifics on what type of game we eventually chose, there are some clues on our Twitter and Facebook pages.

For now though, please feel free follow our Twitter feed @tripledgames and LIKE our Facebook Page.
Oh and if you have any questions, please do to ask.

I've always wanted to make one of these mash-up videos, but I usually have to let it fall by the wayside as the day job and running CG takes over so much of my time. Last night I got itchy for editing so I through together this mash-up video of the Microsoft Press Conference in 130 seconds. Without doing a VO, it should sum up my impressions of the conference; the good and bad.
 

Hope you're all keeping well, enjoying the World Cup and the summertime.

Danny

I'm really and truely addicted.
This is why I'm posting this.
How about you guys?

 Microsoft Press Release (25th March 2010) 
"Available in stores today, Xbox 360 introduces the 250GB Hard Drive, which offers more space to store your favorite game and entertainment content. Available at the incredible value of $129.99, the 250GB Hard Drive offers more freedom to download the latest demos, Xbox LIVE Arcade games, full game titles with Games on Demand, TV shows, movies and more straight to your Xbox 360 console."

It's such "incredible value", that I had to write about it!
For those of you in the UK for mainland Europe, the same HDD is available for £64.99 or €99.99. This isn't the first time we've seen the 250GB hardrive; but it's the first time it's been available as a stand-alone accessory outside of Japan. It seems initial news that the HDD would come without the data transfer cable (which costs £12.99 excluding VAT) has since been retracted, but the fact remains that this harddrive is pretty terrible value.

Currently you can pick up a 1 terabyte (that's 1,024 GB) 2.5 inch harddrive, either online or on the high-street, for around £65. The market has moved on so much, that you'll probably spend about the same looking for a SATA drive as low as 250. It's sort of like shopping for a VCR player in 2010; the supply is low, so cost rises. However a quick look for something similar shows a 320GB drive for £40 and several used 250GB's on eBay for as low as £10 (if your desperate!).

I may be being overly critical, sure there must be a cost to manufacturing the drives in their Xbox 360 shells and the transfer cable probably costs about 50p to make. But considering the people who are going to drop cash for this are the same people buying large volumes of content (be it games, movies, tv shows or DLC) it's a little cheeky to be asking for over three times the market price.

The price of the harddrive is clearly based on consumer expectation. When you convert £65 to euro, it comes to €72. So where did this extra €17.99 come from? Are you trying to tell me is costs €17.99 to fly them to Ireland or France? I can fly myself to either for 99p, albeit on one of Ryanair's providence- propelled tin-cans. In fact $129.99 is actually just under £88, so why a nearly £20 drop? Even with my slim knowledge of macroeconomics, price differences shifts like that don't make much sense. According to mother-internet, the HDD's are being made in Guangzhou Haizhu Borough Honglei Electronic Factory, and no that's not in Newcastle. So if the harddrives are being shipped from China, why do they cost half the price in the UK than the US and EU? Isn't the UK further from both those places?

It just looks like another way for Microsoft to squeeze cash from Xbox 360 owners. The wireless adaptor still costs four times more than it's Netgear PC equivalent and XBLA games have slowly shifted to a point where 1200 MSP is the standard price. Coming from a time when free maps, mods and add-ons were the norm, I find it hard to stomach when they try and charge me for a "mascot" for my "Game Room". Then they want me to spend £3 on some friggin' top-hat for my Avatar. Sure Microsoft, I was just going to burn all this money anyway!

Unfortunately, one day you might have to buy a new hard-drive for your Xbox 360 and since (unlike the PS3) this is your only option, you're stuck paying whatever they want you to pay. But for those of you just looking for a replacement 20GB, at least there is some good news. According to Guangzhou Haizhu Borough Honglei Electronic Factory's website; "ALSO we have 20GB HARD DRIVE FOR xBox360 CAN BE AVAIABLE". Sounds good to me!

Danny O'Dwyer

Reader Questions:
1) Have you had to spent much on console harddrives?
2) What's the most expensive part of being a gamer?
3) Have you ever sold your body in order to pay for video game accessories?

Both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 have played host to several simulation racing games, often using them a poster boys to show off each console's graphical prowess. With the exception of 2008's Burnout Paradise, there has been little in the way of social arcade racing for owners of either console. In fact even races in Paradise City were gentlemanly affairs without a red shell or banana skin in sight. So it seems Bizarre Creations, the developers behind Project Gotham Racing, have spotted a gap in the market for their brand new racer Blur. If you like your races messy, fast and explosive than Blur offers an experience not seen on consoles for quite a while.

Driving in Blur is fun and forgiving. Success is determined by breaking late, taking the proper driving line and drifting in and out of corners. Though the cars on offer are all licensed (with badges including BMW, Lotus and Renault) they can take much more punishment than their real life counterparts. Shunting your fellow racers and using crash barriers to bustle around corners isn't ideal, but it works. In fact the game makes every effort to ensure you never loose that sense of speed. If your car spins out of control or is destroyed by your opponents you re-spawn in motion almost immediately. Races are relentless, action packed and engaging from start to finish.

In any case the driving plays second fiddle to Blur's impressive weapon setup. Littered along the track are a variety of power-ups, three of which can be equipped at any time. Unlike the lucky dip pads in Mario Kart, power-ups in Blur are placed in clear view along the track, inviting you to stray from your driving line to grab your favorite. These are stored in slots which can be cycled through and fired in any order you want, enabling you to tactically retain useful weapons. To ensure your eyes don't wander too far from the track, these are represented by icons that float unobtrusively behind your car. Just as well each of the eight power-ups on offer has its own distinctive colorful icon which are easily recognizable after a few races.

The power-ups themselves consist of offensive and defensive options. Shunt is a slow moving projectile which homes in on other cars to violently flip them on impact. Barge sends out a burst of energy around your car, knocking opponents who are getting too close for comfort. Bolt consists of three straight-shooting projectiles and Shock creates a maze of lightning up-track for your fellow drivers to dodge around. You also have the common or garden Shield and Mine, the Repair to patch up your damaged car and the Nitro for a handy short burst of speed. Each of the power-ups feels useful, or at the very least worth holding onto. Others like Bolt can be incredibly satisfying to nail opponents with. Placement of these power-ups has been well balanced too as you always feel like a game-changer is waiting just around the corner.

Blur takes more than a leaf from Modern Warfare's online mechanics creating a similarly addictive experience. In each race your rewarded for placement, use of weapons and unlocking challenges, resulting in gained XP in the form of 'fans'. Over time you can level-up your online persona, unlocking extra cars and modifications. Right now the beta is capped at level ten and is limited in terms of mods & cars, but customised setup's will no doubt serve as another tactical layer to each race. In any case you'll rack up points pretty quickly, as your awarded for driving badly almost as much as you are for driving well.

After each race you're dropped back to a lobby where you can tweak your setup and vote on the next race location. Three of the four game modes on offer in the beta are variants of the basic race format, but the fourth is more akin to Destruction Derby. There's no racing, so points are gained by damaging opponents cars either with weapons or brute force. The tracks for this mode are unique, with figure-of-eight and circular domes ensuring maximum carnage. Multiplayer supports up to 20 racers, but even in low number matches each race is a battle from beginning to end.

Blur's inspirations are numerous, but the end result feels very unique indeed. Unlike online shooters, pole position has always mattered more in racing games but Bizarre Creations have created a system where its not the winning, but the tacking part that counts. If they can retain this in the single player component Blur may very well be a racing game for the masses, though its unclear if it's frantic approach will satisfy racing aficionados.

Blur is penned for release on April Fool's day 2010 on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.

Danny O'Dwyer

Video Editorial: Loading Screen Evolution!
It's been a while since I whipped up a video-editorial, but I had some spare time this weekend to dust off the camera and capture random game footage. I figured I try to shoot a piece about the most boring part of gaming; Loading Screens. It was a sort of challange I guess, and I'm pretty happy with the results. More importantly, once you've watched the video be sure to post your ideas for loading screens in the future. This video contains profanity and is therefore age-gated as per Gamespot rules.

User Feedback:
Q1: What's your favourite loading screen?
Q2: What ideas for future loading screens do you have?