Epic unleashes new Unreal Tournament concept art, development podcast
An early look at the new Unreal Tournament
Epic Games has posted more than a dozen pieces of concept art from its upcoming FPS Unreal Tournament. It's all very early-stage stuff, but the images give us a glimpse of who we'll be shooting at, with what, and where.
An exterior image of what is presumably a bad neighborhood
The new Unreal Tournament was announced in May as a collaborative effort between "Epic, UT fans and UE4 developers." But while the promised inclusiveness may have been meant as a new approach to development, the goal sounds an awful lot like the old UT we know and love, and "the plan" actually says the game "will be true to its roots as a competitive FPS."
From the inside
Based on the concept art released today, it really doesn't look like Epic intends to stray very from the familiar formula.
Open spaces are dangerous places
This looks like a bad spot to be without a flak cannon.
Character model concepts
This first batch of character concepts shows that the new game's player models resemble the ones used in previous games (possibly with less meaty necks for the men).
More character concepts
Female player characters will also be available. Here's our first look at a few concepts.
This guy looks familiar
Unreal Tournament is known for non-human player models, and the new reboot will have them, too.
Shock Rifle model
The Shock Rifle still looks like a Shock Rifle.
The old standby returns
Weapons in Unreal Tournament will presumably have primary and alternate firing modes. Here's hoping this one also fires instagib blasts.
Early character concept
Based on the concept art released today, it really doesn't look like Epic intends to stray very from the familiar formula.
Meatbags beware
It is, as mentioned, still very early in the process, but even so I can't say that my socks have been knocked off, or even more than a little bit loose.
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Along with the gallery of concept art, Epic also released a new podcast with Art Director Chris Perna and Senior Environmental Artist Rock Kohler discussing the concept art, while Senior Designer Jim Brown and Cognitive Psychologist Celia Hodent talk about the "user experience." Brown and Hodent will also be answering questions in a new user experience forum at UnrealTournament.com.
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.