Defining Awesome — Berserker reset
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  • Berserker reset

    Written by . Posted at 6:58 am on April 4th, 2008

    Maybe it is spring or something and we expect change. Sigvatr and I have come to the conclusion that we are heading in the wrong direction and we need to reevaluate not only our game design approach but our life philosophy in a further cosmological sense. Life is not a random event that is to be wasted. Either we take the best of it or we die trying. I personally have no interest in mediocrity. Sigvatr agrees. We also agree we are only humans and have physical limitations and the only thing that will break these limitations is our desire and drive to create brilliancy. I believe each of us can learn how to create excellence and how to master any specific area of life. In our case, the creation of games as true art that will stand the test of time.

    That being said we are throwing weeks of work into the garbage. Berserker at this point is fun but we both know we can do better. So we’re starting over, mainly in the visual and feel department. The game you see now on the previews is just a sketch. We want more and we’ll take it.

    Yours truly,
    MM

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    129 comments.

    1. Does the delay of Berserker means delay of Link-Dead? Or they are different projects at this stage of developement already?


    2. Hmmm.. does that mean that Link-Dead is also being reset?


    3. Hmmm.. does that mean that Link-Dead is also being reset?
      Yes.


    4. That’s a sad thing to hear, but it’s nice to know that you don’t want to release any game under a certain quality level. Best of luck and a lot of strenght to you guys !


    5. In your earlier blog post you said that the hardest thing in program ming is releasing the final product, So aren’t you sabotaging yourself just so that the fun of creating the game never ends? You might to think about that for a moment.


    6. has something bad happened?


    7. MM jesteś wielki! szkoda że nie bardzo rozumiem co piszesz i za szybko się nie dowiem ,bo w mojej szkole niema anglika


    8. Anonymous

      I don’t think this game will be ever done!!!!

      It is always like that. Whatever you do (programming or something more normall;). There is always critical point at which you just have enough of the project you are working on. Closer to the end you are stronger arguments you find to not getting the thing to the end. You just have to pull yourself together, collect all the power and …just finish what you alredy started. It is definitly the hardest moment. You will have the same problem with the new game project.

      Life philosophy, spring or menstruation is not the reason. Stop giving to us bullshit like that!!!


    9. bigbossSNK

      “You will have the same problem with the new game project.”
      Maybe the new project is geared more towards fame than infamy.


    10. Both these games are worth the wait. Remember, while we wait we still have Soldat to tide us over.. and as we all know, Soldat will never die. Soldat still has a ton of potential and a strong following.

      So far, the progress on Berserker and Link-Dead is impressive. Give Michal his time to put out well-rounded and polished games. The programming and testing are already the most difficult processes besides being able to translate the conception to finished product. Aspects change and or mature when games are in the process of creation. Some aspects which may have been a good idea in the conception phase may turn out not to work or perhaps may need improvement to work. Sometimes when that happens, it means having to track back to redo code, or looks, or a certain function in order to implement the better change.

      If the direction of the projects starts to feel wrong, I would rather Michal go back to where it can revert and start going in the right direction again. It’s not just what he would like as a game, but what he not only has to perceive, but KNOW, what everyone else would prefer as a game. Coming up with and working on a game you know that everyone or rather I should say ‘enough’ people will like is definitely not easy. It’s good that he’s got Soldat under his belt for experience and a database of feedback. The next two games are the decendants of Soldat, should have the same fun factor, make use of newer technology (though these games will still run on low end machines.. which is excellent IMO) and give us newer features that weren’t possible in Soldat due to graphic, code, etc. restrictions.

      Game design, even for those with years of programming and design experience is still a very difficult task. Many give up. Many have just one little creation out of many that ever gets any attention. Being indie makes it even more difficult. A large company can lavish resources on a design team to create their next new game in a series or franchise. If their last game was successful.. they have all that revenue to put out their newer adaptation. Unfortunately, the case with a lot of companies, is that they don’t care enough about the quality of their latest creation. It’s as if there is this arrogance from some of these companies, that their next game will be just as big a hit as their last. In the last 2 years I can assure you that there have been many dissapointed and puzzled faces in the corporate offices of these companies. Epic and Crytek are two companies that in my opinion failed with their newest incarnations. Unreal 3 is just a graphically enhanced version (basically) of Unreal 2004. I have both… the feeling is the same. I got bored quick with Unreal 3. Don’t get me wrong. I like the engine. It has a lot of potential. But, the actual game cratered. Their sales were ok.. but that was it. If I go online to play multiplayer.. I’m lucky if I find one active game. I’m sure I’m not missing any updates either. Now, when it comes to Crysis… great game. Very fun. Only 1% of all gaming rig owners are able to play it at a decent frame rate. The company was floored when they only sold 33’000 or so units in the final quarter of 2007. Well yeah. You released a great game.. that would have been better off to be released a few years from now, when the majority of gamers had fast enough computers to run it. Crytek is one company that doesn’t realize that the majority of gamers can’t afford to constantly upgrade or get new systems every 3 to 6 months to be able to play the latest games. It just goes to show you how some companies are ignorant of the wants and needs of the customer.

      Michal obviously is not ignorant. He could just release a crappy game and hope that dupes buy his newest game because his last one was successful. But, he won’t. I know this post kinda sounds kiss-ass or preachy (it’s not supposed to). I just wanted to voice my thoughts and say that these games are definitely worth the wait. That they’re not released until Michal and Sigvatr ‘feel’ they are right. So be patient everyone. You all read this man’s blog. You definitely know his devotion to his craft.


    11. Hey it’s typical to throw game projects away sometimes, I don’t know how often I’ve done that now.


    12. Well I actually expected something like this to happen rather soon, and I’m happy it did. It’s sad for having worked for nothing so long, but hey, better to start from 0 and go up, than start from minus, if you took the wrong direction.

      I myself didnt appreciate the way the characters were moving, it had a rather blocked, robotic feeling, but I supposed the funfactor isnt influenced so I didnt say anything about it.

      But, what went wrong? What of the features we know will change? And what new ones join? Does Sigvatr have to redo all the graphics? I actualy liked the prison and everything, it’d be sad to see them go.

      In what direction are you headed?


    13. Makron666

      Thats cool. Can you give us what you have done so far on Beserker. Because we need something to play during the wait for Link-Dead and Berserker. So give us a beta please!!!! Were probably all dying to see the lighting and graphics and when you release the remake we will know were you improved.


    14. I dont think he his completle at zero he still as the engine correct me if I’m wrong!

      I’m sort of happy to read this because I restarted code’s a lot of time and I was asking my self if I was having some mental problem but maybe no, maybe I’m just looking for Perfectness.

      The sound of courage I lissen, the way to victory I follow, tonight I shall restart my code for the 27 time.


    15. NooMoahk

      This is actually good for me.

      1. Game will be better
      2.(and almost more importantly) Metal Gear Online will be out soon and I will have time for nothing else.


    16. teh_ham

      It’s hard to work off a design that doesn’t exist, eh Michal? I know man.

      Sometimes you feel as if you could do a lot better, make it run faster, etc. And end up restarting the whole project because you feel there’s no soul left in the game.

      Y’know what? This is the point where you need to release the game and see what everyone else has to say about it, not only will you get feedback but you will also feel a lot more geared towards getting the game done from the uplifting comments from the players. I don’t care if there isn’t any netcode or certain features you wanted aren’t in place yet. Just release what you have, it’s always good to have a second opinion remember.


    17. Kagesha

      WHAT! WHAT! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Was so looking forward to both beserker and linkdead now,.i have to wait longer.. :(


    18. Perhaps it’s the right decision, but only time will tell. Sometimes a design on paper sounds awesome and is awesome, but along the way trying to make that game it just doesn’t feel right. I had that many many times myself. It’s usually best to follow your gut-feeling in this or you might end up infinitely changing things because you’re not ever satisfied with the results.

      As far as Beserker goes, I really liked the visual style, especially of the levels. I did not like the characters and the melee combat so much. Especially the combat either needed lots of work or would need a fundamental design change in my humble opinion.

      Anyways, best of luck and I’m looking forward to what the changes will be.


    19. Tblazer13

      *cough* Duke Nukem Forever *cough* j/k

      So is this going to be a radical design change? Or an improvement on the original concept?


    20. I think you spend valuable time on the small stuff like April jokes and other. We do not need it. Every day we seem here with the hope of good news. You very rarely give them to us.
      Thank you.
      But good luck, man (men?), I’m with ya


    21. Sigvatr

      Anyone insisting that we release Berserker in its almost finished server can rightly shut their mouth immediately. Quite honestly (I’m not sure about Michal) I did not give 2 cents worth of thought to our fans with regards to this. I’m not interested in pleasing fans or giving people enjoyment from this game; I’m only interested in creating art. And right now, Berserker is like a first year art grad.


    22. Sigvatr

      “I myself didnt appreciate the way the characters were moving, it had a rather blocked, robotic feeling, but I supposed the funfactor isnt influenced so I didnt say anything about it.”

      Yeah, the visual style of the characters was a big issue with regards to this decision.

      “Thats cool. Can you give us what you have done so far on Beserker.”

      haha no

      I firmly believe that restarting Berserker is going to be a better decision in the long wrong.


    23. Restarting? O_o
      Can we hear a bit of specific reasons?


    24. nub, MM.

      Can’t you release what you’ve done or something?

      Damn, and I was just about to think of you as a god…


    25. Damn it! Forget Berserker, move on to Link Dead!


    26. teh_ham

      [i]Anyone insisting that we release Berserker in its almost finished server can rightly shut their mouth immediately. Quite honestly (I’m not sure about Michal) I did not give 2 cents worth of thought to our fans with regards to this. I’m not interested in pleasing fans or giving people enjoyment from this game; I’m only interested in creating art.[/i]

      You would care if noone played the game though wouldn’t you Siggy?

      [i]And right now, Berserker is like a first year art grad.[/i]

      Which people judge and say if it’s good or not. Release it ffs.


    27. teh_ham

      and why aren’t the fucking italic tags working!!!!


    28. Why are all these idiots complaining when 2 guys who make (even pretty good) games/art for free decide to rework their project? This is the point where you see that your publicity has become too large.


    29. In fact if you post in this news it shouldn’t be for complaning but only for asking question since this is a news not a “I’m looking for advice” post.


    30. Anonymous

      Animations! Gotta love those. There’s this 3D Engine I heard was used in GTA4 [maybe not] where the Characters react to the environment realistically so it would hold on to whatever it can grab on if it’s like falling down a cliff, it will desperately swing arms and try to grab the nearest thing to save itself. Animations would be better if they were ALL physics made. I would really like to see many useful ones such as climbing up a wall, a rope, even button mashing mini-games with a knife fight when you clash. Doesn’t have to be with just a knife. When helmets fall, the guy says “Shit” and can pick it back up with an sweet animation showing him bending down. Games that has time taken into them and smooth animations, gameplay, and an attractive art style [such as Sigvatr’s] will most likely be a game worth buying. Look at games such as GTA4 and MGS4. Those games been in production for a pretty long time and those look like potential games of the year. And the new Red Faction has probably been in development for 10 years. The 3D artist of Red Faction studied real structures in the real world to make the game realistic and attractive. I’m just saying… Make this game flawless and keep the new ideas rolling. You never know if that feature will be a key idea of the game. Like Gears of War’s main feature is taking cover. GTA’s is free world FUN! And MGS4 is sneaky and the camouflage. I’m done talking just make the game look better. I personally thought those characters looked stiff too. Not smooth.


    31. archont

      And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when a sociopath and an enlightened in his own mind coder decide to make a game. On a whim, because they feel like it. Those two want to create something new, something great, all the WOW in the world packaged into one game. They have ideas, dozens of them, and they can’t wait their turn to shout out “Wow, this is great, let’s add this”.

      But in the end, the enthusiasm fades. And even being a 2d game, they finally realize some ideas don’t work in practice. That hastily written code doesn’t work as it should. That there was little design to start with.

      Yes, that’s purely the consequence of having little design. You know what’s the first thing you do when making a game? A design document. You should be able to play the game in your mind. Know every mechanic, know every reaction. And write it all down. Assume that after your design is finished, you won’t have to ask yourself any questions. Any. Just implement.

      And code? Well, the same applies. Once you finish your design all that is left is implementation. You already know how it works. You know you have iterators for players, sound and networking subsystem singletons and that your map is based on a graph. You just write in the code.


    32. Personally I think this situation sucks.
      It was almost the same story with Crimson Glory: MM (the Soldat god) is working on a new game, everybody turns attention to him, he makes us wait, in the end he dumps everything.

      Now Link-Dead and Berserker: MM is working on a new game, he gets our attention, Sigvatr posts lots of graphics and screens to tease us, and suddenly they reset everything.

      Soldat gave you fame MM, you have a lot of people tracking what you’re doing, but you gotta stop disapointing them. You made it once with Crimson Glory and now you did it again with Link-Dead and Berserker. Sooner or later nobody will care if you’re working on a new game or not cause they know it will probably never get released.


    33. Walrus I’m looking forward to see a game of yours that’s even better then soldat


    34. I guess that was a hard decision to make.
      But if you think that it will bring us a better game, then yay!


    35. Mistercharles

      I’m glad you and Sig made this decision, Michal. Everything felt wrong when you showed the first preview of Berserker (except the sweet lighting), and I hope that you make the right decisions the next time around.

      How much of the engine is going to remain intact? Is the graphical style going to undergo any drastic changes?


    36. Thunderpantz

      That’s awesome, MM. Even though I don’t like the wait, it’s good to see you’re going for the gold.


    37. Sigvatr

      This exactly what I thought was going to happen, and I’ve written about this on my (defunct) blog before.

      People who think they are entitled to something for free show their vicious, self righteous and greedy side when they don’t get their free thing.

      It is one of the most pathetic behaviors I have ever witnesses in a human being.

      How about you release a half decent game before you start preaching about game design, kid?


    38. Sigvatr

      “You would care if noone played the game though wouldn’t you Siggy?”

      I don’t care, to be honest I hate most of my fans. Even if we end up driving them all away, people will still play our games, guaranteed.

      Fans probably comprise less than 1% of the people that will play a game.

      I don’t know what you call a “fan”. If a fan is someone who gets angry and nasty at you because you aren’t going to give them their free treats, then I hope they die.

      I like it when people try to understand the decisions we make from our perspective. However, most people simply care about getting a free goodie and bark at you if you don’t give it to them, regardless of being aware of the reasons we make or not.

      Don’t think you are being treated unfairly if you think I don’t hold you in high favor; I’m pretty much a token misanthropist in general.

      Come to think about it, I probably wouldn’t be making a game about raping and torturing people if I wasn’t a misanthropist.

      I don’t hate fans because they tell me they don’t like my game or that something sucks about it; I hate them because they are a perfect window into the intrinsic selfish nature of humanity in general.

      “Which people judge and say if it’s good or not. Release it ffs.”

      What is more important to me is whether or not I am satisfied with it. I make things because I want to them to be pleasing for me, not you.

      “Soldat gave you fame MM, you have a lot of people tracking what you’re doing, but you gotta stop disapointing them.”

      Yup, same shit.

      “Is the graphical style going to undergo any drastic changes?”

      All of the graphics are being redone, and all of the levels.

      “Can we hear a bit of specific reasons?”

      Ultimately what it comes down to is that Berserker right now is o-k, but it doesn’t shine or stick out as something that is amazing. The world is full of mediocre or o-k games, and honestly, I don’t want to contribute to that, especially when I am in a situation where I can have direct influence over it.


    39. Anon-O-Mus

      You should make an entirely open-source game.

      Where you make a basic shell, and the community has X weeks to do whatever the hell they want to it before it gets shutdown and released as a final game. Not only would it be fun, but the end product would probably be hilarious.


    40. Sig, thank you for answer


    41. teh_ham

      I’m not demanding that you release it Siggy, don’t take such offence, If you want to reset it that’s fine, I still think you should release what you have now and see what people think.

      I’m not anticipating this game at all. I’m just curious as to how you make certain features work and such. Some of it is pretty interesting.

      “What is more important to me is whether or not I am satisfied with it. I make things because I want to them to be pleasing for me, not you.”
      Then why release it on the internet?


    42. Sigvatr

      “What is more important to me is whether or not I am satisfied with it. I make things because I want to them to be pleasing for me, not you.”
      Then why release it on the internet?

      I’m pretty excited about the idea of watching other people play as characters in the game.


    43. teh_ham, do you need pre-alpha version? I don’t need it. It’s game and game should be complete. Playable as minimum.


    44. teh_ham

      “teh_ham, do you need pre-alpha version? I don’t need it. It’s game and game should be complete. Playable as minimum.”

      No mate, I don’t. If they don’t that’s their decision and that’s the end of it. I jus t think it would be sensible to release what they have done so far (remember MM is throwing away weeks of work) before they delete whatever it is they have done in that time.

      Also, the more time it takes to complete Berserker the longer it will take for Link-Dead, which I do look forward too =D


    45. Underline

      The fact is: The people wanna see what you have, and if you don’t have what they want, they will say shit about you.. just for personal satisfaction.
      what the world should keep in mind is that everything is a project under development. A project start with a concept! but what the developers have in their minds is MUCH MORE. you cant put everything you want in the paper, so looking at the concept and what you already done all seams ok.. but what the developers fell about it can change the direction of the project.
      It happens all the time, with a lot of companies.. i can say it because im a production engineer in Brazil and i face situations like this all the time..

      If you reseted your project is because you know that you can do better..

      the best for everyone!


    46. Anonymous

      I think you should start to update the Transhuman site.


    47. Lol Sig and MM.

      You’ve taken the biggest step in your career. Pushing back a due date to get the game perfect. And for that, I thank you. Through the previews you showed me, no offence, Berseker looked like SHIT. I was like.. they can do alot better. And, now your making it alot better. Love you guys still, And sadly I’m reading through all the comments to see how sad it really is that people are getting angry that you guys are making a better game then before.

      Don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t want to be flamed XD. Great going guys, and hopefully something better will turn out.


    48. Anonymous

      I thought the previews looked pretty crap but I didn’t want to say anything so I’m really glad you’re restarting it!


    49. MM have you released any game after Soldat? I’m just curious, since of what i know R was playable but not finished, Crimson Glory got canceled, and now you restarting Berserker and Link Dead. Seeking a brilliance is worth shit, if you’re never going to reach it. So make a game already 😉


    50. Anonymous

      Seeking a brilliance is worth shit, if you’re never going to reach it.

      Yeah because MM and Sig aren’t capable of doing better.


    51. Anonymous

      Makes perfect sense.


    52. I’ve never said they aren’t capable, that’s a thing i can’t tell. What i can tell is that a good game you can play is better then an awesome game you cannot.
      It’s hard to say something about gameplay since besides Sigvatr and Michal nobody played Link Dead and Berserker, but from the technical side -as far as we can tell from the video previews – these games are really good. Coudn’t you just modify the whole thing to fit your ideas?

      I suspect that you leave the game engine code, and start over with the game code right? don’t you just feel that throwing out game code and art, ultimately says you wasted your time?
      That’s all just susisions we don’t know how far these “restart” goes…


    53. Well, restarting a project can be handy, especially if you made a bad turn a while back which would be a pain in the ass to correct, which in that case starting from scratch would be like a walk in the park.


    54. SplitCoffe: i must agree, but there is one important thing. When you’re writing a small app starting over from scratch is not a problem, if you’ve done it once making it again in better way is a very good solution. Sadly that is not always true for bigger projects…

      Well i’m not sure if Michal didn’t mean gameplay, art and that sort of stuff. Since if he did… well then there’s no other way then he’s decision couldn’t be different. Still i think it would be better to finish current project, and leave new ideas for next project.


    55. “Do it at 100% or leave it” is one of my (and probably Michal’s) life guidelines. Its good to read that Michal has enough self-confidence to write this post. In life, you sometimes must fall deep and start up from beginning to succeed.

      Good Luck.


    56. anonymous

      sig and MM made the right decision.

      I must say something, though. Everyone who is angry or even dissappointed about this delay can rightly fuck off. this is thier project, not yours. you must come to the realization that you arent entitled to anything and if they felt like it they could drop the project all together for no reason.

      it’s really sad how ungrateful people can be at times.

      anyways, im generally just a lurker and mosey about the shadows of the internet, observing things. this is my first post here.

      ive been checking up on you MM and I enjoy all the progress you are making and I am looking forward to more work from you. however, i would like to say that i dont expect you to finish anytime soon and i dont even expect a reason for delays such as this. if you need time, you shouldnt have to tell anyone. you (and sig) are the bosses, dont forget it.

      even if you are restarting the project i dont think one should consider this a step back. this is still progress in my opinion. you’re realizing what can be better (or that the current state of things isnt as good as you would like them to be) and you are taking the appropriate steps to achieve that higher state of quality.

      dont set a release deadline, just make a contract with yourself to complete something on the project every week or month or whatever and it will be done when it will be done. the more precise you are in cutting this diamond, the more it will dazzle your on-lookers.

      anyways, ill check back on you in a few months. hope all goes well. you have my support!

      Excitedly yours,
      Anonymous


    57. Hate is my fuel. Thanks for the opinions but…
      Maybe it got across like this, but this isn’t a sad moment. It’s a step forward for something bigger and better, because we have grown as game designers and as people. Also you have to realize how much of this game is done. The things we will be changing are really the tip of the iceberg for the whole game engine and its features.


    58. I would be glad, if you had TOLD us how much of this game is done.


    59. “I don’t care, to be honest I hate most of my fans”

      Seriously, Sigvatr, do you REALLY think you have “fans”? MM does deserve respect, but you are just a self-centered dipshit with huge ego. The faster you realise this, the better for you. Take care!


    60. Anonymous

      I like Sigvatr 😀
      booze stop talking shit, thank you.


    61. De'ssOrel

      Hahahahah! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHH!!!


    62. oh boy. =/ Its cool though, take your time.


    63. Sigvatr

      “I don’t care, to be honest I hate most of my fans”

      Man I only get like 8000 unique visitors to electric retard every day. Maybe you are right :(


    64. I thought from what i’ve seen the characters did look robotic and the movement was queer. I liked the soldat dudes alot more.


    65. a happy guy

      “How about you release a half decent game before you start preaching about game design, kid?”

      How can you say that without being a hypocritical egomaniac when you yourself haven’t released _shit_?

      Honestly, at least Michal released *one* full game that is any good, while all the other stuff (R, Crimson Glory) pretty much sucks ass.


    66. This flame war is such a perfect example for Michal’s “On arrogance” entry


    67. SonOfBeer

      Shit, some here have a very deep IGNORANCE and/or MENTAL problem. I will talk about those in a minute.

      All there is to understand from these news is that MM’s and Sig’s ideas about their upcoming games just expanded. We don’t have ANY idea of what the games were going to be, AS WE STILL don’t know what the game is going to be from now on.

      FFS, don’t shit-talk about the previews, these were just examples and demonstrations of mechanics and features, NOT a commercially spoiled teaser video you fucktards. Those vids had gr8 stuff in demonstration.

      Regarding those projects, basically nothing has changed from the perspective of any other man than MM or Sig. Except that the release date, which has already pointed out NOT to be fixed and precise, will surely be later than it would have been without the new ideas of the creators.
      Better ideas : better games ! Work more ! Live long and patiently.
      Right on guys !

      Ignorance cases :

      “I still think you should release what you have now and see what people think.” : Supidest idea, if they are restarting ideas, means they dont like it yet, so why release it??

      don’t you just feel that throwing out game code and art, ultimately says you wasted your time?

      “from the technical side -as far as we can tell from the video previews – these games are really good. Coudn’t you just modify the whole thing to fit your ideas?” : Thats probably the plan, but coding is harder than clacking your fingers. And who said the ideas were finished ? New ideas means new coding. Sigh..if u dont know shit shut the fuck…

      Mental problem cases :

      “Berseker looked like SHIT.” : Berserker never existed, yet. God save this idiot.

      “Seeking a brilliance is worth shit, if you’re never going to reach it. So make a game already.” : DIE !

      “MM does deserve respect, but you are just a self-centered dipshit with huge ego” : DIE IN PAIN!

      Funniest quote ever :

      “Sigvatr : I don’t know what you call a “fan”. If a fan is someone who gets angry and nasty at you because you aren’t going to give them their free treats, then I hope they die.”

      ROFL

      Kickass-ness goes to MM and Sig.
      May happiness go with them too. Have fun making this game !
      And don’t mind praying for the idiots.


    68. Abstract

      ^ Haha, you fucking suckup. You’re no better than the people you’re mindlessly bashing.

      I’m going to have to agree with the decision to scrap it. From the start I couldn’t help but wonder what you were thinking about the direction. I mean, I’m a huge fan of Soldat, but the sprites in Link-Dead were just too big to get away with a static torso at a permanent diagonal angle. Soldat’s sprites are small enough to collapse in a heap, but the dead berserker ragdolls looked like crap. The combat looked worse than some games that have been out since the beginning of time, and the ragdolls just didn’t seem to be working out. So yeah, good luck on your game.


    69. SonOfBeer

      Quote myself :

      Regarding those projects, basically nothing has changed from the perspective of any other man than MM or Sig.

      Except we can observe your drive to create better art, for which I agree and encourage ! Both of you (MM and Sig), through your words, have clearly expressed the causality of your change of direction. Those talking shit just moved their eyes and twisted them on your words to then expose their personal unworthy thoughts to you.

      As you already know, you guys are taking the right path !


    70. SonOfBeer

      I made a mistake in my post where was not noted as a quote :

      “don’t you just feel that throwing out game code and art, ultimately says you wasted your time?”

      My answer : Making art is fun in the process, some even consider the process more important than the result. And you need to try some things to realize you dont like it. Not a waste of time.

      Sorry for multi posting


    71. teh_ham

      “Supidest idea, if they are restarting ideas, means they dont like it yet, so why release it??”
      It was just an idea. Stop nitpicking, dumbass.

      “MM does deserve respect, but you are just a self-centered dipshit with huge ego”
      I like Siggy, but that statement is entirely true.


    72. SonOfBeer

      The word “stupidest” was a stupid word, I admit. What I meant is that releasing something you’ve just started to doubt about and putting away for new stuff, is probably not an attractive idea at all. Even for hearing critics from the gamers, I think themselves are the best placed to judge their own ideas.

      Kind of angry when I posted, after reading much shittalk, I apologize for my aggressivity. But I still don’t believe I’m “no better than the people I’m.. mindlessly bashing?”, quoting Abstract.

      Huge ego ? Self-centered dipshit ? .. what about judging ?
      Does not deserve respect ? Come on.


    73. archont

      Man I only get like 8000 unique visitors to electric retard every day. Maybe you are right :(

      And you still have to reassure yourself of that?

      You remind me of a failed clone of Tyler Durden.

      The project was restarted because the graphics sucked. It’s because your work sucked, and in consequence, you sucked as a graphic designer. I’m sure some of the code was scrapped as well, as code tends to get integrated pretty tightly with the graphics.

      I have no idea of how you came to the privilege of working with Michał but I can clearly see he is a very patient man. I’ve been working with many many different people, graphic designers, interface designers, other coders, musicians and the list goes on, but I would have little patience for a man who fails to separate work from whatever chance to inflate his ego, all while refusing to see that it bears the opposite result as intended.


    74. Sigvatr

      “The project was restarted because the graphics sucked. It’s because your work sucked, and in consequence, you sucked as a graphic designer. I’m sure some of the code was scrapped as well, as code tends to get integrated pretty tightly with the graphics.”

      Yes I agree entirely with this, but clearly Michal liked my work enough from the beginning to think I was worth working with.

      After the many months we have been working together, I think my skills have increased dramatically, and we can make a much better looking game.

      The most important thing we are thinking about though is how to balance out the gameplay. Honestly, you wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to get a close combat, online deathmatch game to work. This is the most important part of the project that needs to be redone.


    75. Adam Gibson

      archont: please tell us what the fuck do you care about Michal’s and Sigvatr’s work? They work as a team, therefore take responsiblity for the whole project. If the graphics were initially accepeted as good by both of them, then it’s their fault that they lived under the false impression all this time. Remember that when you want to create something brilliant, you rarely get it right the first time.


    76. Adam Gibson: Chuck Norris could.


    77. teh_ham

      Chuck Norris can also divide by zero.


    78. Don’t attack Sigvatr, no matter what his experience. I don’t care if he was absolute beginner at graphic design or game design. Michal is working with him for a reason. Michal wouldn’t just pick anyone. If any of you have seen some of Sigvatr’s stuff, you’d realize the man has balls and is not afraid of anything or any kind of criticism. Though, when it comes to criticism, I’m sure that Sigvatr does pay attention to constructive criticism. As an artist, that can be sometimes crucial.

      They’re redoing the projects for their reasons, because they don’t want to release shit. (Not that what they did so far is ‘shit’, but clearly they just don’t like the direction it was going)


    79. Lol, it’s always funny to see how jealous people react to people more ‘famous’ or successful than they are themselves….

      It’s quite obvious both MM and Sigvatr know what they’re doing, perhaps some people don’t like it, but if people would be really honest about it all.. At least 90% of these haters have a bias against the persons behind the game and website / art, probably not even the games. So… who’s fooling whom when they post comments like; * “Seriously, Sigvatr, do you REALLY think you have “fans”? MM does deserve respect, but you are just a self-centered dipshit with huge ego. The faster you realise this, the better for you. Take care!” * .


    80. Wow.. cool choice. Props.


    81. hmmm seems to me it is not a huge deal, this game has only been in development since july, when the crimson glory source was released, right? this is not a long time to develop a game, especially with 1 coder. I wonder what exactly has been thrown out, if it is only a couple sprites then I don’t see why make a post about it, but what else is there? If the animation code is being reworked, surely it is only a normal phase of development.
      anyways I have no doubt this game will be released just make it solid


    82. Anonymous

      Don’t let the weight of high expectations stop you from doing your thing. Not all of your games can be a Soldat.


    83. Anonymous

      omg learn to understand the texts MM writes you fucktard


    84. doodeedoo

      Sligvatr:

      “How about you release a half decent game before you start preaching about game design, kid?”

      Lol. Where’s yours? I think somebody’s living vicariously through Michal…


    85. Personally I think I have a much higher understanding of game design than you and I don’t want any of your useless advice.


    86. You also have a higher understanding of CLOWN RAPE!


    87. [i]this is not a long time to develop a game, especially with 1 coder. I wonder what exactly has been thrown out, if it is only a couple sprites then I don’t see why make a post about it, but what else is there?[/i]

      Well, for one coder it ís a long time, don’t you think? I do sort of agree with you though, however I think they are changing the game design along with graphics and animations. Think of the old Team Fortress 2 and the new style one that eventually was released. I think it’s more like that….. I just hope MM will keep his awesome 2D lighting tech in there, I also really liked the look of that prison from an art perspective.


    88. I hate myself damnit…

      M why did we actually reset?


    89. Sig, i actually think u have no actual game design experience, not in the way like: i made tons of games, but in the way: what do the players want?

      i once chatted to u, u dont even listen. ur just a ego-emo-game-editor.

      though, i havent ever talked to m how he thinks about game editting, but maybe you guyz should just listen more to the fans and the players, in the end, they are the ones playing the game mostly.


    90. @ G.O.D.
      I lol’d at you post. You don’t really qualify to say others have big egos if you actually think as highly of yourself as your arrogant name suggests. Your generalization about how sig won’t listen is strange. Perhaps you come across as retarded to some people, and they don’t want to talk/listen to you.


    91. Oh just shut the hell up and let them do their thing now. You bunch of “game developing experienced” sissies.

      Michal, I’d suggest you start another topic about…anything… so that these flamings come to an end.


    92. New post on CLOWN RAPE! tbh.


    93. teh_ham: CLOWN RAPE freak…


    94. I hate myself damnit…

      The day somehow feels brighter now.


    95. come on u ugly son of a …slu u know that anything u pull out to the market is fecking good man so dont fall like this and realse the damm game lol


    96. I love you too, rFREAK 😉


    97. SonOfBeer

      G.O.D. : “Sig, i actually think u have no actual game design experience, not in the way like: i made tons of games, but in the way: what do the players want?” +
      “maybe you guyz should just listen more to the fans and the players, in the end, they are the ones playing the game mostly.”

      Fans are not the ones good in Game Design, the creators are. What the players want is limited to what they know, and they know less than the designers. Games are not meant to please the fans, they are made to be good. Then, players get into the gameworld/gameplay, learn about it and have fun with it.

      Unless of course you are making a game for casual sluts, and want to make sure they buy it by throwing out stuff that they have already seen before.

      MM and Sig are building up what will become a classic (like soldat), while some like Ubisoft keeps Producing upgraded copies of their old crap useing the same old mechanics and entertaining their fan’s stupidity.

      “Why put money into creating newer game challenges when you can still prosper by useing the same old shit you’ve done last year, with a new story and graphics?” Thats where a good load of the industry are going… towards more money and less classic.

      Oooh and please don’t argue that Assassin’s Creed is an innovation, they do have an extremely complex programmed animation system, but all we have to do is run towards stuff to climb it etc. This is not challenging, its just an “experience”. Mario is way more challenge, as is Soldat with physics-based movement mechs that you can master without any end to it.


    98. None…

      None…


    99. SonOfBeer: that’s funny what you said about Assassin’s Creed because you know.. in fact all that we know about Berserker right now is that it has: yes! very complex animation system. All the other things MM talks about we have never seen in any preview. So please chose your examples more wisely in the future.

      Also you play challenging games not casuals, right? So please name a few. Beacause – if you don’t know it yet – Mario is the essence of what you call casual game. In fact it’s hard for me to think of more casual games then Mario series.


    100. #100 😀


    101. #100 😀
      Next page? 😉


    102. This has Duke-Nukem Forever written all over it muahaha


    103. SonOfBeer

      Shuger : I will explain my point further then. Assassin’s Creed animation system works for Specific paths. As for PoP, you look around, spot where you can go and then reach it rather easily. Because the character climbs all by himself. You don’t guage your speed and jumping height to reach anything in Assassin’s Creed.

      When I mention about Mario, I talk about the platformers, not the race games, or the multiple others themes the mascot mario has been put in. Platforming Mario has multiple jumping possibilities, and the levels (m64) being made multipath and you are never done mastering the jumps and finding new shortcuts or tricks.

      The same applies for soldat, jumping(backflip) and speed can be at any decimal value beneath the maximal one. Therefore you can master movement precision along with shooting and strategy. Plus, the movement mechanics vary logically with different slope angles, making the level design possibilities very interesting.

      The Mario series might be for casual gamers, but the platformers are thought for every kind of players. Experts will definately find challenge in the NES Marios, Snes, 64.. haven’t tried Galaxy much though.


    104. FriendlyHax

      I hope you guys make these games even more kick-ass than soldat. Keep up the good work!
      Cheers from the end of the world!


    105. “This has Duke-Nukem Forever written all over it muahaha”

      Good thing that game will be released this summer…


    106. Good thing that game will be released this summer…

      …this summer is not a good think i cant wait for it dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! releast it NOW MM!!


    107. i have a good feeling about this


    108. BURN


    109. Worry not, Prey was announced in 1995, in the end it was released in 2006 it’s like… 11 years. Quite a good game it is so it was worth waiting this eleven years 😉


    110. […] Definitely nice to have a violent, technically-advanced side-scroller to tide one over until the release of Berserker/Link Dead (both of which are currently being retooled)! […]


    111. as fan of Soldat i’m waiting for Link-Dead, Berserk is in the concept, a real stupid idea IMHO. Will be stupid a one or third person fighter in 3d, a concept like that in 2d is born retarded imho.

      Also, Berserk had really anything of artistic, really.


    112. I don’t really see what everyone’s fuss is all about.

      It’ll be released when it’s good and fucking ready. No-one has made any claims otherwise.

      Chew on this for a moment….

      1. This is a FREE game we’re all talking about here. It’s not like you just shelled out a weeks worth of your burger flipping salary to buy the latest rehash of last years game and found out it’s the same shit all over again. If we think something is not ready to release, then that’s exactly what it is…. it’s not ready to release.

      2. This is ART, not a commercial endeavor put out by a major corporation. It’s something that I, MM, Sig and a very small number of other people are working on. We are doing this because we love what we do and if our work isn’t living up to our expectations, then we need to re-approach what we’re doing. Experimental game design isn’t an exact science. It’s similar to Dr. Frankenstein trying to build his monster. Various other parts and methods were used until eventually his experiments led him to understand he had to “harness the lightning”. All art is the same. You need to harness the lightning, court or rape the muse… do or die… do it right or not at all.

      Now, I understand that MM has scrapped a few games before and it might lead you guy’s to believe that that’s where Berserker and Link-Dead may end up. I assure all of you that we won’t let it end up that way. We’ve all been hard at work on this. This effort isn’t solely the efforts of MM, where he doesn’t have anyone to scorn by scrapping anyone’s hard work besides his own. We all simply agree that Berserker simply wasn’t living up to the standards that we were expecting and envision for it. In the expectations we set for Berserker are core seeds of the expectations we set for ourselves in making Link-Dead.

      As we work on Berserker we are effectively working on Link-Dead as well. The initial idea of Berserker was to simply build and experiment with ideas that were thought of for Link-Dead so we can effectively experiment in a semi/non-serious manner so we could all make Link-Dead all that much more kick ass.

      Berserker was meant to be something we did very quickly as a teaser for the new engine and to test things out and it has grown to be so much more than that. Be happy that we’re deciding to not be the McDonald’s of the Game Industry who gives you mechanically separated meat with chunks of bone and asshole in it instead of serving up the choice cut fillet we demand of our own work to present to the world.

      To simplify all of that for those of you that are too impatient to read this whole post and just skipped to the end:

      Berserker wasn’t initially meant to be so serious and as we have been working on it we have realized that we care more about this game as well and we want to make it better than what it currently seems to have become (as some people in this blog thread have already pointed out and agree with). We also realize that all the effort we put into this will also be effort into making Link-Dead truly epic.

      Oh… not that this is a comparison…. but all of you should keep in mind that it took Leonardo da Vinci from 1503 until 1519 to start and complete the Mona Lisa. 15 Fucking years for a commissioned work. The people paid for it and then had to wait 15 years for it to be finished. Imagine having to pay for something and not receive it for 15 years? People only do that nowadays when they buy a house.. and when they do that they don’t pay for it all at once and wait 15 years for it to be built. It’s already built and they make payments on it over the course of 20-30 years. The Mona Lisa is is a fucking painting…. a really fucking ugly painting that does nothing but sit there. This is a game. A creative effort by several dedicated and insane individuals doing this all for free. Give it a rest, relax.. you’ll get your game.

      Just some food for thought.

      — Synsynth


    113. reset link dead and bers, huh? Poor, MM, poor.


    114. as long as the blog stays up i’ll be happy enough; it’s more entertaining to read than to play most games.

      good luck with the fresh start guys, i’m sure it’ll pay off. :)


    115. I must have missed it, is there a demo or something for berserker or what?


    116. I meant link-dead


    117. […] news from April 4th is still valid. That’s why I haven’t made any official updates. We are still […]


    118. I cant wait to rip eyes out from the corpses of my raped murder victims and eat them to gain health. Shit raw eyes are 1000x better than raw eggs im gonna fucking shove my arm up a guys ass and use his body to beat the shit out of everyone on the server then piss on all the corpses light them on fire and eat the charred remains. Oh and im gonna make a coat out of a niggers skin.


    119. Im gonna fuck you’re ass!


    120. dsddsdre

      Fuck can you put hanging Iraqis in there too?


    121. I was the greatest. Now I see… I’m even more great — I AM THE GREATMOREST.


    122. can you plaese at the very least give us a demo or somethin


    123. […] was reading some of the comments posted about the Berserker Reset over at Michal Marcinkowski’s blog. The following comment perked my interest enough to share […]


    124. QuaziGNRLnose

      any one whos never made a game, never thought up some type of philosiphy or theory shouldn’t tell these guys what to do

      ive been making games ever since i was 5,
      i started out making games on powerpoint, they were beasts, 1000’s of slides with cutscenes and i even developed simple ai with hyper links,
      i guarentee you those were the best powerpoint games ever made, ever

      at around 7 i started using klik and play, made a few SHIT games and eventually got a hang of what i was doing, then i moved to TGF

      i made quite a few good games on that program, DDF being one of them when i was about 12 (on moddb currently not being worked on)

      and now at 13 ive moved to scirra construct, and so far ive started remaking DDF because i realised the old one was shit

      i can tell you that restarting a project is hard, and when people tell you not to it makes it even harder, but when it boils down to the desicion, you decide to do whats best for you, whats best for the game

      they chose to do this, because it makes them happy, its what they want, and if they dont want to show you what they think of as a pile of shit (no offence, but i do realise there was much room for imporvement, and you’ll only get good experience to better the game from what youve already done), thats their choice and you shouldnt pull them down so you can get what you want


    125. QuaziGNRLnose

      you call him a sociopath and yet all you guys wanna do is bring the creator down for your own personal benefit, if theyve made a choice respect it, and stop flaming around.

      guys ive only learned about youre game a few days ago,but from what ive deducted its quite an original idea, i mean where else can you bite someones penis off for health (can you here cause thats awesome?!)
      i respect your game, and if you do it as best you can, i can assure youre efforts will be recognised by many


    126. Well M, you know what to do.


    127. Sigvatr

      any friend of M is a god in my eyes. The fans do like you and support you both. Keep it up


    128. I love penis


    129. Anonymous

      I don’t want realistic gore effects.

      I want there to be so much gore, blood, guts, and blood that it isn’t realistic anymore. :)


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