A Look At No Man’s Sky’s Creature Features
During our month of No Man’s Sky coverage, we’ve been focusing our attention on the game’s unfathomably large scale.
During our month of No Man’s Sky coverage, we’ve been focusing our attention on the game’s unfathomably large scale. We haven’t spent much time talking about the various creatures that players will be seeing while planetside. Like the worlds they inhabit, each species has been procedurally generated. We talked with Hello Games’ art team to learn about how they’re populating the galaxy with a massive menagerie of unique animals.
Hello Games is a small studio, but even a team of thousands of artists couldn’t create and animate enough creatures for No Man’s Sky using conventional methods. Rather than design, model, and animate everything by hand, they’re using in-house toolssimilar to the ones that generate the game’s planets, stars, and galaxy.
When they started their work, art director Grant Duncan said they didn’t have to look far for inspiration. “When it came to creatures, we built the kind of creatures that exist on the Earth. Looking at their anatomy and skeletal makeup, and it's quite surprising how few different types of skeletons there are. There are obviously variations for things like the length of limbs and the number of vertebrae and that kind of thing, but actually, roughly, they're fairly similar.”
Duncan pulled a reference book off a shelf and showed me what he was talking about. Sure enough, the skeletons of most of the real-world animals showed an almost template-like construction. For example, take their skin off (don’t try this at home), and dogs, cats, pigs, and rhinos have more in common than you might initially think. Hello Games looked at these basic templates – which they call blueprints – as the basic foundational essence of their creatures.
To illustrate, Beau Lamb, one of the game's artists, pulled up an animation of an aquatic creature. The animal in the larger window looked similar to a shark, but a multitude of smaller windows on the screen showed variations based on that template. With the click of a button, the windows refreshed with all-new animals, with different configurations of fins, colors, textures, and more. One had a head like a crocodile, and it looked like something you’d see in a book about prehistoric creatures. Another was colorful and featured a large number of flippers on its sides and belly.
The method might sound limited, but as you can see from the gallery of images below, it allows for a surprising amount of variety. Duncan says that blueprints are flexible in ways that might not seem intuitive, too. For instance, a chicken and a tyrannosaurus rex have a lot in common, aside from obvious differences in size, heads, and (arguably) the presence of features. In one demo, we saw several manta ray-like creatures soaring in the sky, with long tails trailing behind them – which eased our initial concerns that we were only going to run into slightly different creatures from real life.
The tools also account for how each creature is animated, based on its randomly assigned values. “It cuts down on a lot of the work for us, because normally in games you'd have to make a whale rig, a shark rig, all these different rigs, and that's a lot of work in animation,” Duncan says. “That all gets done for us because there's an intelligent animation system that understands that if a creature's bigger, then it moves in a slightly different way. So we'll create a template animation and if it's a large creature it gets a lumber.”
Similarly, players can get cues about what they’re up against when they see one of these animals in the wild. “We have a tagging system, so the idea being that when you look at a creature you can almost predict how it's going to sound and how it's going to act,” Duncan says. “The kind of rough way it works is you can tag certain parts or certain combinations that dictate what it's going to be like. The same goes for colors. If you see a creature that looks aggressive and a little bit scary, chances are it's going to behave in that way and it's going to be hostile. The same way that in the real world if you see a lion you just know to stay away. It's quite a fun rule to break as well, because you can have creatures that look really nice and fluffy, and actually they can be tremendously aggressive.”
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Cliff Blezsinski defends EA microtransactions, tells gamers: "vote with your dollars"
The ongoing debate over the ethicality of microtransactions is hot enough to make the sun look like an ice cube, but it's difficult to overlook the financial benefits of prolonging a game beyond its launch content—just ask EA, which recently stated it's seeking to add purchaseable items in all of its games .
. Consumer concern is natural, but former Epic designer Cliff Bleszinski thinks wallets are a stronger measure of approval than complaints. In a lengthy blog article, he specifically brings up the business practices of EA and Valve, stating he's "tired" of the former taking the brunt of ire surrounding the subject.
"I'm going to come right out and say it: I'm tired of EA being seen as 'the bad guy,'" he writes. "I think it's b******* that EA has the 'scumbag EA' memes on Reddit and that Good Guy Valve can do no wrong.
"It blows my mind that somehow gamers don't seem to get that Valve is a business, just like any other, and when Valve charges $100 for an engagement ring in Team Fortress 2, it's somehow 'cool,'" he continues. "Yet when EA wants to sell something similar, it's seen as 'evil.'
"Yes, guys, I hate to break it to you, but as awesome as Valve is, they're also a company that seeks to make as much money as possible. They're just way better at their image control."
Bleszinski goes on to claim "making money and running a business is not inherently evil" and compares Origin's currently unfavored reputation with Steam's reception during its shaky first years.
"People love to beat up on Origin, but they forget that, for a good amount of time, Steam sucked," he writes. "No one took it seriously for the first while. When Gabe pitched it at GDC to my former co-workers years ago, they came back with eye-rolls. Who's laughing now? All of Valve.
"It took Valve years to bang their service into the stellar shape that it is in these days. Yet somehow, everyone online forgets this, and they give EA crap about trying to create their own online services. Heaven forbid they see our digital roadmap for the future and try to get on board the 'games as services' movement."
He finishes with a simple piece of advice: "If you don't like EA, don't buy their games. If you don't like their microtransactions, don't spend money on them. EA has many smart people working for them, and they wouldn't attempt these things if they didn't work. Turns out, they do. I assure you there are teams of analysts studying the numbers behind consumer behavior over there that are studying how you, the gamer, spends his hard earned cash."
Response was swift. A NeoGAF threadballooned with various comments ranging between hostile, sympathetic, and fearful.
"It's one thing to say you'll start putting microtransactions in every $60 game you'll make and another thing to have microtransactions on a-free to-play game, where a big percentage of that microtransaction money actually goes to the players, who themselves make items to sell," writes one poster.
"Overall, if I see DLC that I don't like, I just ignore it," writes another. "If a game has too much DLC to the point in which the main game is really lacking in content then I just won't buy the game. Simple. Don't get why some are acting like they are being forced into doing something."
Slaying sacred cows of action-RTS design in Heroes of the Storm
Even for Blizzard, stepping up to bat in the genre that Dota built must be a daunting task.
built must be a daunting task. In a field so thoroughly dominated by a pair of games-- League of Legends and Dota 2-- any attempt to even gain a little market share isn’t remotely easy. Not least because the success of both of those games remains something of a nebulous unknown.
Yes, they’re about teamwork and strategy, but the specifics of which mechanics are "core" to the genre, and which are each individual games’ foibles and unique personality, isn’t nearly as well established as in other genres.
And taking the established and exemplifying it is what Blizzard does. It did it with base-building strategy games in Warcraft and Starcraft , it did it with MMOs in World of Warcraft , action RPGs with Diablo, and CCGs with Hearthstone . Blizzard's games are well-seeded genres pushed to their respective peaks. But Heroes of the Storm , which releases today, feels like a different beast.
Striking down sacred cows
“We went back to the original Dota , the mod for Warcraft 3 , and designed from there,” says Dustin Browder the creative director of Heroes of the Storm , and a Starcraft and Starcraft 2 designer. “Not literally, as we didn’t have the code, but to ask ourselves: ‘Where do we think this was going in 2002?’ A lot of things that have changed since then are very cool, but none of them are a given.”
So, to Blizzard, the core of these games was there, in embryonic stage, over a decade ago in the first iteration of the mod. It’s an interesting perspective, and one that allows the developer to sidestep a 1:1 comparison with those behemoths of the genre, but also gives them a lot of freedom when it comes to striking down sacred cows and challenging what are seen as base mechanics.
For instance, Heroes of the Storm has no individual player levels. Instead, the team gains experience as a whole, pushing you more into the mentality that you’re one cog in a five-cog machine than a separate actor. Similarly, progression isn’t attained with the gold you earn from slaying AI drones and other players, but garnered by pushing down objectives and getting closer to victory.
“We were going right back to the beginning and asking where it would go from there, and that was very powerful for us. It led us to a place where we were questioning a lot of assumptions,” Browder continues. “We were very fearless about messing with the formula. From very early on people were saying ‘You can’t! You shouldn’t!’ It was very clear and loud: 'You can’t not have last-hitting!’ But it turns out you can, and it’s totally ok.”
Opening up the experience
Part of this aggressive move away from these systems could be seen as an attempt to separate Heroes of the Storm from its established contemporaries, but it’s also a move designed to remove a lot of the immediate obfuscation of the genre and make it a more accessible game to newcomers. “We did everything we could to make the tutorials as comprehensive as possible and ramp you into the experience nicely. We really want to open it up to everyone who’s interested in this kind of experience.”
And if that’s the case, unintuitive concepts like last-hitting and gold advantage, and more frustrating ones like longer disables and game-changing abilities, are dropped in favor of something that is significantly more forgiving, while still allowing for the depth of strategy these games lend themselves to.
More significantly, Heroes of the Storm departs from the accepted practices in its landscape, hurling multiple "battlegrounds" at its players, each with their own objectives and mechanics. Each battleground is its own map, each with its own unique way for players to interact with the environment to secure tactical advantages.
During an introductory presentation, Browder brings up a slide that has nothing but "20 minutes" on it, another challenge to the assumptions of the genre. League and Dota 2 games tend to typically run almost twice that time, but Heroes is aggressively pushing for a neat 20-minute average for its games. I ask Browder how he aims to get that average.
“It’s not going to hit that number all the time, and that’s ok. But we control the numbers and systems and how they interact, so we can set things so that it hits that number most of the time. You’ll see the occasional 40 minute game of Heroes , and the occasional 10 minute game, and that we’re good with. That’s exciting. We want that kind of variability, so it’s not a hard rule that every game has to be 20 minutes. It’s more-or-less, kind-of, most-of-the-time, games should be about 20 minutes. And by tweaking things like experience game, map objectives, tower health and power, we can hit that number most of the time.”
This is emblematic of the design philosophy that emerges while talking to Browder. Blizzard has a very clear idea of what Heroes is supposed to be, which niches specific heroes slot into, how maps are supposed to play out, and, ultimately, what a Dota -like should, well, look like. And when no one really knows exactly what that is, that’s something that a developer can do, to the betterment of the genre as a whole. It’s what drives a variety of experiences, and until the tenets of the genre are well established, Blizzard is going to be doing something that it's not typically known for: creating the rules themselves.
Creating No Man's Sky's Infinite Soundtrack
Odds are that you fell in love with the E3 2014 trailer of No Man's Sky , and the track from the band 65daysofstatic had a lot to do with that.
had a lot to do with that. Not only did Hello Games license their song "Debutante" for that trailer, but the partnership between the studio and the band has blossomed into 65daysofstatic composing the entire game's soundtrack and creating a No Man's Sky album. While visiting the Hello Games studio for our January cover story on No Man's Sky, we were able to sit down and discuss the past and future of the collaboration with members of the development team and half of the band. Not only is the galaxy within the game procedurally-generated, but 65daysofstatic and Hello Games are working to create a procedurally-generated soundscape so that every planet will be coupled with a unique musical experience. It's an ambitious plan (but you should be used to that by now if you're following No Man's Sky) so watch the video to learn how they are tackling the project. We should note that the video contains footage from the band's No Man's Sky concert at PSX 2014 ( which you can learn more about here) and a majority of the music is not content from the upcoming soundtrack album.
Watch the video below to learn how Hello Games founder Sean Murray, No Man's Sky audio director Paul Weir, and Paul Wolinski and Joe Shrewbury of 65daysofstatic are rewriting the rules of game soundtracks.
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Oculus VR raises $75 million in another round of funding
Oculus VR, the company that's developing the Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles you want for Christmas, has secured another $75 million in Series B funding.
virtual reality goggles you want for Christmas, has secured another $75 million in Series B funding. This is in addition to the $16 million it raised in Series A in June, which it must have placed on top of the $2.4 million pile of cash it raised in the initial Kickstarter campaign.
The round closed Friday morning, and was led by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Wired reports. If you're the kind of person who cares about the inside baseball of Silicon Valley tech companies, you're probably impressed by that fact. Andreessen Horowitz was founded by Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape, and Ben Horowitz, who sold his company Opsware to Hewlett-Packard for a cool $1.6 billion. Together they went on to invest and make even bigger bucks on little companies you may have heard of like Facebook, Instagram, Skype, and others.
In short, the investment lends Oculus a non-negligible amount of credibility, at least in Silicon Valley circles. Not to say that it lacked credibility before this. With investors like Cliff Bleszinski, John Carmack as Chief Technical Officer, and most importantly, praise from PC Gamer, it was already one of the most exciting companies in the gaming industry.
Of course, another $75 million couldn't hurt in solving the problems Oculus has to solve before it's ready for a mass market. We last reported on the device in October, when Oculus VR revealed it was getting closer to hitting 4K resolution and solving motion sickness problems.
Apparently Andreessen Horowitz decided to invest in the Oculus VR after Marc Andreessen himself and two other partners toured its headquarters in Irvine, California, where they saw a new prototype that made them into believers. Maybe they saw the same prototype Cliff Bleszinski saw just a couple of days ago.
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) December 11, 2013 December 11, 2013
Dawn of the Sniper – Zombie Sniper Challenge
The developers at Brutal Studio have brought a sniper challenge to Android tablets and smartphones that promises to keep players on their toes, Dawn of the Sniper .
. More than a simple point-and-shoot game, players will actually be responsible for the well-being and survival of uninfected humans running through dilapidated buildings in this post-apocalyptic setting, where zombies roam free and unhindered.
Known for their work in theseries, Brutal Studio isn’t straying too far from the sniping genre. Dawn of the Sniper will test the sniping skills of each player throughout several levels as they search for incoming zombies, while they try to protect as many survivors as possible. Players will need to shoot carefully as zombies run across the screen, or to prevent a struggle between a zombie and a fellow survivor. The survivor won’t make it without a well-placed shot through the zombie’s head, but there’s only so much time that they can hold out. Better performances in each level offer more rewards. Players can use these rewards to upgrade the sniper rifle, or to buy new weapons with different stats.
Dawn of the Sniper is currently available on Google Playfor Android devices, with a promised version for iOS devices in the near future. To learn more about this and future Brutal Studio projects, gamers can follow the team on Twitteror like them on Facebook.
Just Cause 3 Won't Launch With Multiplayer, But Don't Give Up Hope
When Just Cause 3 releases next year for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, it won’t come bundled with a multiplayer mode, but that doesn’t have to stop Avalanche Studios – or anyone else – from adding multiplayer to the game after the fact.
When Just Cause 3 releases next year for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, it won’t come bundled with a multiplayer mode, but that doesn’t have to stop Avalanche Studios – or anyone else – from adding multiplayer to the game after the fact. What are the chances that Just Cause 3will eventually receive a multiplayer mode similar to Just Cause 2? We spoke with the developers about the possibility of adding multiplayer in the future and representatives from two of the most likely channels to deliver this mode.
Just Cause 2 was a sprawling open-world experience filled with zany, over-the-top action and a liberal use of explosions.It was one of 2010’s surprise hits, but a few enterprising gamers from Australia thought that one thing would have made Avalanche Studios' solo experience even better: more players.
Originally from New Zealand, Cameron “Trix” Foote was working in Queensland, Australia when Just Cause 2 released. “Troy “Jax” Myers – my fellow co-creator – and I were playing around in the Just Cause 2 demo, and thought ‘Hey, wouldn't this game be awesome if you could play with your friends?’ The full version of the game came out a few days later and we all dove into the single-player campaign. At least, they did. I couldn't stop thinking about multiplayer, and about an hour or two into the campaign, I had begun reverse-engineering the game and started mapping out key game structures.”
Cameron and Myers thought it would be cool if they could get five or maybe even ten players playing at the same time, but after a year and several thousand hours of reverse engineering, the modders were able to open Just Cause’s single-player world up for hundreds of players. The duo released a video showcasingthe mod's potential in 2012, and the mod immediately captured the Internet attention.
Cameron and Myers also captured Avalanche’s attention, and the two were given approval to release their mod as an official Just Cause 2 DLC pack, and JC2-MP was officially released on Steam in late 2013.
“We have not been financially rewarded,” says Cameron. “Although Square-Enix did provide us with an agreement that essentially allows us to continue using the IP in the mod while allowing ad-revenue and donations to contribute to the various server costs we incur. Without their backing, we would not have been able to stay afloat without emptying our pockets. Their blessing gave us the legal foothold we needed to keep doing what we loved.”
A look at Just Cause 2's multiplayer mod
Considering the success of JC2-MP, one might think that Avalanche would make a multiplayer mode a priority for the release of Just Cause 3. Unfortunately, Avalanche’s official stance is that they are focusing on the single-player campaign at this time.
“The mod is absolutely fantastic,” says Avalanche CCO and Co-Founder Christofer Sundberg. “We owe those guys a lot. They have actually supported the game and helped it stay alive so many years after it was released. We don’t expect the fans to make the multiplayer for Just Cause 3, but at some point you have to make a choice on where your focus is. Our strength is the sandbox experience, and we want to deliver a great Just Cause 3 experience.”
Thankfully, that doesn’t discount the idea of releasing a patch or an update that would allow players to enjoy a multiplayer experience somewhere down the line. Rockstar did something similar last year for the release of Grand Theft Auto V. Sundberg isn't ruling out the possibility of an official Just Cause multiplayer experience in the future, saying, “Maybe sometime down the line, we’ll take Rico into the modern world of multiplaying.”
Interestingly, Just Cause’s publisher, Square Enix, is putting technology into place that might allow Avalanche to roll out a Just Cause Multiplayer mode after the game’s launch. Earlier this year, Square Enix announced a cloud-gaming initiative called Shinra Technologies. This cloud gaming service doesn’t currently have office space of its own in the States, but a few of the company’s key members have set up shop in a corner of Avalanche Studios' office.
Neither company would comment on the project that the two companies “might be” working on together, but Shinra Technologies’ senior vice president of business Jacob Navok did briefly talk with us about his vision for the future of cloud gaming.
“What we see in the near future are cloud games that are developed from the ground up as well as games that are in an existing pipeline that we will enhance,” says Navok. “For example, taking a game that doesn’t have multiplayer right now and easily giving it multiplayer is what we imagine for enhancements.”
When we asked Navok point-blankif Shinra Technologies was helping Avalanche work on a multiplayer expansion to an existing property, he merely commented, “We’re working on a possible future collaboration with Avalanche Studios.” The strength of the technology that Square is developing with Shinra is the ability to render out complex physics on their servers and then send video signals back out to multiple players, bypassing the need for intricate synchronization on the players' individual hardware. This technology is a perfect marriage for the systemic destruction found in the world of Just Cause 3, and when we asked Navok about this specific pairing for a potential multiplayer version of Just Cause 3 he responded with "I think it does make a lot of sense."
Unfortunately, the modding community is similarly elusive. When we asked Cameron Foote, the co-creator of JC2-MP multiplayer mod if he would be interested in adding a multiplayer mode to Just Cause 3 when it releases, he simply said, “We'll see what happens.”
So what does this mean for the future of Just Cause’s multiplayer? Should fans eagerly look forward to epic hundred-man shootouts on the island of Medici? We’ll have to wait a bit longer for an official announcement, but if we were going to bet on the existence of a Just Cause 3 multiplayer mode, it wouldn’t be a small amount.
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Cliff Bleszinski on the prospect of a new studio: "It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when and with who."
Back in October, developer/gaming rock star Cliff Bleszinski announced that he would be leaving Epic Games after 20 years .
. The question that immediately started circulating was, unsurprisingly, what's next for Cliffy B? In a recent interview with X-Playon G4, he made it clear that his days in game development are far from over.
"I had been working with them since I was 17 years old," he said of Epic. "It's time for a fresh start." On the subject of said fresh start, Bleszinski mentioned ""It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when and with who."
Bleszinski's time at Epic saw some of the PC's most well-known franchises, including Unreal, Unreal Tournament, and the Unreal Engine, which has driven everything from Mass Effect to BioShock. It's a tough act to follow, but Bleszinski thinks he has a bead on how to take his career forward. "I just want to create an environment where people can pan for gold..." he said when asked what his future studio might look like. "You kind of have to trust the process, and trust the people in that process."
via G4tv.com
Crossout – Post-Apocalyptic Vehicular Combat MMO
Gaijin Entertainment, the award-winning developer and publisher behind War Thunder , and the Targem Games development studio just announced a new team-based MMO called Crossout .
. The game is a vehicular combat game set in a Mad Max style post-apocalyptic world, with the versatility of allowing players to build vehicles to suit their play style.
“ Crossout is about customization, the freedom to construct the most destructive vehicles to wage war against your enemies,” said Anton Yudintsev, CEO of Gaijin Entertainment. Players will be able to earn, trade for, or purchase different parts and upgrades in order to design a fighting machine of their preference. With this in mind, no two vehicles should come out the same, as player creativity should allow for a wide range of combat-ready cars ranging from fast movers to heavily armored off-road trucks.
Crossout promises to provide thousands of possibilities, allowing players to alter the shape, armor, weapons, support systems, and cosmetic enhancements of vehicles. The weapons themselves range from powerful machine guns to rocket launchers, as well as close-range chainsaws and power drills. The game also features an advanced damage model, allowing the destruction of individual parts of a machine, which will then affect performance of the vehicle as a whole.
Crossout will make its debut at this year’s E3, and is currently being developed for PC. Interested gamers can register for early access starting today on the game’s official website. To learn more, gamers are encouraged to follow the team on Twitter, or like the game on Facebook.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - the new setting, sandbox gameplay, player choice and more
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The Big Grapple: Just Cause 3's Mission To Kickstart New York
This video feature was originally published on November 21st, 2014, but we wanted to resurface it with the impending release of Avalanche New York's Just Cause 3.
While Avalanche Studios co-founder Christofer Sundberg doesn't like to draw a distinction between the original studio in Stockholm and the new branch, the developers in Avalanche Studios New York are on a larger mission than to just make a fun game with Just Cause 3. Born and raised in the city, Avalanche New York's general manager David Grijns has always wanted to change New York City's reputation as being inhospitable to game development. So how does one studio hope to override a decades-long trend of little to no triple-A game development in America's largest and most iconic city?
Watch the video below to learn more about the history of Avalanche Studios New York, developing Just Cause 3, and their long-term play to revolutionize New York's reputation in the game industry.
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Cliff Bleszinski on what's next after Epic: "I would want to get back to the triple-A space eventually"
Veteran designer Cliff Bleszinski split ways with longtime employer Epic Games back in October, seeking a "fresh start" after 20 years.
with longtime employer Epic Games back in October, seeking a "fresh start" after 20 years. Though Bleszinski wants to keep making games, the finer details of his next move haven't appeared yet. In an interview with VentureBeat, Bleszinski didn't rule out a return to triple-A production, explaining any such effort would have a slower rate of ramp-up.
"I would want to get back to the triple-A space eventually, but the last thing I would want to do—and no offense meant to Curt Schilling [38 Studios] and John Romero [Ion Storm]—is to do what those guys did," he said. "'Let's throw 300 bodies at it! Sure, we'll just make it work!'"
Instead, Bleszinski would take a more cautionary approach to future projects, contracting small, indie-studio-style teams to prototype "defined goals and a number of assumptions that I thought would be cool as far as what kind of game I'd want to make." If everything checks out, the project would kick into triple-A mode. Think of it as a fast-forwarded version of a developer's evolution from humble beginnings to a successful, multi-franchise company.
"Even if I had a publisher tomorrow who said, 'Hey Cliff, here's $50 million dollars: go make your dream game,' I'd still only ramp up with a handful of people," Blezsinski stated.
Grand Class Melee 2 Fights for February 2nd Release
There’s something inexplicably appealing about skills trees and class trees and such.
There’s something inexplicably appealing about skills trees and class trees and such. Perhaps it’s the slow climb to more powerful abilities. Maybe it’s the excitement of building a character as desired. Grand Class Melee 2 , coming out soon on Steam Early Access, combines quick multiplayer brawling with satisfying RPG elements.
Grand Class Melee 2 throws four players into random, procedurally-generated settings. The top-down view grants a birds-eye perspective on the battlefield, giving an opportunity to see all players fighting it out. The free-for-all action resolves often in under a minute, with each combatant’s five hearts depleting faster under showers of fireballs and sword strikes. Each round is scored, but that’s not all. The interim of every round is a level-up for the heroes, which lets them decide on their advancement path. One can head further down the mage path, learning more advanced spells, or slowly evolve from a Squire to an Archangel.
The impressive class tree is rounded out by the ability to take on an older skill from a past form. This lets you mix and match in a small-but-strategic build. Gigatross Games, the developers, drive class balance closely using fan feedback as the work on Grand Class Melee 2 progresses. For now, there’s only local multiplayer, but a bevy of modes and content will slowly round out the game. Fans can expect online multiplayer, as well as a Survival mode to stand up to enemy hordes alongside a Practice mode, plus unlockables and achievements.
Grand Class Melee 2 launches as a Steam Early Access title on February 2nd, compatible with Windows. The game has already successfully passed through the Steam Greenlight process. If you can’t wait to get in the arena, you can already get the current Beta version of the game at this site, currently discounted to $4.99.
Activision registers blackops2.com, likely continuing Treyarch's series
Activision seems committed to a yearly Call of Duty, and with 2011's Modern Warfare 3 under its belt, it's time to start looking towards the future. While nothing has officially been revealed just yet, new information has it sounding more likely that we may see a revisit to the Call of Duty: Black Ops series in the near future, which makes sense, what with the game making over a billion dollars since
The Highs, Lows, And Future Of Just Cause's Avalanche Studios
When we visited New York City for the December cover story on Just Cause 3 , we were able to sit down with the co-founder of Avalanche Studios Christofer Sundberg.
, we were able to sit down with the co-founder of Avalanche Studios Christofer Sundberg. Flying over from the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Sundberg tries to visit the New York branch of the studio every month to keep up on the development of Just Cause 3 and make the trans-atlantic studio feel more unified. Primarily known for the Just Cause series, Avalanche Studios has also created games like the free-to-play TheHunter, the downloadable Renegade Ops, and the studio in Stockholm is currently working on Mad Max. I spoke with Sundberg about the difficulty of maintaining team morale during low points in their history, cancelled games from their past (including a rumored Iron Man game from 2012), and their interest level in working on an established Square Enix property like Final Fantasy.
Watch the video interview with the co-founder of Avalanche Studios below to learn the highs and lows of the studio's history and why their future might contain more self-published games.
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S.W.A.P is a first-person arena shooter without any guns
We've had a first-person shooter where your opponents are invisible , so why not a first-person shooter where you don't have a gun?
, so why not a first-person shooter where you don't have a gun? That's what S.W.A.P is, and as the name suggests it's all about swapping (though S.W.A.P actually stands for Subterfuge Weapons Assessment Program).
Two teams of four players are equipped with a projectile which, once shot at an opponent, will force a swap between those two players. Utilising traps and obstacles placed throughout the arenas, players need to force their opponents into fatal situations in order to claim a kill. At the moment the game supports one Capture the Flag-esque mode, as well as an in-engine level editor.
Like Screencheat, S.W.A.P's central mechanic is the kind which seems a bit questionable on paper. Basically, you really need to try it out to understand. Sydney-based studio Chaos Theory Games describes it as an 'Indirect First Person Shooter', and judging by the gameplay footage below it appears to have inherited the frantic, twitch-oriented pace of ye olde arena shooters like Unreal Tournament and Quake.
As a student project the game is completely free of charge (there are no pesky microtransactions) though Chaos Theory is using it to gauge interest in a more feature complete game utilising the mechanic. If a sizeable enough community gathers around the project then the studio will crowdfund a ground up redevelopment of the game in Unreal. If you like the free to download game, then you might as well show some support by signing this petition.
Grow Your Own Adventure With RPG Tycoon
Step One: Inherit a kingdom.
Step Two: Improve the kingdom through the employment of heroes.
Step Three: ???
Step Four: Profit.
Okay, that’s not quite howworks, but it’s close. Inspired by other tycoon-style games, such as the similarly named Roller Coaster Tycoon , this playful adventure from British developer Skatanic Studioscasts the player in the role of a sovereign. The kingdom in question is fairly young, and was previously led by an incompetent dolt who left the populace in despair, so the player must improve not only the physical appearance and layout of the nation’s capital city, but also the morale of its people.
The game has three difficulty settings, three options for the length of the adventure, and the opportunity to give the kingdom a custom name. The player runs the kingdom, but the people do the actual legwork. Heroes are recruited to complete quests, which bring both fame and fortune to the realm; the player determines the strategy the heroes will employ to accomplish their goals. Buildings are purchased, constructed, and upgraded to improve the appearance of the kingdom, and also to provide assorted benefits to the different heroes. As the clock ticks, events will come to pass and more quests will be unlocked.
Like all good monarchs, the player must be concerned with the happiness and well-being of their subjects. Upgrading buildings and succeeding in quests will boost morale; the questing heroes spread the word of the player’s power, bringing hope to the people and sometimes returning with useful findings. As the heroes grow stronger, they provide aid to the settlements throughout the kingdom, and drive out any evil presences found therein – this, naturally, also increases the happiness of the people. Making efficient use of the nation’s assorted resources will also draw outside adventurers to explore its landscapes, making the kingdom more and more famous and, with any luck, ultimately lead it to outshine all of its neighbors as the fairest in the land.
RPG Tycoon is currently available in Steam Early Access, after a Greenlight campaign which took just nine days to succeed. Available for PC and Mac, the Early Access version is priced at $6.99 USD; the developers hope to have the final version ready to launch near the end of 2015. Those who would rule are invited to sign up for an updates mailing list on the Skatanic Studios website; be sure to also keep an eye on their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Embracing Chaos: Far Cry 4's New Approach To Narrative
The team at Ubisoft Montreal is very proud of Far Cry 3 ( with good reason ), but the lead developers of Far Cry 4 are focused on improving this game's narrative.
), but the lead developers of Far Cry 4 are focused on improving this game's narrative. Far Cry 3 fell into controversy surrounding racial tropes and a significant disconnect between the player's experience and the motivations of protagonist Jason Brody. Mark Thompson is stepping up from the role of level-design director with Far Cry 3 to narrative director in Far Cry 4, leading the charge to better integrate the open-world experience with the game's storyline. While much of the team from the last game is in place, there is a new creative director and lead writer at the helm for the fourth entry and they are eager to correct any narrative missteps from Far Cry 3.
Watch the video interview below to learn more about the team's approach to creating a more relatable protagonist, safeguarding against any racial or cultural insensitivity, and whether Blood Dragon's warm reception helped shape the story of Far Cry 4.
Click on the banner below to enter our hub of exclusive content for Far Cry 4 that will be rolling out throughout the month.
Screencheat is a multiplayer shooter where each player is invisible
A multiplayer shooter where each player is invisible is definitely an idea, but is it a good one?
idea, but is it a good one? Well, we're about to find out: Screencheat is a two-to-four player multiplayer shooter which requires players to spy on each other via the increasingly outdated art of screencheating. Remember four-player Goldeneye on Nintendo 64? Well, Screencheat is like that, except in order to see where your enemies are you'll need to keep an eye on their screen.
Developed by Australian studio Samurai Punk at the 2014 Global Game Jam, you can sign up for Screencheat beta access right now. The game boasts eight weapons, five maps, six customisable game modes and full controller support. Check out the reveal trailer below.
The Rise And Future Of Far Cry
While the series has been around for ten years, 2012's Far Cry 3 caught a lot of people by surprise and roped in plenty of new fans.
While the series has been around for ten years, 2012's Far Cry 3 caught a lot of people by surprise and roped in plenty of new fans. While our cover story this month focuses on Far Cry 4, we wanted to speak with the developers about the bringing Far Cry back into the top tier of gaming releases. Executive producer Dan Hay and Far Cry 4's narrative director Mark Thompson were in the trenches together on the development of Far Cry 3 and helped the team turn it into one of the best gamesof the year. We spoke with them about the state of the Far Cry brand within Ubisoft and the conversations that helped steer the direction for Blood Dragon and the development of Far Cry 4.
Watch the video feature below to learn why they see themselves as the underdogs within Ubisoft and what they have in mind for the future of the Far Cry brand.
Click on the banner below to enter our hub of exclusive content for Far Cry 4 that will be rolling out throughout the month.
This story's header image is from Ubisoft's Far Cry Facebook page.
Layoffs hit Defiance developer Trion Worlds
A large number of staffers has been laid off from Defiance developer Trion Worlds .
. As reported by IGN , the number could be as high as 80% of the development staff, though Trion has called that number “exaggerated.”
Trion let go parts of the Rift development team in a previous round of layoffs in December. Regarding these layoffs, the company issued a statement reading, in part:
"With Defiance, we delivered a great game that more than one million gamers registered to play and continue to enjoy. As we progress from launch to ongoing development of the game, we are adjusting our staffing levels to deliver new content and improved features. RIFT, and our other titles in development, were unaffected by these changes.”
The team at the sci-fi MMO Defiance recently announced a series of DLC packs , and the TV show linked to the game was recently renewed for a second season.
What's New In Far Cry 4
With Far Cry 4, Ubisoft Montreal recruited a fresh creative director.
Alex Hutchinson had just wrapped up Assassin's Creed III, and his passion for creating systemic, player-driven narrative meshed well with the interests of the Far Cry development team. While there was a lot to love about the gameplay in Far Cry 3, the lead developers all had areas that they wanted to improve for the sequel. We spoke with Hutchinson about the debates behind including open-world co-op and what they've learned from games like Army of Two: 40th Day, Left 4 Dead, and Gears of War.
Watch the interview below to learn what they're changing from Far Cry 3 and what Hutchinson sees as the most difficult aspect of the game's development.
Click on the banner below to enter our content-filled hub for Far Cry 4.
Rift will be free-to-play in June
And strike another one off the rapidly diminishing list of surviving subscription MMOs.
And strike another one off the rapidly diminishing list of surviving subscription MMOs. If there was any sub-based game not called "EVE" or "World of Warcraft" that had a possible, maybe, oh-so-slim chance of surviving with a monthly payment model, I'd have argued for Rift. If nothing else, it had a history of providing generous new content to validate its regular toll. Alas, no, Trion have now announced that, as of June 12th, Rift will be entirely free-to-play.
Actually, scratch that - this is great news. The pretty excellentRift will be entirely free to play!
A subscriber model remains, albeit with subscribers renamed as "Patrons" - as is customary during a free-to-play transition. Patrons will be getting additional buffs, but crucially, the world won't punish free players. "All players will have total access to the entire world," writesRift creative director Bill Fischer. "Every dungeon, every raid, every Warfront, and every level. We won't be locking our content or advancement behind walls – our goal is to break down every barrier. We want more people playing together and more people having fun together."
While new players will receive less starting inventory and character slots, Trion promise that for previous owners of the game - even those who no longer subscribe - nothing will be removed.
June 12th will also bring the game's 2.3 update, titled Empyreal Assault, adding a new zone, world event, Chronicle and "Stronghold" challenges.
For more details, check out Rift's free-to-play page.
Save the World in Zxill: A Legend of Time
After finding a magical crystal whole exploring the forest, Zxill triggers an event that requires him to save his village in the ever-changing world.
is an adventure RPG with procedurally-generated worlds. Players must race against the clock to collect the crystals and help Zxill (pronounced “Zill”) save his world from destruction.
Exploring dungeons and collecting treasure is just the very start of Zxill’s tale. By performing an ancient ritual, players create new worlds and watch them expand. If players can’t keep pace everything happening during their adventure, then the world won’t expand. Random encounters and procedurally-generated maps keep the game constantly changing, with increasing difficulty.
The game is structured around random encounters and a combo-based battle system. For this battle system, ZX Digital highly recommends playing the game with either an Xbox 360 or Xbox One controller rather than just the mouse and keyboard. They’re also looking for feedback from players; the game is launching today in Early Access on Steam, and they’re hoping for some input before the final release.
To celebrate the early access launch, Zxill: A Legend of Time will be on sale on Steamfor 20% off the usual price of $6.99 USD for Windows PC. The price during early access and after full release will remain the same.
For more information on Zxill: A Legend of Time ’s early access period and final launch, be sure to follow ZX Digital on Twitter.
The New Gameplay Of Assassin's Creed Unity
While visiting Ubisoft Montreal for our September cover story on Assassin's Creed Unity and Rogue , the lead developers on the new-gen title Unity emphasized that they were reworking the core pillars of the franchise to go along with their full leap to the next generation.
, the lead developers on the new-gen title Unity emphasized that they were reworking the core pillars of the franchise to go along with their full leap to the next generation. We spoke with creative director Alex Amancio, lead game designer Alex Pedneault, and game designer Max Spielberg about exactly what has changed in the navigation, stealth, and combat gameplay for Assassin's Creed Unity. With new controls for climbing, a renewed emphasis on stealth and open mission design, and more deliberate and difficult combat, Ubisoft is promising that the next Assassin's Creed will feel different and fix common complaints about the gameplay of previous entries. The video also features several never-heard music tracks from Unity, so I hope you enjoy.
Watch the video below to see and learn more about the new gameplay of Assassin's Creed Unity.
To learn much more about Assassin's Creed Unity and Assassin's Creed Rogue, click on the banner below and stay tuned to hub of exclusive content.
Defiance to get five DLC expansions this year
Alright, yes—our Defiance review rated the MMO shooter as middling, bringing nothing spectacularly new to the table.
rated the MMO shooter as middling, bringing nothing spectacularly new to the table. But hey, maybe that's something for the DLC to patch up? Trion's just revealed they've planned five installments of DLC for release in Defiance's first year of existence, and content aside, the planned payment scheme has got an interesting twist.
Writing on the Defiance blog, executive producer Nathan Richardsson admits that the MMO's been likened to a B-movie and is "about as deep as a bag of chips but great fun." C'mon, I bought a one-kilogram bag of corn chips last year that went pretty deep. Anyway, that's why he's hoping the planned DLC will flesh things out a bit.
Each DLC will have a free component, a paid component, and then a store update. Basically, this means that everybody will be able to access the DLCs' content—but only paid players can benefit from extras, like DLC-specific loot or abilities. He offers up the first DLC, Enter the Castithan, as an example: all players will be able to access new maps and gameplay modes, but only the paid players will be able to play as the new Castithan race (which I'm hoping is a cat race, as seems fashionable in the MMO scene nowadays).
There's no word on when Enter the Castithan will be out, or even if that's its official name (Richardsson admits that he's waiting till "marketing comes up with a better name"), but it's an interesting route to take with DLC. In the meantime, a major update is on its way—it'll tie in with the television show, in addition to fixing bugs.
Mobile Roguelike RPG ‘Ananias’ Hits Steam Greenlight
Lead Programmer Santiago Zapata of Slashware Interactive announced that their mobile roguelike RPG Ananias began a Steam Greenlight campaign April 8.
began a Steam Greenlight campaign April 8. Currently, the game is downloadable as a free-to-play experience on both web-browsers and the Google Play store. PC, Mac, and Linux support will become available according to the Steam Greenlight page, pending a successful voting campaign.
Ananias is a dungeon crawler where players explore a vast complex of ruins filled with monstrous creatures and powerful artifacts. Similar to other roguelike experiences, gamers will encounter a newly arranged dungeon upon each playthrough. While six character classes are developed, only four are available for the free versions, the Alchemist, Arcane, Paladin, and Hunter. The remaining two characters, The Slayer and Barbarian, are only attainable through the Fellowship Edition available on the Google Play store for $2.99
40 different monsters with distinct abilities attempt to thwart players on their journey to the lowest level of the dungeon. Some may even be charmed by powerful magic, and can even unlock additional abilities as they follow gamers along on their quest.
Slashware Interactive has included several of the aspects they believe are key to a roguelike RPG experience, such as turn-based combat, random level generation, and long term item strategy. An online mode also enables competition between friends as they compete against each other in leaderboard statistics. Complex commands and movement have been designed to be streamlined and seamless, which the studio hopes decreases gameplay monotony.
Additional character class descriptions can be found on the official website, along with the free browser-based version of Ananias . Slashware Interactive hopes interested players will decide to support the Steam Greenlight campaign.
Mad Max interactive trailer offers three styles of carnage
Watch the above Mad Max trailer to be given a series of difficult choices about the particular brand of carnage you'd like to see unfold.
Watch the above Mad Max trailer to be given a series of difficult choices about the particular brand of carnage you'd like to see unfold. Not that the options are particularly clear. I mean, maybe it's just me, but I'm not sure what exactly it is that makes an act of car violence "heavy," rather than "loud." They all seem pretty loud to me.
Mad Max is out on September 1, and looks like an enjoyable time in heavy/loud/mad cars. You can find its system requirements right here.
Korean e-Sports Association proposes minimum salaries for pro gamers
The Korean e-Sports Association, Riot Games, and onGameNet have announced some big changes for the 2015 League of Legends Champions season.
Champions season. Most of them are structural: Shifting from tournament format to league format, establishing a parallel reserve league, and doing away with "sister teams" in favor of expanded rosters for league teams. But what's particularly interesting are measures intended to improve the welfare of Korean pro gamers, including the introduction of a minimum salary policy.
KeSPA wants to establish a "Minimum Salary Policy for Pro Players" for the 2015 season, according to an onGamers report, which will set salary standards "on par with other domestic professional sports to help pro players lead a stable professional career." Also proposed is a minimum one-year contract requirement for players on LoL Champions teams, although that won't become mandatory until the 2016 season.
Specific numbers aren't mentioned, but a follow-up Inven analysis, translated by onGamers, notes that the minimum salary for professional baseball players in Korea is roughly $27,000, while the minimum for pro soccer players is $24,000, and basketball players bottom out at $35,000. The site guessed, based on the audience differential between e-sports and conventional sports, that the minimum salary for pro gamers will come in at around $20,000.
The problem as it currently stands, according to League of Legends caster Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, is simply that pro gamers can make more money elsewhere. "There's a lot of money in the Korean LoL scene through various sponsorships, but not a lot of that was ending up in the players' hands. Traditionally Korea has a history of paying their entertainment and sports talent considerably lower than what comparable positions in other parts of the world make," he said. "Players finally got fed up with it, recognized the financial opportunities abroad and soon the top teams here began to hemorrhage players left and right. These new 'improvements' are partially designed to stop that from continuing."
According to the Inven report, "Riot Games is planning on financially supporting the eight teams that will be competing in the LoL Champions" league, but the extent of its financial commitment wasn't revealed.
Average Giants Episode 58 – Demon’s Revenge & Xenobloom
IGM Presents… The Average Giants!
IGM Presents… The Average Giants! A weekly webseries where we play indie games while chatting with their developers. Come watch (and “follow”) the show live on our hitbox channel every Monday night at 9:00pm EDT.
Our guests this week are some of our oldest friends; our first guests Trexrell and Yinyamina have brought back Celestial Tear: Demon’s Revenge for another update, and it has never looked so good before.
Our second guest is our oldest friend, Bob Saunders, who is the developer behind Approaching Infinity . He’s now launched his newest game, Xenobloom , an aquarium-style life simulator with one of the smoothest and best soundtracks we’ve had the pleasure of listening to.
Original Air Date: April 20, 2015
Mad Max footage shows 20 minutes of riding, scavenging, punching
I love a good desert.
I love a good desert. (Also a good dessert, which might be why I haven't dared weigh myself in years.) The best deserts feel vast, alien and lonely, and on that note I am a little worried by the seemingly constant presence of your mechanic chum in Mad Max. Avalanche's open world grab-bag is certainly looking nice though, with a lovely blue sky and sand that often actually looks sandy, rather than just brown.
Do you want 20 minutes of new in-game footage, smuggled by IGN out of Gamescom? Given that the game's out in just a few weeks (September 1st), perhaps you'd rather not be spoiled, but it might be a good idea to scan through it a bit, to see if it's the sort of thing you'll enjoy playing.
Blizzard to issue refunds to South Korean gamers affected by Diablo 3 server problems
A few weeks ago, South Korea's Fair Trade commission 'raided' Blizzard's headquarters in Seoul following complaints about the availability of Diablo 3 on launch night.
following complaints about the availability of Diablo 3 on launch night. Now, Blizzard are offering affected South Korean players a full refund - with a few conditions attached.
The announcement - which was originally posted on the Korean Battle.net blog, and subsequently translated by the Wall Street Journal- says that players up to level 40 can apply for refunds, and those still below level 20 can also return the game.
South Korean consumer law states that consumers are due a refund if they purchase a product that doesn't work through no fault of their own - and Diablo 3's troubled launch, where thousands of players were unable to connect to its overpopulated servers, fits that bill.
Blizzard have offered this refund to comply with the law in a particular part of the world, and as such players elsewhere shouldn't expect the same deal. It does, however, set an interesting precedent: wobbly launches for online games are hardly uncommon, and actually expected. Most companies anticipate a certain amount of instability early on, and rely on the fact that players will forgive and forget when things settle down. By acknowleging that Diablo 3's initial problems were severe enough to warrant a refund after the fact, they're making the point that launch-day unavailability isn't just par for the course: it's unacceptable.
This may just mean that Blizzard - and anyone following their example - are more cautious when releasing online games in regions where consumer law might catch them out like this. Hopefully, though, it'll encourage developers and publishers to take a less cavalier approach to game launches across the board.
Diablo 3's patch 1.0.3 went live this week, but not before a pair of Canadian gamers managed to beat the game on Hardcore Infernobefore it was nerfed.
Death Tractor: The Truth Behind GMO Corn Harvesting
The Nomsanto family are your average, run of the mill GMO farmers, with one tiny problem: their tractors.
The Nomsanto family are your average, run of the mill GMO farmers, with one tiny problem: their tractors. Fed up with their owners for modifying the corn crops, the tractors transform themselves into horrendous, murderous death machines, set on wiping out the Nomsantos and returning the crops to their natural state. This is the tale of Death Tractor , Exato Game Studios’ self-described “100% accurate to life corn harvesting simulation experience”.
The game began as a practice in-house jam, in the hopes of featuring on IGN’s Next Game Boss. While the original game took eight hours to construct in Unity, the latest version (developed with Unreal Ungine 4) boasts improved graphics, online multiplayer, multiple tractor types, and better quality AI.
Players will assume control of the Nomsanto family, who have been consumed by capitalist greed and are determined to let nothing get in the way of harvesting as much profit as possible. Cut, slash, and run through the fields before the tractors hunt you down and put an end to your profit-seeking ways. Death Tractor promises accurate corn harvesting as well as real-time growth patterns. Interested players can cast their votes for the game on Steam, where, if it is successfully greenlit, a 4-player online multiplayer feature will become accessible.
Death Tractor is scheduled for release on PC with an expected release price of $5.00 USD. For a taste of its corny gameplay, make sure to test out the demo from the official website. You can stay up to date with the latest Death Tractor developments through Twitterand Facebook.
Mad Max trailer shows "the madness that crawls inside", car explosions
Like most Mad Max trailers, this one can be summed up with by the phrase "something something personal demons, something something the power of friendship— exciting car explosions!" There is some brutish punching and lots of posturing with shotguns, but what will Mad Max be like to play in long stretches?
There is some brutish punching and lots of posturing with shotguns, but what will Mad Max be like to play in long stretches? How does vehicle combat progress? Will that huge desert get a bit boring to explore after a while? Find out more from our hands-on timewith the game, which suggests the vehicle combat has a plenty to offer in spite of the beige locale.
Mad Max is due out on September 1 in the US and September 4 in the EU.
Diablo 3 drops real-money auction house in South Korea to secure official classification
Diablo 3 has been causing controversy with South Korea's ratings board for ages.
Diablo 3 has been causing controversy with South Korea's ratings board for ages. Diablo 3's real money auction house has been the main source of the problem. The idea of playing for financial gain conflicted with South Korea's stern anti-gambling ethos, but the problem has now been resolved. Dualshockersnoticed the appearance of an official 18 rating for Diablo 3 on the South Korean game rating board site. Blizzard have had to make concessions to guarantee the rating, however.
It looks as though the cash auction house has been removed entirely from the South Korean build of Diablo 3. The Korea Timescarry a quote from the South Korean Games Rating Board stating that "the feature involving for-cash trades between users was not included in the presentation to the rating committee, and therefore it was not subjected to any scrutiny." The GRB spokesperson also warned that they would "open up re-rating examinations" if Blizzard introduce the cash auction house in a post-launch patch.
The success of StarCraft 2 in South Korea makes it a hugely important territory for Blizzard, and while it's unlikely that the long-running battle with South Korea's ratings board has delayed Diablo 3's worldwide release, it's a significant spat caused by Diablo 3's most intriguing and controversial feature. There's still no release date for Diablo 3, but we've played a lot of the beta, and it's looking very, very polished. Read all about it in our latest Diablo 3 preview.
Dev Links: Dreamscapes
“”It was a six-week project.
Gorgeous games abound in today’s Developer Links, including Monaco, ExtraSolar and Sir, You Are Being Hunted.
A Journey to Monaco: Andy Schatz Looks Back(Gamasutra)
“”It was a six-week project. It was going to be an Xbox Live Indie Games release.””
The March of Progress(Lazy 8 Studios)
“It’s been a while since we last said anything about Lazy 8’s next game, Extrasolar. You might think this means we stopped working on it but in actuality we’ve been working on Extrasolar almost exclusively since then.”
ModJam: After Action Report(Unknown Worlds)
“Last week, UWE held a ModJam. Five days, three teams, three games: All using the Spark Engine. You can read daily updates from the jam here – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Today, we sat down to think about what went wrong, what went right, and what is going to happen to each of these mods.”
The Video Game Kickstarter Report – Week of May 3(Zeboyd Games)
Mailbag: Frameworks, Canvas vs DOM, Native mobile(Lost Decade Games)
“We often get email from readers or podcast listeners asking to expand on certain topics. Many of these questions can be of value to all our readers so I’m going to start posting them Q&A style on the blog now and then. So, without further ado, on to this installment of LDG Mailbag!”
Joe Danger Touch gets updated!(Hello Games)
“Good news! Today we released an update to Joe Danger Touch!”
Gratuitous Solar Charts(Positech Games)
“Sooo..after roughly a year, here is a chart showing the solar output from my 2.1kwp ground mounted solar array outside my office window: (The left axis is kilowatt hours, so 1,000w for an hour, or one ‘unit’ of power in the UK).”
And Another Gameplay Video! Tea And Biscuits All Round, I Say(Big Robot)
Mad Max trailer features a road, extreme anger
Avalanche's new Mad Max game isn't based on the recent film.
Avalanche's new Mad Max game isn't based on the recent film. But if its road isn't furious, it is still pretty angry. Put another way: while we won't be battling to the sound of a chain-mounted BDSM guitarist on a rock-truck, we will still get to see plenty of vehicular violence and explosions. That seems to be what this new trailer is suggesting.
Unsurprisingly, it's a game about cars. Max has his Interceptor stolen at the beginning of the game, and with the help of a character called Chumbucket, must build a new wasteland-crossing death machine.
Interested? Mad Max is due out September 1. You can read Evan's hands-on impressions right here.
Real money auction house puts Diablo III's Korean release in jeopardy
Sure, the devil himself , Lord of Hell and probable pioneer of the Snuggie, is a pretty bad dude, but you know what's even worse?
, Lord of Hell and probable pioneer of the Snuggie, is a pretty bad dude, but you know what's even worse? Gambling. Or at least, that's how South Korea's Game Rating Board sees it. And so, the board's opted to delay making a definitive statement on Diablo III and its controversial real money auction house for a third time. Without a rating, even the baddest big red monster this side of the Kool-Aid man is out of luck. Obviously, this doesn't exactly bode well for the game's eventual release.
“Committee members are conflicted about what to do with Diablo III because of (its American developer) Blizzard's information on the game's 'auction house' feature," a board spokesman told The Korea Times, pointing specifically to the "cash out" feature that allows players to convert gold into cold, hard cash.
A new decision date is now set for January 6, but the spokesman once again cited the board's "reluctance" and noted that fans probably shouldn't get their hopes up for anything definitive.
Blizzard, meanwhile, remains committed to a simultaneous worldwide launch "in principle." When reached for comment, the Devil merely cackled maniacally, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Good, good. All according to plan."
Issue 33: Games from GDC13 and the IGF on Sale Now
In this issue, we cover all of the great indie games of the Game Developer’s Conference.
In this issue, we cover all of the great indie games of the Game Developer’s Conference. We also talk about the winners and our favorites from the Indie Games Festival. If that wasn’t enough, we have an in depth interview with 7 Grands Steps creator Keith Nemitz, a guide to IGF nominee Starseed Pilgrim, and an interview with Breakdance McFunkyPants. Finally, we have a slew of indie games reviewed inside this issue including Guacamelee!, Battleblock Theater, Shattered Haven, Evoland, Ms Splosion Man, Wake, and Lunnye Devitsy.
By Mike Gnadein Indie Game Magazine
In this issue, we cover all of the great indie games of the Game Developer’s Conference. We also talk about the winners and our favorites from the Indie Games Festival. If that wasn’t enough, we have an in depth interview with 7 Grands Steps creator Keith Nemitz, a guide to IGF nominee Starseed Pilgrim, and an interview with Breakdance McFunkyPants. Finally, we have a slew of indie games reviewed inside this issue including Guacamelee!,…
Mad Max trailer is full of cars, chaos and maggots
The new Mad Max trailer is one of those overview jobbies.
The new Mad Max trailer is one of those overview jobbies. You know, where some narrator rounds up the game's most pertinent points over footage of game stuff happening. It pretty much cancels out the need for me to write anything informative in this here word bit of the post. The trailer's got me covered.
Maybe we should catch up instead. We never just talk any more, you know? Here I am, fishing out news from the vast PC gaming ocean. But what about you? How's your day going? Got any plans for the weekend? Have any strong opinion about the fact that Miffed Maximus's car is called frequently referred to as a Magnum Opus? It's a bit weird, right?
Mad Max is due out in September.
North Korea deploys squad of MMO gold farmers to fund regime
Seoul police say that a group of 30 young hackers deployed an army of bots to amass huge amounts of in-game gold in popular Korean MMOs like Lineage.
The New York Timesreport that five people in South Korea have been arrested on suspicion of organising a gold farming operation under the instruction of a North Korean government agency.
Seoul police say that a group of 30 young hackers deployed an army of bots to amass huge amounts of in-game gold in popular Korean MMOs like Lineage. These funds were then sold on to gamers for real money. They made an estimated $6 million in two years. A portion of those profits were wired back to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
According to a senior officer at the Seoul International Crime Investigation Unit, the team of hackers “regularly contacted North Korean agents for close consultations.”
Seoul police say that the five who have been arrested worked for a secretive Communist Party agency dubbed "Office 39," an organisation dedicated to amassing foreign currency for the severely cash-strapped North Korean government. According to the New York Times, Office 39 gather funds through "drug trafficking, counterfeiting, arms sales and other illicit activities." Gold farming is the latest charge.
The team of hackers are all reportedly graduates of two of North Korea's top science universities, the state-owned Korea Computer Center in Pyongyang and the Korea Neungnado General Trading Company. Police say that they were required to send at least $500 a month back to the government in Pyongyang.
North Korea have denied the allegations, and accuse Seoul of inventing a conspiracy.
1Path – Tilt Control Puzzle Action on Mobile Devices
Pixeption Team and BulkyPix brings its minimalist graphics game, 1Path , to both iOS and Android devices.
Graphics may be minimal and simplistic, but gameplay is complex, and there are a 100 levels with various objectives to complete. Gamers will tilt their devices in the necessary directions to steer a tiny circle to various nodes, all so it can find its stolen friend.
In order to do so, the little circle will need to utilize power ups along the way – as well as his circular smarts – to overcome the obstacles that lie before him, be it lasers, bombs, or fog that hinders visions. It’s up to you guide the unlikely hero through his obstacles and reunite him with his stolen friend.
1Path is available now on both the App Store, and Google Play, for $1.99.
Mad Max trailer shows exploding cars, makes lofty claims
Look, I don't want to waste your time here: this is not the most revelatory game trailer you will ever see.
Look, I don't want to waste your time here: this is not the most revelatory game trailer you will ever see. Across the thirty seconds of Mad Maxfootage, we get cars, crashes, swirling cameras and big text saying things like "THIS IS MORE THAN A MACHINE," while doing little to back up that statement.
It does have a few things going for it. Firstly, it's a brief chance to catch a glimpse at Avalanche's next game—something I have high hopes for given their work with Just Cause 2. Secondly, if you play the video and then start tapping the number keys on your keyboard, the time-stamped sound effects make for a great industrial music soundboard.
Try it now! Here are some highlights to get you started:
Tap 2: A short-sharp metallic thud. Think Broken-era Nine Inch Nails. Alternate 5 and 6: An energetic refrain with a high-pitched percussive smash. Definitely Pitchshifter-esque. Tap 8: A full cacophonous assault of drones, scrapes and smacks. KMFDM would be proud.Mad Max is due out next year, which is probably why we're only getting a thirty-second segment of some cars.
Ranking The Entire Resident Evil Series
Resident Evil is one of the most important and successful series in all of video games.
Resident Evil is one of the most important and successful series in all of video games. From the first Resident Evil, which effectively launched the horror genre to the upcoming suspense-driven Resident Evil Revelations 2 ( check out our cover story reveal here), the series is filled with ups and downs as dramatic as its cheesy, fun story. The horror franchise has transcended different genres, from overhead Game Boy Advance games to a light gun adventure, offering a huge variety to its fans. I became a lifelong fan of the series at age 11 after a nerve-jangling play session with the 1996 original. Since then I've played and beaten practically every game the series has to offer. As part of our month-long celebration of the Resident Evil series, I've ranked all 20 main releases in the zombie-riddled franchise according to my own tastes.
20. Resident Evil Survivor (2000 - PlayStation)
Light gun shooters were having a heyday in the late '90s,
and classics like Time Crisis made their way into fans' homes on the
PlayStation. With Namco's Guncon peripheral readily available for consumers,
Capcom went to work on a light gun game based on the Resident Evil franchise.
While it sounds like a no-brainer combination, something terribly wrong happened
along the way. For whatever unholy reason, Capcom dropped light gun peripheral
support for the on-rails first-person shooter during development. Fans were
left to fend off the recycled Resident Evil monsters using the clunky d-pad or
DualShock controls instead.
19. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (2012 - PS3, 360,
PC)
Upon early inspection, Operation Raccoon City looked like an
awesome twist for the series. Playing as Umbrella operatives, fans would blast
zombies with a multitude of weapons via a modern third-person shooter formula.
The skilled agents could seamlessly switch to melee combat to thin out the
crowds. Sadly, the final package was a letdown thanks to developer SlantSix's
uninspired mission design and game-breaking bugs.
18. Resident Evil Gaiden (2001 - Game Boy Color)
What this portable spin-off isn't necessarily fun, but it is
original. Transposing the moody, tense world of Resident Evil to the Game Boy
Color couldn't have been an easy task (Capcom canceled a GBC port of the 1996
original, which is telling). Gaiden's non-canonical story features series Leon
S. Kennedy and Barry Burton aboard a zombie-infested cruise ship.
Unfortunately, the mismatched combat involves a timed button press minigame
that would more at home in an NES golf game. The "gunplay" is so rough that it's the reason Gaiden is the only game in the series I haven't beaten.
17. Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (2006 - Nintendo DS)
As a port of the original 1996 Resident Evil, Deadly Silence
succeeds. It even allows players to manually reload their weapons without
accessing the inventory screen. Unfortunately, the core new features involve
awkward new first-person knife fights and brainless puzzles using the DS's
touchscreen. Why would Jill or Chris want to ignore using all their hard-won
ammo to fight a pack of deadly Hunters using a blade with all the stopping
power of butter knife? Your guess is good as mine.
16. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries (2011 - 3DS)
The quality of the games covered on this list makes a
dramatic upswing starting with this 3DS title. Packaged as a standalone game
featuring Resident Evil 5's addictive Mercenaries mode, this early 3DS game's
combat felt impressively close to its larger console counterpart. The
stop-and-shoot gunplay fit the 3DS's single circle pad perfectly, though the
choppy enemy animations detracted from the experience. It also offered a cool first-person mode to give players a closer view of the battlefield.
15. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (2009 - Wii, PS3)
This follow-up to Umbrella Chronicles - the Wii's on-rails
Resident Evil anthology game - retells the stories of Resident Evil 2 and RE Code:
Veronica with some new story morsels. Stitching together the Wii remote
shooting gallery is a narrative that tells the backstory of Leon on Krauser
hinted at in RE 4. The dysfunctional duo's South American exploits are a good
time, but the game's annoying shaky cam-style gameplay makes it a worse
experience than its predecessor.
14. Resident Evil: Dead Aim (2003 - PS2)
Dead Aim is one of the series' most unique and
underappreciated titles. The game makes use of a light gun with a d-pad where a
real pistol's hammer would be. This allows players to run around an
undead-infested shift in third person, then switch to a first-person light gun
aiming mode. This unique control set up allowed players to dial in headshots
for the first time in the series. It wasn't a particularly noteworthy game
outside of the core gameplay, but watching a zombie fly back into a wall after
a messy headshot felt great.
13. Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2 (2004 - PS2)
This sequel to Resident Evil's foray into online gaming
delivered some excellent environments. Players could team up with random
strangers to fight through a T-virus infected zoo (complete with an undead
elephant) and a return to Resident Evil 2's underground Umbrella lab. It was a
fun return to four-player co-op for the series, but lacked the impact of the
original Outbreak. Sadly, the official servers were deactivated years ago, so
any planned vacations to Raccoon City will need to be solo trips.
12. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (2007 - Wii, PS3)
Around the same time Capcom released RE 4 for the Wii, the
company released an on-rails shooter that would retrace the series' past and
catch newcomers up on the story. The result was a simple but fun new
perspective on major games in the series like Resident Evil Zero, the GameCube
remake, and Resident Evil 3. Unlocking and upgrading guns added a necessary
layer of progression to the otherwise linear levels, and alternate perspectives
on important events like Wesker's take on the Mansion Incident. The two-player
local co-op helps push it over the edge as a solid game to play for any Wii
owner.
11. Resident Evil 6 (2012 - PS3, 360, PC)
One of the most polarizing entries in the entire series also
happens to be one I unabashedly enjoyed playing. I adore the franchise's darker,
more intense entries, but I also appreciate how over-the-top insane RE 6 is.
The gameplay is all over the place, from wonky stealth sequences to intense
motorcycle chases. These aren't the core reasons fans fell in love the series,
but playing through the chaos with a friend is a blast. Even better, Jake's
furious melee moves make him a worthy heir to Wesker's bloodline.
Up next: The cream of the Resident Evil crop...
StarCraft II around the globe - now with black blood!
Next week those of us living in the United States and the United Kingdom will finally get our hands on the retail version of StarCraft II.
Next week those of us living in the United States and the United Kingdom will finally get our hands on the retail version of StarCraft II. Included in this version will be cigars, blood and the occasional curse word, but folks from other countries won't be getting that same, authentic experience.
German StarCraft fans won't be treated to the same bloody explosions that those of us in the US will be, but rather a squeaky clean version that features no blood whatsoever. All in all, this seems pretty tame for a country that had no problem zerg rushing Poland (too soon?).
Further east, the South Koreans will be getting about the same treatment as Germany. Their version of the game will be devoid of smoking, profanity, and all of the blood will be colored black instead of the typical red you expect to spill out of an exploding hydralisk. Why all the changes? Well, according to a translated Korean e-sports article, the game was resubmitted to Korea's rating board after Blizzard failed to receive anything lower than a 'Mature' rating. The changes were made so that gamers as young as 12 could purchase the RTS phenomenon. Given that StarCraft sold about 4.5 million copies in South Korea alone, censorship seems like a good business decision.
As for everyone's favorite communist superpower – China isn't getting the game in the foreseeable future. While Blizzard has stated that they have plans to release StarCraft II to the Chinese, there's no set date. Given all the difficulty Blizzard has had releasing the Wrath of the Lich King expansion over there, I wouldn't expect it to happen anytime soon.
Most shocking of all is Japan, who won't be getting StarCraft II at all. Blizzard has stated that they've got no plans to release the game in the land of the rising sun, primarily because they just don't have a big PC gaming market. So, should you be a Japanese gamer looking to play one of the greatest RTS games of all time, you'll need to import it. Also, kudos for going out of your way to read our lovely website. Nice, isn't it?
DC Universe Online revenue up 700% after free-to-play switch
DC Universe Online is making more money by not charging its customers a monthly fee than it did when it was wringing $15/month from its dedicated fanbase. While this might sound absurd, it's actually becoming more and more common when it comes to MMOs. Just about every fledgling subscription-based MMO is scrambling to offer a functional free-to-play model, and the move has helped many of them stay
History Lessons: The Road From Assassin's Creed III To Far Cry 4
Back in early 2012, we spoke with creative director Alex Hutchinson about his hopes and plans for wrapping up Assassin's Creed III .
. Once the game shipped, Hutchinson moved away from the Assassin's Creed team within Ubisoft Montreal to be the creative director for Far Cry 4. While visiting the studio for our cover story on Far Cry 4, we spoke with Hutchinson about Assassin's Creed III in retrospect. He has a lot of thoughts on what he's espeicailly proud of, changes he'd like to make, and the bug-filled cost of such an ambitious project.
Watch the video interview below to hear Hutchinson's thoughts on the successes and failures of Assassin's Creed III, how he ended up working on Far Cry 4, and whether or not his future could involve another entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise.
Tired of living in the past? You can learn much more about Far Cry 4 by clicking on the banner below to enter our hub of exclusive content.
Maple Story invaded by aliens
Aliens have come to Maple Story and they're hellbent on destroying everything we hold dear in our little 2D hearts.
Aliens have come to Maple Story and they're hellbent on destroying everything we hold dear in our little 2D hearts. Alliance Unbound, the game's latest update, has caused supernatural earthquakes to demolish the landscape of New Leaf City. Players will have to band together and join the Alliance to find the cause and fight off the evil space invaders. The plan: harness their technology and use it against them. Didn't I see Will Smith do this once?
Thein Alliance Unbound is lengthy, although most of the new content is meant for players level 90+. The update introduces a new armor upgrade system that lets you attached magical gems (made with alien tech) to armor and weapons. The magical Ellin Forest, a high level area accessible via Helios Tower, has been revamped from the ground up with a bunch of new monsters, two new bosses, an updated layout, and over 30 new quests.
Alliance Unbound isn't all about high level content. Level 15+ players will be able to participate in new Alliance quests that give out some powerful new weapons to help you kill and level faster. Combined with the improved leveling speed (I easily hit 30 in under 1.5 hours), if you're desperate to kick some alien ass, you should be able to reach the new quest line in a few hours.
The game is free, so go to the websiteand prepare to throw the alien trash back into space where it belongs.
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Assassins Unite: Our Hands-On Impressions Of Assassin’s Creed Unity
For the first time, the Assassin's Creed series will
introduce seamless cooperative play into the mix with Assassin's Creed Unity.
For the first time, the Assassin's Creed series will
introduce seamless cooperative play into the mix with Assassin's Creed Unity.
This was one of the most requested features from fans and something Ubisoft was
just as passionate about including. During our recent cover story trip to
Ubisoft Montreal, Jeff Cork and I got to test out a co-op mission that played
off the Reign of Terror called "Heads Will Roll." What did we think? In a
candid conversation, we discuss stepping into Paris for the first time, trying
to work together, and what we think co-op will add to the experience.
Kim: We finally
got hands-on time with Assassin's Creed Unity, teaming up together to take on
one of the Brotherhood missions. Robespierre was out to kill a man named Paton
who learned some top-secret Templar information. How'd you feel about how they
introduced the mission to us? I felt it was pretty straight-forward and gave
you just enough information to get an idea of the objectives, but I wouldn't
expect these side stories to compete with the campaign. They definitely fall
into that side-quest category, which isn't a bad thing. When you're playing
anything co-op, you often want to get straight into the action and not watch
lengthy cutscenes.
Jeff: As Ubisoft
put it during the visit, the multiplayer missions are all about advancing the
story of the brotherhood, not Arno's story. I'm glad that they're making the
distinction; it would be kind of goofy to have a bunch of tag-alongs with you
wherever you went. The organizational structure of the Assassins supports this
kind of split, too. Arno is a member, so he does jobs for the group, but he's
also out for himself. After a quick introductory cutscene, the mission started.
We both started off on the rooftops, but we immediately split up. I think both
of us were excited to check out the new controls, objectives be damned. What
did you think?
Kim: Yeah, to be
fair, it was our first time in the game, so we just split up and ran rampant.
However, it was cool to be in the world with a friend. I like that they aren't
pushing players to tackle these missions in one specific way. It felt like we
could work together and work separately and it wasn't the end of the world.
Same goes for taking a more stealthy or combat-focused approach, although I
think we both learned quickly that if you want to just fight a large group of
guards, you better rethink that strategy. I like that the mission had three
different objectives. In ours, it was to locate a warden's key, find a secret
notebook, and then save Paton from getting executed. I liked how time started
to become a factor; the longer we took, the more people we couldn't save from
execution. Do you think these missions could be effective without being on a
headset to coordinate? I have a feeling more complex missions could get tough
without communication, especially if you want to go the stealth route.
Jeff: I don't
think anyone is going to enjoy any success attempting to play stealthily
without communicating with their teammates. A lot of multiplayer games
emphasize coordination, but you can always fall back on killing everyone if
things go south. If you intend on completing missions without being detected,
you are absolutely going to need to be in constant communication with your
fellow assassins. I don't see how it would be possible, otherwise. Of course,
we weren't going for a straight-up stealthy approach. That's great, because we
would have failed immediately.
Kim: That's what
I liked - that we always had a backup plan. I know when we were talking to the
developers, they discussed how you build up your Arno along the way by putting
skill points in three different areas: combat, stealth, and navigation. This
extends into co-op, so if you know you're not great at stealth, you can build
your character to take or deal more damage. Ubisoft says it's focusing on
replayability for co-op missions for replayability, and is accommodating a lot
of different playstyles and creative ways to complete the objectives. For me,
I've always been awful at stealth, but I've also noticed that I couldn't
entirely depend on brawn in Unity. I think we had one or two instances where we
both just lunged at a group of five guards like we were Superman and we both
died. At the very least, you can revive your teammate, but if you're too far
away, you might not reach them in time, so it forces you to stick together. We
fared better when we teamed up to fight off enemies. How'd you feel about the
difficulty?
Jeff: They talked
up the difficulty a lot during the first day of our visit, which made me
nervous for the hands-on portion. There are fewer things more nerve-wracking
than playing a game for the first time while surrounded by the people who made
it. I will say that the combat in the Assassin's Creed games has always clicked
with me, and while Unity deemphasizes the feeling of being a one-man wrecking
crew on the ground, you're not fragile, either. I missed the instant
counter-kill maneuver, but I didn't have any trouble getting back into the
rhythm of countering, parrying, and generally slicing through my opponents. I
may or may not have gotten a little too cocky (and dead) at the end, but that's
the way it goes. Ubisoft did buff up our characters a bit (or so they said), so
maybe I was just overpowered. It didn't feel like it, though. Before we started
our mission, they asked what special skills we'd like to bring into the game. I
picked the morph ability, which let me assume the identity of an NPC to
temporarily blend into the crowd. What did you end up grabbing? I didn't see
you transform into a Paul Revere look-alike, so I'm assuming you went a
different route.
Kim: I took
communal sense, which shares the entire map. There's also one that lets you
hold more consumables I believe. I'll be interested to see if these few perks
end up being important or not. Yours seemed beneficial. Communal sense made
navigating a bit easier, but I wouldn't say it was the greatest perk for our
mission. We weren't able to test it out entirely, but I'm really interested in
seeing how far the customization goes for co-op. Ubisoft showed a few of the
different outfits and some of them were really festive. I like the idea that if
I find a cool sword, you're going to see it, and maybe I can tell you where to
get it. Do you think you'll be playing a lot of the co-op? I like how
everything just carries over between single-player and multiplayer.
Jeff: I think
having both modes under the same roof, instead of as different modes in the
menu, is going to convince a lot of people to check it out - myself included. I
like having your progress carry over from one side to the other, too. Ubisoft
was clever by having everyone who plays experience the game as Arno; nobody is
stuck with a secondary character that doesn't matter in the world. The sneaky
part is that the other players appear to have different faces in your game, so
it's not like you're part of an army of clones. That helps keep the illusion of
this all being Arno's story intact, too. I wanted to touch on one thing real
quick: The biggest change that I noticed when we played was the way traversal
has been tweaked. In previous games, you could hold down a button and scamper
your way up buildings, trees, or nearly anything else that had a flat surface.
Getting down was trickier. Unless you were perched above a haystack for a leap
of faith, getting down was a clunky combination of falling and grabbing ledges;
jumping onto the ground and into a roll; or jumping onto the ground and
splatting. Now, the controls are mapped in such a way that you hold a button to
scale up, and another to work your way down safely. It's a subtle change with
big gameplay ramifications. If you're like me and you play these games in a
constant state of motion, it's going to save a lot of lives, too.
Kim: That's the
first thing I noticed, outside of the breathtaking atmosphere. Traversal is so
much fluid and natural, just that simple ability to smoothly scale down
buildings is such a nice touch. I don't feel confined to one path, like I can
drop at any moment and see what's going on down below. A lot of little touches
just make things nice, and interiors add something new. They have a few cool
new window assassination animations, and being able to actually go in buildings
adds some variety to strategy. I like that if you go into an interior, you're
not always sure what dangers you're walking into, either.
They also redesigned how guards detect you. I made use of
the last-known position system; guards detect where they last saw/heard you. It
makes moving away and hiding a lot easier than that triangle that would just
keep filling until you got a specific distance away. From everything I saw,
these enhancements are great, and the normal Assassin's Creed that fans know
and love is still intact. I just hope in the end the co-op missions all have
some variety and don't feel run-of-the-mill. I liked what we played of the one,
but I hope they're all designed with some cool differences to making teaming up
with friends even more fun.
Jeff: They said
that each of the missions will be split into three different phases, so there
will be variety baked in just as far as that goes. You mentioned the last
section, which tasked us with finding hidden Templars as an execution was
taking place. The longer we dawdled, the more people were killed. Presumably,
there's either a penalty for completely blowing it (or a reward for doing
well). The crowds were impressive, and wading through them added tension, since
they slowed you down. I will say that I was bummed that the crowds were
unaffected by my poison-gas bombs. I climbed onto a roof and chucked a few down
- cackling to myself in anticipation - but it just made people go into coughing
fits and they parted like they were in the midst of a bad fart. Oh well.
Kim: You would
try to figure out ways to torture the crowd. I love watching the crowds though.
They're not just people standing around. I remember seeing a couple get into an
argument. But I also like how the commoners in the crowd might also help you as
you get into a fight. It was cool to have unexpected back-up like that, so
maybe it's not a good idea to try to harm the crowd, Jeff. I do like that they
can be an asset or obstacle depending on the situation and how you play; it
adds a layer of unpredictability.
I'd say in all, our first stab at cooperative play was a
success. I'm excited to play more. Assassin's Creed has always felt like such a
singular experience; even when it had multiplayer, it felt like a separate
game. It's refreshing to finally be able to share a world as an assassin with
your friends, and I imagine this is only the beginning of what Ubisoft has
planned.
Assassin's Creed Unity launches on October 28, to learn more about it and Assassin's Creed Rogue, click on the banner below and stay tuned to hub of exclusive content.