– Founder of Big Robot Jim Rossignol on how visuals affected combat design in The Signal From Tölva.

In a piece recently published by PC Gamer, founder of development studio Big Robot Jim Rossignol discusses how bright visual effects and sci-fi sound clips contributed to enhancing how it feels to shoot guns in The Signal From Tölva. 

“We wanted to have big colorful lasers,” Rossignol explains. “[We wanted] big long trails that last quite a long time and light up the landscape.” This powerful display appears every time a player pulls the trigger, which is intended to help shooting things feel great.

The fantastic display of visuals aren’t used to help gunplay feel better though. It’s also designed to evoke a sense of awe. “When you see groups engaging each other in the distance you get that flicker of gunfire that allows you to see where people are firing from. That brings those battles to life,” says Rossignol. 

Working in tandem with the visual fireworks set off by the guns are futuristic sound effects that help sell the combat. “Rather than having a single sound effect for when the weapons go off, we broke it down to an overall firing noise and a projectile leaving noise, so every weapon has components that make the sound better,” he notes. “As you take your finger off the trigger you hear the end of your shot cut off, that just sells the behavior of the weapon more, and gives them way more life than they had.”

Check out the entire interview over at PC Gamer. 

Conveying information and maintaining a distinct visual style can be difficult, especially if a game’s user interface depends on having a clear and concise design to relay instructions to the player. 

In this 2017 GDC session, Mini Metro developer Jamie Churchman goes over the successes and failures of visual design in Mini Metro, examining how visual design and user interface decisions play a role in creating a gratifying experience for the player.

“The design process starts with understanding your subject matter,” explains Churchman. “And in this case, that’s understanding a game that’s halfway in development. And that can start with a simple question: what is the game about?” 

Churchman uses that question to break down the parts of Mini Metro which would eventually lead toward a discussion on how to design a user interface that would encourage and explore those facets.

Visual and user interface designers interested in what did and didn’t work for Mini Metro can now watch the talk completely free via the official GDC YouTube channel!

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.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Americas.

We know you’re busy and might miss out on all the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down the past week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Or, if you’d rather watch than read, you can feast your eyes on our weekly video show above. Be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox!

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Passes 3 Million Players on Xbox One
Since PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) launched on Xbox One through the Xbox Game Preview program, it’s been awesome to see the excitement and passion on display from the Xbox community. Whether you’re streaming in the HypeZone on Mixer or battling for a chicken dinner with your squad, players on Xbox are helping build and improve the game on console. Today, PUBG Corp. and Xbox are excited to share that through the end of 2017 the PUBG community on Xbox One has already grown to over three million players… Read more

Xbox Play Anywhere Title Little Triangle Arrives February 7, Available to Pre-order Today
Finally, after more than two years of hard work, it’s with great excitement and nervousness that we’re glad to announce that Little Triangle, a game from Shanghai, will officially be released as an Xbox Play Anywhere game on February 7 — and you can pre-order it today! Little Triangle is a polished, fun to play platformer that also features a mini battle royale mode. The game offers more than 60 cute and funny triangle skins, countless NPCs, a bunch of bosses, and amusing level… Read more

Play Halo 5: Guardians for Free This Weekend with Xbox Live Gold
Halo 5: Guardians, the most expansive Halo game ever released, will be free for Xbox Live Gold members from Thursday, January 11 at 12:01 a.m. PST until Sunday, January 14 at 10:59 p.m. PST. During this time, players can download the game and experience the latest chapter in the Halo saga spanning multiple worlds and a journey that will change the course of history and the future of mankind. Fans can enjoy this grand campaign solo or with up to three friends via online co-op… Read more

Puzzle Platformer Albert & Otto Available Now on Xbox One
I am super excited to finally see Albert & Otto make it on Xbox One. This game was my first entry into the world of video game development, so the mechanics and puzzles evolved over time rather than being designed from the start by an experienced developer, which I think gives it a unique feel. Originally a filmmaker, I was always fond of telling stories and I continue to be surprised at how similarly powerful the two mediums are… Read more

Sea of Thieves Closed Beta Coming January 24-29!
Happy New Year, everyone! We’re back working hard on Sea of Thieves after the holidays and a December chock-full of announcements. We revealed March 20 as our launch date and made a star of an unsuspecting chicken with a swashbuckling trailer, kicked off pre-orders, revealed how you progress through the world of Sea of Thieves, and showed off our haunting Limited Edition controller. All that and we hosted our biggest ever Technical Alpha play session… Read more

Uncover the Sci-Fi Mystery of The Station on Xbox One and Windows 10 Next Month
Hi everyone! I’m incredibly excited about our upcoming launch of The Station on Xbox One and Windows 10 on February 20. To give more insight into the experience, we pulled our most commonly asked questions we’re receiving on our social channels, like our Twitter account @TheStationGame. What’s the premise of The Station? The Station is a first-person mystery game set on a space station that was sent to study a sentient alien civilization… Read more

Dragon Ball FighterZ Open Beta Coming January 14 to Xbox One
Hello again, fellow FighterZ! We hope you’ve been keeping your fighting skills sharp because on January 26 they will be put to the test when Dragon Ball FighterZ is unleashed on Xbox One. Before the release of the game, we’ll bring you an Open Beta to hone those Kamehamehas and Destructo-Discs. Here are the details of the Dragon Ball FighterZ Open Beta…. Read more

Eclipse Games has revealed that it is updating its Wii U title Tachyon Project for the Switch.

Described as the definitive edition of the dual-stick shooter, the Switch version will include improved graphics, local multiplayer support in story mode, improved enemy creation effects to avoid annoying deaths and some redesigned levels.

Taking place across 10 stages, the game features 6 different weapons, 9 secondary weapons, and 7 perks, all of which allow you to customise your ship. There are 30 different enemy types to kill as well as 4 bosses. Up to 4 players can take part in local multiplayer.

Tachyon Project will cost $9.99/€9.99/£7.99 when it launches on January 25th. Interested? Let us know with a comment.

Video games and movies often make uncomfortable bedfellows; just look at the Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993 and Jean-Claude Van Damme’s equally risible Street Fighter flick. However, sometimes the combining of these two mediums can yield positive results; King of Kong is one notable example. Jim Miskell’s Going for Golden Eye has a lot in common with that 2007 cult smash, but it’s a “mockumentary” rather than a straight documentary and also takes a large dollop of inspiration from Rob Reiner’s seminal 1984 movie This is Spinal Tap, the film that arguably birthed the genre.

The film follows the (fictional) 20th annual GoldenEye World Championships, an event which has slowly seen its importance and popularity wane since the glory days of the Nintendo 64 as competitive gaming has embraced online play, and Rare’s ’90s classic has been superseded by the likes of Halo, Call of Duty and Overwatch. Clive (Terence J. Corbett), the ageing and rather unsettling organiser of the championships, laments the lack of interest and falling attendance in one of the film’s genuinely emotional moments. “Why don’t people care about GoldenEye anymore?” he forlornly utters to camera, articulating the sentiment of a many a Nintendo fan, we’re sure. Despite diminishing returns, the 20th anniversary event is arranged in earnest, and we’re introduced to Ethan (Daniel Bruce), dubbed “The Golden Child” thanks to his incredible skill with the N64 controller. He’s the winner of the 19 previous GoldenEye World Championships and clear favourite to scoop the title again.

Ethan’s character has clear parallels with real-life gaming champion Billy Mitchell, who was portrayed in a less-than-positive light in the aforementioned King of Kong. Ethan is arrogant about his talent, boastful of his achievements and – most importantly – totally oblivious to the fact that the world has moved on from GoldenEye. He has his own fitness video (on VHS, of course) and posters at the event proclaim that he was voted “Sexist Gamer” back in 1999. Ethan is a superb comic creation whose self-important speeches provide many of the biggest laughs. “The annals of history only remember winners…” he says in one scene, before naively challenging the camera crew to name the leader of Nazi Germany in World War II.

We’re also introduced to Ben (David Burnip), who assumes the Steve Wiebe role of the hopeless underdog; still living with his parents at the ripe old age of 33, he’s obsessed with the N64 to the point where he has put the rest of his life on hold (“These games don’t let you down like people do. Apart from sometimes when they don’t work and you have to give them a little blow”). While his friends have moved on to get married and have families, he remains locked in the past and looks to Ethan as a role-model and hero; he has followed his career over the past 20 years with awe. He is convinced to leave the comfort of his bedroom and enter the 20th GoldenEye World Championships in an attempt to make something of his life and step out of the shadow of the villainous Duncan (Brendan Barclay), who bullied him at school and is now dating Ben’s childhood sweetheart. Ben is accompanied to the championships (which are set in a small Yorkshire pub) by his larger-than-life friend Tom (James T. Daltry), who sees the trip as a means of escaping his family life; he also covets Ben’s beloved painted N64 controller, “Goldie”.

If all of this sounds a little too straightforward, it’s worth pointing out that scenes are peppered with hilarious dialogue, visual gags and impeccable one-liners which appear out of nowhere and leave you in stitches – just like Spinal Tap, in fact. There are countless quotable lines on offer here (many of which feature language which isn’t fit to publish here – this isn’t a kid’s movie, that’s for sure) and one moment which is equal in its comic impact to the infamous “tiny Stonehenge” in Spinal Tap (no prizes for guessing what the gag is, as it’s in one of the photos on this page). Ben’s parents (Ben Blackwood and Susan Woodard) and butch younger brother (Steven Hooper) also supply some amusing lines and throughout the film we’re given chucklesome soundbites from characters named after members of the original GoldenEye team at Rare.

Produced on a small budget by Miskell’s own independent production company, Going for Golden Eye is one of those rare (no pun intended) projects which is borne out of love for a particular moment in time yet manages to entertain regardless; even if you have absolutely no idea what GoldenEye is and have zero interest in gaming, the humour on offer here is universal. King of Kong pulled the same trick a decade ago, presenting what was a very niche subject – video game high-score chasers – and dressing it in such a fashion that even those who had never picked up a controller could watch and appreciate it. Going for Golden Eye plays things for laughs but is no less successful when it comes to providing accessible entertainment.

Granted, the film’s tiny production budget does become glaringly apparent at points and there will be those who are irked by the fact that emulation is used for gameplay (let’s face it, straight capture from the N64 would have looked terrible) but the witty script, excellent comic acting and tight pacing (it’s under an hour long) allow it to overcome these limitations. Fans of the game will love it – there are loads of in-jokes which will instantly chime with anyone who remembers playing Rare’s classic all those years ago – but gamers in general will pick up the rich humour, too; everybody knows an Ethan in real-life, a player who takes themselves far too seriously. There’s plenty here for those who know nothing about ’90s gaming too, and who knows, those individuals may even seek out the original game off the back of this movie.   

Going for Golden Eye won’t get a major cinema release or attain the widespread global acclaim that King of Kong did, but that doesn’t make it any less deserving of your attention; we’ve not laughed so much during a film about video games since we watched Uwe Boll’s House of the Dead (only with this film, the laughs are intentional).

Going for Golden Eye will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray and video on demand later this year.

Hyper Universe is Now Available on Steam!

Leave the grind and start the brawl. Hyper Universe deftly combines action-packed combat and team-based strategic gameplay. With an outrageous cast of characters assembled from every corner of the galaxy, prepare for a gaming experience that’s out of this world!