We recorded the voice acting for the Lost Cities game tutorial today!
- by John Luxford
Today Les spent the morning with our friends at daCapo (the guys writing the amazing music and sound effects for Lost Cities), where they recorded the voice acting for Reginald, your guide through the game's tutorial. The voice behind our tutorial guide is Nolan Balzer. Thanks Nolan!
Here's a sample clip from their session:
And of course, a couple candid shots too:
Tszujing up the map!
- by Rachael Hosein
This week is devoted to putting the finishing touches on our Phase I launch of Lost Cities. Check out our new map icons!
Meet the team - Unity Developers, lighting, and effects
- by Rachael Hosein
Our first official Campfire hire, our first intern, and a talented freelance VFX artist - These three get into the nitty gritty to make it all functional and looking glossy.
 | Ryan Hill (Unity Developer) - Ryan has a computer science degree and once made PewDiePie cry a little bit. Over seven million people have watched other people play his games. Ryan Hill has colourful socks and makes the computer do things. |
 | Landon Butterworth (Unity Developer) - Landon is a passionate software developer and computer science student specializing in artificial intelligence and databases. Landon has researched multiplayer interactions in virtual environments and data analytics for virtual reality with the University of Manitoba's Human Computer Interaction lab. |
 | Graham Weibe (Lighting and effects) - Graham is a video game VFX artist. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with Art and Design Directors to define and elevate the look and feel of games, videos, and overall user experience. |
Meet the team - 3D and Illustration
- by Rachael Hosein
This project could not have been possible without the amazing partnership we have with Pixel Reborn.
 | Liem Nguyen (3D modeller and animator) - Liem is a 3D artist whose work has earned an Emmy Award. He has worked in various facets of the broadcast and interactive media industry. His wide-ranging experience also includes feature film VFX and video game cinematics. |
 | Sam Schoenborn (Illustrations) - Sam is an illustrator and concept artist. She developed the artwork for the game tiles and the tabletop concept art for the Desert Sands environment. |
They have been working non-stop with countless revisions to get our 3D assets just right.
Here's a little preview of one of the opponents you'll be meeting in the Himalayan Mountains environment coming next year!
Stay tuned for more team profiles and game updates!
Meet the team - Music and Sound Effects
- by Rachael Hosein
We're incredibly lucky to be able to work with daCapo to create the music and sound effects for Lost Cities.
 |
Olaf Pyttlik (Music) - Olaf primarily works as a composer and has scored numerous television, animation, game, musicals and commercial projects. He is also a passionate board gamers who is thrilled to be involved in adopting this wonderful game. |
| Steve Payne (Sound effects) - Originally based out of Toronto, Steve joined Winnipeg's DACAPO Productions with nearly ten years studio and production experience - including sound design, major label and independent music, TV, film and commercial work. He is very passionate about game audio, and the role that audio plays in the VR experience. |
Here's a little sneak peak of what Olaf created for our Desert Sands environment.
Stay tuned for more team profiles and game updates!
And the winner is...
- by Rachael Hosein
Thanks to all who entered our newsletter signup draw.
We're happy to announce that the winner of a first edition print Lost Cities VR Edition t-shirt and other cool Campfire goodies is Randy Fyfe!
Randy, we'll shoot you an email so we can send you your prize!
Fixing gradient banding in the Desert Sands sky
- by Rachael Hosein
When creating the skybox for the Desert Sands environment, we were seeing a lot of banding in the gradient being generated for the sky.
I did a bit on digging and found a quick fix using the spatter filter that I thought I'd share.
Setting the Spray Radius to 25 and the Smoothness to 1 really helped smooth out the gradient.
I then did some quick touchups with a feathered brush on low opacity and called it a day!
C4 Comic Con was a blast!
- by Rachael Hosein
We had a great time at C4 Comic Con this weekend. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to play test Lost Cities!
For those of you who entered our draw, we'll be posting the winner by the end of the week!
This guy knows it all - A preview of our tutorial guide
- by Rachael Hosein
Here was the reference we gave Liem for the Lost Cities tutorial guide:
Based on this concept, here is the 3D model he created:
And here is an example of what he looks like in our work-in-progress tutorial / lobby scene:
Stay tuned for more updates soon!
