SCREENSHOTS: ‘Gaelic Games: Football’
Above,
the Armagh and Dublin teams, below Croke Park with Mayo and Kerry, and
emtpy. Click on the images for a larger view of the screenshots.
According to a press release issued today, the Australian games developer IR Gurus
had 20 ‘designated’ staff working on ‘Gaelic Games: Football’, it
took over two years to develop, Croke Park and Fitzgerald Stadium took
an in excess of 200 hours to digitalize, and each county jersey was
close to 30 hours work.
The game is set for release in Ireland on November 11. A TV advertisement for the game is still available
on this GAA club’s site, or
directly by clicking
here. [UPDATE: this link stopped working after this article was published]
Gaelic
football players based in Australia were used for motion capture,
“The solo was one of the most difficult moves to re-create as it can
happen at such high speeds. The motion capture shoot only took a day
but it takes months to actually get the animations ready for use in the
game”, stated the release.
Mike Fegan, CEO of IR Gurus
commented “From the beginning we wanted to emulate the excitement of
Gaelic Football. We started at the very beginning, photographing Gaelic
Football stadiums in Ireland, attending a multitude of games and then
surrounding ourselves with football fans to help us capture the spirit
of the game. The development of Gaelic Games: Football was a great
experience for our whole team.”
Related news
- GAA game: “disrespectful” - players group (Oct 18, 2005)
- ‘Gaelic Games: Football’ details, release date
- GAA computer game out November 11
- GAA PS2 game: retailer - ‘Sept-2005′
- GAA game in August - retailers…
- GAA game delay, normal for games industry
- GAA Football Computer Game for 2004
REVIEW: 187: Ride or Die
Developer: Ubisoft | Publisher: Ubisoft | Format: PS2 (Xbox)
Reviewer: Craig Gallagher 187
Ride or Die is the type of game that runs of artists such as 50 cent
and the game will simply adore. But for someone like this reviewer who
enjoys his punk rock, 187 doesn’t have the same appeal. Rap, guns,
cars, and scantly clad women go hand in hand.
Rap music, guns, and cars are exactly what 187 is about. There’s
no subtlety, depth or originality to be found anywhere. It’s
basically Burnout with automatic weapons and none of the fun.
REVIEW: Eye Toy Kinetic
Developer: SCEE | Publisher: SCEE | Format: PS2
The only unrealistic
thing is peoples’ living rooms will feature in real life. Right?
Reviewer: Craig Gallagher The
Eye Toy was one of the most innovative gaming innovations to come along
in years. It took the gaming experience to a whole new level and
allowed the gamer to become far more involved in the gaming experience.
Now Sony has released the Eye Toy Kinetic, unlike the previous
versions Kinetic is modelled more around a keep fit motivator than a
gaming one. It allows you to utilise it to create a fitness programme
which can be changed at will allowing you to create your ideal work
out.
The new Eye Toy has changed somewhat in comparison to the older
variants. It is now wide screen compatible as well as being a good bit
more compact.
Like the previous ones the Kinetic lives and dies by how willing the
participant is to get up and run around their room flailing like a
crazy person. The Kinetic is a fun way to spend a few minutes each day,
but just make sure that you close the curtains first.
REVIEW: Fahrenheit
Developer: quanticdream | Publisher: Atari (Infograms) | For: PS2 (Xbox, PC)
Reviewer: Cian Ginty Fahrenheit (AKA ‘Indigo Prophecy’) strangely
starts with a ritual-like murder. Strangely, the murderer, Lucas Kane
is one of four playable characters; the others are Kane’s two NYPD
hunters and his brother.
The game does it’s best to translate the characters’ physical
and mental strains to the player vie visuals and sometimes strenuous
controller tasks — from flashbacks and lapses, to rapped controlled
button bashing.
The sanity of Kane and the others is critical, unless watched over
it can end the game. And the game goes quickly from taking the time to
having no time. There’s only a short time to choice dialogue and
actions. Rushing or thinking it out, one character’s actions can
affect the story and the game for the others.
It’s a griping epic for the mature gamer, with more then a hint of
film influence, and possibly a hint of some film-like arrogances, it
brings a whole new meaning to the words ‘action adventure’; just
don’t let the hype takeover before playing.
GAA game: “disrespectful” - players group
An in-game action still of from a TV advertisement for Gaelic Games: Football.
- Advert video back online, still no screen shots
The Gaelic Players Association,
who have 1,400 members, have called the GAA-backed ‘Gaelic Football
2005′ PlayStation 2 game “disrespectful” and “deceitful”,
because of the way the makers have not included the images of GPA
members.
“They told us they haven’t violated image rights with the game”,
Dessie Farrell, GPA chief executive, told the GAA news website hoganstand.com,
“But to go ahead and skirt round them in another way by using players’
names is grossly deceitful”. Adding “players won’t take kindly to it”.
In 2003, when the game was officially announced by Sony and GAA, the
GPA were working on their own title with a Longford-based software
company, Multi Media Instructional Designs Ltd (MMID). That game was
understood not to have taken shape like a so-called ‘AAA’ soccer title,
unlike the Sony game that will take form similar to popular soccer
games such as EA’s FIFA, and Konami’s critically acclaimed Pro
Evolution Soccer.
At the time, there was a large focus from the GPA, and some others,
that foreign companies were making the game when MMID led by former
Longford player, Frank McNamee, were also trying to make a game.
However, the GAA licence was from 1998 to 2003 in the hands of the
Irish start-up developer Pooka Games, who failed to get the project out of the funding stages. The Australia developer Irgurus
were then brought in presumably because their experience with Australia
football games, and their game engine which could be adapted for Gaelic
football.
Meanwhile, the TV advertisement for Gaelic Football 2005 is once again online, it is available on this GAA club’s site, or directly by clicking here.
We have received no update on when screen shots will be released, if
ever, for the game which Sony says will be in shops in under four weeks
time, on Friday, November 11.
Related news
- ‘Gaelic Games: Football’ details, release date
- GAA computer game out November 11
- GAA PS2 game: retailer - ‘Sept-2005′
- GAA game in August - retailers…
- GAA game delay, normal for games industry
- GAA Football Computer Game for 2004
3D car level competition
CanDo Interactive is running a competition to design ‘the best online interactive 3D car level‘
using their online vehicle application — downloadable free from their
site. CanDo are a Northern Ireland based company who develop 3D
environments for sales and marketing. With an entree date 31st of
November, we’re a bit late with this one.
Kapooki Games set for liquidation
Dublin-based games developer, Kapooki Games, is to be liquidated with debts of 700,000 euro, according to today’s Sunday Business Post.
Kapooki were hiring game testers at the end of last year, and was
developing two games for PC and console - ‘Big Top’ was one such
title. They were close to completing a title, initially for PC and
later on console. The company also had developed mobile phone games,
and non-games related marketing applications.
Michael Griffin, a founder of Kapooki, left the company around May
of this year due to personal issues. At the time, Dave Stafford the
firm’s art director and co-founder had taken up the CEO duties.
The Sunday Business Post
says that the firm is ‘understood’ to have run out of funds in the
past three months. A liquidator was appointed at a creditors’ meeting
last week.
Demonware middleware for CoD 2
State Engine, network play middleware software by the Dublin based company Demonware, is to be used in Activision’s ‘Call of Duty 2: Big Red One’ for PS2, Xbox, and GameCube.
“By utilizing DemonWare’s middleware, the development team is able
to focus on creating great gameplay experiences while knowing that the
technical aspects of the multiplayer component are managed”, commented
Chuck Huebner, Head of Activision’s Worldwide Studios.
Recently, Paradigm, an Atari/Infogrames developer, sign to up to use
DemonWare, their multiplayer enabling code was also used in Empire
Interactive’s soon-to-be released Starship Troopers game.
While based in Dublin, DemonWare has sales and support offices in
Los Angeles and Vancouver. Founded in 2003, the company is privately
funded, including investors such as the state owned Enterprise Ireland,
Dublin Seed Capital Fund, and what the company terms as ’several
specialist private investors’.
“We’re a relatively small little company and we’re come from nowhere
in a short space of time”, DemonWare co-founder Dylan Collins told the Sunday Tribune
newspaper, adding in reference to rival Gamespy taking notice of them
in stock market flotation documents, “All of a sudden we were a ‘major
competitive threat’, which was nice”.