Minerva - HL2 single player mod - PART 2 OUT NOW!
polycounter lvl 18
http://www.hylobatidae.org/minerva/phosphenes.shtml
it was mentioned on Steam news in July, but now the first "episode" is out, basically just one level. played at an optimal speed (don't rush it!) it should take about an hour or so... it's basically a professional grade level, definitely on par with Valve's HL2 levels, with a few tweaks. namely, at certain points you receive text messages that tell you where to go as well as provide some nice color and description to the proceedings. there's also some new music which fits in well. it's only 14 megs and it really is professional grade design.
personally i'd like to see more episodic content like this--yes, this "episode" is rather short, but what if more people released work episodically? then we could have a fairly steady stream of content by playing the different episodes, if they were staggered well. it's actually pretty inspiring--i put in a good amount of work on a single player level that i let fall by the wayside, but now i might seriously consider finishing it up. having a concrete, fairly-short term goal really helps out. it's almost a kind of panacea for the bloat and too-lofty goals of most modding. thoughts?
edit: part two just came out, i'm downloading now. pretty excited actually. Part two comes with part one, so if you didn't play part one, this is the time to get on board!
it was mentioned on Steam news in July, but now the first "episode" is out, basically just one level. played at an optimal speed (don't rush it!) it should take about an hour or so... it's basically a professional grade level, definitely on par with Valve's HL2 levels, with a few tweaks. namely, at certain points you receive text messages that tell you where to go as well as provide some nice color and description to the proceedings. there's also some new music which fits in well. it's only 14 megs and it really is professional grade design.
personally i'd like to see more episodic content like this--yes, this "episode" is rather short, but what if more people released work episodically? then we could have a fairly steady stream of content by playing the different episodes, if they were staggered well. it's actually pretty inspiring--i put in a good amount of work on a single player level that i let fall by the wayside, but now i might seriously consider finishing it up. having a concrete, fairly-short term goal really helps out. it's almost a kind of panacea for the bloat and too-lofty goals of most modding. thoughts?
edit: part two just came out, i'm downloading now. pretty excited actually. Part two comes with part one, so if you didn't play part one, this is the time to get on board!
Replies
Its good in that it can draw customers who will want to know "what happens next". Its also bad, because you cant have varied game speed as much. Its like watching a fast series of your favorite show, and then they always have that one or two episodes that slow down and thus you loose interest.
In other words, there cant be a true beggining, middle, end. There will be short repeats of each for the episodes. So the writing cant involve a players as deeply. The story will invariable have to be less complex. Especially in this case since the content will be broken up over months.
Anyhow. FINISH THAT LEVEL GAUSS.
not that they handled the long term all that well, but think of the x-files: many of the best episodes were one-offs, as in "Mulder and Scully investigate such and such." basically, not too different from an episode of Scooby Doo. you can concentrate on resolving things well on a short term basis, which means you have to make sure the level (or small level set) is satisfying on it's own terms. but you can continue to build on that with longer running currents.
the author of Minerva is currently working on parts 2 and 3, and when 2 is released there will be an option to play it packaged with this first level, with a few tweaks that incorporate feedback/fix minor bugs. just like a comic author takes a monthly book and then at the end of the year could theoretically compile it into a complete graphic novel, i don't see why this isn't a good idea especially for the mod community.
seeing as how every mod is likely to be roughly 1000% more difficult to actually finish as those making it suspect it is, more reachable goals is a benefit for most everyone, the modders and the audience.
and thanks for the reminder. i do need to finish it.
10 points to anyone old enough to actually remember what a "megawad" is
As far as the episodic content goes, Kuma(which i might get a job at) has been doing it succesfully, they're up to their 57th mission.
http://www.kumawar.com/
Anywho, Metastasis was definitely a cool little map, and the music track was also very moody and well done. I only wish it were a little longer. I hope episodic releases catch on since I'd love to see more single player campaigns.
P.S. Blogosphere
EDIT: The area I mentioned above it "headcrap land". I didn't see a single one down there.
Thanks for the headsup Jacko.
He takes a simple set of ideas, builds a map around those, done. He's got enough style that he's actually trying to tell a story with each map, such that the flavor and details make them into mods on their own. I like it.
/jzero
10 points to anyone old enough to actually remember what a "megawad" is
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Doom2X
You don't see many single player episodes and the developers of them don't concentrate on the player experience but rather a case of the old Doom tactic of seeing how many enemies can be thrown at you at once.
Antilion Deuce is a very good example of this. I would've loved them to expand this into a Half-Life 2 parody of Starship Troopers, rather than a simple kill as many as you can until you die thing.
I really liked games like Unreal 2, and Perfect Dark because you feel your part of a story. Rather than just randomly killing because you have to.
Most people seem to keep telling me there's a story in Half-Life 2; but about the only story I see is when they're trying to explain the transition from one area to another. There's no real big overall story there, aside from the g-man's cryptic message at the end. Doom 3 is the same, making you feel like your just trying to survive rather than striving towards a goal.
Can't was I was too impressed by this particular mod. Not because the design or concept was bad, but just that I found myself bored after 10minutes.
I miss levels like USS Darkstar. Would be awesome to see that remade using the new physics and AI of enemies.
I miss REAL episodic games, that last a good while and being replayable, i.e. 8-10 levels.
http://www.hylobatidae.org/minerva/phosphenes.shtml
downloading it now.
So I'll check this out too. You cant beat free professional quality content!