"I like this kind of game better," he said. "You know, it's what most of us are into. I'm not really an MMO guy. I respect them, I look at them, but I don't play them. It feels more real to me when I'm the hero and it's crafted for that. A community aspect to it, I recognize a lot of people would want that in a game like this, but it changes the flavor for me.
"The audience we have for our kind of thing is big enough that we don't have to tone it down. We can just do our thing, and it's kind of grown with each game. So there was no pressure from anybody above me to say 'Hey, you need to change this.'"
Beginning in September, the ongoing Galactic Civil War will escalate further as both sides seek to decisively win the epic conflict. In addition to all of the current Galactic Civil War activities, new events and contests will provide you with new ways to earn Galactic Civil War points and advantages you can use to help your side win.
At a time and date yet to be announced, but prior to December 15th, all Galactic Civil War points will be tallied by server. The side with the higher score will win the game, and the galaxy, for each server, as well as change the way the game will end and what happens in the final moments. Celebrations will be in order for those who win and, for the losers, let’s just say they’ll be going out with a bang.
Neutral players will also see new decorations in the Storyteller system that will allow them to host their own shutdown events if they choose to opt out of the final battles in the Galactic Civil War.
Dead Island™, the upcoming gruesome zombie action game with RPG elements by renowned developer Techland, combines first-person action with a heavy focus on melee combat, character development and customisation of a vast array of weapons. All of these gameplay features are presented in a dark story inspired by classic zombie movies with a gritty and engrossing campaign that can be played with up to four players in co-op mode.Continue here to read the full story.
“In a game where it’s more authentic, when you have a gun in your hand and a child in front of you what would happen? Well the player would probably shoot that child.”
This is something Bach wants to avoid, because while the choice to do that ‘bad’ thing would have been the player’s, “We would be the ones to be blamed. We have to build our experiences so we don’t put the player in experiences where they can do bad things.” While not explicitly mentioned, the spectre of Modern Warfare 2 and its notorious ‘No Russian’ level seemed to this correspondent to loom large here.
So, Bach admitted that there was a degree of self-censoring necessary to limit potentially disagreeable player behaviour. “Me personally, I’m trying to stay away from civilians in games like BF because I think people will do bad. I don’t want to see videos on the internet where people shoot civilians. That’s something I will sanitise by removing that feature from the game.”
Importantly, “That doesn’t mean that I don’t want people to feel that war is not good,… We are trying to do something that is more mature. Mature not being gore –some people confuse the two. That’s childish actually, to want more blood.”
In The Baconing, hero DeathSpank, oblivious of an ancient Thongolith myth, carelessly pulls on all six Thongs of Virtue at the same time, summoning an unspeakable self-evil, the AntiSpank. DeathSpank must bear the incredible heat and enter the Fires of Bacon to destroy five of the six thongs to vanquish the AntiSpank.
With an improved tactical combat system, players can defeat evil on their own or partner up with new side-kick, Bob from Marketing and other characters for local co-op play. Along the way, DeathSpank travels through sci-fi inspired worlds, meeting a hilarious cast of characters, and obtains new Weapons of Justice and suits of armor as he fights to return peace to his beloved Spanktopia.
The Rise of the Samurai adds a brand new playable campaign to Total War: Shogun 2. The campaign can be played in both single and multiplayer modes. Six new playable clans, each with unique traits are also added for a brand new campaign experience. These clans come with sixteen new land units and ten new naval units between them offering a very different set of strategies to the would-be general. There are also four new hero units including the Tetsubo Warrior Monk Hero and the deadly female Onna Bushi Heroine. As well as all these additions the Rise of the Samurai expansion adds four new agent types, each with their own skill trees. From the seductress Shirabyoshi to the shrewd and zealous Junsatsushi Inspectors, each of these offers a brand new campaign experience. With all these clans, heroes, agents and units at your command you must ride with the first of the Samurai and decide the fate of the first ever Shogun of Japan.
The study, the first to confirm the link between increased video game violence and impaired in-game ad effectiveness, was authored by College of Communication researchers Seung-Chul Yoo, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Advertising, and Jorge Peña, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies. It appears in the July/August issue of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
"Although violent video games are very popular and can reach a young, highly engaged audience, their effectiveness as an advertising medium is questionable," said Peña. "Our study demonstrates that featured violence diminishes brand memory and primes more negative attitudes toward the brand."
As part of the study, participants played one of two video games with embedded advertisements. The violent video game featured computer-operated avatars holding guns and shooting at the participant as he or she navigated through virtual rooms drenched in blood. In contrast, the non-violent video games featured the same avatars holding nothing and the virtual rooms were soaked in water.
Links: | Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez and Acleacius. |
Play: | Awesome Ghosts vs. Stupid Zombies. |
Links: |
11 Surprising Celebrity Hobbies. Thanks Neatorama. Back to School FAILs. |
Stories: |
Oklahoma, Texas Wildfires Destroy Dozens of Homes. DC Comics Reboots Justice League and Other Series. Thanks j.c.f. |
Science: |
International Space Station Could be De-Crewed by November. Thanks TDW Geeks. Have a happy heart about eating chocolate. |
Images: |
Cosplay Corner. Just Another Day on Canada’s Only Highway. This Is What My Baby Will Dress Like. |
Media: |
Dog DNA. Cat Finds Balloon Caricature of Himself Offensive. |
The Funnies: | Nerf Now: Free Market. |
Follow-up: |
After Hurricane Katrina, Years of Post-Traumatic Stress. Thanks Boing Boing. How To Prepare Your Car For a Hurricane. |