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"The Nevermatrix"
(Hordes of the Underdark screenshot submitted by Colthrun)
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Latest General News Headlines:
Greg Zeschuk Talks about Voiceovers - November 7, 2009, 9:41 am by chevalier
Devs Talk about Future at 1UP - November 7, 2009, 9:38 am by chevalier
Canada's Ontario Government Supports Gaming Companies - November 7, 2009, 9:28 am by chevalier
Turn-Based or Real Time? - November 7, 2009, 9:23 am by chevalier
Starcraft 2 Not Delayed Again - November 7, 2009, 9:18 am by chevalier
Venezuela Bans Violent Video Games - November 7, 2009, 9:14 am by chevalier
Chris Avellone Interview at Grupo97 - November 7, 2009, 9:02 am by chevalier
Dungeons & Dragons Online Reviews and Update Release and Preview - November 5, 2009, 4:10 pm by chevalier
More on Bethesda v. Interplay - November 5, 2009, 4:03 pm by chevalier
BioWare Licenses Umbra Tech for Games - November 5, 2009, 3:57 pm by chevalier
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Greg Zeschuk Talks about Voiceovers
Posted: November 7, 2009, 9:41 am by chevalier
 BioWare's Greg Zeschuk, "reminisces about the highly detailed stories and voice acting from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and the Mass Effect series," as the short description of Retronaut's video interview tells it. Here is the link.
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Devs Talk about Future at 1UP
Posted: November 7, 2009, 9:38 am by chevalier
 At 1UP, four developers (Bill Roper from Cryptic, Alan Miranda from Ossian, Marcin Iwiński from CD Projekt and Feargus Urquhart from Obsidian) met up for a conversation about the future of single-player RPGs. Here's all four talking about indie games:
1UP: How does the indie scene fit in the single-player RPG market?
BR: I really believe [the indie scene has a role], as I hinted at in the last question. The biggest issue speaking against an indie RPG is that players have the highest expectations in terms of time to play and differentiation of content with an RPG. An indie approach to this would be to create a smaller, extensible system that features either episodic content (campaigns and dungeons) or user-generated content to feed the beast.
FU: I'd love to be in it in a lot of ways. But more seriously, the indie scene is important for games, just like indie movies are important to the film industry. We old guys can get stuck in our ways and think that we can only entertain someone if we have $20 million to make the game. The indie scene proves that you can make great games with only a small percentage of that money.
MI: I haven't spotted any RPG equivalents to World of Goo or Audiosurf, but there are a lot of good mods that tell great stories utilizing, for example, the Neverwinter Nights engine.
AM: I think the indie-RPG scene can fill in the "old school" RPG niche, where you won't be expected to have full VO, and hence have as much dialogue as you want; where you can have that 100-plus hours of gameplay; or where you don't need to pay for a bleeding-edge graphical engine to ensure maximum cinematic effect. You can still have fun without those things. For example, I tried out the Eschalon: Book 1 demo a while back and had fun with it. It had good exploration and world interactivity.
Also, as an indie developer, you aren't constrained by what a publisher's marketing department dictates is a viable RPG product for the market. History is filled with examples of games or movies that execs/marketing said shouldn't be done -- or if had already been completed were considered garbage -- but which turned out to be megahits and all-time favorites. Indie RPGs may never be able to compete head-to-head with big-budget RPGs in the mainstream commercial marketplace, but they don't have to if they can excel at giving gamers what the big RPGs can't.
Read the whole thing at 1UP.
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Canada's Ontario Government Supports Gaming Companies
Posted: November 7, 2009, 9:28 am by chevalier
Powers that be in Ontario, Canada have decided to support a programme teaching gaming companies some skills, marketing and investor relations skills. Here's a snip:
"We are proud to support Interactive Ontario in delivering these important programs," says Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade. "Ontario’s digital media sector is growing quickly, and shows even greater growth potential. As a government, we are committed to working with the industry to generate investment and create high-value jobs for Ontarians."
Read the rest at Gamasutra. By the way, Japanese software sales go up and UK sales go down.
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Turn-Based or Real Time?
Posted: November 7, 2009, 9:23 am by chevalier
Gamasutra goes on a detailed analysis of real time vs turn-based, the significance of which need not be explained. The analysis starts with history, looks into control issues, multiplayer needs and hybrid solutions. Here's a snip:
He quickly found, however, that players were overwhelmed by the high number of new game systems they needed to juggle at once. After all, SimCity had no diplomacy, no trade, no combat, no research, and definitely no marauding barbarians. Thus, he changed course and rebuilt his prototype as a turn-based game, and the phrase “just one more turn” entered the gaming lexicon.
Designers always should be aware that each game can only contain so much “stuff” before the center cannot hold, and the experience overpowers the senses. By removing time pressure, turn-based games allow players to adjust the learning curve to their own needs. Veterans can still play quickly, but new players can take their time poking around the interface and thinking through their moves.
Read the rest at Gamasutra.
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Starcraft 2 Not Delayed Again
Posted: November 7, 2009, 9:18 am by chevalier
 Blizzard's headman has said there's no second delay in Starcraft 2's release and the same shall happen some time the first half of next year. Here's a clip:
During Activision-Blizzard's quarterly financial conference call with stockholders, Blizzard's big boss and founder Mike Morhaime said that the company's eagerly-anticipated StarCraft II was on schedule to meet the targeted release date of "sometime in the first half of next year," and had in fact not been delayed again.
Though development of the game is largely complete (or at least it felt that way when I kicked Keane Ng's ass and tried out the Terran campaign at BlizzCon), the development team has been using the delay due to the complexities of Battle.net 2.0 to refine the game's balance and to polish everything up. Morhaime also said that he believed the game would be a blockbuster hit, seeing as how the first StarCraft has sold over 11 million copies worldwide, but let's be honest here: If you didn't think SC2 would be wildly successful without having to be told that by the Blizzard overlord, then you need to get your head checked.
Read the rest at The Escapist.
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Venezuela Bans Violent Video Games
Posted: November 7, 2009, 9:14 am by chevalier
Venezuela is banning violent video games with a three year prison term attached. Toy guns will also be banned. This is part of an effort to reduce agressive tendencies in the country's youth and curb down crime. Here's a snip:
The plan, apparently, is to cut back on activities that might encourage the development of "aggressive" tendencies in Venezuelan children and youth, which will in turn help bring down the country's out of control violent crime rate. The government in Venezuela no longer releases regular murder statistics but opponents of President Hugo Chavez claim that over 100,000 people have been murdered since February 1999.
The government disputes that figure, of course, but I don't think anyone will argue that the situation isn't bad and getting worse. Will a ban on violent videogames make any difference at all? I wouldn't hold my breath.
Read the rest at The Escapist.
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Chris Avellone Interview at Grupo97
Posted: November 7, 2009, 9:02 am by chevalier
 Grupo97 has conducted an interview with Chris Avellone, one of Obsidian's founding five. They talk about a number of things, including this one:
Our feeling is that the public turns away from complex plots or ambiguous decisions, and the whole effort is put then on spectacular graphics and simplicity, that is, as if we had gone from the "haute cuisine" to "fast food".
I don't think it's an either/or thing, and I think the public would be damn happy for some moral complexity as long as strong reactivity was involved. Ultimately, they want to see the world react in cool ways, but not so much that the world's moral system crushes them for playing the way they want to. In Alpha Protocol, we try to reward the player no matter which direction they take by giving them different consequences that make sense within the context of their actions but aren't punishing, per se, they're just consequences with different benefits (and disads).
Read the rest at Grupo97.
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Dungeons & Dragons Online Reviews and Update Release and Preview
Posted: November 5, 2009, 4:10 pm by chevalier
 For starters, Turbine has sent out a press release about the Path of Inspiration update for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited. Next, there's an interview about that one on MMORPG:
MMORPG.com: Update One introduces a new high level adventure pack. Can you tell us a little bit about what players can expect from it, and is this something that players will have to buy separately through the DDO Store, or does it come for free?
Ian Currie: The new adventure pack is called The Path of Inspiration. It's free to VIP players but also available via the DDO Store to everyone levels 16 and up. It contains 5 adventures and has a storyline unlike anything we've done before. Players will get to experience some unique gameplay in this adventure pack, including having to guard their 'will' from a creature that would steal it, and entering the dreams of a well known character wherein they'll fight some nifty creatures from the plane of nightmares. Some very rewarding loot awaits them at the end of the last quest where they'll also learn that the job of an adventurer is never quite finished.
And there's a review of the whole game also there. So here:
In fact, the ability to customize a character is so open in DDO that many new players will find it daunting unless they are previously familiar with Dungeons and Dragons rule sets. The open customization also means that it is very easy to make a critical error when building a character, especially if it's not planned out in advance. While DDO does offer 'pre-made' characters that spend points automatically for the player, these builds are relatively weak compared to a well thought out player build, and often present some poor choices in feats and abilities. Since there is no "easy reset" option, players may tinker several times with new characters before finding something they enjoy.
What next? A preview of said update at the same place:
The focus of this update is on high level players, and there are plenty of treats in store. One of these special treats is known as Veteran Status. Earned by characters who have garnered at least 1,000 favor, Veteran status allows players to start new characters who will enter the game at level four and begin their adventures in the Stormreach Marketplace, bypassing many of the early low-level quests - and yes, it is retroactive. Players who have not reached 1,000 favor but would like to purchase this status may do so in the DDO Store. This allows players to bring new custom characters easily into the game, and makes it easier to tinker with new builds, particularly multi-class builds.
With Update One also comes a brand new difficulty setting - Epic. Designed to allow players to revisit old favorites redone for the level cap, Epic Dungeons not only allow players to re-experience the challenge of these areas on a newer, harder difficulty designed exclusively for level 20s, but also allow players to gain new, Epic versions of the items that dropped there before.
And, finally, Hooked Gamers' review of the whole game:
Diablo-esque Dungeons
Dungeons & Dragons Online combines the click-fest combat of the Diablo series with the hotkey mechanics of other MMOs, then throws in some twitch-based action elements like blocking and dodging for good measure. The combat feels a tad unresponsive, however. There were many times I pressed a hotkey to cast a spell and had to wait a second or two before my character began the casting animation. Sometimes, I would have to press the hotkey more than once. It takes a little getting used to and could be a source of frustration to some players.
Thanks to GameBanshee for the lead.
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More on Bethesda v. Interplay
Posted: November 5, 2009, 4:03 pm by chevalier
  For those of us who are interested in the happenings of the Bethesda litigation against Interplay, there's some new feed at No Mutants Allowed. For people who don't particularly like legalese, suffice to say Bethesda has failed to get a preliminary injunction restraining Interplay from publishing older Fallout games or working on the Fallout massively online game. Here's a snip:
When it comes to Fallout Online itself, Interplay notes it has "more than 600 pages of extensive game design documents detaling, without limitation: characters, character abilities, equipment and in game items, weapons, concept art, story outlines, and environment descriptions, among other game information." Interplay claims to have entered full production with Masthead prior to the deadline set by the TLA and to have created a demo that "included a playable portion of the 3-D game environment, which was based upon the game design documents and showcased the art style selected by the team." Interplay sent notice on April 2 to Bethesda that they had satisfied the TLA conditions. Bethesda unilaterally revoked Interplay's rights under the TLA on April 7, claiming Interplay was not allowed to use independent contractors and rejecting Interplay's financial arrangements. Bethesda also claimed Interplay was not allowed to use digital distribution channels under the APA.
Read the whole thing at No Mutants Allowed and thanks to GameBanshee for the lead.
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BioWare Licenses Umbra Tech for Games
Posted: November 5, 2009, 3:57 pm by chevalier
More polygons without our PCs running out of coal is what Umbra promises us and BioWare has landed a licence of that. Here's a snip:
Umbra is a highly robust, GPU based, visibility optimization solution that allows game developers to create highly dynamic game worlds without preprocessing. With Umbra game developers can increase their polygon budgets significantly and create highly complex game worlds which were previously impossible.
“BioWare has proven their excellence with a multitude of award-winning projects,” said Farhad Taherazer, VP of marketing for Umbra Software. “We are proud to have a studio with their track record recognize our abilities with a broad integration of our tech, it gives us credibility in this market place and puts us closer to becoming an industry standard.”
Read Umbra's press release at GameBanshee.
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Short History of RPG at Gametard
Posted: November 5, 2009, 3:51 pm by chevalier
Gametard is telling the history of the roleplaying genre. Here's a little clip:
This has been an experience that (more than any other title with similar options) I've been trying to play as honestly as I would in real life. If I, Adam Roy, were a mutant, which side would I choose? I weighed the pro's and con's, and after much deliberation, chose to battle along Iron Man's side because it seemed they had a more compulsive argument backed with (psychohistory) science. It's wasn't one hundred percent ethical to turn on my comrade's in the way I did, however, I believed the Fantastic Four when they told me things would only get worse if we didn't succumb to what the topic of the decade was.
Read the rest at Gametard. Thanks to GameBanshee for the lead.
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Turbine Opens New Server for Eberron Unlimited after Freebie
Posted: November 5, 2009, 3:47 pm by chevalier
After Dungeons & Dragons Online going free as Eberron Unlimited, there was a crowd of new players and Turbine concluded it was a good idea to open a new world without character transfers being available, i.e. a new world for new characters only. Here's a snip:
We told you recently about the massive population growth that Dungeons and Dragons Online has experienced since going free-to-play last summer, and Turbine is keeping pace with that growth nicely. Players enjoy a solid, extensive game at the free level, as well as a seemingly endless supply of additional content at either a microtransaction or subscription level -- including the first major content update since the free-to-play model launched in June.
Read the rest at Massively and thanks to Blue's for the lead.
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Fallout History Part Two
Posted: November 5, 2009, 3:37 pm by chevalier
 After Part 1, MediaConsumesMe has posted the second part of the history of the Fallout world. Here's a snip about Interplay's cancelled Van Buren project:
Black Isle Studios returned to making Fallout 3, codenaming their production Van Buren. Details began to emerge and fans salivated at the thought of another game in the franchise. The game would feature 3D graphics, using the Jefferson engine developed for Baldur’s Gate 3, and continued the Fallout storyline in the American southwest in locations such as Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado. The player would have started off as a prisoner thrust into war between factions of the New California Republic (featured in Fallout 2) and the Brotherhood of Steel. It also featured a mad scientist named Victor Presper bent on using a Ballistic Missile Satellite to destroy what was left of the post-nuclear world. Supposedly at the end of the game, the player would have to choose where the satellite would target, something very familiar to players of Bethesda’s Fallout 3 DLC, Broken Steel, but we’ll get to that later.
Read the rest at MediaConsumesMe and thanks to RPG Watch for the lead.
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Planescape: Torment on DVD
Posted: November 5, 2009, 3:34 pm by chevalier
 You can find Planescape: Torment on DVD at Amazon.co.uk in preorder, here. The US version isn't available yet, but we'll be sure to let you know once that pops up. Thanks to Codex for the lead.
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Touch-Screen Tabletop Gaming?
Posted: November 5, 2009, 3:32 pm by chevalier
 That's pretty much what it looks like. The Surfacescapes team at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University has come up with a proof of concept of Dungeons & Dragons Gameplay on Microsoft Surface. Link. Thanks to RPG Codex for the lead.
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