#palworld isn’t part of that

[goldensunset]

i don’t think palworld’s success is proof that people are disillusioned with the quality of modern pokémon games i think it would have been incredibly popular even if the general consensus on stuff like sv was overwhelmingly positive. because people who are drawn to that kind of thing are simply drawn to that kind of thing. they like creatures but they like more complex gameplay than what standard pokémon has always been. if anything it proves that a solid chunk of pokémon complainers could be made a lot happier by moving on from the franchise because the comfort and nostalgia won’t do it for them anymore. or at least they should have been trying more stuff in addition to pokémon in the first place

[feliciadraws]

Just…what the fricc is even up with Palworld, there’s a part of my brain thinking that this game isn’t even real like it looks like some April Fools joke or an uber-cursed GTA mod smh

[mlarayoukai]

Parody isn’t legally protected in Japan. See: episode 1 of Osomatsu-San getting pulled from streaming and not being included in the Blu-ray due to the sheer amount of series they parodied with the VAs and all it took was for 1 of the companies to not be cool with it.

Palworld can't even claim parody because they stole assets. It's the wackos on the fandom wiki trying to cope by saying it's parody. I know how strict the copyright laws are in Japan (for example you can see a lot of commission artists saying they won't take fanart commissions because of this). I should say that I obviously think this absurd on Japan's part, I don't think copyright laws should be this strict. But when you steal assets it's a losing battle

[cometthestaar]

Friendly notice that Palworld should NOT be given the same praise and treatment that Baldur’s Gate 3 and Lethal Company have received for revolutionizing the gaming industry by sticking it to the rich triple A companies.

Palworld’s developers have been proven to not be afraid to use Generative AI in their previous works so it can very easily be assumed that they used these tools in Palworld as well. I’m not a defender of Game Freak for their recent lack of effort with certain aspects of recent Pokemon games, but I refuse to support any company using generative AI.

Game Freak and Nintendo are billion dollar companies and Pokemon is one of if not the most profitable franchise in the entire world. Palworld does NOT scare them and if they find out the game uses generative AI and very clearly copies Pokemon designs (there are several comparison images online showing this) it will get sued to oblivion and taken down just like anything else Game Freak and Nintendo deem infringement.

This isn’t like when Bethesda tried to sue Larian Studios, there is a legitimate case here and until I see evidence that Palworld does not, in fact, have generative AI as a part of its development, I will not be supporting it. Support artists, not machines. Support game developers that support artists and the creation of art, not game devs using a theft tool to try and stick it to a billion dollar corporation.

[jcmarchi]

Xbox President Addresses Bethesda Studio Closures, Says It's About Keeping Business Healthy Long-Term

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/xbox-president-addresses-bethesda-studio-closures-says-its-about-keeping-business-healthy-long-term/

Xbox President Addresses Bethesda Studio Closures, Says It's About Keeping Business Healthy Long-Term

Earlier this week, Xbox closed four Bethesda studios, including Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, the team behind last year’s Hi-Fi Rush. While each of the four studios affected, which also included Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog Games and Bethesda support studio Roundhouse Games, released a statement about the closures, Xbox remained silent. 

However, four days later, Bloomberg’s Dina Bass interviewed Xbox president Sarah Bond and asked her about the Bethesda closures, to which Bond cited a desire to keep the Xbox business healthy in the long term, even through hard transition periods. 

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Here’s what Bond said: 

“It’s always extraordinarily hard when you have to make decisions like that. I’ll go back to what I was saying about the industry, and when we look at those fundamental trends, we feel a deep responsibility to ensure that the games we make, the devices we build, the services that we offer are there through moments, even when the industry isn’t growing and when you’re through a time of transition. And the news we announced earlier this week is an outcome of that and our commitment to make sure that the business is healthy for the long term. 

“With that said, our commitment to having our own studios and working with partners to have games large and small – we’re a platform where you can play [Grand Theft Auto], but you can also play Palworld, or you can play Call of Duty or you can play Pentiment, that doesn’t change. And frankly, our commitment to Bethesda and the role that it plays is a part of Xbox and everything we do. 

“It’s actually been pretty fantastic. I don’t know if you’ve gotten a chance to check it out. The Fallout TV show was on Amazon, and it’s been great to see people fall in love with that universe but also what it’s done for the games themselves, and people going back and exploring everything inside of that. There are some other great things that are coming from our studios later this year. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – I was a big Indy fan growing up – so you should check that out. But really right now, for us and our teams, our focus is on the people impacted and doing everything that we can do to help them through this hard transition.”

Bass then asked Bond specifically about the closure of Tango Gameworks after Hi-Fi Rush, which by Xbox’s own admitted metrics, was a big success. Bond’s answer here was less straightforward – you can read it below in full: 

“One of the things I really love about the games industry is it’s a creative art form, and it means that the situation and what successes for each game and studio is also really unique. There’s no one-size-fits-all to it for us. And so we look at each studio, each game team, and we look at a whole variety of factors when we’re faced with making decisions and trade-offs like that. But it all comes back to our long-term commitment to the games we create, the devices we build, the services, and ensuring we’re setting ourselves up to be able to deliver on those promises.”

While it’s great that Bond addressed these closures at Xbox, it still lacks the clarity you’d expect from one of the biggest companies in the games industry. Neither Microsoft nor Xbox, including Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, has yet to address the layoffs and closures in an official capacity beyond this.

For more, read about how Redfall was reportedly set to receive a big offline play update this month before Xbox shut down Arkane Austin, and then read about how Xbox is reportedly considering bringing Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II to PlayStation 5. After that, check out this story about how more job cuts at Xbox are reportedly on the way, and then read about how the company is debating putting Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass alongside a price hike. 

What do you think of Bond’s answers? Let us know in the comments below!

[44gamez]

With hits like Palworld, open-world survival games are having a moment

The primary large online game hit of 2024 was Palworld, a recreation all people thought can be “Pokémon with weapons” however turned out to be an open-world crafting recreation the place you seize monsters — referred to as “Buddies” — and put them to work in your base, creating assets and tending to numerous areas. Individuals got here for Pokémon and stayed for the gameplay, to the tune of 19 million gamers reached throughout its preliminary January launch interval. Not too lengthy after that, we acquired Enshrouded, an open-world survival crafting recreation now in Steam Early Entry that places gamers in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world and duties them with operating round gathering assets and constructing out a base. Then, there was the gothic Nightingale, adopted by driving sim Pacific Drive. There are much more to return, too, with Lightyear Frontier, Outcast - A New Starting, Dune: Awakening (sure, that Dune), and one based mostly within the Terminator universe, to call just a few. The “Open World Survival Craft” recreation (as Steam labels it) isn’t the latest online game style on the block. Whereas they arrive in distinct flavors, video games like The Lengthy Darkish, Rust, and Conan Exiles have been preserving gamers occupied for years. Nonetheless, it’s trying like 2024 could be the yr the style hits a brand new excessive. With the shortage of blockbuster video games being launched and many individuals on the lookout for a change of tempo from the standard catalog of multiplayer dwell service or single-player linear experiences, open-world survival crafting video games may present the reply. There are numerous distinctive takes and ranging levels of issue on this area, however the thought is at all times that you simply accumulate assets within the recreation’s world and use them to maintain your self alive, make weapons and different devices, construct a base, or simply let your creativity fly. Most significantly, the participant must imagine that they will do nearly something. That freedom will differ on a game-by-game foundation, however guaranteeing that the participant has a point of it's key to preserving them taking part in for dozens — perhaps even a whole lot — of hours. Survival and crafting video games have made a superb pairing for years now, whether or not it’s in practically infinite sandboxes, like Minecraft, or one thing extra structured, like Don’t Starve. Nonetheless, there was a definite second just lately that appeared to reignite the keenness for these sorts of video games — each for the gamers and builders. Three of the individuals I interviewed for this text introduced up Valheim, a Viking-inspired open-world sandbox from developer Iron Gate, launched in Steam Early Entry in February 2021. Over its first month, it bought over 5 million copies and peaked at over 500,000 concurrent gamers, due to its sturdy crafting; seemingly limitless, procedurally generated open world; deep lore; and enjoyable multiplayer capabilities. Regardless of being three years into early entry, on the time of this writing, it’s nonetheless hitting 20,000 concurrent gamers.

Picture: Iron Gate Studio/Espresso Stain Publishing through Polygon Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous indies made by small groups exploded in reputation, and Valheim was simply the newest to affix Amongst Us and Phasmophobia. With numerous video games getting delayed as a result of transition to working from dwelling, and many individuals being caught indoors, something that might add selection to digital socialization was welcome. As a substitute of simply hopping on a Zoom name, you possibly can log right into a recreation like Valheim and discover a public or non-public server with pals. And since it’s principally an off-the-cuff, nonlinear expertise, you possibly can do nearly no matter you wished. If you wish to discover, you'll be able to; if you wish to simply give attention to constructing the world’s tallest tower, go for it. Extra importantly, Valheim did away with numerous the standard boundaries to entry, like hunger, thirst, or shock fight. Survival video games are about utilizing numerous techniques collectively to maintain your character alive, and whereas individuals who’ve been taking part in for years are used to them, it’s powerful for newer gamers to be taught the fundamentals, particularly in the event that they boot up a recreation that doesn’t give a lot in the way in which of a tutorial, like The Lengthy Darkish (except you attempt its narrative mode). Whereas not one of the interviewed builders had been straight impressed by Valheim, its success proved that what they had been engaged on could possibly be profitable and had an viewers. “We began in 2019, so fairly some time in the past, however got here out, I feel, someplace mid-development. And we had been positively shocked as a result of we had an analogous route,” Antony Christoulakis, inventive director on Enshrouded at Eager Video games, mentioned. “It validated the overall strategy we took to survival, like being slightly extra pleasant on, like, you don’t die when you don’t eat. As a result of when you simply need to construct your base, you don’t need to be bothered with these sorts of mechanics on a regular basis.” “If individuals play Palworld for the Pokémon angle, perhaps they discovered they get pleasure from another video games as a style itself” Since Valheim, there was all kinds of those sorts of video games getting launched, particularly into early entry. Some lean into the standard mechanics of the survival style, with issues like complicated well being and wellness administration that mimic the real-world survival expertise. However numerous this most up-to-date slate cleans up the extra intricate and hectic gameplay to give attention to exploration, crafting, and typically co-op. These video games additionally present new twists on the style. There’s the stereotype of you waking up within the woods with no garments, a backpack, and a stick, which then results in you punching timber for some time. They are usually both in fantasy or post-apocalyptic settings, and perhaps there are zombies or different gamers who get in your manner, forcing you to lose all of your assets and begin from scratch. A few of these newer video games have these traits, however they’re both toned down or are turned on their head. Nightingale is an open-world survival recreation, but it surely makes use of “realms” — totally different worlds that gamers can unlock with random traits — as a substitute of the basic open atmosphere to get gamers exploring. Pacific Drive, an open-world crafting and driving sim, additionally eschews most of the basic mechanics, the large one being how little it's good to care about your character. Whilst you have a well being bar, you spend most of your time crafting elements to improve your rundown station wagon, which can in flip make it harder so that you can take injury and may also help you get by the eerie Olympic Exclusion Zone the place the sport takes place. Externalizing all of your efforts onto your automotive not solely supplies you with one thing new to care for, but in addition creates a way of companionship, including an emotional connection that tends to be lacking in video games solely centered on techniques. There are additionally a bunch of quality-of-life touches, like the way you don’t want assets straight in your backpack to craft one thing on the workbench or how your base is already principally constructed out within the type of a high-tech automotive storage. Director Seth Rosen, who additionally spent years engaged on Don’t Starve, mentioned a part of what tempted him to work on Pacific Drive was making an attempt one thing new within the style. “I don’t like survival or crafting video games, they’re actually not my jam. So due to that, in Pacific Drive, it was actually, actually necessary to me that we pursue as a lot as we humanly presumably may of this form of quality-of-life, ease-of-use stuff that almost all survival video games don’t trouble with,” Rosen mentioned. “I wished to make it as clean a crafting and survival expertise as potential.”

Picture: Pocketpair Palworld was an enormous early 2024 hit for comparable causes. Nonetheless, that reputation began with a advertising and marketing marketing campaign that highlighted its similarities with different creature-collecting video games like Pokémon (for higher or worse) relatively than specializing in survival and crafting parts. Then, individuals realized it was recreation, in accordance with Simon Carless, founding father of GameDiscoverCo, a agency that analyzes Steam and console gross sales knowledge. Whereas the tutorial may stand to be extra sturdy, when you get previous that, the sport loop is straightforward to know. “Palworld’s success is right down to the developer being genuinely good at making survival craft-style video games,” Carless mentioned in an e-mail to Polygon. “I believe it launched some individuals to this style who hadn’t performed it a lot earlier than, and the gameplay loop was on level and well-constructed.” “If individuals play Palworld for the Pokémon angle, perhaps they discovered they get pleasure from another video games as a style itself, like on the mechanics aspect of issues,” Christoulakis echoed. That isn’t to say any of those video games are simple (except you’re speaking about Lego Fortnite, the final word simple survival recreation), however they will work as introductions to the style. Enshrouded, now in early entry, is one other nice possibility if you need an on-ramp to open-world survival crafting, due to the way it makes use of acquainted tropes, like waking up with no abilities or reminiscence, however walks you thru a tutorial the place you then go and begin punching timber. Nevertheless it additionally has a surprisingly easy-to-use settlement constructing system the place all of the items snap into place with one another. As you unlock extra recipes, the sport affords numerous particular items for constructing simply the way in which you need to, like blocks of assorted sizes. This has led to some actually astounding player-built constructions that may rival every other recreation with constructing mechanics, and it doesn’t require numerous data or a whole lot of hours of play. “I feel survival crafting video games are sort of essentially the most literal expression of I as a participant” These video games have rather a lot in frequent past how they ease off a few of the survival style’s harshest mechanics. I beforehand famous that Valheim featured a co-op mode that gave gamers a brand new expertise through the pandemic, however many of the aforementioned video games (minus Pacific Drive) have a multiplayer mode that enables individuals to share recreation experiences and work to finish duties collectively. There’s additionally flexibility to what you are able to do; as an illustration, some can go off exploring whereas others keep on the bottom. Nightingale is constructed with multiplayer as a basis because it began as an MMO, and the builders encourage individuals to go to realms on different servers and share theirs with pals. (Nightingale was controversially online-only when it launched. Inflexion Video games has since introduced it will work on an offline mode for solo gamers.) Relatedly, an enormous part of what makes the style so interesting is freedom. Open-world video games particularly have various levels of participant freedom and potential interactions, and open-world survival crafting video games’ give attention to techniques offers gamers much more selections. They will give attention to constructing fortresses in Enshrouded as a substitute of doing story quests; crafting particular automotive upgrades in Pacific Drive as a substitute of exploring new areas; constructing out a base as a substitute of discovering new Buddies in Palworld. Every has a nonlinear narrative (or, within the case of one thing like Minecraft, no narrative in any respect), so gamers aren’t on a time restrict. “Whereas there are narrative features to Nightingale it’s not a linear narrative expertise. You don’t begin after which we let you know the place to go. You'll be able to select to work together with NPCs, you'll be able to select to disregard them. You’re free to do no matter you want,” Inflexion Video games artwork director Neil Thompson mentioned. “That form of freedom to work together with the world that’s there and the power because of that to role-play your individual tales inside that world — that to me is the facility of the gaming medium.” The style can lean into interactivity not simply by letting gamers do no matter they need, but in addition by giving them a number of issues to do. There’s a motive why Steam calls it the Open World Survival Craft style and why there isn’t one other established identify: It comprises at the least three subgenres, together with most of the related mechanics. There’s crafting, base constructing, exploration, fight, survival, and typically ideas like driving. If performed efficiently, the participant gained’t be overwhelmed by the sheer variety of duties as a result of they’ll all work collectively to create a satisfying loop that encourages you to maintain taking part in. Read the full article

[lawodcom]

Palworld is an exciting multiplayer gam... https://www.lawod.com/how-to-join-a-dedicated-palworld-server/ #gaming #game #videogame #pcgame #xbox #playstation #nintendo #steam #lawod

[curlybraceactual]

God I love Palworld, probably ironically but also unironically.  It’s so blatantly obvious in it’s intentions.

In style it looks like a cross between Pokemon and like, the movie version of Monster Hunter?  Due to the presence of guns, anyway, if there were none I’d probably say regular Monster Hunter but unfortunately the movie version supposedly has guns.  It’s also really bad.  In practice Palworld feels like what a young teenager thinks would ‘improve’ current Pokemon; By adding guns and allowing you to shoot Pokemon and/or kidnap them for money.  Unfortunately I don’t know if you can skin them for pelts or harvest them for material, again like Monster Hunter.  It’d be great if you could.

There’s also an insane amount of humour involved with the fact that you can make them MAKE GUNS.  While I haven’t looked at the monster designs thoroughly enough I think a good majority of them don’t have thumbs, and I feel like having thumbs would be an important part of making guns.  Also, why guns?  Going back to my ‘teenager’ analogy, it feels slightly off putting shooting magical animals that shoot lightning or the ability to control grass/leaves.  While you can probably make them fight, shooting them with real actual bullets feels wrong, but that’s probably the point.

Effectively I believe Palworld is a startlingly bleak ‘parody’ of Pokemon, at least I want to believe it’s a parody or at least a subversion of Pokemon.  Palworld cannot just be a entry in the expansive ‘Mons’ genre of games, it HAS to be a parody.  The lead creator is an ex-employee of Nintendo, for starters, so there’s that connection.

In Palworld, you’re a human in a world populated by monsters called... ‘Pals’.  You legitimately could not give a more boring and non-marketable name than ‘pals’.  However I believe that’s the point, in Palworld the monsters are mere tools to assist the player in whatever they desire, be it food, a building constructed, units to fight other players with, or money.  Regarding my second point, I feel the point of Pals being tools is exemplified with that, with Palworld’s steam page referencing ‘building a pyramid’.  You know, a pyramid, like the ones in Egypt?  The ones that took hundreds of slaves to build?

Although it might’ve been obvious when the stream page notes you can force them to build weapons for you in payment for food, Pals are your SLAVES, they are at your beck and call for any and all means.  That’s why they’re called Pals and not something catchier or friendly sound.  Pokemon at least have the in-universe dignity of being called Pokemon or Pocket Monsters, Pals only get to be called Pals.  A friend, a buddy, but nothing more and nothing less.  They don’t even have the ability to be called ‘Monsters’, unlike Pokemon.  The presence of guns exemplifies the point of them being slaves underneath humans, because no matter what they could have, no power they could have could defeat a bullet.

Unless there are like, ‘legendaries’, which could probably defeat a bullet in sheer power.  But those are gods.  Have you ever tried to shoot god?

So that’s my essay on Palworld.  It looks dumb, it might not be very good, this essay probably isn’t very well written, but I’m very excited to see it when it comes out.  If I remember it existing, anyway.  I hope there’s a gun monster that shoots like, lightning bolts or something. EDIT PT 1: To people reblogging this and not reading, here’s a tl;dr: I’m totally in support of this game, it’s a delightful parody of Pokemon that’s probably also very extremely a scam.  We’ll have to see. EDIT PT 2: I forgot to mention my opinion on the monsters: They’re really boring?  Like I make up Fakemon more interesting and distinct than these fuckers, like... it’s not HARD to make a Pokemon design without simply copy pasting.  I’m gonna have to review them all I bet and give ‘em my two cents.