Blog - Maddieman

2 comments by Maddieman on Mar 26th, 2009 digg this super bookmark

Here are the tentative chapter headings for my long overdue Katana postmortem.

• Introduction
• All good things start with a concept and a prototype
• The Early days - Katana2.0 R&D (messing about)
• Enter StratonAce
• Raising our game - the first trailer and the impact of Kung Fu 3
• Focusing on Production
• Post-Production (the last 6 months) (aka Running a Marathon)
• PR, Release, and Critical Reception, Legacy
• What went right
• What went wrong
• Conclusion and closing remarks

There's no ETA on this yet.  It wont be a book or anything, but I hope to shed some light on how two guys who barely knew each other, dedicated their lives for almost 2.5 years on this (then) ambitious mod project.  It also parallels my personal journey as an unknown hobbyist modder, to someone seriously moving towards games production as a career.

With that in mind, it'll probably take a production focus, looking at the things that went right, and the things that, in retrospect, didn't work out so well.   This is not about dwelling the past -- the goal here is to give other people thinking about starting similar projects an idea of how this thing mushroomed from a modest demo; the work it required; and the problems that arose.

It will also give me a chance to reflect back on this project, which I believe is probably my most successful, in terms of quality, scope, and production method.  Sometimes I find myself moving forward too quickly, that you forget where you came from.  While Polar Paradise edges it on production (we had a schedule!!! and documentation!!!)  the workload was (intentionally) MUCH smaller.  It's also too recent -- so I'll save that one for another day.

I've not spoken to Shane in a while, so I've no idea yet if it'll represent his side of the story or not.

0 comments by Maddieman on Dec 8th, 2007 digg this super bookmark

Ho! Ho! Ho! It's that time of the year again, and we've got a very special gift for you: Polar Paradise - A Psychotic Action Parody, starring Dinky - the world's leading arctic avenger™.

If all goes to plan, Santa will be dropping a copy of this action packed mod into your stocking on Christmas Eve! In the meantime, check out the new trailer:

The story so far...

It's Christmas Eve, and Dinky's pissed.

After returning home from his last adventure, Dinky discovers that his family have (once again) been kidnapped by the forces of evil. A mysterious trail of toys, tinsel, and wrapping paper leads a path into the night...

Enraged and with nothing to lose, Dinky heads out into the night to save his family from a grizzly (yet seasonal) demise...

Features:
-Retro 3d Action adventure inspired by N64 classics like Banjo-Kazooie
-Epic snow-ball fights - with Bullet-Time!™
-Hi-tech Christmas Weaponry, including: the Turkey Blaster 6000™, Jingle Ball Launcher™, 'The Mincer'™, and much more!
-Crazy characters like Evil Elves, Killer Penguins, and Santa himself!
 

Made in Scotland from girders.