The Legend of Kilpatrick Development Progress (Entry #1)
by Jordan Parsons · 05/14/2009 (2:47 am) · 21 comments
In the beginning...
The character that caused quite a stir on the forums recently was that of Nolan Kilpatrick - the main character for our new game, The Legend of Kilpatrick.
That single image unveiled by us almost a month ago, made the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words", really true. Although, let's be realistic, a game isn't just about a good looking picture or a couple of neat concepts. It's much deeper than that, but a game idea and it's conception can be started by just a simple flick of a match.
Since 2004, TLoK has grown from a simple idea, to an in-depth storyline, to 2d concept art:
to 3D older school low poly modeling (500 poly max on characters):
and slowly but surely, the world of TLoK started to come to life a year or so ago with us getting back to developing on TGE:
Where Are We Now?
The Legend of Kilpatrick has always been a game that we at GP Interactive have always wanted to make, but Murphy always strikes and other projects and priorities always got in the way of its development. To the point that it eventually got put onto the backburner for dust to settle on it until we decided to brush it off and start work on it again over the past 4 months.We are starting over pretty much from scratch with the actual development, but based on our past development experiences with the game and it's trials and tribulations, we are determined and confident that this game will succeed and meet all of our expectations. We are accepting any art, animation, programming/scripting contributions that anyone can provide, or if you'd like to track our progress and give us the support we need, it's very much welcomed!
Current Credits and Openings
Production
Jordan Parsons – Executive Producer & Technical DirectorDoug Serson – Design Director
Nathan Hopkins – Creative Director
Gavin Goulden – Art Director
Mike King (Hybrid Two) – Audio Director
Designers (Led by Doug Serson)
Christian Thompson – Creative DesignerRyan Falcon – Dialog and Script Writer
??? – World Designer
Programmers (Led by Jordan Parsons)
??? – Lead ProgrammerJosh Horns – Graphics Programmer
??? – Artificial Intelligence Programmer
??? – Interface Programmer
??? – Torque3D Engine Programmer
??? - TorqueScripter #1
??? - TorqueScripter #2
Artists/Animators (Led by Gavin Goulden)
??? – Lead Artist??? – Concept Artist
Victoria Mitchell – Texture Artist
Dan Hamaoui – Modeler #1
??? – Modeler #2
??? – Animator #1
??? – Animator #2
Music/Sounds (Led by Mike King)
Aaron Frensley (Hybrid Two) – ComposerVarious Hybrid Two Staff – Sound Designers
Dev Blog #1: The Legend of Kilpatrick Development Progress (Entry #1)
Dev Blog #2: Coming soon...
About the author
#2
What cad package(s) are you using ?
05/14/2009 (5:52 am)
About models: gotz' the skillz' 2 pay teh billz. whut whut.What cad package(s) are you using ?
#3
05/14/2009 (7:08 am)
Hey, If your based out of Hawaii then sign me up. I'll do all those programming positions for you ;-)
#4
Excellent write up. Keep up the awesome work.
05/14/2009 (9:16 am)
Is the tattoo holding up the kilt?Excellent write up. Keep up the awesome work.
#5
05/14/2009 (9:19 am)
Looks Great Jordan! I love the main character. Any higher res shots? Have you ever thought about outsourcing your models? Check us out at Digital Shock. We got a pretty stacked team with over 30 artist available. Let me know. 
#6
05/14/2009 (10:59 am)
Nice work ! 
#8
05/14/2009 (1:33 pm)
...
#9
@eb - We use 3ds max for high-res and soft image for baking down from a few million polys to about 5,000-6,000.
@DALO - seriously? ;)
@Ben Acord - Thanks for the comments, glad you enjoyed it.
@Thanhda Tie - Glad you like Nolan; it's cool to see something in your mind come to life, eh? Here's a higher-res (untextured) Nolan:
.jpg)
Outsourcing our models? You mean make models for other teams/companies? or do you mean outsource the work we need to other companies? If it's the latter, we rather do it ourselves if we can (saves on high costs that most people charge). If it's making models for other teams/companies, then yes we have considered it. We're working on a new department within GP Interactive that is just for outsourcing/freelance projects.
@Afan - Thanks!! More to come soon :)
@Deborah - Sounded like the screenshots took your breath away...lol. Your excitement made the team smile :)
Throw us some GG devs once in awhile! I'm sure they could use a nice Hawaiian vacation.
05/14/2009 (2:39 pm)
@Guimo, Bryce - being speechless makes us happy! :-D@eb - We use 3ds max for high-res and soft image for baking down from a few million polys to about 5,000-6,000.
@DALO - seriously? ;)
@Ben Acord - Thanks for the comments, glad you enjoyed it.
@Thanhda Tie - Glad you like Nolan; it's cool to see something in your mind come to life, eh? Here's a higher-res (untextured) Nolan:
Outsourcing our models? You mean make models for other teams/companies? or do you mean outsource the work we need to other companies? If it's the latter, we rather do it ourselves if we can (saves on high costs that most people charge). If it's making models for other teams/companies, then yes we have considered it. We're working on a new department within GP Interactive that is just for outsourcing/freelance projects.
@Afan - Thanks!! More to come soon :)
@Deborah - Sounded like the screenshots took your breath away...lol. Your excitement made the team smile :)
Throw us some GG devs once in awhile! I'm sure they could use a nice Hawaiian vacation.
#10
05/14/2009 (2:48 pm)
... 
#11
Could we see the low-res model before it gets the baked texture just for comparison?
05/14/2009 (2:57 pm)
Good stuff!Could we see the low-res model before it gets the baked texture just for comparison?
#12
Like the big-honking creature up there too, now that's what I call a large opponent!
05/14/2009 (3:21 pm)
Nice. Been thinking about getting a man-skirt myself ;)Like the big-honking creature up there too, now that's what I call a large opponent!
#13
sean
sean.t.boyette at fluidimages.com
05/14/2009 (4:06 pm)
Hey there, it appears as though you are in need of some animation - if you shoot me an email - maybe we can discuss teaming up. I can provide you detail with what I can provide.sean
sean.t.boyette at fluidimages.com
#14
05/14/2009 (4:21 pm)
Very nice. Love the big Dinoturtlekraken-like thing there. Want to see him jump in the lake.
#15
Nolan Kilpatrick Final Sculpt (this did change cause we didn't want Nolan so "beefy"):
Nolan Kilpatrick Baked Texture (with wireframe)
@Michael - I heard they do offer some great level of freedom...oohh that's what Braveheart was meaning at the end of the movie...I never understood that...
As far as the big monster goes, you ought to see the ideas we have for the ranged/melee battle system to take 'em down ;) *overwhelmed with the thought of implementing it*
@Kenneth - Not you too...lol. ;) Does my team get some kinda prize for making a certain number of GG staff speechless? Like a T3D and Nolan Kilpatrick special edition mug? j/k :P
@Sean - Once I get home from work, I'll be sure to send you an email.
@Gerald - One of the cut scenes we are mulling over is going to be of him and a few hundred of his minions crawling out of the ocean coast line - with enough work put into it, it should be a great introduction to the game ;)
05/14/2009 (4:54 pm)
@Gerry - I'm at work right now so I don't have access to all my game files at the moment but here's the final high-res and the low-res (baked texture, but with a wireframe view) underneath it:Nolan Kilpatrick Final Sculpt (this did change cause we didn't want Nolan so "beefy"):
Nolan Kilpatrick Baked Texture (with wireframe)
@Michael - I heard they do offer some great level of freedom...oohh that's what Braveheart was meaning at the end of the movie...I never understood that...
As far as the big monster goes, you ought to see the ideas we have for the ranged/melee battle system to take 'em down ;) *overwhelmed with the thought of implementing it*
@Kenneth - Not you too...lol. ;) Does my team get some kinda prize for making a certain number of GG staff speechless? Like a T3D and Nolan Kilpatrick special edition mug? j/k :P
@Sean - Once I get home from work, I'll be sure to send you an email.
@Gerald - One of the cut scenes we are mulling over is going to be of him and a few hundred of his minions crawling out of the ocean coast line - with enough work put into it, it should be a great introduction to the game ;)
#16
05/14/2009 (5:47 pm)
Thanks. I was just curious because I recently started looking at softimage for the same reasons you seem to be using it. i.e. high rez textures done in max or zbrush used on a low poly softimage model. Both of the models you display here show me it is definitely a pipeline worth considering.
#17
05/14/2009 (6:41 pm)
wow. love it. zBrush?
#19
05/14/2009 (7:09 pm)
..that is an expensive pipeline Gerry..perhaps you can go with one or the other and save a few thousand in cash with helpers like this: http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/max-retopo 
#20
05/15/2009 (2:13 am)
Nice; looking forward to seeing more :) 
Torque 3D Owner Guimo