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09/23/2010 Richard Garriott's next game goes 'back to my roots,' but in social media Portalarium Founder, UltimaThe creator and not-Foolin 'astronaut Richard Garriott delivered the keynote at Fantastic Fest's inaugural Fantastic Arcade event in Austin today. After giving the assembled audience his personal history, he offered a hint about where he plans to go with Portalarium (which is evidently both a company and game name).

Displaying a slide about going "back to my roots," Garriott said his company planned to make "AAA games, meaning the games we find compelling to create and play, but distributed through social media." Why that medium? "The power is in that you don't have to make a decision to buy it, you play it by clicking on a link, nothing to pay for up front, no real installation and only if you decide you really want to play it will we decide how to eventually charge you money for it."

Later, in response to questions from the audience, he explained his strategy a bit further. "Since everybody else is doing Flash and Java-games, I can kick his ass pretty easily."

Richard Garriott's next game goes 'back to my roots,' but in social media originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/23/2010 Report: Mad Max game at Avalanche Studios God Of War 2 Director Cory Barlog, is likely to be working on Mad Max game (a supposed tie-in with the 2012 movie sequel) at Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios. EurogamerReports Avalanche Studios 'founder Christopher Sandberg said the site "I' t comment on the projects that we work, but Corey is working with us here in Stockholm."

We've known Barlog had been working on a Mad Max game since 2008, with production reportedly still going on last year -- we just never knew exactly where he was making the game.

The studio's Avalanche Engine would actually be fantastic for driving an enormous, lush Mad Max game -- well, if "lush" existed in the Mad Max vocabulary. The engine certainly proved its graphical power in Just Cause 2. Now, if Barlog could only help deliver a cohesive concept, instead of just an emptysanders, which can be truly beautiful thing.

Report: Mad Max game at Avalanche Studios originally appeared on JoystiqThurs September 23, 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

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09/18/2010 The first images New Characters Super Street fighter IV [Tokyo Game Show 2010] Seemed like Hong Kong fighters Yun and Yang were going to be in the arcade version of Super Street Fighter IV. Turns out, they are. More ?



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09/17/2010 Comics lobby rallies against the law of California Game

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund files "friend of the court" briefs in Supreme Court case, citing possible effect on all media; film, recording, press support also expected.

 

Today, the Supreme Court case that may determine whether states can criminalize sales of games to minors grew a bit more complicated. That's because a legal lobby supporting the comic book industry has thrown its support behind the game industry by filing a "friend of the court" brief in the case, officially titled Schwarzenegger vs. the Entertainment Merchants Association.

According to a copy of the brief obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund asked the Supreme Court to reject the law on the grounds that it "would undermine more First Amendment principles in a single case than any decision in living memory."

Robert Corn-Revere, an attorney with the law firm representing the CBLDF, expanded on the brief to the Times . "The first amendment is indivisible," he said. "If it's weakened for one medium, it's weakened for all. If a precedent is established for the censorship of games, it will be used for everybody else. You'll see a lot of support for our position from different quarters."

Times expects those "quarters" to be some of the leading lobbies and organizations of the media and entertainment world, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom, the Radio Television News Association, the Recording Industry Association of America, and the Motion Picture Association of America.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in Schwarzenegger vs. the Entertainment Merchants Association on November 2. At issue in the case is California Assembly Bill 1179, which was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005 but challenged in court before it could take effect.

Penned by California state assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), CAB1179 sought to ban the sale or rental of "violent video games" to children. A "violent" game was defined as a "game in which the range of options available to a player includes killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being." If it becomes law, retailers that sold such games would be subject to a $1,000 fine.

The bill would also have required "violent" video games to bear a 2-inch-by-2-inch sticker with a "solid white '18' outlined in black" on their front covers. That's more than twice the size of the labels that currently adorn game-box covers and display the familiar Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating.

In 2007, a circuit court judge struck down the law as unconstitutional but admitted he was "sympathetic to what the legislature sought to do." Last year, an appellate court judge backed up the original ruling. Within a few months to appeal the decision of the appellate court ", the appearance on GameSpot 's HotSpot podcast, Yee predicted that the dispute would be pushed to the Supreme Court .

Read and write comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

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04/29/2010 GameStop: It Is Not Cool To Take Pictures And Send Them To Internet Sites [Wii] While You were probably happy seeing proof of the imminent arrival of the black Wiion U.S. banks, retailers GameStop to a lesser extent, sending e-mail with a long their stores this morning as a result of the console 'S "Leaked \\ ". More



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07/22/2010 Kaw Clicker Boils Down Facebook Games mjn writes "Game designer and academic Ian Bogost announces Cow Clicker, a Facebook game implementing the mechanics of the Facebook-games genre stripped to their core. You get a cow, which you can click on every six hours. You earn additional clicks if your friends in your pasture also click. You can buy premium cows with 'mooney,' and also use your mooney to buy more clicks. You can buy mooney with real dollars, or earn some free bonus mooney if you spam up your feed with Cow Clicker activity. A satire of Facebook games, but actually as genuine a game as the non-satirical games are. And people actually play it, perhaps confirming Bogost's view that the genre of games is largely just 'brain hacks that exploit human psychology in order to make money,' which continue to work even when the users are openly told what's going on."

Read more of this storyon Slashdot.

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07/10/2010 Gears of War, Max Payne and Bioshock added to GFWL Games on Demand Better late than never, right? Gears of War ($20), Bioshock ($20) and Max Payne ($10) have been added to Games for Windows Live's Games on Demand service.

[Thanks, TheWeaponeer]

Gears of War, Max Payne and Bioshock added to GFWL Games on Demand originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 10 Jul 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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09/14/2010 Letting Customers Solve the price of the game DLC An anonymous reader writes "How much should game developers be charging for DLC? It seems that one indie dev has decided to carry out a unique experiment. The latest expansion pack for Gratuitous Space Battles is priced at $5.99 — or is it? It turns out there is both a standard ($5.99) version and a discount version ($2.99). And the difference between them is... nothing. The buyers have been left to make their own decisions on whether or not they should pay full price, and send more money to the developer, or treat themselves to a deserved discount. The buy page even lists comparisons of national incomes, average salaries and even the price of sausages to help buyers make up their minds. Will this catch on? Will Microsoft start asking us whether or not we should get a discount and trust us to answer honestly?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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09/16/2010 Look! Yakuza zombies and two girls with Guns [Game Face] As seen at the Sega booth at this year's Tokyo Game Show. More ?



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09/16/2010 Take a tour of Microsoft 'S Tokyo Game Show Booth [TGS] Microsoft 'S TGS booth looks a little brighter this year, slightly airier. Want to see what's being shown off on their particular slice of the Makuhari Messe's showroom floor? More ?



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09/16/2010 Live From Gran Turismo 5's Tokyo Game Show Panel [Tokyo Game Show 2010]Kazunori Yamauchi, designer of Gran Turismo, is showing off the latest entry Gran Turismo 5. There is a Logitech steering wheel clamped to a table. Driving ahoy! More ?



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09/16/2010 Five new exclusive Kinect games coming from legendary Japanese creators

Earlier today at the open of the Tokyo Game Show in Japan we announced Five Exclusive Titles for Kinect for Xbox 360 coming in 2011. From the press release:

codename D (Grasshopper Manufacture, Microsoft Game Studios). From the famed markers of “killer7” and the “NO MORE HEROES” series comes “codename D” from SUDA 51 for Microsoft Game Studios. You must fight for your life to survive an evil amusement park filled with twisted and eerie creatures. With “codename D” for Kinect for Xbox 360, you are the controller as you unleash devastating effects to destroy enemies and objects.

 

Project Draco (Grounding, Microsoft Game Studios). The director of the cult hits “Phantom Dust” and “Panzer Dragoon,” game director Yukio Futatsugi, brings you an epic 3-D flying shooter. With the magic of Kinect for Xbox 360, you will be able to nurture and learn to communicate with your dragon as you develop its skills and train it as a partner in combat. Then join friends on Xbox LIVE to feel the rush of flight as you take to the skies together and experience breathtaking vistas and engage in thrilling battles.

 

Haunt (NanaOn-Sha, Microsoft Game Studios). Gather friends and family to delve deep into a haunted house dripping with mystery â€" you’ll need every ounce of your wit and cunning if you hope to unravel the veil of rumors that hide its darkest secret. Dodge traps and outwit ghosts, ghouls and frights that lurk with glee around each and every corner. Take a deep breath and immerse yourself in “Haunt,” spooky fun for Kinect for Xbox 360.

 

Steel Battalion Heavy Armor (Capcom, From Software). This all-new game revives the fan-favorite “Steel Battalion” series. With the support of Microsoft, Capcom and From Software join forces to bring this groundbreaking collaborative project to Xbox 360. Manhattan, 2082: In a world where computers and almost all modern technology have been lost, the greatest nations of the world continue to battle for supremacy. The American army lands in New York to begin its first big offensive of a long ground war. Soldiers fire from the trenches as scorched bunkers belch black smoke. As comrades continually fall to the unrelenting crossfire of bullets, the Vertical Tanks make their relentless advance. Experience the battlefield as never before with Kinect for Xbox 360.

 

Rise of Nightmares (SEGA). “Rise of Nightmares” offers a spine-tingling horror experience that uses the innovative new controls of Kinect for Xbox 360 to give players the ultimate fright. Using their whole body, players will experience fear and tension as never before in this exclusive Kinect horror adventure.

In addition, we discussed several names, including Metal Gear Solid: Rising.

Read Xbox.com and Inside Xbox for more Tokyo Game Show coverage

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07/30/2010

Thermoelectrics Could Let You Feel the Heat In Games

myshadows writes "Tech Review has an interesting article on how Tokyo Metropolitan University researchers have been able to give a sensory addition to gaming peripherals — namely, temperature. 'As the range of interactions with digital environments expands, it's logical to ask what's next: Smell-o-vision has been on the horizon for something like 50 years, but there's a dark horse stalking this race: thermoelectrics. Based on the Peltier effect, these solid-state devices are easy to incorporate into objects of reasonable size, i.e. video game controllers. In this configuration, just announced at the 2010 SIGGRAPH conference, a pair of thermoelectric surfaces on either side of a controller rapidly heat up or cool down in order to simulate appropriate conditions in a virtual environment.'" Read more of this storyon Slashdot.