Kalyx triaD
06-19-2008, 02:09 AM
TPWW: The Rings of Chaos Exclusive Reveal
Developer vBullet reveals the ultimate videogame.
By Brian Williams
June 18, 2008 – Flying to the Middle East to meet a developer we didn’t know existed until a few days ago, I was a little more than cautious. The Xbox 360 office at IGN gets this invitation to preview a game that promises to be “the ultimate videogame… ever”, and the developer is located in what is a globally known hot-zone; what could go wrong? Plenty. I leave the plan to get the third degree from authorities… or rebels, I couldn’t tell. The citizens actually use the military Bounding technique to cross the street, and everything sounds like a Call of Duty 4 online deathmatch. Is this mystery game, TPWW: The Rings of Chaos, worth my life? Yes. Yes it is.
When I found the bunker where vBullet has been developing TPWW: TRoC for 15 years(!), I was ambushed by several men pointing guns at me. I soundly dropped by stuff and decided to soil my pants in defensive response. The game’s director, Ahib Karma, then revealed himself. He asked me what my natural response to physical danger was. Ofcourse I told him that his fellow developers in combat attire were about to get the beating of their lives. Karma then told me how reacting to your environment one of 200(!) core systems in TRoC. I just had to see this game for myself...
The first thing I noticed was the fact that two Xboxes were placed by a TV. As it turns out, TRoC needs two Xbox 360s to run it properly. When I questioned this rather absurd method, Karma disclosed that his game uses two dual-layer HD-DVD to run it’s highly complex engines, as many as 45 running at once. Naturally two Xboxes would be required to run such output. Playing the game, I was a believer in seconds. The environments are huge, the biggest I’ve ever seen in life. Karma says the finished game will have a world larger than planet Earth is in reality, with no load times. Infact, the game has what Karma calls the opposite of load times, ‘Spill Times’. Karma explains, “Spill Times is when the game outputs more content than the player is ready to activate via meeting in-game locations and criteria. If you are alone and standing still for instance, the game will access its real-time 80-piece virtual orchestra to create new music for that mood.” Again, something I had to see for myself.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e344/polykleitos2/walking.jpg
Actual in-game screenshot
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as walking my character along a long road had the game create a sad piano theme similar to the Hulk TV theme. “Aside from random generated music, the game will create new AI routines for enemies, and even new enemies altogether. Spill Time turns downtime into a chance to hear and see something new.” Incredible. As I lead my character to a nearby town, I see its as alive as any town in the real world. “In this game, the world revolves around you. It will react to your every move.” And you have many moves. Karma takes the controls from me and shows how the hero of the game moves with amazingly smooth animations. “Most games try for 60fps,” Karma says while running in circles, “but we at vBullet managed to get 120fps. That is better than life itself. And the game is 3 percent complete.” At that percentage, the game still looks better than the real world, with every technical trick imaginable being used to bring this game to life. It’s a great tech demo, but a game needs a story…
“TPWW: The Rings of Chaos is about five Rings of Chaos in a world called TPWW. They literally fell into the wrong hands and the world will be destroyed unless the hero meets his destiny by confronting his past and reshaping the future,” Karma says. Although I couldn’t get too much out of Karma, he did allude to another five rings, and the main character even getting his hands on the rings in question, “In this game, anything is possible story-wise, just like real life.” You will meet characters from this TPWW world and their interactions will either aid or hinder the progress of the main character. But what about the main character? Look in the mirror folks, the game will utilize a unique creation tool to make your character. Apparently it will access your background information and recreate your image in-game. After I learned this I noticed the character I was playing the whole time was infact Karma himself, albeit with some added muscle. “The game will take liberties in some cases to create the perfect you.” I was blown away. Speaking of that, finally some action came my way.
“You can play this game anyway you want, or create new ways to play based on the Active Evolution System.” All kinds of play in every genre of gaming will be supported, so if you feel you can go through the adventure with drag races, you can! Karma says this is the last game purchase you will ever need. If you could see this game in motion, you’d believe him. Stay tuned to IGN has we continue to cover what may well be, the ultimate game.
Developer vBullet reveals the ultimate videogame.
By Brian Williams
June 18, 2008 – Flying to the Middle East to meet a developer we didn’t know existed until a few days ago, I was a little more than cautious. The Xbox 360 office at IGN gets this invitation to preview a game that promises to be “the ultimate videogame… ever”, and the developer is located in what is a globally known hot-zone; what could go wrong? Plenty. I leave the plan to get the third degree from authorities… or rebels, I couldn’t tell. The citizens actually use the military Bounding technique to cross the street, and everything sounds like a Call of Duty 4 online deathmatch. Is this mystery game, TPWW: The Rings of Chaos, worth my life? Yes. Yes it is.
When I found the bunker where vBullet has been developing TPWW: TRoC for 15 years(!), I was ambushed by several men pointing guns at me. I soundly dropped by stuff and decided to soil my pants in defensive response. The game’s director, Ahib Karma, then revealed himself. He asked me what my natural response to physical danger was. Ofcourse I told him that his fellow developers in combat attire were about to get the beating of their lives. Karma then told me how reacting to your environment one of 200(!) core systems in TRoC. I just had to see this game for myself...
The first thing I noticed was the fact that two Xboxes were placed by a TV. As it turns out, TRoC needs two Xbox 360s to run it properly. When I questioned this rather absurd method, Karma disclosed that his game uses two dual-layer HD-DVD to run it’s highly complex engines, as many as 45 running at once. Naturally two Xboxes would be required to run such output. Playing the game, I was a believer in seconds. The environments are huge, the biggest I’ve ever seen in life. Karma says the finished game will have a world larger than planet Earth is in reality, with no load times. Infact, the game has what Karma calls the opposite of load times, ‘Spill Times’. Karma explains, “Spill Times is when the game outputs more content than the player is ready to activate via meeting in-game locations and criteria. If you are alone and standing still for instance, the game will access its real-time 80-piece virtual orchestra to create new music for that mood.” Again, something I had to see for myself.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e344/polykleitos2/walking.jpg
Actual in-game screenshot
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as walking my character along a long road had the game create a sad piano theme similar to the Hulk TV theme. “Aside from random generated music, the game will create new AI routines for enemies, and even new enemies altogether. Spill Time turns downtime into a chance to hear and see something new.” Incredible. As I lead my character to a nearby town, I see its as alive as any town in the real world. “In this game, the world revolves around you. It will react to your every move.” And you have many moves. Karma takes the controls from me and shows how the hero of the game moves with amazingly smooth animations. “Most games try for 60fps,” Karma says while running in circles, “but we at vBullet managed to get 120fps. That is better than life itself. And the game is 3 percent complete.” At that percentage, the game still looks better than the real world, with every technical trick imaginable being used to bring this game to life. It’s a great tech demo, but a game needs a story…
“TPWW: The Rings of Chaos is about five Rings of Chaos in a world called TPWW. They literally fell into the wrong hands and the world will be destroyed unless the hero meets his destiny by confronting his past and reshaping the future,” Karma says. Although I couldn’t get too much out of Karma, he did allude to another five rings, and the main character even getting his hands on the rings in question, “In this game, anything is possible story-wise, just like real life.” You will meet characters from this TPWW world and their interactions will either aid or hinder the progress of the main character. But what about the main character? Look in the mirror folks, the game will utilize a unique creation tool to make your character. Apparently it will access your background information and recreate your image in-game. After I learned this I noticed the character I was playing the whole time was infact Karma himself, albeit with some added muscle. “The game will take liberties in some cases to create the perfect you.” I was blown away. Speaking of that, finally some action came my way.
“You can play this game anyway you want, or create new ways to play based on the Active Evolution System.” All kinds of play in every genre of gaming will be supported, so if you feel you can go through the adventure with drag races, you can! Karma says this is the last game purchase you will ever need. If you could see this game in motion, you’d believe him. Stay tuned to IGN has we continue to cover what may well be, the ultimate game.