In the month of August we really pushed for assembling as many resources as we could. While we still want as many hands as we can find, we're going to proceed assuming the current team is all we get.
Demo Location #1: Dante's InfernoThe demo will cover three areas in the Seattle sprawl, giving a fleeting glimpse of the shadows. In the forthcoming newsletters, we'll discuss the locations to give you a taste. This month: Dante's Inferno. It's a nightclub in downtown Seattle, built in layers of glass and themed to resemble the nine levels of hell. The runners will assemble there, seeking an audience with Mr. Johnson, starting one dangerous night's work.
Dante's Inferno is currently being constructed by Dooley and Don (AKA IsDon). They're working to capture the nine levels, spiral staircases, and demonic atmosphere. While they should be able to produce a rough outline soon, they are in need of additional art to fill in the environment. In particular, they need texture artists willing to lend a hellish finish to every surface.
You can track progress on Dante's Inferno in
Dooley's dev log.
Demo StoryDemo's story underwent rapid development in August. Curtis, with assistance from Park and the rest of the team, produced a comprehensive script for the action and dialog that will appear in demo. While the team is still working on refining and augmenting the Shadowrun flavor of the piece, we're very excited about how the qualities of 2070 are materializing on the page, without the aid of sound effects or 3D graphics.
Unreal PythonIn order to implement objectives, conversations, and several other dynamic features in SRA, we need dynamic scripting. Noah has been hard at work creating a scripting system, on top of static UnrealScript, called Unreal Python (or UnPy). UnPy will enable mission designers to implement complex logic and react in a way that would be unwieldy using the built-in UDK capabilities. In the long-term, this will allow a database-driven approach to story content, enabling the technical team to easily deploy changes to the world and the creative team to change the experience across shared areas of the game.
For the latest on UnPy, check out
Noah's Dev LogA Comment From the Leadership Team: Keeping Things "Open"Shadowrun: Awakened is being built in the spirit of open source, but sometimes, one can be hesitant to embrace what that means: "If you want something to happen, make it happen". The leadership team is here to coordinate and facilitate, but never to lend permission to do what you think is best when trying to build the world or tools. If you can do something, then do it. If you know who can do it, then ask them. If you don't know who can do it, then come to the leadership team. Don't come just for permission to start, because you already have a good gauge for the consensus of the group and waiting another day to start your work is one day lost between now and December.
