Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-12-2019, 09:07 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Video: A behind-the-scenes look at how Subnautica was made
In this insightful GDC 2019 talk Unknown Worlds Entertainment’s Jonas Boetel explains how open development saved the studio’s hit underwater survival game Subnautica.
It was a great presentation about the value of listening to your game, iterating on feedback, growing communities, and finding customers along the way; in short, how to thrive on Early Access.
Boetel’s learnings about what went right and wrong in the course of making Subnautica are intriguing, especially if you’re a fellow game developer hoping to find success on Steam’s Early Access platform.
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.
Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-12-2019, 05:36 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Ghost Recon Breakpoint Skipping Steam For Epic Store
Ghost Recon Breakpoint is to skip Steam in favor of an Epic Games Store-exclusive release, publisher Ubisoft says. The game will also come to Ubisoft's proprietary Uplay store, but will otherwise not be available digitally from alternative sources on PC.
The company confirmed the news to PCGamesN, but did not give a reason why it had decided to withhold Breakpoint from a Steam launch. Ubisoft's two most recent games, Anno 1800 and The Division 2, have also skipped Steam in favor of the Epic Store. GameSpot has contacted Ubisoft to ask why the company has made this decision.
A possible explanation is that Epic takes a much smaller share of revenue than Valve does on Steam, making the former an attractive proposition for developers and publishers. On the other hand, Steam has a significant install base and has been around for much longer, meaning it possesses features the Epic Store does not, including cloud saves, achievements, and more.
All you need to do to enter and be in with a chance of winning a download code is answering the question below, remember the studio has also heavily discounted a number of its games on the eShop at up to 94% off.
The Phaser HTML game framework just released version 3.17.0. Phaser is an excellent open source MIT licensed 2D game framework. If you are interested in getting started with Phaser, we have a tutorial video to get you started available right here.
The headline features of the 3.17.0 release include:
New Shader and BaseShader game objects make it even easier to use shaders with Phaser
DOM element game object to integrate DOM UI elements into your game
Camera Masks, for creating easy camera special effects
There are of course dozens of other improvements so be sure to read the full release notes here. The complete change log is available here. Phaser is available here, while the source code is available here.
New PS4 Limited-Edition Steel Grey Console Announced For Days Of Play Event
Sony has announced a new PlayStation 4 model--and it looks pretty slick. The "Days of Play" edition was announced during Sony's State of Play video broadcast this week.
The console features the Triangle, Circle, X, and Square logos on the side of the system, which features a steel-grey look with a matching DualShock 4 controller. It's a 1 TB system for the newer, slimmed down model. Pricing wasn't announced, but it's expected the system will cost in the area of $300 USD if it's in line with the standard PS4 base model. This is that model of system, rather than the faster PS4 Pro.
Sony also released a limited-edition Days of Play PS4 system last year that had more of an eye-catching design. The new console will presumably go on sale in June alongside the start of the Days of Play event. Days of Play is Sony's annual PlayStation celebration where the company offers lots of deals on games and hardware.
One thing that wasn't there--which Sony made clear beforehand--was the PS5. Sony recently shared the first details about the upcoming console, despite its release potentially still being more than a year or two away. It offered specs and a high-level overview of what to expect, although it didn't actually confirm the system would be called PlayStation 5.
Behold The Tragic Tale Of The Man Behind Castlevania
The Castlevania series is one of gaming’s most famous franchises and has spawned a long line of video games as well as TV shows, albums and loads of associated merchandise. However, fresh insight into the development of the original NES / Famicom trilogy – unearthed by shmuplations.com – reveals that the commercial fortune of the series resulted in one of its key figures parting company with Konami under something of a cloud.
Twitter user Sonna Yuumi worked at Konami in the ’90s and was mentored by Hitoshi Akamatsu, the director (and some would say key creative force) of the original Castlevania / Akumajō Dracula. Between 2015 and 2019, Sonna Yuumi posted a series of tweets concerning the creation of the NES trilogy, and these have been translated and compiled to create an interesting perspective on the genesis of these beloved games.
The full feature is well worth reading, but we’ll post some highlights nonetheless. For example, Akamatsu said that the whip was the primary weapon in the series because he was a fan of the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, and he defended the rather harsh difficulty by comparing the game to Super Mario Bros., where the player would die after just a single hit.
It’s also clear that Akamatsu’s grasp of game design was quite advanced for the era:
Akamatsu’s sense of game design was very deep. In Castlevania, the knife appears first so the player can get used to the subweapons. He made the stopwatch so you could get used to enemy attacks. Then the strongest items are the Cross and the Holy Water. And that was how he determined the order in which the items would appear to the player.
I once asked him about the fight with Death, and how insanely hard it was. He told me, “The game design idea there was to get players to understand how to use the cross and axe subweapons. If you can defeat with only the whip, that means you’re really good.” I can’t defeat him with the whip alone. But if you read the movements of the sickles, I understand it is possible (albeit very difficult) to beat him with just the whip. Apparently the test players were able to do it.
I think he wanted anyone to clear be able to clear his games, because he told me his standard for difficulty was that he should be able to clear it himself.
Interestingly, it is also noted that during the development of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse – considered by many to be the best NES Castlevania, if not the best game in the series full stop – Konami was very much focused on the money-spinning Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise:
Akumajo Densetsu represents the zenith of quality in both music and gameplay for the Famicom. I asked Akamatsu about why it was so good, and he said it was all done in an attempt to outdo the Ninja Turtles games. During the Famicom era at Konami, the overseas sales for Turtles was Konami’s highest seller, and because of that, the Turtles development team was prioritized above everything else. The Castlevania team (and others like it which didn’t make a lot of money) had to survive on the scraps. There was a possibility for further Castlevania sequels on the Famicom, but it got pushed out by the popularity of Ninja Turtles.
Castlevania has always been synonymous with amazing music, and it would appear this tradition began with Akamatsu:
When I told Akamatsu how great I thought the music for Castlevania was, his reply was: “That’s because both the visuals and the music were made by people who consciously wanted to do something cinematic.” And for his part, he tried to add interesting gameplay.
Amazingly, despite the quality of the Castlevania games, Akamatsu was not exactly rewarded for his efforts. The sequels apparently sold poorly (we assume Sonna Yuumi is talking about Japanese sales in this case, although global sales could be included here), and he was demoted to working in one of Konami’s game centres. Unsurprisingly, Akamatsu quit, citing his dissatisfaction with the way Konami treated its creative talent:
According to Akamatsu, Konami placed profits above all else, and developers who weren’t creating games that made lots of money were all eventually axed one-by-one. A number of them went on to do great work at Square Enix.
I asked Akamatsu what he thought about Chi no Rondo when it came out. He said, “I haven’t played it.” (laughs) At the time he was more interested in how one would go about making a game like Final Fantasy VII, rather than Castlevania, which was in the past. (laughs)
Sadly, following his departure from Konami, Akamatsu appears to have vanished from the games industry.
Video: Can A Headstrap Really Fix Zelda VR And Labo VR?
Labo VR is a great introduction to the world of Virtual Reality for Switch owners, but the much-hyped VR support it brings to Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a little disappointing – we found that it was disorienting enough to make us feel quite unwell, in fact.
Part of this is down to the fact that the Labo VR headset is never actually attached to your head, and you have to use the Joy-Con connected to the Switch itself. It’s not the most comfortable of setups, which is why Sweat Proof Gaming has released the ‘Comfort Set’ for Labo VR, which consists of some foam pads and a strap which allows you to use Labo VR hands-free.
Installation is easy – the strap itself simply fits around the Switch and doesn’t require you to modify the Labo VR headset in any way – but does it make Zelda any less nauseating? Watch the video above to find out.
Tim Cook inaugurates Apple Carnegie Library with help from DC’s mayor
By Roger Fingas Saturday, May 11, 2019, 03:40 pm PT (06:40 pm ET)
Apple drew special attention to the launch of its Carnegie Library store in D.C. on Saturday, bringing not just CEO Tim Cook but retail head Deirdre O’Brien, marketing chief Phil Schiller, and the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser.
The event was publicized on Twitter by Cook and Bowser, the latter of whom shared a video of some of the first shoppers entering the store. The pair were joined by a media pool and some of the store’s staff, who cheered and clapped to drum up excitement. Sizable crowds were in attendance.
Further photos were published on Instagram by O’Brien.
Development on Apple Carnegie Library began in 2016. Apple calls it its “most extensive historic restoration project to date,” requiring lengthy work on facades and details. Running with the theme of the building — and possibly trying to counter controversy over the relocation of the Library’s book collection — the store will be hosting a “StoryMakers Festival” series of events between May 18 and June 29, featuring 40 artists.
Apple retail VP Deirdre O’Brien posing with shoppers.
Described as a “new and exciting smartphone game”, the product will be released this fiscal year (so by March 2020) and will be based on the Pokémon franchise.
As you can see in the image captured above, more details – including its release date – will be released at a later time.
Could this be something which ties into Pokémon Sword and Shield? Will it be free-to-play, or a paid experience? So many questions! Hopefully we’ll find out soon enough.
Until then, why not let us know what you hope the game might be in the comments below?
