Hi guys, to celebrate the launch of Motorstorm Arctic Edge on PSP the team decided to get together and come up with some exclusive info for fans of the Playstation blog. As the Art Director on Arctic Edge, I’ve got top secret full access to the team so I thought I’d do the rounds and find out what they think…

What makes the game stand out from the crowd on PSP?

Motorstorm fans will love it because it’s a full-on Motorstorm game you can take anywhere (I was playing it on the train yesterday). Racing fans new to the series will love the sense of freedom (there’s a great choice of vehicles and routes) but there’s still a big emphasis on finding the best line amidst all the explosions, crashes and aggressive mayhem. – Richard Ogden, Game Director

What did you enjoy most about making MotorStorm Arctic Edge?

The fast cars, the women, the rock and roll lifestyle…. were not available while working on Motorstorm (well, the cars were!). With that in mind we had to console ourselves with the fact that we were bringing a widely respected and loved PS3 franchise and making it portable. That alone was quite an awesome task that had the team ready to give 110% to ensure we did the fans, and indeed ourselves, proud.

I personally enjoyed working to the PSP’s hardware specs and trying to push the console to its limits. 6 player On Line and Ad-Hoc races, uploading and downloading of ghost vehicles, 10 racers on screen during single player, over 100 events, full vehicle customisation, Photo Mode, Avalanches, Ice Bridges, Weather effects and so on. A complete Motorstorm package where ever and whenever the players want it. That is what I enjoyed making, and more importantly that it is what the fans expected – and I feel that we have delivered that and more!

– Robert Shaer, Game Designer

Any cool stories from the research trip to Alaska?

After seeing Alaska’s stunning scenery and witnessing the unpredictability of the terrain and weather we were certain that this was the perfect location for the next Motorstorm festival. The Denali range contains one of the highest mountains in the world, being set down by our plane amongst some the peaks thousands of feet above sea level, in the middle of winter was a very memorable moment, especially as we watched out ride home disappear off in to the distance without us! Luckily he came back, and we used our thousands of stunning photos as an inspiration for the game.

– Matthew Brown, Environment Artist

As you can see, the team is really proud of Motorstorm Arctic Edge. If you’re lucky enough to own a copy, we’ll be telling you about some hidden secrets in our next post. If you just want to check it out, look out for the demo hitting PSN soon!

Simon Bursey, Art Director – Motorstorm Arctic Edge, Bigbig Studios

Rate: (Average: 4.42 out of 5)

35 Comments 4 Replies

Hi guys,

Time for a PlayStation Home update…

First up, as promised a few weeks back, the MotorStorm Monument Valley Campsite personal space will, as of tomorrow, be winging its way into PlayStation Home and on sale at the Estates store in the Shopping Centre.

This mesa-top hideaway has its own crackling fire, MotorStorm caravan and a view of the pumping MotorStorm festival across the Valley. Check out the teaser trailer of this personal space below:

Not only that, but there’s also a raft of MotorStorm furniture available to customize the campsite including a sofa constructed from a mangled skateboard, the clapped out car seat from one of the original MotorStorm vehicles and a smouldering BBQ cunningly fashioned from an old oil-drum and other non-descript pieces of junk. Check out the screenshots below:

The good news is that this brand-new personal space will be available for a reduced price of €2.99 and all 16 furniture items will be available for €0.99.

Now there’s no excuse not to upgrade your Harbour Studio to something a bit more ‘rugged’ …

Next up, tying in with the release of Wolverine on Blu-ray, we have these limited edition SCEE-exclusive adamantium claws for your avatar available in Home Threads. Check out the screenshots of this awesome item below:

These will only be available for a limited time, so make sure you jump in and get hold of a pair…

Also, the Resident Evil 5 Studio Lot will be updated to include a new mini-game, the BSAA Training Mission and Adam’s shop, check out a screenshot of the updated space below:

We are also releasing a new batch of MySoti t-shirts, plus the V-Store will have an update, including some awesome board shorts for your avatar and some new funky t-shirts; a few highlights from the V-Store are below:

Finally, we will be removing the SingStar Rooms: VIP while it’s re-decked for its next event and the MotorStorm Sphere teaser space will leave PS Home as of tomorrow – watch this space for more info on its replacement…

Oh, and we’ll also be launching a brand new space tomorrow. But you’ll have to log into Home to check it out…

See you tomorrow, wielding some Wolverine claws, when PS Home re-opens.

iELL / Elliott

***
Hi guys,
Just to let you know (if you haven’t spotted it already or been on the EU forums) that Home’s maintainance downtime for today has been postponed. All updates, as per the blog, will however be made tomorrow.
Thanks for your patience.
iELL
***

Rate: (Average: 4.32 out of 5)

96 Comments 3 Replies

MotorStorm has collaborated with VidZone to bring you a taste of The Festival in a brand new VidZone Playlist. The tracks featured showcase the diverse musicscape of The Festival and the attitude, aggression and intense pace that epitomizes MotorStorm.

Alan McDermott, Audio Manager at Evolution Studios, explains what he looks for when creating the soundtrack for a MotorStorm Festival, and what The Festival is all about.

I’m Alan McDermott and I’m here to tell you what goes into picking music for MotorStorm. This is not easy to describe. MotorStorm has one of the most eclectic and carefully chosen soundtracks for a racing game around. There’s a specific reason for this: MotorStorm is more than just a racing game. It’s a Festival of racing, music and partying hard.

The only thing that you need to understand in order to create a set-list for a MotorStorm Festival, is that MotorStorm is a festival of the insane. Thousands of people descend upon a completely unsuspecting location once a year and tear it up, some watch, some race, but all of them party. There’s no way to control what happens when thousands of fired-up lunatics unite in the same space. It’s a living, breathing event. It’s hard to call how it plays out. Anything could happen.

The only thing you can go on is a good understanding of what The Festival is, but when you get a feel for what it is, the hardest part of picking the soundtrack is done. So what is it..?

I can tell you that it’s Dirty. That it’s filthy. That it’s raucous. It’s full of attitude. It’s relentless. It’s a nihilistic tour de force. It’s fuelled by adrenaline. It’s chaotic. It’s angry. It’ll rip the doors off your car to cool down. It’ll pawn all your mom’s jewellery for $1. It’ll fill your bathtub with ketchup and wash the dog in it. It doesn’t care about the noise, and it won’t turn it down even though its 4am…

It’s a place where lunatics unite, to race by day, party by night.

The playlist is available in VidZone right now, so fire it up and check it out!

Go ahead and tell us what you think of the tracks in the games and suggest any artists, DJs, bands, tracks, etc. you’d like to see play The Festival in future.

The next Festival will arrive with an Arctic Edge a little later in the year, and you can bet that the soundtrack will be just as impactful and raucous as those that have gone before it.

Find out more about MotorStorm and get involved with the MotorStorm community.

Rate: (Average: 4.16 out of 5)

28 Comments 3 Replies

Hi guys, welcome to this week’s PlayStation Home update, which includes new spaces, outfits and some great new rewards…

First up, we have some very special race costumes coming to you straight from MotorStorm Pacific Rift. These new outfits will be available in Home Threads, check out the screenshots below for the male and female flavours…

We also have the launch of a brand-new, never before seen space – the MotorStorm Sphere. Check out the b-roll and screenshots below:

This space will be accessible for a very limited time only (so be quick!). By entering the MotorStorm Sphere you will secure yourself a rare PS Home Reward and the opportunity to see the very first work in progress artwork of a new MotorStorm Space (which will be coming to PS Home later in the year).

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Rate: (Average: 4.23 out of 5)

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Hi there guys – time for a PlayStation Home update…!

We have the first wave of MotorStorm content swerving into PS Home this Thursday with MotorStorm Pacific Rift Game Launching functionality topping the bill. If you don’t know what Game Launching is, click here for more info on how this great functionality works.

There will be more MotorStorm / PS Home news very soon, however in the mean time, have a look at the screenshots below for a tantalising snippet of some of the great MotorStorm content coming to PS Home over the coming weeks…

Next (and this is very exciting) as of tomorrow, we will be launching a new event in PS Home – the Fat Princess “Quest for Cake”.

Based upon the brilliant PSN title, all you have to do is visit the PlayStation Events Space to join in this very special confectionery quest.

In the fully redecorated space you will find eight pieces of cake, locked away in cages. To unlock the cake and feed your Princess you need to search the space high and low for clues, these clues will give you access to the finest gateaux and, eventually, her majesty’s waistline.
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Rate: (Average: 3.91 out of 5)

69 Comments 2 Replies