This Kickstarter Campaign is for CLANG, a PC multiplayer arena game based on one-on-one sword dueling (thanks
Slashdot). This proposal is from famed science fiction author Neal Stephenson, who describes himself as "a swordsmanship geek." He envisions this using motion control, and is looking to raise a half-million dollars to bring it to life. Here's a bit:
At first, it'll be a PC arena game based on one-on-one multiplayer dueling (which is a relatively simple and attainable goal; we don't want to mess this up by overreaching). Dueling, however, is only the tip of the sword blade. During the past few years, we have been developing a rich world, brimming with all manner of adventure tales waiting to be written--and to be played. In conjunction with 47 North, Amazon.com's new science fiction publishing house, we've already begun publishing some of those stories, and we have plenty more in the hopper. Once we get CLANG off the ground we intend to weave game and story content together in a way that'll enhance both the playing and the reading experience.
"How will this be different than SoulCalibur?" you ask. .....
Low-latency, high-precision motion controller: Critical to a satisfying sword fight is fast, accurate response. This is especially important for CLANG given the depth and complexity of moves that are used in real sword arts. Initially, CLANG will make use of a commercial, third-party, off-the-shelf controller that anyone can buy today
Depth: Roundhouse swings and crude blocks just aren't enough. Real sword fighting involves multiple attacks delivered from different stances, pommel strikes, grappling, feints, and parries.
Expandability: Implementing the longsword style will oblige us to construct a toolkit that can then be used--by us, or by others--to create other examples of what we're calling MASEs (Martial Arts System Embodiments). If your thing is Japanese kenjutsu or Viking sword-and-board, then in principle CLANG should support it.
Space Venture Interview of Ken Williams is a video of an audio chat with gaming legend Ken Williams. The conversation is intended to support the
Two Guys SpaceVenture Kickstarter which is almost 90% funded with 48 hours to go. They discuss Ken and Roberta's retirement as they circumnavigate the globe, and go into the couple's rich contribution to the history of adventure gaming. The audio pops quite a bit, but is pretty clear otherwise. Just hit the bathroom before the link, as the unhurried conversation runs for more than an hour. Thanks nin.
Here's Valve's accounting of the ten bestselling games on
Steam for the past week:
- Max Payne 3
- Arma 2
- Civilization V: Gods & Kings
- Saints Row: The Third
- Magicka Collection
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Torchlight II
- Mount & Blade Collection
- Far Cry Complete
- Quantum Conundrum
The
Dota 2 Blog announces the first round of tickets for The International will go on sale on Tuesday. Here's word:
The first batch of tickets for the The International will go on sale Tuesday, June 12th starting at 9:00 AM PDT/17:00 GMT. There will be an additional batch sold each day at the same time concluding Saturday the 16th.
The tickets will be available via the Dota 2 store at a cost of $49.99 and we expect tickets to sell out quickly. Each ticket grants you access to all 3 days of The International. The ticket itself has no value unless you attend the event.
After purchase, the ticket will be located in your Dota 2 inventory and can be traded like any other Dota 2 item. Upon use the item will be consumed and your Steam account will be flagged as attending. Your confirmation and access pass required to enter the event will be emailed to you at a later date so make sure your Steam contact info is up to date.
There will also be a limited amount of seating for people with PAX Prime passes but those are first come first served.
Well, the offer we declined to move to L.A. had one interesting benefit: I joked that moving to the Glendale area would provide the chance to tool around Echo Lake to investigate who is diverting the water supply, as that area played heavily in the plot of Chinatown. Well MrsBlue was made aware of this somewhere along the line, and this made her want to see it, in spite of her generally not having my patience for films. So we got to sit down and watch it together, something I've been trying to get her to do for years. A good time was had by all, but in classic form, she started getting antsy just before the two-hour mark, so we had to have a brief intermission so she could recharge for the solutions to the movie's mysteries.
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