Badass trailer highlights Lobo’s history
Lobo is quite possibly the most badass character in the DC universe. After all, who else can be the “Main Man”? He’s being released as a DLC character for Injustice: Gods Among Us.
Blizzard talks about making Diablo 3 for consoles: lots of work being put into it
When Blizzard had announced Diablo 3 for PS3 and PS4, everyone thought it’d just be a dumb console port. But that doesn’t seem to be the case; in fact, the studio is apparently putting a lot of thought and work into the game.
Blizzard’s Matthew Burger told OPM that the studio didn’t want to “emulate a PC game on the console,” adding that you won’t be able to get the PC experience by simply plugging in a USB keyboard and mouse. This is because they are putting in a “lot of work into how we laid out the abilities and the camera. It wouldn’t feel right.”
Burger then went on to explain how the game’s complex inventory management system is being streamlined to suit console users’ needs. They are also dividing it into body parts as opposed to the grid you can find in the PC version.
He also discussed the inclusion of the evade button and what it means for console players: “it helped solve some of the differences between PC and console.” Apparently, PC players can simply click anywhere on the map and simply go there as opposed to the console version where you have to move manually.
A lot more is discussed about transferring the game over to the PlayStation consoles. It’s an interesting read if you’re into this game.
McGee making new Alice and Oz games; Alice to be Kickstarted, not hack-and-slash as expected
Beloved Alice is coming back once more! American McGee, the developer behind Alice and its interesting sequel, has revealed that Spicy Horse, his studio, has been working on a new entry in the series as well as a new game based on The Wizard of Oz.
The Facebook page for Alice: Otherlands reveals the game, noting that it’s going to be funded through a crowdfunding campaign run on Kickstarter. They’ve revealed potential backer rewards and have launched a competition looking for the best Alice cosplayer. There’s a UI mockup as well, and it seems the game won’t be a hack-and-slash title but something else entirely.
As for the Oz title, the studio simply noted that “it’s already in the works.” However, Kelly Heckman, community manager at the company, noted that it’s not related to the ill-fated 2004 game that was in development at Atari.
So, what does this all mean for Alice? The first was excellent, and so was the sequel. However, the direction McGee is taking her in doesn’t seem very good. I’d love to see another action game similar in vein to Devil May Cry or God of War. The concept does sound interesting, however, especially in how Alice will be traveling in the minds of various prominent figures of Victorian London. Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, and Jules Verne are listed as probables on their Facebook page. Let’s see how this turns out, though I hope it’s as awesome as the first one.
BioWare learned lessons from Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect 3, despite being critically acclaimed and liked by gamers, faced a severe backlash due to its ending. There was a lot of debate regarding the ending, but BioWare had eventually kneeled to the fans by releasing extended versions of the game’s three endings. This was an industry first, and it’s still seen as an intrusion into artistic license by many.
Keeping all this in mind, BioWare learned a lot of lessons, and they’re going to heed them for their future titles. Casey Hudson, the game’s executive producer, noted how they had “underestimated how attached people [had] become to the characters.” He adds that the excellent Citadel DLC was born out of the desire to respect this love.
“We’d never imagined that as we ended the trilogy, all people would want to do was spend more time with the characters, sort of bathing in the afterglow—getting closure and just having some time to live in the universe that they fought to save,” he said. “This, and many other learnings, will be built into our future games.”
This sentiment is echoed by producer Mike Gamble, who commented that fans’ feelings about the characters were “just as strong as [BioWare’s]”.
As it stands right now, BioWare has only hinted that the next installment in the series is in the works. The company has recently been gauging interest in various aspects like timeline and multiplayer, so it remains to be seen what the future holds for us.
Awesome: Valve experimenting with sweat and eye tracking
Motion control or virtual reality—where does the future lie? As it stands, Valve is experimenting with other technologies, including biometrics. Speaking at the NeuroGaming Conference and Expo last week, experimental psychology Mark Ambinder revealed that the studio is testing sweat and eye tracking in their games.
Sweat tracking is being used to figure out how excited players are in a game. Ambinder noted that they’re plugging the data in to Left 4 Dead 2 to provide more information to its AI director. He also added that the studio ran an experiment where players had to shoot 100 enemies. If they grew nervous or excited, the game’s speed would be adjusted, making it harder or easier.
As for eye-tracking, Ambinder noted that they’ve made a version of Portal 2 that could make use of eyes for movement since we can move them much faster than we move hands. Apparently, it worked well, though they still have to work on separating aiming from movement.
He further added that biofeedback can also take in other factors such as heart rate, facial expression, brain waves, body temperature, pupil dilation, and other such features to help improve matchmaking and spectacting. More importantly, Valve may potentially use all this during playtesting to further improve their future games.
The last bit sounds great to me. When you think about it, if Valve can get consistent results on whether a section of a game is boring or exciting, they can tailor it further to exploit its potential. This can be a breakthrough in game design or even gameplay if the technology becomes cheap and user friendly enough. It’s a very exciting time for gamers.
Gatsby video game offers commentary on the American Dream
The Great Gatsby was an immaculate commentary on the American Dream. If that’s true, then Slate’s The Great Gatsby: The Video Game continues this as a commentary on the nihilistic nature of videogame narratives. Or something academic-sounding like that.
In short, this game is an interesting take on this quote that typifies the American Dream in a rather succinct manner:
Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning——
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Bethesda possibly teasing new Wolfenstein
Bethesda has been posting teaser images for their next project, and everyone’s betting money that it is a new Wolfenstein game. All images are posted below.
The collage shows three images, one with the hastag 1960 below. People are speculating that it’s the long rumored Wolfenstein game, which is reportedly in development at Swedish studio Machine Games. The studio was formed by members of Starbreeze, the studio behind excellent games such as The Darkness and Chronicles of Riddick.
This has been confirmed indirectly by Bethesda themselves, who noted that “this morning’s tease is not related to anything @BGS_Devs is working on.”
The game is rumored to make use of idTech5 game engine. There hasn’t been a new Wolfenstein game since 2009. The last entry was average at best, and was made by Raven Software, id Software, and some other studios.
Hotline Miami sequel being teased with mysterious code
Hotline Miami is undoubtedly one of the best games I’ve ever played. It’s short, fun, and chaotic in just the right amounts, making it a truly unforgettable experience. Devolver Digital, the developer, now seems to be getting in the groove for a sequel it seems. They’ve just posted a mysterious code in the game’s official Twitter account.
The code reads: LSSRUTB UYO SEEL LNLS ERED LEH. There’s a busy Reddit thread that’s trying to solve the code. Some people think it’s an anagram while others believe it’s a cipher. It hasn’t been decoded as of yet, and Facebook and Twitter users are trying to figure it out as well.
Personally, I think someone bashed someone’s face all over the keyboard. You know, because that’s something I’d love to do in Hotline Miami.
The original is available to play on PC and Mac; it’s also due for release on PS3 and PS Vita this spring.
Ecco the Dolphin creator talks about Kickstarter failure
Ecco the Dolphin was an interesting game, but it doesn’t have a large fanbase as one would expect it to have. That may explain why its spiritual successor, The Big Blue, bombed on Kickstarter. Ed Annunziata, the game’s creator, recently sat down with Eurogamer to discuss his crowd funding failure and the project in greater detail.
Annunziata noted that despite the game selling millions of copies, he couldn’t get anyone in Sega to take him seriously, which was one of the reasons why making a sequel was so difficult. Despite his failure on Kickstarter, Annunziata suggested that he might have done things differently now if he could. “The right way to do it is to… just shut up and don’t explain anything—just show it,” he said.
“If I was a time traveler, what I would do is take The Big Blue from the future, bring it back and have a 15-second video where I introduce myself and say ‘hey take a look at this’ and then just show it,” he added. “And then it would get funded.”
Those are brave words, but I don’t think that’s how business truly works. He acknowledges that, too, saying that he could have made a better pitch.
“I did a lousy job, my message was lousy, my rewards were lousy,” he said. Despite all this, he’s not discouraged at all. He hopes to make the game one day, “baby steps” and all.
EA and Disney sign exclusive deal for Star Wars games
With the upcoming release of Star Wars Episode VII, EA and Disney have signed a multi-year deal to publish Star Wars games made by DICE, BioWare, and Visceral Games. The agreement covers all “major platforms”. However, Disney still retains the rights to make social and casual games for mobile devices, tablets, and the web.
This is both exciting and horrifying at the same time. Imagine the possibilities of a Frostbite 3-powered game set in the famous universe. Imagine BioWare’s narrative and technical skills in a Star Wars game again. Imagine Visceral making a hack-and-slash or Dead Space-esque game set in this universe. The possibilities are, quite interestingly, endless. What’s horrifying is the fact that EA might put draconian DRM—Simcity, anyone?—in these games. How about endless waves of DLC?
Honestly, I’m excited at the prospect of more Star Wars games. The great thing is that all these studios are great at what they do—making good games. Excellent graphics, engaging gameplay, and good narratives are all that I can hope for at this point. I just hope EA doesn’t screw it up with their underhanded tactics.
LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy is similarly excited, noting that the company chose the publisher which could “consistently deliver great Star Wars games for years to come.” That’s for console platforms though; casual and social titles will be made by Disney Interactive itself.
No specific games were announced, though we can expect some announcements soon.
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