God these games' graphics blew my mind back in the day. It's incredible taking a look back (for the first time in my case) and seeing how much we've come on. In my memory they were still looking like CryEngine 10 or something.
This is the game that made me want to be an environment artist. I don't think any other game at that time had been so immersive as Max Payne!
Quote from Minos26 minutes ago, Minos said: This is the game that made me want to be an environment artist. I don't think any other game at that time had been so immersive as Max Payne!
Yeah, pretty much the same story for me. It made me want to be a level designer, then it rolled off to environment art.
Kind of crazy how a video game could change my life this much, for the better. I remember playing MP1 over, and over and over again, one day I was so bored I started reading the game's manual, in the very last page there was a little section called "Modding", I remember like it was yesterday, reading that little paragraph saying if I wanted more Max Payne I could hop online and get other people's content and even make my own. I got on a bus to the nearest cyber-cafe, carrying with me an old CD-RW that was rewritten a hundred times already, I couldn't afford internet at home so that turned into my routine for the months to come, we take it for granted now but man having the chance to socialize with people with the same passion for a game and mods was extremly liberating and enabling for me. Which btw, eventually in the search for more games I could mod, I found Mapcore.
Max Payne still has one of the best ambiance work I've ever seen in a video game, the balance between the story, design, art and music was nailed to perfection. It made me realize a video game can be way more than just running in boring corridors killing mindless mean dudes on the screen, they can immerse you and help better your life, I've been trying to recreate that with my art, ever since.
The game had some amazing mods, it was especially fun with the kung fu one.
3 hours ago, [HP] said: Yeah, pretty much the same story for me. It made me want to be a level designer, then it rolled off to environment art.
Kind of crazy how a video game could change my life this much, for the better. I remember playing MP1 over, and over and over again, one day I was so bored I started reading the game's manual, in the very last page there was a little section called "Modding", I remember like it was yesterday, reading that little paragraph saying if I wanted more Max Payne I could hop online and get other people's content and even make my own. I got on a bus to the nearest cyber-cafe, carrying with me an old CD-RW that was rewritten a hundred times already, I couldn't afford internet at home so that turned into my routine for the months to come, we take it for granted now but man having the chance to socialize with people with the same passion for a game and mods was extremly liberating and enabling for me. Which btw, eventually in the search for more games I could mod, I found Mapcore.
Max Payne still has one of the best ambiance work I've ever seen in a video game, the balance between the story, design, art and music was nailed to perfection. It made me realize a video game can be way more than just running in boring corridors killing mindless mean dudes on the screen, they can immerse you and help better your life, I've been trying to recreate that with my art, ever since.
I liked to shoot f**kas in bullet time.
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In all seriousness it really inspired me too. I remember getting MaxED and after about 20 minutes concluded this industry is not for me. Thankfully I then discovered the joys of Day of Defeat and HL engine mapping and so began countless teenage hours of building technically sound and pretty maps that were a pile of hell to play. In the end I decided to just go for a design job because then it just needed to look nice. 
Watched this last night. It's so inspiring to see what a small group of people can accomplish together when all the pieces fall in the right place, everyone on the team on the same page. It's one of those cases where the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.
It's also a lesson on how you can get away with cheap solutions, ex the devs using themselves and their relatives as characters in the game. This stuff adds authenticity and a unique feel. I feel like these days we tend to complicate things too much, always trying to match AAA standards, when in fact, things in a game just need to be consistent to be immersive. No need to have the same actors as in every other game too, use people you know with no acting experience, that will make things more interesting 
I could be wrong but if I remember correctly Valve did the same for Half-Life 2 characters.
Quote from Minos59 minutes ago, Minos said: I could be wrong but if I remember correctly Valve did the same for Half-Life 2 characters.
Correct. Most, if not all, of the characters are based on real people: relatives, people working in the same building, etc.
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That is absolutely superb. Uncanny how well such an old game captured their likenesses too. How is it games so much newer and better still struggle to make faces look as natural as HL2 did?! In some cases HL2 actually looks like a photo:
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Quote from Thrik3 minutes ago, Thrik said: That is absolutely superb. Uncanny how well such an old game captured their likenesses too. How is it games so much newer and better still struggle to make faces look as natural as HL2 did?! In some cases HL2 actually looks like a photo:
[Blocked Image: http://media.moddb.com/legacy/images/features/22/227/gallery/t_1117.jpg]
In some ways we stagnated a bit, in others, there was actually a lot of progress in this field:
Oh yeah. Some games like Uncharted 4 are just beauty to look at in terms of faces. It's definitely not so slick across the board though.
Quote from Thrik12 minutes ago, Thrik said: Oh yeah. Some games like Uncharted 4 are just beauty to look at in terms of faces. It's definitely not so slick across the board though.
yeah, this is a really interesting thread on the topic
Watched this the other night, I don't fully agree with some things, mainly I don't remember struggling with the "campers"... I don't know if is because I've always been a stoic player and actually liking repetition (to get the most efficient killstreak to save ammo) or that we are now "spoiled" and judging with modern eyes.
Anyway definitely a game changer.
I remember trying MaxEd but I was already accustomed at the time with the generic "units" concept of Worldcraft editor and couldn't get my head around the metric system (despite using the metric system in real life). Also I think the editor was already working mainly/only in the 3D view(?). I'm sad I never tried any mod, despite being a huge fan of the game (although I always preferred MP2 that I found more polished and played like once every year after it came out for several years), but good mods came out when the world had totally moved on. It's indisputable though that the kung fu stuff is still impressive and not just because is on old stuff.
Great video. I fucking love this game. Actually started playing it again too. It has aged surprisingly well imho. Gameplay and feel is tight as hell.
What I'm truly amazed by is the atmosphere, tone and maturity of the entire game. Everything just feels so... right (or wrong, as the reality in the game is quite twisted). As I look and analyze various portions of the game, the components (characters, environments, effects, comic panels) are so bloody basic by today's standards but all the pieces form such a great whole. The world building is great and Noir York feels like a real place by the end of the game.
This game also makes me reflect on the increasing budgetary demands for games. No way you could make a 6 hour rollercoaster ride of the same calibre with the same amount of people these days. Or you have to be incredibly smart about which theme and design you choose etc. Way harder in any case.
I keep asking myself why Sam Lake is not also writing novels. In the Alan Wake Collector's edition there's a short story that tells about previous events and is very well written!
Quote from blackdog1 hour ago, blackdog said: I keep asking myself why Sam Lake is not also writing novels. In the Alan Wake Collector's edition there's a short story that tells about previous events and is very well written!
That short story he wrote is really good, yeah. he's not doing more books/novels because as we all know making video games is hard fucking work and he does more than just writing for RMD.
1 hour ago, [HP] said: That short story he wrote is really good, yeah. he's not doing more books/novels because as we all know making video games is hard fucking work and he does more than just writing for RMD.
True, but there's people that manage to do different things. Of course you put aside onep activity for the other or split equally.
What's a game director's day like?
Quote from blackdog58 minutes ago, blackdog said: What's a game director's day like?
Who knows, it changes from studio to studio.
Cos I would have imagined a role like his in a company like that, for the kind of games they make, that he would be super busy in pre-production, then addressing things that crop up, but have also enough time to plan the next game etc @[HP]
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