Jeff Minter working on Xbox 360 XBLA game inspired by Tempest 2000/3000

[evilmax17]

This isn't Jag specific, but I know a lot of us are Minter fans.

 

http://stinkygoat.livejournal.com/85730.html

 

Screenshots within.

[SteveW]

I hope he puts some videos up at some point, because I can't tell what the hell's going on in those screenshots. And I hope the game gets a name like Tempest 4000, instead of Space Giraffe.

[dojosky]

WOOT i cant wait ive always been a fan of jeff minter's games !!!

 

don

[Michael_]

I hope he puts some videos up at some point, because I can't tell what the hell's going on in those screenshots. And I hope the game gets a name like Tempest 4000, instead of Space Giraffe.

 

I couldn´t disagree more. The world doesn´t need another Tempest and Space Giraffe is a pretty cool name IMO.

Personally I´d much rather have seen a game in the same vein as Unity than just another version of Tempest, but I´ll definitely give Yak the benefit of the doubt.

[Flojomojo]

I hope he puts some videos up at some point, because I can't tell what the hell's going on in those screenshots. And I hope the game gets a name like Tempest 4000, instead of Space Giraffe.

 

I couldn´t disagree more. The world doesn´t need another Tempest and Space Giraffe is a pretty cool name IMO.

Personally I´d much rather have seen a game in the same vein as Unity than just another version of Tempest, but I´ll definitely give Yak the benefit of the doubt.

Yeah, what he said. No numbered sequelae, this isn't Madden and he shouldn't have to pay licensing fees to the new Atari.

 

Wouldn't mind a near-unprouncable weird name like Ancipital (another Yak game) or Apeiron (a favorite Centipede remake of mine), though.

[yuppicide]

Being a fan of the Atari 2600, did anyone else notice the BEER in that picture says STELLA on it?!

[Michael_]

Being a fan of the Atari 2600, did anyone else notice the BEER in that picture says STELLA on it?!

 

Yes. Quite normal since it´s a Stella Artois beer

[ZylonBane]

Space Giraffe really looks quite hideous. If the renderer had bugs in it, would anyone even be able to tell?

[Feralstorm]

Must admit, I haven't the slightest idea what's going on in those screenshots.

Edited September 2, 2006 by Feralstorm

[Flojomojo]

If it's anything like Tempest 3000, it will look better in motion.

 

This is from the Yakyak forum:

[sack-c0s]

There's no way he's going to call it Tempest from what I've heard because there would be a rights related nightmare there although I think possibly it won't be called space giraffe either - reading his stuff it seems he's in 2 minds that this was a half-joking working title that seems to have been adopted so might stay.

He doesn't seem to like people saying 'It's another bloody Tempest, isn't it?' but is more than happy to cite it as a big influence.

 

Space Giraffe really looks quite hideous. If the renderer had bugs in it, would anyone even be able to tell?

 

Generally speaking blue screens with STOP codes are a giveaway

 

 

To be fair neon rarely ever looked good in static screenshots - it's the smooth, flowing of the effects which makes it nice. The interaction with the music (especially when it appears to 'like' a tune) makes it even better and for those people who had the fortune to see Yak and his 'flight crew' (3 mates who would spend weekends chilling out and manually controlling the visualiser to the music) back iwhen he was doing Unity 'perform' the thing then that was something else altogether. The thing is like an instument - there's playing it and there's REALLY playing it and you really can appreciate a good performance.

 

Neon has to be seen running really so I'm trusting him when he says the game is the same. One shot he took was from a TFT which blurred several frames together and the result of that was that you could pick the game elements out quite nicely, although I still have no idea what was going on. He did say in one post that one thing he is acutely aware of is the balance between layered effects working together to create something cool looking and a visual overload that means you don't know what is going on. I'm assuming from that he's working with playability in mind.

 

End of the day I think due to the stuff hes done being varied very few like everything he's done but its very rare you'll find someone who doesn't enjoy something he's done so this game may or may not be for you (although I get the hint that tempestheads are more likely to get it) but either way - it might be best to let him finish the thing and play it before forming a decision eh?

 

 

 

 

(sorry if that post was a bit toss - i'm half drunk and being one of Yaks forum residents trying to not come across as a flippant fanboy here, but if I'm going to be biased I might as well be honest about it )

[Flojomojo]

Nah, you're right. That's the nice thing about Minter -- nobody owns him, so he can do exactly what he wants, when he wants to. There haven't been a lot of llamasoft games lately, but this should be pretty neat. And if it isn't, it's only going to cost 400 M$.

[ZylonBane]

This is from the Yakyak forum:

[a one-freaking-MEGABYTE animated GIF]

 

Good god.

[geosteve]

Looks like I finally found my reason to buy a 360, I just love Minter's games!

[Karyyk]

I've got 800 XBOX Live points set aside for this one...

[Flojomojo]

I've got 800 XBOX Live points set aside for this one...

Go ahead and spend half of that on Scramble or Time Pilot, because Space Giraffe will only cost 400.

[+LS650]

It might be called "Space Giraffe", but from looking at that pic, it sure does look like an updated Tempest.

 

Not that that's a bad thing...

[Michael_]

Here´s the first Live video footage of Space Giraffe:

 

 

A lot of things going on, but it definitely looks like a crossbreed of UNITY and Tempest. I like the Giraffe (which I´ll secretly refer to as the Phoenix from now on ).

Edited September 16, 2006 by Palmer Eldritch

[ovalbugmann]

Jeff Minter is an excellent coder, and graphical designer and you should see the lightsynths he's doing now!!!! You'll think you took shrooms!!!! He did the VLM 2 for certain Samsung and Toshiba DVD players that was a media processor chip called NUON, he designed it so you could not see any of the pixilation apparent in the Jags' VLM 1. It looks excellent! He also did a VLM 3 which was never released for the Gamecube.

Now he will finally realize his 20 year dream of getting a light synthisizer to millions of people with the release of his newest lightsynth, the XBOX 360 's NEON! - a lightsynth which is in it's firmware. He says, "Well, without giving any secrets away and getting myself into trouble with Microsoft, I can tell you that the Xbox360 can bring to bear an absolutely *staggering* amount of computational power on each and every pixel, and never drop below 60 frames a second. The thing's a *monster*."

I don't have a XBOX 360 but he says of it; it puts the VLM 1, "striaght into the stone age" and

"Finally realising my design of a modular lightsynth on top of that awesome computational power, and inheriting the multi-user controllability from VLM-3, is NEON - and the results are simply amazing. Even I am continually amazed at what it is possible to get out of it, and I designed it }." & "It is a true light synthesiser, and easily the most beautiful thing I have ever made, by a very long way."

Please take a look for yourself on his website: Jeff Minters Best!!! - NEON!!!!!!!!

And be sure to look at the teaser trailer for the NEON and the awsome NEON still shots

[Flojomojo]

While you're at it, read the manual

http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/x360manual.php