Not long after Jeff Fowler revealed Sonic would receive a movie makeover, Detective Pikachu director Rob Letterman was asked by The Verge what he thought about the idea of a redesign. He admitted the Sonic director was probably in a tough position and it likely wouldn’t be easy to adjust the character months out from the film’s release.

Letterman fell back on his own creation, saying how it would have been “impossible” for his team to redesign anything in Detective Pikachu:

“We spent a year designing all the characters ahead of shooting so that we could get it all right. If we were off by an inch on Pikachu, [actor] Justice Smith’s performance would go right out the window. For us, it would have been impossible — but that doesn’t mean they can’t do it. I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes — they’re in a difficult spot.”

The Detective Pikachu director went on to explain how the design choices in the live-action Pokémon film were a result of two years studying animal behavior and closely collaborating with the Pokémon Company in Japan.

“We studied a lot of animals and how they behave and how they interact to ensure we got it right…Bulldogs, in particular, for Bulbasaur and how they act in packs or how they get you to pay attention.”

Based on Letterman’s comments, do you think Fowler can achieve the impossible before the Sonic movie’s November release? Tell us down in the comments.

Yet another week has flown by, and it’s finally time for the weekend (with an added bank holiday in the UK – hooray!). This week we had the drama of an indie game being removed from the eShop for being a bit naughty, and a whole lot more drama with that Sonic trailer, but now it’s time to chat about what we’ll be playing over the next couple of days.

Members of team Nintendo Life have done just that below, and we’d love for you to join in via our comments and poll sections below. Enjoy!

Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, reviewer

This weekend I’m going to be returning to one of my favourite open-worlds of the previous generation – Steelport from Saints Row: The Third – The Full Package. While it doesn’t quite possess the pedigree of GTA, I loved how unashamedly wacky this third instalment was. And now it’s on Switch! Look out for my full review next week on Nintendo Life. I’ll also be indulging in some illegal avarice in Thief Simulator and blasting away Nazis from afar in Sniper Elite V2 Remastered. You know, as you do…

Ryan Craddock, staff writer

This weekend I’m visiting family, so my current nostalgic playthrough of Banjo-Kazooie on my beloved N64 is being put on hold. Instead, I’ve brought the Switch along for the ride with Super Mario Party, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to see us through.

I don’t think we’ve ever seen a console this well suited to family fun. Sure, the Wii was essentially marketed as the ‘Nintendo Video Gaming Fun For Everyone Including Your Grandma And Your Cat’ machine, but the quality of Switch’s games and its portability – even when taking the dock – put it ahead of that in my opinion. I secretly hope we play Mario Kart, because no one beats me at Mario Kart!

Gavin Lane, staff writer

While waiting impatiently for more news on how Streets of Rage 4 is coming along, I nabbed the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle on sale this week, so I intend to sit down and work my way through multiple Andre the Giants (sorry, Andore the Giants) in Final Fight, plus another game or two in the collection. The unlimited credits in these arcade ports on Switch can turn even tough games into relaxing Sunday afternoon blasts that go down very well with a nice frosty beverage – and that’s what I’m looking for this weekend. Have a good one everybody!

Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer

I’ll be taking a bittersweet return to Atlas thanks to the all-new Crimson Moon DLC out earlier this week, with the bitter part being that there will be no more toys manufactured for Starlink: Battle for Atlas. A real shame since the game remains such an incredible experience and thanks to all the newly added content more so than ever. When not turning Legion into scrap metal I shall do my part to remove Twintelle from the ARMS Party Crash Bash and do my finest to take Brutal Deluxe into the final franchise week at Super Blood Hockey.

My game of the week goes to Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut, an unexpected old PC friend that once again brings its hauntingly beautiful soundtrack and gorgeous Itano circus light shows to the humble Switch, the machine that can do it all!

As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to leave a vote in the poll above and a comment below with your gaming choices over the next few days…

Riot Games has pledged to let new employees opt-out of mandatory arbitration in the wake of staff protests.

Staffers reportedly threatened to stage a walkout last week over the company’s attempts to force two former workers with lawsuits against Riot into private arbitration, with the League of Legends developer keen to push those concerned into settling their harassment complaints and other legal issues outside of the courts.

Riot responded to that discontent by explaining there are “pros, cons, and nuances to the discussion of arbitration,” but after further consultations with staff has now decided to “pivot” its approach – but only after current litigation has been put to bed.

“As soon as current litigation is resolved, we will give all new Rioters the choice to opt-out of mandatory arbitration for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. At that time, we will also commit to have a firm answer around expanding the scope and extending this opt-out to all Rioters,” wrote the company in a blog post.

“We know that this resolution will not satisfy all Rioters. We understand and respect Rioters who choose to protest this decision on Monday, and admire their conviction and willingness to stand up for their beliefs.”

The studio also outlined what arbitration currently means at Riot, and explained its current agreement allows plaintiffs to hire a lawyer of their choosing, and doesn’t require them to sign a confidentiality clause.

Riot added that it also covers all costs of the arbitrator, who must be agreed upon by both parties involved in the process, and that the agreement doesn’t limit damages.

Although the company has ultimately decided to tweak its approach, it re-iterated that the situation will remain “complicated,” and will undoubtedly leave some feeling shortchanged.

“We are facing a complicated situation with no perfect solution, so arriving at a decision has not been easy,” continued the company. “We are working diligently to resolve all ongoing litigation, so that we can quickly take steps toward a solution that more Rioters feel good about. This is where we are right now, but this is an ongoing process and there’s more to come.”

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community.
The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

Our game Eco’s design mission is to have players “Solve the Tragedy of the Commons”, taking place among real people. That means creating conflicts among people with the same end goals, where a collection of self-interests is not enough to succeed, you need some representation of collective interest.

To implement that, the game exists within the intersection of the game’s design pillars: Economy, Ecology and Government.

The role of these pillars in the game is as follows:

Economy

Encompasses the efforts and progress of humans.  Manufacturing, creating infrastructure, building, harvesting, performing research, specialization, trade.  Collaboration and competition is a big goal of this pillar, to connect players together in productive (as well as adversarial) creation.  The features of the economy should be grown to support these features, as well as influences from the other two pillars. Key goals of this pillar are:

1. Asynchronicity, allowing players to collaborate across time and space,
2. Discoverability, making it easy for players to find the information they need about how to participate in the economy.
3. Involvement, incentivizing players to work together, especially between different levels of experience.
4. Organization, allowing players to organize labor seamlessly through the interests of many parties, with lots of data on progress and economy state.

Ecology

The substrate of the player experience, this is the ‘reality’ that they are forced to contend with. It is both the source of their solutions and problems.  Our emphasis when building the Ecology simulation is a feature-set that both affects and is affected by human actions.  That is, resources that are useful to the economy, and systems that are vulnerable to pollution and over-harvesting.

Beyond that, the ecology is a goal in itself, and the beauty of the ecosystem has natural value in the game outside of any human purpose.

Key goals of this pillar are:

1. Visibility, players should be granted powerful tools (the stats system) to understand how the ecology system works and how players are influencing it.
2. Impact, simulated features are highly reactive to the actions of players.
3. Diversity, promoting the usage or more far-spread regions of the world, increasing needs for transport and collaboration, and allowing for myriad complex effects from different biomes.
4. Existential Threat, the ecology needs to be capable of dying and creating a losing world for players due to their actions.

Government

Government in Eco serves as a tool to manage and dictate the relationship between players in the economy, and between the economy and the environment.  It needs to be powerful and flexible enough to express a rich variety of governmental structures, and still easy and fun to understand and build (I see these two goals as supportive of each other rather than opposites). Government must be necessary to win the game, allowing players to dictate the interactions that happen with the environment.

Key goals of this pillar are:

1. Ease of use.  All players should be capable of understanding and using the system.
2. Power. Many different and deep structures of government should be possible with the system.
3. Created by Players. Government should be both run and constructed by players, allowing them to form it as a solution to their problems in the economy and in interactions with the ecosystem.
4. Meta-Game Support. Promotes the positive interaction of players in the meta game (active players coming and going, property arrangements, etc).  Serves to handle problems that occur not just in the game but in the meta-game.
5. Transparent. The workings of government should be available and in fact highlighted for all players to see and participate in.
6. Iterative. The government should be expected to change throughout gameplay, not simply be created once and run forever that way.

Community

The second mission of Eco is to build meaningful community, and some features may apply to this even if they don’t directly promote the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ goal.  Examples of such features include:

• Meta-features for finding, hosting, and joining servers.
• Organization of server works among players
• Avatar creation and customization of appearance, custom animations for interactions
• Decorations and cosmetic buildings and clothes.

As we start to roll out our performance update for 8.2, we’re tasking out more features for 9.0, and we’ll be using this guide to flesh out the features and content we want to target.  We’ll be putting it into a nice ‘Eco Tree’ that shows those parts visually and conceptually as they grow. The community’s feedback will factor in a lot to these decisions, so do share your feedback on our Discord, in our Suggestions Github Database, and via email.

Have you always dreamed of taking the journey of an NFL superstar? The release date for the next iteration of the greatest NFL game on the planet isn’t many months away, and while there are many fantastic new modes and updates to favorite modes, one of the most exciting additions to Madden NFL 20 lets you take that journey. Let me introduce you to Face of the Franchise: QB1, where your choices matter on the path to stardom.

Face of the Franchise: QB1 is Madden NFL 20‘s new addition to the popular Franchise mode. This customizable Career Campaign is all about you, with personalized playable scenarios, events, and dynamic challenges. You’ll find gridiron glory and each decision you make matters on your path to NFL stardom. Let’s hit the field with the five most important features the new Career Campaign has to offer.

Choose your College

Your story begins by selecting from a series of NCAA Division 1 schools. Choose your future alma mater and where you can become the big man on campus and go for wins in the College Football Playoff.

Compete for a National Championship

Once you make it to the NCAA’s biggest games, compete as one of the final four teams in the College Football Playoff, through up to two games. Good or bad, your performance will impact your draft stock — so it’s not the time for bad choice. Be cool under pressure because your future is calling.

Experience the Combine

Every year, the NFL Combine grows in importance, and in the number of spotlights shown on each step, rep, and move. And when you’re taking part, every decision you make will lead to your stock rising or falling in advance of the NFL Draft in April.

Experience the NFL Draft

You’ve waited your whole life for this moment. Where will your NFL story begin? From the first pick to the last, it’s a day when lives are changed, and careers begin. Get ready to hit the big time.

Leave Your Legacy

Once in the league, it’s all about winning games and leading your franchise to multiple Super Bowl Championships. Every legendary player has their own story — it’s time to have yours. How will you be remembered when all is said and done?

Madden NFL 20 will be available worldwide on August 2 for Xbox One on the Microsoft Store. You can pre-order Madden NFL 20: Ultimate Superstar edition today and choose one of four unique quarterback abilities for your created player in Face of the Franchise: QB1: Steve Young, Kurt Warner, John Elway, or Randall Cunningham.

Plus, you’ll receive 3-day early access, 15 Gold Team Fantasy Packs, your choice of one out of 32 Core Elite Players from your favorite NFL team, one large Training Quicksell Pack in Madden Ultimate Team, one Past and Present Elite Player Pack, one Madden Championship Series Pack in Madden Ultimate Team, and your choice of one unique Legend Superstar Ability for your created player in Face of the Franchise: QB1.

The road to becoming a top NFL QB isn’t always easy, and the choices you make early on will affect how your career pans out. But there’s nothing better than being a star. Are you ready to become the Face of the Franchise?

Planet Nomads is Now Available on Steam and is 20% off!*

There’s a whole planet of diverse biomes waiting for you to explore. Gather enough materials to build a mobile base that will carry everything a Nomad needs on a journey through an unknown land.

*Offer ends May 10 at 10AM Pacific Time