Starhawk gives you an assortment of vehicles to take into battle. In another dynamic multiplayer recreation, we get to see Rifters and Outcasts lay into each other on everything from speedy Sidewinder Jetbikes to transforming Hawks.
Starhawk gives you an assortment of vehicles to take into battle. In another dynamic multiplayer recreation, we get to see Rifters and Outcasts lay into each other on everything from speedy Sidewinder Jetbikes to transforming Hawks.
Spec Ops: The Line is set in the ruins of a sandstorm-ravaged Dubai, where you lead a Delta Force to evacuate survivors from the city. As you proceed further and try to locate the source of a mysterious radio signal, you’ll find out what horrors lie in wait.
Among social games, there’s no lack of strategy titles, though there haven’t been as many so-called “god games.” The sub-genre where players exercise god-like control over some virtual populous has been mostly absent. However, Idle Games wants ot change all that with Idle Worship {link no longer active} a game that includes, synchronous multiplayer. We talked with Jeffrey Hyman, the CCO of Idle Games, about making and promoting this unique title.
[a]list: Give me and overview of Idle Worship.
Jeffrey Hyman: Idle Worship is a god game. Technically it’s a polytheistic god game. In Idle Worship, every player is a god trying to create the largest and most powerful religion. To grow your religion you must gain the worship of followers. Your followers can be friends, strangers and the slightly dim indigenous people called Mudlings.
[a]list: What do you feel the specific appeal of this god game on Facebook is/
Jeffrey Hyman: The genre of god games has been around since the 80’s and I always enjoyed playing them as a kid. But what disappointed me about the genre was; I never felt like I was a god when all I could control were non playing characters. It occurred to me that a social network was the perfect place to create the worlds first “polytheistic god game”. In our game, you try to create the biggest religion and become the most powerful god by gaining (through kindness or cruelty) the worship and adoration of friends and strangers, in addition to the non playing characters. (So clearly I have some issues i still need to work though.) God games have always had appeal because they tap into the human desire to be liked, adored and in control. But today these games are even more salient with social networks and popular obsession with things like “the number of Facebook friends you have” or “how many Twitter followers you’ve amassed”.
[a]list: Tell me about the trailer that was done for Idle Worship and what the reception for it has been like.
Jeffrey Hyman: We are very pleased with the trailer, so much so, that we’re releasing another trailer that focuses on the backstory of the Idle Worship Universe and its population of Blobites, Sandbillies, and Mudlings. Our initial goal for the trailer was to showcase the art, animation and humor of the game. When we initially began showing the trailer the feedback we received was intriguing. Half of the people who saw it said they didn’t believe that the game art and animation actually looked like what was in the trailer, while the other half thought they were watching a trailer for an animated television show. So we definitely made some changes based on that feedback.
[a]list: How have you promoted the game — has reaching out and making the press aware of the product been a key part of getting people to try it?
Jeffrey Hyman: As of right now we’ve intentionally done very little to proactively promote the game. To date, we’ve only acquired approximately 50,000 installs directly from Facebook ads. Every other installation we’ve received has come organically as a result of: the press, word of mouth, in-game viral post cards, mini-games etc. We are incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to achieve thus far in terms of virality and without question, the attention of the press and the favorable reviews have been invaluable.
[a]list: What sort of reception have you gotten to Idle Worship so far?
Jeffrey Hyman: We are floored by the reception we’ve received from both press and players. As you know, the game has been a labor of love for over 2 years and the entire team has poured blood, sweat and tears into making this something both unique and richly entertaining. Creating something from nothing is never easy and the positive reviews have meant a lot to myself and the team. But just as important, is the “rabid” response we’ve received from players. The number one goal of Idle Games has always been to delight and entertain the player. We continue to receive email after email about how much people are enjoying the game, the artwork and the characters. In fact we already have people sending us pictures of fan art that range from kiln fired clay sculptures to highly complex paper models. To receive that kind of response at this early stage makes all of the sleepless nights and struggles worth it.
[a]list: Why was it chosen to have synchronous features over asynchronous features like most social games?
Jeffrey Hyman: Fundamentally I don’t believe you can have a social game without at least offering up the ability to play in real-time with others. At the same time, you’re kidding yourself if you think a purely synchronous game will succeed on the social networks. One of our mantras about Idle Worship is that users should “come for the asynchronous, but stay for the synchronous”. That nicely summarizes our mindset and approach in trying to marry these two different styles of play. While the synchronous feature is obvious to users, there is another technical innovation that’s just as cool but less obvious… namely that Idle Worship features an “unsharded” universe. While that term sounds as geeky as it actually is, what it means is that no matter what server a player is on, they are free to roam about the universe and play with anyone (regardless of what server they are on). The one (and maybe only) nice thing about having to build everything from scratch is that we weren’t burdened with legacy code and were able to craft a gaming platform tailor made for the social networks.
[a]list: Do you feel like the quality of the animation and other elements in the game help set it apart from other social games?
Jeffrey Hyman: Without question. When Rick Thompson and I started the company one of our first goals was that Idle Worship would look vastly different than the competition. As soon as you start the game and see the art, animation or read the copy… you immediately realize that this is something different. I honestly believe that Idle Worship has redefined what is technically and artistically possible in a flash game. Let me assure you, that was no easy feat for our artists to create, or our engineers to implement and support. Our team created a completely novel art and animation tool chain that enabled us to combine hand drawn and painted 2D animations, with flash … all set within a richly painted universe. All this was achieved while ensuring that the game was performant enough to be played on lower-end machines. As proud as we are of the artistic innovations, the achievements on the engineering side are equally impressive.
[a]list: Jeffrey, thanks.
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Played Idle Worship Want to mess with muddling? Join the discussion on Facebook.
Nexon announced that it has partnered with Valve Corporation to develop Counter-Strike Online 2. The game will be a sequel to the 2007 title Counter-Strike Online that both companies co-developed, which eventually reached 500,000, 70,000 and 50,000 concurrent users in China, Taiwan and Korea, respectively.
“Counter-Strike Online 2 will offer enhanced graphics, more realistic gameplay and powerful impact sensations powered by an enhanced version of the Source engine. The game will also feature various game modes enhancing its original game experience with new and improved environments, weapons, equipment customization and more,” says the release by Nexon. “Under the terms of the agreement, Nexon Korea will develop and be the exclusive publisher of Counter-Strike Online 2 in Japan, Korea, China and other areas in Southeast Asia. Nexon Korea intends to continue to leverage its proven development expertise and deep understanding of local markets to make Counter-Strike Online 2 one of the leading first-person shooter titles in the region.”
Jordan Weisman recently announced that his Shadowrun Returns game has been funded. The original creator of the Shadowrun universe, which is a fusion of futuristic cyberpunk and high fantasy concepts, will rebirth the game franchise in video game form in a turn-based single player title with “deep story interaction, meaningful character development, and highly-contextual tactical combat.”
“From the bottom of our hearts, we’d like to say THANK YOU to everyone who has backed us so far,” posted Weisman. “If we weren’t working our butts off on our new game, we’d be dancing around the Closet (our tiny office) with tears of joy streaming down our faces. Instead, the team is heads-down at their computers, sniffling loudly and wiping their eyes with their shirt-sleeves.”
The company has since made its secondary goal of $425,000 and there will be a Mac version of the game.
BioWare has announced the release of Extended Cut of Mass Effect 3, a DLC pack free for everyone who purchases the game before April 12 with a release planned for Summer 2012. This new content will provide “additional context and deeper insight to the conclusion of Commander Shepard’s journey.”
“We are all incredibly proud of Mass Effect 3 and the work done by [Mass Effect series executive producer] Casey Hudson and team. Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding,” said BioWare founder Ray Muzyka. “With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe.”
However, while this will add something to the endings that exist, BioWare flatly denied that this DLC will change the ending to the game. “BioWare strongly believes in the team’s artistic vision for the end of this arc of the Mass Effect franchise,” said the company in a Q&A. “The extended cut DLC will expand on the existing endings, but no further ending DLC is planned.”
Frito-Lay and Activision Blizzard announced a collaboration with Activision Publishing involving Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure. From now until May 5, 2012, certain Frito-Lay Multipacks will have a unique 8-digit alpha-numeric code to be redeemed online, unlocking an exclusive online mini-game, Skylanders Spyro’s Universe.
Those that enter the code online will have a chance to win additional prizes, including a free Skylanders action figure. Those interested should look for specially-marked Frito-Lay Multipack Classic Mix, Multipack Flavor Mix, or Multipack Adventure Mix variety packs of snacks.
Jennifer Hale, the voice of the female Commander Shepherd, hasn’t been contacted by BioWare for any involvement in whatever changes to the ending they have planned in Mass Effect 3. While she doesn’t know what plans BioWare has, she’s willing to reprise the role.
“I was surprised about the level of passion about the ending,” said Hale. “But there’s something really great about that, too: It says people are invested and they really care and they don’t want to let go, which is awesome because I don’t, either.”
“I have mixed feelings about [the prospect of a new ending],” she admitted. “I really respect the team and what they did and how hard they worked. And endings are hard! They’re cutting new ground; the players are so involved in this game that to come up with an ending to something everyone’s got their hand in is a huge challenge.”
Source: Edge
Microsoft has announced an agreement with Prima Games and Random House to publish Fable: At the Edge of the World, a book that will fill in the events between Fable III and the upcoming Fable: The Journey. There will also be a series of digital-only shorts that will be released from May to June of this year, complimenting the downloadable game Fable: Heroes.
“The Fable canon – the stories, characters, and gameplay that we’ve crafted for many years, is near and dear to the hearts of our loyal fans and the employees at Lionhead Studios,” explained Lionhead Studios business manager Gareth Sutcliffe. “We believe Random House Worlds will do an excellent job representing our storied franchise and creating assets our fans will find highly valuable.”
Square Enix recently revealed Final Fantasy XIII-2 stars Lightning, Noel, Sazh and Hope modeling Prada in the latest issue of Arena Homme+. Producer Yoshinori Kitase says of the collaboration, “The series is known for its creativity and innovation; so working with Prada, a renowned fashion house with such beautiful clothing, was a very exciting opportunity.”