procedural posts

First trailer of Love is absolutely breathtaking

by Samuel Axon Oct 16th 2008 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Trailers, Video, New titles, Love

What does it say about our industry when one man and a laptop can create a game arguably more artistically ambitious and breathtaking than anything to come out of SOE, Mythic, Funcom, Turbine, Cryptic, or Blizzard? We were left to ponder that question after watching the first trailer for Love, an MMO with a one-man development team.

We were first introduced to the game at GDC, where we first witnessed its gorgeous impressionist art style and learned about its procedurally generated narrative and creativity-driven social gameplay. Trailer host Rock, Paper Shotgun says this new trailer is the first moving image of the game seen by the public, but we actually included an off-screen video in our impressions of creator Eskil Steenberg's one-on-one presentation. That said, this video is much more impressive. It's simply stunning. We're not able to embed it, so head over to RPS to watch.

Gallery: GDC08: Love by Eskil Steenberg

Tags: art, art-house, artistic, eskil-steenberg, eskil-steenbergs-love, impressionist, indie, love, procedural, procedurally-generated, quel-solaar, quelsolaar, rebel, trailer, video

New screens from the art-house MMO called Love

by Samuel Axon Jun 29th 2008 at 5:30PM

Filed under: Screenshots, New titles, Love

MMOs don't have to all be about orcs, elves, and level-grinding. Case in point: Eskil Steenberg's Love, an art-house MMO that defies every conceivable expectation of what the genre is about. There's been a lot of talk lately about how there isn't enough innovation anymore. Quiet down, folks; Love is what you seek.

When Steenberg showed the game to us at GDC this year, we were excited and alarmed at the same time -- excited because it was different and gorgeous, alarmed because we had to step outside of our comfort zone. The exploration-driven gameplay allows users to alter the painting-like world to match their dreams, but the world is all they'll be changing, as the game features no character creation or customization. Users don't even to pick their own names.

So yes, it's challenging, but God, we miss being challenged. If only there were more projects like this for us to write about. For now, though, let's just swoon over Love. Steenberg released three new images from the game on his blog yesterday, and we have them here so you can soak in the impressionistic atmosphere. Be sure to check out our GDC gallery as well.

[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Gallery: Eskil Steenberg's Love