Jun 15, 2019

Bringer of Mayhem wrap-up – video, pics, and the PC Gaming Show!

Valfaris - Cow_102

Now that it's been completed, I wanted to do a final story about the 'Bringer of Mayhem' weapon model. Firstly, please take a minute to watch this video and enjoy the OTT replica in glorious up-close detail: https://youtu.be/_mmSK8lcRFM
We are beyond pleased with the final piece – around 4ft in length, it features battle-worn detailing, multiple light sets, and can breathe smoke from its 'mouth'. It is truly a beast to behold (and hold). The model-makers at Alban Studios (Bristol, UK) have done an outstanding job bringing the original design to life.

And we were even further beyond pleased that the gun made a cameo appearance at this year's E3 as part of the PC Gaming Show. You can see presenter Frankie Ward holding it at the top of this page. Here are a few behind-the-scenes pics taken at The Mayan Theater in Los Angeles during rehearsals:

To give folks a chance to see and hold it for themselves, we're hoping we'll be able to bring the Bringer of Mayhem to any game events that we attend with Valfaris in the future. Nothing confirmed yet, but we'll let you know any event details here, so stay tuned.

For more info on the Bringer of Mayhem model, you can find details, sketches, prototypes, 3D models, and photos right here in post one and post two.

Until next time, keep it metal.

Matt | Big Sugar

May 18, 2019

7 questions with Valfaris artist and game designer, Andrew Gilmour

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He made his first game on a ZX81 when he was just 12 and has 30 years’ experience working in the games industry across pretty much every field of art and design you can think of. Now, having enjoyed success with brutal 2D adventure Slain: Back From Hell, Andrew Gilmour is the creative driving force behind Valfaris, and one-half of developer Steel Mantis (we spoke to fellow Steel Mantis dev Thomas Jenns in a previous post).

We fired Andrew a few questions about Slain, Valfaris, his incredible art skills, and gaming in general:

Question: 1. Slain: Back From Hell was Gothic lands and swords. Valfaris is space-scapes and guns. On the surface, the differences are obvious, but how are the two games similar? In terms of story or lore, is there anything that ties the two games together?

Andrew: Slain and Valfaris are set in the same universe. During Therion’s travels through Valfaris he will encounter some familiar friends. Not to give too much away though! But, yes, the stories are intertwined.

2. Did you always want your follow-up game to Slain: Back From Hell to be set in space?

Yes! I knew exactly what was coming next even before the end of Slain. In fact, during the development of Slain, I did an April Fool’s tweet about changing Slain to more of a sci-fi vibe and posted an image (see above) – which turned out to be Valfaris! Slain: Back From Hell is also set in space, just on a different planet.

3. Slain: Back From Hell and Valfaris are both shaped in a 16-bit styled, old-school gaming 2D mould. What is it about this style of game that appeals to you?

Well, I grew up playing these types of game. Slain was my attempt at making a Ghost ‘n Goblins type game, and Valfaris is more inspired by Gryzor/Contra and Turrican type games.

I like doing side-on 2D as it’s more like you’re playing through a series of pictures, so you’re able to frame what the player is seeing, as opposed to the freedom of a FPS or TPS where you have to take into account everywhere a player can look.

4. Can you offer some insight into your approach to game development? Do you stick to a certain way of working? Do you have a game fully planned out before you start, or do you begin with more of a general idea and see where it ends up?

I like to get the start and the end fleshed out, so we know where we’re going. Then I get the world that we’ll be building visualized, so we know what we’re moving through. Here’s an example of the first concept layout for Valfaris before we started the game:

The great thing about Steel Mantis’ game-dev style is that it’s very organic, so we can drop, cut, add and move stuff around as much as we need, and since we both wear many hats, we can do it quickly. As there are just two of us, we can be very versatile and able to change course as needed.

5. Where did you learn to pixel art so good!?! Again, can you share any insight into your methods – are there any particular tools or techniques you use to create such a unique, distinct style?

HA! Thank-you! I love working in low-poly (sub 1000 tris) models and low-res textures (sub 256x256 pixels), so my art is a combination of low-poly and pixel art or maybe somewhere in limbo between them. I use 3ds Max (which I’ve been using since it was created), Photoshop, and Aseprite for all my pixel pushing needs, and we put it all together in Unity.

6. Valfaris’ hero, Therion, can carry three different types of weapon at any one time, one each from the three weapon classes – pistol, melee, and destroyer. When you’re blasting through Valfaris, what’s your favourite loadout?

Well, there are no weapons in Valfaris that are NOT fun to use! We want to make them all enjoyable. I love the railguns, so Therion’s Call and Skysplitter are fun! My main set-up right now is Therion’s Call, Bloodaxe/The Bastard, and Hellwraith.

7. When you’re not making games, what types of games do you enjoy playing? What’s the last game you played, or completed? And what were your favourite games growing up?

There are a lot of games that inspire me, among them are Quake 1, Diablo 2, and Bloodborne. In the arcades, when I was growing up, I spent a lot of time on Gauntlet, Golden Axe, and Ghosts ‘n Goblins. I played a ton of World of Warcraft, and I’m a big fan of Tribes as well.

Then there are the old Speccy games, Jet Set Willy, Manic Miner, Jetpac, Sabre Wulf, and so on.

I’m currently playing a lot of VR sims, such as Project Cars 2, Elite, and IL-2 Sturmovik, and some VR Skyrim. And when not in VR, I’m playing Warframe, Diablo 3, and Path of Exile.

Massive thanks to Andrew for taking the time to answer these questions.

Matt | Digital Uppercut

May 4, 2019

7 questions with Valfaris programmer and designer, Thomas Jenns

Valfaris - Cow_102

Who are the mysterious men behind Valfaris? I thought it was about time we got to know a little more about the hardworking and incredibly talented dudes at developer Steel Mantis. The two-man team consists of Andrew Gilmour (concept, art, and game design) and Thomas Jenns (programmer and designer). The pair formed the studio after working together on Slain: Back From Hell.

First up, Thomas Jenns (pictured above, chilling with some guanaco) answers a few questions from his base in Gdańsk, Poland.

Question: You were previously drafted in to fix the very buggy Slain and help transform it into the very excellent Slain: Back From Hell. How different an experience has it been working on Valfaris from the very start?

Thomas: It’s very different! With Slain, the levels were already made, so a majority of the work was re-implementing ideas that already existed. Saying that, we ended up adding some new mechanics, like parrying and charge-up attacks, and I got to have a lot of creative input with new / reimagined enemies.

However, this is nothing compared to making a new game from scratch where you’re deeply involved in every creative decision.

What aspect of your work in Valfaris are you particularly proud of?

I think probably the big swaying tentacles. It always makes me happy when I manage to make something move in an organic way using code, it’s like a beautiful blend of art and maths, and I find it very satisfying. There are quite a few things in the game that use this tentacle motion, even some of the plasma beam effects.

Can you offer some insight into how things work between yourself and Andrew? Can you talk us through how a level is made/designed, from idea through to completion, for example?

As Andrew is the visionary of Valfaris, he’s decided on what levels there will be, and what kinds of enemies reside in them. When we start working on a new level, we have a long chat about what sorts of things Andrew wants in it, like areas, landmarks, types of obstacles, and also the overall mood of the level.

We’ll keep talking about it until I feel like I’ve got enough details to run with! Then I’ll put the level together. It will look quite simple at this point as there won’t be any details, just the bare minimum for the gameplay to work.

Once we’re happy with the layout, Andrew will go in and make it look amazing. We’re both very spontaneous so we’re always adding new stuff as it comes to our heads. We tend to make very loose plans because we like lots of wriggle room to change things!

Our ways of approaching tasks are a bit different, but I think we work well together.

What, for you, constitutes good level design?

It’s hard to say as level design is completely dependent on the gameplay. Everything about the player character, such as speed, jump height, different abilities etc., all determine how a level should be designed. For most games, the mechanics are at least slightly unique, and so what constitutes good level design will also be unique.

Because of this, I don’t think there can be a ‘correct’ way to design a level, you just have to keep building areas and playtesting until it feels right. Eventually you gain an intimate understanding of the gameplay you’ve created, and from there designing levels becomes easier.

What’s the biggest challenge – whether specific or general – that you’ve faced during the development of Valfaris, and how have you overcome it?

I think the biggest challenge has just been trying to settle on the identity of the game. At first I was designing it as if it were a Contra-style game, where it was just non-stop run and gun action, with constant pressure from spawning enemies. Then we went in the opposite direction and started making large sprawling levels with exploration and puzzles.

In the end, I think it’s become somewhere in-between!

As someone who studied game design at college, how did you find the transition from classroom to doing the job ‘for real’? Any sage advice you can offer to budding game designers?

I never got a job with a games company. From the start I’ve just wanted to do my own thing. I was happy working solo for a long time, just making Flash games and getting sponsorship deals for those. That was really fun, until Flash games started becoming a lot less popular! I guess some people were impressed by my games as they wanted to work with me, and so things moved forward from there.

I would say just keep producing stuff and improving your skills, and eventually you’ll get noticed. You need to be dedicated though! You won’t make it unless you’re willing to put everything you have into it. Don’t be overly ambitious with your first project. You won’t be able to make your dream game straight away! Start with something small that you know you can finish.

One more thing: don’t be too much of a perfectionist or you’ll never finish anything! I’ve struggled with this for sure.

When you’re not making games, what types of games do you enjoy playing? What’s the last game you played, or completed? And what were your favourite games growing up?

Growing up I played a lot of Megadrive, NES, SNES and PS1 games. Many awesome platformers: Sonic, Mario, Mega Man, Contra etc. Also shoot ‘em ups: Thunder Force, R-Type, Gradius, Raiden etc. I’m a big fan of JRPGs: Final Fantasy (up to FFX), Chrono Trigger, Persona, and my favourite: SaGa Frontier II.

More recently I’ve been very into the Dark Souls series, and Bloodborne. I’m playing through Sekiro right now. It’s awesome.

Huge thanks to Thomas for taking the time to do this. Expect some questions with fellow Steel Mantis dev Andrew Gilmour in a future post. Until then, keep it metal!

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Feb 2, 2019

Making the Bringer of Mayhem – progress on our replica weapon

Valfaris - Cow_102

Got some more work-in-progress images of the Bringer of Mayhem replica weapon to share. Work on the model has been continuing apace since the last update, with the top and front sections being the focus of attention. Here’s how it’s coming along…

Above: Updated from the previous, lower poly render (seen in the previous post), this newer 3D render has more texture and detail and gives a much better idea of how the finished model will look

Above: It took several hours to print, but here it is – the gun’s front section in its raw form. When completed, smoke will emit from the ‘mouth’ and a light will be positioned inside for maximum authenticity (and theatrical effect, of course)

Above: This top-down view reveals the intricate detailing of the gun’s upper section, which is more organic/alien and less immediately recognisable as a weapon than the more conventionally familiar shape of the Bringer of Mayhem’s bottom/main section

Above: And here’s the mould for the top section. When all the parts are ready – the model consists of four ‘main’ sections – they will be assembled to ensure everything fits snugly together before work starts on the final, finishing stage

Should have pics of the Bringer of Mayhem replica in a more complete state to share pretty soon.

Until next time, keep it metal.

Matt | Digital Uppercut