|
|
 |
Archived News:
Polygon has first word on free DLC coming this summer to
Octodad: Dadliest Catch,
Young Horse's cephalopodic adventure game. There are no real details for now
other than this will bring new levels to the game on all platforms. Thanks nin.
The
Battlefield Blog has word that the recent spate of Battlefield Hardline
beta testing has concluded, and lays out some of the plans for refining the cops
and robbers shooter for its October launch, including word that there will be
another round of beta testing in the fall. Here's a bit: The Battlefield
Hardline beta is now closed, we want to thank everyone who took part! Running a
beta during E3 was definitely something that was hard to pull off, but we did it
for two reasons. First, we want your feedback early. We’re listening to it,
we’re acting on it and it’s going to help make Hardline a better game when we
launch in October. Second, we’re gamers like you. It’s great to hear about games
and see games, but we want to play games. And even though it is still early and
we have a lot of work left to do, it was important to us that you could see and
feel for yourself what we’re doing with Hardline.
But this beta is only the beginning. . .
In the months ahead we’ll be revealing more details about what we’re doing in
multiplayer as well as what the team at Visceral is bringing to the singleplayer
campaign. As many of you know from previous Visceral games, we have a unique way
of telling our stories and engrossing players in our worlds, and Hardline will
be no different. We are doing some cool new things in how we present the
campaign, similar to what you see when watching episodes of your favorite TV
shows. It’s something different and we’re fired up about it. Keep your eyes out
for more on this next month.
The Sins of a
Solar Empire Forums have a follow-up to news from
a couple of years ago that Rebellion Developments had filed an edgy lawsuit
against Ironclad Games and Stardock over the use of the word Rebellion in the
title of Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, lest someone confuse a video game
with a company. Sanity prevailed, and Ironclad prevailed in U.S. court, but as
they now explain it, they are under assault from Rebellion legal forces
overseas: Ultimately, the settlement discussions bore no fruit and we were
soon served. For the better part of a year we moved through the legal process.
While we had multiple arguments to support our case we decided to focus on a
First Amendment defense. Our U.S. legal representatives at
Nixon Peabody successfully argued on
our behalf and obtained the following judgement best said in the judge's own
words:
"...Defendants’ use of REBELLION is expressive speech and is protected under the
First Amendment. Plaintiffs cannot satisfy the Rogers test; they cannot
establish that REBELLION has no artistic relevance to Defendants’ computer game,
or that it is explicitly misleading as to source or content. Defendants’ Motion
to Dismiss is GRANTED."
The
full judgement can be found
here and a
summary analysis of the judgement can be found
here.
This judgement is an important result for anyone developing games and for the
gaming community as a whole. First, it reaffirms that video games are protected
by the First Amendment. Second, it establishes that artistically relevant video
game names are also protected by the First Amendment so long as the name isn't
explicitly misleading about the content of the game or who created it. Finally,
it demonstrates that a First Amendment defense of a video game can be
successfully applied to a motion to dismiss thus "preventing a chilling effect
on speech". This last point is particularly important to smaller developers who
cannot afford to enter a lengthy and expensive court battle. We are very proud
that this judgement could help others in the future.
With this case resolved, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has recently
allowed us to move forward on trademarking the name "Sins of a Solar Empire:
Rebellion" and our Certification of Registration is forthcoming.
Finally, we wish this story had a happy ending. Last week we received notice
that Rebellion Developments and the Kingsley brothers have submitted evidence in
opposition to our trademark application in Canada and we have unconfirmed
reports that they issued a cease and desist order to our partner in the United
Kingdom. We fully expect they will continue this worldwide but so long as the
countries they choose to oppose us in protect freedom of expression, we intend
to continue fighting.
Wadjet Eye Games announces A Golden Wake, a point-and-click adventure set
in the roaring '20s they are bringing to Windows PCs this fall in collaboration
with Grundislav Games. There's a
teaser trailer and
details on the A
Golden Wake website, and here's the announcement: The Roaring
Twenties: a bygone era of glitz, glamour, and promise. In Coral Gables -- a
booming housing development near Miami, Florida -- the real estate market is
taking off and even an ordinary guy like Alfie Banks has a chance to strike it
rich. But with the mob on his back, the Great Depression on the horizon, and the
Sunshine State's idyllic waterfront only a hurricane away from total
devastation, Alfie's quest will not be an easy one in A Golden Wake, a new
point-and-click adventure game coming to PC this fall.
Developed by Francisco Gonzalez of Grundislav Games (Ben Jordan: Paranormal
Investigator) and published by indie powerhouse Wadjet Eye Games (Blackwell
Epiphany, Resonance, Gemini Rue), A Golden Wake is a nostalgic adventure that
spans two dramatic decades in American history. Set in the era of Gatsby with a
plot that includes real people, locations, and events, A Golden Wake has story-
and puzzle-driven gameplay, retro-styled pixel art, and a point-and-click
interface reminiscent of classics like King's Quest and Monkey Island. Alfie's
power of persuasion will play a unique role as he analyzes other characters'
attitudes and weaknesses to figure out the best way to approach them.
Continue here to read the full story.
Kiss my aura, Dora! The Fighter Collection announces preorders are underway
for DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, the famed Focke-Wulf 190 World War II fighter for
DCS World, their
free-to-play digital battlefield. You can preorder from the
DCS E-Shop, and
they say the Dora should be ready for take-off on August 5th. Here's a feature
list:
- Unmatched flight physics that allow you to truly feel what it's like to
fly this legend.
- Highly detailed, six-degrees-of-freedom (6 DOF) cockpit.
- Interact with cockpit controls with your mouse.
- Accurate Fw 190 D-9 model, squadron markings, and weapons.
- Detailed modelling the Fw 190 D-9 instruments, weapons, engine, radios,
fuel, and electrical systems.
- Battle the P-51D Mustang in single and multiplayer games.
Danish independent developer Logic Artists announces Clandestine is now in
the alpha testing stage, taking the opportunity to reveal more details about
their upcoming asymmetrical coop espionage game. They have released the
first video developer blog
from the game, and they offer this as well: With the alpha announcement,
Logic Artists has also revealed new details about the two player roles in
Clandestine: The Spy and The Hacker. Using familiar 3rd-person stealth game
mechanics such as concealed weapons, (including grenades and handguns), a
stealth cover system, brutal lethal as well as non-lethal takedowns and cool
gadgets, the Spy must covertly enter corporate headquarters, hideouts and safe
houses across two continents. Meanwhile, the Hacker utilizes a 2D computer
interface, reminiscent of the mid-1990’s, to run support for the Spy on the
ground by controlling and disabling security cameras, locking and unlocking
digitally controlled doors and systems, blinding enemies by synchronously
turning on and off all lights in an area, bribing enemies and non-player
characters (NPCs) and coordinating Dead Drops of Health and Ammo for the
Spy.
Continue here to read the full story.
Mojang Data
Analyst Patrick Geuder tweets the latest impressive sales milestone for
Minecraft, saying console sales have now surpassed Windows/OS X sales, and
that the open world construction game has blown past the 50 million sales mark:
"Minecraft console editions together just passed Minecraft for PC/Mac. And
across all platforms we've sold almost 54 million copies." Minecraft is the
third
best-selling video game of all time, though it will have to sell more than
25 million more copies to pass Wii Sports for number two, and almost 90
million more copies to snag the top spot from Tetris. Thanks
CraveOnline.
Canadian studio United Front Games is working on a new game, reports
Eurogamer, though there are very few details at the moment. What they say is
the Sleeping Dogs and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition developer is
working on a free-to-play title to be offered through Nexon America next year,
saying "Nexon is talking it up as a triple-A quality" game. "We can't wait to
unveil our new title with Nexon America," said UFG boss Stephen van der Mescht.
"We're confident it's going to be a smash hit."
Battle.net
announces that the upcoming version 2.1.0 patch for Diablo III is now
live on the Play Test Realm. They offer
official PTR patch notes
with details on what's included and
instructions on how to participate for those interested. In a
separate post
they note that the PTR does not yet include the Seasons feature, though the code
is present to turn it on. They say: "We don't anticipate much of a delay, and
once Seasons have been enabled on the PTR we will provide an update in this
thread as well our official
PTR patch notes." They
also clarify
that you do not need the Reaper of Souls expansion to participate in testing.
There are Game Update Four
notes for the next patch for Titanfall, which Respawn says will be
released soon for the mech shooter for all platforms. There are new features and
bug fixes listed, along with a lengthy list of balance changes, which they
introduce like so: "In this update we've made a few changes to Pilot weapons and
Big Punch to ensure proper balance. Some weapons, like the Hemlok, were barely
being used while other weapons were slightly overpowered. We've done another
round of balancing based on feedback we've received from inside and outside of
the studio. We'll continue to listen to our community in regards to weapon/game
balance and thanks for sharing all of your feedback with us." Thanks
VG247.
I mentioned plans to see a doctor a while back about a pain in my shoulder that
wasn't going away. It's commonly joked that one's pain often disappears once you
arrive at the doctor's office, which actually happened in my case, even though I
actually missed my appointment. Clearly whatever was aggravated at the time has
settled down a bit, but the shoulder doesn't feel very strong, and I need to
start working on rehabilitating it, but at least I'm no longer convinced that
surgery is the only answer here (which makes me very glad I missed that
appointment).
|
Twitter 
