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[UE4] Moonscape - The Last Man in the Universe is Not on Earth

JasonHeckmen
polycounter lvl 8
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JasonHeckmen polycounter lvl 8
You know, it's not the easiest thing living at Paul's house. There's just something about Paul that attracts the weirdest people (or that might be the fact we live in Detroit, I'll let you decide). I remember when I first moved in. The rent was cheap and the place smelled clean. That was about all that I needed to know.

From the outside Paul's House looks unassuming enough. It's just another house in a row of seedy houses where all sorts of mayhem takes place ranging from drug deals to prostitution rings. But I like to think Paul's house engages in the seediest of all practices: game development. 

Now it might seem strange to group game development with drug dealing and prostitution rings but then again you haven't been involved with game development inside Paul's house. It's a pretty strange place. The weird thing is I don't think I've ever met Paul. I'm not sure anyone has. His mom comes around every now and then, politely says hello, and then vanishes into the basement through a locked door only she has the key for. It used to be that whenever we'd spot her curiously still alive 1972 Ford Pinto pull into the drive we'd all stop working to see if we could get a glimpse of the ever mysterious Paul. 

But lately Paul's got us his working on his latest manifesto and we haven't had time to see what him and his mom have been up to. From all intents and purposes Moonscape is actually shaping up to kind of good if I can be honest. The story centers on a man stationed on the moon with the voice of his daughter in his ear. It's a narrative adventure game like Firewatch and the note Paul slid under all our doors outlining the story has got the house real excited (If not for the fact that the story is actually really good, but because this may have been the first time that Paul has interacted with ANY of us!)

Paul mentioned releasing Moonscape sometime around March so we're all on top of making this thing happen quick. As cryptic and weird as Paul's house is, it's kind of cool seeing everyone come together under a common purpose (except for the dreaded brothers Wrigley... but I'll get to them later...). As such Paul has tasked us with getting the word out about the game. The brothers Wrigley are posting printouts over lost pet posters around the neighborhood. Emily has left for Istanbul to raise awareness among the Turkey crowd (we haven't heard from her since the coup...). And I'm here on the Polycount forums sharing our latest progress. All feedback is welcome. Put us on blast (can't be any worse than Paul) and all things considered I can safely speak for all of us when I say that we wouldn't want to be making games anywhere other than at Paul's house. Look out for more info next week! It's time for an infiltration mission!


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  • pixelpatron
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    pixelpatron polycounter
    I've never seen so much commentary posted alongside a single rock asset. lol. MOAR!!!!
  • JasonHeckmen
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    JasonHeckmen polycounter lvl 8
    The average minute count before something strange and unusual happens at Paul's House is often no more than 7 minutes. Lately I've noticed it less often because of how preoccupied with development we are, but last night took the cake. Unbeknownst to me September 21st is Paul's mother's birthday. I woke up to find a house full of strangers throwing up balloons, banners, and confetti in preparation for Ann's Big Birthday Bash (we still just call her Paul's Mom). 

    The rest of the development team apparently knew about the shindig but apparently no one got around to telling me. Go figure. As I brushed my teeth to get started with my day, I looked out the window and spot the Brothers Wrigley throwing up the most hideously awful looking Baboon pinata holding a cigar between it's fingers that I've ever seen in my life. The Brothers Wrigley took turns smelling the pinata before Paul's Mom came running out to help organize it's official hanging. 

    Exactly 7 minutes later I was in the kitchen sipping on a cup of coffee when news came in the form of a note handed to me by Paul's mom that Emily had made out of Istanbul under the guise of a yoga trainer for camels. Apparently the creatures had taken a special affinity to her and she had become an apprentice to the second oldest yoga trainer for camels in Turkey. The two were last seen practicing Downward Dog against the setting sun as they traveled into Syria.

    I tried getting as much work done in between the noise when a few hours later Rodrigo ran into my room smelling like gasoline and gunpowder telling me that my presence was requested: the party was starting! When I got to the backyard I realized to my complete dismay the backyard was filled with no less than 17 clowns, one to keep each developer from Paul's House company. 

    I tried to immediately escape back into Paul's House but I discovered Paul's Mom standing directly behind me, blocking my path (Dang!). She introduced me to Clown #18, a 7-foot clown with a blue frown painted over his handlebar mustache. As we talked I learned his name was Tom and he was a carpenter from Winnipeg who had convinced himself that Detroit was on the "upturn", but he waiting for the work to "turn up". He laughed. I didn't. 


  • JasonHeckmen
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    JasonHeckmen polycounter lvl 8


    Paul left me a note under my door. He asked, "How's this for a rock?!"
  • RustySpannerz
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    RustySpannerz polycounter lvl 13
    Haha, at this point maybe you should be making a game about life at Paul's house. Great sun though! 
  • JasonHeckmen
  • JasonHeckmen
  • d.merticariu
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    d.merticariu polycounter lvl 10
    Wip on the astronaut costume in which the main character of this game will stroll around the moon. 




  • isshak
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    isshak polycounter lvl 7
    wip on The Rover, the astronaut will drive it.






  • Abe_Azel
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    Abe_Azel null
    Really love the rock , never stared that much at a rock lol , can you send a picture of it without texture ?
  • gametime
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    gametime polycounter lvl 8
    big daddy is that you? 

    but really nice material and sfx of the sun
  • d.merticariu
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    d.merticariu polycounter lvl 10
    Hello, here's one more update on the space suit, let me know what you think.

  • isshak
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    isshak polycounter lvl 7
    just finished the baking of the Rover






  • isshak
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    isshak polycounter lvl 7
  • pixelpatron
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    pixelpatron polycounter
    Well that escalated quickly.
  • JasonHeckmen
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    JasonHeckmen polycounter lvl 8
    Brothers / Sisters, 

    The events of the last few months have shaken me to my core. I believe you know what I'm referring to. Paul has been awfully quiet lately and the mood at Paul's House has been more somber than I can remember. Work proceeds as planned but there is a pain in the air that is hard to describe. It affects all of us as I'm sure it affects many of you. The cold winter months haven't helped...If there's any solace to be had, it's that Moonscape is turning out to be better than any of us had expected. In order to escape a world that seems to be crumbling around us, we've thrown ourselves harder into our work than ever before. We've all lost weight...

    I was finishing the last of a homemade tuna salad Paul's mom had brought over earlier in the week when I heard the door to the basement slam shut. The team hadn't seen hide nor hair of Paul since November and apart from the initial Game Design Document that had been delivered to us by Paul's Mother, things had been quiet on all fronts. Curiosity got the best of me and I wandered back to my room to discover what kind of surprise the man of the house had left for the team. I nearly spit up the tuna salad in shock upon finding what looked like 500-page stacks of documentation left at the foot of our doors. 

    The thing about Paul that nobody has ever said is this: his Design Documents are magical. I've never seen anything like it. The way he organizes his work is like a master craftsman at work, each passing page bringing the game to life as if it were a novel written by Tolkien or Lewis. I remember the first day I learned of Paul. I was busy searching around for freelance work when there was a knock at my door. It was a quiet Sunday and I wasn't expecting anyone so I was quite perplexed as to who that could be banging away at my door. 

    Much to my surprise, I discovered a UPS courier carrying a box as big as any I'd ever seen. The mailer listed me as the intended recipient but I had no idea who this Paul was that had sent me this package. Cutting through the plastic tape with a boxcutter and shuffling through the foam peanuts inside I discovered a hardcover design document titled "Moonscape" and a strange stone that felt abrasive to the touch. 

    A note included inside the mysterious package introduced the sender as Paul. Paul had seen my work online and had decided that he absolutely had to have me on his team to develop his latest project, "Moonscape". He had confidently included his design document as a show of faith that I would be convinced upon reading it to immediately pack up and move to Detroit into his mother's house to begin production immediately. 

    Paul was right. 

    I've just finished the last of the tuna salad and have sat down at my work desk. I slid the rare Lunar rock that Paul gifted me to the corner of the desk and dropped the bundle of papers with a heavy thud. There is excitement in my heart and breathlessness in my lungs. The top page of the stack reads, "Everybody needs salvation. Moonscape Variant II. - Paul"  
  • d.merticariu
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    d.merticariu polycounter lvl 10
    Texture wip of the spaceman. 

  • isshak
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    isshak polycounter lvl 7
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