Check out this flash animation from spriter Proxicide, using game assets from both the Streetfighter and Mortal Kombat series. Perhaps one day the actual in-game animation will flow with such smooth choreography.

The alsoran is currently playing through the XBOX/PS2/PC interactive movie Fahrenheit, (curiously renamed Indigo Prophecy for the non-imperial US), and feels moved to point out this game as notable not for its content, but what it means for the videogame as a medium for storytelling. Visually, this is a contradictory mixed bag. The game features [...]

The alsoran has added his own personal mandate for this and other projects. Check it out in the about section to see if it fits in with your own…

As pointed out by one of his colleagues, the first instance of a prediction by the alsoran has come to pass. The gamespot videoreview of EA’s NBA Live 06 for the XBOX360 makes a point of stating that “…a lot of the animations by themselves look great…the problem comes in how all these animations blend [...]

So the alsoran just checked out the official backwards-compatibility list of XBOX games available for the XBOX360 and, at the time of writing, is disappointed to see his one XBOX-only Hall Of Fame entry absent, due to the selection process favouring sales over quality. Though the selection criteria is sadly understandable, Breakdown will be forever [...]

Just who is this prominent videogame developer sporting the (presumably golden) loafers that would make Ronald McDonald green with envy? The mysterious boatman keeps his own blog, featuring this post exclaiming ” I lost my shoes in last night’s dream. I exited a plane and realized: “I am barefoot! My shoes aren’t here?GI must have [...]

Recently, the alsoran finished playing what will arguably be one of the most important videogames ever released with regards to moving towards a more cinematic experience whilst remaining fully interactive. This is due in most part to the player’s ability to always control the camera, even during cutscenes. Importantly, the player is always able to [...]

So the alsoran has spent a couple of days this week posing out characters for an upcoming magazine cover. Once a first-pass render was created the images were sent to the magazine in question for critique, and changes were wholly expected due to text placement requirements etc. What was not anticipated, however, was an outright [...]

The alsoran cautiously picked this up due to the series-damaging sequel, produced by the (apparently inexperienced) Ubisoft Shanghai studio. However, this latest offering comes from an internal team at the original Montreal studio, and despite the controversial defection of some of the key original Splinter Cell creators to EA, this third franchise installment captures all [...]

Have we all seen this advert for “Generic Urban Gang Shooter No. 25″? Just a few years ago, we would have taken it for granted that the player assumes the role of the cops depicted in the image, but owing to the foreground prominence of the gangmember, the viewer rightly gets the impression they will [...]

If, like the alsoran, you spent 100+ hours on the PS1 masterpiece Final Fantasy VII then you may just be able to grasp the storyline in this most dynamic of action CG movies. If not then the endless nods to the game as well as the introduction of unnamed characters that bear no plot relevance [...]

Back in the days when sprites were moved around the screen in a linear fashion, with pixel-perfect accuracy often required to overcome single-screen levels and similarly limited enemies, Super Mario Bros on the NES opened up opportunities for creative level design and an equal amount of creativity on the player’s part to navigate them. This [...]

Today the alsoran would like to talk about one of his greatest inspirations – the eternal optimist – Skeletor. Beset by the same obstacles almost daily, you can be sure he will be back again next time with a new plan, always 100% convinced that this this time it will work. Regardless of how many [...]

Have we all seen this site hawking promo-shots of female videogame characters entitled Girls of Gaming? And we wonder why girls don’t buy games. Now the alsoran likes the ladies as much as the next guy, but this is Old Videogames at it’s worst, and it needs to be stamped out if we wish to [...]

Regarding the furore sorrounding the GTA minigame unlocked by Dutch modder Patrick Wildenborg. the alsoran decided to track down a clip of the actual sex-scenes. Have you seen it? HAVE YOU SEEN IT? Talk about a case of overblown media hype. The recent, excellent God Of War has a sex minigame that makes this look [...]

Thinking back to a question raised by Ed Hooks in his recent workshop: “Are videogames art?”, at the time the alsoran answered him “games can be art, but most are crap”, immediately following up with reference to Ico. For example, film is considered an art-form, yet still the vast majority of the medium is, like [...]

Imagine a racing game where the cars grip the road with almost glue-like quality, that can accelerate to maximum speed in the blink of an eye, where races are dull affairs essentially comprising the movement of a weightless metal block from A to B in the most efficient manner possible. Doesn’t sound like much fun [...]

Yesterday the alsoran visited the local hospital to try out the motion-capture equipment they have installed to research abnormal walk gaits such as limps etc. It’s no Giant Studios, but after some time to setup the ball positions the results are looking positive so far. His technical animator colleague pushed the equipment much further than [...]

For the last two days the alsoran has been fortunate enough to have been atending lectures and a workshop by Ed Hooks, author of Acting For Animators. Invited into the studio for the second time to give the animators a greater insight into acting as we move into a period where a deeper level of [...]

Another interesting aspect of the SAG greed issue is that besides monetary compensation, SAG members also want greater recognition for their contribution. This is an extension of the misappropriation of credit that somehow still pervades in this industry, as in the film industry, to this day. Publishers, not developers are often wrongly credited for making [...]

One item that’s been getting a lot of press recently is the reluctance of the Screen Actors’ Guild to accept the already-generous pay-rise proposal regarding actors’ hourly voice-over wage. Put simply, for those that have not been following this, Hollywood has seen the large revenues generated by some of the recent blockbuster videogames, and wants [...]

In the past, animations on videogame characters have played sequentially. When one ends, another begins, regardless of whether the action is fire-and-forget or cyclic, as the cycle ends before playing through again. Seen abstractly, 3D animation is just a series of numbers or values applied to virtual bones within the characters we see on-screen, (actually [...]

Developed by the late French developer Delphine Software, this spiritual successor (not a sequel) to their 1991 hit Out of This World (Another World in PAL territories) was initially released on the Commodore Amiga in 1992, and for DOS and the 16-Bit era consoles a year later. You guide amnesiac Conrad B. Hart in his [...]

Traditionally, videogames have three character archetypes around which all modern character selections are based. Slow but strong, fast but weak, and an average of the two. These basics can be deepened by additional attributes, but this basic model of advantages/disadvantages holds true to this day. It should be the animator’s task to bear these characteristics [...]

The alsoran arrives back from E3 2005 having picked up a virus using the public transport in LA. Still reeling from the sights, sounds and T&A overload, he is most confused of all by the journlistic hyperbole surrounding the pre-rendered videos shown at the Sony Press Conference and E3 booth. Don’t they realise that pre-rendered [...]

Attended the pre-E3 IGDA party last night. Was concerned by the lack of developers attending, mostly rabid Mobile Phone salesmen. At one point the alsoran had to walk away from some idiot claiming to be an Evangelist (his business card title), who was spouting crap about his game engine that could create “absolutely anything” – [...]