I'm happy to announce that independent composer and audio technician Rich Douglas will compose an original score for Lifeless Planet. Rich is an extremely talented musician and I couldn't be more excited to have him on board. I believe music needs to be a very powerful and integrated part of the Lifeless Planet experience, and Rich has already shown he's the guy to make it happen.

I hope we can release a teaser track soon, but in the meantime you can check out Rich's work at http://www.richdouglas.net/

Exciting E3 Updates Coming

E3 is coming up in just a little over two weeks and I'm working like crazy on a media release. My publisher will be on-hand at the event and will be presenting a new trailer, screenshots and more to the press. If you are with a media outlet who will be at E3, please contact Lace Mamba for details: http://www.lace-mamba.com/press/

This week was a very productive one. I was able to build one of the most critical and detailed levels start-to-finish in just three days! The level looks super and the speed with which I was able to put it together gives me new hope that the game will release sooner than later... Also, it has been very fun to work on levels that include more than just rocks! I can't wait to share all the new level goodness.

The Craft of Game Design: Bump Mapping

From time-to-time I'd like to share some of the things I've learned in game and level design over the years. So with this first segment I want to touch on the subject of "bump mapping."

Even with powerful computers today, it's critical to use as many tricks as possible to create the illusion of detail without using too many resources. Complex 3D scenes can take hours to render, but games have to render every scene 30-60 times a second. One tool texture artists use is something called "bump mapping." In essence, we create a second texture image to lay over a 3d object. Instead of imparting color information, it tells the lights in the scene which parts of the surface should appear raised (bumped) above other areas. This allows lights to create small highlights and shadows on the surface of the object, giving the illusion of additional detail. Below is an example from the game showing how a totally flat surface (the wall of the structure) looks when bump mapping is applied.

I've known about bump mapping for years and have used it to good effect in the past. However, in working on Lifeless Planet, I've greatly improved my skill at creating natural bump map images with sometimes (apparently) deep relief.

Let me know if you want to hear more little tidbits like this. If not, this section can drift away into the darkness of space...

Stay tuned for those E3 updates. Of course, I'll be sure my backers will get some extra goodies...

Happy Space Travels!

Dave

I posted this in the comments just now but it really deserves an update:

I'm happy to say...the beta is finally finished! Been working VERY long days but I think it's finally ready to share. I ran through it a couple times just now and have a very small list of small items and then I will 100% release it to [my Beta-level backers] by tomorrow night. (As in Friday night -- technically it's already Friday since it's after midnight here...).

So, something fun to do this weekend!  =)

-Dave

PS  If you are in the beta-testing rewards levels, I will message you by late Friday with download instructions.