Blog#15: Kickstarter Aftermath

MumboJumbo

Kickstarter Aftermath

 

The Middleware Situation

 

There's a lot of talk in the MMO community about the pros and cons of various engines and options. What middleware is and is not is widely misunderstood; it's such a complicated thing to explain that discussions tend to fall down a hole and lose context with the actual impact that middleware can have on a specific project. We know that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and we've decided that instead of just telling you about the middleware, we really want to show you what we can do with it, so we'll be announcing the middleware platform at the same time we show off the first visuals from the Technology Demo. (Soon!)

 

The Technology Demo Team

 

A big focus of the Tech Demo is on bringing the look of Pathfinder into the digital world; the demo is going to be "art heavy." And while the visual style is being established, we'll also be building out our game design team. They're doing a lot of system design that won't have a tremendous impact on the Tech Demo, but some of the basic concepts they'll be developing may make an appearance. We're expecting to announce our lead designer shortly.

 

On the engineering side, the middleware has options and extensions that need to be selected and developed. Because we want a certain look for the visuals, we're going to be focusing on graphics engine performance. The middleware vendor is making pretty significant upgrades to their graphic systems in the near future, and we intend to be ready to take advantage of those changes when they become available.

 

The Winning Levels:

 

• Forgotten Laboratory
• The Enigma Vaults
• Sanctum of a Lost Age