A new video endeavor – Community feedback

There was a time when I was in between contracts and used my free time to develop a selection of personal projects. These included re dubbing video game footage, reviewing video games, developing fan made trailers for films and experimenting with a genre of YouTube videos called “let’s play”. I don’t often have much time to develop these ideas but I’m still looking for a project with a fast turn around that some people may find entertaining.

This means that the objective is to find a subject and discussion which will allow me to re-edit available footage so that I don’t have to produce a great deal of content. Initially my Trailer-man feature was going to be a video picking at key features, this could still be done but I believe the entertainment factor is not quite there unless I approach the feature at a new angle. Trailer-man is initially developed to allow me to express an understanding in the art of making trailers and I treat the feature with professionalism.

So I have considered a selection of new projects that may allow me to spread my wings in video development and production. Here are just a few:

Trailer predictions (working title)
Each video reveals a new reveal trailer for a video game, quite often these reveal trailers are incredibly cryptic and it can at times be difficult to understand what the game will be like, let alone the story. I’ll do my best with evidence from the trailer to make judgement regarding the direction of the game and perhaps discuss a potential plot.

Gametube series
About two years ago I developed a video game format  that allowed me to discuss the week in gaming, ranging from price deals, trailers, announcement and a mini review.  This is a lot of work and perhaps is the easiest route to find content, but news happens so quickly with video games and I may not have the time to give it the love it would deserve.

I hate video games
I’ve had a “What I hate about…” tab at the top of this blog for a while now as it was supposed to be a feature for this site much like Trailer-man… However I understand that writing any old script complaining about a certain subject matter is a difficult move and brings up a selection of scenarios that could become damaging. I need to work on the format to make it sound less like a moan and more like an educated and entertaining rant. Perhaps video clips with dry spoken humor would work?

A brief history of video games: Sub episodes
I’ve been gaming my entire life and Have played many great, odd and awful games. I wanted to see if there is a way to generate a series that would explain the history of video games in a comedic way that would allow me to cover a range of sub catagories. For example, the first episode could be about the definition of the word game, see if we can date back to the first game and when video games launched. Here is a brief run down

• Episode 1: What is a game?
• Episode 2: Video game objective
• Episode 3: Public reactions to video game
• Episode 4: Negative video game press
• Episode 5: Positive video game press
• Episode 6: What will happen a hundred years from now?

This is probably the most demanding and one that will require a great deal of research. Hell hath no fury like a geeks scourn… These types of videos will be dissected by the online community and if anything is wrong, I would not hear the end of it!

These are just a few thoughts, I do have some other ideas that could be used but I’m more inclined to develop these otherwise I’ll be considering more ideas than I am able to commit to.

Leave a comment and tell me what you think I should develop. If you have a great idea that you think I could develop, leave it in the comments section and I’ll look at it when i can.

Ta Ta,
Cleveland

 

Magazine work

I’ve been working on a magazine that launched a couple of weeks ago called “World of Simulations”. I was asked to create content and assist with editing articles that have been submitted for the magazine. If you are partial to a bit of Sim gaming then I believe you can still register your details over at the world of simulations website and you will be sent the first issue completely free! Below is a screen shot of one of the articles that I developed for the magazine, it is a preview for Euro Truck Simulator 2 which should arrive in the first half of 2012.

 

Fritz Chess 13 Trailer

I was asked to create a trailer for a new chess game called Fritz Chess 13.  You can check it out below:

Experimenting with Halo Reach’s theatre mode

I’m not a massive fan of Halo but what I absolutely adore is the theatre mode. It’s a very impressive feature and I wish more games would use. I quite frequently make video game trailers and have to capture game play footage. Most of the time I don’t have the ability to use the code to capture swooping landscape views which is why a majority of the trailers I have created feature a Hud display.  I recorded the first 4 minutes of an online campaign match and decided to go back through the recorded game and create a video of sorts summarising the first few minutes of my experience with the game. Check it out below

Analysis
I captured all of the content on my Hauppague HDPVR. As I had no intention of creating video content from this, the entire video is taken from a standard game, not played any differently than anyone would expect. Unfortunately, the sound became a slight issue because there was a great deal of Voice over in the game and it meant that the sound of bullets had to unfortunately be removed. Of course, this could be rectified by overlaying sound bites over the top.

I’m pleased with the final video but it was intentionally made as a video that just showed off the games humorous nature. I want to return and capture enough footage to develop a more serious trailer as this was just my first attempt. The video took in total about 2 hours to create including recording and editing. I’m currently looking through my library of video games to see what games I could experiment in producing a trailer for which will give me the freedom to create a more cinematic trailer. At the moment strong contenders are halo reach, garrys mod, and perhaps Skyrim as I am able to remove the hud display.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to leave a comment.
Cleveland

Super Mario 3D Land Review

Mario is a gaming icon, when you think about video games; chances are you’ll think of the chubby little fella before you think of anyone else. I never really owned a Nintendo console until the Wii, I dabbled in the N64 and played a little bit of the super nes, but I fought at Segas side during the great console war. Despite this, my favourite platformer of all time was on a machine that I never actually owned, Super Mario World. Even second to that, it was not a sonic game; it was again Mario with Super Mario 64. I enjoyed the transition between 2D and 3D and to this day I still believe that Super Mario 64 is the finest 3D platformer ever created.

Super Mario 3D land is a hybrid of the side scrolling sections and the plumber’s most recent 3d outings. It’s not an exclusive side scrolling game, but nor is it an explorative title in the same sense as super Mario galaxy. The objective was to create an experience that allowed fans of 2D side scrollers to ease into the thought process of playing a game where Mario’s actions also go forward and backward. So, how did they do?

So once again, princess Peach has been gallivanting about and got herself captured by Bowser. It’s a shame that they never really experimented away from this story, but I guess it’s because they concentrated on the game play. Which, to be fair is the important part, rather than having to worry about the emotional stability of the main protagonist who must conquer his fears to save the girl he loves.  Collect coins, stomp minions, defeat the bad guy, save the princess… That is all I ever expect to do in a Mario game.

Control wise, Mario feels very familiar, other than a forward roll while crouching it feels as though you’ve already played the game before. That is not necessarily a negative aspect but more of a compliment with the series consistency as you can just comfortably pick up and play without learning a bunch of new control mechanics. Reading it back it makes you feel that the lack of  an inventive new game play mechanic makes you feel that perhaps they are scraping the barrel. The only new power up that Mario receives is the Boomerang suit which allows you to throw boomerangs which then come back at you, you catch them and repeat… The problem lies in the fact that this does not really deviate much from the fire flower power up and there were a majority of times I left the boomerang power in favour of the tanooki suit.

Marios wardrobe has allways been pretty extensive

The important part of this game is the return of the tanooki suit which sees Mario wearing an adorable fur outfit with a tail which allows him to spin attack his enemies. It’s an integral part of the game as a even the minions seem to be in on the action as they seem to be equipping the power up. Personally, I would have loved them to go into the detail about the origin of the suit and why everyone is using it, but it never really explores the subject.  The suit was made famous from Super Mario bros 3 and was pretty rare. However when you collect it you’ll mainly just have the ability of the super leaf (spin attack) however there are times later on where another power up will grant you the ability to turn into stone. Unfortunately, they took out the ability to temporarily fly upwards, perhaps a game breaker as I can imagine it’s very difficult to keep the player from just flying over every obstacle in a 3d world. Having the suit return is a great nod to the past, but having it less powerful without adding in a compromise does feel a little odd for veterans of the series who wish to relive classic power ups.

The game features 8 worlds, each of which has in a way removed the theme of each world, no longer are we forced to play a cavalcade of desert levels or underwater in a row. Whenever I tend to get to the water stages I lose interest quite frequently and this is an interesting way of allowing the player to progress with variety but also gives the developers the option to not make the theme represent the difficulty of that particular level. For example, early on there will be some easy desert sections but later on there will be more tricky ones. Unfortunately, it also does detract from the definition of the word ‘World” because now, there is no distinction that you have gone to another world at all.

The boomerang suit... I hope it doesnt come back... get it?

Nintendo quite clearly want people to embrace the 3D setting on the 3DS and choose to fool the player with a selection of 3D images that fake depth in the game. Sometimes you’ll come across a section that looks like you are in line, when really you are a few steps out of place. It’s an interesting aspect that shows up a dozen times throughout the game and it is these segments that consistently remind you to play in 3D for a little while. However, I quickly turn off the 3D shortly afterwards for personal preference, but I admire the effort that was spent making the 3D work well. Legend Of Zelda ocarina of time has demonstrated the capabilities of the 3D on the 3DS and Super Mario 3D land comes just in second place.

On final thoughts, maybe I’ve sounded too harsh on the game,  the new power up is made redundant by the franchises longest running fire flower power up, Mario has not really learnt any new moves and the world system is now not really necessary when taking away the themes… But the fact is the game never really deviates further from its roots, the controls are responsive, the levels are rich in colour, and it can deliver a challenge for those who have a desire to grab all the secret coins. In summary if you own a 3DS, there isn’t a great deal of titles out there for you to buy, but if you do own a 3DS chances are you’ve dabbled in a few Mario games, and this is a comfortable and enjoyable experience that I can recommend to every 3DS owner.

Police Force Offcial Trailer

I was asked by Excalibur Publishing to develop a trailer for their upcoming law enforcement game, Police Force. You can check out the video below.

Opening up my video service

If you are after a trailer for one of your products at a competitive price, I have recently set up an email account where you will be able to send me a private message to discuss what you need.  Just check out the “Contact me” page to find out all of the details and send an email to Cleveland.videos@gmail.com

Looking forward to hearing from you,
Cleveland.

Ski Region Simulator Trailer

Working in the games industry means that there are a lot of things that I want to show the world. Of course, my clients would not be very happy if I revealed some secrets ahead of time. However, there are moments when I am given permission to go live with my projects, today I completed work on my latest trailer for Ski Region Simulator. Check it out below!

Trailer-man: SSX – Tricky Trailer

I love a good old bit of snow, I’ve been playing Elder scrolls V Skyrim and normally I’m not really a fan of those types of RPG’s but navigating frozen tundra really does peak my interests. EA are releasing a game in February called SSX, you may remember the franchise that made its debut on the PS2, and it’s most popular title in the series was called SSX tricky. Check out the most recent trailer below;

Mission objective.

• Recognise SSX Tricky as one of the most dominant influences.
• Reveal the tricks mechanics.
• Fast paced action editing to fit the music track.

Recognise SSX Tricky as one of the most dominant influences.
I personally spent more time on the mountain of SSX 3, it was great to have a kind of sandbox area that I could explore casually. Any way back on track to what SSX tricky delivered. It was the sequel to a Playstation 2 launch title called SSX; the original was a bit more tame than the most recent outings and delivered a great snowboarding arcade racing game. SSX Tricky introduced celebrities such as David Arquette, Macy Gray and a new trick system that saw your character perform outrageous tricks. This wasn’t really a revolutionary move because titles like Tony Hawks pro skater had already developed games that benefited from ludicrous tricks, however in SSX Tricky it felt right because the characters were flamboyant and would trash talk each other as they raced for first place.

Yeah, I could do that... If I wanted to...

When the new SSX was announced the developers made an announcement stating that they were after a different experience and released some gritty looking artwork. Fans were not too happy with this direction and forums flooded with topics of the fans slagging off the new game before any real details were released. This video is a way that allows the developers to say to the fans that they embrace SSX’s heritage and don’t intend to keep it a more gritty experience. The trailer uses the most dominant track in the SSX tricky game called tricky by Run DMC. However, it is adapted and the message that comes across is that they are enhancing the game play mechanics seen in previous titles to make something different, possibly even better.

Reveal the tricks mechanics.
The Tricks are obviously the most important part of the game and the trailer does a great job of allowing the viewer to catch up with what is happening. Some of the tricks happen so fast that you are unable to follow them, thankfully they have captured the images at a glorious high frame rate and was able to slow them down so that we can see every intricate motion. They have a team of animators working very hard on this stuff and it must make them very pleased that they can show off their handy work, allowing the human eye to catch up with everything that they have created. You have tricks on rails, tricks in the air and even some tricks that allow you to interact with helicopters in mid air.

Helicopter Trickanomics.

Fast paced action editing to fit the music track.
I love the editing on this video, it is fast paced, it fits perfectly with the audio and it is incredibly exciting.  I have a fascination in effecting time in video, whether it is in super slow motion or if it is in time-lapse. There are segments of the video that cut between shots with a look as though the camera had been knocked, a very retro look to it and is probably a tribute to older titles

It's a bit like watching crimewatch... Have you seen this man?

Overall.
It’s difficult to point out any wrong doings in this video because essentially, it is a trick montage. It does not reveal any information about the story, it doesn’t highlight tracks and it is essentially a single part in a much larger marketing campaign. It does reveal a little bit of flair with regards to characters acting out towards the camera, but other than that this is a focused trailer on one element of the final game. As it is, you can’t fault it’s delivery but perhaps it would be better to judge how the entire marketing campaign delivers rather than a single trailer.

Extra Play Launch Line Up – Trailer

A new trailer that I produced for Excalibur publishing’s ‘Extra play’ range is now live. Check out the video below!