#well not bioware but the whole gaming industry will cry about it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

atishanabelas · 5 years

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IF YOU ARE A WELL-OFF COMPANY WHY CANT YOU FIX SIMPLE ERRORS?????

THIS IS A RANT. ABOUT VIDEO GAMES. DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO JUST SEE MY RAMBLING.

So, there is a big thing I want to get off my chest. Mainly... how the video game industry is starting to pander to investors and care about money more than the games. Like... Bethesda. Oh, everyone knows the whole Fallout 76 fiasco and stuff, but also...when did it become okay for a company to release unfinished products and just leave it like that? You know, until modders (AKA, people who actually CARE about the product and not just the money) come and fix them up for free. Like...Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim all have unofficial patches which everyone who modders agree is like, the NUMBER ONE essential mod to get for all those games. Like, I get that you can release a game and not have it perfectly squeaky clean of all bugs. But Bethesda NEVER implemented more bug fixes in patches. OH NO, SIR, we can only PATCH THE GAME to add more PAID content! NO BUG FIXES HERE DUDE! JUST MORE THINGS TO BUY!!! Don’t get me wrong. I love Elder Scrolls. I love Fallout (albeit I have not finished any of them to total completion). But this shit is frankly insulting at this point. They expect fans to just... forgive them? Be okay with it? Just be like "But it's BETHESDA?!?" And Bioware's new game, Anthem. There's shit about that too. Like how it's bricking PS4 systems apparently (not fact checked so feel free to say I'm wrong)? HOW DO YOU MISS THAT BEFORE PUTTING IT ON SHELVES???? Oh right, because EA (the BIG MONEY BACKER) pressured them to release early. Great, now I'm worried Bioware is gonna fall under (which I'd HATE because I love Dragon Age and am still hoping for more Mass Effect). And really, I think the biggest issue is that video games got popular. Yes, you heard right. They got too popular. Now, you may be wondering how that has to do with anything. Or you may have pieced it together yourself. But yeah, video games got popular enough that companies started caring more about the money it could bring. Older video game fans commonly cry about how "mainstream video games are getting" and how they're "easy" and "hold your hand." Honestly, they have a point. YES, video games HAVE been getting more mainstream. YES, video games HAVE become more streamlined (simple or easy, as a hardcore RPGer would say). The reason? C'mon, say it with me! "The more people video games can reach, the more money those corporate pigs can make!" And that's it. That's the tea.

#rant #videogames #bethesda #bioware #EA #imsalty

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xb-squaredx · 4 years

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Gaming in 2019: A Look Back

2018 was a quieter year for gaming. With new consoles on the horizon, Sony and Microsoft were in a transitional period, and while Nintendo hit the ground running with the Switch in 2017, aside from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at the end of the year, they seemed to stumble a bit. By stark contrast, 2019 has been absolutely bonkers, with tons of quality titles and bigger announcements littered throughout. With 2019 now at its end and the end of a whole decade upon us, let’s take a look back at the world of gaming over the past year, and take in the highs and lows.

BACK TO BACK HITS

In going over all the releases this year, I was surprised at the sheer number of quality titles spread across 2019. New games release all the time, but 2019 in particular seemed hell-bent on keeping customer wallets empty with release after release. January kicked things off with a bang; Capcom graced us with the remake of Resident Evil 2, a gorgeous, terrifying reimaging of the survival-horror classic and it seems 2020 will follow suit with a remake of Resident Evil 3. Speaking of threes, Kingdom Hearts III released and…while many fans seemed happy with it, the hype surrounding it was nowhere near as high as I had always imagined it would be. Of course, the fact that this is the twelfth installment might have something to do with that. But hey, it finally happened and that counts for something. I suppose the same could also be said for the long-awaited and shadily-funded Shenmue III. It doesn’t seem like it made a huge splash; the general consensus is that while the gaming industry grew in-between the releases of Shenmue II and III the Shenmue series itself largely ignored those advancements. A game that, much like Duke Nukem Forever, would have likely fared better had it released in a timelier manner. All this talk of threes and somehow Half-Life 3 remains in development hell…but at least we’re getting a VR game, right? R-Right?

As the year went on, we saw a lot of high-quality action games like Devil May Cry 5, Astral Chain and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and for some reason racing games made a bit of a comeback with Team Sonic Racing and a remake of the Crash Bandicoot racers all in one package. Fighting games in particular had a lot of titles throwing their hats into the ring. From the bloody Mortal Kombat 11 to the titillating Dead or Alive 6¸SNK also introduced a new generation to the Samurai Shodown series with a new installment, and Smash Ultimate slowly unveiled a stellar lineup of new characters as DLC throughout the year. Remakes seemed particularly in-vogue this year, from the previously-mentioned Resident Evil 2, to Final Fantasy VIII, Medievil, and Link’s Awakening. I feel that “games as a service” are starting to decline in popularity, however. With Anthem, Bioware’s last hope, bombing, EA had a bright spot in Apex Legends showing up out of nowhere and momentarily drawing players away from the likes of Fortnite, though Epic’s smash hit remains to be truly toppled. With the monetization of these games still under fire, I think the public is starting to wise up about the often-predatory practices put in place that come at the detriments of the games they’re attached to. While these titles continue to be popular, we’re well past the saturation point, and players have a limit to how many of these games they can fit into their lives. They’re called “forever games” but nothing lasts forever…

There was a steady flow of releases throughout the year, but for whatever reason, September was the month where it seemed everything was coming out, with a few notable titles in late October or November. No real droughts to speak of, really. While Hideo Kojima’s crazy new game, Norman Reedus and his Radical Fetus er…I mean Death Stranding caught a lot of people’s eye, and the Pokémon franchise continued to make bank, some smaller indie titles managed to stand out from the pack. Really unique titles like Hypnospace Outlaw, GRIS and Untitled Goose Game come to mind, as was the unexpected collaboration of Crypt of the Necrodancer and the Legend of Zelda franchise with Cadence of Hyrule. Not to mention a certain slipper-wearing skeleton got into Smash Ultimate as a costume. At this point, indie developers can stand shoulder to shoulder with the bigger dogs in a lot of ways. I mean, when indie-darling Disco Elysium can walk away from The Game Awards with four wins (including beating out Reedus’ Fetus), that shows how far we’ve come as an industry in many ways. Every time I stop to remember some of the more interesting games that came out this year, a lot of them come from smaller developers. Seeing how the bigger companies have embraced indie developers, when they were once shunned, is also pretty great, even if relations aren’t always perfect.

THE BIG THREE (and google)

Focusing on the larger companies for a bit, we’ll start with Microsoft…who were a mixed bag this year. On the one hand, Gears 5 seemed to be alright, and on the other hand, Crackdown 3 came and went without so much as a whimper. Then came the long-awaited reveal of their new console at The Game Awards, of all places. Introduced as the “Xbox Series X,” Microsoft seems set on trying to confuse as many people as possible when it comes to discussing their different consoles. Or maybe they’re rebooting the brand to just be Xbox. Whatever helps them sleep at night.

(Expect confused parents at launch!)

Sony largely got through this year without too many issues. They continue to underwhelm with their “State of Play” direct announcements, but in general they have several upcoming exclusive games to look forward to. Buying Insomniac and securing them as first-party is also a pretty big move on the whole, and they ended the year with Death Stranding finally seeing release. Nintendo, meanwhile, provided a bunch of unique game experiences throughout the year. A unique action game in Astral Chain, ghost-hunting fun in Luigi’s Mansion 3 and they even found a way to make exercise fun with Ring Fit Adventure! With fairly solid Directs throughout the year, they’re a lot more consistent in quality and general hype this year in comparison to last, when it seems like all hopes were riding on Smash, which has gone on to be the best-selling fighting game ever, by the way…

I suppose I should pay lip service to Google’s own attempts to break into the gaming scene with their release of the Stadia, a streaming platform that they swear is the future of gaming. It’s billed as a “work-in-progress,” and initial reaction to it seems mixed. Some find delay so bad that games can be unplayable, and there’s been several shenanigans at launch, but maybe by this time next year all the kinks will be worked out and it’ll be hunky dory! Or maybe Google will abandon it like so many other products. I’d be surprised if it’s still relevant by this time next year.

DELAYS, DOWNERS AND DEXIT

2019 had its highs, but a fair share of lows too. Delays seemed to also be common this year. Right as 2019 was starting, Nintendo had a fairly transparent announcement that the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4 was restarting development from scratch. Animal Crossing: New Horizons and DOOM: Eternal also ended up delayed into March of next year, though interestingly enough fans seem to take such announcements much better than in years past. Reactions to delays are often one of disappointment, but understanding, especially if it’s all for the game’s benefit. It’s perhaps for this reason that the DLC roadmap for Mortal Kombat 11 saw a massive delay in character release from the usual schedule, following reports of crunch at Netherrealm Studios. After 2018 shone a light on the often hazardous work environments of game development, it does seem that delays are being used as a way to take some pressure off of developers. It’s too early to say that things are genuinely improving across the board, but it’s a start at least. Not all stories have happy endings though, and the continued fate of Telltale Games remains in a strange limbo. With Telltale Games bought by LCG Entertainment, it appears at least SOME of the former employees have a new home and even a few of their games can live on, however at present it’s not quite known if things are going to be any better for the employees there, so let’s cross out fingers. As 2019 neared its end, it’s also unfortunate that Alpha Dream closed its doors, after years of producing some well-regard RPGS starring everyone’s favorite plumber. The industry can be pretty volatile, even when you often work with the bigger dogs.

For me personally though, the biggest downer this year was the fallout surrounding the Pokémon fandom. Following an announcement that the newest games in the series, Sword and Shield, wouldn’t be compatible with all of the veteran Pokémon, the fandom seemed to split in half, one side overly critical of the games and their apparent declining quality, while the other side seemed overly defensive, casting aside legitimate concerns. It got really ugly, and even though I enjoyed Sword and Shield for what they were, the discourse left a sour taste in my mouth. 2018 made a big show of how rough some game development studios have it, facing tons of pressure for sticking to deadlines and facing crunch periods that leave people battered and broken. With Game Freak having to kowtow to the demands of higher-ups at Nintendo and The Pokémon Company to hit that release window, delays weren’t an option for them, and they even cited various game development problems in interviews before the game launched. But people want their product and they don’t seem to care how they get it. If there’s something I hope the Pokémon fanbase can learn following all this, is that there’s a big difference between voicing concerns over something you love, and harassing people that are trying to make the best of a bad situation. Looking at the bigger picture, Sword and Shield’s “Dexit” debacle isn’t the biggest gaming controversy of the year, but it was the one that affected me the most and it kind of puts a damper on ending the year strong.

TO THE FUTURE!

I’d rather NOT end on a downer though, so looking towards the future, if 2019 is any indication, there’s a lot to be excited for in 2020. For starters, we already know of a lot of hotly anticipated games set to hit next year, most of which seem to be targeting March…g-great! From the long-awaited Final Fantasy VII remake (or…part of it anyway), to Cyberpunk 2077, we also have what are set to be the swansongs of the PS4, The Last of Us Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima. At year’s end, the PS5 and uh…Xbox…will hit store shelves and while there’s still a LOT we don’t know about either machine, be it specs, features or launch lineup, a new console launch is always cause for celebration. New possibilities! Classics in the making! A clean slate! 2020 will likely be a year to remember just on that alone.

The world of gaming is one I’m always invested in; there’s a lot of grimy stuff I’m not partial to, but plenty of good sprinkled throughout. Every passing year I see many new, innovative games come out of small, passionate developers who want to keep pushing the medium forward. Certain larger companies have also started on a “redemption arc” of sorts, with Capcom leading the charge. The “Big Three” routinely have new and exciting things to show, and we’re at a point where the video game industry is fully ingrained into popular culture. eSports continue to grow and expand, we’re getting rare video game films that don’t suck like the Detective Pikachu movie, and looking back on the last decade, things have come a long way. The greater focus on online continues to allow us to connect and play with others, and the last few years have had more conversations surrounding Cross-Play between the major competitors. If Microsoft and Nintendo can work together, who knows what can be accomplished! We’ve seen the medium mature, or at least attempt to mature, and variety has become more important than ever. After years of dull, grey shooters littering the market, games are allowed to be colorful again! We see studios pushing for diversity, for games with greater focus on mature themes, and while we still have a long way to go in a lot of areas, progress is being made. If Kratos, the God of War, can learn to chill out and become a (moderately) better person, then there’s hope for the medium yet, and with a new console generation and new decade waiting for us, 2019 lets us end on a relatively high note.

Here’s to a great 2020.

-B

#xb-squaredx #blog #2019 #gaming #ps4 #xbox one #nintendo switch #sekiro #devil may cry 5 #smash ultimate #crackdown 3 #anthem #indies #video games #google stad

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officialotakudome · 7 years

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New Post has been published on Otaku Dome | The Latest News In Anime, Manga, Gaming, And More

New Post has been published on http://otakudome.com/editors-choice-lets-grade-this-years-e3-who-won-e3-2017-awards/

Editor's Choice: Let's Grade This Year's E3, Who Won?; E3 2017 Awards

This year’s E3 has come and gone, with all the game trailers, gameplay reveals, and cosplay. This year’s E3 featuring a number of predictable outcomes, but also quite a few surprises. While some conferences were rather hit or miss, the big three did fairly amazing jobs, and even Ubisoft had some heavy hitters for its presser. However, there can only be one winner and one runner-up for our opinion of who won E3.

E3 Show Conference Grades:

EA Conference: EA’s show was met with mostly underwhelming sports titles and some mostly known fan favorites such as Star Wars: Battlefront II (gameplay) & Battlefield 1 (DLC), however it did shine when it showcased two “EA Originals”; Anthem and A Way Out. The former of which is being developed by staple EA Studio Bioware, while the latter is being handle Josef Fares who developed the critically acclaimed Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Need for Speed: Payback also had an impressive showing as well. Grade Score: 69/100

Microsoft Conference: It was all about games for Microsoft at this year’s E3, with a no nonsense presentation focusing on titles coming to Xbox One and the now officially named Xbox One X (formerly Project Scorpio). One would think the Xbox One X would have taken up most of the conference’s time, but other than a few bits of mention to the console and the final portion of it, a majority of the conference was focused on software, which is exactly what Xbox One owners have been asking for. Microsoft also surprised with an announcement of 22 console exclusives coming to the system within the year or so. Admittedly they didn’t do too much to give reasons why people should buy the Xbox One X over the much cheaper 4K enabled Xbox One S. Grade Score: 85/100.

Bethesda Conference: This one is a little odd, Bethesda didn’t really showcase any new games beyond sequels to The Evil Within & their recent Wolfenstein reboot (no Doom 2 unfortunately), most of it was kind of just a showcase of already released IP, VR incarnations of those, and the aforementioned sequels, however Bethesda did surprise with a promising looking stand alone expansion for Dishonored II entitled “Death of the Outsider”, and The Evil Within 2 looks even more terrifying than the original game. Grade Score: 73/100

Devolver Digital “Conference”: Speaking of odd, Devolver Digital had some kind of pre-recorded. performance piece show that was an extremely brutal parody of the industry and E3 itself (no wonder there’s heat between the two), it was hilarious, witty, and brilliantly done for its fifteen minute run. No new games were shown (as promised), but we did get new trailers for already known upcoming Devolver Digital games, I highly recommend seeing this if you haven’t yet. Grade Score: 90/100.

Ubisoft Conference: Now Ubisoft’s conference was an excellent surprise, several new IP were shown off including Skull & Bones, a Pirate themed multiplayer title based on the critically acclaimed Naval battle sequences from Assassin’s Creed: IV Blackflag. This is a title that was long asked for and Ubisoft surprisingly delivered the goods. Alongside Skull & Bones, Ubisoft announced The Crew 2 (which looks extremely promising), a new Toys to Life title; Starlink: Battle for Atlas, a mobile spinoff of its South Park IP; South Park: Phone Destroyer, Steep DLC focused on the Olympics, Just Dance 2018, an Egyptian themed Assassin’s Creed title, and the amazing looking Mario & Rabbids crossover; Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (aka E3 show stealer), Ubisoft also shocked by re-introducing a new seemingly M rated Beyond Good & Evil 2. Grade Score: 94/100

Sony Conference: Much like Microsoft, Sony was all about software, so much so that once the pre-show ended there was zero presenters present, with Sony opting instead to have the trailers and gameplay footage to do the talking. Sony showed off some E3 returns such as God of War & Marvel’s Spider-Man (providing release windows for both), as well as surprising with announcements of a complete remake for Shadow of the Colossus, Monster Hunter’s return to Playstation, and impressive looking PSVR title Moss. Grade Score: 83/100.

Nintendo Conference/Tree House: Perhaps the most impressive show of E3 was Nintendo’s with announcement after announcement, and surprise after surprise the Switch & 3DS manufacturer went all in this year. Announcements included TWO Metroid titles; Samus Returns on 3DS & the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4 on Switch, Switch debuts for Kirby & Yoshi next year, a core Pokemon RPG coming for Switch within the next year or so, the aforementioned Ubisoft team up for Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (yes I’m including this here), Nintendo also showed off some great gameplay for Breath of the Wild DLC & Super Mario Odyssey. Grade Score: 97/100.

E3 2017 Awards:

Below you can find our show awards for this year’s E3:

Best Sequel/Prequel/Continuation:

Winners: Life is Strange: Before the Storm, The Evil Within 2

Runner-Ups: Metro: Exodus, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Far Cry 5

Honorable Mentions: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Ori and the Will of the Wisp, Beyond Good & Evil 2

Biggest Confirmed Rumor:

Winner: Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

Runner-Ups: Dual Metroid Prime 4 & Samus Returns announcements, The Evil Within 2

Honorable Mentions: Pokemon on Nintendo Switch, Shadow of the Colossus Remake, Forza Motorsport 7, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Dragon Ball FighterZ

Best Surprise Announcement/Reveal:

Winner: Backwards Comp for OG Xbox on Xbox One & Xbox One X

Runner-Ups: Beyond Good & Evil 2 Re-Introduction, South Park: Phone Destroyer

Honorable Mentions: A Way Out, 22 console exclusives coming to Xbox One/Xbox One X, Super Lucky’s Tale, Moss

Best VR Reveal:

Winner: Moss

Runner-Ups: Doom VFR, The Impatient

Honorable Mentions: Skyrim VR, Monster of the Deep (FFXV VR), Fallout 4 VR

Best New IP (First Game Entry):

Winner: Skull & Bones

Runner-Ups: A Way Out, Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Honorable Mentions: Detroit: Become Human, Days Gone, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Anthem

Best Indie Showcase:

Winner: Cuphead

Runner-Ups: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, The Last Night, Undertale

Honorable Mentions: Deep Rock Galactic, Super Lucky’s Tale

Best Gameplay:

Co-Winners: Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, Super Mario Odyssey, Marvel’s Spider-Man

Runner-Ups: Dragon Ball FighterZ, Cuphead, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Honorable Mentions: Metro: Exodus, Metroid: Samus Returns, South Park: Fractured but Whole

Best Handheld/Mobile Showcase:

Winner: Metroid: Samus Returns

Runner-Ups: South Park: Phone Destroyer, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

Honorable Mentions: Ever Oasis, Mario+Luigi 3DS Remake, King’s Knight: Wrath of the Dark Dragon

Best Overall Presentation:

Winner: Super Mario Odyssey

Runner-Up: Marvel’s Spider-Man

Honorable Mentions: The Crew 2, Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Yoshi Switch

Most Wanted (2017):

Co-Winners: Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Super Mario Odyssey, Cuphead, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War

Runner-Ups: Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, Metroid: Samus Returns, Sonic Forces/Mania

Honorable Mentions: Crackdown 3, Forza Motorsport 7, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Destiny 2, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, The Evil Within 2

Most Wanted (2018):

Co-Winners: Marvel’s Spider-Man, God of War 4, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Far Cry 5

Runner-Ups: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Yoshi Switch, The Crew 2, Yakuza 6

Honorable Mentions: Anthem, Skull & Bones, Monster Hunter: World, Kirby Switch

Best Long-term (Franchise/Enjoyment) Potential:

Winners: Skull & Bones, Sea of Thieves

Runner-Ups: Dragon Ball FighterZ, Star Wars: Battlefront II

Honorable Mentions: Starlink: Battle for Atlas, State of Decay 2

Most Potential As A Single Title (2017/18/Beyond):

Co-Winners: Kingdom Hearts III, The Evil Within 2, Cuphead, Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

Runner-Ups: Anthem, Need for Speed: Payback, The Crew 2

Honorable Mentions: Crackdown 3, Monster Hunter: World, Far Cry 5

Best Multiplayer Potential:

Co-Winners: Star Wars: Battlefront II, Splatoon 2, Skull & Bones

Runner-Ups: Call of Duty: WWII, Cuphead, Dragon Ball FighterZ

Honorable Mentions: Pokken Tournament DX, Anthem, State of Decay 2

Game of Show:

Winner: Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

Runner-Up: Yoshi Switch

Most Disappointing No Shows:

Winner: The Last of Us 2

Runner-Ups: Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077

Personal Favorite E3 Conference:

Winner: Nintendo

Runner-Ups: Ubisoft, Devolver Digital

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pcinvasion-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on PC Invasion

New Post has been published on https://www.pcinvasion.com/pc-games-expect-watch-e3-2017

PC Games to Expect and Watch For at E3 2017

E3 2017 is almost upon us, and with it the see-saw mix of overblown hype and acidic cynicism. There will be buzzwords aplenty, volcanic-temperature takes, and, if we’re really lucky, at least a couple of games that actually look interesting.

Like every other year, quite a few of those games have either been outright announced in advance, partially leaked, or can be guessed with a bit of industry knowledge and a reasonable grasp of E3 history. I’m going to be doing that right now, going down the scheduled E3 2017 press conferences in sequential order and picking out the PC titles that are likely (or already confirmed) to be there.

Saturday 10 June

EA Play

(Midday US Pacific Time / 8pm UK)

EA have basically confirmed the majority of their E3 2017 games. PC-wise, you can definitely expect Star Wars: Battlefront 2, FIFA 18, Need For Speed Payback, something regarding The Sims 4, and Battlefield 1’s In The Name of the Tsar DLC. Titanfall 2 gets a mention on their list as well, so there might be something new there, or it might just be a reminder than their Monarch DLC came out recently.

In terms of things that are currently “off the books”, well, EA have been threatening to make other Star Wars games for the past couple of E3 events. It may finally be time to get an actual look at one or both of those (one from Visceral, one from Respawn). BioWare have that “new IP” they keep talking about, along with rumblings about a new Dragon Age title (maybe the X-Com style game they asked the public about back in 2016). And Josef Fares of Hazelight (Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons) has been telling people to watch E3.

Sunday 11 June

Microsoft

(2pm US Pacific Time / 10pm UK)

Not the easiest year to predict as far as Microsoft and the PC are concerned, since most of their talk is going to be focused on their shiny new Project Scorpio box. Chances are that cross-play will still exist between this new console and Windows 10, so any first party stuff announced will (probably) have a PC version of sorts too.

Expect some holdovers from previous years to get an airing though. Crackdown 3, Sea of Thieves, and State of Decay 2 will all be heading to the PC, and should all be shown. Halo Wars 2 is set to get some DLC. Chances of a new Forza appearing are pretty high because, well, Forza. The fabled Cuphead might even get another appearance. And speaking of fabled, I wouldn’t put it past Microsoft to bring Fable back from the dead in some fashion.

Bethesda

(9pm US Pacific Time / 5am (12 June) UK)

Most of the speculation surrounding Bethesda is based on an image of ‘Bethesdaland’ the company circulated on E3 invites a few weeks ago. It depicts known Bethesda series like Dishonored, Fallout, Doom and so on. Two areas are hidden due to being “under construction”, leading to suggestions that a couple of new announcements will be happening.

One very likely reveal will be the full follow-up to Wolfenstein: The New Order, already in development at Machine Games. Last year’s Bethesda event featured an easter egg tease for Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, so this is probably the year we’ll get a full announcement. Another, slightly less confirmed, possibility is a sequel to The Evil Within. Job listings for ‘Psycho Break 2’ (the working title for Evil Within) have been seen in the wild.

Throwing the net a little wider, Bethesda have consistently renewed a trademark for something called Starfield. Rumours keep flying that this is some kind of major sci-fi based RPG in the vein of Elder Scrolls, but nothing has actually been confirmed so that could all be very wishful thinking.

At previous Bethesda events, they’ve mixed in new announcements with reminders that current games exist. If that’s the case again, expect updates on Elder Scrolls Online (since a Morrowind expansion just came out) and Elder Scrolls Legends (just launched on Steam). It would make sense to get a release date for Quake Champions too. An expansion for Dishonored 2 wouldn’t be out of the question, since the first game did a fine job with its DLC.

Monday 12 June

The PC Gaming Show

(10am US Pacific Time / 6pm UK)

All PC games all the time, but has been pretty light on actual unique announcements in its past couple of incarnations. Still, it’s possible to surmise some of the contents of this event by looking at the sponsorship list. Bohemia Interactive will be there, either with something to say about Arma 3 or their soon-to-be-released Argo project. TripWire will probably show up too. Their latest is Rising Storm 2.

Likewise, Lawbreakers is guaranteed to be present because Nexon are sponsoring. Mind you, so are these guys and I have no idea what they might want to see included. Maybe Shadowverse? AMD seem to have been replaced by Intel this year, so the awkward hardware interlude will presumably be about CPUs.

Other confirmed appearances include Creative Assembly with Total War: Warhammer 2, Harebrained Schemes (Battletech) and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Indie studio Raw Fury Games have said they’ll be appearing too, and previous PC Gaming Shows have included quite a few indie spots. At the other end of the scale Blizzard got a pretty lengthy spot last year, so that may happen again.

Finally, Xbox are co-sponsors as well so there’s a reasonable chance whatever Microsoft talked about the day before will be reiterated here in a more PC-related manner.

Ubisoft

(1pm US Pacific Time / 9pm UK)

Again, there’s a pretty solid list of what will be appearing at the Ubisoft conference because the company itself has provided that information. You can be sure that Far Cry 5, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, The Crew 2 and Just Dance (always Just Dance) will be there. More than likely there will be space for ongoing projects with regular updates like For Honor and Rainbow Six: Siege too.

The next Assassin’s Creed (most likely called Assassin’s Creed: Origins, starring a lad called Bay Ek in Ancient Egypt) will get an airing as well. But the leaks end there, so whatever else Ubisoft has planned is a bit of a mystery. It’s been a while since the last Splinter Cell, so maybe another one of those? The company says Beyond Good & Evil 2 will not be at E3, so don’t hold out hope for that.

Sony

(6pm US Pacific Time / 2am (13 June) UK)

If the last couple of years are any indication, there won’t be a whole lot of PC stuff at Sony’s event. They’ve tended to concentrate on PS4 exclusives, with PC stuff limited to third party appearances.

Assuming that pattern holds (and it probably will), the games to look out for at Sony’s event will be extended or slightly different looks at games from other publishers. Far Cry 5 will almost certainly be present again, showing either co-op play or some other aspect not covered by Ubisoft earlier in the day. Likewise, Call of Duty: WWII will be shown here, as will Destiny 2 and Battlefront 2. Expect some FIFA 18 as well, now Sony have snagged that marketing deal.

#E3 2017

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symbianosgames · 7 years

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The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

[Video Game Deep Cuts is a weekly newsletter from curator/video game industry veteran Simon Carless, rounding up the best longread & standout articles & videos about games, every weekend. This week's highlights include a great GDC video about storytelling in Slime Rancher, the surprising plot of Human Head's canned Prey 2, and a 'design deep dive' into mobile standout Card Thief.

After being a bit thin on the ground in recent weeks, pleased to see that videos again make up about half of the picks for this week's VGDC. One of the points of curating this newsletter is to look beyond Let's Plays (although I've been very much enjoying BaerTaffy's Dead Cells playthroughs!), and so the larger, more contemplative analysis videos only pop up every few weeks. And at once, apparently! If you have YouTube channels that you think I'm missing, hit me up, and otherwise - enjoy the picks again.

- Simon, curator.]

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Writing The Next Dragon Age (Tom Phillips / Eurogamer) "Last September, Fallen London and Sunless Sea creator Alexis Kennedy announced his signing to a mysterious BioWare project - one which would see him working alongside Dragon Age mastermind Mike Laidlaw and lead Dragon Age scribe Patrick Weekes. To BioWare watchers, it was obvious what project the writer was joining."

Do Games Still Need Experience? (HeavyEyed / YouTube) "Experience Systems are one of the cornerstones of gaming, but has the medium outgrown them? Let's talk about it."

'Far Cry 5' Is About Living Under Fear in America (Austin Walker / Waypoint) "Pressure. Dan Hay, creative director and executive producer of Far Cry 5, is standing in front of a TV displaying the word pressure, written out in all caps. PRESSURE. He's telling a room of games journalists about the game he's wanted to make since the 2008 recession, one that engaged with the rise of rural, American militias during Obama's presidency."

Blizzard on hero design, balance, and the future of Overwatch (Bo Moore / PC Gamer) "Overwatch is currently celebrating the anniversary in-game with a three-week commemorative event, featuring 11 new legendary skins, three new arena maps, a handful of balance changes, and a pile of other cosmetics. To mark the occasion, we chatted with game director Jeff Kaplan and principal director Geoff Goodman about the past, present, and future of Blizzard's mega-hit FPS."

Love, Peace, Revenge, and Crowdfunding: Keiichi Yano Raps With Us About Project Rap Rabbit (Jeremy Parish / USGamer) "The rumored collaboration between Parappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura and Elite Beat Agents designer Keiichi Yano came to light last week. Despite an awkward start for its Kickstarter campaign, the duo's venture—currently known as Project Rap Rabbit—nevertheless seems promising."

A Thousand Tiny Tales: Emergent Storytelling in Slime Rancher (Nick Popovich / GDC / YouTube) "In this 2017 GDC session, Slime Rancher designer Nick Popovich explains how the slime's vibrant, unpredictable behavior is the game's "secret sauce", and how that behavior is crafted from surprisingly simple systems."

How Dr. J and Larry Bird Helped Build a Video Game Empire (Patrick Sauer / Vice Sports) "This year, Electronic Arts celebrates its 35th anniversary. They might not have gotten there without the groundbreaking game 'One-on-One: Dr. J. vs. Larry Bird.'"

Inside Frank Cifaldi's Mission To Save Gaming's History (Ben Hanson / Game Informer / YouTube) "In this excerpt from The Game Informer Show podcast, The Video Game History Foundation's Frank Cifaldi talks to Ben Hanson about the purpose and extreme challenges behind preserving as much video game history as possible before its gone forever. [ SIMON'S NOTE: I'm on the board of the VGHF, and it is 'a very good thing'. Please back us on Patreon, thanks!]

Designer Notes 27: Lucas Pope (Adam Saltsman / Idle Thumbs) "In this [podcast] episode, Adam Saltsman interviews independent game developer Lucas Pope, best known for the immigration officer simulation Papers Please. They discuss how Naughty Dog taught him to mercilessly cut features, why it might be a good thing if Obra Dinn is bad, and how Adam has time to do these interviews."

An Independent Interplay Takes on Tolkien (Jimmy Maher / DigiAntiquarian) "When Brian Fargo made the bold decision in 1988 to turn his company Interplay into a computer-game publisher as well as developer, he was simply steering onto the course that struck him as most likely to insure Interplay’s survival."

Veteran game developers reveal their childhood creations (Richard Moss / Polygon) "When Oliver Franzke was eight years old, his parents bought an East German knockoff of the Commodore 64 called the Kleincomputer 85/4. He started to learn the programming language BASIC on it in between sessions on a friend's C64 playing LucasArts' adventure game Zak McKracken."

Gaming Through New Eyes (Dansg08 / YouTube) "This is a short documentary about Toby Ott, a man who was born with Bilateral Anopthalmia, or in other words, without eyes. This didn't stop him from discovering the medium of video games, and his childhood interest grew into a lifelong passion. This is a whole new perspective on video games, from the imagination of someone who has never known what it is to have sight."

Reissues shouldn’t be limited to the hits we already know (Ryan Payton / Polygon) "The act of preserving and appreciating the history of games doesn’t rest only on the shoulders of fans and journalists; platform holders and IP owners carry a unique responsibility to propagate games from the past."

7 Japanese RPGs game developers should study (Stefanie Fogel / Gamasutra) "The Japanese role-playing game is one of the most enduring video game genres, and there are myriad good lessons to be learned from the classic JRPG formula. With that in mind, we reached out to some game makers and asked them to name some JRPGs that they believe all developers should study."

The cancelled Prey 2 had an incredible plot twist (Here’s A Thing / Eurogamer / YouTube) "Chris Bratt investigates the Prey 2 we never played, sharing the game's plot twist, ending and unannounced features."

After Eight Years, One Developer's Dream Project Is Finally on Steam (Patrick Klepek / Waypoint) "Eight years ago, Ben Johnson had graduated college and needed something on his resume. Johnson decided to make a game. The Australian programmer figured it would take a few months to make his mixture of Diablo, Grand Theft Auto 2 (the overhead one), and an obscure indie shooter named Soldat. It took much longer."

Why PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' Violence is Important (Writing on Games / YouTube) "In this episode of Writing on Games I discuss PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds; one of the most meaningfully violent games I've played in a long time. Let's take a look at how the game's design forces you to examine multiplayer violence in a new light."

Game Design Deep Dive: Creating tension in Card Thief (Arnold Rauers / Gamasutra) "Card Thief tries to create the experience of being a thief who sneaks into a castle, steals the objective, and escapes the building without being seen. While series like the original Thief or Metal Gear Solid have taken on the stealth genre mainly in the 3D space, I wanted to create a card-based version of the same concept."

Meet the dad who quit his job to run a Minecraft server for autistic kids (Luke Winkie / PC Gamer) "The rules of Autcraft are simple. No bullying, no griefing, no stealing. There's a survival arena and a hide-and-seek minigame module, all under the watchful eyes of a small cabal of moderators. Stuart "AutismFather" Duncan is always a private message away."

Owlboy: The Motivational Power of Inspiration (Simon Stafsnes Andersen / GDC / YouTube) "In this 2017 GDC session, D-Pad Studio's Simon Stafsnes Andersen talks about the 9-year development cycle of Owlboy and explains how the team was able to stay inspired working on one game for 9 years, and shares lessons to help developers stay inspired with their game ideas until they're complete."

Why do devs love Slack, and how do they get the most out of it? (Chris Priestman / Gamasutra) "It seems like the majority of people working in or with small and middle-sized game studios and teams use the cloud-based chat app these days. Put a call out to game developers asking which of them use Slack and you will get a lot of responses."

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[REMINDER: you can sign up to receive this newsletter every weekend at http://ift.tt/2dUXrva we crosspost to Gamasutra later on Sunday, but get it first via newsletter! Story tips and comments can be emailed to [email protected]. MINI-DISCLOSURE: Simon is one of the organizers of GDC and Gamasutra, so you may sometimes see links from those entities in his picks. Or not!]

#IFTTT #Blogger

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stack-of-shame · 7 years

Text

Shamesplosion II: Regexance

Game #26: Legend of Kay, Neon Studios, 2005

Legend of Kay is part of a peculiar group of games from the waning years of “Character Action Games” (now known as 3D platformers). In some ways these games, including Kay, are some of the best in the genre. The industry had learned how to make controls feel good. Even more esoteric things, like combo moves, had been standardized to a degree. The camera, once nausea inducing, now seamlessly balanced between the gentle hand of the game and the user’s input.

For all that is expert about Legend of Kay, it flies a bit too high. The cutscenes and conversations over-rely on generic, canned animations. I believe that all the voice talent in Legend of Kay were fine actors, but, searching the game’s credits, there was not a dedicated voice over director. As such the voice performances as a whole leave something to be desired.

Why am I picking these nits? Because cutscenes demand a certain quality to justify their presence in a game. Unless they are very good, they drag the experience down. I think I’d have enjoyed Kay more if the conversations had been presented only as text. I don’t say that to be cruel, I honestly believe that the atmosphere would have been easier to establish.

Game #27: Quadrilateral Cowboy, Blendo Games, 2016

Quadrilateral Cowboy vs. Jazzpunk is an amazing case study in game audio

Largely because, given access only to the visual elements of both games, you could easily be forgiven for confusing the two.

Both have an aesthetic that blends minimalist geometry and a honey-mustard color-sheme with 80s cyberpunk, both feature a main character who is sent on various "jobs" which involve traveling to an ambiguously virtual dimension to perform espionage, and both treat pre-digital and recently digital technology as a plaything in their world-building.

If, however, you were given only the audio of each game, you would never confuse the two.

On the blog for Necrophone games, they outline the absolutely bonkers lengths they went to to achieve the sound. Many of the noisemakers used for Jazzpunk's soundscape actually built from scratch, soldering and all, by the game's creators. Bringing that level of depth to a game's sound would be admirable for a sound designer, let alone someone who is also devoted full time to simply making the game.

The soundscape of Jazzpunk is like nothing else I've heard before or since, except perhaps in a Martin Denny record. It's a jangly, agitated mix of synths and old jazz records, a kind of James-Bond-cyber-mambo. The implementation is straightforward for the most part, though outright bizarre at times, with attention-grabbing samples coming it at inappropriate times, but because the rest of the game is so damn weird you forgive it somehow.

For everything that is bizarre about Jazzpunk, it relies on more traditional adventure puzzle mechanics, as well as callbacks (there's a quake clone hidden in a wedding cake). The puzzles are hilariously gratifying to solve, but Jazzpunk does not have many new skills to teach the player.

Quadrilateral Cowboy is, in some ways, more sophisticated than Jazzpunk, and I'm not just talking about their approach to humor. Cowboy's gameplay has something quite new to offer players, and something which feels like somewhat of a holy grail in game design; it makes it feel cool to write code. For a while it seemed like there were so many attempts to make games about coding that reviewers were declaring the effort itself to be futile. But Cowboy has done it.

When you look at the credits in Quadrilateral Cowboy, under audio, it simply says "Soundsnap.com" As such very little in Cowboy's soundscape really feels like it belongs to the game. Many of the sounds are appropriate enough. But they do not have that intangible sense of having somehow come from the game itself.

The implementation of sounds is just as puzzling as in Jazzpunk, but unfortunately it is to negative effect. Point-located sounds are at maximum volume when standing near them, and nearly silent when a few steps away. When the player character throws something, they often emit a cough, not the expected effort sound.

The music is completely diagetic, which can be a powerful decision. It is all licensed, and is used to build the settings and tell you things about the characters. All in all a strong point in the soundscape.

I adore both games, but y'all can guess which has been my enduring favorite.

Game #28: Snuggle Truck, Owlchemy Labs, 2012

This game has been in my library for five years, and I sorely regret not playing it immediately after buying it. Snuggle Truck smacks of the Indie Revolution. These kinds of games, centered around a straightforward-but-wiley physics-based mechanic, will always have a special place in my heart. I found myself wondering if this game would be able to stand out if it were released today. Perhaps it would, given Owlchemy’s outreach.

But how Snuggle Truck would do in today’s market has nothing to do with it’s validity as a work of art, nor does it have anything to do with how deserving it is of commercial success.

I think about the discussion going on in the indie game community, about the “indiepocalypse” and the “indie bubble.” I think it’s easy to forget that there was never a time when making a game was risk free. It was never a case of, “make game, get paid, onto day three of my indie adventure.” It has always been hell. Maybe the marketing wasn’t hell for a short while. Everything else has always been hell.

Game #29: Day of the Tentacle Remastered, Double Fine, 2016

I don’t like admitting that I always kind of thought Broken Age invented the whole switching between characters thing. I’ve been touting myself as a fan of point and click adventure games for a while now, and it’s just embarrassing to think I had gotten the whole picture after having played only a tiny selection from what the golden age of this genre has to offer. Man there are a lot of these things. They are a huge time sink though, often designed to take 40 hours to play. I’m not gonna lie, as much as a I adore these games I have myself a good ol’ fashioned think before I choose to start in on one.

Day of the Tentacle is great, by the way.

Game #30: Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death, Rebellion, 2003

According to steam, I have played this for 13 minutes. I couldn’t tell you a thing about it because I have no memory of doing so.

Game #31: Elite Dangerous, Frontier Developments, 2014

Oh the deep, dark, horrible shame. My boyfriend bought this game for me at considerable expense in the hopes of giving us another thing to do together. As we booted up the game, he explained to me how we would do one simple thing to boost my cash reserves, and that we’d then be able to do some fun stuff together. He would give me some items, I would sell them. Easy. Would you care to guess how long this took? Trade and sell. How long? How long do you think?

Three hours. It wasn’t because of our internet connection, it wasn’t because we were very far apart, it wasn’t because we had to do multiple runs, that is how long it takes to do all of the preparatory work in the 20 odd menus and locales you need to visit, then rendez-vous in space, then use a slightly smaller set of menus to open a thing, arm something else, send out another thing, there’s something called a limpet, (I’m assuming it’s named after a British cookie) and then I got the thing and then I could fly back to the station blah blah blah blah.

I cried. I cried, people. I felt so much like a dumb failure, like a complete waste of my boyfriend’s generosity, that it honestly upsets me to write about it. He did his best to comfort me and assured me he wasn’t mad (yeah, he saw the cry happen) but we have never played it again. I still technically own it but I have hidden it from my steam library because the mere sight of it is disturbing to me, even now.

Game #32: Mass Effect 2, Bioware, 2010

I have started using Mass Effect 2 to bone up on my German. It’s got full German language support. I only get about a 3rd of what they’re saying. It makes me chuckle how the made-up sci-fi words get pronounced with an American accent.

Game #33: TRI: Of Friendship and Madness, Rat King, 2014

Exposition of any kind is a tough sell, especially in the fantasy genre. Unless you have Ian McKellen in your roster, almost any fantasy writing is going to sound silly when read aloud. Put another way, dramatic voice over in a game is one of those things that cannot be anything less than great. I’m tempted to compare this to Journey. Both do a good job of building a fantastical world with magical architecture and a story that existed long before you arrived, but Journey does it better. They probably could have gotten a budget for voice over, but they chose not to use it, and I think it was the right decision. Even with the best voice cast and writers in the world, human voices would have made the world more familiar, to it’s detriment.

And here’s the thing: in all likelihood, the team behind Journey wrote down just as much detail about the backstory of their game as Tri presents aloud, and a million times more. It may seem that choosing to tell your game’s story without voice over would save effort in terms of storytelling, but nothing could be further from the truth. To expose a world to a player without dialogue, you have to know how your world affects the walls, clothes, materials, gestures, decor, artifacts, absolutely everything the player encounters, because that is the sum total of what you have at your disposal to tell your story. I’m told that there’s a real mind bender of a game waiting for you if you stick with it, so I may revisit.

Game #34: Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball, Erik Asmussen, 2015

I am a chronic late adopter of multiplayer games, partially because I’ve never been able to afford them when they’re new. I’ve never joined one in time to get good at it at the same pace as all the early adopters. For my entire life playing games, I’ve found myself getting stomped by people who have hung on long after a game’s heyday, people who know every trick, and who’s patience for newbs ran out years ago. Which is a shame because this game is colorful and awesome.

#too many games #stack of shame #gaben #steam sales #shamesplosion #day of the tentacle #snuggle truck #quadrilateral cowboy #jazzpunk #legend of kay #the world doesn't need another review of mass effect 2

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symbianosgames · 7 years

Link

- Simon, curator.]

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Do Games Still Need Experience? (HeavyEyed / YouTube) "Experience Systems are one of the cornerstones of gaming, but has the medium outgrown them? Let's talk about it."

-------------------

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes

symbianosgames · 7 years

Link

- Simon, curator.]

-------------------

Do Games Still Need Experience? (HeavyEyed / YouTube) "Experience Systems are one of the cornerstones of gaming, but has the medium outgrown them? Let's talk about it."

-------------------

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes

symbianosgames · 7 years

Link

- Simon, curator.]

-------------------

Do Games Still Need Experience? (HeavyEyed / YouTube) "Experience Systems are one of the cornerstones of gaming, but has the medium outgrown them? Let's talk about it."

-------------------

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes

symbianosgames · 7 years

Link

- Simon, curator.]

-------------------

Do Games Still Need Experience? (HeavyEyed / YouTube) "Experience Systems are one of the cornerstones of gaming, but has the medium outgrown them? Let's talk about it."

-------------------

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes