AOEO and Orcs updates
Quite a few updates to make here for one post.. I guess I have been slacking and should of got these out sooner! I blame University for taking up too much of my time! In the last week we have had some new AOEO news and a new trap spot light for Orcs Must Die. So without further adue, here goes! Read more
Orcs Must Die – trap spotlight: Wind Belt
Believe it or not despite the blood and gore of menacing equipment and traps like the spikes, maces, cross bow and boom barrel – there is actually a much more greener way to despatch the Orcs. The Wind Belt is the latest edition in Robot’s OMD trap spotlights. This magic is truly for the eco-friendly conscious, blow the Orcs away with a gust of wind. Blowing them into strategic places like spikes and lava is of course, most recommended! The Wind Belt is the second type of magic the War Mage can use that we have seen so far, the previous being the fire ball.
Age of Empires Online launching this autumn
Microsoft has today announced to Eurogamer that they plan to launch Robot Entertainment and Gas Powered Games developed Age of Empires Online later this year towards the Autumn. The game was originally penned to be released in the Summer but it looks like the game might be pushed back slightly. The game is launching with two civilisations, the Greeks and the Egyptians. Indications from the open beta indicate that a third civilisation is almost certainly a possibility post launch. Read more
Orcs Must Die! at E3 this year – June 7-9th
In under a months time the some of the bots of Robot Entertainment will be heading off to Los Angeles to the world re-nowened entertainment trade show, E3. I’m sure everyone knows just how big E3 is and it is very exciting to see that Robot will be there at booth 447 showing off Orcs Must Die to the masses! So if you are planning to go to E3 this year you are in for a treat. Read more
Orcs Must Die – trap spotlight: Boom Barrel
Its round 2 of the weekly Robot Entertainment reveals of some traps featured in the upcoming Orcs Must Die video game. This time we have the “Boom Barrel”. This looks like a very cool trap and it involves planting a whole bunch of explosive barrels that detonate on impact or when shot by the War Mage. Remember traps can be placed at the beginning of the level or in real time when playing the game so you can always keep the Orcs on their toes. One of the best features of the boom barrel is the awesome physics effects players can acheieve with well placed barrels. You can send a whole bunch of Orcs flying to their doom if you can set the barrels up correctly. Check out 24 seconds into the video below – now that’s awesome. Read more
Orcs Must Die – new video and screen shots revealed with more to come!
Robot Entertainment has today unveiled a new Orcs Must Die video and a whole bunch of new screenshots. The latest video looks at the Arrow Wall trap and is the first in a number of upcoming videos to demonstrate other traps before the game launches this Summer. The arrow wall can be placed on most walls in each level and fires arrows towards the Orcs as they go past. These arrow walls are perfect to help reduce the size of a large wave of Orcs when they come charging towards you. Place an arrow trap on both sides of a corridor wall and you have a very nice double whammy affect! Read more
Don’t crossbow me, bro! Plus more AOE-O animations from Chazbot
Following up on the community Orcs One Liners where Robot Entertainment invited members of the community to send in their most interesting and humorous one liners as Orcs were sent to their demise has now come to a close. A whole bunch of entries were submitted and one entry was picked out above the rest. The winning entry of the competition is “Don’t crossbow me, bro!“. I think that’s a very good choice and will definitely be amusing to hear in game! Robot are also going to include some other submissions in game too. So if you submitted your one liner you’ll have to keep your ears open to see if it appears in the game! Read more
Bruce Shelley talks about the evolution of social gaming. Plus more AOE-O animations and Robot swag!
Recently the legendary Bruce Shelley has been in talks with Gamasutra along with Brian Reynolds another industry veteran about their roles at Zynga in the social gaming space. Brian Reynolds before joining Zynga worked at Big Huge Games which collaborated with Ensemble Studios on the Age of Empires 3 Asian Dynasties expansion. Bruce and Brian had also worked closely with each other in the past on Sid Meier’s civilisation games. Now they are both re-united again at Zynga where is has become clear that the company is hiring industry veterans to push their gaming business forward.
When talking to Gamasutra Bruce detailed how he was recommended to join after the company was looking for designers from the “Sid Meier School of Design” era. Read more
Beta NDA lifted on Age of Empires Online
Microsoft Game Studios have today removed the non disclosure agreement for current beta testers of Age of Empires Online. This means current beta users are now free to discuss the game openly with the public. In light of this the forums over at www.ageofempiresonline.com are now merged with there being no separate beta section any more. There is no news of yet as to whether this change will result in a public beta but keep your eyes peeled for any possible news.
This news can only mean the development is getting closer to launch. After Robot Entertainment completed work on the game in February, Gas Powered Games took over as lead developers to complete the final polish and features. With the NDA lifted you can be sure to expect more AOE-O previews and insights from the existing beta players. Head over to www.ageofempiesonline.com now and get involved in the discussion!
Orcs Must Die community one liners. Plus crocodiles and lions!
Robot Entertainment has lifted the lid on their latest community effort – ‘Orcs One Liners’. This is a community competition whereby community members can come up with amusing and witty one liners for the soon-to-be-killed Orcs. The best one liners will be chosen by Robot Entertainment on Monday next week (April 25th). The winning one liner will then be added to the final production version of the game for all the world to hear! So if you think you have what it takes to come up with an awesome Orc based one liner then head on over to the Orcs Must Die facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/OMDGame and then click on “Community One Liners”. Read more
