From the ancient Igford archives...

Following an enjoyable talk with the 2nd Year BA Games Design students at Swansea Metropolitan University in their Level Design seminar last Friday, it was felt that some older Igford-related material should be shared with regards to the setting and environment of the game.

A representation of Igford (incorrectly titled here as a city - Igford is actually only a town) and the village of Much Haste on the Glencorwyn Peninsula in northern Caledonia.

The Igford Annual Steam Car Derby takes place on a number of point-to-point races throughout Glencorwyn, starting at the crossroads at Much Haste and ending in Igford town, which is where the game's title comes from. The race is - quite literally - from Much Haste to Igford.

The town of Igford, the Upper Igford Valley and Glencorwyn are much more sprawled and larger than suggested in the illustration above, which was produced as an initial visualisation way back in October 2009.

This image also features Castle Igford, the ruins of which stand on an isolated scrap of land just off the shore, connected by a very old stone bridge. Castle Igford was originally going to be a feature in the 2010 Igford demo but was removed after the project was scaled down. However, with recent developments it may be possible to finally take a steamcar trip to it... or through it - watch this space!

'Much Haste to Igford!' © Evil Corporation Games

Igford character Update: The Major

The final Much Haste to Igford! playable character has been announced today: The Major!

The Major: Outrageous Windbag

The Major (as he insists on being referred to) is loud, abrupt, and eager to share his stories of battle and exploration with anyone who stands still within earshot for long enough. He lives in an old inherited manor house on Highbrooke hill with his trusty (but utterly ineffective) guard dog, Sargeant. However, the Major can more often be found in the Ruhmkorff Inn in Lumsden, scrounging beverages from locals who aren’t clever enough to avoid him.

He talks proudly and frequently of his expeditions and exploits in Aikanaland, though many people who have heard his lengthy tales of improbable exploits wonder if he has ever been – and question if Aikanaland even exists.

Keep checking here and at the Igford Facebook Page for general Igford updates!

'Much Haste to Igford!' © Evil Corporation Games

A minor news update

Due to some entirely necessary time-travel experimentation and some of the Igford development team having to make an unavoidable last-minute expedition to the colonies, this week's scheduled Character Update will be delayed by approximately another seven days.

Do not despair, citizens of Caledonia! Keep your wireless or telegraphic devices switched on to receive future Igford updates!

'Much Haste to Igford!' © Evil Corporation Games

Igford Character Update: Albert

Another Much Haste to Igford! character has been announced today: Albert!

Albert - Long-Suffering Husband

Albert is Hyacinth Hepburn-Allsopp's mild-mannered husband, a timid man who has aged beyond his years due to the strain of being married to his overbearing and demanding wife.

A reasonably successful man in his youth, Albert inherited the Hepburn & Sons Engine building company from his father in Callaburgh and enjoyed a comfortable life, eventually meeting his wife-to-be and promising her a life of leisure.

With his carefree and comfortable life now a distant memory, Albert has become little more than a chauffeur and source of income for Hyacinth - and is expected to do his duty by his dominant spouse to drive her custom-built steamcar to glory in the Igford Annual Steam Carriage Derby - by whatever means are necessary.

Keep checking here and at the Igford Facebook Page for further character and general Igford updates!

'Much Haste to Igford!' © Evil Corporation Games

Igford Character Update: Bernadette 'Bernie' Maxton

Another Much Haste to Igford! character has been announced today: Bernadette 'Bernie' Maxton!

Bernie Maxton - Innovative Engineer

Bernadette Maxton, better known as ‘Bernie’, is a focused and determined amateur engineer with a fascination with steam technology and engines. She is very much an independent and unconventional person who does not adhere to Caledonian social expectations for a lady of her age and is supported, somewhat surprisingly, by her partner Oscar Samuel Muycrosse to maintain this individuality.

With the help of Oscar she has spent the last two years building the Maxton Muycrosse Eighty-Eight, her very own steam car to compete in the Igford Annual Steam Car Derby. The Maxton 88 (as it is more commonly known) has become a familiar sight on the winding cobblestone roads of Lumsden and Aucherlony. She is often preoccupied and distant, lost in her own world of constant improvement and refinement of machinery - particularly her own steam carriage.

By winning the Igford Annual Steam Carriage Derby with her own hand-built vehicle, Bernie hopes to justify herself as a competent engineer in Caledonia’s male-dominated engineering industries, enabling her to make her mark in the Empire’s age of invention!

'Much Haste to Igford!' © Evil Corporation Games

Igford Character Update: Theodore Robert Mulrainy Jr.

Another Much Haste to Igford! character has been announced today: Theodore Robert Mulrainy Jr!

Theodore Robert Mulrainy Jr. - A foreigner from Overseas

Theo hails from Carcharbro, one of Caledonia’s most distant colonies in the southern hemisphere and fancies himself as a bit of a rogue and hustler. Essentially a well-intentioned conman, Theo’s line of ‘work’ causes a slight internal conflict which shines through on occasion, allowing him to occasionally do the right thing in a crisis. However, he does succumb to temptation all too easily and is known to spend a lot of time indulging in his many vices in the more notorious areas of Igford such as Doxel and Maggleworth.

His inability to turn down a wager has resulted in the young Carcharbran creating some substantial debts among Caledonia’s less reputable inhabitants, forcing him to live a life on the run from a growing number of impatient debt collectors.

Despite this, in a move borne either out of reckless habit or sheer desperation, Theo has entered the Igford Annual Steam Carriage Derby, placing a bet that he can effortlessly beat all the other entrants. If Theo wins the derby or not, one thing is for sure - he won’t have to worry about his gambling debts for long...

Keep checking here and at the Igford Facebook Page for further character and general Igford updates!

'Much Haste to Igford!' © Evil Corporation Games

The Social Network

Just a reminder to all followers of the Much Haste to Igford! Development blog - we are moving with the times (like any good crackpot inventor or alternative 19th-century reality citizen would) and you can find us on Facebook!

The Igford Facebook page - www.facebook.com/igford

For those of you who dabble daily in status updates and social networking - call in to the Igford Facebook page sometime... we'd really appreciate it!

Rich

Igford Character Update: Dr Zebulon Yada Orlo III

Another Much Haste to Igford! character has been announced today: Dr. Zebulon Yada Orlo III!

Dr. Zebulon Yada Orlo III - Eccentric Academic

Doctor Zebulon Yada Orlo is an eccentric inventor from the town of Irgendwo in Jossain Muualla, a small country famed for its scientific development to the east of the D’autres Royaume Empire.

To this unusually friendly and approachable (but somewhat chaotic and scatter-brained) doctor, the Igford Annual Steam Carriage Derby is the perfect opportunity to test the newest iteration of his Patented Personal Transportation Dual-Monocle Module (PPTDMM) experiment and sees the other race entrants not as opponents, but collaborators who are supplying him with valuable data.

The research he obtains from this live exercise will be instrumental in finally perfecting his invention. With this, Doctor Zebulon can finally validate his work within the scientific institutions of Jossain Muualla.

Keep checking here and at the Igford Facebook Page for further character and general Igford updates!

Rich

'Much Haste to Igford!' © Evil Corporation Games

Igford Character Update: Hyacinth Hepburn-Allsopp

Today, the first Much Haste to Igford! character has been officially announced: Hyacinth Hepburn-Allsopp!

Hyacinth Hepburn-Allsopp - Notorious Aristocrat

Hyacinth is a wealthy and infamous aristocrat from Callaburgh who has taken an interest in competing in the Igford Annual Steam Carriage Derby. Her long suffering husband exists only to cater for her every need and does so with nervous compliance.

She feels the rewards and status gained from successfully winning the derby outweigh the discomfort she endures while “rubbing shoulders with the riff-raff” of Much Haste and Igford.

More characters will be revealed over the coming weeks... keep checking here and at the Igford Facebook Page for further updates!

Rich

'Much Haste to Igford!' © Evil Corporation Games

Coming soon - Much Haste to Igford characters!

As of September 2011 the playable character concepts for Igford have been finalised and will be revealed gradually on here and the Much Haste to Igford! Facebook page over the next month.

Which inhabitants of the Caledonian Empire are firing up their vehicles in preparation for the 1890 Steam Car Derby?

Watch this space for developments!

Rich

It Lives!

After what seems like an eternity, the town of Igford is slowly grinding back into life in all it's soot covered, eighteen-nineties glory - I felt it was time to start blowing the dust off this dormant blog as there has been a bit of development on Much Haste to Igford! since I dropped off the radar just over a year ago.

Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads...

The project is currently being developed by Evil Corporation Games, with the help of GamesLab Wales and students/graduates from both Swansea Metropolitan University and the University of Glamorgan. The image above is the first in a series of mock-ups (using the existing game assets from the playable 2010 demo) to demonstrate what we're initially aiming for in terms of gameplay and atmosphere.

It's early days yet but watch this space for further developments of how the Caledonian Empire's best known Steam Carriage Derby will evolve... and it is already evolving!

Also, feel free to check out the Igford Facebook page for regular updates, background info and images!

Rich

Much Haste to Igford! - An online Journal of how a Steampunk Racer came to be...

Much Haste to Igford! is a single player Steampunk-themed racing game demonstration designed by Rich Morgan and built using Epic's Unreal Development Kit (UDK).

The majority of this online blog documents the progress made while working on my Final Major Project at Swansea Metropolitan University between October 2009 and May 2010 and includes design decisions, prototypes, sections of code and workarounds to problems experienced during development (see below).

More recently, Much Haste to Igford! is being developed by Evil Corporation Games in association with GamesLab Wales. The blog will continue to document more recent developments in the game's production from September 2011 with more of a focus on visuals, screenshots, concepts and general progress rather than the specific functionality and problem-solving that I wrote about at length during the production of the 2010 demo.

Additionally, for those of you with an inclination for social networking - feel free to visit the Much Haste to Igford! Facebook page where you can find more information on the development progress as well as a little more information on the fictional world of Igford and Caledonia!

Related links:

Much Haste to Igford! Facebook Page

GamesLab Wales website

The 2010 Much Haste to Igford! UDK demo

The 2010 game demonstration contains a playable custom vehicle, modified loading screens, new title and splash screens as well as a new control system (allowing the player to use a Microsoft XBox 360 controller instead of a keyboard and mouse). All in-game assets in the demo were designed, modelled, textures and implemented in the UDK engine by me.

Feel free to peruse the journal and hopefully it won't get too technical - I promise there are plenty of pictures...

Rich

All work © Rich Morgan