01.11.2007 | The Halloween Blog!
Hello everybody! I’ve managed to escape from my cell long enough to provide you with another update to the official blog for A Vampyre Story. I’d better type fast before Bill Tiller discovers I’m gone – he’s made it clear that I’m not allowed to see the light of day until all of the in-game dialogue has been completed (the good news is that the first pass is finished – now all I have to worry about are those last minute changes that Bill keeps making to the game, which includes several new puzzles). Personally, I think things might be getting a bit complicated, but when I do Bill just stares as me and says, “if I make it too easy, the fans won’t be getting the game they want.” So there you have it fans, you’ve managed to convince Bill you’re not interested in taking the easy way out…you’d better be careful what you wish for…
The big news for the Autumn Moon team was Bill’s recent trip to the Leipzig Games Convention, which ended up being an incredible success. Bill really appreciated the opportunity to meet with the various members of the German and International media, and he especially enjoyed having an opportunity to connect with many Vampyre Story fans, their enthusiasm was inspiring and contagious (even getting the reports second hand have really fired up the AME team). Crimson Cow really made Bill feel at home and helped prevent him from creating any international incidents during his visit to Germany (at least none that the AME team is aware of – but if you have anything to report, please feel free to send me an e-mail and I’ll add the report to my “dirt on Bill” file).
Bill was kind enough to give us a blow by blow description of his trip, here are some of the highlights:
· The trip got off to a rough start, weather problems forced Bill into an unexpected overnight layover in New York, and resulted in the loss of his luggage. After thirty-six hours of traveling Bill ended up attending the first day of the convention wearing the same clothes he’d been traveling in since leaving California (Bill wanted to issue a belated apology to everybody standing close to him in the Crimson Cow booth).
· The Games Convention itself was really impressive – Bill found the building, displays, and extremely active crowd extremely energizing. The Crimson Cow booth featured a wide array of A Vampyre Story merchandise and decorations. Seeing large posters with Mona and Froderick glaring down at him brought a huge smile to his face, “it was nice to see the dream becoming the reality,” Bill said.
· Crimson Cow assembled an impressive press kit for A Vampyre Story which included a sample disc, information about the game, and a “Red Blood” energy drink. Bill brought a couple of the energy drinks back to the office, but we’ve locked them up (speaking on behalf of the AME team, the last thing Bill needs is more caffeine).
· Crimson Cow unveiled the first A Vampyre Story trailer – if you haven’t had a chance to take a look at it, we highly recommend you do! If you haven’t seen it yet, the trailer is available in the downloads section of the Vampyre Story site. Fan reaction was extremely positive (and extremely gratifying!)
· Bill had a chance to meet several old friends from the game development community and make several new ones including Emilio de Paz, head of the Spanish developer Alcachofa Soft, creators of “The Abbey.” Bill was particularly surprised to see several of his old LucasArts colleagues in the crowd, it gave him a chance get caught up and reminisce about their days of Imperial service.
· Last, but certainly not least, Bill had the opportunity to try some delicious (and apparently strong) German beer at one of the many parties hosted by the Games Convention. The AME team can confirm that Bill was enjoying the beer – when AME’s 3D Animator Jimmy Almeida gave Bill a call to ask him a question, Jimmy reported back that he could hardly understand a word Bill said. When I asked him if that was because the room was loud, he responded by saying, “no, I’m pretty sure that beer had something to do with it, Bill doesn’t usually sign off by saying ‘WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!’.”
As you can see, the trip was a smashing success, Bill says he is already looking forward to attending the 2008 convention. And while Bill was of traveling the world, the rest of the AME team was working diligently to keep A Vampyre Story moving forward. As of now, almost all of the art has been finalized, and programming is well underway. It’s exciting to watch Mona and Froderick move around the screen and adjust to their new surroundings – even the scarier locations, such as the spooky new graveyard. Just why would a vampyre be spending time in a graveyard anyway……? I’m hoping to update this blog more frequently, with the next update giving you chance to learn a bit more about the extended AME team. Until next time, keep your stakes sharpened, and your crosses crossed,
Dave Harris Lead Writer
– A Vampyre Story
