If you're a developer, then you should know that your brethren send us hundreds of press releases monthly (if not thousands). The press releases are often groan-inducing and uninteresting; they're over-inflated with text, and at times, even downright ugly to scroll through. However, on occasion, there are press release emails that grab our attention enough to write up entire features (and eventually, reviews) on the posts. Believe us, many releases get ignored for very basic flaws that could be fixed easily -- take it from the journos, this is our how-to guide for impressive video game press releases.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the skies...
Since the dawn of video games there have been top-down vertical shooters. We've grown up playing and loving them, and that love will probably never stop. Video games have obviously advanced quickly over the years with the introduction of 3D graphics, among other things, but one device of which you can be certain is that developers will continue making the same style of games we all loved all that long time ago: the kind where you're looking down on your character and wondering what bully or teacher made him into such a badass before going back to slaughtering aliens.
You mess with the dishwasher, you get the soap!
The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai came out back in 2009 to a slew of awards, focusing mainly on game design and development for its one-man army of a developer, James Silva. When it was announced that there'd be a sequel to that game, fans started trying to figure out where the small team could take the title in order to make it even more visceral, while still maintaining the same level of fun... and sheer madness. The time has finally come, and The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile is finally among us. We find out if it surpasses its predecessor or simply sits in the shadow of its older brother.
The final episode in the Alien Breed series of games is finally here; it's been about a year since we saw the very first episode back when it was an Xbox LIVE Arcade exclusive game, and since then we've had Steam and PSN versions -- like Impact and Assault -- both of which have continued the snowballing awesome effect that the series has had since conception. Now we're getting to the end of the current storyline (who knows if Team 17 is planning another story line in the future) and we've recently gotten news that Alien Breed will be coming to retails stores in the near future as a complete package. The ball hasn't stopped rolling just yet.
From Lyrics to Characters - Designing a Bard with Music
By Steve Burke Published April 08, 2011 at 11:26 amBy using the lyrics of Iron Maiden's "Dance of Death," we help guide you through the process of creating a bard character that is horrified of dancing. The bard that doesn't dance -- how did that happen, anyway? Read on to find out.
Fans of our level design series probably recall the first of the From Lyrics to Levels column (where we taught you how to create a steampunk level by listening to the lyrics of a song); this is the same concept, but instead uses song lyrics to create and embellish a living character in a typical fantasy setting. We will use the lyrics to build on a personality, profession, character interactions, and essential background for use in a fantasy game -- this column can be used for tabletop games, writing, or video games with equal success. It's all about how you want to interpret the music!
In preparation for our next installment in the From Lyrics to Levels series, I've put together a character design template with the fundamentals for any fantasy setting (though the template can be adopted for use elsewhere). The character design template gives you a format to address quintessential points for any character you're designing -- the idea is to help streamline the character design and development process so that nothing is forgotten.
Games. Ever since the dawn of time people have played games, sometimes as a form of competition, sometimes as a display of dominance, or sometimes just to simply pass the time. What happens if you don't enjoy the game you're playing, though? Do you continue anyway, hoping that something will "just click?"
Maybe you should stop playing altogether and find something else to do?
Or... you could be cool. You could just stick two fingers up to the authorities, tell them you're not glued to the predetermined ruleset of their game, and that you're going to make your own game from within the overarching constraints of theirs. That's how we got Rugby League, that's how we got Pool, it's even, to use a more modern analogy, how we got Counter-Strike (Half Life Mod), Team Fortress (Quake Mod), Defense of the Ancients (Warcraft III / StarCraft Mod), and many others.
So where's the fun in that?
'Every game needs a Vietnam expansion' -- and PvP
By Steve Burke Published March 09, 2011 at 3:04 pmDespite improvisational player-versus-player mayhem, the developers of Magicka (and its awesome spell effects) have set forth on an arduous-yet-generic adventure to release a not-so-unique Vietnam expansion pack, followed shortly by an official PvP mode; that's right, you won't need any more excuses for slaughtering your friends with a quick blast of FQASA. I had the chance to sit down with Mattias Lilja, executive producer at Paradox Interactive, and talk to him about some of Paradox's upcoming releases.
When it gets announced that Tim Schafer's Double Fine Productions is going to release another one of their quirky titles, people start to sit up and take notice. When it's also announced that this new title is about Russian Nesting Dolls, people start to settle back down a bit, not because they're not interested any more but because they can't see how anyone could make a game out of that. At least, that's how I felt. After a couple of failed attempts at trying to wrap my head around a possible concept, I settled on the fact that if anyone could make a fun, humorous, and highly entertaining game out of something that's a little vague and, if I'm honest, very weird, then Tim Schafer and his doubly fine staff could do it. Probably.
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