I've had a number of people ask me what's happened to the site and to "Hypertension" since the last few blog posts, so I'll explain it as clearly as I possibly can.
Hypertension, which was the game up and running on this blog for the last few years, has been suspended and the original development team disbanded in September of last year. We made this decision due to the desire to work on an original IP, and over license disputes we couldn't resolve internally.
SCOURGE is the new game that eventually started as a project to replace those resources, but it was decided to completely start over. In doing so, the entire thing has been scrapped & redesigned fresh, meaning it no longer reflects relationship in any form to Hypertension.
A few months ago, I had started a side project to convert some of the maps and models from Hypertension over to Transfusion, which is a free and legal solution. Any progress for that will appear at the Transfusion forum thread that I started.
SCOURGE, meanwhile, is the new title that has been in active development since September of 2011. I understand that we are not making many public updates to that, but we are working hard on it, and expect to show off some progress very soon. This new game will also be Dreamcast compatible. I can't say too much, but it's going great and we're meeting many milestones. I simply can't wait to share media as soon as we feel we're ready to. It worked with the question-mark fountain in 2008, but...not so much these days! (unfortunately - those are fun to look at!)
Just keep your eyes peeled every now and then, but when we resurface with Scourge, it should do whatever Hypertension did a thousand times over.
Should. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Friday, December 2, 2011
id Tech 2
We are looking for anyone experienced in editing/modding/programming id Tech 2 for an upcoming project. If you are interested please drop us a line.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
New Name, Better Game
As some of you might have noticed, the logo up there has changed, along with the name of our beloved game.
The new name comes from our decision to scrap any copyrighted assets that the game had at one point to excercise our creativity with a new direction.
Fear not, as the gameplay you were looking forward to in Hypertension will still be retained, with all the violence and fast-paced action only a game like SCOURGE can deliver.
Get ready for a ton of new announcements and footage in the near future as we gear up to show off SCOURGE's new look for the first time!
The new name comes from our decision to scrap any copyrighted assets that the game had at one point to excercise our creativity with a new direction.
Fear not, as the gameplay you were looking forward to in Hypertension will still be retained, with all the violence and fast-paced action only a game like SCOURGE can deliver.
Get ready for a ton of new announcements and footage in the near future as we gear up to show off SCOURGE's new look for the first time!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
HELP WANTED: 3D Modelers
An important announcement: we decided to go ahead and replace ALL of the copyrighted materials with our own material. This includes the current game textures, character/enemy names(etc), game actor sprites, game flats, sound effects, and a couple of the weapon sprites.
Benefits of doing this are too much to list here, but the important thing is that 1) We don't have to cancel the game like we originally planned for another original IP, and 2) We can be 100% legal and release a legit version of the game.
More benefits include higher-resolution textures (graphic artist will redo all the textures original in 512x512 rather than 128x128), an almost completely 3d world (to save time, we are remodeling the characters in 3d rather than redrawing them in 2d), and a wider range of creativity all around. Would also be able to keep the game code and game levels.
To make clear, we are not exactly doing derivative work, we will completely redo the characters and enemies. For instance, we have an Axe Zombie - it might get turned into a running zombie that uses limbs and sharpened bones to knock the player around, or Cultists who will become Fanatical Followers with a wide wardrobe to choose from, with different weapons. So on and so forth.
As of now, we already began reworking the 200+ textures into original material. We will be keeping similar patterns to avoid having to redesign large chunks of the levels, or reprogramming chunks of code. The sound effects can be recorded by us anyway, and we can buy royalty-free SFX all over the net to replace the copyrighted ones.
So, while the spirit of Blood will be there, the assets will not. This allows us to be 100% legal, release the title(s), and have a generally fresher experience while keeping the crazy gameplay intact. I have spoken to a publisher and it might be a possibility provided we replace all the copyrighted material...that's exiting! A one-hundred percent legit Dreamcast game that isn't a shoot em' up or HL-clone!
The only thing we would need at this point are 3d modelers, so I was going to ask a favor:
I reprogrammed the engine to accept MD3 (Quake 3) rather than MD2 (Quake 2) models, which gives us the advantage of higher tris count without the jagged animations. It increased the overhead from ~4k tris to almost 8k tris, and verts from 2k to 4k, while doubling the amount of frames per model without having to dynamically switch them out. So, we're still going for the low-poly route, no more than ~1.5k tris per object, and no more than ~6k tris per scene.
Which is where you come in: We need the word spread around that we're looking for~low-poly~ modelers who can model from a bunch of reference graphics (the references containing 50+ frames of drawn figures, from Blood) and turn it into something original while keeping the spirit of the original drawings. Since I am WAY tied up right now with the engine code, I have no time to actively hunt, so those of you who can genuinely spread the word would be a HUGE help. For the smaller objects, we can do it in-house, so it'd be a matter at this point in modeling the characters. Animations and all would be provided beforehand so it would be less work. And, if anyone refers a member who joins up to finish the game, I will hand out a complety free copy of Hypertension with a BUNCH of extra stuff (scrapped missions, old betas, etc: the ultimate edition), for the Dreamcast, before anyone else gets it. I think it's a great idea to get someone who can help involved. Of course, you can actively continue to beta test (if you haven't had the chance, we can get you the material), which includes the PC, DC, and 32X versions.
It would be amazing to get support and find people who can help us get legal and get the project out the door for the fans. I didn't like the idea of scrapping all the years of work on the title. We stopped production for awhile, but this sounds like a better idea. Please help us spread the word and get this wonderful title completed and legal!
Feel free to send us inquiries, tips, or help ads to TDG$MODS$@$3DFX$DEV$.$NET$ (edit the money symbol out of the address, did that to block nasty spammers).
Thanks guys! Keep it fresh!
-Corbin
TDGMods
PS: The Forums are down, switching servers with the sub domain, among other things, give us a few days to work it out.
Benefits of doing this are too much to list here, but the important thing is that 1) We don't have to cancel the game like we originally planned for another original IP, and 2) We can be 100% legal and release a legit version of the game.
More benefits include higher-resolution textures (graphic artist will redo all the textures original in 512x512 rather than 128x128), an almost completely 3d world (to save time, we are remodeling the characters in 3d rather than redrawing them in 2d), and a wider range of creativity all around. Would also be able to keep the game code and game levels.
To make clear, we are not exactly doing derivative work, we will completely redo the characters and enemies. For instance, we have an Axe Zombie - it might get turned into a running zombie that uses limbs and sharpened bones to knock the player around, or Cultists who will become Fanatical Followers with a wide wardrobe to choose from, with different weapons. So on and so forth.
As of now, we already began reworking the 200+ textures into original material. We will be keeping similar patterns to avoid having to redesign large chunks of the levels, or reprogramming chunks of code. The sound effects can be recorded by us anyway, and we can buy royalty-free SFX all over the net to replace the copyrighted ones.
So, while the spirit of Blood will be there, the assets will not. This allows us to be 100% legal, release the title(s), and have a generally fresher experience while keeping the crazy gameplay intact. I have spoken to a publisher and it might be a possibility provided we replace all the copyrighted material...that's exiting! A one-hundred percent legit Dreamcast game that isn't a shoot em' up or HL-clone!
The only thing we would need at this point are 3d modelers, so I was going to ask a favor:
I reprogrammed the engine to accept MD3 (Quake 3) rather than MD2 (Quake 2) models, which gives us the advantage of higher tris count without the jagged animations. It increased the overhead from ~4k tris to almost 8k tris, and verts from 2k to 4k, while doubling the amount of frames per model without having to dynamically switch them out. So, we're still going for the low-poly route, no more than ~1.5k tris per object, and no more than ~6k tris per scene.
Which is where you come in: We need the word spread around that we're looking for~low-poly~ modelers who can model from a bunch of reference graphics (the references containing 50+ frames of drawn figures, from Blood) and turn it into something original while keeping the spirit of the original drawings. Since I am WAY tied up right now with the engine code, I have no time to actively hunt, so those of you who can genuinely spread the word would be a HUGE help. For the smaller objects, we can do it in-house, so it'd be a matter at this point in modeling the characters. Animations and all would be provided beforehand so it would be less work. And, if anyone refers a member who joins up to finish the game, I will hand out a complety free copy of Hypertension with a BUNCH of extra stuff (scrapped missions, old betas, etc: the ultimate edition), for the Dreamcast, before anyone else gets it. I think it's a great idea to get someone who can help involved. Of course, you can actively continue to beta test (if you haven't had the chance, we can get you the material), which includes the PC, DC, and 32X versions.
It would be amazing to get support and find people who can help us get legal and get the project out the door for the fans. I didn't like the idea of scrapping all the years of work on the title. We stopped production for awhile, but this sounds like a better idea. Please help us spread the word and get this wonderful title completed and legal!
Feel free to send us inquiries, tips, or help ads to TDG$MODS$@$3DFX$DEV$.$NET$ (edit the money symbol out of the address, did that to block nasty spammers).
Thanks guys! Keep it fresh!
-Corbin
TDGMods
PS: The Forums are down, switching servers with the sub domain, among other things, give us a few days to work it out.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Phase X has started.
Greetings everyone! Hope you all had a great 4th!
I come bearing some news. We have made the final move to scrap and reboot development of my game, Hypertension, for the last time.
This is due to our unanimous decision to redesign the entire first episode to make the plot, story, and characters stronger and more developed. Rather than dive head first into the game with a handful of concepts and Blood for the base, as I did in 2008, we will take this title on with a completed roadmap. So far, we just finished up the important chunk of design, and we're already hard at work on reprogramming the AI and making basic renders (with layouts and pre-rendered direction). With a now focused determination, we hope to deliver on something more amazing that what I ever hoped to accomplish with this game so far.
My grasping of the source code will produce results I could not have imagined almost 3 years ago when I started this game, and we now stand with the knowledge and determination to get the game on the right track, as it should be.
We will not be basing this title as heavily on Blood as it has seemed thus far. We will keep the overall engine and a few of the enemy ideas, as well as a few characters from said game, but the rest will be completely built from scratch to compliment the new design. Some of the original content from Episode 1 will stay, however.
We will keep the maps and scripts that have been done up to this point as a bonus episode to compliment the main story. Most of the things that were created prior by Fiend, like the achievement and money system, will remain in the new design.
However, we hope to take all of the excitement and awe you fans have experienced and amp it up to reach new levels of adventure like you have never felt before.
While the blog site will remain static, we will be abound with conversation and speculation at our forums. If you were wondering, it's the big FORUMS button on our sidebar. In there, you have the chance to follow along with our conversations and learn tidbits about what we're up to with the new development. We will keep you fans well fed, no worries there.
Alas, I'm off to join my crew in design land, let's hope whoever eventually returns to the blog will come bearing many gifts.
"Looks like my train's come in."
I come bearing some news. We have made the final move to scrap and reboot development of my game, Hypertension, for the last time.
This is due to our unanimous decision to redesign the entire first episode to make the plot, story, and characters stronger and more developed. Rather than dive head first into the game with a handful of concepts and Blood for the base, as I did in 2008, we will take this title on with a completed roadmap. So far, we just finished up the important chunk of design, and we're already hard at work on reprogramming the AI and making basic renders (with layouts and pre-rendered direction). With a now focused determination, we hope to deliver on something more amazing that what I ever hoped to accomplish with this game so far.
My grasping of the source code will produce results I could not have imagined almost 3 years ago when I started this game, and we now stand with the knowledge and determination to get the game on the right track, as it should be.
We will not be basing this title as heavily on Blood as it has seemed thus far. We will keep the overall engine and a few of the enemy ideas, as well as a few characters from said game, but the rest will be completely built from scratch to compliment the new design. Some of the original content from Episode 1 will stay, however.
We will keep the maps and scripts that have been done up to this point as a bonus episode to compliment the main story. Most of the things that were created prior by Fiend, like the achievement and money system, will remain in the new design.
However, we hope to take all of the excitement and awe you fans have experienced and amp it up to reach new levels of adventure like you have never felt before.
While the blog site will remain static, we will be abound with conversation and speculation at our forums. If you were wondering, it's the big FORUMS button on our sidebar. In there, you have the chance to follow along with our conversations and learn tidbits about what we're up to with the new development. We will keep you fans well fed, no worries there.
Alas, I'm off to join my crew in design land, let's hope whoever eventually returns to the blog will come bearing many gifts.
"Looks like my train's come in."
Friday, July 1, 2011
It's here...
Many of you are getting sweaty palms from the title.. Well to push you all back in the waiting line once more, Hypertension is not here. Just little ol' me! I'd like to give a big hearty hello to the current team, and am happy to be part of the team! Anywho, it's time for me to get back to my thing.
~ Designer Tyler Jessilynn
Thursday, June 30, 2011
TDGMods Presents...
My apologies to everyone who was checking here frequently to come up empty handed. I had one hell of a day and I'm just now getting around to posting this. Some of you have seen this new trailer. Most have not.
I present you, on behalf of the TDGMods team, our newest gameplay trailer of Hypertension - Episode 1.
In Cooperative Splitscreen mode.
Also, I finally activated the new sharing options that go below these posts! So do your thing people and share this up! Share it more than a hooker shares her STD's! ;)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Massively Awesome Trailer...coming
If anyone is awake at this time (well, 4:02AMPST), and you're reading this - be prepared for a huge surprise.
Now, usually when I say surprise, it's a few images or clips strung together to show something off - however, when I say huge surprise, think "Game Changer". This one blows off the lid in possibilities.
I have to wait a handful of hours before I can upload this badboy, and I want it thrown far and wide - nudge your friends, pet your dog...hell, poke your grandma!
I need sleep. Tomorrow (technically today) is going to be one BUSY day, this piece of upcoming news notwithstanding. I encourage you all to keep checking back throughout the day, whomever you may be!
Now, usually when I say surprise, it's a few images or clips strung together to show something off - however, when I say huge surprise, think "Game Changer". This one blows off the lid in possibilities.
I have to wait a handful of hours before I can upload this badboy, and I want it thrown far and wide - nudge your friends, pet your dog...hell, poke your grandma!
I need sleep. Tomorrow (technically today) is going to be one BUSY day, this piece of upcoming news notwithstanding. I encourage you all to keep checking back throughout the day, whomever you may be!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
EX2 Stuff
Hey guys, just wanted to throw you all a bonus video.
This is footage from the planned Episode 2 game arc that we had going on for awhile. This was to introduce a new character in the near future (in a new game). As you can see, quite a bit of work went into it. We later deemed that it wasn't quite like how we wanted it, so we decided to start over. We will be keeping some of the materials developed for this however.
You can see the major differences this has with the other game, like lighting, textures, pacing, and sounds (footsteps!).
Well, enjoy the video! Just FYI, episode 2 will also come to Sega's Dreamcast...when it's done, of course ;)
This is footage from the planned Episode 2 game arc that we had going on for awhile. This was to introduce a new character in the near future (in a new game). As you can see, quite a bit of work went into it. We later deemed that it wasn't quite like how we wanted it, so we decided to start over. We will be keeping some of the materials developed for this however.
You can see the major differences this has with the other game, like lighting, textures, pacing, and sounds (footsteps!).
Well, enjoy the video! Just FYI, episode 2 will also come to Sega's Dreamcast...when it's done, of course ;)
If you can afford it, try and watch this on Youtube's site. It will play at a nice, HD 1080i quality.
Unlike the other videos though, you are free to spread the word. ;)
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