Added: 09.07.2014 17:00 | 6 views | 0 comments

TJ Combo was an impossible assignment. In just three short months, Killer Instinct's newest combatant needed to become a playable fighter fit for public consumption at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Traditionally, a task of this magnitude would take roughly four months to complete, but doing it in three is still feasible for an experienced developer. Too bad Killer Instinct's experienced developer had just been bought by an unlikely buyer.

In February of 2014, online retail juggernaut Amazon announced it had

To help kick off season two of Killer Instinct, Microsoft and Iron Galaxy wanted a fighter who was every bit as flashy and distinct as the rest of the roster, but also a bit easier to pick up and learn. To this end, they examined TJ Combo's namesake and drilled down into the very fundamentals of Killer Instinct: combos. "TJ Combo is all about combos and juggles," Goddard said, "so we decided to go all in on that and expand the combo system to include more dynamic juggling and a new recapture mechanic where you slam people back down to the ground from the air. TJ Combo also came highly requested. I know a lot of fans were bummed he didn't make season one, so that was part of it."

"In terms of play style it was one of those rare times when the paper design was actually super fun," Lang added. "That play style has been locked in for a long time, and we have just been adding stuff in on top of it. We're always asking, 'What if we add armor to his powerline?' for instance. We're always trying on different attributes and seeing how they all work together. That's the kind of stuff that comes and goes pretty fluidly and that's all part of normal development."

A lot of those tweaks have been to the powerline, which both Lang and Goddard consider to be his most important attack. TJ Combo is a close-quarters, in-your-face fighter, and the powerline is an armored, dashing punch that is perfect for closing the gap between fist and face. It's actually the first attack you see him use in the reveal trailer, embedded below. From this attack, Lang explained, TJ Combo has a multitude of different options and angles of attack. "You can cancel into a feint, a rising knee to go over low attacks, a roll, finish the power line proper, and all sorts of other stuff too. It's the starting point for a lot of different plans of attack, and when people get their hands on him I know they'll come up with some stuff we never even considered."

TJ Combo's instinct mode has also been designed with newer players in mind. In Killer Instinct, each fighter can enter instinct mode during a fight to receive some sort of benefit. For TJ Combo, that benefit is an extra boost to his overall speed. However, it also has a secondary function. If TJ Combo gets knocked out with a full instinct meter, he will automatically come back to life with a small percentage of his health restored. In addition, he will also be in instinct mode--complete with the extra speed boost--but it only lasts half as long as a normal activation. Goddard and Lang know that fiddling with instinct mode can be the last thing on your mind, especially for new players, so they wanted something that still provided a benefit.

In the end, both Goddard and Lang are happy with how their teams came together and executed on TJ Combo. There is still some more work to be done in terms of balancing and tweaking, but both are already turning their attentions to the future of Killer Instinct. As Goddard explained, "We're now off of the E3 scramble and now want to make sure we make an awesome character, and that's what we're doing. After [the Evolution Championship Series], we'll take the last round of feedback and then close him out. After that, we have a season to launch and characters to get going. It's now about the big picture, and the long game."

Added: 09.07.2014 5:23 | 0 views | 0 comments


You can pick up a PS4 with Evolution Studios#039; racer included

Added: 08.07.2014 16:13 | 7 views | 0 comments


PSBlog : "Evolution Studios took the wraps off DRIVECLUBs dynamic weather system at E3 in Los Angeles this month and we were there to see it demoed live. Today weve got some new direct feed gameplay clips of it in action and an interview with the games Art Director Alex Perkins. The clips are all taken from an early demo of the games realistic and fully customisable weather system, which will be available for DRIVECLUB as a free update for all players shortly after launch. Were really excited to give you an early look at how wind, rain, snow and everything in between can affect your races and how you can customise it in your challenges. Take a look at the new videos and then keep reading for more from Alex."

Added: 08.07.2014 15:22 | 1 views | 0 comments


Evolution Studios' major racing title edges closer to release.
Sony has published two new videos, claimed to be rendered in real-time, which flaunt DriveClub's dynamic weather system.

Added: 08.07.2014 15:20 | 51 views | 0 comments


Best looking racer ever?