I’ve been wondering why the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels and the Scott Pilgrim game seemed so appealing, but the trailer and ads for the actual movie were kind of ho-hum. But the guys at Gamers With Jobs pinpointed it:
On a whim, I picked up one of the comics and fell in love with the contrast between a coming of age story and a fantastic romp through video game clichés. Watching the ads for the movie, I realized it was very difficult to capture just what Scott Pilgrim was about in a 30 second teaser. Part of the problem is that the movie and source comic are a bit off kilter, while the trailer is, at heart, still a movie trailer. It presents beats, glimpses of the game-inspired world, but isn’t edited with that in mind.
(Emphasis mine)
I guess the answer is that I thought the story made a great comic and game, but I really just don’t get movies.
Tampere, Finland – July 1, 2010 – 10tons Ltd announced today a brand new game called Heroes of Kalevala. Heroes of Kalevala is a village-building match-3 game. The game world is inspired by Finnish national epic Kalevala. The game will feature state of the art match-3 mechanics, an extensive village building meta game, and several hero characters from Kalevala for the player to meet.
“We’ve always loved match-3 games that are original and provide polished playability. We created a tiny match-3 game called Ice Breaker way back in 2004 and now we wanted to revisit this classic genre.”, said Sampo Töyssy of 10tons. “Our goal was to create a modern match-3 game with all the best parts from existing games seasoned with some new twists. We also have an original meta game that interacts heavily with the match-3 game. Since the whole team is from Finland, it’s been fun and interesting to create a game that draws inspiration from Kalevala.”
Heroes of Kalevala will be available for iPhone and iPod touch around August 2010. More platforms will be announced later. Heroes of Kalevala is developed with the support of the MEDIA programme of the European Union.
So Konami is licensing the Unreal Engine from my neighbors, Epic Games… for a horror game based on the Saw films. Does this seem weird to anyone else? Ok… I guess I associate Konami with Lost in Blue and DDR, not bloody gory games.
CARY, N.C., June 24, 2010 – Epic Games, Inc. announced today that Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. has licensed its Unreal Engine 3 for “Saw II: The Game,” an upcoming third-person survivor horror sequel developed by Zombie Studios for Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.
Based on the fictional universe of the “Saw” movie series, “Saw II” takes place between the first two films and introduces a new twist on Jigsaw’s sinister traps and puzzles in the most intense look into the “Saw” universe ever. “Saw II” features a new combat system, clever ways to fight off enemies using the environment, and highly realistic graphics powered by the latest Unreal Engine 3 technology.
“Licensing Unreal Engine 3 was an easy decision for us,” said Careen Yapp, vice president of acquisitions and franchise development at Konami. “The engine’s new and improved features, time-saving tools and exceptional support system make it the best choice for the ‘Saw’ property.”
“I’ve used other game engines, I’ve written my own, I’ve used middleware and I’ve shipped sequels for franchises using other studios’ tech set, and I prefer Unreal Engine 3 over all of them,” said Mark Long, chief executive officer of Zombie Studios. “The quickest way to reduce risk is to use a known, proven toolset. With Unreal Engine 3, I can promise publishers what I can deliver, and I deliver on time. Every time.”
“Saw II” will be Zombie Studios’ ninth title and fourth franchise shipped with the Unreal Engine.
“It’s always rewarding to support repeat customers with our engine technology,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “Konami is a fantastic publisher, and Zombie has great success shipping Unreal-powered games, so we’re eager to see how the new ‘Saw’ game unfolds.”
“Saw II: The Game” is scheduled to be released globally in fall 2010 to coincide with the release of the film, “Saw VII.” To download “Saw II: The Game” screenshots, the logo or trailer, visit http://www.konami.com/GamersNight/.
The guys at Ranker have come up with a list of the sexiest videogame commercials. I didn’t have high hopes for this list — I rank pixelated boobs just slightly higher than girls posting pics of themselves playing WarCraft in their underwear. But it was a laugh, I quite liked the logic in #7′s explanation of the hot girl in Bayonetta:
This commercial (which kind of mirrors the American version, but has a real live girl in it) features another hot girl in glasses… just like the character in the game!
Appealing to the same part of all of our brains (glasses = smart = relatable = GIRLFRIEND!), this game not only tailored to its target audience, but swept it off its feet.
Wonderful logic, boys. Counteracts all the times I’ve been told how pretty I’d be if I got contacts.
And on the topic of pretty girls in gaming, I’ve got some E3 booth babes behaving badly over on my personal blog.
Today Interplay launched their beta sign-up and teaser website today for their upcoming Fallout Online MMORPG, or Project V13 if you want to keep calling it that.
I have to admit I installed this on my iTouch as soon as I got the press release. Because it has the potential to be cutely fun or be The Rules horrific, and either way, I have to check it out.
wikiHow, a collaboration to build and share the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual, just launched its newest iPhone and iPod Touch app, wikiHow’s Love Survival Kit. Available now for free download on the App Store, the Love Survival Kit follows wikiHow’s hugely successful Emergency Survival Kit, which has more than half a million downloads to date. Packed with articles for every love scenario, from casual dating to serious relationships, and everything in between, wikiHow’s Love Survival Kit will have you looking for love (tips) in all the right places.
The Love Survival Kit’s practical articles help people gracefully navigate tricky dating and social situations, or just kill time by learning fun and charming tricks. A modern approach to etiquette – complete with video tutorials – the Love Survival Kit covers a broad range of relationship categories and subjects, such as:
• Love and War including: How to Catch a Cheating Boyfriend, How to Date Multiple Men/Women at a Time, How to Play Hard To Get, and more
• Kissing including: How to Kiss, How to French Kiss, How to Deal with a Bad Kisser, How to Get Rid of Chapped Lips, and more
• Awkward Situations including: How to Deal with Someone’s Bad Breath, How to Escape the Friend Zone, How to Get Rid of a Stalker, and more
• Breaking Up including: How to Break Up Over the Phone, How to Break Up Over IM, How to Get Over a Break Up, and more
• Dating Skills including: How to Flirt, How to Play Footsie, How to Read Body Language, How to Have a Great Conversation, and more
• Charming Tricks including: How to Fold a Dollar Into a Heart, How to Open a Beer Bottle with a Dollar Bill, How to Open a Champagne Bottle with a Sword, and more
• Additional How-To Categories including: Best Foot Forward, Relationship Fixes, Relationship Skills and Tying the Knot
wikiHow Founder Jack Herrick commented: “I started wikiHow to help people by offering practical education. One of the most surprising things I’ve seen is how many people want to use wikiHow to secretly improve their love life. So the Love Survival Kit was created to fulfill this need, delivering the best of our romance and relationship advice in one free app.”
Which gets me thinking… I wonder if there’s a Worse-Case Scenario Handbook app yet.
Ok, so we all have a friend (or two) who’s just freakishly good at Guitar Hero. But Danny Johnson is setting out to show the world that he’s actually the best. He’s attempting a new Guinness World Record at E3… oh, right about now! Will he make it? What do you think? If you’re here, he’s making his attempt at the Gamer Grub booth, #5740.
TERA already won my love with their gorgeous concept art. (A larger version of the picture above is my laptop’s wallpaper — and that’s saying something, considering I get new game assets in the mail every day) I’m really excited to see their new MMO at E3
En Masse Entertainment, a new breed of game publisher focused on delivering highly anticipated online video games to Western audiences, announced today that it will present the first hands-on demo of its flagship Action MMO title, TERA™, at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 in Los Angeles. The hands-on demo will focus on TERA’s groundbreaking action combat system, which allows players to step into a world where their actions, teamwork, and combat expertise—not statistics—give them a chance to become true heroes in the face of danger.
“At E3, people will have the chance to experience firsthand what makes TERA‘s gameplay so exciting,” said En Masse CEO Dr. Jae-Heon Yang. “Select media will form a party with varied roles and venture forth to experience their first battle using our innovativeaction/adventure style combat system. During the show, players will see how TERA is changing the rules of MMO combat.”
TERA is an innovative Action MMORPG with rich graphics and animations where players fully control their characters through the game’s dynamic battle system. Player actions in TERA can change the balance of power in a world threatened by dark powers as six allied races work together to protect their world. The game, which is currently in development for PC, will launch in North America and Europe in 2011.
Just released at E3. iGUGU‘s new Gamecore systems promises to bring3.5D gaming into homes with an affordable wireless controller:
LOS ANGELES – June 14, 2010 – iGUGU®, a global manufacturer of innovative entertainment technology products for consumers and business, will introduce the arrival of 3.5D gaming enabled by its innovative iGUGU Gamecore system at E3 Expo 2010 .
Featuring an innovative compact wireless controller that incorporates a trackball, direction pad, joystick, programmable action buttons, and a full QWERTY keyboard, iGUGU Gamecore enables users to play PC-based games on a large screen television without the need to use a computer keyboard and mouse. The controller is equipped with six accelerometers, enabling users to intuitively play games using natural motions to do activities such as steer a race care or fly an aircraft.
iGUGU Gamecore, which enables gamers to access and play virtually any of the more than 27,000 game titles available for the PC and through the Internet on a television, greatly enhances the experience of playing PC games by allowing gamers to control their games through natural, intuitive body movements.
When using iGUGU Gamecore to play games on a 3D television, the gamers’ experience is taken beyond 3D as a new level of realism is added by intuitive game control providing gamers with the sense of actually driving a race car, flying a fighter jet or going on patrol in a war game. iGUGU calls this extraordinary virtual experience, 3.5D.
According to Isaac Calderon, president of iGUGU, Gamecore will forever change the way that people experience computer gaming. “With the extensive processing, memory and storage characteristics of even the most basic computer systems, the PC is truly the most powerful videogame console available on the market today, but until now computer gaming has been limited to relatively small desktop or laptop screens. With iGUGU Gamecore, gamers can have the best of both worlds with the ability to enjoy their PC-based games on a large screen television in the home theater. With our wireless controller, the experience is further enhanced because not only can gamers search for and access games stored on their computer or on the Internet, but they play these games using intuitive body motions to add a new level of realism.”
I blogged on Pet Puppy, and thought on virtual pets in general, over on DIYGamer this morning:
I think there’s a lot of potential in a cute virtual pet game for the iPhone. A good one would blend all the adorable options of a Tamagotchi (remember those?), with the ease of an iPhone interface and touchscreen, and a great game would let users exchange items or let me bring my virtual pet to play with your virtual pet if we were in the same place.
It got me thinking about another virtual pet game for the iToy. Pocket Creatures is a cute virtual pet, the video reminds me of making a monster in Black & White or training a Sims pet.
City of Industry, Calif.—June 7, 2010—InterWorks Unlimited Inc., the
fastest-growing distributor of innovative gaming peripherals, today
announced they have extended their official license deal with leading
worldwide developer and publisher of video games Capcom Entertainment,
Inc. to develop Resident Evil® Darkside Chronicles and Resident Evil®
Umbrella Chronicles and other Capcom® game-branded peripherals for use
with this generation’s gaming consoles.
“Resident Evil® is one of the most successful franchises in video game
history,” said Michael Kidakarn, Executive Creative Director of
InterWorks. “Our products must achieve the design and technical
sophistication that gamers expect from the Resident Evil universe. We know
fans will be proud of the final product along with future inventions we
have in the works for popular Capcom brands.
“InterWorks has come up with some innovative ideas that will enhance the
gameplay experience for Capcom gamers,” said Seon King, Senior Director or
Licensing at Capcom. “We are excited about the new products and looking
forward to hearing the response from gamers.”
The next products to launch will be the Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles
and Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles Magnum and Knife Kit, continuing
upon the success of the Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles and Resident
Evil Umbrella Chronicles Shot Blaster for the Nintendo Wii™. Both will be
featured at the InterWorks booth at the upcoming Entertainment Expo in Los
Angeles, June 15-17, 2010.
Chinese iPhone devs Mo-Star release Princess Fury:
Inventive developers Mo-Star today announced the release of their new fantasy battle game for iPhone, Princess Fury. This gorgeously illustrated action game boasts a combination of classic arcade action style and a creative, real-time strategic battle system.
As Princess Fury, players strike down enemies with the combined power of servants and soldiers. With stunning swordplay and magic, players can combat over 100 enemies at once in epic battles that rely on collaboration with friendly forces as much as one’s own competence and courage.
“Most of our developers grew up playing arcade and console games, so our goal with Princess Fury was to provide a console quality gaming experience, suited to the mobile player,” said Qin Yi, general manager at Mo-Star. “We spent lots of time making the controls sharp, the battles fun and exciting, and fine-tuning the sound and graphics effects; and now we have created a game that we enjoy playing, and we hope fans will enjoy it too.”
A princess-y RTP with Chinese characteristics? Sounds great to me. Can’t wait to check it out!
I mentioned the Bounty Hunter class in the upcoming SW:TOR game a while ago. Now they’ve just announced some more about the Sith Warrior class, as well.
Champion of the Dark Side
An unstoppable force of darkness, the Sith Warrior is entrusted with the task of destroying the Empire’s enemies and enforcing Sith domination across the galaxy. The Warrior channels the destructive emotions of fear, anger, and hatred to purge weakness from body and mind and become a being of pure, brutal efficiency.
Destined to eradicate the incompetent chaos created by the Jedi, the Sith seek to rule the galaxy through power and intimidation. The armies of the Sith Empire are trained to accomplish this task, but they require the leadership of bold Sith Warriors—loyal and mighty overlords—who will drive them to conquest and victory.
I’ve posted about Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box and about The Game Composer’s Blog before, and today’s post over at the Game Composer’s Blog was just awesome. Sayre’s latest post transcribes a podcast he did about Tiger Eye, with an alien, Bigfoot and Frankenstein’s monster.
ALIEN: Welcome back, humans. One of your kind is now with us. Behold Matt Sayre!
MATT: Thank you, Alien. I’m happy to be here.
BIGFOOT: (English accent) Welcome, Mr. Sayre.
FRANKENSTEIN: Urrrgh!!
MATT: Hi, Bigfoot and Frankenstein’s monster.
BIGFOOT: Oh, go ahead and call him “Frankenstein”. He’s grown accustomed to that particular appellation.
MATT: Great. I will, thanks.
FRANKENSTEIN: Gyee.
ALIEN: Begin this interrogation by giving us the history of your project and the human faction that has created it.
MATT: Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box is a new hidden object puzzle adventure game based on the paranormal romance novel Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu. The game basically covers the first half of the book. You play as Dela Reese, a young woman traveling in China. She finds a mysterious riddle box and once she opens it she discovers an ancient warrior, Hari, who has been trapped within for centuries. He is cursed to serve as a slave to whomever possesses the box. You try to rid him of the curse and deal with the Magi, the antagonist who is responsible for the curse and who wants his riddle box back.
Our team, PassionFruit Games, was formed specifically to make this game and, we hope, all its sequels. Tiger Eye is the first in the Dirk & Steele (the psychic detective group Dela belongs to) series of books and it’s an exciting series, perfect for video games. The members of PassionFruit Games previously worked at Her Interactive (I did contract work for them, the rest were full-time), where they worked on the Nancy Drew Dossier series. Unfortunately, the Dossier series did not pan out (even though Resorting to Danger won Yahoo’s 2009 Hidden Object Game of the Year award) so the team was laid off. The day after being laid off, however, we were already planning this new venture. And last month we shipped TE: CotRB!
I kind of want to quote the whole thing, actually. And also I want to subscribe to the Alien, Bigfoot and Frankenstein podcast.
The guys at Ranker have come up with the top 10 Most Infuriating Death Screens In Video Game History. (Quick warning: Site describes, um, exactly what the opposing team is emoting to your sad corpse in most multiplayer games. In case you weren’t sure.) Do you agree? What do you think was the worst death ever?
RainBlood, an RPG from Chinese indie developer Soulframe, has just been released in English translation. Bloodrain uses hand-drawn environments and characters (with a little help form RPGmaker) to create a plot-heavy RPG set in fictionalized China. In this single-player game, players will enter the town of Pang to uncover mysteries involving a plague on the city and hidden loyalties as they fight monsters and avoid would-be assassins. The game takes place in one day in Pang, but flashbacks, interior stories and a complex overall storyline promise to make the game more of an interactive novel than a button-masher.
I’m pretty excited to check it out, I love RPGs in general, and usually indie storylines prevent my friends from having to listen to me whine endlessly about how the game could have been better with more character development. I also love Chinese myths, but after two years of living in China, my Mandarin is still basically confined to reading a menu or buying a train ticket, so I’m pleased to see the release of the English version.
There’s also a sequel to Rainblood already in the works.
Ok, maybe not smarter exactly, but a new study shows it does increase brain function.
SEATTLE, Washington – May 26th, 2010 — PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual video games, today announced that preliminary results of a new study being conducted by East Carolina University’s Psychophysiology Lab have identified improvements in cognitive function through the playing of “casual” video games such as Bejeweled and Peggle. (PopCap Games, maker of the aforementioned games used in the study, did not underwrite the study.) The study, which has been underway for nearly six months and will be completed later this year, involves dozens of U.S. consumers age 50 and older, and explores the effects of the games on subjects’ short term cognitive acuity. In each instance, sizable improvements were identified in the performance of the experimental group as compared to the control group.
Dr. Carmen Russoniello, Director of the Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic at ECU, is presenting initial data and analysis from the study today at the 6th annual Games for Health Conference in Boston. Full study results will be submitted this fall for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.
“The initial results of the study are very intriguing, in that they suggest that the ‘active participation’ required while playing a casual video game like Bejeweled provides an opportunity for mental exercise that more passive activities, like watching television, do not,” said Russoniello. “Future applications could include prescriptive applications using casual video games to potentially stave off Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-type disorders.”
More than 40 test subjects have participated in the study so far, with dozens more being included by the study’s completion. Measurements were achieved through tracking of Electroencephalography (EEG) brain waves as well as subjects’ participation in the standardized Trail Making Test™ parts A and B. Both cognitive response time (the speed with which a subject completes a task) and executive function (the frequency of correctly completing parts of the task) were tracked. Those subjects who played Bejeweled or Peggle for short (30 minute) periods showed an 87% improvement in cognitive response time and a 215% increase in executive functioning when compared to a control group. According to ECU, these improvements in overall cognitive acuity are comparable to changes recorded after other types of cognitive interventions such as mindfulness based cognitive therapy and cognitive remediation therapy.
“Video games with more complex rules and controls, and more sophisticated or detailed imagery – so-called ‘hardcore’ video games – might provide similar cognitive benefits for many people,” said Russoniello. “But those games take significantly longer to learn to play and appeal to a considerably narrower subset of the overall population, especially older consumers. In our experience, ‘casual’ video games are ideal both in terms of their accessibility and ease of understanding and because they appeal to nearly everyone.”
I do a weekly trivia night with friends, and when we can’t come with the answer, we always use Sonic the Hedgehog. Which actor won an Oscar for playing another Oscar-winning actor? Sonic the Hedgehog! Which US president had the largest shoe size? Sonic the Hedgehog! With the new Sonic 4 for Xbox and iToys, it might actually be the real answer.
SEGA® is incredibly happy at the overwhelmingly positive response to Sonic The Hedgehog™ 4 Episode I from both press and fans around the world. SEGA wants to ensure that we’re delivering the best Sonic experience possible.
With this dedication to quality and the Sonic experience in mind, SEGA has decided to extend the development of the game and will now release Sonic The Hedgehog™ 4 Episode I in the latter half of 2010. The additional time will allow the Development Team to focus on keeping the game high quality, continuing tuning and balancing of levels and interface and overall maintaining the kind of polish that an important game like this demands, ultimately providing fans with an unrivaled classic Sonic feel.
SEGA is also pleased to confirm that Sonic The Hedgehog™ 4 Episode I will be coming to the iPhone and iPod touch via Apple’s iTunes App Store.
Sonic The Hedgehog™ 4 Episode I is developed specifically for the download market and will be available via Microsoft Xbox LIVE Arcade, Sony PlayStation Network, Nintendo WiiWare and the iTunes App Store in late 2010.
Will Sony be launching a new premium service for PSN? I can’t find anything to confirm this from Sony, but it seems like every gaming site or mag has heard this rumor.
VG247 has learnt that Sony is to reveal plans for PSN’s premium services at E3.
According to a highly-placed source, Sony will announce a large-scale monetizing scheme for PSN at the LA show, but we’re assured nothing planned will impact the service’s current free aspects.
A string of features will be revealed, apparently costing “less than £50 per year”.
Sony will confirm plans to give all subscribers one free PSN game per month, from a choice of “two to four” every month.
“If you work it out, PSN games cost an average of £6-9 each, so over a year you’re basically going to be breaking even,” said our source.
Facebook and Zynga have just signed a new 5-year agreement. Rumor had it, there’d been some tension about Facebook microtransactions, but I guess there’s enough money in Farmville to go around:
There’s been much talk about social games leader Zynga diversifying itself away from Facebook, and Zynga and other social developers didn’t seem too pleased when Facebook announced it would be taking a 30% cut of revenues from Facebook Credits transactions, but now it would appear Zynga and Facebook have patched up their relationship.
The two companies today announced a five-year “strategic” partnership, which “increases their shared commitment to social gaming on Facebook and expands use of Facebook Credits in Zynga’s games. The agreement provides a solid foundation for both companies to continue to work together to provide millions of people with a compelling user experience for social games.”
I usually don’t like posts about why X is going to be the Greatest and Most Important Thing Ever (Cicero ruined me for overuse of the superlative) but this piece from Industry Gamers on the importance of this year’s E3 in terms of current trends is worth reading and sharing.
The traditional video game market, comprising of home consoles and handhelds, has been under considerable pressure for the last 16 months. This pressure is mostly attributed to declining sales among traditional games, and a rise from emerging markets such as mobile and social gaming. The decline in sales and the rise of other cheaper alternatives for interactive entertainment has raised serious concerns among investors and industry professionals about the long-term viability of the traditional console market. Additionally, the elongation of the current cycle and lack of visibility for the next set of hardware only reinforces the negative sentiment in the industry.
With so much negativity in the air, the entire industry will be on watch during this year’s E3 convention taking place in Los Angeles, CA.
Previous E3s have been focused on games that will drive our industry for the next 6 -12 months; however, this year the primary focus will be on new technologies that are supposed to drive industry sales back into the black over the next three years. Natal, Move, 3D gaming, and the 3DS are just some of the more important technologies that will be on display at E3 2010.
Looks like the booth babes are back for E3 2010! I was pretty sad to see them go, and I’m glad they’ll be back. Probably not the most feminist and progressive way to feel, but it seems like it’s part of the whole E3 image.
Anyway, if you want to become a booth babe (and who doesn’t?) G4TV is recruiting right now:
G4TV had several booth babes at their E3 2009 exhibit hall space and this year they are asking potential female models and spokespeople to submit a video of themselves saying why they should be the official G4 booth babe. Submissions must be made by May 19. A group of judges will then pick a number of video submissions and post them on the G4 web site where readers can vote for their favorite booth babe from May 24-June 4. The top three vote getters then go through another G4 judging panel and they will pick the final winner. That woman will be flown to Los Angeles to be G4′s booth babe at E3 2010. And it’s likely we will take a picture of the winner. And it’s likely you will look at it. Don’t pretend you won’t.
Players begin by choosing a character class, either Dodgebrawler, Emomancer, Slackninja, Cheermonger or Mathemagician. Player classes are based on everyone’s favorite RPG stereotypes, crossed with everyone’s favorite college stereotypes. Next, players select hair and face options from an equally-recognizable list of options, and enroll in classes at FU. I picked a Slackninja (What can I say? I shrug at the idea of combat.), prettied up my hair, and set off to explore campus.
