Steven Bodnar

God of War!! Here is a short cinematic animation test I did back in 2009 for Sony Santa Monica. I only had the audio file to go off of without any context, so I envisioned a Kratos that was calm, but having none of it and ready to throw hands. (I'll link to the scene GoW3 in thread) 1/4

@Tezenari @UnrealDirective Oh man I know there were things I wanted every now and again that I couldn't believe wasn't in Unreal, and of course now that there's an opportunity here I can't think of a single one!!

It's 2026 and Unreal Engine still does not have a built-in "Is Running in Editor" node in Blueprints. So of course Directive Utilities has this pure function as it's very useful for editor-only logic and debugging. What other basic utility nodes are missing from the engine?

I have a dedicated space in my collection just the series! Ultima 4 was the first game I played on my C64c and it was instrumental in my love of cRPGs. Never missed a single one though admittedly I never played 1 and 2. 6 was the first game I played on my Gateway 2000 386-33 and my gawd did I love The Black Gate. @RichardGarriott Thank you thank you for some of my greatest and happiest gaming memories from my childhood! 🍻

“The Most Important RPG” youtu.be/znF-8xuN0J0?is… via @YouTube

@exQUIZitely Ultima Underworld had this as I'm certain you know, and I always thought these kinds of system were brilliant!

A little ode to Dungeon Master's spell system: It was beyond epic and incredibly innovative for its time. Instead of the common approach (memorizing fixed spell names like "Fireball" or selecting from a menu), it used a rune-based combination system. Spells were created by combining 2 to 4 runes in a specific sequence. The first rune always determined the spell's power level - how strong it was, how long it lasted, and how much mana it cost. The following runes defined the actual effect (for example, fire + wing = fireball). There were separate runes for Wizards (offensive and utility magic) and Priests (healing and protection), but the core mechanic remained the same. I sometimes wonder if this was perhaps a bit "too advanced" for some players, since the more common (and still dominant) spell system has always been the "select spell from spellbook" mechanic.

Giving this a shout out for vis! #blueprintsforever

@exQUIZitely Yea thought so too! Had a great vibe and I absolutely miss those days

@Flipframe Pretty cool name for an Internet Cafe, love it. Miss those days.

Do you remember your first Internet Cafe gaming session? The first time I went to an Internet cafe was towards the end of 2002 in Australia. I studied in Brisbane at the time, a small city by American standards but defintely not for someone who grew up in a small town in Germany. So, one evening my friends at uni took to an Internet cafe in Sunnybank, a popular suburb among students at the time. The place was packed, I would say 50-60 people, all guys except 1 lady behind the counter helping with the check in/out. Despite everyone having to use a headset the noise level was still very high - you'd hear the famous "headshot!" across the table. You'd hear a muffled curse in return, followed by some friendly banter. We had to wait in line, all PCs were occupied. I didn't mind at all, it gave me time to look around. As we walked along the (small) spaces between the desks and chairs you could see the screens. Typical games were Counter Strike, Warcraft 3, and Age of Empires 2. Some guys had brought their own keyboards or mice, clear signs of "pros" (which I never was). The banter, laughing and occasional curses were mixed with frantic clicking. APM rates through the roof. Despite air conditioners working on full blast (December in Australia means summer...), it was hot, the air was pretty stale, the typical gamer room multiplied by 10. If you know, you know. At the desks you were allowed food (pretty cool), as long as it was in "reasonable containers" - whoever determined what reasonable was, I never figured out. Drinks were fine too, as long as they came in bottles. Favourite gamer's "fuel" back then was Coke, not Red Bull. Eventually it was our turn. We were 4 in total, reserved 4 seats for 5 hours. If I recall correctly the price was $1 per person/hour, in other words: dirt cheap. We played Counter Strike among us 4 first, then joined other groups (you start talking to your neighbour) and got destroyed. Same for Warcraft 3, no chance - but loads of fun. Little break after 2 hours to get some pizza (which was right next door), started playing again while still having the last slice of pizza in one hand and using the other to join the next round of total ass whopping in yet another Counter Strike massacre. I know these days you can play against anyone, anytime and anywhere in the world. No need to leave the house, find an Internet Cafe, wait in line, pay a fee, sit in a sweaty chair in a stuffy room with lots of fellow nerds. You can just go online and there you have it: everything. But those who expericened some LAN sessions in Internet cafes back in the day... you know that feeling can't be replicated. It ewas glorious! BOOM, headshot!

@exQUIZitely Wait till we get to 'knuckle dusters' (name that console!)

@Flipframe The classic gamer blister :) 😂

We are gathered here today to remember all the joysticks that left this mortal world in service of Decathlon, the one true Joystick Reaper. They came into our lives shiny and new, full of promise. They never asked for this. They didn't sign up to be jackhammered left-right-left-right at inhuman speeds for the 100m dash. And oh, the 1500m... that final brutal endurance test often ending in plastic fatigue, spring failure, and the sickening sound of internal breaking. Rest in pieces, dear fallen friends...

@EugeneDyabin Not sure you really need to sell us animators on 'Use Cases' for Anim Layers! We've been desperately asking for them! 😂

Another practical use case for Animation Layers in Cascadeur!

@exQUIZitely I know! She also loved Enduro so yea idk!

@Flipframe Rare that women played games back in the day. River Raid didn't strike me as a the "typical girl game"?

When it comes to gaming, River Raid (1982) is one of my earliest memories. Who here is old enough to remember playing it back in the day?

@wildcraft_games Wishlisted! Plus I love the word 'alogrithm'! 😅 Good stuff guys

@IndieGamesLib Don't forget to include their socials! @EternalCastle87

Stunning visuals of a remake of the original Eternal Castle from 1987. Also: * additional game mechanics * sophisticated sound design * modernized game design

@SpaghetMeN0t ...thatswhatshesaid... But seriously I love Normal Magic so I'm looking forward to whatever gaps you need to fill!😳🤣

The first step towards a "smart bevel" in Blender... Now all I need to do is fill the gap, how hard can it be? 👀

@exQUIZitely Having a majority of the consoles and most of my games CIB is probably my favorite thing with my collection!

@Flipframe You still have the original packaging too, wow. Seriously jealous 🙏❤️

The "Game Boy" before the Game Boy. Did you have one of these? Game & Watch is something that I instantly associate with the 80s. As a kid, having one (or several) was incredible. A game you could take WITH you! Remember, that was the age of Atari 2600, Spectrum and C64... nothing much to "take with you" there. I had a few of those, including the one in the top left, Donkey Kong. There was a trick/glitch that my brother and I discovered. You could remove the cover for the battery in the back but keep the battery in place with your finger holding it down. If you ever so gently (and with a lot of timing/luck) let it disconnect for a split second while the player figure was doing the jump animation, you could feeze him in mid-air. Then you just popped the battery cover back on and would get 999 points (and going), 1 point for each barrel rolling under you while still being suspended for eternity in mid-air. Funny how some memories stay with you forever. What was your favorite Game & Watch title?

@exQUIZitely ..."I" liked Pharaoh... <Typo> 😅

@exQUIZitely Omg I was obsessed with these! Loved them both but agreed, in liked Pharaoh that much more because of the setting. Never did play Master of Olympus hmmm...perhaps I go back to it?!

Were you a fan of this one? One of the best strategy/city-building games of the last millennium: Pharaoh (1999), by Impressions Games. Deciding between this one and Caesar III (also by Impressions Games) was tough. I lean ever so slightly toward Pharaoh, but it’s very close. Maybe it’s just the setting - ancient Egypt instead of yet another “build an empire in Europe” variant. Pharaoh felt more exciting and fresh with its different cultural background. Players guide a dynasty across 15 centuries of ancient Egypt, starting with a small village and rising to massive cities. Core gameplay revolves around resource management, housing evolution, farming, trade, and constructing monumental wonders like pyramids. The connection to Caesar III is clear, with the key focus on micro-management. Your people need food, goods, healthcare, and a few more things to stay happy. You also prepare to defend against invaders or the occasional disaster, which increase in the later stages. It was highly praised for its historical depth and atmospheric soundtrack (sometimes just watching your people go about their day and listening to the sounds was almost hypnotic). If you liked “build an empire” games, Impressions was one of the kings of the 90s.

@MuseumCommodore Ultima 4!! Cemented my love of the Ultima series of course, but made crpgs my go to genre! (prior to that it was adventure games, like the Scott Adams games I played on my VIC-20)

What’s the first game you ever loaded on a C64?

@exQUIZitely Oh I was obsessed with how smooth and amazing this game looked and distinctly remember buying it (well my mom but I was there and picked up the game) for the Atari 2600! Honestly still looks cool just in the video you linked!

When Pole Position hit the market back in 1982, it essentially revolutionized racing games. It was the first to introduce and popularize the "behind the car" third-person perspective, which became the industry standard for racing games ever since. Pretty wild - at least from today's perspective - to see ads from global brands like Marlboro, Martini or Pepsi in an arcade game. But then again, you could also smoke on commercial flights and nobody would tell you "sugar is bad" when you had a Pepsi as a little kid. Pole Position became the #1 arcade game in terms of gross revenue in 1983. No other game came close. And that's saying quite a lot, because 1983 was chock-full of epic arcade games!