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Good Old Games has a selection of TopWare-published games 50% off, including Two Worlds, Jagged Alliance 2, Dream Pinball 3D, Earth 2140/50/60, Enclave, and Septerra Core
Wholly inspired by the success Tim Schafer and Double Fine have had with crowdsourced funding, Obsidian Entertainment's Chris Avellone (Planescape: Torment, Fallout 2, Icewind Dale, KOTOR 2, NWN 2, Alpha Protocol, etc.) has stated that he feels "a bunch of doors suddenly appeared in game development." Today, on the developer's official website, the creative director posted this blog entry:
If Obsidian + Kickstarter = ?
All of Double Fine’s success from Kickstarter has been inspiring.
I GUESS PEOPLE LOVE THOSE CLASSIC ADVENTURE GAMES AFTER ALL.*
The idea of player-supported funding is... well, it’s proof certain genres aren’t dead and sequels may have more legs than they seem. And the idea of not having to argue that with a publisher is appealing.
Out of curiosity, if Obsidian did Kickstart a project, what would you want to see funded? (You can respond in comments or to @ChrisAvellone on Twitter, whichever you prefer.)
* I only use all caps for sarcasm and shouting. And for the Think Tank in Old World Blues for comedy value.
So there you have it. What would you pay to see Obsidian make? Do you think they'd be able to replicate Double Fine's success with player-driven fundraising even if they did have a solid plan?
In a move as inevitable as the melting of winter's snow, Blizzard Entertainment filed late last year to oppose the registration of a "DOTA" trademark by Valve Corporation for use in their upcoming release, DOTA 2. The recently-discovered documents on file at the US Patent Office reveal Blizzard's argument as to why the DOTA name should not be owned by Valve (emphasis added):
By this Opposition, Blizzard seeks to prevent registration by its competitor Valve Corporation ("Valve") of a trademark, DOTA, that for more than seven years has been used exclusively by Blizzard and its fan community, under license from Blizzard. By virtue of that use, the DOTA mark has become firmly associated in the mind of consumers with Blizzard, including to signify a highly popular scenario or variant of one of Blizzard's best-selling computer games, Warcraft III.
They go on and on, explaining what a mod is and how DOTA was created using WC3 assets and how the fans promoted the name (under license from Blizzard). So their position purports that they own the rights to "DOTA" already, and have licensed it out to the community all this time, though they've never officially copyrighted it.
In contrast to Blizzard, Applicant Valve Corporation ("Valve") has never used the mark DOTA in connection with any product or service that currently is available to the public. By attempting to register the mark DOTA, Valve seeks to appropriate the more than seven years of goodwill that Blizzard has developed in the mark DOTA and in its Warcraft III computer game and take for itself a name that has come to signify the product of years of time and energy expended by Blizzard and by fans of Warcraft III. Valve has no right to the registration it seeks. If such a registration is issued, it not only will damage Blizzard, but also the legions of Blizzard fans that have worked with Blizzard and its products, including by causing consumers to falsely believe that Valve's products are affiliated, sponsored or endorsed by Blizzard and are related or connected to Warcraft III.
Further points include the "fact" that you can only play DOTA by using a Warcraft 3 mod file, only while being logged into Blizzard's Battle.net, and can only possibly associate the name "DOTA" with Blizzard and/or the characters called "the Ancients" from WC3. (Personally, I had no idea the name referred to actual characters from the game.)
A response to this opposition was filed by Valve a month later, denying most of the allegations put forth in Blizzard's near-30 paragraph argument, outright or on the grounds that they do not have the knowledge to evaluate the validity of the claims. They do say specifically, however, that they do not believe the terms of the Warcraft III EULA are legally binding as far as owning rights to the name of a player-made mod, and therefore that the use of "DOTA" cannot be under license from or for the benefit of Blizzard. To further their defense, Valve states that Blizzard has no standing to oppose their trademark application and that Valve's rights to the term are senior to theirs -- presumably because original DOTA creator 'Eul' and Allstars modder 'IceFrog' are both now under Valve's employ.
Valve goes on to request the dismissal of Blizzard's opposition with prejudice (meaning the issue can never be brought up again), but if this does go to court, it will do so in September of 2012 and may last until February of next year. There's no indication as to whether this might affect the further development and eventual release of DOTA 2, which is currently undergoing closed beta testing on Steam.
Tim Schafer -- a video game designer that left LucasArts (where he made games like Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango) to form his own studio in the year 2000 -- wants to make a new point-and-click adventure game. The problem with the game industry today, however, is that big publishers don't believe there is any money to be made in such an old-school type of game.
Even the newer projects he's done with the team at Double Fine Productions, such as Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, and Stacking, were so original and off-the-wall that it was difficult to secure funding and/or see development all the way through at the mercy of a risk-wary corporation. Fortunately, the information age provides a solution: crowd-sourcing.
Using a fundraising platform like Kickstarter would allow Double Fine to secure the money they need to produce the title they want, without having to answer to a bunch of suits that might one day exert their authority to control the direction of the game or cancel it altogether. So today, a project called Double Fine Adventure appeared on the site with the goal of raising $400,000 over the next month.
Well, not only was that figure absolutely smashed in about 8 hours, they're now sitting pretty with more than $1.1 million in funding before the end of the first day! That's the power of the internet, not to mention those gamers that are willing to support their favorite developers.
These aren't donations, mind you; a contribution of at least $15 earns you a Steam license of the finished product, and there are several tiers with other goodies up for grabs, too. For instance, $250 will get you autographed posters and your name in the credits or, if you've got the capital to really invest, $50,000 will entitle you to a night of bowling with the developers and your own character in the game.
Still, it's an incredible day for the indie gaming scene, and a humbling lesson to big-time publishers that refuse to take a chance on creativity because "only" tens of thousands of people are willing to pay an average of ~$40 a copy.
Theory Interactive, a two-person indie team from Finland, announced today that they're working on RESET, a single-player co-op first-person puzzle game for PC. They pass along some basic info and a handful of gorgeous images (which they call 'unedited real-time screenshots') via their official website. Check out the insane level of detail on what is presumably the game's main character in the gallery above, and read on to find out what they mean by "single-player co-op:"
Reset is a single player co-op first person puzzle game with a strong emphasis on story and atmosphere. If Reset was a movie, it would definitely be a Sundance movie. When I say story, I don’t mean long and elaborate cutscenes but a bit different approach to storytelling in games. More on that during the coming development coverage.
“Single player co-op?” you ask. The unique game mechanic in Reset is the ability to travel back in time to solve puzzles co-operatively, with yourself. Confusing? Light will be shed.
We are using and developing our own proprietary technology aptly dubbed Praxis.
Over the weekend, fan site Dust 514 Base reported that CCP Games' upcoming console FPS tie-in to their free-form space MMORPG EVE Online will have native keyboard/mouse support when it launches on PlayStation 3 later this year. This is great news for those that abhor playing shooter games with a controller, particularly if that was the main reason for your disinterest in the title (since it won't be coming out on PC, at least not right away). Official confirmation comes from CCP's Brandon Laurino, who tweeted:
@EONmagazine and those asking for an "official statement": DUST 514 *will* support keyboard and mouse on PS3
As a PC gamer that also owns a PS3 for specific console-only experiences, I have to say that keyboard/mouse support may result in me actually giving Dust 514 a shot soon after it releases, rather than waiting for the Windows version like I was previously ready to do. Anyone else in the same boat?
Square Enix announced today that they will soon be unleashing their reincarnation of True Crime: Hong Kong, the near-finished open-world action game that they picked up after Activision gave it the axe almost exactly a year ago. They say one man's trash is another man's treasure, and it seems Square Enix is hoping that holds true for them later this year, when Sleeping Dogs is released for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Check out some screenshots in the gallery above and the live-action announcement trailer below; here are some more details from the press release:
Developed by United Front Games in collaboration with the renowned Square Enix London Studios, Sleeping Dogs will be available in the second half of 2012 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PCs.
Sleeping Dogs catapults players into the role of undercover cop Wei Shen, tasked with taking down one of the world's most fearsome criminal organisations from the inside... the Hong Kong Triads. As players explore the bustling and crowded Hong Kong island, through its neon-lit side streets and sprawling street markets, an incredible story unfolds of loyalty and betrayal, where Wei begins to question his own motives as he is sucked in deeper than he could ever imagine.
"From the moment you pick up the controller and experience the blend of driving, close combat and shooting you know you're playing something fresh and a bit special," said Lee Singleton, General Manager of Square Enix London Studios. "Sleeping Dogs has one of the best melee combat systems out there -- it's super brutal with devastating takedown moves, and when added to UFG's proven heritage in driving games, a first class story and the vibrant backdrop of the Hong Kong underworld we get a fiery recipe with fun written all over it."
"Working on Sleeping Dogs has been such a huge passion for the team at United Front Games and we're really pleased to be working with Square Enix London Studios," said Stephen Van Der Mescht, Executive Producer at United Front Games. "The extensive experience both our studios have in creating compelling openworld gameplay and rich and rewarding combat makes for a perfect partnership. Working together we can make sure that Sleeping Dogs is the most intense and immersive experience it can be."
Offering players an island packed with action, every street corner, market stall, harbour dock or city skyscraper can become an opportunity for intense shoot-outs, adrenaline-fuelled street races and intense, brutal martial arts combat. Featuring one of the most intuitive and imaginative combat systems, Sleeping Dogs empowers players to perform an extensive set of martial arts moves, singlehandedly taking on numerous opponents. Players perform bone-crunching kicks and combos, vicious counters and a cinematic set of environmental takedowns making use of countless real-world items from circular saws to phone booths, incinerators to refrigerator doors.
As promised, Bethesda released the Creation Kit mod tools for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim today, along with the final version of patch v1.4 that has been available to beta participants for the past couple weeks. This includes the long-awaited Steam Workshop integration that will allow players to find, download, and install mods from a huge central database quickly and easily. No more downloading archives, figuring out which directory to extract files to, or having to implement manual tweaks or fixes to get the game to recognize your mod.
Additionally, it turns out that the "special surprise" Pete Hines was referring to is an official high-resolution texture pack for Skyrim, which is now available as free DLC on Steam. They don't have any comparison screenshots to show on that store page, but it is recommended you have at least 4GB of system RAM and 1GB of video card memory if you're interested in boosting the quality of visuals throughout the whole game.
In case you missed it last time, here's a video explaining how Skyrim and Steam have come together to make your life that much sweeter:
Start-up indie outfit Adhesive Games announced today that their first game -- an Unreal Engine-based mech shooter called Hawken -- will be free-to-play when it's released later this year. Currently, they're aiming for a Steam release on December 12th, 2012
In the meantime, you can now sign up for a chance to take part in beta testing on the game's new placeholder site. It seems you'll need to refer a few friends in order to secure your spot, but that shouldn't be too hard.
Hawken received a lot of press last year when it debuted, mainly because what they've shown of it looks better than most professionally-made UE3 games. I even remember seeing one of the team members giving an interview on G4 during E3; that's huge. If you haven't seen any of the gameplay footage yet, or have simply forgotten what it looks like, check this out:
Good Old Games offers three flavors of Activision 'Quests' 50% off this weekend, including King's Quest, Police Quest, and Space Quest games in $5 bundles of 2-4 titles
Bethesda's PR chief Pete Hines has tweeted that the long-awaited Creation Kit for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is "on track for release next Tuesday," February 7th. Perhaps in some way trying to make us forget that it was supposed to arrive last month, he goes on to hint "We also have a special surprise with it."
Speculation abounds as to what such a surprise might be, but likely as not, we may be getting an announcement concerning the game's first DLC add-on. If you recall, Todd Howard has stated that they want to stick with more substantial content updates (as opposed to something like Horse Armor), so any revelation of that sort would be special, indeed.
Troubled publisher THQ has confirmed in their financial report for Q3 FY2012 that they've cut around 240 business personnel from offices across the globe, as part of their shift in focus toward core gaming brands. Previous rumors have turned out to be only partially true, as the company has revealed they are completely abandoning all efforts in the kids and family segment of the market, following disappointing sales of various licensed games and the new uDraw tablet that dragged down their overall financial results for 2011.
Despite shipping 3.6 million units of Saints Row: The Third (the single most successful launch of owned IP in THQ's history) and 2 million units of WWE '12, the publisher came out of their third quarter with a net loss of $56 million, compared to a loss of $15 million the year before.
Moving forward, all of THQ's major titles are still in the works, including UFC Undisputed 3, South Park: The Game, and WWE '13 to be released this year, as well as an additional two titles that have not yet been announced. Darksiders II will be arriving in June, though post-apocalyptic FPS sequel Metro: Last Light has been delayed into 2013 to join off-the-wall action title Devil's Third in releasing during the fourth quarter of the company's next fiscal year.
All other revealed works in progress, including Warhammer 40k: Dark Millenium Online, inSANE, Homefront 2, and new games from Turtle Rock Studios and Patrice Désilets at THQ Montreal are still in the cards for fiscal 2014 and beyond, along with four other unannounced titles.
THQ has stated, however, that they are looking for a partner to bring MMORPG Dark Millenium Online to market, citing the "large financial commitment and associated risks" that the company is no longer able to shoulder independently.
Eurogamer reports that Ubisoft will be changing the location of their game servers next week, rendering the majority of the publisher's titles unplayable online. All but Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Driver: San Francisco won't have access to multiplayer features when the Uplay service goes down, but for games with always-on DRM that require a constant internet connection, this downtime means you won't be able to play in single-player/offline mode, either.
Games such as Might & Magic: Heroes VI, The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, and Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 will be among those most grievously affected, as they will be completely unplayable starting on Tuesday, February 7th. Ubisoft has not stated how long the server move will take, so there's no telling when exactly you'll be allowed to play these games that you supposedly own again.
View Reset Game Announcement Screenshots -- 4 Image(s)
