Assassin’s Creed III — The Difficulties Of Female Assassins

Female assassins have been a consistently requested feature by fans of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. However, the main character of Assassin’s Creed III is not a female and creative director Alex Hutchinson indicates that the game’s setting makes including female characters difficult.

“It’s always up in the air. I think lots of people want it. In this period it’s been a bit of a pain. The history of the American Revolution is the history of men,” said Hutchinson. “There are a few people, like John Adams’ wife. They tried very hard in the TV series to not make it look like a bunch of dudes, but it really is a bunch of dudes.”

“It felt like, if you had all these men in every scene and you’re secretly, stealthily in crowds of dudes [as a female assassin], it starts to feel kind of wrong,” he noted. “People would stop believing it.”

Source: Kotaku

Aliens: Colonial Marines — Better On Wii U?

Aliens: Colonial Marines will be coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360, but what has Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford really excited is the Wii U version. Possibilities for a motion tracker on the controller’s screen seems likely, but Pitchford isn’t saying what, exactly, the additions will be.

“The Wii U version has so much more to offer … no other platform can do what the Wii U can do,” said Pitchford. “If you love [Xbox] 360 games, you are not used to being in a world where you have this new interface. But once you get used to that, you imagine the possibilities; there are some opportunities that are just not possible on any platform that does not have that device.”

“I don’t want to give spoilers away on some of things we are thinking of or things we have actually implemented already,” he said, “but [there are] a lot of cool opportunities with that device that are going to make a very unique and compelling experience on that platform. We have given [it] a lot of attention. I think it will not be too long [before] Nintendo opens up their kimono a little bit more about that platform and where it is going, we will be there right with them talking about how Aliens is using it.”

Source: The Verge

Chuck’s Challenge 3D Gets Kickstarter

Niffler has announced that it wants to use Kickstarter to raise fans for Chuck’s Challenge 3D. This game is a follow up to the iOS game Chuck’s Challenge.

“As we’re making a game for the players, we thought we should make it with the players,” says developer Chuck Somerville. “We want to know what they think should be included in the game and we believe Kickstarter is a great place to do just that.”

Source: Kickstarter.com

Your Loyalty Shall Be Rewarded

To coincide with the launch of Season 2 of HBO’s Game of Thrones, a new promotion for the series has been launched on Facebook called Pledge Your Allegiance {link no longer active}. Fans can pledge themselves to one of the warring houses. Once pledged, fans will be able to claim a reward (wallpapers) or copy and paste and embed code and promote their house on their site. Fans can also enter to win a sweepstakes with prizes including an exclusive prop from the Game of Thrones production set, official script and poster signed by series creators Dan Weiss and David Benioff and part of the Game of Thrones cast, the book series signed by George R.R. Martin and an assortment of show merchandise.

Save Panem

Panem needs you!  Embark on a daring adventure beyond the fence of District 12 accompanied by your most trusted Facebook friends and your favorite characters from The Hunger Games. Explore Suzanne Collins’ epic universe alongside Katniss, Peeta, Gale and the other characters of the novels and film. Hunt and trap in the wilderness outside the fence, then bring it back to trade in The Hobb. Visit Peeta’s Bakery, The Seam, the Justice Building and then escape from it all to a secret forest hideout that is exclusively yours. Join the rest of the fans and your Facebook friends as new adventures, districts and the official map of Panem are unveiled inside the game.

Zynga Selling Millions In Secondary Stock Offering

Reports are that Zynga is looking to sell 43 million shares in a secondary offering. Nearly half of these shares will come from Zynga’s executives and directors, marking the first time they’ve been able to sell this Class B stock.

“Pincus is selling 16.5 million Class B shares, approximately 15 percent of his stake in the company. COO John Schappert is selling 322,350 shares, about 45 percent of his holdings,” writes Mike Thompson. “CFO David Wehner is cashing in on 386,865 shares, almost 55 percent of his stock. Directors Reid Hoffman and Owen Van Natta are also cashing in — Hoffman is selling  687,626 shares, just under 15 percent of his stock and Van Natta is selling  505,267  shares, nearly 19 percent of his holdings.”

“The secondary offering’s timing is geared towards counteracting the approaching end of Zynga’s lock-up period —  when all outstanding shares other than those sold during the IPO can’t be traded — which is set to expire on May 28,” noted Thompson. “Both the lock-up period’s end and Facebook’s own expected IPO in May could influence Zynga’s stock prices dramatically, so putting this many shares on the market will theoretically minimize any potential volatility.”

Source: Inside Social Games

Obsidian Might Help With Wasteland 2 Development

inXile has reached an agreement with Obsidian for potential design assistance for Wasteland 2. Obsidian’s Chief Creative Officer Chris Avellone is going to assist on the design and writing of the game if the project reaches $2.1 million.

“For those of you who don’t know who Obsidian or Chris Avellone are, they are the bulk of the brains who worked on Fallout 1&2, Icewind Dale and Planescape Torment when I was back at Interplay,” writes Brian Fargo, inXile CEO. “More of the band is back together to make sure we bring you a fantastic RPG. Chris is going to help push the density and literary content of the game.”

Wasteland is one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and when Brian asked if I wanted to work on the sequel, I jumped at the chance,” said Avellone. “While I’ve worked on Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, getting the chance to work on the spiritual predecessor to the Fallout franchise is a honor.”

“While the programming work will remain with us here at inXile, we are looking to use a host of tools that Obsidian has created which will help us get assets into the game faster. The faster we can implement and iterate on content, the deeper the game and the more varied choices the gamers can make,” continued Fargo. “That’s more good news for all of you that put your faith in us.”

Source: Kickstarter.com