Jon Michael Creations

Spent the first few days of the new year learning Epic Game's Unreal Development Kit.

Here is what I cooked up after a few days of learning and about a day putting this environment together.

More shots of the World Building section of the site... Shoot me more ideas for future worlds! Thanks guys!

Cheers,

Jon Michael

Started mapping this again this weekend... Thought I would refresh myself in Valve Software's Hammer Editor, so I decided to work on a campaign for Left 4 Dead... This is what I came up with over the Memorial Day weekend. More screenshots are in my World Building Portfolio...

Hopefully, more pictures to come! :)

Cheers,

Jon Michael

With just a week or so before the gaming industry's annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, otherwise known as E3, it is interesting and exciting to think that this may be the best E3 yet... or at least in a long while. While this is said nearly every year, by nearly every publication, this year seems to hold some credibility to that claim.

With the industry finding its way in to nearly every home in America and abroad, gaming is finally becoming "mainstream"... While this may have happened many years ago with the introduction of the Nintendo Wii, never has it been more apparent than now; with games pulling in more revenue than big budget Hollywood films; The challenge now for the industry is to appeal to everyone on every level and show that gaming is more than a 'nerd' past-time. It is important for the industry to show the relevance of gaming... To show the artistic rather than the temporal fascinate.

With gaming finding much of today's popularity in highly realistic and visceral 'first person shooters', it is important that the industry discover new facets to show its relevance. Lately, pocket games such as Angry Birds and Cut the Rope have shown that small developers with unique ideas can be just as engaging and most importantly-fun for everyone. With these new mobile games, the industry is embarking on a whole new frontier.

On the Go

Mobile gaming is nothing new, but never before have people been able to find similar home console and desktop experiences on the mobile platform (without purchasing anything but a smartphone)! With graphic fidelity and performance on the mobile platform reaching new highs, it is only a matter of years before we see fully fledged games on every phone. More importantly, smaller and upcoming developers are finding their place in the industry because of the ease and accessibility of development for these platforms. This is good–very good for the industry.

Thinking Man's Game

I gotta be honest, I am a little burnt out on the 'Modern Warfare' epidemic. Ideas such as Portal, Left 4 Dead, Deus Ex, Bioshock, and L.A. Noire to name a few are showing that there is something valuable in thinking out of the box. Games where story and interaction takes precedence over regurgitating the same, old ideas. With developers like Warren Spector (Deus Ex, Thief, Epic Mickey) and Ken Levine (Bioshock, System Shock), it is apparent to see the value in thinking more of the player interaction and journey rather than the amount of multiplayer options available. Take note industry: more thinking is not a bad thing! Developers like Remedy Software and Bioware understand this–I wish I could say the same about many others. Just like the 'World War II Era' of gaming, the 'Modern Warfare' train is gonna run out of steam... It is time to think of new and engaging ideas! Irrational Software's Bioshock Infinite is one such example! Never would anyone have guessed the developers would take players to floating cities above the skyline... Think out of the box–its importance to the sustainability of the industry.

The Power of Prayer

The Wii will always be remembered for forging new avenues of gameplay onto the industry. Motion gaming found its way into homes, schools, physical therapy offices, and care homes to name a few... It took the industry by surprise and by storm–easily outselling the Microsoft Xbox and the Sony Playstation. It was easy, accessible, and fun... However, the Wii was not without its apparent flaws: lack of hard drive, no logical online service, lack of strong continual output of titles, and lack of High Definition output... While, this didn't hold back the product from selling millions, it did hold it back from selling me. Yes, the Wii was the first Nintendo console I held back from purchasing. While motion gaming was great for the first few days of trying, it just couldn't hold its own for me with its faults. Anyone who tells my HD output isn't important, obviously does not own a HD television. The noticeability in Standard Definition on a 30" television is glaring; in fact its ugly. It takes away from an otherwise brilliant product. Fast forward to today. We are a week or so away from the announcement of a rumored, new, powerful (finally!) Nintendo console. I am excited and hopeful that Nintendo can address every concern from this generation and show the luster they know they can have for the 'hardcore' market. I don't know about you, but a high-definition, powerful Mario, Zelda, Smash Brothers, Pikmin, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart is something I have been waiting for for a long time. Let's hope Nintendo can live up to the hype all these rumors have started... and please no thirty minutes on the Vitality Sensor (Google). With this powerful console finally being realize, I move on to hoping for a Nintendo-Apple merger... One can hope right? Or let's just pray...

Otherwise

This is shaping up to be a great E3 as we peer into what is next for the industry. Let's sit back and see what is coming for this growing art and entertainment. Cheers!