Dead Head Fred

Writing the VO Script for Dead Head Fred

Posted Jul 17 2007 8:03AM by Dave Ellis

If I had to pick my one favorite job as a game designer it would have to be writing voice-over (VO) scripts. I’ve always enjoyed writing dialog, and working in the video game industry for 15 years has given me the opportunity to write for quite a few games. Here at Vicious Cycle, I’ve been able to write a lot of dialog over the last couple of years. I wrote the VO scripts for Curious George and Flushed Away . The scripts for those games were, of course, based on existing characters. In both …

Marvel Trading Card Game

Cross-Platform Compatibility and Story Mode

Posted Mar 26 2007 9:44AM by Dave Ellis

Hey everyone! I’m back. In this entry of the Marvel Trading Card Game dev diary, I’ll spend some time talking cross-platform compatibility and the evolution of the Story Mode game. PC/PSP Cross Platform Compatibility From the inception of the Marvel Trading Card Game , we were determined to make the multiplayer game playable across multiple platforms. You would be able to play on your PC when you were at home, and on your handheld when you were on the road. We …

Dead Head Fred

Getting the Direction

Posted Mar 19 2007 9:01AM by Adam Cogan

I’m Adam Cogan, back again and ready to spill my guts…not because I have an open belly wound (the stitches are still holding), but because I want to tell you more about Dead Head Fred. In the last installment, I wrote about the early genesis of the game, but this time I’ll be talking about the evolution, or rather maturation of DHF, especially our surly, wise-cracking, undead, lovable main character, Fred Neuman. When we moved into the concept phase of development, we already had some strong …

Dead Head Fred

Dead Head Fred - The Beginning

Posted Mar 4 2007 11:30AM by Adam Cogan

I’m Adam Cogan, lead designer on DHF. I began working for Vicious Cycle Software back when the doors first opened, and I was previously lead designer on VCS’s very first title-- Robotech: Battlecry for the PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox. I can go on and on about that game, but that’s not why they’re letting me write this stuff. I’m really here to tell you about Dead Head Fred .   Dead Head Fred is a mature-rated 3rd person action-hybrid game for the PSP. But that’s just your typical back …

Marvel Trading Card Game

MTCG - The Beginning

Posted Mar 4 2007 11:22AM by Dave Ellis

Hey, everybody. I’m Dave Ellis, and I was the lead designer on the Marvel Trading Card Game (MTCG) for the PC and PSP. I’ve been in the video game industry since 1992, when I started as a customer support rep at MicroProse Software in Hunt Valley, MD. I moved up the ranks through QA, test lead, and assistant manager, then finally got into game design after several years. In the 8 or so years I worked at MicroProse, I was involved in the design of a lot of games, including …