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It Takes a Studio of Millions to Make a Call of Duty Game
Technically, that’s a slight exaggeration, but from the perspective of most other development teams, the sheer number of bodies Activision assigns to making Call of Duty games still boggles the mind. According to Activision’s executive vice president for studios Dave Stohl, the publisher has at any one time around 500 people working on the Call…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
Are Portal’s Turrets Ten Years Old?
This Philips webcam, from a 2001 Swedish catalogue, should look familiar to fans of Valve’s Portal series. What do you think? Awesome coincidence or awesome (given the nature of the “characters”) inspiration? Portal Webcam of the Day [TDW] You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
The PlayStation Network is Getting its Nails Done Today
Later today, Sony is bringing the PlayStation Network down for a little spring maintenance. I know it’s not spring in the US, or Europe, but it’s spring here, so that’s what I’m calling it. Between the hours of 0900 and 1100 US Pacific Time (convert time here), “the PlayStation Store, registration and Account Management will…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
Buy Warhammer 40K Stuff, It’s for a Good Cause
The Brian Wood Memorial Trust, set up to assist the family of a Relic developer killed tragically in a car accident last year, is raising funds this month with some great Warhammer 40K swag. With the studio having just wrapped up work on Space Marine, they’re auctioning off a range of memorabilia that includes signed…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
A 360 and PS3, Together In One Machine?
It’s either heaven. Or blasphemy. But I’m leaning towards the former, especially since there’s also a PC involved. Timofiend has built a machine that combines the guts of an Xbox 360 and a PS3 in the one shell (a PC case). It’s not a simple project, but one that just on principle alone is more…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
The Man Behind Zelda Has Never Finished the First Zelda
If you’ve ever wondered why recent Zelda games have been a little easier than they used to be, consider the man in charge of the series, Eiji Aonuma. Who has never finished the first Zelda “I’ve never actually finished it,” Aonuma told Game Informer. “I almost feel like there’s still no game more difficult than…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
CultureTotal Recall
When Nintendo Wanted to Bring Gambling Into American Homes
In 1988, Nintendo released a modem for its Famicom system in Japan. A crude device, it didn’t allow for online play; just some downloadable stuff and access to basic news and information services. The device was never released in the United States, but it wasn’t for want of trying. Indeed, Nintendo figured at the time…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
Watch People Playing the Diablo III Beta, Right Now
As is customary, Blizzard’s first beta for Diablo III – which has now begun – is with employees and family of the company. That probably doesn’t include you. But that’s OK. You can watch other people play! There’s no non-disclosure agreement covering the beta, so those employees and their families are free to broadcast whatever…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
Culture
The Metallica Game We Never Got (But Maybe Should Have)
Around 2003, Black Rock Studio (which is sadly now no more) was working on something fairly unique: a Metallica game that didn’t involve plastic instruments. It instead was a “post-apocalyptic driving/adventure game”, in which the band’s members were badass, gun-toting characters. Destined for the PS2, nothing ever came of the title. It was never even…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
Microsoft Bans Users for Stealing Xbox Live Content
Last month, Microsoft very quietly swept a broom through the Xbox Live userbase, finding—and banning—a number of Xbox 360 owners for “illegitimately [accessing] Xbox LIVE Marketplace downloadable content”. As the company “will not divulge additional information regarding individual suspensions for these offenses”, it’s unclear what brought on the crackdown, or how the culprits were able…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
This Isn’t the First Time Nintendo Has Stacked Something on Top of Something Else
The 3DS’s new second thumbstick is, to be blunt, horrific. It’s an ugly, quick fix to a problem that should have been identified during the handheld’s design phase, not six months after. It is, however, not the first time Nintendo has done this. Indeed, you could say if there’s one thing Nintendo does better than…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
It’s Like Star Trek, You’re Kirk/Picard, it’s for the iPhone
Star Command is like Game Dev Story. Only instead of running a games studio, you’re running a starship, its crew, and dealing with aliens. So, yes, it’s an exciting prospect. It’s essentially Star Trek without the license, and with cute retro graphics and the promise of, well, commanding your own starship (something few games seem…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
If Charles Darwin Had Studied Pokémon…
Artist Michael Casteel has reimagined the Pokédex as something you would have found in the tattered diary of a 19th-century British man with a Pith helmet and a magnificent beard. He calls it his “Pokémon Field Guide”, and alongside the hand-drawn illustrations are rough notes detailing the first encounters between the bumbling Professor Baobab and…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
Playing a Video Game on the Side of a Building Looks Awesome
This impromptu little piece of street performance involves a large building, Kinect, the cover of darkness, a copy of classic arcade game Breakout and some very interested bystanders. Put together by the art/marketing team at WECOMEINPEACE, all it asked of players was to jiggle around a bit and watch as they played the biggest arcade…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
This Might be the Future of iPhone Gaming (Or Board Gaming? Or Both!)
The biggest problem with iPhone gaming at the moment is that, thanks to the lack of control options, it’s hard to play a game with much meat to it. This rather left-field solution may have a…solution to that. Granted, you lose much of the iPhones portability with this, but when you see what it’s got…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
Turn Deus Ex: HR Into More of a PC Game
I played Deus Ex on PC. It was…OK, but didn’t run as nicely as I thought it would, and didn’t give me as much control over things as I would have liked. Know what it was missing? A debug mode. Know what we’ve got now? A debug mode! How’d you guess? A mod has been…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallBelieve it or Not, There Was a Goonies Sequel
Despite annual reminders, Hollywood has never made good on its threat to release a sequel to classic 1985 adventure flick The Goonies That didn’t stop video games from coming up with their own Goonies II, though. In 1987, Konami released The Goonies II on the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System. And proceeded to confuse the shit out…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
Siege Hero is For Those Who Prefer Vikings to Furious Birds
I’ve never liked Angry Birds. Not because I’m angry with any birds in particular, but because I always preferred the free game that came before it, Crush the Castle Rather than get bitter at Rovio’s billions, Crush’s developers (well, hosts) Armor Games, are sticking at it, and have released on iOS a revision of the…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2011 -
Culture
The Beasts and Beauties of God of War
A former comic book artist, Andy Park is one of the main men to thank if you liked the look of the last two God of War games, as he was a senior concept artist on both God of War II and God of War III That means many of the series’ classically-inspired nasties, as…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2011 -
Minecraft 1.8: It’s (Almost) Adventure Time!
Having given up on Minecraft a long time ago, I’m actually looking forward to the vaunted “Adventure” update, which will finally add a little purpose to the game. Minecraft 1.8, as the Adventure update is more formally known, will add improved graphics, tweaked health systems, improved combat mechanics and, most important of all, stuff to…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2011
Luke Plunkett
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