“I’d like to think our return rate is so low because we’re very clear about the experience the player should expect.”

– Developer on Quarantine Circular Mike Bithell on why the game has a two percent refund rate. 

Steam can be a tricky platform for developers looking to market short, narrative-driven games. After all, if players aren’t satisfied with their purchase they can request a refund, so long as they’ve played less than two hours of it. 

Bithell Games’ newest title, Quarantine Circular, has a fairly short runtime of about one to two hours with only a two percent refund rate. 96 percent of its 718 reviews are positive, and Bithell credits honesty as the reason for 98 percent players not refunding the game after finishing it.

“I think we’ve been very upfront about the short duration of the game, and we’ve done similar with Quarantine Circular,” he explains. “We try to be very clear this is a text adventure and what that entails, but the majority of returns are people who were expecting a very different game than the one described on the store page or in the trailer.”

Another factor which may have played into the low refund rate of Quarantine Circular is the non-existent marketing of the game, which seemed to appear out of the blue. “We are terrified of people getting the wrong idea from a screenshot of the game,” Bithell admits.

“What better way to control expectation than to not allow time for it to build? Here’s our game. This is what it is. We put a lot of work into it.”

Make sure to check out the entire piece over at Kotaku, which goes into more detail about how Bithell could get away with dropping a game with little public hype before release. 

In this GDC 2018 talk, designers Raph Koster, Dave Mark, Richard Lemarchand, Laralyn McWilliams, Noah Falstein and Robin Hunicke go over what problems they wish artificial intelligence could solve for them when developing games.

The panelists discuss concepts like character AI, procedural content, animation, speech, and “director”-style pacing and content delivery.

While the talk doesn’t necessarily focus on the practical of “what can we do,” it focuses instead on exploring “what COULD we do.” It’s an informative session that provides AI programmers with ideas for what could be implemented in game design.

Programmers interested in AI programming may appreciate that they can now watch the talk for free over on the official GDC YouTube channel!

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new 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, GDC Europe, and GDC Next 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.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Americas

Grab your keyblade, wake up Goofy, and prepare to smack a Heartless with a rollercoaster: Kingdom Hearts III is almost here.

Kingdom Hearts III will be the first franchise entry to appear on an Xbox platform, and it’s clear that this is a game for both new and old fans alike. With evolved gameplay punctuated by exhilarating attacks modeled after Disney attractions and characters, Kingdom Hearts III is shaping up to be an action-packed ride for everyone.

Action was exactly what we found during a recent hands-on demo touching on two of Kingdom Hearts III’s many worlds: the craggy mountains of Olympus from the 1997 “Hercules” film and a trip to Andy’s Toybox from Pixar’s “Toy Story”.

Built to show off the game’s verticality, Olympus charged us with taking down a massive Rock Titan. Dashing up the sheer mountain face while dodging huge boulders hefted by the mighty Titan, we were immediately struck by the game’s newfound sense of scale. Once they reached the summit, Sora and his trusty sidekicks Donald Duck and Goofy were face to, well, foot with the monstrous Titan.

After climbing up to the beast’s twin heads, we had access to one of the brand new “Attraction” ultimates inspired by real-world Disney theme park rides. In this case, it was “Big Magic Mountain,” a glittering, technicolor train yanked right out of the Main Street Electrical Parade. Sora and crew hopped aboard and blasted the Titan with colorful fireworks before exploding in a breathtaking, fight-ending light show.

The second half of the demo was just as magical. Warped into the not-so-small world of “Toy Story” – the first time a Pixar property has appeared in Kingdom Hearts – Sora and crew promptly meet up with Woody, Buzz, Rex, Hamm and other famous Toy Story faces. Watching Sora and Woody casually chat while wandering around Andy’s room is exactly the sort of thing that sets Kingdom Hearts fans’ hearts aflutter, a seemingly incongruous character mashup that somehow makes perfect sense.

Off we went to rescue Woody’s pals from Galaxy Toys, a brand new “Toy Story” location introduced in Kingdom Hearts III, but not before a few more Heartless battles demonstrated the game’s flexible combat system. Hammering on the attack button yielded combos that powered potent keyblade transformations. Players will wield several different keyblades over the course of the game and can switch between them at the press of a button. After dispatching a few grunts, we transformed the keyblade into the Tangled-inspired Mirage Staff, clearing out the rest with fierce, flowery blasts of light.

A Link attack brought forth the muscular star of “Wreck-it-Ralph”, who laid down a handful of explosive bricks before tackling enemies like a linebacker. Later we turned the world into water as Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”, diving beneath enemies and flipping them into the air. Another attraction, the Mad Teacups, turned the stomach-churning ride into a destructive, nauseating whirlwind. We even channeled “Pacific Rim” by controlling three giant toy mechs at various spots in the toy store.

Combine all of that with more keyblade modes (at one point we wielded a “Toy Story”-inspired hammer that would make Thor jealous), a wealth of magical attacks, and handy defensive dashes and you get a cinematic, laugh-out-loud system so grandiose, even Maleficent would love it, though she may frown at Kingdom Hearts III’s unbelievable looks.

Speedy and smooth with picture-perfect character models and bright, cheery colors, it’s a visual stunner. From the stiches on Woody’s pants to Goofy’s iconic gait, Kingdom Hearts III evokes the mouse house’s inimitable style and attention to detail. It feels like you’re playing through a bizarre Disney film.

Precisely when you’ll get to do that remains to be seen, as Square-Enix has yet to reveal a specific release date. But like the best rides, this big, bold, and beautiful romp through Disney’s unforgettable worlds looks like it will be well worth the wait when it arrives on Xbox One.

Spring Cleaning. That wonderful time of year where people go through their closets to make space, and in doing so discover forgotten gems lost to the bottom of plastic storage totes. But why should the joy of rediscovering a kitschy t-shirt, or a well-hidden holiday gift, be limited to cleaning our homes? With so many wonderful games out there it’s easy to have a backlog of titles that you always intended to go play, but for whatever reason never got around to and the Steam Spring Cleaning Event is the time to change that. By diving into your Steam Library and playing games that you haven’t looked at in a while (or at all), you can unlock and level up the new Spring Cleaning badge. But this event isn’t just for those with a hefty backlog of titles to work through as we said earlier, Spring Cleaning is a time of delightful surprises and so in that spirit the following games will be available to play FREE for the duration of the event (May 24th -May 28th)

Don’t Starve Together
Dead by Daylight
Cities: Skylines
Tyranny
Borderlands 2
Castle Crashers
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Left 4 Dead 2
Dirt 4

It’s a great time for games, so enjoy the weekend exploring Steam and finding a new classic to add to your all-time favorite list.

© 2018 Valve Corporation. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries.

Spring Cleaning. That wonderful time of year where people go through their closets to make space, and in doing so discover forgotten gems lost to the bottom of plastic storage totes. But why should the joy of rediscovering a kitschy t-shirt, or a well-hidden holiday gift, be limited to cleaning our homes? With so many wonderful games out there it’s easy to have a backlog of titles that you always intended to go play, but for whatever reason never got around to… and the Steam Spring Cleaning Event is the time to change that. By diving into your Steam Library and playing games that you haven’t looked at in a while (or at all), you can unlock and level up the new Spring Cleaning badge. But this event isn’t just for those with a hefty backlog of titles to work through… as we said earlier, Spring Cleaning is a time of delightful surprises and so in that spirit the following games will be available to play FREE for the duration of the event (May 24th -May 28th)

Don’t Starve Together
Dead by Daylight
Cities: Skylines
Tyranny
Borderlands 2
Castle Crashers
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Left 4 Dead 2
Dirt 4

It’s a great time for games, so enjoy the weekend exploring Steam and finding a new classic to add to your all-time favorite list.

Hello Insiders! Those of you who have been following the blog for the last few months will recognize me from previous posts about Xbox Feedback, our site dedicated to using your suggestions to direct new features and updates based on your ideas.

Today I’m here to announce that Xbox Feedback is improving and moving: Xbox Feedback is now Xbox Ideas! If you’ve already been to the new Xbox Ideas site, you might notice that the site feels familiar. We’re continuing to use the UserVoice platform to collect your ideas, but—in order to maximize the impact of your suggestions—we are changing how you submit your ideas by introducing the concept of Idea Drives.

An Idea Drive is a campaign that runs for a limited time (usually 1-3 months). Each Idea Drive will focus on a specific feature area or topic, sometimes with a limited number of ideas.

Phases of an Idea Drive

For most Idea Drives, there will be a Collection Phase where users can submit their own ideas about the feature.  For example, there is currently an Idea Drive for the Xbox Insider Program that is in the Collection Phase. The Idea Drive started with some ideas from Xbox Insider team members, but every day we’re adding more Ideas submitted by users.

Keep in mind that we very carefully moderate the list of ideas, and we will make edits for clarification on any ideas we accept. If you submit an idea that is a duplicate of an idea already posted, or if you submit an idea that is unrelated, it will not be posted to the Idea Drive.

Every Idea Drive will have a Voting Phase, submissions for new ideas are closed, and users are then encouraged to vote and comment. Our feature teams love these comments and read all of them, so comment away!

Finally, when voting ends, the Idea Drive will be closed but still visible on Xbox Ideas. During this time, our feature teams review the results of the drive. After the review, Idea Drive results will be posted on the Xbox Insider blog.

The last feature on the site is the Idea Drive Suggestion Box. This is your opportunity to pitch an Idea Drive of your own. If there’s an area of Xbox that you want to help improve, please suggest the Idea Drive here. Just like the Idea Drive forums, this area is highly curated, and specific idea requests or unrelated posts will be removed, so please focus on suggesting general Idea Drives. If we pick your Idea Drive then you can post your Idea. One tip: including comments with your specific ideas is an effective way to get others excited for the Idea Drive and vote for it.

We’ve posted a list of frequently asked questions about Xbox Ideas over on the site, which you can find right here.  We’re looking forward to sharing our next big announcement as well as the results of our first Idea Drives, so keep an eye on this space!

Head over to the new Xbox Ideas site, powered by UserVoice, and make your voice heard.  Remember, Xbox Ideas is driven by you!

Super Mario Run might not have as many rolling content updates as the likes of Pokemon GO and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, but that doesn’t mean Mario’s first foray into smartphone gaming is event-free. Take the new Gold Goomba Life Event, which just went live on the premium endless runner/platformer.

A smaller version of the Gold Goomba event, it’s essentially a way to make earning statues such as the Captured Goomba Statue, Captured Chain Chomp Statue, Captured Hammer Bro Statue and that all important Sappy Statue. So jump back in and give it a try!

Are you still playing Super Mario Run? If not, are you tempted to jump back once more? We want to hear your thoughts…

Space Hulk: Deathwing – Enhanced Edition is Now Available on Steam!

Space Hulk® Deathwing™ Enhanced Edition is a First-Person Shooter based on Games Workshop’s cult classic board game set in Warhammer 40,000 universe. Expanding upon the original game, and featuring a host of new content, new features and a richer multiplayer mode.