Preview: Love

Posted by Derek Yu Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:26:00 GMT

Love

Procedurally-generated world. Procedurally-generated characters. Deformable terrain. Day/night cycles and environmental effects. Massively multiplayer and online. ONE developer.

Do I even need to mention that he’s a Swede? ...I imagine that Eskil Steenberg, like hearty Obelix from the Asterix comic books, might have fallen into a cauldron of Swedish magic water when he was a kid.

But perhaps I’m being too presumptuous, seeing as the game is still in development. In any case, Love certainly looks beautiful, with computer-created graphics that look painted with a brush. And its cooperative gameplay, though vaguely outlined at this point, sounds very different from your average MMOG.

Eskil’s development blog is full of interesting musings, too, so check it out. I like his latest post, in which he defines his own independence:

Why am I making this game alone? Its a question I get over and over and sometimes ask myself. I think I could get a job at a Game developer, maybe even a big name one. Many people dream of working at Valve, id, Blizzard or Nintendo, but i don’t see what I would do there. They do fine without me, and I would rather play their games as they are, then trying to change them. Sure It would be cool to have a biz card from one of those companies, but isn’t it the people who built those companies who deserve hand them out?

...Like everyone else, I have game design documents, scripts, pilots, deigns [sic], books, and ideas lying around, but at some point you have to be asking yourself, Do I want to spend my time trying to convince the world that I have potential, or do I want to spend my time actually doing something.

(Thanks, Data!)

TIGdb: Entry for Love

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Comments

  1. Secret Admirer said 38 minutes later:

    Are those in-game footages?

    Goddamn

  2. The North said 41 minutes later:

    This looks ridiculously awesome.

  3. Pip said about 1 hour later:

    The indie Okami?

  4. muku said about 2 hours later:

    Astounding. Another Tarn Adams?

  5. LopinRD said about 2 hours later:

    That fella made an awsome comment about his own work and ideal…. Now im hooked to this game just because of that comment.

  6. falsion said about 4 hours later:

    The graphics remind me of the first Street Fighter IV trailer (the one with Ryu and Ken with the paint brush strokes, before they changed the graphics style). Awesome.

  7. falsion said about 4 hours later:

    Except this is in real time, which is amazing.

  8. Quetz said about 4 hours later:

    I’m totally keeping an eye on this.

  9. GirlFlash said about 5 hours later:

    I’ve not played it, but I’m still in love anyway!

    (true pun!)

  10. Captain_Duck said about 5 hours later:

    Sounds good, but this is far to ambitious for a one man project. Im sorry to say but this will probably never come out.

  11. Captain_Duck said about 5 hours later:

    The guy is welcome to prove me wrong though. I would like this to come out.

  12. FISH said about 5 hours later:

    this is perhaps the game im most excited about right now.

    like a dwarf fortress for people who care about art.

  13. !CE-9 said about 6 hours later:

    this is profoundly intimidating, and so is Eskil and his talent. my jaw has dropped in a black hole.

  14. chad said about 7 hours later:

    just a note– obelix is a gaul, i.e., he’s french.

  15. Gutter said about 7 hours later:

    it’s weird to see a “Fall into the magic cauldron” reference explained :)

    But I’m french, so I grew up watching Asterix and Obelix. (the movies are hilarious in their original french BTW.)

  16. wat said about 10 hours later:

    So, are you guys putting this on the “Active Development Watchlist”?

  17. Pnx said about 11 hours later:

    In-game footages??? where?

  18. Phasma Felis said about 12 hours later:

    a picture

    another picture

    If those are actually in-engine, then holy living fuck.

  19. Quetz said about 14 hours later:

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=uQDpcsK5Tqo

    Here! lol. That’s pretty old though.

  20. Data said about 14 hours later:

    Better video, sans choppiness: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/194525.html

  21. Dusty Spur said about 15 hours later:

    This game looks really interesting and very pretty. I’m definitely excited for this.

    Also, the fact that most of the related videos on GameTrailers are of hentai games made me laugh.

  22. bateleur said about 23 hours later:

    The one thing which really worries me about this game is “Massively Multiplayer Online”. So that means when everyone else stops playing it I don’t get to play either? And I wonder how long the server will be maintained for?

  23. noname said 1 day later:

    Those companies wouldn’t hire him anyway. Imagine seeing that kind of horrendous spelling and grammar on a job application.

  24. Karuvitomsk said 1 day later:

    ^His English is quite good, actually, judging from Love’s site and his blog.

    Have system requirements been released yet..?

  25. Quetz said 1 day later:

    Ahh thanks Data, I thought the choppiness was just my computer.

  26. HostFat said 1 day later:

    Those companies are seeking developers and not PR …

  27. v-rus said 2 days later:

    If this doesn’t win an igf award (or three), I have no idea what will.

  28. Mruqe said 4 days later:

    I used to be an active NOCTIC IV community member (http://db.tigsource.com/games/noctis-iv - you know). Love reminds me of NOCTIS in many ways. I wonder if mr. Eskil played Alessanro Ghinola’s masterpiece.

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