3rd Party Product Update - June 2008
by Derek Bronson · 06/24/2008 (2:52 pm) · 5 comments
For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting me I manage all the 3rd party products you see on the Content Packs and Developer Tools section of the website. Since then I have had the pleasure of meeting awesome people from all over the world (such as Chris Robertson, Phillip O'Shea and Jeff Faust just to name a few) and helping them deliver their content to other game developers in the community. I'm going to try to get one of these .plans out every month to update everyone on the cool stuff I'm working on and what new products have hit our stores.
Awesome New Products
AFX update to TGEA - In December of 2007 Faust Logic released an update to ArcaneFX that allowed TGEA owners to take advantage of his awesome technology. Since then Jeff has been working diligently in keeping up with new TGEA versions. This product is one of the most impressive 3rd party add-ons to Torque that we have available. I recommend this to any developer who will need any sort of FX for their game. Just today Jeff released a new beta that is 1.7.1 compatible and can be found in your download links for all TGEA AFX owners.
Platformer Starter Kit - Phillip O'Shea converted the popular Platformer Starter Kit from Torque X to TGB. The TGB version of the kit has all the functionality of the original, plus takes advantage of the behavior system in TGB. Phillip is still working extra hard to enhance the performance as well as add new features to the kit.
Combat Starter Kit - Dave Young and Ashley Kelley have produced a huge starter kit for people looking to create a Battlefield inspired game. This pack contains over a years worth of work by a great team aiming to help other game developers get started. I can't even begin to start describing the amount of material in this kit and recommend that you read more about it here.
3DGDA - These guys do amazing character work and have added 5 different character models to the GG store. From Sci-Fi to Fantasy, if you want to populate your world with a good looking character model, then look no further.
Really Really Good Things Studio - Alan James and his son Kyle have released their entire line of products to GG devs through the GG store. Everything they do is top notch and their support and attitude makes them incredibly fun to work with. Both their Downtown District and Warehouse District packs provide over 20 assets each that create a great environment for your game levels. Great guys doing great things.
Digital Shock - The Sci-Fi Soldier pack is the first character pack available that takes advantage of TGEA's shader technology. A great addition to your next gen sci-fi game.
RTS Creature Pack - Ori Cohen has created a creature pack specifically aimed at RTS game development. Each model has been optimized to work within the RTS Starter Kit and help developers prototype their game.
Houdini - Houdini is now available for Torque users and features one of the best exporters we have to offer. This is a professional art tool being offered for indie game developers at an indie friendly price. Check out this other .plan for more info as well as this video showing the export process.
The Process: Getting Your Stuff on the GG Store
Obviously, the GG Store is built largely on the work that the community brings to the table. Without the additions that you guys make, we certainly wouldn't be as successful as we are today. So, in order to keep the good times rolling, I'd like to spend a minute to talk about what GG is looking to sell on the site, as well as answer a few common questions that pop up on the forums.
What kind of content should I create?
I get this question a lot, especially from highly talented artists. My recommendation is to stick to a style that you love or are comfortable with. Highly stylized stuff like Todd Pickens's work or Tim Aste's work tends to sell better than very generic models. Anything that had code additions also does well because it adds extra value to purchasers. From there I suggest theme packs or bundles of content that aim at a particular feel. Really good content will make a person want to make a game around it. Also, the store is severely lacking in content that takes advantage of TGEA's graphical capabilities, so having more content around that is very important to me right now.
I have great content. Now what do I do with it?
If you have something that's ready to be looked at, then by all means email it to me at derekb [at] garagegames [dot] com. I personally evaluate all submissions. We have both exclusive and non-exclusive publishing deals, and we always allow the creators to maintain control of their IP. This can be a great way to fund that dream game that you are making.
A Question for You
The feedback that I would really like to get is what you guys would like to see in our content pack and developer tools store. Keep in mind that I manage third party products, so please don't just list improvements you would like to see in the engine (although there are certainly places where you can do that). But if there are tools you would like to see or work with, starter kits you would like to see or anything else that you feel is missing from our add-on content please let me know.
I look forward to keeping you informed of the awesome 3rd Party Products we receive on a monthly basis. Cheers!
Awesome New Products
AFX update to TGEA - In December of 2007 Faust Logic released an update to ArcaneFX that allowed TGEA owners to take advantage of his awesome technology. Since then Jeff has been working diligently in keeping up with new TGEA versions. This product is one of the most impressive 3rd party add-ons to Torque that we have available. I recommend this to any developer who will need any sort of FX for their game. Just today Jeff released a new beta that is 1.7.1 compatible and can be found in your download links for all TGEA AFX owners.Platformer Starter Kit - Phillip O'Shea converted the popular Platformer Starter Kit from Torque X to TGB. The TGB version of the kit has all the functionality of the original, plus takes advantage of the behavior system in TGB. Phillip is still working extra hard to enhance the performance as well as add new features to the kit.Combat Starter Kit - Dave Young and Ashley Kelley have produced a huge starter kit for people looking to create a Battlefield inspired game. This pack contains over a years worth of work by a great team aiming to help other game developers get started. I can't even begin to start describing the amount of material in this kit and recommend that you read more about it here.3DGDA - These guys do amazing character work and have added 5 different character models to the GG store. From Sci-Fi to Fantasy, if you want to populate your world with a good looking character model, then look no further.Really Really Good Things Studio - Alan James and his son Kyle have released their entire line of products to GG devs through the GG store. Everything they do is top notch and their support and attitude makes them incredibly fun to work with. Both their Downtown District and Warehouse District packs provide over 20 assets each that create a great environment for your game levels. Great guys doing great things.Digital Shock - The Sci-Fi Soldier pack is the first character pack available that takes advantage of TGEA's shader technology. A great addition to your next gen sci-fi game.RTS Creature Pack - Ori Cohen has created a creature pack specifically aimed at RTS game development. Each model has been optimized to work within the RTS Starter Kit and help developers prototype their game.Houdini - Houdini is now available for Torque users and features one of the best exporters we have to offer. This is a professional art tool being offered for indie game developers at an indie friendly price. Check out this other .plan for more info as well as this video showing the export process.The Process: Getting Your Stuff on the GG Store
Obviously, the GG Store is built largely on the work that the community brings to the table. Without the additions that you guys make, we certainly wouldn't be as successful as we are today. So, in order to keep the good times rolling, I'd like to spend a minute to talk about what GG is looking to sell on the site, as well as answer a few common questions that pop up on the forums.
What kind of content should I create?
I get this question a lot, especially from highly talented artists. My recommendation is to stick to a style that you love or are comfortable with. Highly stylized stuff like Todd Pickens's work or Tim Aste's work tends to sell better than very generic models. Anything that had code additions also does well because it adds extra value to purchasers. From there I suggest theme packs or bundles of content that aim at a particular feel. Really good content will make a person want to make a game around it. Also, the store is severely lacking in content that takes advantage of TGEA's graphical capabilities, so having more content around that is very important to me right now.
I have great content. Now what do I do with it?
If you have something that's ready to be looked at, then by all means email it to me at derekb [at] garagegames [dot] com. I personally evaluate all submissions. We have both exclusive and non-exclusive publishing deals, and we always allow the creators to maintain control of their IP. This can be a great way to fund that dream game that you are making.
A Question for You
The feedback that I would really like to get is what you guys would like to see in our content pack and developer tools store. Keep in mind that I manage third party products, so please don't just list improvements you would like to see in the engine (although there are certainly places where you can do that). But if there are tools you would like to see or work with, starter kits you would like to see or anything else that you feel is missing from our add-on content please let me know.
I look forward to keeping you informed of the awesome 3rd Party Products we receive on a monthly basis. Cheers!
Torque Owner Ori Cohen
Ori Cohen