Christian Allen, an Ex-Bungie Dev, was nice enough to sit down and talk with our very own HipHopGamer at GDC ‘09 about the issues that matter the most to you, the gamer.

Q. What Company would you like to be apart of now that your independent?

You know, the biggest thing for me is looking at the teams I would be working with, making sure that I am a fit with them and they are a fit with me. I want to make kick ass games with folks that are kick ass. I have a family now and a daughter, so I have to make sure that where I end up is a team that is fucking awesome but still knows how to deal with developers that have families. I think as an industry we are growing that way. I loved working 80+ hours a week on GR2, but now that I have a daughter, I have to figure out how to balance game development with family development.

Q. What system got you into gaming?

I definitely started on PC, both with gaming and with modding, which is what really got me started. But when I got hired with Red Storm, they told me I would be working on Xbox games, so I picked up an Xbox controller and dived in; my first Xbox game was Splinter Cell. It totally kicked my ass! But since then I’ve fallen in love with the Xbox and 360 platform, it’s how I roll now. Except for RTS games, I pretty much play 360 exclusively.

Q. What are your impressions of On-Live?

I definitely think that digital distribution is the future, and Onlive promises to really deliver on that promise. If Onlive delivers on that promise, then they could really be the platform of the future, but I think that Xbox Marketplace will give them a run for their money!

Q. After working on the 360 hardware can killzone 2 be done on that platform?

Oh yeah, Killzone 2 could totally be done on 360 if Guerilla wanted to. The tech is there, if the team and the publishers were motivated, they could do it, just like Halo could come to PS3 if MS didn’t own it. It really comes down to console exclusivity. The tech differences between the PS3 and the 360 aren’t all that much; it’s really about the delivery of content.

Q. Is Working on the PS3 as difficult as some may say?

From my experience tangentially with PS3, it was more difficult than 360 in the past, but from what I have heard this has greatly improved recently. My experience has definitely pointed me to the 360, as that is what I’ve worked on and that is what I know; but I wouldn’t shy away from a PS3 game now.

Q. What are some of your E3′09 Predictions?

What I really hope is that the E3 of 2009 returns to the sweetness of E3 past. E3 has always held a special place in that it really brought out industry to the mainstream through spectacle and a certain wow factor. I hope it returns to its former glory, and lets the mainstream know how extraordinarily fucking awesome our industry really is.

As far as games, without going into details, I think you are going to see some initiatives across all platforms to see more interconnectivity and bridging the gap between hardcore gamers and our more casual brethren.

Q. What kind of game does christian allen want to make?

You know, recently I’ve really been appreciating the genre bending FPS’s; like Bioshock and Fallout 3. Combining different genres with FPS’s has always interested me. That being said, I’ve also appreciated the purity of design of the games that have been coming out of developers like Valve. And really, what Designer wouldn’t want to make a fucking sick zombie game (but I have to roll with slow zombies, that’s the real shit). You never really know what I might come up with next!

Q. What is your favorite genre of games?

It’s really a mix between First Person Shooters and Real Time Strategy games. I love them both. And I’d love to see them mixed together in a real AAA title!

Q. How has the industry changed for you in the past 10 years?

I think we have seen a larger appreciation for the more the more casual gamer. It’s not just about the hardcore shooter fan anymore. It’s about how can I play with my wife; how can I play with my daughter; HELL, how can we all play together!?! It’s not just about the 18-34 male demographic anymore. It’s about how we can draw everyone into games.

On the development side, it’s really about how we can make fucking awesome AAA games and still maintain a work-life balance. How can we ship sweet titles without burning developers out? We have to have a sustainable development atmosphere if we really want to keep up putting out rocking titles. The old standard of developers working an average of 3 years just isn’t sustainable any more.

Q. What advice can you give game developers that’s trying to get a job?

Stand out from the crowd! Do your own thing. Don’t just go with what your teachers or what the websites tell you. If you don’t stand out, you will fail. Continue to kick ass in your own way, no matter what your discipline is. Buck the standard! That is the only way to stand out from the crowd.

Q. Any Shouts Outs you want to make?

Yeah, I got a few. My love to the folks at RSE for giving me the opportunity to break in, I will love you guys forever, and if I could uproot your studio and move it somewhere else I’d be there forever. Bungie, you have some of the most talented people I have ever worked with, you will continue to rock the world for years to come. And of course, my wife and daughter; without you I wouldn’t even be doing this, you motivate me every single day to kick ass in games and never settle for what’s easy.

Q. Is Alan Wake Coming This Year?

You got me on that one. I have no idea when it is coming out. I haven’t seen a lot on it, but from what I have seen, it’s really exciting!

Stevana “Stevie” Case (born September 7, 1976) is a recognized figure from the video game industry. She is noted for being one of the first well-known female gamers. Case has filled several roles in the industry, from the first female professional gamer at the Cyberathlete Professional League to level designer to Vice President of Development.

Case gained repute for defeating John Romero in a Quake deathmatch. She defeated him the very first time they met, after being introduced by a mutual friend, Don MacAskill. After that, she was employed at Ion Storm, first as a game tester and then as a level designer. Case’s relationship with John Romero turned into more than just playing games in early 1999 when they began co-habitating. That relationship ended in early 2003. Until then, Case was the Vice President of Monkeystone Games, a game development company she co-founded with Romero.

Case became known for her looks and penchant for games. Stevie was approached by Playboy to appear in a pictorial based on an interview she did in the Los Angeles Times. She did the photo shoot in early 2000. Images of the photo shoot were released on the Internet, but never made it to the pages of Playboy magazine.

Case picked her nickname “Killcreek” from a regional rock band which she admires from Lawrence, Kansas, home to the University of Kansas where she attended college (but did not finish), and near her hometown of Olathe, Kansas. The band in turn took the name from an actual creek: Kill Creek. She did not intend for the nickname to stick, but it has.

After leaving Monkeystone Games, Case led product development team for Warner Bros. Online’s Mobile Group. After leaving Warner Bros. she was employed at Tira Wireless in sales/business development. Afterwords she held a position with Spleak Media Network, where she was a Director of Product Management.

As of September 2008 she is Vice President of Business Development and Sales for Fatfoogoo, a game commerce company.

gamedibs

We at Gamedibs.com have learned that the recently announced OnLive service was issued a lawsuit last week on behalf of Microsoft due to name and copyright infringement. The suit states that the OnLive Service”too closely resembles the name and look” of the Xbox Live service and that “many of the functions used also too closely resemble that of copyrighted functions used by Xbox Live”. The lawsuit was issued this past Thursday and as of today the lawsuit has now been dropped. According to sources the lawsuit has been dropped in favor of a buyout opportunity. Microsoft is now looking to acquire the OnLive service and use it in an as-of-yet undisclosed capacity. We will keep you up to date on this breaking news.

I hope this isn’t a April’s fool joke. According to the latest issue of “Jump in Japan”. So far the only information that was given was that the “PS3 version will come with a new character named Patty Fleur.” There was no other information given at the time.

Tales of Vesperia was an incredible RPG on the Xbox 360 and I have no doubts that the PS3 version will be anything less than that if this information is indeed true.

Sources:

http://ps3.kombo.com/mediaviewer.php?img=/images/media/tovps3.jpg

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/968/968624p1.html

Santa Monica, Calif. – April 1, 2009 – Genius Products today released new screenshots from Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, the upcoming music rhythm game for fans of hip-hop. With creative and technical input from Mix Master Mike, legendary DJ for the Beastie Boys, Scratch: The Ultimate DJ features a realistic turntable style peripheral complete with an analog wheel, cross fader and MPC sample buttons.

With a heavy-hitting setlist comprised of more than 60 licensed and original hip-hop and R&B songs from artists such as Kanye West, Tech N9ne, Run DMC, and Deltron 3030, Scratch: The Ultimate DJ will allow players to put their own “spin” on tracks with an assortment of battle records, including custom beats and quirky sounds. Players can also plug in a USB microphone and record their own battle records to improvise on their favorite tracks.

The new screenshots display DJ Travis, the laid-back urban hipster, scratching in various environments from Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, including a record store and beach party.

Living Legends- Never Falling Down

Simply and amazing track. Lyrics are deep, and the beat is slow and nice.

N.O.R.E- Nothin’

Hey I post this one because it is an old track. I bet not a lot of people remember this. I liked the beat a lot. Not a fan of N.O.R.E though. Let me know what you guys think of the tracks

LINK TO THE OFFICIAL TRAILER: http://mars.spiders-games.com/node/265

Check out the link above to view the new trailer on the upcoming PS3 exclusive, Mars. While the idea of the game seems great, what has been shown so far does not yell AAA title. The trailer may be a very early build of the game, but the graphics seem to be sub-par, and the animations are nothing great. With games like God of War 3 and Diablo 3 coming out in the next year, this game doesn’t live up to snuff. They need to do something to make the new IP standout, but instead it looks like a bare bones action game.

Hopefully it improves as it grows closer to the end of development. The story potential is great.

You think you know what MGS5 is going to be about? You think you know what Kojima was trying to tell the gaming world at GDC? Well, the guys at Konami beg to differ….

LINK TO VIDEO: http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/movie/april_fool/index_j.html