“We are very excited to see the uptake of UDK cross over the 50,000 mark in only one week, and we’re looking forward to seeing amazing games and applications come out of it,” said Mark Rein, the vice president of Epic Games.

Rein added Epic was “thrilled” to offer the kit to schools and students and that Unreal Engine 3 would be part of their education and training in games development.

GamesIndustry.biz reported that the training firm 3D Buzz, which has already made more than 100 Unreal Technology video tutorials, will release a free tutorial series specific to the UDK.

50,000 Grab Free Unreal SDK In One Week [GamesIndustry.biz]

That narrows it down to about 75 per cent of the company’s product line, meaning it could be related to Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, the Unreal franchise or the Unreal Tournament franchise. Or it could be a new Unreal product altogether. Or Epic Games is screwing with us.

Which is it? Best guesses in the comments!

Thanks to Jos for the heads up.

The site is running a post-mortem about the game all week, which would be interesting enough based on Shadow Complex’s roots as a dream project of the brothers running Epic-owned Chair Entertainment.

The look back at the game is all the more interesting due to the fact that people who make Super Metroid-style adventures seldom talk publicly about the process of designing the games and the maps that serve as their core feature.

Here’s a bit from Chair’s chief designer, Donald Mustard:

“We created these little grid blocks and lines. We did a lot of it by hand at first, but then we went and transcribed it all into [Adobe] Illustrator…you could literally see a side view of the map, it was all just grey, with lines and stuff. And we had a stick figure that represented the player, and we’d say, ‘Ok, the player can jump this many units high.’ And we had a little graph that showed how high you could jump and how long it would take to build up to a speed run and stuff like that. So we’d ‘play through’ the entire game with this little stick figure guy.”

Check out the MTV post for a bigger look at this prototype map and for more on how the game came together.

Exclusive: ‘Shadow Complex’ Prototype Map Revealed [MTV Multiplayer]

In an interview with OXM UK, Rein says he also considers Unreal the “economic engine of Natal,” the platform upon which developers should go to if they “want to get a big headstart and use the same tech as Microsoft.” Sounds official enough to us.

Rein also says that, going forward, don’t be surprised if you see Natal’s motion and voice detection control schemes in future Epic Games titles.

“I have no idea what we’re going to do from a game standpoint, but from an engine standpoint, it’s definitely cool stuff, and we will support it,” he says. “I think any future Xbox games we make will have some Natal support.”

Mark Rein Interview [OXM UK via GameSpot]

For his part, Capps guesses that’s about “four or five years away, I think”. Right now, Epic is focused on developing Unreal Engine 4, which has been in development for the past seven years in anticipation of the next console gen.

“We’re very concerned that the next generation will be massively parallel and most engines won’t be able to adapt for that,” Capps said.

Gears of War 3 on Next Gen Consoles? [VE3D]

Capps said that the Tokyo office would focus “mostly [on] technical support and sales support”, with Epic Games having an “expectation of much closer relationships with Japanese studios”. But, after praising the Japanese development community as one of the strongest in the world, he said “we may have secret plans to hire some Japanese game developers too”.

For the past week or so, some gamers and game reporters online have begun discussing the newly-released Xbox Live Arcade side-scrolling adventure game Shadow Complex in ways not intended by its creators. Stepping away from a discussion about how the game is one of the biggest downloadable titles ever made, a collaboration between a leading studio and some bright young talents, a love letter to the classic, but neglected, designs of Nintendo’s early Metroid adventures, some gamers have instead debated whether buying Shadow Complex is an intolerable act of support for someone they view as an opponent of gay rights: novelist Orson Scott Card.

The debate around the game has provoked a rare discussion about whether the political, moral or religious views of people involved with making or promoting a video game—views so rarely discussed publicly by video game creators—should or would affect whether a person buys a particular title. Fun factor’s got nothing to do with it. Or does it?

Kim Wong has discovered that moral views of creators do matter to him. He cannot countenance the involvement with Shadow Complex of Card. The acclaimed science-fiction author has written that practising homosexuals should not be treated as equal citizens and has described gay rights as a “collective delusion”. He has supported legal movements to block laws that would allow gay people to marry.

In a phone interview this week, Wong told me: “I decided I could not in good conscience support a product of a person whose views I find abhorrent and knowingly give him money. In my everyday life I probably give enough money unknowingly to bigots or at least people whose personal and political views I find distasteful.”

Card was not the main creator of Shadow Complex. He did not conceive it nor code it. His name has been used in the game’s promotion by its developers and publisher, Microsoft, to trade both on the renown for his classic novel, Ender’s Game, as well his 2006 book, Empire, which was based on the same fiction as Shadow Complex: a right-wing vs. left-wing future American civil war crafted by members of the new game’s development studio, Chair Entertainment.

Card, who has expressed his views about homosexuality in more detail than can be summarised in a sound bite, has for years bristled at accusations that he is a homophobe, establishing his views about homosexuality in the context of his faith as member of the Church of Latter-day Saints, a faith, like those of Catholics, that deems homosexuality as a sin. (Card did not return Kotaku’s requests to comment for this article.)

While Card’s writings and efforts to ban gay marriage have sparked outcry from Wong and other gamers who say they won’t buy Shadow Complex, those involved in the creation of the game had not commented publicly about this debate until now.

The Creators Speak

“Card’s political beliefs sure didn’t come up during the game’s development,” Mark Rein, vice president of Gears of War development studio Epic Games, which owns Chair Entertainment, told Kotaku. “Even if they had, we don’t discriminate when hiring or choosing partners based on people’s personal beliefs. Heck, Gears of War was made by Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and even a few Canadians like me. It takes all kinds to make great creative games.”

Game developers don’t often flash their party affiliation or state their positions on ethical debates. Reporters like me rarely ask. We wind up knowing more about the moral beliefs of Hollywood stars and politicians than we do whether the person who created the year’s biggest game thinks abortion should be illegal, or that the Israelis or Palestinians are right or wrong. Will Wright’s contributions to the Republican Party and Alex Rigopulos’ to the Democrats become public in legally required campaign filings but neither the promotion of Spore nor Rock Band involves the discussion of America’s Right and Left. If there is a block of Conservatives who are planning on not buying Beatles: Rock Band, I am unaware of them.

Even marginally more public statements about social issues don’t seem to stir much gamer reaction. Two weeks ago at QuakeCon, programming legend John Carmack described the green movement as a “sham”, to little reaction and certainly no major debate about whether the next Doom he creates should be bought by those who consider themselves eco-conscious.

Yet the opinions of Card, expressed so vividly and available so readily online have generated the kind of debate that appears to be costing the developers of Shadow Complex at least a few consumers.

Card has likened homosexuality to other predispositions to sin, like those of a hormonally active teenage boy. He told Salon.com in 2000 that he found charges that he was homophobic to be “ugly”. But his critics have had an easy time making that charge, given the frankness of Card’s writings.

“The Church has plenty of room for individuals who are struggling to overcome their temptation toward homosexual behaviour,” he wrote in a 1990 essay called The Hypocrites of Homosexuality that argued that practising gay people should not have equal rights. “But for the protection of the Saints and the good of the persons themselves, the Church has no room for those who, instead of repenting of homosexuality, wish it to become an acceptable behaviour in the society of the Saints. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing, preaching meekness while attempting to devour the flock.”

No one from the Shadow Complex development team has said whether they agree with Card. A few years ago, the author was referred to me by Chair’s co-founder Donald Mustard as a friend. But there is an argument to be made that it is irrelevant whether Chair’s team agrees or disagrees with Card or is friends with him or not. That argument was made by Peter David, the comic book writer and novelist hired by Chair to script Shadow Complex, and a man who may not have much more patience for Orson Scott Card than Kim Wong.

“My disagreements with Orson’s politics are hardly limited to his views on gay marriage,” David told Kotaku in an e-mailed statement. “We are at opposite ends of the political spectrum on pretty much everything. Why, then, did I agree to work on the game? Because among my most cherished beliefs is that, while I disagree with everything you have to say, I will defend to the death your right to say it. [Comic book creator] John Byrne has said no end of vicious things directed at me personally; I still buy his comic books because I like his work. I never, EVER, allow someone’s stated opinions to impact on whether I support his work so long as those opinions don’t transform the work itself into something that I have no desire to support.

“Shadow Complex wasn’t a huge paying gig for me but I took it because I thought the developers were a nice couple of kids, and I found the story of a reluctant warrior being forced to find something worth fighting for to be a compelling narrative. By the same token, all the money in the world could not have gotten me to be involved if the story was something I personally found repellent.”

To Boycott Or Not?

There is no sign that the debate about Card is significantly hurting Shadow Complex’s sales even if the game and its developers’ reputation are taking some abuse on gaming internet forums. Shadow Complex has scored high marks from reviewers.

“It’s up to the individual to make their own purchasing decisions,” Wong told me, saying he does not advocate a boycott of the game. He said it’s been easy to resist buying Shadow Complex, both because of the many other games available for purchase and because of how provocative he finds Card’s views. “With good conscience I can’t support that, and I would like other gamers to think about this issue as well.”

I asked Wong if he had ever taken a similar stance. He said he has urged friends to avoid supporting advertisers who buy time on the shows of other public figures he disagrees with, like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. But he admits that it would be impossible to avoid supporting every product that was partially made by or connected to people whose views he dislikes. That’s no reason to not take a stand here, he said: “With the limited voice that I have in the public discourse, I am choosing to voice my disapproval by not purchasing the game, as are the other friends of mine who have made the same decision.”

The debate here echoes so many debates about supporting the work of socially controversial filmmakers and authors. It’s doubtful whether there will be agreement about whether such debates are a sign of the gaming industry maturing or taking a sour turn. Will an expression of political views become a prerequisite for game developers in the future? Will gamers desire an explanation as to where the creators stand? Developers, writers and anyone else associated with a game might find themselves losing a possible fan—and maybe gaining another—based on the social views they express. It happens in most other forms of entertainment, whether relevant or not.

Aside from all of those options, there is another way this could be handled. Shadow Complex writer Peter David offered it: “If anyone wants to boycott the game and thus damage me or Chair while doing nothing to change Orson’s opinions, that’s naturally their right. Or…They can display the sort of tolerance for someone who is different from them that they feel is lacking in Orson and thus prove they’re better. Your choice.”

[Orscon Scott Card photo via Wired.com]

In Shadow Complex, our hero is Jason Fleming, a hiker who starts ill-equipped on his girlfriend-saving quest with little more than a flashlight and a fancy belt buckle. After stumbling upon a massive underground facility housing a rogue military force, it’s clear that Fleming is in way over his head. But like Metroids past, Fleming gains new abilities and new weapons through equipment upgrades, granting him access to areas of the base where he’ll find new abilities and even more powerful weapons.

Shadow Complex could quite possibly be the perfect balance of 2D gameplay and 3D presentation in high-definition that Metroid and Castlevania fans have demanded, but not yet received. Actually, you know what? It is.

Loved
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: Shadow Complex borrows from the best, but stands capably on its own in the “Metroidvania” school. There are direct relationships between some of Shadow Complex’s and Metroid’s upgrades—Fleming’s foam gun and Samus Aran’s ice beam, for example—but Chair has brilliantly reinvented some, helping to differentiate the weapons in its Xbox Live Arcade title from the games that influenced it. Shadow Complex actually trumps some of Metroid’s power-up staples, offering a triple-jump(!) and eliminating the need for a morph ball to enter confined space. Yes, Fleming can crouch and walk at the same time.

Turn On Your Flashlight: Shadow Complex is charitable enough to make scanning for secrets painless. Fleming’s flashlight illuminates in an instant just what you’ll need to bypass certain doors and air ducts. If they glow red, they’ll require missiles. Purple doors require a foam shot. Green doors can only be destroyed with grenades. The flashlight makes scanning your surroundings effortless, something Shadow Complex completionists will likely applaud Chair for, if they’ve ever grown weary of switching on Samus’ visor or slicing every brick in sight as Alucard.

100% Pure Love: There are over a hundred items—from gold bars to armour upgrades to health expansions—to discover and collect in Shadow Complex. The design behind keeping these items well hidden is brilliant, as some are genuinely tricky to find, even when you have a clear marker on the map showing you where a power up is squirreled away. This kind of exploration and studying one’s surroundings is the kind of thing that keeps me up until 3 AM, going for “just one more save point.” In my first play through, I only managed to find 99% of the items. Three still elude me, something I’ll remedy in my second play through.

2D, Meet 3D: Shadow Complex looks gorgeous, particularly when the player ventures into the less industrialized areas or spends any time underwater. The environmental design manages to be varied enough so that even room after room of barracks and factory floors are recognisable. The addition of a Z-axis, letting players fire into the screen and beyond the 2D plane is a neat trick, but it’s the twin-stick evolution of the Metroidvania formula that’s far more enjoyable.

Power Levels On The 10s: What Shadow Complex borrows from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the Koji Igarashi-directed games that followed it is the experience leveling system. You’ll earn XP from killing enemies and uncovering new areas of the map, eventually boosting your stats, like stamina and accuracy. Chair makes this system interesting in two ways. First, if you chain together a series of non-standardized attacks—melee attacks, headshots, etc.—you’ll receive an experience bonus multiplier for each kill, encouraging the player to be creative, while also making the action more frenetic. Second, at levels on the multiple of ten, Jason will get specialised bonuses, including a health boost and… somethings we won’t spoil for you.

Proving Grounds: When you’ve burned through the main campaign enough times to do everything—finish it with 100% of the items, then with 13% of the items, then in under three hours on the hardest difficulty—you can enjoy the Proving Grounds. This is where Chair seems to have borrowed a bit from Portal, offering up a few dozen time-attack style challenges, putting your equipment skills to the test. Most are fun, some are sadistic.

Boost: By the end of Shadow Complex, you’re a total bad-ass, raining infinite missile hellfire down upon whatever mech or armoured soldier stands between you and the next door. And it feels good. Triple-jumping and hookshotting your way to almost anywhere is a pleasure. But honestly, it’s the fact that we can slide down and up ladders that may be most satisfying. Thanks for that, Chair.

Hated
The Technicalities: For as good as Shadow Complex is from a gameplay standpoint, it suffers slightly—ever so slightly—from the occasional frustrating technical snafu. I’ve faced clearly demolished doors that wouldn’t let me walk or swim through them. I’ve had the camera lock onto a spot during a scripted moment and get permanently stuck there. Beyond those bugs, the game’s frame rate and dynamic lighting can take a little too long to catch up sometimes. And only one save slot? We’re supposed to get three!

Shadow Complex has reset the bar for what we can expect from an Xbox Live Arcade title. It also happens to ranks among the best 2D Metroids and Castlevanias, thanks to its strong map and upgrade design. While outstanding graphically, it lacks in some of the visual and character charm offered by its forebears, partly because of its photorealistic near-future setting. There’s also not much meat to the story—not like there ever really is in these games, but when yours is based on a series of books, it’s worth flagging—or much all that appealing about Fleming himself.

But these negatives are the most minor of concerns. Shadow Complex is easily one of the best games I’ve played all year, appealing perfectly to my own Metroidvania collection addiction and priced well below the amount of carefully crafted content it offers. I can’t emphasise just how much of a pleasure it was to play through this game and how earnestly I’m looking forward to returning to it.

Shadow Complex was developed by Chair Entertainment and Epic Games, published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox Live Arcade on August 19. Retails for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15 USD). Played single player campaign to completion on Normal difficulty, completed half of Proving Grounds challenges.

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Tim Schafer, founder of Double Fine productions and the man behind Brutal Legend, and Cliff Bleszinski, Epic Games designer and the face of Gears of War, sent in a slew of shots from their offices.

Here’s a taste, the rest you’ll find in our epic gallery here.