As always, members of team Nintendo Life have gathered together to discuss their weekend gaming plans and we’d love for you to join us via our poll and comment sections below. Enjoy!
Liam Doolan, news reporter
My main gaming focus this weekend will be Luigi’s Mansion 3. I’ll admit, I wasn’t particularly fond of the second outing on the 3DS, but I absolutely loved the GameCube original – it was such an appropriate title for the system’s comfortable controller. I even played this game multiple times over, as short as it was. The spooky vibes I’m getting from the third game so far seem a lot more promising than the dedicated handheld sequel, so I’m going to go ahead and say right now that Luigi’s new ghostbusting affair could end up becoming my favourite entry in the series.
If I get any extra time, I might boot up Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD and drive myself bananas. As rough around the edges as it is, it’s been good fun revisiting a Wii game through an HD lens.
Zion Grassl, video producer
This month has been pretty wild with its Switch releases, giving me too many games to play. After many hours of fun and frustration, I finally rolled credits on Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD, which feels good to put behind me because I feel that I start so many games these days but never finish them.
So I’ll probably try to dive into my backlog a bit this weekend to finish a few games that I’m at the tail end of, like Astral Chain or Hotline Miami Collection. I’d also try to fit Ring Fit Adventure into my schedule, but I’m travelling out of town this weekend and I think it’s best advised I don’t try playing it in the car.
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
This weekend, I will absolutely, positively not be playing Luigi’s Mansion 3. It doesn’t look like any fun, it isn’t festive or seasonal in any way, and I hate being able to pet cute Polterpups. I ESPECIALLY cannot stand hearing Charles Martinet as Mario saying “doggy!” That time I met him at E3 while he was promoting the game, and he did a Luigi impression for me? Made me even less excited for this game. Gooigi? Gross, green jello is the very worst of the flavors. Haunted hotel? It’s not even that scary, guys. 1/10, more like Lame-igi…
So yeah, I’ll be playing Luigi’s Mansion 3 all weekend long – and forcing all of my friends to play it, too.
Ryan Craddock, staff writer
Against my better judgement, I’ve actually managed to hold off from buying Luigi’s Mansion 3 at launch. I’m incredibly eager to get stuck into it, but I’m still working my way through Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair and I’ve set aside an entire week after Pokémon Sword and Shield launch to play my chosen version all day long every day.
The goal, therefore, is to play through more of Yooka-Laylee over the weekend in an attempt to complete it – I’ve nearly played through all of the levels so will soon be taking on the final boss – and then maybe start dipping in and out of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD until Pokémon arrives. Don’t worry though, Luigi, you’ll likely be my Christmas period entertainment!
Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer
A rare three-day weekend for me would mean further smooth The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt progress but the arrival of parcels from the Far East means that Super Robot Wars V (in English!) is also part of my weekend. I urge any fan of Space Battleship Yamato to seek it out. Do you think it will be this weekend I complete DAEMON X MACHINA and Astral Chain? Probably not, but most certainly not for the lack of trying.
My game of the week is obviously the magnificent, spooktastic Luigi’s Mansion 3. Congratulations to Next Level Games for fully realizing the franchise’s potential. This year I even broke off the SNES marathon tradition just to have more free time to further play this new vacuum cleaner chronicle.
Gavin Lane, staff writer
This weekend I’m in need of something restorative following a mid-week bout of the dreaded lurgy. It can be hard to find a game that strikes the right balance if you’re not firing on all cylinders – something you don’t have to think too hard about but still feels rewarding. Mega Drive Sonic games are my usual go-to, but I think a little trip to Hyrule in Breath of the Wild would be just the ticket this weekend. I’ve got a several dozen more Korok seeds to find, but just burning around the hills on my Master Cycle Zero is fun enough to pass a few hours as the ol’ batteries recharge. Lovely.
Which games are you playing this weekend? (348 votes)
BlizzCon 2019: Blizzard Addresses Hong Kong Hearthstone Banning Controversy
It's been a wild couple of weeks for Blizzard, following the company's decision to punish professional Hearthstone player Ng Wai Chung (aka Blitzchung) after he used a post-match interview to express his support of the Hong Kong protests. Though Blizzard already released an official apology for its actions, the company took advantage of its platform at BlizzCon 2019 to further address the situation, although it didn't acknowledge any specifics about what it had done.
"Blizzard had the opportunity to bring the world together in a Hearthstone tournament," company president J. Allen Brack said. "We did not. We moved too quickly in our decision making, and to make matters worse we were too slow to talk with you. We didn't live up to the high standards we really set for ourselves, and second, we failed in our purpose. I'm sorry, and I accept accountability."
Brack went on to talk about BlizzCon being an opportunity to showcase the global community for its games, and promised, "We will do better going forward."
In response to the original ban against Blitzchung, a protest was organized that is currently ongoing just outside BlizzCon. "That Blizzard has shown a willingness to re-evaluate their decision is a small step in the right direction, but make no mistake; Blizzard continues to punish these individuals despite widespread outrage from gamers around the world," protest organizer Dayton Young said in a statement to GameSpot.
"We understand that game publishers and developers have a responsibility to moderate the content that appears on their platforms to ensure that gamers are safe from harassment, threats of violence, and other dangerous behavior," he continued. "But silencing gamers who speak up about issues that affect their freedom makes us all less safe from oppression and institutional abuse."
Video: 13 Exciting New Games Coming To Nintendo Switch In November
When he’s not paying off a loan to Tom Nook, Liam likes to report on the latest Nintendo news and admire his library of video games. His favourite Nintendo character used to be a guitar-playing dog, but nowadays he prefers to hang out with Judd the cat.
The Haxe Programming Language just hit a major milestone with the release of version 4.0.0. The programming language gains several new features such as:
New function type syntax
Arrow function syntax
final keyword
New and faster Haxe built-in interpreter
Unicode support on all targets
Key-value iterators
Auto-“using” for types
IDE services protocol for better IDE support
New high-performance run-time HashLink, a successor of Neko
.. and much more!
Check the complete What’s New Guide for a full list of changes in this release, including possible breaking changes from Haxe 3.x. There is a thriving ecosystem of game engines and frameworks for Haxe which we showcased here. Of particular interest are the Blender based Armory3D engine (tutorial series here) and the popular and mature 2D frame HaxeFlixel (tutorial series here).
You can learn more about the Haxe 4.0.0 release in the video below.
Ad companies say Apple is taking a ‘slow roll’ in promoting Apple TV+
By William Gallagher Saturday, November 02, 2019, 08:03 am PT (11:03 am ET)
Figures for television and online advertising show Apple typically spending around half as much on promoting Apple TV+ as on the iPhone.
Apple TV+ is now available on iOS devices, Macs and Apple TV hardware
According to the New York Times, Apple‘s marketing of Apple TV+ has been “muted” compared to how Disney+ is being promoted. While there are no details for Disney’s spending, on figures available for September and October, Apple spent around twice as much advertising the iPhone than it did Apple TV+.
In September, Apple reportedly spent $28.6 million on iPhone television ads, compared to $14.9 million for Apple TV+
As might be expected, that figure went up in October as the service’s November 1 launch date approached, but the proportions were approximately the same. In October, Apple spent $19.9 million advertising Apple TV+ on television, but it spent $38.6 million on iPhone adds.
The figures are closer for online ad spending and in September, Apple TV+ promotions actually cost more. Apple paid an estimated $3.8 million for online Apple TV+ ads, compared to $2.4 million for iPhone ones.
However, in October, online iPhone ads cost Apple $2.3 million, while it is believed to have spent $1.7 million on Apple TV+ ones.
The New York Times quotes analyst Dan Rayburn of business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, saying that Apple is right to hold back on its advertising.
“Consumers are just drowning in content right now,” he told the Times, “and all of these services are competing for our time. But they’re all approaching the market differently. This isn’t some race for Apple. It’s a slow roll.”
However, analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities told the NYT that he believes the Apple TV+ marketing has been unusually “aggressive” for Apple.
“This is a pivotal juncture for Apple to be successful,” he said. “They cannot trip over their shoelace. They were late to the game, they’ve underinvested in content, and they have a lot of room to make up.”
The New York Times report was first spotted by 9to5mac.
Mark your calendars, Guardians, because October 29 is a day filled with updates that will appeal to just about every player in this community. We have a full menu of activities to tackle, challenges to master, and Exotic loot to add to your collection.
Festival of the Lost is about to return. We have a full preview of the festivities Guardians can look forward to next week. The Moon isn’t the only thing that’s haunted. The Haunted Forrest will be back, and the Tower will be spookier than ever.
A new dungeon is also opening up to willing fireteams or brave Guardians who want to tackle it alone. Speak with Eris; she knows the way.
The Crucible is about to gain some momentum as well, changing the way Guardians meet in glorious combat.
Earlier this week, Banshee sent Season Pass owners out on a quest to claim the Leviathan’s Breath Exotic Bow. If you haven’t completed the quest yet, check this out.
On top of all that, there’s another Exotic quest going live for Shadowkeep owners. You may have seen pictures of a replica we had made of the “bug gun” from past events. It’s time for you to go out and claim the Xenophage as your own.
Where will your path take you first? There will be many options for you to consider, depending on how you like to play the most.
Continue the Momentum
Next week, Lord Shaxx is mixing things up in the Crucible with a new mode called Momentum Control. While Mayhem puts focus on Supers, Momentum shifts your focus to gunplay. This is a fast-paced, hair-on-fire experience where the lethality of all weapons has been cranked to 11. You’re incentivized to be aggressive as you defeat other Guardians to earn charged melees, grenades, and Supers. Here’s a quick rundown of what to expect:
Instant Respawn Times
Out of the fight? No problem; drop right back in immediately
Weapon Damage Increased
Higher combat lethality
Everything in your arsenal is a contender
Ability Regen Requires Effort
Defeat enemy players to charge your melee, grenade, and Super
No Tracker
Sneak around your enemies for some sweet flanks
Amped Control
Zones capture faster and grant more bonus points per kill
Super Charged Supers
Increased damage resist in Super means you become the 1,000-pound gorilla
Be careful, because Heavy weapons will put you down quickly
The Heaviest of Ammo
Increased Heavy ammo respawn rates and drop amounts
Many of us who have been playtesting this have compared it to the classic Halo custom game SWAT, but for Destiny. We’ve done a lot of trying out different weapons and seeing how they behaved in this heavily modified sandbox of a mode.
Momentum will be the featured 6v6 rotating playlist during Festival of the Lost. We’ll be monitoring the community’s response to see when we want to bring it back.
Looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Triumphant
Now that we’re neck deep in Season of the Undying, we wanted to talk about some changes to Seasonal Triumphs in the third year of Destiny 2. You may have noticed some of the changes to the system and the Destiny Dev Team wanted to let you know some of our thinking behind why we are adjusting Triumphs going forward.
Destiny Dev Team:
As always, we start with the goals:
Provide more tiers of pursuit for players
Provide Seasonal pursuits that match each Season of Destiny
Ensure everyone has a chance to show off their accomplishments
What’s in a Triumph Tier?
Starting with Shadowkeep, individual Triumphs can now have tiers. They grant a portion of its total Triumph score as you make progress toward the final Triumph. For example, consider the SEASON 8: POWER BONUS Triumph. It has three tiers. To earn the first tier, you need to gain 5 points of bonus Power from your Season 8 Artifact, the Gate Lord’s Eye. Once you do, you’ll get 10 points of Triumph score toward your account’s total Triumph Score, and the next tier will be revealed to you.
As part of this release, we went through all the existing Triumphs in the game and added in tiers to Triumphs where they made sense.
A Title to Match the Season
This is probably too much homework, but the “An Evolving World” section of Luke’s Director’s Cut—Part III is essential reading. The CliffsNotes version as it pertains to titles? Okay, we’ll try. Prior to Season of the Undying, each piece of the Annual Pass added parts of the game designed to live on forever. During Season 8, a new situation will unfold on the Moon. Over the course of the Season, the situation will be resolved and some of the related activities will go away as Season 9’s conflict arrives.
This will also be true of the Title associated with Season 8. Both the Triumphs and Badge for the new title will ask players to be participate during the Season of the Undying. Once the conflict has been resolved players will no longer be able to earn the season’s title, Undying.
New Light and Getting ALL the Score
New Light forced us to think about many of the existing Triumphs and evolve our philosophies around what Triumph Score represents. For example, when a New Light player joins the game, should they receive all the score for getting to level 50 without having to put in any effort? That doesn’t feel like much of a Triumph. That said, shouldn’t a new kinderguardian have a chance to have the magical moment where they hit max score? Also, our evolving world will lead to many Triumphs that will no longer be able to be earned. Yet, we’ve heard loud and clear that Triumphs without score aren’t very compelling. The rules had to evolve.
The decisions!
Pre-Shadowkeep Triumphs that no longer require effort can’t be earned after Season 7.
These Triumphs have had their score reduced to 0.
The players who have earned them will still see them in their Triumphs.
Seasonal Triumphs will have a score value. If you miss Triumphs during Season of the Undying, you may not be able to max out your score for the year.
Even with an evolution to our Triumph philosophy, we don’t think we’re done making tweaks to the system. Not everything is as clean as we’d like it to be in order to support Destiny as an evolving world. We’ll be listening closely for feedback as we consider how to best continue the evolution of Triumphs.
Color Your Words
Accessibility is something we’re always trying to improve in Destiny. We have some new changes coming next week to make subtitles easier to read. The Destiny Dev Team is here to tell you more!
Destiny Dev Team: Have you ever found yourself wishing the subtitles were bigger, or liked having them on but thought they took up too much space, or wanted them to be a different color?
It has always been important for us that we make Destiny’s UI accessible to the widest range of possible players as we can. Later this month, we’ll be releasing an update that adds more options to let you change the look of subtitles in Destiny. Five different sizes to pick from, a variety of text colors, and a few different styles for the background.
These new subtitle settings are found in the settings tab under “Gameplay” on PC and “Accessibility” on consoles, and they’re present in new users’ initial log-in experience. We’ve also taken this opportunity to consolidate some PC settings into five subsections.
This is just one focused update on increasing accessibility options in Destiny, with plans for additional updates in later releases. (A small example that didn’t quite make this next release is a fix for subtitles disappearing when navigating between menus). We’d love to hear your feedback on these changes, as well as what other accessibility improvements are important to you.
Ready for the Runway
Last week, we put out the call for all fashion-focused Guardians to put on their best threads for Fashion Week. We have an esteemed panel of judges who have been searching through the submissions to settle on a few favorites to honor as the first Fashion Week winners. Here are picks for each class!
Hunters
Worg
Waidelotte
Narhzul
Warlocks
Morrigh4n
Danni
TheMergingWheat
Titans
TadsJr
AFatalChick
Crissis
Other Guardians also caught our eye. Fashion is subjective, and though this Guardian’s look may be considered “unconventional,” they wore it loud and proud. Here is our honorable mention.
Honorable Mentions
Angel Montero
All of the Guardians mentioned will receive a special emblem as a badge of honor. If you would like to be featured here and claim that emblem as your own, keep an eye out for the next Fashion Week in a future TWAB for how to submit.
Forges and Festivals
Player Support has everything you need to know for next week’s update.
This is their report.
Destiny 2 Update 2.6.1
Next Tuesday, Destiny 2 Update 2.6.1 is scheduled to go live. This update will introduce a broad variety of changes to the player experience, and resolves a number of known issues that have emerged since the launch of Shadowkeep. Here are some highlights:
Resolved an issue that prevented some veteran players from unlocking Black Armory forges and completing the Mysterious Box quest for Izanagi’s Burden.
Resolved an issue that prevented players from abandoning the Mysterious Box quest for Izanagi’s Burden on alt characters—it will be retrievable from Ada-1.
Resolved an issue where the Exodus Black destination quest could not be recovered if abandoned—it will be retrievable from Failsafe.
Resolved an issue which prevented some players from earning the “Silimar’s Design” Triumph—this Triumph will unlock retroactively for eligible players.
Resolved an issue causing daily bounties from Eris Morn and the Lectern of Enchantment to rotate weekly.
Resolved an issue that increased load times for previewing gear while traveling between destinations.
Additionally, we’d like to remind players that we’ve resolved an issue causing crashes in the Gofannon Forge in Hotfix 2.6.0.4. Players who previously encountered issues engaging with Black Armory content are highly encouraged to try again once Update 2.6.1 becomes available next Tuesday.
As with all updates and hotfixes, players should follow @BungieHelp on Twitter or monitor our support feed on help.bungie.net for the latest details as soon as they are available.
Festival of the Lost
Also next Tuesday, Festival of the Lost returns to Destiny 2. In case you missed it in our blog earlier this week, we encourage all players to take a look at our official Festival of the Lost Guide.
Before Eva Levante returns to adorn the Tower in ghoulish decor, we’d like to inform players of what they can do right now to prepare for the festival’s return.
Brand-new players who go through the New Light experience must achieve at least 770 Power before Eva Levante will beckon them with her Festival of the Lost introductory quest. If these players are lower than 770 Power, they will not be able to interact with Eva Levante at all.
All veteran players, including those who were boosted to 750 Power at the launches of New Light and Shadowkeep, may head directly to Eva Levante once Festival is live to begin her quest.
While New Light players must achieve 770 Power before they can jump in, the Haunted Forest has a minimum recommended Power of 750—so all Guardians should be ready to jump right in.
Additionally, while we await the festival’s return, we’d like to forewarn players about earning and deleting Candy and Chocolate Strange Coins. In order to earn these currencies, players must wear the Masquerader’s Helmet, purchasable from Eva Levante for 100 Glimmer. If players defeat enemies and complete activities without this helmet equipped, they will not earn Candy or Chocolate Strange Coins.
Furthermore, players should be cautious when dismantling any items in their Consumables inventory. Any instance of dismantling Candy or Chocolate Strange Coins, intentional or otherwise, will delete the entire stack.
Players who encounter issues following the launches of Update 2.6.1 and Festival of the Lost should report them to the #Help forum.
New Movies
Every week, we’re on the lookout for community-created videos. We take our favorites and feature them here for all to see, and the winners receive a special emblem. In fact, starting this week, we have a new emblem for all future MOTW winners.
Looks good right? Here are the first to take it home:
Movie of the Week: No Guns
Honorable Mention: Memento Mori
Don’t forget we’re also kicking off our Game2give charity event next week. Learn more about how you can participate by either donating or joining a fundraising team!
I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to next week. We stacked up a lot of new things to go live, and I’m having a hard time deciding what to do first!
Update (2nd Nov, 01:10 BST): In a statement given to ArsTechnica, Amazon has responded to the restrictions placed upon third-party sellers (see original article below). The restrictions were supposedly put in place “in error” and have since been reversed.
Yesterday’s email [to third-party Amazon sellers] was sent in error, and all impacted listings were reinstated within hours.
Original Article (1st Nov, 16:15 BST): Major online retailer Amazon has implemented a new system whereby third-party stores hoping to sell Nintendo products must first seek direct approval, potentially having a huge impact on the sale of used games and consoles.
The news comes from an email which has been sent to a number of third-party sellers who operate on Amazon’s digital storefront. It notes that the new requirements technically came into effect yesterday, 31st October, and warns that any products listed from now on “will be removed”. Here’s a snippet:
As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible customer experience, we are implementing approval requirements for Nintendo products. Effective on 2019-10-31, you will need approval to list the affected products. If you do not obtain approval to sell these products prior to 2019-10-31, your listings for these products will be removed.
As reported by ArsTechnica, sellers have been experimenting to discover exactly what this means. It would appear that if a product’s producer is listed as ‘Nintendo’ – which would include any first-party games or consoles – it can no longer be listed in ‘used’ or ‘collectable’ condition. Some sellers have reported that they can list items in ‘new’ condition, and that third-party games on Nintendo platforms (meaning any title published by a studio other than Nintendo) can still be listed as before.
The move has sparked some rather heated discussion amongst Amazon’s third-party sellers, with one person accusing the retailer of “shutting everyone down so they can sell the items for more money”. The change actually comes after a string of similar changes to Amazon’s policies on the sales of items like DVDs and Apple products, and appears to be an attempt at cracking down on the sale of counterfeit products, of which plenty can be found online.
It’s unclear whether it was Amazon or Nintendo which decided to enforce the change, although other gaming platform holders Sony and Microsoft haven’t received the same new rulings. Many sellers who make a substantial profit from the resale of used Nintendo games have understandably been left concerned by the news.
October 23rd Xbox Insider Release notes – Alpha Ring (1911.191021-1917)
Hey Alpha ring users! Today’s Xbox Insider Release Notes highlight the latest fixes, known issues, and features coming to your console. Starting at 2:00 p.m. PT today, users will receive the latest 1911 Xbox One system update (build: 19H1_RELEASE_XBOX_DEV_1911\18363.8099.191021-1917). Keep reading for more details.
System Update Details:
OS version released: 19H1_RELEASE_XBOX_DEV_1911\18363.8099.191021-1917
Available: 2:00 p.m. PT – October 23, 2019
Mandatory: 3:00 a.m. PT – October 24, 2019
New Features:
Simplified Settings
We’ve got a brand new face lift for your Xbox One console’s Settings with simplified categories and subcategories. Xbox heard your feedback, and we’re working to make Settings easy to navigate and manage, to control your device and account, as needed. Explore the latest update and take control of how you play!
Fixes for Alpha
We’ve heard your feedback, and we’re happy to announce the following fixes have been implemented for this 1911 build:
Controller
A new version of controller firmware (4.8.1923.0) is available for certain controller models. Users may be prompted to update the controller automatically when it is connected to the console. You can also go to Settings>Devices & streaming> Accessories with the controller connected, then select the ellipsis button to see if a firmware update is available.
Changes in this firmware include:
Reliability improvements for wireless connectivity on console
Improvements to Bluetooth pairing
Xbox Button behavior changes over Bluetooth on Android
Bluetooth reliability fixes
System
Various updates to properly reflect local languages across the console.
Known Issues for Alpha
We understand some issues have been listed in previous Xbox Insider Release Notes. These issues aren’t being ignored, but it will take Xbox engineers more time to find a solution. We appreciate your patience at this time!
Audio
Users who have Dolby Atmos enabled and console display settings set to 120hz with 36 bits per pixel (12-bit) are experiencing loss of Dolby Atmos audio in some situations.
Workaround: Disable 120hz or set Video Fidelity to 30 bits per pixel (10-bit) or lower.
Home (Experiment)
Some users may see a different Store icon on the dashboard than what normally appears.
Some users may see their content blocks reset randomly during the experiment.
Store
Some users are reporting issues making in-game purchases in Fortnite. If you are encountering this behavior please submit feedback from the console.
Dolby Access
Users are unable to complete the setup for Dolby Atmos in the app and the app is not recognizing Dolby Atmos headphones.
Note: This is an issue with the Dolby Access app and the app developers are aware and investigating.
Profile Color
Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.
Are you not seeing your issue listed above? Make sure to use Report a problem to keep us informed of your issue. We may not be able to respond to everyone, but the data we’ll gather is crucial to finding a resolution.
Learn more about feedback and how each ring is differentiated in the following links:
For more information regarding the Xbox Insider Program follow us on Twitter and join the community subreddit for support and updates. Keep an eye on future Xbox Insider Release Notes for more information regarding your Xbox One Update Preview ring!
Deep Dive: Horror enemy design in Tonight it Follows
The Gamasutra Deep Dives are an ongoing series with the goal of shedding light on specific design, art, or technical features within a video game, in order to show how seemingly simple, fundamental design decisions aren’t really that simple at all.
Hello! I’m Jordan King, creator of Black Eyed Priest Games. I currently live in Louisville, KY with my wife, three cats, and one pit-mix who believes he is our son. I started seriously pursuing a game developer career after a brief comic book writing stint that made me realize that making games is much more fun to do. As of now, I have been an independent game developer for a little over a year and I love every minute of it.
When I started my journey, my goal was clear: make games I would want to play. I’m also a fan of grindhouse cinema, 80s horror movies, and just underground schlock in general (well, you see what dark, dank tunnel this is going down…). Some of the games I have put out over the past year include, Shotgun, Now Entering: Quiet Haven, and most recently, the Puppet Combo-published Tonight It Follows.
Something I am very passionate about is the enemy design, and not only enemy design but also how they make the player feel. Enemies who either employ a memorable design or a dynamic behavior can really leave a lasting impact on us.
I think sometimes, not only us as developers, but also players, we forget that we can take enemy design a step forward in the impressions they can leave. I personally call this the “Goomba Trope.” In game development, the standard has traditionally been to just change an enemy design based upon its characteristics within a game. Thus, Goombas move left to right, Piranha Plants are stationary and shoot fire, etc. All Goombas look and act the same and all Piranha Plants look and act the same.
Since B-movies were ultimately my main inspiration, and in my attempt to marry the two media of film and video games, I took a look at what makes these cult celluloid classics, well, cult classics. For me, it is the characters. I’m not talking about award-worthy acting or writing, but character actors such as Miguel Nunez, Danielle Harris, Rutger Hauer, and Tony Todd go a long way in creating that lasting connection between our hearts and these films.
While they aren’t considered DiCaprios, Pitts, or Cruises, they more than make up for it because they embody fun. They have to wear their characters on their sleeves and show us who they are – usually without the amount of dialogue most Hollywood features get. This is a connection between these B-movies and video games. They’re supposed to be fun! I knew that I could channel the fun personalities and spirits of these films into my games.
With my passions identified, it was time to start designing my first game, SHOTGUN. You play as a hell-bent mother who dons homemade armor and blasts her way through a ruthless gang’s hideout to save her son. There are around 40 enemies in the short romp, each one is different from the last, and each only shows up once. Really, I thought of myself as a director and each enemy part of my cast. Do I want to add another enemy to this room? Well, I need to go find another thespian looking for work!
Speaking to the development side of things for a moment, the investment in going with this approach is considerable. I could have finished SHOTGUN in half the time it took if I went with the traditional approach. However, we are indie developers and we’re not too keen on tradition. I work as a solo developer on top of this, so in the infant stages of development for the game, knowing that I was going to spend a great deal of time on enemy design, animations, and programming, I chose to go with an 8bit style. It saved some time, and also was a perfect aesthetic for games inspired by films from 30+ years ago and my 8bit loves.
However, even with the simple art style, there was much to do. Every enemy not only had to be unique, but they needed to also be interesting. They all have to have to wear their own story and show who they are in their appearance, just like the best character actors needed to convey who they are without a top-notch script or budget.
Not only that, but when each of these characters meet their demise to the wrong end of a double barrel (this being a homage to exploitation flicks after all), they all had to have their own over the top death animation. This was done to make the game feel more dynamic and give the player the satisfaction and feeling that their actions impact this coked-up world in a unique way.
It might be juvenile, but I also find over the top 8bit violence to be pretty hilarious. And in the end, that’s what it’s all about. Having fun and maybe experiencing something new.
I had a great deal of fun designing the enemies too, probably more fun than any aspect of game development. I mean, we have some real “characters” here. Clowns with machine guns, a pioneering furry with a knife, and my personal favorite, a guy that pulls a pistol on you from what is most definitely an unsanitary place. And I’m not even going to get into what’s goin’ on in that dank basement (you’ll have to play the game and see for yourself).
Below are some of my favorite enemies across all my games so far that are close to my heart, whether in design or how they act within the game.
THE FOLLOWER (Tonight It Follows)
The main antagonist in “Tonight It Follows”, The Follower is an unstoppable force that follows you throughout the game, being the only enemy that you can’t kill. I got his design from a time in my life when I had sleep paralysis, and one of the scariest things from those experiences was him coming out of the darkness with those long squirmy fingers of his and wrapping them around my throat. In the game, he represents guilt from the past that the main character is trying to run from.
TALL MAN (Witching Hour at Hell House)
Wearing a Krueger-esque shirt, The Tall Man is one of three “bosses” from the escape the room game Witching Hour at Hell House. He used to own the house that you are trapped in and was corrupted into what he is now by a strange force residing in the basement. When he finally appears in the game, he proves to be a pretty intense match. You have limited shots in the shotgun you have just found and must connect with him 3 times. That is pretty hard to do as he teleports, re-appears, and then darts towards the player. Almost similar to a fight with Jaws from the NES – you only have a small window of opportunity to deal damage. To make matters worse, he knows when you run out of ammo and relentlessly chases you if that should happen.
PORKSY (Shotgun)
While he is your standard “pig butcher slasher”, I really like his cameo in Shotgun. Shotgun is an action game, and Porksy has taken a lot of people by surprise when you enter his lair. The tone of the game immediately shifts from survival to horror. He jumps at unsuspecting players from out of a room, squealing like a pig and revving his chainsaw. He also takes many more shots to bring down compared to your regular coke-sniffing punk. Venturing further you can uncover exactly what he was doing in the basement, and come face to face with one of his previous victims.
BROKEN NECK MAN (Peepaw)
This unfortunate spirit actually does no harm to the player. In Peepaw there are a few safe rooms you can duck in, catch your breath, and think about your surroundings before venturing back into the dangerous dark house. It’s in these safe rooms that Broken Neck Man appears randomly to give a good jolt of fear when you were expecting to be safe. While he doesn’t kill the player, he does a nice job making it feel that there truly is nowhere safe in the house. Some people don’t even realize he doesn’t harm you – when they see him they run back into danger! He really just wants to talk, but due to his condition can only get a few gurgles out.
FLESH MARIONETTE / SOMETHING BEHIND THE SHEETS (Tonight It Follows)
Some of my favorite scares in horror games are when the developers draw your eyes towards a certain object you believe will offer the next jolt, all for something completely different to happen. In Tonight It Follows, our player is walking next to a hanging sheet that obviously has someone standing behind it, just waiting to jump out. That never happens, but what does happen is this fleshy marionette comes along from the room you were just in. I like his design a lot and was probably my most Silent Hill-esque enemy.
I love horror elements that just seem impossible, or “this can’t be happening”, as his appearance presents this question as his strings continue off the top of the screen “who is controlling him from above?”
So far, I have been happy with my games. As creators, we are never really fully satisfied, and there are definitely some things that I would have done differently if I could go back.
In the end, I feel that taking the time to create such unique enemies really helps give your game the variation and voice it needs to leave a lasting impression on the player. We use many different aspects in our games to reach the player, be they gameplay, interesting environments, an engaging story, or a relatable player character.
Enemies can also be used to give the game extra character, just like side characters can enhance a film. They can be used to make a level more memorable, add lore to a story based on their appearance, or be used to get across to the player what kind of world they are in. Not only that, but players do appreciate the “small” touches within games they play — especially in a generally-soulless triple-A-ruled gaming landscape. Just taking the time to differentiate your enemies can go a long way in conveying your passion for the game at hand.
In my as-of-now limited experience, I have received a great deal of positive feedback about the enemies within my games. The emotions they have raised have included laughs, frights, and simple amusement in their colorful designs. Being sent fanart of an enemy you created is also a huge honor, and goes to show that people really can relate to and attach themselves to enemies. I believe that, without the attitude I have towards enemy design and the importance I give it, I would not have been able to carve out the little identity that I have. It has become a part of what is expected from my work, and has helped me find a “calling card.”
At BlizzCon today, Blizzard’s Jeffrey Kaplan took to the stage to announce Overwatch 2, a sequel to the hit 2016 multiplayer shooter.
Overwatch 2 appears to differ notably from the first game, featuring a larger focus on co-op story missions as opposed to the competitive multiplayer of the first game. This design appears much akin to the missions that Blizzard has released as part of Overwatch events.
Though the trailer emphasized the new co-op story content, the game also seems to retain the multiplayer, esports-friendly design of the first game. However, it appears the multiplayer has been refocused around a new core game mode.
“First and foremost, you have to remember Overwatch is a team versus team, 6v6 experience, and there’s no way we’re losing that at all,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan also announced that support would continue for the first Overwatch, as new multiplayer maps and heroes would be shared between the two games. He described it as a “shared multiplayer environment” where players from the two teams could compete together. Items players have purchased in the first Overwatch will also migrate to Overwatch 2.
