Archived News:
This interview on IndustryGamers talks with Vince Zampella, Jason West, and EA Partners head David DeMartini about just announced plans for Respawn Entertainment, a new developer being run by former Infinity Ward bosses Zampella and West. They describe how they came to land at EA after being fired by Activision and how happy they are to get back to the business of making games, though what sort of games they plan is not clear, as David DeMartini explains they've bought a pig in a poke: "We've entered into a relationship with Respawn without any predisposition about what kind of game they're going to be making. I think identifying their game as a shooter is taking a leap without any connecting of the dots. With regards to what it says to the internal EA teams, it just means that we're focused on making great games and last year we had a great year with our Metacritic higher than ever and our on-time delivery better than ever. What this is really all about isn't where the game gets made, whether internally or externally; it's about delivering something at the highest level of quality when we said we'd deliver it. What we're trying to do as a strategy at EA is deliver fewer things of higher quality with greater focus, because that's what the market is truly responding to. I think that's what this announcement is really all about." There's also an interview on Eurogamer where the same trio answers much the same questions. They also ask for a reaction to Activision's accusations that Modern Warfare 3 is being "held hostage" by the former Infinity Ward developers, to which Zampella responds: "False and outrageous and that's all we really have to say about it."
Develop has word that Crytek plans on releasing a free version of their upcoming CryENGINE 3, similar to the free version of the Unreal engine Epic offers as the Unreal Development Kit. Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli tells them, "we do want to make a standalone free platform that people can run independent of CryEngine that will also be up to speed with the latest engine." Thanks VG247.
A new trailer from World of Tanks is now available, showing off the first gameplay from the upcoming armored combat MMOG. "We're glad to finally take the lid off World of Tanks and demonstrates everyone the incredible environment that we've created for the game," said Victor Kislyi, CEO and Game Producer of Wargaming.net. "The gameplay trailer shows the huge maps and the legendary tanks along with the unique gameplay mechanics." The clip is embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
The remaining promised World of Warcraft: Cataclysm previews are now available, with the exception of the Paladin preview expected later this week. There are new previews for the Rogue, the Hunter, the Druid, and the Mage.
Direct2Drive Spring Sale Week One: "Direct2Drive will be giving gamers $15 in store credit when they spend $75 or more on any titles site-wide during the Spring Sale."
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier on Eurogamer.
Link of the Day: MurderPark. Thanks Ant.
Ubisoft unveils new details for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, the next installment in the tactical shooter series, talking about the combat experiences the game will offer, when it ships this fall, as well as the co-op and solo campaigns and multiplayer play. They also tout plans for a multiplayer beta, saying the invites will be in the Xbox 360 Splinter Cell Conviction, which will hit North American stores tomorrow, European stores on April 16, and Japan on April 28.
IncGamers excerpts an upcoming interview with Dusty Monk, founder of Windstorm Studios, who tells the tale of the Halo MMOG he worked on from 2004-2007 as a member of Microsoft's Ensemble Studios. Codenamed "Titan," the game was to have competed directly with World of Warcraft. "You have to remember that Ensemble came from a standpoint of being really good at competing against Blizzard Entertainment," Monk says, alluding to the competition between the Warcraft series and the Age of Empires series. "We had a pretty good history of knowing the types of stuff that Blizzard put into their games to make them really successful, and the kinds of things we'd need to put into an MMO to compete against Blizzard." He describes elements of the game that were adopted by other projects after the game was cancelled, and also explains the cancellation itself: "So part of this changing of the guard at Microsoft came along with the changing of the attitude to this very expensive, very long and very protacted [sic] $90 million USD project we were working on, which was Titan. To cut a long story short, Titan was closed down."
Battle Dex is a new free-to-play turn-based strategy/collectible card game the developers at Bandera Games say is similar to "Advance Wars + Magic: The Gathering on a hex grid." The game has just entered closed beta testing, and they are planning an online tournament this weekend with a $500.00 cash prize, kicking off a tournament schedule with over $5,000.00 in prizes. This forum post has more details on the beta testing.
The Zombie Driver Website announces a new update is now available for Zombie Driver that adds a new "Slaughter" gameplay mode to the post-apocalyptic automotive game. To go along with the free update, they announce the game will be on sale for 50% off over the next week. A Slaughter Trailer shows off the new mode, and the Zombie Driver downloads page is where to find downloads of the new version 1.1.1 patch with the new game mode, though they warn not to install the update for the Steam edition, which will update automatically. The patch is also mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying, and the patch notes follow. Continue here to read the full story.
EA and Respawn Entertainment announce oustered former Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella have formed a new development studio called Respawn Entertainment to operate under the EA Partners program. They do not have details on what they are up to, but they do say: "The move positions the Respawn Entertainment leadership team as the owners of the intellectual property they create," an obvious reference to West and Zampella's legal tussles with Activision. "Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me," said Vince Zampella, General Manager of Respawn Entertainment. "For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. We’re very proud of what we built – and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again -- open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA."
Epic Games and EA announce Bulletstorm, the already thrice revealed first-person shooter in development at People Can Fly. The Unreal-engine shooter is due in 2011: Bulletstorm tells the story of a futuristic confederation protected by an elite band of mercenaries: Dead Echo. When Dead Echo members Grayson Hunt and Ishi Sato learn they've been working for the wrong side, they're betrayed by their commander and exiled to the far reaches of the galaxy. In Bulletstorm, Grayson and Ishi find themselves surrounded by hordes of mutants and flesh eating gangs in an abandoned paradise. They have two objectives: get off the planet alive, and exact revenge on the man who sent them there.
Players step into the role of Grayson Hunt complete with an arsenal of over-the-top combat moves and outrageously large guns. Bulletstorm’s array of distinct ‘skillshots’ produces unprecedented levels of frantic gameplay and yell-inducing satisfaction. The skillshot system rewards players for inciting mayhem in the most creative way possible. The more insane the skillshot, the more points players collect to upgrade their character and unlock weapons, which then allows them to execute even more creative moves and exaggerated skillshots.
A story on superannuation points the way to Marcos Domenech's LinkedIn Profile, showing this environmental artist is now working on Brink with Splash Damage. His résumé also shows his prior stint at Pyro Studios included wok on a project called "C4," prompting them to speculate that this might be Commandos 4, since the Commandos series is the signature franchise of the Spanish developer. They follow this with the LinkedIn profile of José Ramón Díaz Martín, who provides a more concrete indication that this is the case, as his résumé lists: "Proyectos en los que he participado: Cops, Gifted, Commandos 4."
As noted on superannuation, an organization called Killspace Entertainment has registered a domain called Apocalypsenowgame.com and has also registered Warisnotagame.net, suggesting a game is in the works based on Coppola's classic Vietnam War movie. This is expanded upon by Joystiq, who note that Killspace Entertainment seems to include veterans of Obsidian Entertainment, Pandemic Studios, Red 5, and EALA, and that their website is online, offering an odd video. 1UP adds that their staff apparently also includes the author of the recent 8-bit Pink Floyd tribute. Also noted on superannuation, SCEA has filed for trademark registrations for Kung Fu Rider and The Shoot, and Warner Bros has filed one, two, three registrations for "Netherrealm Studios."
Akamai HD Network announces a number of broadcasters have signed to use their streaming services to deliver live and on-demand content over the internet. They have signed deals with the NFL, CBS March Madness On Demand, Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, IFC.com, MLB.com, MTV, NBC Olympics, and Turner Sports, and say they can deliver consumers their top three requirements for a successful viewing experience: "smooth playback, fast start-up times, and full-screen viewing."
There's a Q&A with Richard Ham on Skewed and Reviewed discussing Brink, the upcoming shooter from Splash Damage. They get the general rundown on the project, asking questions about the game's background, locales, weapons, vehicles, multiplayer support, the game engine, A.I., the plot and scripted elements, enemies, sounds, and more.
There's an Interview with Cryptic's Bill Roper and Jack Emmert on IncGamers talking with the pair about their new titles at Cryptic Studios, as Bill Roper has gone from executive producer on Champions Online to Cryptic's chief creative officer and Emmert is now the company's COO. Emmert says his position didn't really change, explaining that his new title better reflects what he's been doing for several years now. As for Roper, he says: "As CCO my primary objective is to spend day-to-day time with the teams working with the Executive Producers and various leads to provide design support and guidance as required. I’m also a liaison between the teams and the executives, supporting and representing their individual game visions."
The Interview with Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games on RPG Codex discusses the horror/noir Blackwell adventure game series. Topics include the setting, the unusual amount of dialog in the series, mysteries that are yet to be solved, moral choices, and more.
Pixel Prospector now offers downloads of a free 2D de-make of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Word is: "Call of Duty 6 (2D Remake) is a nice 2D interpretation of the famous First Person Shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It has a simple yet great graphical style and offers lots of fast paced action in its 5 minute life span. In that short amount of time the game provides a wide range of variety: Beside the normal platform shooter passages you will also control a stationary machine gun, swirl around with a helicopter, take a race with a snow mobile and a motor boat… and control a remote controlled missile." Thanks Joker961 via Examiner and YoYo Games.
Ars Technica - 4 rules for creating mainstream media gaming controversies.
CNN has been running a series of articles about a title called RapeLay that uses sexual assault as a game mechanic, but that particular title is an odd choice for controversy. It's not available in the United States, it's years old, and there are many other games with similar content still available. So why pick this game, and why return to the same subject over and over?
bit-tech.net - Why Everything Is Trying To Be An RPG Now.
While gamers often lament a lack of innovation in games, game mechanics change as rapidly as styles do in other forms of media - so while levelling has gone mainstream, the health bar appears to be on the way out and very few games these days features lives or continues. The question then, is why is levelling up so popular?
I am planning to inspect the BlueGrill today and prepare to fire it off tonight for our first cookout of the spring. The weather has been suited to this for a couple of weeks now, so this is already starting to feel more than a little overdue. I'm thinking burgers sound good, but then I always think that.
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