http://nh2.wecreatestuff.com/

To begin, the storyline behind this game is very vague. According to the ModDB:

“In Nightmare House 2 you wake up inside an abandoned hospital with no understanding of how you came to be there, only a vague memory of the girl from Nightmare House haunts you. Soon it will be difficult to determine between a dream and reality. How long will it take you to realize that escape is not an option?”

The game itself is true to its word when it says it will be difficult to determine between a dream and reality, as the entire game is focused around keeping the player on the edge, which is exactly what it had done to me while playing.

The game starts off allowing you to play the prologue which is basically the entire first Nightmare House placed as the first chapter to Nightmare House 2. This is a great idea because it makes the player become more familiar with the storyline instead of having to download NH1 and install it. The Nightmare House 1 level design has been revamped, the new GUI and Vignette from NH2 is also used as well.

Once completing the end of NH1, the player wakes up in a padded room, giving the player the first piece of information. You are either locked in here, or are a patient of the Never Lose Hope Hospital–the world you become so familiar with through the entire game. The design of this hospital is absolutely amazing, although some rooms and floors of the hospital are questionable to actually be in a hospital. The lighting is eerie; walls are covered in debris and other elements. As soon as the player walks up the corridor, he is instantly dragged straight into the atmosphere of the game by showing the player the girl from the original NH1. As the player progresses through the hospital he is greeted by a Doctor  Romero, who attempts to help you get out of the Hospital.

The majority of the level design is solid. The lighting was nailed perfectly, although in one section the player is left without the flash light for what seems like 30 minutes of gameplay and has to resort to using flares. This became somewhat annoying. The majority of the levels felt a bit linear too. This was fixed with some areas the player would walk through and find access to a door he otherwise could not enter; this helped to ease linearity.

As briefly explained before, the game has two of three new systems added. The first, is the pretty stylized GUI which has a nice corroded feel, and it definitely takes away from the vanilla look of Half-Life 2. The second is the vignette system, an overlay added to distort the players view. Finally, to hide what’s coming up behind the player finally is A.S.S (Automatic Scare System). During the course of the game, the player will be walking down a corridor or standing in a room, when suddenly he will be smacked lose 1HP and his flashlight will flicker. This system is definitely quite irritating at times, but in a good way. It keeps the atmosphere going in otherwise quiet places.

One of my favorite things about Nightmare House 2 is the voice acting. The voice quality is exceptional and acted very well by the team. Huge props go to the sound designer of the team for creating such an unnerving experience in this game. Everything caught me by surprise. I especially love how lines from different movies such as Cloverfield have been integrated with the game’s script as a source of comedy in an otherwise immensely creepy world.

I’m going to try and stay away from the ending of this game. But I’ve gotta say that the ending of this game is what truly makes this an outstanding modification. The ending as you would assume–wraps up the entire storyline to Nightmare House. But I’ve never quite seen a modification wrap it up so well. The detail in the final ‘battle’ scene is also phenomenal. I’m amazed to see the amount of work that went into designing Romero’s project.

As a modification, I would highly recommend downloading this game. Even if you’re not a fan of horror games. The puzzling dream worlds definitely distort your mind and keep you on edge through the entire game. I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed this modification. I can’t wait for Nightmare House 3…

I’m Scott “Sythen” Baker, and thanks for reading my review on Nightmare House 2.
And remember… Don’t look behind you.

PS: Don’t forget to play the game a second time around, there are hundreds of easter eggs!
Hint: Open your console and type: map this_is_not_an_easter_egg

So over the last forth night I’ve been working on developing a series of video tutorials aimed specifically at newcomers to level design on the Source Engine. After searching the internet and only coming up with tutorials on how to create box rooms, I decided that if you want to be somewhat serious about Level Design you need to learn the skills correctly.  So I went ahead and created this series.

You can find the series here: http://hl2mapping.scottbaker.eu/

The series will teach newbies the basics in theory behind a level design, and what to keep in mind with designing,

planning a level design and then actually creating the level design,

learning everything from the basics of creating the layout,

To using worklights, dev textures and keeping the level optimized as you are developing,

how to finalize your map and use HDR lighting to make your level look as pretty as you want.

Hopefully people can learn a lot from this tutorial series, and best of all the tutorial series if available to you completely free of charge. If this beginner series goes well, I may create tutorials for more advanced users  and see how that goes.

Although I’ve been doing Level Design for 6 years, there is still a lot I could learn, and a lot I could teach. If there is anything you wish to see in my series, or want to inform me if I have done anything wrong, please let me know!

webmaster@scottbaker.eu.

Thanks very much guys!

- Scott “Sythen” Baker.

I began two weeks ago creating new sounds that I thought would fit some of the tracks that I’m trying to create. And only just recently came up with the sound I’ve always wanted to portray in my music. So below, I’ve left a sample to the introduction of the album:

Sythen – Introduction

Let me know what you guys think either on my Facebook page for Sythen, or on my twitter.

http://twitter.com/Sythen

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sythen/121427161210519?ref=ts

Thanks guys, let me know what you think!

Scott.

Myself, Gareth Byrne and Tadhgh Poole won 2nd Place in the Schools Cup of XNA Ireland Challenge 2010! It was an amazing experience for us all, and we loved every second of it. So special thanks to Phil Bourke of Tipperary Institute, and Dr.Bryan Duggan from D.I.T College.

Below is a large picture taken when we accepted our awards.

We also vlogged the event, and I’m still uploading the videos to YouTube, check down below for more videos and keep checking back for more!

-Scott.

I’ve worked on two completed models, and have started on a character model. I know that a character model seems a bit far-fetched for someone who’s only started with modeling – but I do love to shove myself in the deep end of things when learning.

For now, the character model will remain secret, as it will be for a game called Ethereal developed currently by GearSmith Entertainment.

As for the other two models, the first is a Silent Hill style Fridge – I looked at some of the rooms in the Apartment Buildings in Silent Hill 2, and decided – “Hey, is it just me, or is there a fridge in every room?” So I attempted modeling a Fridge.

As for the second model, it’s more of a real world use model. I had used a reference image of an alley and found some utility poles that were connected used to host up wires. So I attempted to model it. This model was considerably harder to make, and I think it turned out better.

All of the works above will be available in the Portfolio section of my website.

- Scott.

Oh and by the way? UV Unwrappings are a b*!#h D:

I’m gonna stop typing. Read!!

Hello there Adam, thank you for allowing me to have this interview with you.

Scott: To start, how did you get into flash?

Adam: I’ve always been interested in drawing and animation so when a friend of my dad leant me his laptop to have a play with flash it really grabbed me

Scott: How long have you been using it before you decided to start Nevermore?

Adam: Pretty soon after a discovered what actionscript could do! It took me a long time to get my head around it though so i’d say a year or so just doing animations.

Scott: Where did you get the ideas and inspiration for Nevermore?

Adam: Loads of places to be honest, mostly music and things that happened in my life, how i felt at the time and places i wanted to see. I’ll be honest, in regards to the first two nevermore’s they were never really meant to be ‘games’, more a form of escapism for me, a place i could walk around and craft as i went without ever really knowing what was around the corner or on the next screen. It was a really nice and organic way of working so those kinds of inspirations really complimented it’s development.

Scott: And it’s Art style, has this had any inspiration or any origins?

Adam: I’d be lying if i said Adam phillips wasn’t a big inspiration for me at the time, his quality of work really captivated me and lead me to push the flash medium as far as i could!

Scott: In terms of actual development, do you use any specific tools? Mouse or Tablet etc..?

Adam: Tablet, one of my favorite inventions!

Scott: Any tips for animation?

Adam: hmmm, in regards to frame by framing if you want to animate something with character don’t place how it looks as more important than how it moves, use simple shapes to plan out the animation first, once your happy with that use these shapes as a template to draw out your character. I guess that’s kinda obvious advice but i know i used to do that.

Scott: What about the actual artwork, have you any tips for painting your scenes in or out of Flash?

Adam: i cant really think of anything : P

Scott: played through Nevermore a few times, but never really understood the island you fall down to on the lake, You’ve said in a comment that there’s something that appears if you do it a specific way, but I cannot find it. What is it about that area!

Adam: haha, thats just a silly little secret i put in. Theres a gem you get at the entrance of the mine which, if you take it back to the grave under the weird pipes place it gives you ghost vision! when you go back to the lake theres things in the water. totally pointless but i always wished more games did that. i remember spending ages playing banjoe kazooie as a kid exploring and trying to find cryptic clues to secrets. i never found any : ( actually no that’s a lie, if you looked into the portrait in banjoes house at the start it let you play a mini game  i found that all by myself.

Scott: Will there be a Nevermore 4?
Adam: another nevermore? not..exactly…

If you would like to play Nevermore 3, Check out Adam’s Deviantart: http://westykid.deviantart.com/

- Scott.

LIVE STREAM LINK: www.yslive.co.nr
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/yslive

Check back for more updates, or follow the Twitter link to find out more!

- Scott.

So I’ve decided after long await (ISP downtime) I have been able to update my portfolio. As of yet I have only added two maps to my level design section, both of which will be available to download by the end of the week. Both maps took around 15-20 days of development to lay down, and overall development depending on the map extended from that.

I’ve recently obtained a Graphics Tablet, which will allow me to start working with Mudbox. I’ve also started learning UDK which means the team will possibly be making the Unreal Engine 3 as it’s next choice in engine (This is all after Outbreak: Condemned has been developed – Don’t worry were not sabotaging that).

I’ve also started getting into Flash as I love the art that can be created with it. Games like Nevermore 3 have really inspired me to work with this software and I hope to advance my skill in Flash to create some really awesome platforming games.

Nevermore 3: http://www.2dplay.com/nevermore-3/nevermore-3-play.htm

In other news, I have arranged an interview with the creator of Nevermore 3, Adam Westerman. I will be asking him questions about his art style, and what inspires him. But if anyone has any questions they would like me to ask be sure to let me know through MSN, a comment below or e-mail.

To see my updated portfolio, level design section,  please click here: http://www.scottbaker.eu/?page_id=18

I’ve also had the chance of updating my developers.valvesoftware.com page: http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/User:Sythen

Please comment!
- Scott.

‘It’s that time of year again, time of snow, jingle bells and flesh eating! The Outbreak Team have got a pretty big update for you guys this time. So sit back, eat a mincepie and enjoy the update.’

That is how the update to the large Christmas update sounds! We’ve been working solidly on Outbreak for the last month now, specifically for this update. After a years work, we wanted to bring you the largest update we could muster up, so check it out!!
Merry Christmas with a hint of evil!

Also!
This years Mod of the Year has come around again on Moddb. So don’t forget to check out our main Moddb page and vote for us!
Outbreak: Condemned Moddb Page

Thanks!
- Scott.

I have officially lost my Broadband connection, and it will be at least a week before I get it back.
For now I’m in my Aunt’s house using the connection, but it will be unlikely if I will be making a lot of updates to the Portfolio.

So I guess you’ll have to wait a week!

– Scott.