PAIN: DA-WOOD & DA-MOCKRACY

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I remember telling some employees before that game development isn’t a democracy. I said at best development should be a benevolent dictatorship. I held that opinion because oftentimes when you get too many cooks in a kitchen, it does spoil the soup. Oddly enough I haven’t felt that way with PAIN for quite a few reasons. This message board has had a lot to do with how we design PAIN.

PAIN design is liberating. We don’t have to worry about context, story, logic, or even reality. In a lot of ways, PAIN development is about as chaotic and creative as you can be. So before I dig into what’s next, let me thank all of you for buying PAIN because it really has granted us freedom to try new concepts.

November is an exciting month for us as we are launching the next environment for PAIN. It’s called Movie Studio, and it’s our take on the wackiness of movie making.

So to directly contradict my earlier statement … PAIN development is (at least somewhat) a democracy. We have listened to what you wanted and tried our best to make sure all the things that you wanted are in this area. That includes (but isn’t limited to):

  • More than one launcher location (There are three that you can dynamically switch to)
  • Single Player Fun with Explosives
  • New Cratetastic Mode
  • Unlockable FREE Character
  • HORSE Mode
  • Bowling Mode (With all new distractions)

Movie Studio is the first area that we created after hearing all your input (democracy again). Amusement Park was started before PAIN was released (and took quite a while to make). Movie Studio was made in a third of that time, and I think it shows how much better we as a team have gotten at this since the original PAIN area.

We also have a new single player mode in the Lot called CRATETASTIC. I think you will love the mode if you were in any way a fan of Spank the Monkey. Take Spank the Monkey and replace the monkeys with explosives. This mode gets hectic because you can switch launch locations.

Pose of the Week
We heard everyone comment about the lack of a free character with a purchased area so we kidnapped Buzz and locked him up inside the Movie Studio. Unlock the Afterparty area and get enough points, and he’s all yours.

Bowling and HORSE are also back. There are no mimes in this Bowling mode, but I am confident you will enjoy what we victimize instead.

You can thank your collective outrage for the Fun with Explosives inclusion (democracy + demonstrations = action). The Movie Studio just entered testing when Amusement Park came out. You all really went off about the lack of Single Player FWE inclusion. I called Jeff and told him how I wasn’t willing to explain why it wasn’t in Movie Studio. The funny part was how we all agreed that it was our favorite mode. So the designers burned the midnight oil, and it was added to the content push.

Lastly, you always vote for the PAINdemonium like areas as your favorite modes. So instead of doing two of these, we made three of them. Strangely enough they are easier to design than all the other modes. We thought it might be a good idea to give you more than what we usually do.

Watch the movie. Check out the screenshots and most of all, keep making your opinions heard. It helps us make better content. Stay tuned for the next couple weeks too. We will have some more cool content to share with you.

…and GO VOTE! I sure am.

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85 Comments

4 Author Replies

  • Wow this looks so freeking awesome. I did not purchase the amusement park, because honestly… The reviews were not that great and it just looked eh. But this Movie Lot freeking blew me away. I will def. be getting this one :)

  • @ Travis, and I’ll Have a COKE with lil ice,
    Congrats gentleman! The clip of
    “Studio” looks great, and it is looking sa-weet.I look forward too knocking that biotch from the top of the boat..lol
    Ok now onto the questions, so let’s get this out of the way shall we? Cool

    Travis,
    In the movie you have the 3 different set locations going on filming certain scenes. Your takes/spoofs on Godzilla, Titanic, Gladiator, and I did see an Alien (invasion movie set maybe?)

    1- In size, and in MB, how big is Movie Studio compared to A.Park?

    In the movies being made that we see in the clip, like the Titanic Spoof where she is pretending to fly, arms out, and it showed the ship right side up, ready to sink. Now I don’t expect you to have every scene from Titanic of course, but I was wondering..

    2-In Studio, will we see just that specific scene only, or will we have different parts of the movie, if you get my drift? Is it just the 1 part of the movie that’s going to be in “STUDIO”

    3- How many movies in total are being shot, or are their any other ones being filmed in the Studio, besides the Monster Movie, the Disaster Movie, and the Epic Drama?

    4- I did not see a new mode of Mime/Klown toss? Are we not getting a new
    “Throwus ThroughAwallus” or “Chuckus Please-us”..

    6-Were getting what, 5 new characters..shall we assume they will be a the normal price of .99 each, and Studio will be 5.99?

    Great Work guys and possibly Gals behind the scenes or under the table
    Keepo it up!!

    Haskell-onays

    Sorry man, I forgot something.

    1-After the network collapse yesterday, will the new labs be out later on today?

    And above you said:

    “Wait till next week though. Seriously. I wanna get your reactions about next weeks and the week after

  • thanks Travis

  • @Travis,

    I think you misunderstood me. My apologies. I hope I didn’t seem sarcastic.

    I was guessing as to why you responded that you couldn’t reveal the trophy list. I think it’s cool you guys are patching in additional trophies (a PSN first). I had speculated about the movie lot and was saying that I thought the new trophies you’d be adding would be related to a replay editor and celebrity characters.

  • Oh I think I see what I did, in post #33 i said “would ruin” and I didn’t mean that it would ruin the game. I meant that you announcing the trophy list for the Movie Studio would ruin the surprise of your next 2 posts (referencing your post #22’s response to Theossie). I hope that clarifies what I was saying.

  • Idol Minds has never done anything to prove why this game is worth even 5 bucks.

    The game itself, the base game, is SO defficient in any kind of feature, it actually features less content than any of the game demos on the Playstation Store, which are free.

    The trophies are in and of themselves, absurd, and the game is wishy-washy at best with being able to repeat any kind of high scoring.

    Pain is an awful game, and Idol Minds should move on and create something else, instead of flooding the PS Store with garbage.

  • an other 5,99$ to spend? Or it’s a free update?

  • Hey…I think the movie studio was my idea when you asked on the blog…does that mean I win a prize? :) or at least a free download ;)

  • WTF…I just got done with my cold,im at my after cold voice and they play this to make me laugh,they wrong for that…hahaha i cant wait..:p”Tyrant_x2 Cough & bust into tears LOL”

  • Travis man…you guys just don’t stop. I’ll send you guys a sweet bottle of wine once you get that Youtube feature out there. Believe that.

  • This is the kind of thing other PSN developers should aspire to.

  • I would just like to say that when the amusement park was released i was a bit hesitant and even posted on the blog saying how i would pass. A few weeks later i bent and actually purchased the add-on. I eat my words.

    I’ve had a giggle-fest watching Kenneth bounce around and get stuck in the Tilt a Hurl many times. I’ve laughed my @$$ off too many times to count and i truly feel like a D-bag for not getting the add-on earlier.

    As soon as the new add-on is released i will not hesitate. It’s really cool to actually have a game that provides a good laugh every now and then..Good job guys:)

  • @Jayceon_Kidd – regarding odd trophy glitch.

    That happened to me. Here is how I fixed it:
    1) Back up your save file to another account on your PS3 or a USB drive.
    2) Delete the save file.
    3) Earn D-Town Destruction
    4) Delete new save file
    5) Copy the original backup back to your PS3.

    @MadmanVol2
    I’m sorry you haven’t been able to enjoy this game. There really is a lot to it once you get past the general sandbox mode. I have had fun with this game since December and so have many others. I have gotten more than my money’s worth out of it. It and Wipeout HD are the only PSN games that get as much attention as my blu-ray titles (note: I bought Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and Warhawk on BD, so I don’t count those).

    @Travis

    Man, you promised me a whole breast, and not nuggets, and you lived up to that. Congrats!

    By the way, I still prefer legs. But you gave me that (and a whole lot more) with Tati.

  • Aloha, “Travis & Company”…

    Out of the gate, kudos to entire Idol Minds team for creating such a funny & challenging game!

    Initially, I found PAIN to be quite difficult, but once I embraced the physics and the gameplay strategy everything just “clicked” for me.

    [Questions]

    Q1.] Would the team consider adding a “Screen Scaling/Resizing Option” (similar to the method found in MGS4 as an example) for the X & Y display variables?

    This would greatly help to eliminate any overscan problems that may be occurring.

    Q2.] Could the *Screenshot Feature* be incorporated into a future trophy requirement?

    Q3.] When using the *Overhead Camera Mode* would it be possible to enlarge/highlight the character in some way to make it easier to track the location and trajectory when passing over the densely detailed areas of each level?

    Maybe a pulsing/throbbing color ring around the character?

    Q4.] Is it possible to open up the camera’s boundary effect/control a bit? I ask this because when you try to “go-around-the-block” with a character (in Downtown for example) the camera gets hung-up on the ends of the streets and does not allow the camera to “push” forward to continue visibly tracking your character’s movement.

    Q5.] Will “Vicious Bear Traps” & “Nightmare-Inducing Mouse Traps” be added to future levels? :)

    Please keep the new content (and trophies) coming.

    One last thing, my vote for a new avatar would be a posterior shot of “Tati’s Tattoos”. lol

    Keep up the great work…..peace.
    [-NBCraftsman]

  • hahaha ‘Morningwood’ <<< i see what you guys did there! very clever.

    peace,
    Lh

  • hey Travis! you said you were working on some new Pain avatars for the PSN when are we getting them?

  • We really wants the PAIN multiplayer Travis.

  • @Haskell:

    1. The Studio has a feel to it that it’s larger so I am gonna go with the Studio is larger. We use the space better. I am not sure how many MB the Studio is but it should be roughly the same size as AP.

    2. There are different sets that spoof all kinds of movies the Titanic is only one of them.

    3. There are about 6 Homages in the area. You will see them all soon.

    4. No tossing modes in this one. But for a single player game there is CRATE-TASTIC. Which is like Spank The Monkey but with Explosives. It’s actually quite cool.

    5. What happened to your #5?

    6. 5 New Characters and Buzz comes with the Movie Studio. The price is the same as AP so you get a free character in the movie lot. And with the movie lot we will introduce “Prestige or Premium” characters. That means they come with more than one outfit and will be priced at 1.99 Stay tuned next week for those reveals.

    7. LABS should be on your systems as we speak.

    @Fed: Anytime PADUH

    @StalkingSilence: No harm done. To answer your question I didn’t have my trophy list with me. To reveal the list now would reveal some of the announcements coming soon. So sit tight. Yes some of them have to do with the new characters.

    @Superduck: This is a paid add on. However… The Replay and Online Play work we are doing (that’s in BETA now) will be free to everyone with PAIN.

    @Grasshopper: Isn’t being part of the process cool enough * wink *

    @Clinton: Make it something you create with Potatoes and you got a deal!

    @Havok: Thanks for the props mang!

    @Foolkiller: In two weeks come back to the Blog and tell me if I didn’t deliver the legs too. SAY WURD.

    @NBCraftsman: Thanks for the props. I think PAIN takes a second to “get” but once you do the game changes dramatically. Lets answer your questions

    1. Not sure about the scaling. I will ask my lead coder and see about that. I didn’t know people were experiencing overscan issues.
    2. The Screenshot feature will be part of our YouTube replay suite of options that will be done soon. It’s in BETA now.
    3. That’s an interesting concept. I guess my initial response to that is why would you do that when the normal cam works better? What mode do you find that useful in?
    4. Camera issues are the bane of every product. Try pressing the R3 button (the right analog press it down) it should center your cam. Part of that is us doing better with the volumes. I agree we should revisit that.
    5. Mousetraps… Hmmmm Beartraps… Those are interesting but it would be hard to get out of them to ooch around. Still it’s an interesting thought. We have another kind of trap in mind. You won’t see that for a few months.
    6. If Sony would let me make Badonkadonk Avatars I would be all over it. I will see what I can do.

    @Infamous: I will try my best to have them before the years end.

    @Meancode: I do too my man. It’s in BETA now so it’s not far off. We even got VOIP working. You need to be able to talk smack when you are playing PAIN. Now I just need that SOCOM headset to make my life complete.

  • I still think the difficulty on the trophies is a bit stiff, but it’s not a huge complaint. I worry about paying rent, not virtual trophies. I loved AP and am very much looking forward to the Movie Studio. I’m sure it’ll be worth the money.

    Anymore characters from other games showing up? I’d love to bowl with Kratos or Ratchet.

  • @Travis,
    [DELETED] dude I love your answers to my questions, because with great power, comes great response-ibility!
    And when it comes from this man’s brain, with great idea’s comes many thoughts and when posted those idea’s turn into what many people “Hating” on myself….
    (Oh indeed, I was told by a 2 canary’s that they, well some, hate it when I post my ideas on the boards and to the rest of the mutants because the idea’s are really good..LOL) hmmm I WONDER why?

    I love the Studio, it’s gonna be a lot of fun..Maybe next level you work on, you can add in, HER PEAS Vegatable Stand” which is near a river, and in it, you, watch,

    “BEAVERS eating some HARD and SOFT WOOD!””
    haha
    My question 5 was:
    What did you think of my ideas/thoughts on you puting up the outer barrier in the Labs so when we get thrown out of that area, we got bounced right back into it?

    I don’t want to get off the main topic but:
    As for this new Lab: Oh man I wish you could take it down for 2 days and add 2 things too it!!
    And you need to imagine this in your head ok.. cause it was sweet in mine lol
    Check out this idea.. who knows maybe a mini game of some sort!!

    1- The guys you have coming at you, I MEAN, you DID call it Defender right?
    Well, we are set on the launcher..dum de dum.. we launch, and then total carnage breaks loose.!!!
    Now I think the launcher should be back just a wee bit for more depth but anyway…
    It would be frikken cool as hell, and completely unassuming, if all of the people behind the mini block walls, started out THROWING [DELETED] at us while they are behind the walls.
    Travis.. as of now we launch and hey, look what I blew up..oh joy.. BUT T, NOW, now you gotta add in the revenge factor!!!
    2 thoughts:
    1st Idea/Thought: How would you feel if your on a launcher brutalizing these characters every week, and then one week, you put out a LAB, and where all the characters, or most of them, WANT REVENGE ON US!!
    We launch, grab the teddy bear, and throw it, then all of a sudden, WHAM BAM BAM.. your getting nailed with tomato’s or some crap.. their chucking things left and right from all directions. And our job,is too whip some TNT at em, which blows up there Defensive walls to blow the snot out of em, and clear them away! (Maybe even have a damage meter on Jarvis)

    2nd Idea/Thought: Ok, if I am about to launch, or Juggz and we launch and we get pegged by something while we are on the launcher, OR when we land on the ground. 1st thought is you got hit by something that blew up etc..but then it happens yet again! Then the person using the controller will be like.. [DELETED] was that? Did I get hit with something. They look around and see nothing, then think nothing of it…
    OK, Back on the launcher again, this time, they get hit while their ON the launcher, now their like [DELETED] .. and now we want to whoop their [DELETED] even more if you get what I am saying. Kind of like when your a kid, and you hit a older kid with a snow ball.. they turn around and think, did this punk just hit me? He did, and now they want to beat our young mischievous [DELETED] in a snow ball fight…..

    I know your in the Beta stage so I was wondering is it possible one day that one of us, say me, lol can participate in the beta?
    I just finished up working on the Little Big Planet Beta, that games rocks!! and finished the SOCOM one, now I am still doing the HOME BETA and now RESISTANCE 2 BETA.!!! oh, like my new nickname by the way..lol I am the MASTER BETA’R (LOL)

    From here to eternity,
    the MASTER BETA’R
    Haskell

  • @ Travis: Yea I guess :) You at least owe me a ass kicking online when it hits :)
    I’ll find ya!!

  • Hey Travis – I know I’m not going to win any popularity votes with this post, but I have to say something. I was surprised at the level of cussing even in this trailer. Yes, half the words were bleeped out, but come on guys. This looks like a really fun game that you all are supporting, and was on my short list to download soon (with the AP add on and now this — awesome) but I’m avoiding it because of this trailer.

    I know I’m opening up the door for a bunch of “FU” comebacks and “tough luck Sally” retorts, but that’s ok. I’m not posting this for everyone else. It’s rare we get to talk to developers and I know you read these posts.

    Would love to see you focusing more on the playground of PAIN and less on the language typically found on a playground.

  • @Travis: N/P at all for the props. Thanks for your speedy reply back, much appreciated.

    [quote] “I didn’t know people were experiencing overscan issues.” [/quote]

    Yes, unfortunately I think it is a pretty common problem for a lot of us PS3 gamers. Especially with LCD sets which typically do not have a fine tune adjustment for overscan.

    If you do a quick search of the term “overscan” on the official US PlayStation messageboards you will get back a fair amount of page results on the issue.

    I wish Sony would release an official (via the PSN) reference wallpaper image to check & validate for overscan as it is a PS3 to Television compatability deal first and foremost.

    With that said, an in-game “scaler” is a great option until (if ever) Sony decides to incorporate a way to address overscan as a part of the general OS of the PS3 display options.

    [quote] “The Screenshot feature will be part of our YouTube replay suite of options that will be done soon. It’s in BETA now.” [/quote]

    Hmmm, I guess I will wait patiently for your Trophy announcement on this one.

    [quote] “I guess my initial response to that is why would you do that when the normal cam works better? What mode do you find that useful in?” [/quote]

    A great use for the “glowing” suggestion would be when trying to follow your character back and forth across the map when trying to get the “Chimney Sweep” trophy in Demolition.

    Considering the overhead camera flips 180 degrees at a certain point when using the this view I personally have a tendency to lose track of my Tati, which makes me a very sad Panda.

    [quote] “Try pressing the R3 button (the right analog press it down) it should center your cam. Part of that is us doing better with the volumes. I agree we should revisit that.” [/quote]

    I hear you on the “R3 button” which does work, especially on verticality tracking. But, the camera just seems a little too constricted when it “bumps” into the outer edges of the map level.

    If you could “fly” the camera around the entire Downtown streets and intersections as if it were one single connected oval track that would be great!

    [quote] “Mousetraps… Hmmmm Beartraps… Those are interesting but it would be hard to get out of them to ooch around.” [/quote]

    My thoughts on the Mousetraps would be very cartoony by design. There would be an area with numerous “set” mousetraps and the “victim” would be launched in and the objective would be to get as many traps attached as possible in a single run.

    The bouncing/exploding physics could be similar to FWE everytime a new trap snaps closed.

    The Beartraps idea comes from having a fixed chain attached and the trap would release when the chain is fully stretched/extended by being tugged on hard enough.

    But, mostly it is me being a sadistic little monkey. :)

    [quote] “If Sony would let me make Badonkadonk Avatars I would be all over it. I will see what I can do.” [/quote]

    Well here is to hoping. :: crosses BOTH fingers and toes ::

    One thing I forgot to mention earlier, would there ever be a consideration of adding -1- more value to the “Ooch Meter”. I think could possibly help with some of the most difficult challenges.

    Thanks again Travis, Idol Minds team rocks!

    [-NBCraftsman]

  • @Kmac: No to sound contrary, but just because you are swearing doesn’t meant you pay less attention to what you are doing. That being said you have to understand that we are being quite faithful to our theme. PAIN is children’s entertainment for teenagers. It’s a TEEN rated game with practically all the descriptions you can muster. So I understand where you are coming from but understand PAIN looks like a child’s dream but it’s not really for small kids.

    NBCCraftsman: That seems like something we ought to fix on a OS level which goes beyond my power. I see why it would be very useful.

    Your glow suggestion makes a lot of sense. Now I have to see if my code/art team can be convinced.

    The concept of “Sticky is being explored also so before we do the traps you might wanna see what we do with “flypaper”

    Instead of adding one more OOch to the meter (which we do with a super ooch) try never using more than 2 ooches down on the meter. You will find you get your OOch back faster when you haven’t used it all up.

  • I wish there was a E for Everyone version of this game to play with the kids.

  • As someone said, a day one purchase, and as someone _else_ said, I’m still looking at 0% trophies. Burnout Paradise and PAIN should meet halfway when it comes to trophy toughness.

  • Great, I’m since recently an editor at the fast growing Dutch PlayStation 3 website, http://www.ps3life.nl and am writing about this great item right now :-

  • Watch out for the picture “painwood” :-D

  • Thanks for commenting on my post Travis. I’d argue that the continued prevalence of language in video games (not just yours, but across the board) turns more people off, then on.

    I’d love to talk to anyone who decides to pick up a game because of language, but I can bring people to you all day long that stay away from games with an over use of language. Why turn off buyers? What will you lose by leaving a lot of it out?

    I know all the arguments against this train of thought too. If I don’t like it, change the channel. If it bothers me, leave the theater. If it rubs me the wrong way, don’t buy the game. Just letting you know I’m doing just that, and I promise you, I’m not the only “prude” in the bunch.

  • Ok. One more thought before the horse is beat to a bloody pulp (and I’m starting to annoy myself so I’ll shut up after this). The language thing is not so much an issue for me, but it’s a huge decision on what I bring into my house and “play” throughout the day. A game like this forces me to play at night, with headphones on, while the rest of my family lives in their protective bubbles (heh). Therefore, my play time is limited to late nights versus enjoying this game throughout the day/evening (or any other time I choose).

    I guess I’m disappointed in the direction of the game, that limits my playability, and therefore negitively affects my decision to purchase. As a developer, I would think you’d want to know all stumbling blocks on a consumers’ path to purchase. As dumb as mine might seem to you, I did want to share.

  • I am little lost/confused what the “language” issue is?

    IMHO, the humor in PAIN is tame compared to some of the situational comedy on the FOX primetime shows like Family Guy and American Dad (both, very funny shows).

    If someone could elaborate a little more specifically it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

    [-NBCraftsman]

  • Hey NB – I’m specifically addressing the trailer in the original post here. I don’t own the game (but it’s been on my short list to buy for some time now), but this trailer turned me off. Now, if the game itself tones it down quite a bit, great! But I’d be surprised if the trailer is not representative of the game itself. Maybe some owners of the game can comment?

  • Aloha, “kmac0378″…

    Ahhh ok, gotcha.

    Now your comments make more sense given you haven’t actually played PAIN.

    Let me give you my take on the trailer. I feel the trailer was designed to give you a sense of the “context” for the premise why the PAIN characters are existing in this new featured world/environment.

    The “bleep” of the director’s offending curse words in the trailer are there for their comedic effect similarly akin to the way a “grawlix” is used in comic strips.

    To my memory there is NO actual cursing in any part of PAIN. FYI, I have purchased all the PAIN DLC that is currently available.

    With that said, the flavor of the humor can be considered crude, but never really raunchy in any sense.

    Innuendo is the biggest friend to the humor found in PAIN, not to mention that the game is a physics “love-letter” to the Havok engine, so slapstick styled crotch-shots can abound. But, this is no different to the “funny” found on the primetime show AFV/”America’s Funniest Home Videos” which has been around since 1990.

    Regarding the game itself, I suggest you definitely go buy it.

    The Abusement Park level is fantastic in itself. The one aspect of PAIN that I really enjoy is the level of finite detail that is applied to every asset in the game world. Use the “fly-around” camera and you will see what I mean.

    Gameplay does have a learning curve but once you get “it” the physics & strategy (not to mention some of the hidden humor) will start to flow for you. I have also found that PAIN has given me renewed appreciation for the raw physics involved in game design, especially when playing around with the new weekly “PAIN Labs”.

    Hope that helped…..peace
    [-NBCraftsman]

  • @Anyone interested

    I have been creating a PAINLabs Journal of sorts on my youtube channel. Heres the latest showing Defender.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOOl73gcr8A

  • NB – Thanks for the detailed response to my concerns. I can handle innuendo. My two year old doesn’t pick up on any of that yet. She does however, repeat pretty much anything she hears, hence the concern from this latest trailer as a father trying my best to avoid such content (virtually impossible in today’s “teen/adult” entertainment saturated world). So I appreciate your comments from one who owns the game, and will be picking this game up shortly. Thanks again!

  • @”kmac0378″ – N/P at all, glad to help.

    I think your daughter might get a kick out of the “Ninja” character, not to mention “Sackboy” when he is released. Enjoi PAIN.

    peace.
    [-NBCraftsman]

  • Should create a jose conseco character, not a G.W.Bush…I could find some bottled up tension on the bash bro.

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