You could do worse than The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (hyperbole theirs). Developer Neocore, fresh from a long stint homaging the Total War series with their King Arthur series, is now homaging Diablo. They mostly get the Diablo feel, even if they don’t get the Diablo polish, replayability, moment-to-moment gameplay, and variety. And does Diablo really need a tower defense game?
Independent developers Introversion Software, Carbon Games, and Dejobaan spoke to GamesIndustry International and told them why they like the Early Access program on Steam. Although the program is itself in the early stages of participation, the developers were keen to give it a try thanks to the funding and feedback opportunities it offered to them.
“With Darwinia, Multiwinia, and all of [our previous games], we ran out of money,” said Morris. “On every occasion, to varying degrees. With Darwinia, I think we didn’t have any money for about a year or something before it was released. With Defcon, the bank account was at zero on the day we launched. It puts this desperate pressure on you to get the game up to the barest minimum standard, shove it out of the door, get the cash from sales, and then fix bugs that you wanted to fix before.”
“What we tried to do with the Early Access stuff is get the revenue before we finished, so that we can be more relaxed about the development process. We’re working harder, we’re more motivated. We know that we don’t need to worry about cash, we know we can put in all the featuresets that we want to be in there. We feel an obligation to keep pushing it for those who’ve already bought it,” he added.
Participants interviewed preferred the Early Access program over Kickstarter because the administrative overhead was lower than running their own crowd-funding effort. They also liked the open-ended nature of Early Access which allowed them to capture revenue from gamers’ interest that they may not have even been aware of existing.
There are currently 20 titles offered on Steam Early Access, including Valve’s own DOTA 2.
Dean “Rocket” Hall, creator of the Arma 2 mod-turned-standalone zombie survival game DayZ confirmed to Gamasutra that the alpha version will be coming to Steam via the Early Access program. Alpha purchasers will get the game for a substantial discount.
“From here, once we’ve finished our server/client architecture – because we’re moving it an MMO model – we’re reviewing the situation of that in June, and then we do an alpha, just like Minecraft. People pay X amount of dollars and they get early, cheap access to it, and then once it’s beta, price goes up, maybe, say, $10, and once it goes retail, the price goes up $10.”
Thanks to Steam’s recent ability to issue delta patches, Hall hopes players will use the latest development builds to keep abreast of changes and report bugs.
Over the weekend, gamers disappointed by the Xbox One console’s DRM reached out to Sony representatives by sending messages to the #PS4NoDRM and #PS4USEDGAMES hastags on Twitter to urge them to not follow suit with the PS4. Their worries of the Sony console also incorporating similar DRM to block or monetize used game sales came to a head after a GameTrailers Bonus Round broadcast in which Geoff Keighley opined that the grass may not be greener on Sony’s side of the fence.
“Microsoft is getting beaten up a lot on it. Sony, I think, has been seen as this kind of white knight so far that’s not going to restrict used games. Based on some of the things I’m hearing, I don’t think that’s entirely true, because I can’t see publishers allowing one system to do one thing and one do another.”
Backing that up was the fact that EA recently dropped its own form of used game disincentive, the Online Pass. The theory being that EA wouldn’t discontinue the program unless they had some other plan in place. A DRM solution native to the consoles would solve that problem nicely.
In response, Sony bosses acknowledged the tweets, but the closest gamers got to an actual reply regarding the matter was from SCEA producer Nick Accordino.
“Humbled by the outpouring of passionate PlayStation fans and their willingness to talk to us directly. Please know that we hear you. <3"
Unfortunately for gamers concerned with ownership rights, “we hear you” is a far cry from a denial that used game DRM will exist on the PS4.
Grid 2 (not pictured, since there’s nothing duller than a screenshot of a latest-gen racing game) is out this week! The original Grid rivaled the best of Forza and Gran Turismo when it was released, and it even held up next to the upcoming Need for Speed: Shift. Since then, developer Codemasters has mostly been retooling their various Dirt games, which are easily the best arcade rally racers you can race. Now that the wheels are back on pavement, I look forward to seeing how they handle. Consider your wallet threatened.
I’m pretty sure Wargame: AirLand Battles is supposed to be out this week, but it’s already missed one release date. It’s fully playable now as a skirmish game (buy it now and you can bang on the beta to your heart’s content!), so all we’re really waiting for is the ambitious dynamic campaign. Consider your wallet threatened.
Finally, Electronic Arts releases Fuse, Insomniac’s disappointing attempt to fuse the serious shootery bits of Resistance with the wacky weapons bits of Ratchet & Clank with the godawful four-player co-op of Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.
This week we see the latest movie in which Paul Walker and Vin Deisel and some other people blatantly disregard traffic laws. We also discuss whether Dwayne Johnson is a better actor than Harrison Ford. At the 48-minute mark, this week’s 3×3 considers our favorite moments of compassion in movies.
This is the video that was found at the center of Curiosity, the experimental game from Peter Molyneux. The winner agreed to share the video so everyone could see what was there after all the cublets were destroyed. It’s a pocket-sized Peter Molyneux! Perfect for putting into your Pokedex.
Whew! I guess we can all move on with our lives now.
Reus reminds me a lot of SimCity Societies in that it’s about fitting together distinct imaginative pieces into a functioning whole. In the case of SimCity Societies, the pieces are buildings, of course. Each building has unique properties, feeding into and feeding off the city in different ways. But in Reus, the pieces are plants, animals, and minerals. And not the usual wheat, deer, and iron. Reus is full of weirdly specific things like dandelions, stoats, and topaz, each with very different characteristics, each interacting with other bits in sometimes intuitive, sometimes strange, sometimes surprising, and almost always delightful ways. You could have guessed that foxes like having chickens around. But did you know that gold is less valuable as there are more gold mines on the planet? Did you know that aloe vera’s medicinal power gives you extra technology for nearby animals? Or that some banks really groove on chili peppers? Or that the prized prey variant of the market pays considerably more for dangerous predators?
After the jump, the ecology of Reus is nothing if not uniqueContinue reading →
There must be some demand for ports of these arcade cabinet games from the 80s, right? Otherwise, Capcom wouldn’t be selling them in bundles of three on Xbox Live and the Playstation Store, carefully arranging the familiar with the “what the heck is that one?”. And now you can buy all fifteen games for $30. That’s got to be a good deal for someone, somewhere.
I’ve tried a few of these ports, and I appreciate the retro atmosphere around the edges of the screen. But in 2013, I just don’t understand the appeal of the actual games. Knowing what I know now, having played great modern games, I break out in a cold sweat imagining what sheer hell it would be to have only these to play. Can you imagine whiling away the hours with Ghosts n’ Goblins or 1943 or Contra, with those tinny electronic squakings reverberating in your head, jerking a stubby joystick left and right and left, slapping one or two buttons, seeing the game over screen after losing three lives with a nary a checkpoint to be seen. I’m in hell. I can’t take it anymore! Make it stop!
Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will soon have official community moderation via the Overwatch program. Overwatch Investigators will be presented with a randomly selected eight-round segment of in-game action showing an accused player after enough complaints have been lodged by other CS:GO players or if there is a sudden spike in complaints. The Overwatch Investigators will then vote on an outcome and the tally determines the action taken.
If the system determines that the investigators’ collective judgment converges on an overwhelming verdict, then the case will be closed and all decisions rendered on the case will determine the final verdict. If the verdicts are overwhelmingly “Insufficient Evidence” or are inconclusive, the case will be thrown out.
Players with few or no negative reports can wind up submitted to the review process by appearing in a previously judged gameplay segment. These cases are randomly inserted into the case load to help evaluate the investigators. In these test cases, the voting outcome will not result in any actions.
Investigators are subject to grading based on their voting habits. Accurate votes, determined by siding with the majority, result in a higher score for the investigator. Higher scoring investigators will have more weight in the voting process. Overwatch Investigators will be drawn from the community of players based on their experience and other factors.
Every once in a while a game concept comes along that makes you pause and say, “Well, that’s different!” Shelter is one of those games. The player takes on the role of a mother badger protecting her litter from all manner of dangers while foraging for food and trying to survive. I’d say that’s a concept that seems pretty far removed from the endless parade of games with military men shooting at each other.
As the mother of a litter of cubs you are forced out from familiar and safe surroundings to find new shelter in a beautiful, but dangerous world. The harsh reality of nature plays a pivotal role in the game whilst at the same time Shelter aims to pay a homage to the great outdoors and all its imposing beauty.
Might and Delight, makers of Pid and Bionic Commando: Rearmed, say that Shelter “focuses heavily on creating attachment” to the spunky band of badgers. It is currently on Steam Greenlight gathering votes for approval.
Codemasters has revealed the GRID 2 Mono Edition that comes with a real BAC Mono supercar with an exclusive GRID 2 livery. The purchaser of the Mono Edition will get a tour of the BAC factory, so the car can be customized to their size and specifications. A helmet and racing suit (including gloves) are thoughtfully included. All for only $188,700.
The BAC Mono is a British manufactured, road-legal, ultra-high performance supercar which stars in the game. Created from high-strength carbon fibre, the BAC Mono is an unrivalled example of light-weight performance engineering and its 2.3 litre, 280 bhp four cylinder power plant will propel its driver from 0-60 mph in just 2.8 seconds. It looks incredible, the acceleration is ridiculous and we absolutely love it.
You’ll also get a copy of the game as well as a PS3 to play it on.
The Wall Street Journal revealed that Atari will sell off its game properties individually in an auction in July after it failed to find a bidder for their entire catalog. The publisher is seeking a minimum of $22.2 million in total bids in order to pay its debts.
Game properties that will go up for auction include the Rollercoaster Tycoon, Test Drive, and Total Annihilation franchises. The Rollercoaster Tycoon lot is going for a minimum of $3.5 million. If you can’t afford that, perhaps the Total Annihilation series is a better fit for your budget at a bargain $250K?
Atari originally filed for bankruptcy protection in January.
Sam Lake, Remedy Entertainment’s creative director, wants Alan Wake fans to know that they would love to make a full sequel to the 2010 horror game, but that the game’s original sales just didn’t support the development of a full-fledged installment. Although the game did eventually sell over 3 million copies, the revenue didn’t come in fast enough. Sam Lake also takes a bit of time to pitch the Alan Wake Humble Bundle which lets people pay what they want for both Alan Wake and American Nightmares games along with a load of goodies like a soundtrack and an art book.
You’ll be able to look forward to Remedy’s new game, Quantum Break, that was revealed during the Microsoft Xbox One reveal event. The new game features a live action show merged with a videogame.
This week, Toddler Taxonomist developer Clay Heaton joins us to talk about how such long Latin words found their way into his kid’s game and the unlikely name for his Rogue-like currently in development. We also talk about first-person tower defense game Santcum 2, god game Reus, and space exploration sandbox Kerbal Space Program. Plus a recap of Microsoft’s new console and dog announcement.
