Weekly News Round Up 5-10-16

[Legolas_Katarn 1,828]

This week in the news; Battlefield 1 reveal, Nvidia reveals GTX 1080 and 1070, Blood and Wine accidentally added to Steam with release date, a look at the game industry of Argentina, Rami Ismail shows why speaking out on behalf of indies pays off, Persona 5 footage and Japanese release date announced, Extra Credits looks at how different outfits change how we play characters, game animator reviews the principles of pose design and character animation, a look at Uncharted 4 reviews and the reactions to them, Activision's positive look at their reveal trailer's downvotes, Evan Narcisse writes about his experiences at Kotaku for his last day, Sup Holmes talks to Rebecca Heineman, Atari’s VR experiments of the 80s, and more.

 

 

The Game Industry of Argentina

Quote

The history of game development in Argentina has suffered ups and downs in the past 20 years, and it has been shaped by the economic crisis of 2001 and a perpetually changing political landscape. Benmergui, Otaegui, Chilkowski and their newly formed friendship would be crucial to the future of the game industry in Argentina. That meeting was the start of the three dreaming together.

 

Nvidia's Latest 'Most Advanced Graphics Card' Is Faster And Cheaper Than The Last One

Quote

Last year Nvidia introduced the top-of-the-line GeForce GTX Titan X, a $1,000 beast of a graphics card that blew just about everything else out of the water. Well forget that old thing. The newly-announced GTX 1080 is nearly twice as powerful for several hundred dollars less.

See Doom Running on Nvidia's GTX 1080, Reaches 200FPS

A thread about this was created here.

 

Battlefield 1 Official Reveal Trailer

 

Battlefield 1 Single-Player Campaign Embraces Series' Open Sandboxes

Quote

Battlefield's campaigns have mostly been set in tight corridors with close-quarters combat, lacking the openness and variety that the multiplayer provides. That doesn't seem to be the case with Battlefield 1, however, as lead designer Danny Berlin told GameSpot at an event that the campaign "will more accurately reflect Battlefield's open sandboxes."

Why does EA's Battlefield teaser include a disclaimer about endorsements?

Quote

In essence, this kind of note declares that although the work in question may feature brand names and manufacturers for real-life products, the producer of the work did not receive any compensation for including them. In other words, EA is saying that although you may see an MP5 submachine gun or a Humvee, say, in this year's Battlefield game, neither Heckler & Koch nor AM General paid EA for that product placement.

Battlefield 1 Campaign Details Teased, Dev Says Diversity Is a Key Component

Quote

It "will focus on different stories and different personalities across the world," he said. One of the playable characters will be the Bedouin woman warrior from the announcement trailer.

"When we set out on this game, we wanted to depict not just the common view of what the war was like," he explained. "We wanted to challenge some preconceptions. We want to delve into some of the unknowns of WW1. Maybe people don't know that this person fought or that person fought, that this army was involved. We're stretching out and bringing all those stories into the game."

Battlefield 1 DLC features Harlem Hellfighters — but who were they?

Quote

The History Channel video above explains the Harlem Hellfighters' importance and influence. Among their achievements: They survived over six months in combat, more than any American unit; members of the regiment were among the first-ever Americans honored with French military decorations (like many black troops, they were deployed abroad); they returned home to New York and were met with a resounding homecoming parade, practically unheard of for African-American soldiers in the early 20th century.

Battlefield 1 Dev Hopeful Game Can Avoid Battlefield 4-Like Rocky Launch

Quote

"It's a focus for us," Berlin said about ensuring Battlefield 1 gets off on the right foot. "We know [Battlefield 4] was a difficult launch. We've been working on this for a long time. We released Battlefront, which did really well. We're pushing an open beta to ensure stability. We've taken a lot of learnings from that experience, and we feel like we succeeded with Battlefront. We'll take everything we learned there and apply it to Battlefield 1 as well."

Here What's in Battlefield 1's $80 Deluxe Edition

Quote

Early Access on October 18th
Hellfighter Pack
Red Baron Pack
Lawrence of Arabia Pack
5x Battlepacks

 

A thread about this was created here.

 

Witcher 3 Blood and Wine Release Date Reportedly Revealed

Quote

Blood and Wine, the second expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, will be released at the end of the month, if a Steam listing is any indication. People on NeoGAF and elsewhere discovered today that a page for the expansion showed a May 31 release date; others reported seeing a May 30 date.

Whatever the case, the page has now been pulled. It apparently was published too soon. Here is a screencap of the Steam page, courtesy of Twitter's Wario64.

Everything You Need to Know About the Final Expansion - The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine

 

A thread about this was created here.

 

An Update On Mass Effect: Andromeda

Quote

With Mass Effect™: Andromeda, our team at BioWare™ is exploring how far they can take this beloved franchise. Yes, we’re building the best of what we all love about Mass Effect – amazing stories, characters and fun third-person shooter combat – and bringing them along with us on the expedition to Andromeda. But we’re also excited to be introducing new features and ways you can enjoy a Mass Effect game.

 

Suda 51's first game, The Silver Case, is getting a western remake

Quote

Killer 7 and No More Heroes director Suda 51's first game at the studio he founded, Grasshopper Manufacture, was a little known PlayStation One visual novel called The Silver Case. Never released outside of Japan, it's only now, 17 years later, getting a western release with an all new remake set to arrive this autumn on PC via Steam, Playism and other online markets.

"When it comes to the gameplay the biggest change is the quiz section of the game," said Suda via translator and remake director Edward Douglas Watt. "The game was produced in 1999 and was very strongly focused on knowledge that would be difficult even for Japanese players. Even if we just translated those questions they wouldn't necessarily be answerable by many players, so we're updating and changing the contents of the quiz sections."

 

Three "Major" Unannounced Capcom Games Coming By April 2017

Quote

Capcom is planning to launch three unannounced "major" games by April 2017, the Resident Evil company has announced. One of these is a Monster Hunter game, while the other two are completely mysterious. We do know, however, how many copies these are expected to sell.

 

Dishonored 2 powers revealed, Arkane promises more focus on non-lethal options

Quote

Dishonored 2 will feature two separate and distinct protagonists—Corvo Attano, the hero of the original, and Emily Kaldwin, the now-grown daughter of the slain Empress—each with his or her own unique set of special powers. And this time around, Lead Designer Dinga Bakaba told Game Informer, the studio has embraced non-lethal play options to a much greater extent than it did with the original.

 

Hideo Kojima’s new game is an action title for AAA fans

Quote

“While not to say that it’s open-world, users who enjoy today’s AAA games (The Division and Uncharted, etc.) will be able to easily enjoy it. When it is announced, you might think ‘that’s not that outstanding,’ but you’ll understand when you see it and play it. The genre is action.”

 

Mafia 3: Watch New Driving Gameplay Video, Playboy Promo Teased

 

Paragon Shows Off New Imp-Controlled Robot Hero With an Infomercial-Style Video

 

Salt And Sanctuary PC Release Date Soon

Quote

Ska’s statement that they’re “gearing up” for the release allows me to believe it’ll be out much sooner than I’d expected.

 

Final Fantasy X /X-2 HD Remaster releases on Steam this week

Quote

It's been rumoured for what feels like years, but Final Fantasy X / X-2 Remastered is finally confirmed for PC – and it's releasing on Steam this week. That's according to a newly published product page, which confirms that both games will release in all their HD glory on May 13. That's this Friday.

 

New Vampire Bloodlines trademark spotted - let that sink in

Quote

The trademark was filed on April 26, 2016, by White Wolf Publishing AB. It seems like White Wolf are securing the IP in its various forms either simply to protect the IP, or perhaps because they're actively working, or are considering working, on a sequel.

Please let Avellone be involved in a new game.

 

Persona 5 Release Date Announced for Japan

 

Quote

The Persona 5 countdown clock has ended, and some big news has been announced. During a livestream event today, Atlus confirmed that Persona 5 will launch on September 15, 2016 in Japan. A release date for western markets has not been confirmed at this point.

Persona 5 Famitsu DX Pack comes with protagonist and Morgana figures

 

Tyranny short story series sheds light on Obsidian's dark new world

Quote

Obsidian's recently-announced RPG Tyranny takes place in the aftermath of the world-shaping events that often form the basis for such games. Because of that, as we wrote in our GDC preview, it sometimes “feels like a sequel to a game we haven't played or a story we've never read.” To address that unusual gap in the fiction, Obsidian and publisher Paradox Interactive are releasing a series of short stories based on the game world, the first of which is available now.

 

Bloodstained Will Launch the Base Campaign First, Followed by Staggered Content Releases

Quote

As soon as the core game is ready, it will be made available to fans, and all the extra content will be produced and released via patches as it's finished. This is more in line with Shovel Knight, which actually still has content due to release sometime this year.

 

Watch 20 frightening minutes of Dead by Daylight

 

Grand Kingdom — Online Trailer

Quote

With an impressive battle system that combines fast-paced action with strategic planning, and featuring robust character creation and customization options, Grand Kingdom is a Tactical RPG unlike any on the market today. After the fall of the once-prosperous Uldein Empire over one hundred years ago, the Four Great Nations now wage war to claim dominion over the Resonail continent.

As the leader of a mercenary squad, players will assemble a team to lead across a battle-scarred continent to complete contracts for each nation. Players may also hop online to form an exclusive contract with one of the Four Great Nations, and participate in war with other players for the future of Resonail.

 

NEW STORY UPDATE FOR TALES OF BERSERIA

Quote

Have you read our previous coverage of the world of Tales of Berseria? Today, learn more about Artorius the world’s savior, Titania the prison island, the Val Eltia pirate ship and more!

 

XCOM 2 Alien Hunters DLC Coming; Adds New Mission, Weapons, and "Ruler" Aliens

Quote

XCOM 2 players have a new DLC pack to look forward to next week. Following the Anarchy's Children pack, the new DLC Alien Hunters adds new campaign content, including a new mission, weapons and armor, and a new update to the Avenger's Armory called "Hunter's Lodge." Players can also expect to go up against three new "Ruler" aliens in combat.

I was hoping for a new melee weapon that makes the sword a viable option mid and late game, a throwing axe is not what I expected.

 

Fallout 4 - Far Harbor Official Trailer

Quote

Preview your journey to Far Harbor, the next game-on for Fallout 4. Far Harbor docks on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on Thursday, May 19th.

A thread about this was created here.

 

New Rainbow Six Siege Operation Dust Line details emerge

Quote

While patch notes for 3.0 are still forthcoming, there were some interesting changes revealed during the Twitch stream. Frost will no longer wield nitro cells, Thermite will no longer have frag grenades, and Buck will have frags instead of flash bangs. In terms of buffs, Tachanka can place his machine gun quicker and in more locations, while Montagne’s shield offers better frontal protection. Finally, IQ can see the outlines of nearby electronics rather than just their  location.

 

Halo 5 Memories of Reach Free DLC: All the Reqs and More Revealed

Quote

Halo 5's Memories of Reach free update arrives later this month. While you'll need to wait a little longer to play the new content, 343 Industries has now revealed all of its Reqs and talked more about what other changes are coming to the game with the update.

 

Duke Forces mod combines Dark Forces and Duke Nukem 3D

 

Indie Shooter Alien Wasteland Hit With Cease And Desist By Wasteland 2 Devs

Quote

Alien Wasteland is a rudimentary looking first-person-shooter made by a single person. It looks pretty darn different from Wasteland 2, the gritty strategy game from inXile Entertainment. Nonetheless, the developer behind Alien Wasteland was recently issued a cease and desist from the creators of Wasteland 2.

 

This Is How Activision Spun Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare YouTube Dislikes Into a Positive

Quote

"And while of course we see the passionate opinions online, we also look at other measurements and the fact is, while it's very early, preorders are off to a very strong start, views of the reveal trailer you referred to are up, and in fact the number of likes-per-view on the Infinite Warfare reveal trailer are also the highest we've ever seen," he said.

This also isn't the first time something like this has happened.

"We've seen this in the franchise before; the reveal trailer for Black Ops II, which took the franchise into the future for the first time, had the most dislikes of any reveal trailer we had ever made at that time, and that of course went on to become our most successful game ever," he continued. "And right now, the franchise has never been stronger. We have more people playing Black Ops III--a game that takes place in the future with boost jumps and futuristic weapons and all the rest--than any game in our history. So what we know for sure is that if we always just did what worked in the past and never took any creative risks, we wouldn't have a franchise. The day to worry is the day we stop trying new things."

People are mad about Call of Duty, this will definitely be the end of the series, just like it was last time.

 

Stellaris Breaks Records With 200,000 Copies Sold in 24 Hours

Quote

The publisher announced today that the game, released on May 9, sold more than 200,000 copies in its first 24 hours. This broke the "revenue record for any of Paradox Interactive's previous titles during the same period," the company said in a news release. The standard edition of Stellaris sells for $40.

 

Star Citizen Clears $113 Million, Production Pace to "Pick Up"

Quote

Star Citizen, the in-development PC space game from Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, has reached a new funding milestone, as its developer laid out plans for the future.

 

Epic Games sets sights on Hollywood as it expands beyond games

Quote

Epic Games is broadening its reach beyond just games, and the company has the release of its non-linear editing tool Sequencer to thank. We spoke to the studio about how the unveiling of Sequencer at March's Game Developers Conference event was just the beginning of yet another of Epic's major shifts.

 

Gears of War Designer Cliff Bleszinski Invests in New Crowdfunding Site Fig

Quote

Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski has invested in the new crowdfunding platform Fig, the site announced today.

 

Konami's Push to Mobile Pays Off

Quote

Konami has detailed its financial results for the 12 month period spanning April 2015 to March 2016, reporting an increase in both sales and profit, which it attributed to the success of its mobile titles.

 

Saints Row Dev's Next Game May Be Agents of Mayhem

Quote

The first document is an "Agents of Mayhem" trademark filed by Volition's parent company Koch Media on May 3 with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. It's classified under video game software, computer game instructions, and cultural activities and entertainment.

 

The man who tried to reform League of Legends player behavior leaves Riot

Quote

Lin, who holds a PhD in psychology, is well known online for his efforts to cut down on the toxicity of the League of Legends player-base through a variety of tactics.

His full goodbye message can be read here.

 

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney still opposes Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform

Quote

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney still opposes Microsoft’s UniversaMicrosoft wants to unify its desktop, mobile and game platforms through the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). At the recent Microsoft Build conference, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and two other executives insisted that Windows 10 is an open platform for developers. But Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, still isn’t convinced. Windows Platform

 

In esports news

 

League of Legends' Renegades and TDK hit with almighty bans

Quote

Riot has unleashed thunderous bans at League of Legends' pro level, citing the violation of existing sanctions, concern for player welfare and deliberate misrepresentation of professional relationships. Team Renegades is effectively defunct, and TDK will miss out on the CS Summer Split.

Chris Badawi, a stakeholder in Renegades, has been banned permanently with no hope of appeal.

 

Riot's path to building a collegiate eSports program

Quote

With eSports reaching broader and broader audiences, developers now need to consider developing competitive leagues to ensure longterm player engagement.

In the last year, collegiate eSport leagues and organizations have taken more and more of the spotlight as tournaments like Heroes of the Dorm are broadcast on ESPN, and UC Irvine announced a scholarship for League of Legends players. It’s a path for growth in eSports that creates new opportunities for young streamers and commentators, and helps the field expand by providing a new cycle of tournaments and players to follow, much as the way the NCAA augments coverage of traditional professional sports. Riot's path to building a collegiate eSports program

 

Activision is going all-in on eSports, and CEO Bobby Kotick sees the money

Quote

Activision is going all-in on eSports.

That is not a new realization -- CEO Bobby Kotick previously compared eSports to professional sports like the NFL, and implied that his company sees similar opportunities for fandom and revenue generation.

 

French “Numeric” esports law flies through Senate with 322-1 vote

Quote

Esports regulation in France took a massive step forward today as the nation’s Senate passed the Numeric law. The law, which governs a wide body of digital matters from revenge porn to Google, also includes many regulations on esports, including contract establishment, visa status, and esports distribution. The law passed through the Senate with the encouraging vote of 322-1.

 

German TV channel ProSieben MAXX will broadcast ELEAGUE

Quote

Germany’s second largest privately owned television company, ProSieben, will broadcast Turner’s ELEAGUE on its men’s interest channel MAXX, starting June, 1.

 

Tales from behind the esports desk: a first-time Hearthstone caster

Quote

As someone who has been a part of the esports world in some fashion or another for a nearly a decade, the transition into working in the industry has been fascinating. Over the past several years, I’ve moved through volunteer opportunities, freelance contributions, team organizations, and contract roles, each with their unique sources of excitement and challenge. The absolute best of experiences to date, though, was being asked to work on the official commentary team for the Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT) at the Americas Winter Preliminary.

When GamesBeat approached me to offer my thoughts on the process, I couldn’t say no. People have asked me all sorts of questions: How did you get the gig? When did you find out? What was the experience like? What did you learn? Will you be casting again in the future?

 

DreamHack Austin Features First North American StarCraft Finalist In Ages

Quote

The first DreamHack StarCraft event in the United States came close to hosting a miracle as America’s Alex “Neeb” Sunderhaft fought his way into a close final series against Korea’s Shin “Hydra” Dong Won.

 

The New World Order At LoL's Mid-Season Invitational

Quote

With more twists and turns than you typically find in an entire season of pro League of Legends, the group stage of the Mid-Season Invitational ended with a leaderboard that seemed like something from an alternate universe.

 

Popular Counter-Strike Streamer Fails Hilariously At Pro Event, Becomes Meme

 

In crowdfunding news

 

Boss Fight Books: Season 3

Quote

Great books on classic video games. Super Mario Bros. 3, Katamari Damacy, Soft & Cuddly, Mega Man 3, and Kingdom Hearts II.

In 2013, Gabe Durham pitched a series of critical, historical, and personal nonfiction books about classic video games. And when the generous backers of a Kickstarter campaign said “BRING IT,” Boss Fight Books was born.

Three years later, with our twelfth book on the way, this project just doesn’t feel finished. There are too many games left to explore, too many worlds left to conquer. That’s why we’d like to propose a third season of five NEW books by five NEW writers about five OLD video games.

Past work can be found here.

A thread about this was created here.

 

UBOOT - A WW2 Survival Sandbox

Quote

Survive in inhumane conditions and come back home with the whole crew.

UBOOT is a simulator of a submarine from WWII era, yet different than all you have seen so far. It is a survival sandbox with game mechanics similar to that of Fallout Shelter while it's primary theme is life of German soldiers like in Wolfgang Petersen's film Das Boot. The boat is their home, but it can become their grave at any time.

A thread about this was created here.

 

Other content I found interesting this week

 

HOW JAPAN SHAPED NOSTALGIA IN GAMES

Quote

For Shigeru Miyamoto, the inspiration for The Legend of Zelda (1986) series lay in the natural beauty of his hometown of Kyoto, Japan. As a young boy, the Nintendo designer behind Mario, Zelda, and Pikmin would take hikes around nearby forests, rivers, and old Sonobe Castle ruins. It was on one such hike that Miyamoto happened upon a cave that fascinated him. He returned to it a few days later, shook off his nerves, and, armed with a homemade lantern, journeyed into its mysterious depths. It was this feeling of discovery and awe that stayed with Miyamoto throughout adulthood, ultimately inspiring the games that would change the medium forever. From Chrono Trigger (1995) to the Persona series, nostalgia went on to characterize many classic Japanese games

 

Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail shows why speaking out on behalf of indies pays off

Quote

It’s important to realize that I represent one indie view on all of these things. But what resonates with a lot of independent developers is that it’s very open and very me. I like to say what I think, what I believe. Through my travels around the world I spend a lot of time flying. For those who don’t know me, I fly about once every three days. I was in Croatia two days and I’ll be in Singapore in a day and a half, visiting independent games communities around the world to talk to them and help establish themselves.

You just learn a lot about what’s happening that way, so I have some knowledge of what independent development is doing around the world. Not a lot of people have that perspective, and that’s given me the ability to say things on behalf of independent developers without them all getting really angry at me. That’s nice.

Venturebeat interviews Rami Ismail.

 

Sup, Holmes? w/ Rebecca Heineman!

Quote

Today on Sup Holmes we're happy to welcome Rebecca Heineman to the show, creator of Bard's Tale 3 and many other classics.

Rebecca Heineman was one of the founders of Interplay, won the first national video game contest, and programmed The Bard's Tale III, Tass Times, and many other games.

 

Will we ever get an Elite Beat Agents sequel? We asked the creator

 

The 1979 Iranian Revolution: The Game

Quote

A new video game, 1979 Revolution Black Friday, puts you in the shoes of an Iranian photojournalist in the lead up to Black Friday, when hundreds of Iranian protesters were gunned down by government soldiers. The game immerses you in the cultural atmosphere of 1970s Iran in the hope to dispel existing media narratives around Iran as a land of just clerics and veils. Brooke talks to Navid Khansari, who designed the game, about how he put his childhood experiences of Iran into this game -- and why Iran has banned it.

Navid Khonsari (looks like they didn't spell his name correctly) talks about where some of the images of the game came from, his childhood experiences, talking to kids in Iran about his involvement with producing Grand Theft Auto, what they remember about the game, how it made him think about the impact games can have on people, and how his game helps to challenge western stereotypes of Iran in a short 13 minute audio interview.

 

Resident Evil 20th Anniversary Interview – Masachika Kawata

Quote

This is the third video from the Resident Evil development team celebrating the 20th anniversary of Resident Evil. Producer Masachika Kawata reflects on pivotal points in the franchise.

 

A Walkthrough the Past: Interviews with Former Writers on the Making of Strategy Guides

Quote

Ridiculous bugs, tight deadlines, and not much pay: these writers tell us what it was like making guides for Prima and GameSpot a decade ago.

 

Nick Capozzoli noticed the similarities in how reviewers describe anticipated games and the complaints they get when reviewers don't give as much praise as others

 

It's interesting seeing the ridiculous hyperbolic statements people are expected to make for the more well known/anticipated games and how mad people get when they don't (such as the people mad at the bottom three for giving Uncharted 4 an 8, 8.8, and 8.5).

Uncharted 4 review: an apology

Quote

Once again, we regret the errors, and in the future, in order to prevent further bias, Steve will not be allowed to give his opinion on games he has played and you haven't.

Quantum Break Is Blatantly Better Than Uncharted 4

Quote

There is no greater measure of a game’s objective quality than a review score. We all know this. Publishers hinge money on review scores, and NeoGAF posters stake the success of their personal growth as human beings on numeral validation. With this in mind, we must conclude that Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, sporting a measly 8.5 on popular website The Jimquisition Dot Com, is an utter disappointment.

8.5 is the lowest score a videogame can get, lower even than IGN’s insulting clickbait slap in the face 8.8. It is a mark of shame on Naughty Dog’s household that its latest game could not even muster the borderline acceptable score of 9, meaning it dropped well below the average number automatically awarded to hyped AAA releases.

 

Uncharted 4 Tech Analysis: A PS4 Masterpiece

 

Hello, I Must Be Growing

Quote

They verified and reported on major leaks, shady business practices and the terrible behavior by individuals who’d otherwise cowed people into silence. One time when I was a freelancer for a now-shuttered lad mag, I wrote a joke in a review of a sports game about pro athletes behaving badly. It was clearly not based on actual events, but the game’s publisher browbeat my editors into changing the copy. The outlet bent to the pressure and excised the offending line. Nothing like that has happened to me at this website. What’s more, Kotaku matured while I was here, and I matured along with it.

Evan Narcisse writes about his experiences at Kotaku for his last day.

 

Hero Shooters: Charting the (re)birth of a genre

Quote

Battleborn. Overwatch. Paragon.

Not to mention BattleCry. Gigantic. Paladins.

These are all games slated to release this year (many are out already, in some form) that share some striking similarities in terms of design.

 

THE CREATOR OF PERSONA ON LIFE, JAPANESE CULTURE, AND THE UNCONSCIOUS

Quote

Every new Persona game hopes to “address a problem that we see in society at that time, especially in Japan where the games take place,” said Hashino. “We simply can’t ignore the current social issues when depicting our characters’ dark, hidden sides, their internal struggles, and the enemies they oppose.”

 

Atari’s secret VR experiments of the 1980s

Quote

“VR definitely would have happened, starting first in the arcades,” said Scott Fisher, who was in charge of a VR project at the company’s Sunnyvale Research Lab in 1982, a year before Atari would begin to collapse inward on itself. 

 

14 ways to improve your game pitch

Quote

Just in time for devs looking to perfect their pitch before Interface tomorrow, independent developer and former head of strategic content at SCEE Shahid Ahmad reveals the best ways to secure that vital deal

Ahmad used to work for Sony where he was responsible for a lot of the Indie developers getting their games on the PSN.

 

Watch devs Clint Hocking and Mathieu Bérubé play and analyze Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Quote

This week longtime game developer Clint Hocking published a video to his YouTube channel featuring himself and Ubisoft Toronto compatriot Mathieu Bérubé playing through the "Panama Bank" level of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.

 

Enclothed Cognition - Do Character Outfits Affect Our Play? - Extra Credits

Quote

A 2012 study invented the term "enclothed cognition" to describe the psychological impact clothing had on people's behavior. When dressed in coats that they were told belonged to doctors, people performed tests in a way they associated with a doctor's way of thinking. Given the same coats and told they belonged to painters, a different group of people showed none of the same behavioral changes. This study's results have yet to be explored in much further detail, but it raises interesting questions for games and game designers. Does clothing change the way people play their characters? Though clothing choices or color shaders are often thought of as purely aesthetic options and a way for the player to express their (or the character's) personality, it would be interesting to look at whether the character's appearance actually changes the way they are played. For designers, it would be interesting to do a playtest and ask players what impression they got from the appearance of a character. Does it fit with the desired playstyle of the game? And if you've experienced the effects of "enclothed cognition" yourself as a player, let us know in the comments!

 

Tracer & Pose Design 101 - The Animation of Overwatch - Extra Frames

Quote

Why the outcry over Tracer's "over the shoulder" victory pose in Blizzard's new FPS, Overwatch? Professional game animator Daniel Floyd reviews the principles of pose design and character presentation to explain why Blizzard changed the animation.

 

Fragments of Him offered me catharsis after the shock of losing someone

Quote

Vulnerability is what defines Fragments of Him's mannequin-like cast. The ease with which each character looks back at the moments they shared with Will, some painful, some unflattering, astonished me, even in my guarded state. As Sarah, Mary and Harry recounted their histories with Will, my throat began to close up and my breathing got heavy. I knew those feelings they talked about, I thought as I sat alone in the dark, watching the stories unfold. I knew the guilt and the anger and the complete confusion each character claimed to experience — they were what I was shying away from on a daily basis.

 

Oblique Strategy: Skirting the Edge of Intergalactic War in Stellaris

Quote

To some, this might just be another fish in the genre’s ocean, but to me, Stellaris has opened my eyes to a whole new world of videogames.

 

Difficulty As Tone in 'Hyper Light Drifter'

Quote

My palms were soaked when I faced Hyper Light Drifter‘s final boss for the fourth or fifth time. I kept sending my player character—an unnamed, gender-ambiguous cloaked figure known only as the Drifter—to his/her death. The boss was similarly unnamed; it looked both synthetic and organic, emerging from a sickly pink core and emitting a robotic scream. I threw bombs. I blasted it with my shotgun. I reflected bullets with the slice of my sword. But no matter how many health packs I carried or how skillfully I dodged its attacks, I would die and retry and die again.

 

SOULS WITHOUT DARKNESS

Quote

With this now said, bear in mind that discussion of an easy mode is a thought experiment, not an asteroid. What arises from it is usually a conversation on the particular textual analysis of Dark Souls, and the general role of mechanics and systems within narrative frameworks.

So while the prospect is not dangerous, it’s easy to view it as a threat for reasons of sentimentality. (There is also a troupe which feels threatened by how it would dilute the pretend aristocracy of folks who have finished a videogame, which is a petulant viewpoint and another issue entirely.) Much of that sentimentality is irrational but human and I find it hard to find too great a fault in it. My feelings are complicated, since I think it would be great if Kunzelman could enjoy Dark Souls like I have, but at the same time I agree with Smith that not everything needs to be for everyone, and I agree with Lees and Franklin that much of what puts Kunzelman off the series is intrinsic to what makes it provocative.

 

Fan Edits Full-Length Movie Telling Dark Souls 3's Confusing Story

Quote

Clocking in at one hour, 45 minutes, and 16 seconds, MoonlightButterfly effortlessly weaves gameplay from Dark Souls 3 with dialogue, cutscenes, and other moments from that game and, on occasion, the rest of the series.

 

Publisher of obscure JRPG censors outfit just for the attention (Fauxclusive)

Quote

Unable to garner any media coverage for its upcoming JRPG, the publisher of Sun Blanket Star Pastry Chef ReB;rth confirmed today it has altered one of the costumes in the game just so somebody would start paying attention to it.

Plus, more than 20 YouTube personalities have posted hours of diatribes against us, meaning news of the game is finally reaching Millennials.

 

Overwatch Player Obliterates Enemy With Basketball Trap