A universal game design wouldn’t just stop with action games or titles where you’re directly in control of the protagonist. It could extend out to strategy, space combat, anything really. What else is Starcraft but an action game where you hover high above the battlefield? The concept has been experimented with before in games, but with the kind of refinement we’re talking about it’d be possible to mix completely unrelated players in one game. Take Left 4 Dead. One player controls all of the zombies, the others are all playing characters trapped in the fray. One is engaged in a strategic battle, the other is having a frantic shoot-out. A player who isn’t a huge fan of playing Halo may nevertheless buy a game where they get to control the battlefield while skilled players opt for FPS mode and try to take them out while they control armies overhead. Beyond the always promising broad economic perks of such a game, there’s the co-mingling of different players and preferences in one Universal Design. It’s not a game within the game, it’s a game that has every means of interaction possible in it.

It's an interesting thought, though the old 'jack of all trades, master of none' warning seems like it would come into play pretty easily. Co-mingling, though, is certainly intriguing. It's an interesting piece on choice and game design choices.

Universal Game Design [PopMatters via GameSetWatch]

Look at the big picture. Think 10 or 20 years down the road.

In that kind of time frame, do you think your games might have lots of different types of AI-controlled characters with different shapes, sizes, and movement capabilities?

Will players have AI henchmen that they expect to be just as intelligent as themselves?

Will your game worlds be significantly larger, more complex, and more dynamic than they are today?

Will you have huge crowds of AI characters — so many that just using simple steering and obstacle avoidance are no longer adequate to make them coordinate with each other effectively?

Will your games have realistic physics and huge amounts of physically-simulated objects, and will players be able to use the physics to mess with the AI characters in every way imaginable?

Will players be able to change the game world until it's virtually unrecognizable?

Will there be AIs in multiplayer that are expected to pass for human players?

If you're interested in nitty-gritty game design elements and AI in games, the article is definitely worth a read through. Even if you're not terribly tech savvy, it's an interesting piece to spend some time with.

Fixing Pathfinding Once and For All [Game/AI]

After a slight delay due to internet issues in the prior presentation, a pack of media people shuffled into a little room to hear all about Killzone 2. Guerilla Games' managing director, Hermen Hulst, looked slightly horrified that the horde of journalists had left the two women in the room to sit on the floor ('Someone please get her a chair!'), but Kotaku writers getting stuck on the floor be damned, the show will go on! Eric Boltjes — senior online game developer — launched into a presentation and explanation of Killzone 2 online multiplayer's unique features and mechanics. After, of course, a nice video showing ... fast action, and lots of explosions! Boltjes underscored the fact that everything we watched was shot in real time on the PS3, and everything still looked nice even with 32 players in a game. We got a long laundry list of features and mechanics, which all seemed to come back to one word, 'customized.' For more from the presentation, hit the jump.

Boltjes laid out four goals for the game: 'everyone can enjoy Killzone 2 online,' 'play just the way you like it,' 'inspiring team play,' and 'create community beyond the game.'

Under the 'everyone can enjoy Killzone 2 online' category, Boltjes mentioned they wanted the hardcore and uh, less hardcore audiences to be happy and have fun, and noted a few features. The quick join feature will ensure that players can just hop into a game suitable for their ability level, but pickier players will be able to search for specific criteria before joining a game. The game will feature a 'slow introduction,' working up to advanced features; the advanced features will hopefully keep the hardcore audience chipper while not demoralizing those who aren't ready for a really steep learning curve. Along with that, there will be transparency in the progression of the game, with twelve military ranks to progress through as you play the game (unlocking more features along the way), with an additional 46 badges and medals to be won for completing specific goals. Stats junkies will also be able to track 'over 100 statistics' regarding their progress and performance.

Boltjes seemed very proud of the 'play just the way you like it' features, which meant customize, customize, customize (within reason). Players will be able to select from six badges; each badge has a primary and a secondary ability. Decide you're really more of a medic-engineer than just a medic? Combine the two to take the medic's primary badge and the engineer's secondary badge (and vice versa if you decide to play as an engineer-medic). Custom games will allow players to select everything from the maps played, types of missions, weapons available, types of badges allowed, and variable settings (how long it takes to revive a player, how long it takes to set/defuse an explosive, etc.)

Under 'inspiring team play,' Boltjes discussed the benefits of having a squad, including the ability to see the stats of other squad members, a squad-only headset channel, and a 'spawn on squad leader' feature. Also under the spawning mechanics is the ability to cycle through available spawn points and check out what's going on in real time. Dynamic missions will also allow several missions to be selected for a game, with another mission starting after one objective has been won (there is also the option to switch in the middle of a round). There can be four members per squad and eight squads per faction.

Boltjes finished up by discussing the clan system and how they want to 'create community beyond the game.' Clans can support up to 64 players, and clan vs. clan matches can handle 16 on each side. Clan matchups will feature a 'valor' betting system, with winner takes all of the predetermined 'valor' bet. It is possible to run out of valor, but by participating in entry fee-free competitions, clans can rebound from a lack of valor. Clan tournaments can be set up in a tier-based system, with a maximum of 256 clans. On the issue of community more broadly, Boltjes talked about the leaderboards — including individuals, friends, clans, and clan member stats — that can be sorted on an all-time, daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The Killzone 2 website was also brought out as a more in-depth companion to everything available in game.

During the Q&A, a few more things came up: no, graphics were not downsized for multiplayer (and the game did look nice, at least the parts we were shown). A public beta will be open later this year, and they will be closely monitoring for exploits and vulnerabilities. Killzone 2 will also be functioning on a global server system. Further, more single player news will be out later this year, and while they have some interesting ideas to go with Sony's Home, "we're not discussing it right now."

You can head over to the official website to download the game for free and check out the tons of new content Nexon has added in honor of today's official launch, including new weapons, a new map, and the addition of a new game mode, Capture the Flag. Wait, they've only just added Capture the Flag? This should be entertaining.

UPDATE: Nexon contacted us to clarify that while items will be eventually be available for purchase for Nexon cash, upgraded weapons never will. Hit the jump for the full "Free to Play Pledge".

The Free to Play Pledge

Combat Arms is Nexon’s free-to-play person shooter. Some games and companies do Free-to-Play games differently, so we’ll explain exactly what our mind-set is for this game.

First, Combat Arms will never cost a penny to play. Period.

Second, we believe that in any first-person shooter, being able to use real money to buy an uber gun sucks. It makes the game dependant on money and not skill (thus defeating the purpose of Free-to-Play), and skill is what a first-person shooter is all about. No point in competing if some new guy has a mystical weapon with magic bullets that always seem to find your head.

So, no weapons will be bought with Nexon Cash. Ever.

If you’re looking for the Golden Gun that will help you pwn everything with one shot, look elsewhere, because it’s not here. Skills are not bought, they are earned.

You want that new, awesome weapon? Keep playing, and you’ll eventually get it. All players will be on an equal footing weapon-wise (grenades included). We make money by selling the cosmetic items—stuff like shades, different uniforms, helmets, etc. Nothing game balance related is sold in the Cash Shop, and it’s going to stay that way.

You won’t have to pay a subscription fee either. Every single one of Nexon’s games are Free-to-Play, and subscription free. You need a free Nexon Passport to play, and that’s it. If you have one already, just download the client and start shooting people in the face. In addition, don’t expect to be bombarded with endless ads—we don’t expect you to pay not to see them. We want gun clicks, not mouse clicks.

That’s our promise to the player base, and we’re going to keep it.

See you on the battlefield!

Thanks to Nexon for clearing that up!

Combat Arms [Official Website]

Exactly why most teammates are polite, patient, and helpful in a game that is violent and wildly popular is not easily answered, but I have some good ideas. The players seem older, and this may be because of its predecessor, Team Fortress Classic, which predates TF 2 by 10 years. Someone who is 24 may remember TFC, but someone who is 15 will not. I’m not saying it’s devoid of teenagers—but there are a lot more people in their 20s and there are a lot more women on voice chat online as well, signs of a more mature audience and community.

Or maybe it's the medic class. Or the critical hits? Or the team atmosphere ....

Steve at PlayNoEvil had an interesting take on the article, pulling out the critical issue as "the topic of griefing and how Valve's Team Fortress 2 seems to have less 'annoying griefing' because the game provides structured 'official griefing'."

Since a lot of griefing and abuse on Xbox Live and elsewhere comes from the rather inarticulate swearing of teenagers, perhaps the simple fact of giving players powerful, fun, but non-obscene, racially insensitive, or other insults makes the need to swear ... less.

Perhaps there's something to the idea. Hopefully there will be more interesting 'anthropological' explorations of games from this relatively new column in the future.

The Game Anthropologist: Team Fortress 2: Radical Departures [GameSetWatch via PlayNoEvil]

Also, a Q&A with High Voltage's software development director gives a few more details on the game itself, including:

• Three modes for online play. Offline play is single-player. LAN multiplayer likely. They're trying to get voice chat online.
• Enemies use portals to bring in reinforcements; destroying them will be a key.
• Set in fictional Earth of the near future, the story takes on a dark conspiracy-theory tone that unravels pretty fast after you get sent to investigate an extra-terrestrial encounter. Think the X-Files with stranger weapons.
• Your adversaries are called The Drudge. I battle drudgery every day, lemme tell ya. ...

Hit the jump for the eye candy.

The Conduit Information Center: Interview Qs and As [The Conduit Information Center, thanks Karasu is my Homeboy]

"I'm not interested."

"The games seem difficult."

"I don't know what the point of these games is."

"I'm worried about playing them because I'm a beginner."

And so RPGs march valiantly on and on and on and on...

This Week in Japan [Next-Gen]

We historians are a little protective of our respective domains — but a constant (and well-deserved) criticism we lob at each other in general is that through various means, we deliberately make ourselves inaccessible to the average, interest layperson. Over at Terra Nova, Nate Combs takes up the question of historical video games, referencing a great 2006 New York article by Niall Ferguson (Harvard professor and historian) on the 'state of play.' The answer? Pretty damn bad, at least when looking on from the Ivory Tower:

So why do I hate Medal of Honor? The trouble is—and the same could be said of nearly all its competitors—it’s profoundly unhistorical. It’s what’s known in the games trade as a first-person shooter (FPS) game. As a player, you take on the role of Lieutenant Mike Powell of the U.S. Army Rangers. You see the battlefield—a Normandy beach, for instance—from his vantage point. As Lieutenant Powell, you do pretty much what you feel like—which is to bag as many Germans as you can. In reality, an officer’s principal concern on Omaha Beach was somehow to maintain the cohesion of his unit in the face of a lethal storm of steel.

He does go on to have some slightly more positive things to say, but Combs' takes up the issue — the boardgames that generally do a better job of 'playing with history' frequently provide a lot more 'meat' for the historical stew:

Where I think these board games triumphed was in their ability to communicate history as a coherent model: history as a system of rules. History as an interlocking LEGO set of measured hypotheticals and realities. Players moved the pieces around to see what happens. If it was only an amateur's recollection, it was a rich one.

(This historian would offer that when you actually see history as a system of rules, you wind up with modernization theory, but for the purposes of play — it's useful. Let's just stay away from a Reischauer's Making of Modern Japan when thinking up new titles)

So where's the difference between board games and console or PC games?

... historical simulation games were never big business, not in the way mass entertainment console gaming (for example) is. Another way of saying this is, perhaps, to say that these games were largely developed for and by amateurs.

One could only suppose that if more video game product were developed by amateurs that we might see more history, more playing with history, and - to cite Niall Ferguson's claim - a greater appreciation in society of the lessons of history.

Considering the relative popularity of ahistorical FPS that use the trappings and 'hardware' of historical settings, I can't imagine 'real' history will ever be big business — but maybe someday. A historian can dream.

Playing with history [Terra Nova]; How to Win a War [New York]

The company touted the game's "highly customizable" aspect, from the look of characters to the guns and equipment. Match wins are rewarded with in-game currency in addition to XP, both of which allow players more customization options. Nexon also said the game weighs the community aspect heavily, with a clan focus and some social network-style features.

Though there's no specific release date confirmed, the closed beta begins May 30th, so if you're interested you can try your luck; full release follows the jump.

Nexon America Ignites Thrilling First Person Shooter, Combat Arms

Closed Beta frags away on May 30

May 23, 2008 – Los Angeles, CA – Nexon America Inc., the U.S. division of Asia’s leading online game company Nexon Group, announced today the launch of Combat Arms, its free-to-play, online first person shooter. The highly-customizable game is slated for commercial release later this summer, but a select group of players will get a chance to fire away in the closed beta test starting May 30th.

Combat Arms deploys players into a dangerous war zone teeming with soldiers of fortune looking to make a mark. The online shooter will advance the FPS genre by offering a rich free-to-play experience and introducing customization features unavailable in the current generation of online FPS games. Players have the ability to tailor their gaming experience by customizing how their characters look as well as which guns and equipment to carry into battle. A large arsenal of deadly weapons can be modified with attachments such as silencers, scopes and extended magazines.

The game is beginner-friendly while providing great depth for veteran gamers. By rewarding players who win matches and make kills with in-game currency and experience points, Combat Arms extends the game beyond an individual match. Accumulating both will help soldiers rank up to unlock and acquire new weapons and equipment. Further, the game extends beyond the battlefield through an extensive set of community features with a focus on clans. Players can recruit, manage, and communicate with their clan members, all within the game. Additionally, players can maintain a persistent profile to track their experience and performance to see how they rank within the Combat Arms community.

“Competition in video games among friends is always fun, but Combat Arms takes it to another level by letting gamers frag for free,” said Min Kim, vice president of marketing for Nexon America. “Combat Arms delivers all the great socialization elements found in other popular Nexon Games and presents them in one of the most popular gaming genres in North America.”

Combat Arms focuses on improving accessibility and community while maintaining a high fidelity combat experience. The free-to-play offering combined with low system requirements will encourage new players enter the traditionally hardcore space.

The upcoming closed beta test will run exclusively at FilePlanet.com for one week beginning May 30th. The beta test gives players a first chance to experience the heat of battle in realistic 3-D environments. Combat Arms will offer players the opportunity to face off in multiple theaters, including a junkyard, industrial plant and weapons factory, through multiple game modes. Players will experience regular content updates, such as new weapons, gear, maps, and more free game modes.

The closed beta will last for a short time and interested players can learn more at http://combatarms.nexon.net.

If they had originally marketed the game in a plain red box with the line "Includes guns that shoot shurikens and lightning" in big gold letters, Painkiller would have become the bestselling first-person shooter of all time.

Steam Home Page [Valve - Thanks Mascott!]

"We're pleased to have Call of Duty 4 leading the way in the FPS genre, with recent launches such as Army of Two and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 failing to inspire. Call of Duty 4 has been a phenomenal success for us and reflects Activision's commitment to creating truly ground-breaking games."

Activision: Vegas, Army of Two "failing to inspire" [CVG]

The seven titles we owe it to: Doom, Quake, Tribes, Battlezone, Unreal Tournament, Counterstrike and Battlefield.

If nothing else, at least the past two or three years of FPSes, multi- and single-player, have combined to give us standardized controls, which makes picking up a new title infinitely easier to play — especially when it comes to free looking. It's now pretty much left stick = movement, right stick = head, with no fruity switching of camera angles or other unnecessary twists. Also, Y or triangle is use, B or circle is jump, etc. If you think that's a minor gamer assist, ask yourself the last time you used two different copiers or fax machines with the same set of commands.

Ed also argues that single-player FPSes are constantly delivering great new titles, but multiplayers have been "the same old for quite a few years now." I just can't see it that way. Maybe structurally they are the same, but characters, missions, game story, that's what gets me into an FPS now. True, a new gameplay innovation that's widely adopted will beat the best written game for sales, but I ask you, what else could a multiplayer FPS be doing right now?

How 7 Games Created the Modern Team Multiplayer FPS

Here's a deal you can sink your teeth into: this weekend only, pick up the acclaimed first person shooter Prey for just $4.95.

In Prey, players enter a living spaceship which enslaves alien races and devours humans for lunch. Prey turns the first person shooter genre upside down with awesome new gameplay features like wall-walking and gravity flipping, making for intense single-player and multi-player experiences.

Prey is built on a heavily modded version of the Doom 3 engine and is developed by critically acclaimed developer Human Head Studios under the direction of 3D Realms.

The town of Maycomb, Alabama found itself the center of controversy in 1930's and now you can be a part of it with this ground breaking massively multiplayer online role playing game. Finally players will have a chance to experience social injustice any way they want. Help Atticus Finch win the trial of his life and help Boo Radley start his life anew all while avoiding rabid dogs and the Klan. The open world design of this sleepy small town provide hours of game play.

Classic Literature Video Games [FunBox, thanks Will!]

50 PLAYER CAP for Multiplayer?! [Kaos Studios Community Forum via Eurogamer]

Savage 2: A Tortured Soul [S2 Games]

On the downside, only two of the four buttons felt like they were naturally positioned, with the glowing mousewheel awkwardly out of reach. Perhaps smaller hands will have an easier time scrolling, but when you've got dainty digits like I do, it's hard to imagine the current form factor working for a wide range of players.

Verdict: A good gimmick that works for simple shooters, but not for those in need of a robust button set up.

The HXT set up did make for a fun little diversion, as that goofball smile on my face wasn't forced. The sensation of getting shot in the head without actually giving up brain matter is oddly exhilarating, if at times uncomfortable for the skull. The vest feedback wasn't as jarring and the TN Games team said they were planning on less intense "force cell" hardware for the final helmet, for those worried about too much cranial abuse.

It currently works with two titles, Call of Duty 2 and the company's own Incursion—which is not so good—but they're planning for support in a bunch of shooters, including Half-Life, Doom and Quake titles.

"Christmas Update", a new update for Penguins Arena

Reims - France, december the 17th. Frogames releases an update for
"Penguins Arena - Sedna's World": "Christmas update".

This update is totally free. All registred users will get this new version
for no additional fees and for future users, the price of the game hasn't
changed ($19.95 USD).

This update brings new hilarious costumes for your penguin, two new maps
and a great new "unlimited weapons" game mode. Of course we also fixed
some bugs and optimized the game.

See what we mean by downloading the new version of the Demo at
http://www.frogames.com/penguins_arena/

This "Christmas Update" for "Penguins Arena - Sedna's world" is our
special gift for you ... Frogames wishes you a Merry Christmas!

"We are happy to say the big efforts of our company aimed to obtain the official Xbox 360 developer status now ended with success. Obtaining such a status for an independent developer based in ex-USSR means a lot - it took us over 2 years to get. We are very thankful to Microsoft for the assistance and high esteem of our team's professionalism.

GSC becomes a certified Xbox 360 developer

GSC Game World is glad to announce it is now officially certified by Microsoft as an Xbox 360 developer. As part of the program, GSC Game World obtained all the necessary development tools, so as support from Microsoft to get down to development of projects on Xbox 360.

Sergiy Grygorovych, the CEO of GSC Game World, said:

"We are happy to say the big efforts of our company aimed to obtain the official Xbox 360 developer status now ended with success. Obtaining such a status for an independent developer based in ex-USSR means a lot - it took us over 2 years to get. We are very thankful to Microsoft for the assistance and high esteem of our team's professionalism.

From now on, our old ambition to create multiplatform projects has become a reality. Such a policy is also fully compliant with the current game industry tendencies.

Creating games for PC, we achieved practically everything, and now are prepared to garner the top spots in sales charts and gamers' recognition in the world of console games too. This said, we will continue paying maximum attention to the PC platform."

TIMESHIFT™ XBOX360 MULTIPLAYER DEMO AVAILABLE ON MARKETPLACE ON 11/14

Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, announced today that a multiplayer demo for TimeShift will be available via Xbox Live download.

Developed by Saber Interactive and published by Sierra Entertainment, TimeShift is a first person shooter (FPS) video game that allows players to master the flow of time, to become the ultimate weapon in war-torn environments. Armed with the experimental time-manipulating Beta Suit and a huge arsenal of weaponry and vehicles, players have the ability to slow, stop and reverse the flow of time, allowing them to control several aspects of each battle sequence. Intuitive time controls give the player the ultimate advantage in avoiding attacks, correcting mistakes and outsmarting the enemy.

With a comprehensive online 16-player multiplayer mode, featuring time grenades, 14 different maps and over 40 different features, TimeShift gears itself to the players' unique style of gameplay by allowing matches to be completely customizable. Players can battle it out in a tight, well-balanced multiplayer experience that implements several aspects of the time-manipulating gameplay element found in the single-player campaign.

TimeShift has an ESRB "M" for Mature rating. For more information, please visit the game's official website at www.TimeShiftgame.com

"First person shooters have a rich history on the Windows PC platform and are known for having enthusiastic, dedicated fans," said Josh Holmes, vice president and general manager, Propaganda Games. "Turok will be an unforgettable experience ideal for the Windows PC platform when it becomes available in 2008."

TUROK TO FIGHT DINOSAURS ON WINDOWS PC

Touchstone Announces Re-Imagined Story-Driven First Person Shooter To Be Released On Windows PC In Spring 2008

LONDON, England — (November 2, 2007) — Turok, the epic, sci-fi first person shooter, will be released in spring 2008 for Windows PC, Touchstone announced today. Touchstone previously announced that Turok, one of next year's most anticipated games, will be available for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Developed by Propaganda Games, Turok for consoles will be available at retail stores on February 8th, 2008.

"First person shooters have a rich history on the Windows PC platform and are known for having enthusiastic, dedicated fans," said Josh Holmes, vice president and general manager, Propaganda Games. "Turok will be an unforgettable experience ideal for the Windows PC platform when it becomes available in 2008."

Turok is an epic, story-driven first-person shooter set on a dark, mysterious planet in the future. Players take on the role of Joseph Turok, a former black ops commando, now part of an elite special forces squad, known as Whiskey Company, which is on a mission to take down a war criminal - Turok's former mentor, Roland Kane. Set on a planet inhabited by Kane and his Mendel-Gruman Corporation soldiers, Turok must use his elite military training to elude Kane's well-trained army and the ravenous, unpredictable dinosaurs, huge insects and other massive creatures that populate the environment.

Brought to Windows PC by Aspyr Studios, Turok will feature an engaging, story-driven single player experience and multiplayer modes for up to 16 players per game

Turok is rated M for Mature by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

For more information about Turok, log on to www.turok.com.

S2 Games Announces Savage 2: A Tortured Soul Beta

Highly Anticipated Sequel to Acclaimed PC Game Now in Testing Phase

(Rohnert Park, CA) - October 4, 2007 - Independent game developer S2 Games announced today that Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, the sequel to its first PC title, Savage: The Battle for Newerth, has entered its beta testing phase and is nearing launch.

Testing of the online multiplayer game, which is a unique combination of three different game genres (real-time strategy, first-person shooter, and role-playing game), is open to gamers who pre-ordered the game. The final version will be available to the general public once the beta testing has been completed and S2 is satisfied with the quality of the gameplay experience.

"After much hard work, we are proud to say that Savage 2: A Tortured Soul is now ready for beta testing," said Marc DeForest, co-founder and lead designer, S2 Games. "As an independent developer and publisher we have the luxury of creating and changing our own deadlines based on when we reach individual milestones. This project is really a labor of love for us so we want it done the right way."

Loyal fans of the original Savage and new players alike will be impressed with Savage 2's new advancements and enhancements. The game will include a bevy of new features, including the ability to control spells while maintaining the action nature of the game with "snap casting," fully automated clan administration through the Savage 2 Clan League (SCL), and features that records and saves every single game of Savage 2, match stats summary, and persistent player statistics. All the information for every game ever played is stored in a huge, searchable, online archive, thus allowing players to download, watch, rate, and comment on these matches while also reviewing statistics for each game. Additionally, the game is being simultaneously designed for Linux Client users.

S2 Games will be self-publishing and independently distributing the game. The game client can be downloaded anytime, anywhere, on any PC for free. The client can be used to watch replays, play the tutorial, practice modes, and LAN games with absolutely zero obligations (no account necessary). Users may also create an account to have 3 hours of free online competitive gameplay with some feature restrictions. Those wanting unlimited online play with automated statistics and use of persistent items pay $29.99USD via the game client or the S2 Games website.

When playing the beta, S2 Games wishes to impart to its fans to remember that they will be playing an unfinished version of the game. Users should expect to encounter certain bugs and other issues inherent in any beta version of a game. The purpose of beta testing is to help S2 Games find and correct these problems so that they are not encountered after the game's launch.

For more information on Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, please visit http://savage2.s2games.com.

John Paul Bichard continued to push the envelope of games as art. He first started blending crime scene forensics with video games and art more than two years ago and with my background in police reporting I was fascinated. I remain fascinated.

His latest works moves from the static world of photo and screen capture to performance art. Inverse Forensics was performed at Mejan Labs in Stockholm on Aug. 30 as part of the Game Art exhibition curated by Björn Norberg and Peter Hagdahl.

In it the performer takes on the role of a player character in a generic shooter, following a set of rules that is supposed to reenact a typical FPS moment. What's interesting is that the enemies are never show, rather the viewer has to fill in the void by observing the reaction of the performer and the blood left by her actions.

It's an interesting idea and the title is more than fitting, essentially this allows the artist to create something by filling in all of the information around it. Forcing the viewer to fill in the details of race, age, and description.

The rules the performer followed were based on principals that Bichard came up with by analyzing Counter Strike Source and include things like the stances, how the weapon is held and blood textures.

Inverse Forensics [Thanks Bichard]

LOCKDOWN

17th September 2007 - WHEN pirates attempt to take over the Earth's most powerful spaceship - which has enough firepower to destroy a planet - it is up to Cale Mollens, callsign 'TRIGGER' to lockdown the 20 terminals used to arm the ships weapon system.

Dusk2Dawn Interactive Limited (D2D) is pleased to announce LOCKDOWN, a first person shooter (FPS), which promises lots of frenetic shooting action elements and an explosive storyline that features a cast of characters who might be your best friends - or maybe one is a traitor.

Developed by StarFish Game Studios, the wholly owned subsidiary of D2D, players will take the role of Cale Mollens, a new recruit, recently assigned to be the 'trigger-man' on the Earth's most powerful spaceship.

The game features an explosive plot with some great movies throughout that help the story to take its many twists and turns.

"I'm really excited about the 'trust' element in this game," said Neil Cotton, Director at Dusk2Dawn Interactive Limited.

"Along the way the player will get helpful briefs and radio comms from fellow crew members, but one thing that should strike players quickly is: if this is the most powerful spaceship in the galaxy, how did the pirates get on board so quickly? Maybe there is a traitor in the ranks?

"The crew members will try to help in a situation, but they won't always give the right answer, however does that mean that they were trying to kill you, or were they simply wrong, maybe they're panicking under the pressure. That's for the player to work out!

"The script has been cleverly written to keep the player alert when taking advice."

The game will feature 21 levels and boasts some excellent characters to interact with.

LOCKDOWN will be competitively priced at RRP £14.99 and will be exclusively distributed and sold for D2D by Entain8 (details below).

D2D holds a global licence on LOCKDOWN, but will begin by publishing in the UK with other territories to follow very soon after. International enquiries should contact Entain8 at the details below.
A further 19 budget/campaign priced titles will be announced by D2D and have been scheduled by StarFish Game Studios for release under the Level Play brand during the latter part of 2007 and early 2008.

Codemasters is slowly releasing this series of trailers for their upcoming squad based occult FPS, Clive Barker's Jericho, that introduces each of the characters from your team. We've already met flame throwing Sgt. Frank Delgado, and now it's time to meet the lady of telekinetic destruction, Lt. Abigail Black. Not only can she blast debris out of her way with a wave of her hand, but she can take out multiple enemies with a single mind controlled bullet. Carrie White could take a few lessons from this gal.

"This is an inevitable evolution for online gaming," commented Al King, Global Marketing Director for Kwari. "Like most skill-based or competitive games, once played at a professional level or where money is involved, it's unappealing to return to an amateur status."

Kwari flies in the face of the social network gaming ethos, which hinges on projecting an identity online, and for others to be able to interact or engage with that online persona. Bring money into the equation, however, and the rules have to change. Anonymity becomes necessary as well as psychologically appealing to a point where Kwari is virtually diametrically opposite to the core values of social networking.

The Kwari beta is just now launching, so if you'd like to see what it feels like to bleed cash, head over to http://www.kwari.com/ to sign up. Just don't come crying to us when you go broke discovering you suck.

NEW GAME MARKS BIRTH OF ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORKING

London, UK - August 30, 2007 - London-based games publisher, Kwari, today announced and released details of its new multiplayer online gaming service, which will potentially change the PC gaming landscape forever.

Kwari's game of the same name is a first-person shooter (FPS) with a difference; players make money off each other in real-time. The game will ultimately be free to download online, but instead of being subscription-based it will use a unique free-to-play/pay-to-play model whereby Kwari sells the player ammunition in place of flat rate charges or monthly subscriptions.

The skill-based game has been built from the ground up around the concept of money changing hands at a tremendously fast rate, and was developed using some of the most advanced technology available to ensure total financial infallibility fused with benchmark playability.

Kwari flies in the face of the social network gaming ethos, which hinges on projecting an identity online, and for others to be able to interact or engage with that online persona. Bring money into the equation, however, and the rules have to change. Anonymity becomes necessary as well as psychologically appealing to a point where Kwari is virtually diametrically opposite to the core values of social networking.

"Money changes everything," said Eddie Gill, founder and creator of Kwari. "I wanted to create something that had more of a buzz than a traditional FPS. The concept of playing for money is not a new one. However, these games tend to be an existing multiplayer game with a cash prize tagged on the end, much like clan tournaments, which means only a minority walk away with cash winnings - and usually a small amount at that."

Gamers playing Kwari for cash set up an account, are matched on the basis of skill, and enter a game at a pre agreed stake level ranging from one cent to one dollar a hit. During the four-round matches (3x 16-player maps, 1x 64-player last man standing map called 'The Killing Floor') every time a player hits another, money is decremented from the target's stake and added to the shooter's. In a way, the player's money stake mirrors their in-game health, except it's exchanged from one player to another.

There are also jackpot prizes which require keys to unlock. These jackpots are fed by self-inflicted damage sustained by the players in all games being played globally. For example, if a player jumps from the top of an arena or takes damage from a hazard, their stake is decremented and this feeds into the jackpots, which are then released hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly - the latter are expected to pay out millions of dollars. Most importantly; all money paid in to the game by players is won out of the game by players.

Being a game of skill, how much money a player can win depends partially on their in-game performance. So to ensure a level playing field, all games are skill-matched so that only players of equal ability are able to compete.

"This is an inevitable evolution for online gaming," commented Al King, Global Marketing Director for Kwari. "Like most skill-based or competitive games, once played at a professional level or where money is involved, it's unappealing to return to an amateur status."

The game will be available for download towards the end of the year. Until then, the company has opened a sign-up website for the beta test program starting next week at www.kwari.com.

Buka releases new DUSK-12 screenshots

Some terrible monsters to deal with

MOSCOW, Russia (August 29, 2007) - after successful presentation of DUSK-12 at GC 2007 in Leipzig and getting positive feedbacks Buka Entertainment is pleased to reveal new screenshots from this notable first person shooter in development at Orion Games.

Experiments to create a perfect soldier failed and a small peaceful town turned into the evil den. The city is now full of aggressive mutants and imperfect soldiers out of control. Mutation definitely doesn't make people look pretty! Inhabitants of the closed city are terrible monsters, and the new screenshots show them in all their ugliness and repulsiveness. You should thank for this the mutagenic virus called DUSK-12 that changes nice and friendly citizens into the wild fiends.

In addition to the genetic experiments, scientists tried to make an ideal combatant mechanically and created a powerful cyborg. And now you have to deal with all these unsympathetic creatures!

DUSK-12 is a state of the art first person shooter, full of action for single and multiplayer and hyper-realistic graphics full of details. The player will incarnate two heroes: a soldier leading his squad, and a mutant who possesses powers beyond the human limits. Use weapons like in usual shooters and give orders to your companions in the squad mode or use the superpowers of the mutant! You choose!

Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are available in multiplay, along with a huge amount of different weapons and superpowers gather in this title that will be a revolution of the genre.

Key game features:

* Totally new graphic engine that uses to the limit the latest technology available for the PC platform
* Play alone or in squad mode as you control the mutated man or the soldier. Use your superpowers or give orders to your companions to aid you in the combat.
* Innovative physic system. Take everything you want, break hundreds of objects, use elements of the scenario as weapons.
* Several vehicles that you will be able to use for traveling through the scenario and transport your group.
* Intense multiplayer mode up to 16 people. Choose between a soldier or a mutated human.

"We had to ban Bioshock from our offices," Valve boss Gabe Newell told us. "Nobody gets to play it until Orange Box is done - that's our reward to ourselves as a company; everyone gets a copy of Bioshock."

Valve bans Bioshock from the office [CVG]

Mind you my time with the title has been brief, and my four hours of playing is only 20% of the overall game, but the important thing here is that I really want to experience the other 80%. While the first two titles were technically proficient and well-crafted examples of Metroid goodness, after a while I just didn't want to continue. I just didn't feel as if I was having very much fun. The Wii controls have changed all of that for me.

After the abysmal Red Steel I was truly worried about MP3. Hell, I was worried about any FPS game on the Wii for that matter. Everything was far too loose, and I never felt as if I were truly in control. I don't know what they did wrong in that game, but developer Retro Studios not only got things exactly right, I'd say they've defined what FPS controls on the Wii should be. After minutes of flailing around and making myself incredibly dizzy the Wii controls felt natural and fluid in my hands. The control stick movement combined with the Wiimote camera controls have been done before, but never quite this good.

The only real complaint I have is that during some of the morph ball sequences it was a bit hard to bomb jump correctly. One moment I;d be fine and the next I am banging myself against the wall over and over again like some sort of developmentally disadvantaged child. No wonder Samus always wears that helmet.

By far my favorite game mechanic thus far is the grapple lasso, which grafts onto your hand at an early point in the game. How it works is you lock on to debris, objects, or enemies with the Z button and then move the nunchuk like you;re casting a fishing line...because that's pretty much what you are doing. Yank it back and the debris goes flying out of the way in a very satisfying manner. You can easily imagine you are Samus casting out the beam of energy to snag your target. It made me feel pretty.

Speaking of pretty, the game is the best looking thing on the Wii by far. While by no means comparable to the level of graphics you'll find on the 360 or PS3, MP3 completely trumps the first two games in both beauty and scale, giving the game an epic feel while not sparing the small touches, like Samus's eyes reflected in the visor when you are in scan mode.

While the enemies I have faced so far have been pretty standard Metroid fare, the boss fights have been particularly impressive. One fight specifically had my jaw dropping at the sheer cinematic coolness of it all. I won't spoil anything, but if you don't think Balrog during the fight then you obviously aren't up to date with modern day Hobbit cinema.

And voices! I know that many Nintendo purists would argue that voices are unnecessary for a truly great gaming experience, but the addition of speaking characters just adds so much to the series for me. I particularly like the three helper bounty hunters that aid you in your mission, whose personalities go a long way towards appeasing those who feel Samus is lacking in that department.

I'd go into the music here, which is a truly competent score for a sci-fi adventure game, but as far as I am concerned there are only five musical notes that truly matter in a Metroid title. You know the ones. The rest could be bubbly j-pop for all I care.

I'm enjoying the hell out of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption so far, and that is saying a lot considering my general apathy towards its predecessors. It joins Twilight Princess and Resident Evil 4 as one of the few truly epic games on the Wii to date.

The first demo level is stereotypical suburbia. You work your way through backyards and down cul-de-sacs while keeping your eyes open for aliens reminiscent of Resident Evil Hunters. You eventually command two NPCs who join your party, both who will run ahead to a spot of your choosing with a quick click of the bumper.

Funny detail? Whenever there is a door or gate, you need to send in the soldier to kick it in for you. Yeah, he's the "kick the door down specialist" or something.

The game tracks your party's moral as well, which I only noticed after plowing down a bunch of baddies when a very small message popped up on the screen.

But what's so great? It's the moments like when you are walking through one man's backyard. He holds a pistol at you feebly and orders you to leave. Then a giant tentacle dragon thing pops out of his house.

You wonder if the guy has a hundred cats in there so he never noticed the smell.

It's especially elements like these tentacle battles that are so reminiscent of arcade shooters. Here, and during another moment when you are battling a boss on a bridge (riding in a wonderfully scripted helicopter), you get that retro head-on, quarter-hungry shooter feel, complete with fireballs hurling toward your person that need to be shot lest they kill you.

Even many enemies seem to attack in a square-shouldered manner, begging for a good nut shot. The view is still the standard FPS complete with trademark ready-to-fire generic machine gun. But somehow developers have pulled off something...dare I say it...new?

Having seen screenshots and heard the pitch, I expected BlackSite to be the epitome of a cliché FPS. But the game is worth looking out for if you appreciate the reinvention of an old mechanic, or just some mindless fun.