Raven Games: MageSlayer
MageSlayer Links:
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MageSlayerwas created using the Vampire
engine just as TNP was. The engine is actually a pretty robust engine
that was capable of holding its own at the time it was released. It was
a full 6dof engine that used sprites for creatures and in game models. Sprites
worked really well for our purposes since everything was being viewed from
the top down (unless you used the cheat codes, in which case you could play
from 1st person, but it wasn't much fun like that since all of the monsters
looked flat).
The engine utilized direct 3d to support most any decent 3d card (and some
not so decent ones) along with features like colored lighting. All of the
levels for MageSlayer were created using 3d Studio Max and
they then went through a BSP process similar to the way Quake levels are
BSP'ed. We had several plug-ins that we wrote custom for in house use, that
made texturing and scripting much easier than it could have been simply
using Max. |
The game itself went through several design changes through the course of its
development as we all learned more about the engine's capabilities and weaknesses.
We also made several design changes that, we felt, made the game different from
other games we have made. When we started working on the game, its general focus
was more geared towards a Hexen/Heretic type game but from the top down, but we
couldn't ignore the resemblance it bore towards Gauntlet. So we decided
to regroup and shift the focus away from puzzles to a more arcade action style
game. As we went through the design changes we added multiple character classes
(originally there was only the warlock) and changed the bad guys to all be more
monster like. As a matter of fact the Earthlord was actually a monster for the
mines hub, but we scratched that hub and made the Earthlord into a player.
Overall, we ended up with a pretty cool game that was largely overlooked by most
of the gaming public. Granted, it could have been polished a little more but we
were suffering from staffing problems at the very end of the project. The programmer
that designed the engine had quit at about 1 month out from completion. He popped
in now and then to help out, but for the most part the final programming fell
into others hands and that slowed things down a bit. All in all though, it was
a good fast paced game, especially in deathmatch.
- Dan Freed, Lead Designer on MageSlayer
The MageSlayer Team:
- Project Leader:
Steve Raffel
- Lead Programmer:
Chris Rhinehart
- Lead Designer:
Daniell Freed
- Lead Artist:
Les Dorscheid
- Programming:
James Monroe, Paul MacArthur, Chris Hargrove, Joshua Heitzman, Ron Midthun
- Technology Programming:
Chris Rhinehart, Gill Gribb
- Design:
Chris Foster, Matt Pinkston, Steve Raffel, LesDorcheid
- Art:
Les Dorscheid, Steve Raffel, Scott Rice, Ted Halsted, John Payne, Jim Sumwalt,
Shane Gurno, Jeff DeWitt
- Cinematics:
Les Dorscheid, John Payne
- Sound and Music:
Kevin Schilder, Chia Chin Lee
- Quality Assurance:
Tim Moore
- Vocal Talent:
Mike Werckle as the Oracle and the Lore Thane. Ann Monroe as the Inquisitor.
James Monroe as the Warlock. Kim Lathrop as the ArchDemon. Kevin Schilder
as the Earthlord.
- Programming Manager:
Pat Lipo
- Art Director:
Brian Pelletier
- Sound Manager:
Kevin Schilder
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