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Video gaming company to
let players 'Defend
Ironton!'
By
Justin McElroy/The
Ironton Tribune
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 |
Rick Eid and the videogame designers of
TickStorm, LLC, have the perfect plan to save Ironton -
they're going to destroy it.
The designers are currently creating a digital version
of the city for a game called "Defend Ironton!"
But first they'll have to finish their first title:
"Insanity," due out in 2007.
Eid teaches classes in game design at Ohio University
Southern, and as the years progressed, his students
began to show an interest in getting a little practical
experience.
"There were a bunch of students who said, 'We can do
this,'" Eid said. "Out of the dozens of students we've
put through the class, we have eight that are dedicated
to doing it, and have the talent to do it."
"Insanity" is a game in the first-person perspective
that challenges players to escape from a mental
institution in which they've been wrongly imprisoned
So far, Eid and crew have almost finished the game's
first level, which they hope to distribute at their
large gaming event "School of Frag" this October.
"We want this game to be as perfect as possible, but not
having the expertise or the equipment we know it's not
going to be," Eid said. "But where it may lack in
graphical intensity, we'll make up for it in gameplay
and challenge."
Once that game is complete (hopefully in 2007) the team
will begin work in earnest on "Defend Ironton!" For that
game, the TickStorm team hopes to recreate the entire
city in the game.
The plot (which Eid hints may be connected to
"Insanity") will put the players in the role of one of
the sole defenders of the city against a mysterious
attack.
In the non-virtual Ironton, the enemy, an economic
depression, is all too real. Eid said that hope is that
the game will help bring Ironton some much-needed
notoriety.
"The students love this area, they were born here, they
want to stay here. We've all seen the technology
drained," Eid said. "These guys are volunteering knowing
that the paycheck will come when the game's completed
and the game is sold."
Eid said that most members of the team say they'll put
the money they make back in to the company, to attempt
to make "Defend Ironton!" great.
Some local landmarks, such as The Depot, have already
been modeled for the game, though there is much work to
do before the estimated 2009 release date.
"Hopefully, we'll put Ironton on the map," Eid said. |
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| Features: |
TickStorm, LLC made it national with an article
printed in "The
Escapist", an online gaming magazine, about Defend Ironton©.
The article was written by Justin McElroy of the Ironton Tribune.
Check out the article here.
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SOMC 3D Safety
Training Game: |
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Southern Ohio Medical center has hired TickStorm,
LLC to produce a 3D Safety training game for their fire safety
training. Check back often for updates &
screenshots.
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