Hi,

 

Well, we're now at step two in the quest to bring more downloadable content to the players of Defense Grid.  Our first step was to update the Xbox 360 version of the game so that it could receive downloadable content.  We also fixed some login and balance issues in that update. 

 

Step two is to get the same DLC function into the Steam version of the game on PC, fix some balance and leaderboard issues in the game and release the DG: Borderland levels free to Steam users as they have already been free for Xbox 360 users. 

 

Part of the Steam leaderboard change is that we're now going to be using Steam's official leaderboards.  They didn't exist when we first released Defense Grid on Steam.  The good news is that we expect much better performance than the leaderboard server we were using, but the mixed good-bad news is that the leaderboards are getting reset as we move to the new system.  This means previous high-scores will be lost, but on the good side, that also means that there are many open spots on the board waiting for your new high scores as well.  This happens as soon as the new update goes out.

 

There was a small glitch in our release yesterday on Steam, so the update was pulled back, and hopefully will be out later today or possibly tomorrow (Ed Note: The update has gone live just before 6pm Pacific on 3/3/10).

 

That should give Defense Grid players on both Steam and Xbox 360 the full Awakening campaign, and the short but challenging Borderlands campaign at no extra cost.  Not to mention all the new challenge modes that Borderlands brings to itself and the Awakening.

 

Step 3 will be the release of 8 new maps each with several challenge modes that haven't been seen before simultaneously released to both Xbox 360 and Steam PC players.  We call this campaign Defense Grid: Resurgence and it is going through testing now. 

 

DG: R likely will be released sometime in April based on our estimate of time for testing and certification on the two platforms.  As soon as I have a solid date on Resurgence, I will let you know.  We're going to release Resurgence a little differently and there will be a cost to buy these extra levels, so I'll update you more about that as we get closer.

 

For now, know that Resurgence is on its way, we're working to make sure it meets or exceeds our previous quality bar, and in the meantime Steam users will get the Borderlands levels that previously were exclusive to Xbox 360.

 

If you purchased Defense Grid for PC at retail, I recommend you use your Steam key included in the box to access Steam, download the game, and get the free Borderlands updated content. 

 

If you're a Greenhouse player of Defense Grid, we're looking at ways to get you additional content too, but it is going to take a bit longer.  Thanks much for your patience.

 

Let us know your thoughts and reactions.  We're excited to share more content with you.  Defend the cores!

 

Jeff

Check out the Game Site Blog as there is updated design details on the game from Echo!

At this point Defense Grid: The Awakening is the #1 selling strategy game on Steam and the #3 selling game overall!  Woo hoo.  Thank you for your support.  Even better though is watching how many of you are progressing so well on the leaderboards and hearing all the great comments from players.  We're so glad that so many of you are really enjoying the game.  Ok, back to work for us now. :)

 

Jeff

Well, the countdown has finally begun.  All of the game packages have been uploaded to Steam and to Direct2Drive and we now await 1:00 PM US Pacific time on Monday when Defense Grid: The Awakening goes on sale.  It is initially available fully localized in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian.

 

We're eagerly watching to see if everyone out there loves the game as much as we do.

 

See you on the leaderboards!

 

Jeff

 

Before helping found Hidden Path Entertainment, Dave mastered several different artistic roles in the gaming industry.

He was the Creative Director of Virtual World Entertainment and FASA Interactive, contributing both design and art direction to the Mechwarrior franchise, among others.

In addition to heading all aspects of FASA's art department, Dave also headed the computer graphics production for television enterprise. That effort helped promote the company's computer games as well as a new line of toys.

Dave also art directed and oversaw design of the widely hailed Virtual World Entertainment system and designed and produced a Disney theme park attraction developed under contract for Imagineering.

As a Creative Director at Microsoft Games Studios, Dave co-created the critically acclaimed Crimson Skies franchise, and as art director for the Xbox Advanced Technology Group, Dave provided artistic guidance on more than 80 other titles including numerous hits from multiple publishers.

Dave's experience and creativity make him a valuable member of the Hidden Path team!

Mark was a lead designer, designer, and programmer on titles in the Age of Empires franchise and held the lead designer position on the best-selling strategy game of all-time: Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings. The titles Mark contributed to have sold over 17 million copies worldwide. Mark has lent his expertise towards aiding other game developers working on Xbox through his role as a Technical Game Manager for the Xbox organization and supporting game developers around the world. Mark's expertise and passion have not only made him a remarkable asset to HPE, they have also let him to share his knowledge worldwide. Mark has written papers on multiplayer networking, game design, and usability. He has given dozens of insightful and critically acclaimed presentations at universities, conferences and events on five continents (he says he is just waiting for South America and Antarctica to call). Mark has been a panel leader for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Academy Awards Nomination group, has served on the Austin Games Conference advisory board, and worked with International Game Developer Association special interest groups. Before his career as a game designer, Mark has been associated with both large and small companies. He started and sold five profitable entrepreneurial companies and worked as a programmer/analyst on some of the largest critical transactions systems in the world for Mobil Oil Pipeline, The Toronto Stock Exchange, A.G. Edwards, GTE, and others.

Our "contact us page" states: please do not submit game proposals or ideas, they will not be read or returned Why? Jeff, our founder and CEO answered that question in December, 2007, and we feel the info is still valid today: The game industry is quite different than the movie industry. People don't pitch concept documents and industry folks don't pay for concepts. There is no such market like there is in the movie business. Filmmaking is a mature business and making a film (at least a standard feature film) is a well understood production task. In the game industry, making a game is still not standardized, and there is no group of trade people to simply call up to get a game made effeciently based on a one-page or multi-page treatment. In the game industry, execution and finding a quality team to build the game is the issue rather than ideas, so one only pitches concepts to publishers who can fund the existing team. Most of the due dilligence process (if the publishers are interested) concerns your team and your company and what the team can do and what they have shipped in the past. Very little time (relatively) is spent on your idea. Even if they love your idea, if there is no experienced team behind it, the conversation ends immediately. So, in general game ideas won't get you very far in this industry unless you are part of a strong team of dozens of programmers, artists, animators, designers, producers audio technicians, quality assurance testers, etc. Or if you were a key member of a product that made lots of money in the past, well, then people might decide you're worthy of building a team around, but there are few folks already in the industry worthy of this stature. Additionally, because execution is the prized commodity, no existing company takes idea pitches from others because the last thing they want is a lawsuit saying that they stole anyone else's ideas. We have about 10x to 100x more ideas in the game industry than we have resources to build games with, so the problem isn't the ideas, the problem is the execution and the succesful construction and polish of making a game.