So, you've been given the job of making the latest and greatest theme-park game. The objective: create an authentic theme-park experience in a box. Where do you start?
Jonny Watts, Senior Producer at Frontier Developments
Well, a good place might be to go to a few real theme parks and see how "the competition" does it! We've made quite a few games set in theme parks over the last few years now and although it really helps that we're nuts about roller coasters and theme parks in general,
Gears of War got us thinking: Massive explosions. Guts strewn everywhere. People running in terror. Few things ignite the minds of gamers like a good alien invasion. It may be bizarre or terrifying (and in the case of Gears of War, it may come from underground instead of outer space) but in video games, aliens always bring massive destruction in their wake. This week, we take a look back at the seven games with the most memorable, exciting or disturbing alien invasions... ever.
7. Halo 2
Developer Frontier has had experience creating other theme park-based games for the PC, such as RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. But Thrillville is different - it's been designed from the ground up for consoles and handhelds, including PS2, Xbox and PSP. With that comes a bevy of challenges - the most significant of those
As any horror-movie director can tell you, keeping up a tense atmosphere for 90 minutes of screen time isn't easy. So imagine, then, what it must be like to try and keep up that same level of tension over 40-plus hours of a survival horror game. No matter how intense you make it, sooner or later, your carefully constructed atmosphere of terror and despair is going to fall flat.
This Halloween, we'll explore seven of the least scary moments from some of the best horror games ever. Be
It's old news that, in the year leading up to its release, self-appointed culture critics around the globe desperately railed against Bully for its supposed violence. But even since its release - and the revelation that the game is fairly harmless - some people still refuse to let the controversy die, insisting publisher Rockstar isn't showing just how violent the game really
Great games don't simply happen. They're made by huge teams of people. And these teams are lead by creative minds. It may sound obvious, but every element of a huge game like Final Fantasy XII is a finely-tuned, separate instrument. Here, in cooperation with PSM, which provided some of the questions, we take time out to chat with the three of the creators of the latest Final Fantasysaga.
Battle Designer Kazutoyo Maehiro cut his teeth on the Final Fantasy Tactics games - epic strategy sagas
You know that saying about the customer always being right? Yeah, that's true only so long as the customer continues to spend lots of lots of money. And if the average tourist family wants to funnel half their annual salary into your custom-built theme park, who are you to tell them they're wrong?
But Thrillville lets you do more than just overcharge your visitors for cheap t-shirts, styrofoam stuffed animals and grease-brick pizzas. As our fourth of six developer diaries explains, you can
The sweetheart, Penelo
This warm-hearted but slightly sarcastic girl watches over Vaan. Also an orphan, she lives with him in the lowtown - the underground of Rabanastre, the splendid city where the adventure begins. More responsible than Vaan, she's already lined up a job at one of the local shops, but she joins the adventure almost by accident - caught up in the story thanks to her strong and kind
Final Fantasy is about epic, sweeping stories of nations clashing and mystical powers beyond human control. But it is also, always, a story of the people caught up in these desperate struggles. What would Final Fantasy VII be without Cloud and Aerith? Can you imagine Final Fantasy X without Tidus and Yuna? Of course
It's rarely admitted, but people love throwing up. Think about it: why else would everyone on the planet have a throwing up story? You've got one. We've got several. It's one of life's gross little mysteries.
In fact, the only thing people love more than throwing up is almost throwing up, but not quite. Which is where amusement park rides come in. This week, we'll hear from one of the minds in charge of bringing you to the edge without pushing you
