Free-To-Play Fighter Brawlhalla Adds Hellboy Characters Next Month
Hot on the heels of the Brawlout x Dead Cells news, Ubisoft has revealed that Brawlhalla is also about to get a roster boost, this time in the form of a collection of characters from 2019’s Hellboy movie.
The news comes thanks to a partnership between Ubisoft and production company Lionsgate, which sees the iconic Hellboy characters Nimue, Gruagach, Ben Daimio, and Hellboy himself join Brawlhalla’s roster in April.
If you haven’t already checked out Brawlhalla, here’s a snippet of our review (it’s free-to-play, so you may as well give it a go if you’re interested):
Though a bit uninspired, Brawlhalla still stands as a solid example of how to do a proper platform fighter, with several game modes, a diverse cast and a beautiful art style making this one easy to recommend. Perhaps best of all, it’s totally free, so you really don’t have anything to lose by giving it a try. At worst, you’ll find a Smash clone that doesn’t have a ton of new ideas; at best, you’ll find a new go-to for when you have a few friends over for a gaming session.
Are you a fan of this free-to-play fighter? Will you be checking out these new fighters next month? Let us know in the usual place.
As a demon army besieges his village, a young ninja ventures through a cursed world, to deliver a scroll paramount to his clan?s survival. What begins as a classic action platformer soon unravels into an expansive time-traveling adventure full of thrills, surprises, and humor.
Watch The Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest Keynote, Shadowbringers News Teased
The Final Fantasy Fan Festival 2019 is taking place this weekend in Tokyo, and some news about Final Fantasy XIV is expected. The event kicks off with a keynote address featuring none other than game director Naoki Yoshida speaking to the crowd at the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo and broadcast online around the world. According to Square Enix, you can expect Yoshida to talk about "new announcements" for the game's next expansion, Shadowbringers, which is due out this year.
The keynote begins March 23 at 10:30 AM JST, which works out to 6:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM ET. You can watch the stream live from the official Final Fantasy XIV Twitch channel in Japanese or with English commentary on the official Square Enix Twitch channel. The commentary will be handled by Final Fantasy XIV's Michael-Christopher Koji Fox and community director Matt Hilton. They won't translate in real-time but instead go over and discuss the key takeaways.
The Fan Festival 2019 runs March 23-24, and there is heaps more programming that you can watch. This includes another segment with Naoki called "Naoki's Room" where he invites special guests to the stage to talk about things that "don't quite fit anywhere else." Some of the guests include various voice actors, as well as executive producer and member of the board Yosuke Saito.
There will also be a cosplay contest, where fans will show off their best outfits based on Final Fantasy characters.
Some of the Day 2 programming includes a "Letter From the Producer" segment where Yoshida talks about new details about Final Fantasy XIV as well as a development panel where developers will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the game is made.
Be sure to visit the Final Fantasy XIV website to see a full rundown of programming for the Fan Festival. GameSpot is on the ground in Tokyo for Fan Festival, so keep checking back all weekend for more coverage from the event.
Disclosure: Square Enix paid for GameSpot's flight to Tokyo and accomodation.
Super Mario Party Finally Gets Its First Update, But It’s Far From Exciting
We had a lot of fun with Super Mario Party when it launched last October – we called it a “beautifully realised Mario Party game which takes the series right back to its roots” in our review – but we always thought it could have done with another board or two to enjoy via an update or DLC package.
Well, as it happens, the game has finally received its very first update, taking the game to Version 1.0.1. Unfortunately, though, the update doesn’t contain any new content:
Version 1.0.1 Patch Notes: – Online: Fixed an issue with Online Mariothon in which ranking data was not displaying properly.
Oh.
We’re actually quite surprised that it hasn’t received any free content updates like Mario Tennis Aces, Splatoon 2, and ARMS did before it, or even new board sets as paid DLC. Once you’ve played through everything the game has to offer a few times, things can get a little stale, and new boards would be the perfect way to renew our interest in the whole thing. Maybe they’ll arrive one day, but that day sadly isn’t today.
What do you think? Should Nintendo add new content to Super Mario Party? Would that make you jump back in for more rounds, or do you still play it regularly today? Let us know down below.
Someone Made A Painting Elephant VR Game Long Before Nintendo Labo
Nintendo’s Toy-Con Elephant to be used with Nintendo Labo VR
Nintendo is set to release its latest venture into the world of cardboard gaming next month with Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit. Included in the complete set is a Toy-Con Elephant design, which allows players to use a trunk to paint 3D objects and more besides.
It’s one of the more inventive additions coming to the Labo VR range, featuring an amazingly deep art package, but the idea has actually been shown off to the world before. Back in 2016, Max Piantoni shared a video on YouTube showcasing his team’s entry into the 2016 International Game Concept Challenge. Called Masterpiece Mammoth, their game has you embracing the role of a woolly mammoth through VR, using its trunk to suck paint from cans and spray it back out onto a canvas.
There are, of course, several key differences between the two ideas, and we doubt that Nintendo stole the idea for itself, but it’s interesting to see the similarities nonetheless. You can check out Masterpiece Mammoth below.
If you missed it, make sure to check out our hands-on report of Nintendo Labo VR to learn more. The first trailer for the kit was recently released, too.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 03-23-2019, 09:21 AM - Forum: Windows
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‘ID@Xbox Game Pass’ debuts March 26
We are excited to announce ID@Xbox Game Pass, a stream highlighting great indie games coming soon to Xbox Game Pass, premiering March 26 at 9:00 AM PDT. In this show, you can expect to learn more about some of the hottest ID@Xbox titles coming to Xbox Game Pass with new reveals, gameplay highlights, and conversations with the developers. Fans will be able to check out our first ever episode here.
In our debut, we’ll dive into games previously shown at E3 and X018. Expect hits such as Afterparty, Void Bastards, and Supermarket Shriek to be highlighted. In addition to new game announcements, we’ll also share a visit to Night School Studio, the creative team behind the hit game Oxenfree, for a behind-the-scenes look at their upcoming game Afterparty. Extra made up bonus internet points if you tweet to us about your advanced frisbee college courses.
Hope you join us for our debut episode on March 26 at 9:00 AM PDT!
And to stay up to date with the latest news and announcements, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter. With our Xbox Game Pass mobile app, you can also get notifications as new games are added and remote install games to your home console as soon as they are available!
More Tantalising Polymega Details Emerge From GDC 2019
We’ve had our eyes on the modular Polymega console for quite some time now, and with good reason – if these guys can pull it off, it will be the ultimate one-stop retro system, covering consoles such as the NES, SNES, Mega Drive / Genesis, Mega CD and even Neo Geo CD.
The project hasn’t been without its controversies, though; revised specs and incorrectly sourced footage have led many to question if the Polymega will ever make it into full production. It’s wise to be cautious with this kind of thing, but after a long period of silence, the makers of the console have finally delivered a series of updates.
The Polymega hardware is finished, according to the team at Playmaji. It will run on a 35W Intel Coffee Lake S series Processor, which is upgradeable so Polymega can support other, more powerful retro systems in the future. The upgrade will need to be carried out by an authorised service outlet.
Polymega will also support NVMe M.2 2280 SSD’s via an expansion port on the base of the machine. SD card expansion remains in place and will support cards up to 1TB in capacity. If you wanted to max out the storage, you can install up to 3TB – that’s room for a lot of games.
Saturn support was one of the last big announcements for the Polymega, and the team is reporting that it has hit 99% game and 99% HLE BIOS compatibility for the entire Saturn library. Emulation is running at full speed, apparently. Meanwhile, PlayStation HLE BIOS is 90+% and will be improved over the next few months.
Emulation is one of the big question marks hanging over the project, but the team behind the console have revealed that it will only include in-house or legally-licensed emulators, which are considered to be “best in class”, with “only one of them” being able to run on a low-power ARM-based device. Gameplay samples of all emulators in action will be posted on YouTube next week.
Of particular interest to Nintendo fans is the news that the included SNES emulator will come with expansion chip support for SA1, SuperFX and CX-4, with DSP-1/2 (and variants) and S-DD1 “being implemented at the moment”. Again, gameplay samples “with lossless audio” will be made public soon.
It wasn’t all good news, however; due to 14nm chip supply shortages, the ship date for Polymega will most likely change. The company is “in line behind a few larger companies” but the aim is to get most of the chips by summer. Press units and pre-orders will be shipped as soon as they are in hand.
Finally, it was revealed that the second round of pre-orders will open in May, and retail pre-order info will also be forthcoming around the same time.
Polymega is being demoed at GDC as we speak, and we’ll update this post with any video footage that hits the web. In the meantime, let us know if all of this information has calmed your nerves or simply made you even more sceptical.
Despite GDC 2019 going on the background, it’s been a pretty vibrant time in mobile gaming this week. As someone who stands at the convergence of several different gaming spheres (mobile, war games, PC Strategy etc…), I’m always more open to visionary ideas that further merge several aspects of my life – that’s why Google’s Stadia announcement was so interesting.
I won’t re-hash what I’ve already said – while we wait to see how it ultimately turns out we’ll continue to review excellent games like Tides of Time, or Assembly. Maybe not Pirate Outlaws… Roguelikes seem to be the new ‘hot’ genre at the moment, and this week is no exception.
The original Crypt of the Necrodancer currently stands as one of our favourite roguelike games, so the fact that there’s now a prequel game is very good news indeed. Amplified features brand-new content, as well as all of the original content from the mobile version of Crypt of the Necrodancer, so be mindful if you already own that, there could be some repetition.
The new content features Nocturna, a shape-shifter, with a brand new story and a new zone complete with new levels, boss battles, enemies and rewards. Groove your way through the dungeon, slashing fools to the sick beat.
Speaking of Roguelikes, there’s another one that looks interesting as well. In Crossroads you create a character by choosing its race and class, and then you must go on a quest as an agent of the Adventurer’s Guild. You journey to your mission by revealing cards laid on a grid. Some cards will reveal loot, or spells, or powerful buffs, while others will present challenges. It’s all procedurally generated, and there are 5 different adventures to embark on.
A Sea of RPGs
Usually when I come to do this column, especially if I’m not able to get code for things in advance, I simply keep an eye on what’s ‘premium’ as a potential source of new games. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be working as well as of late, as we’re starting to see more games release with a premium price point AS WELL as IAPs. As far this week goes, there’s been a few RPG releases like that, namely off-brand Pokémon-like Evertale (iOS | Android), and JRPG Legend of the Tetrarchs (iOS | Android).
Evertale’s seems more of a token fee, but both game’s IAPs seem to revolve around in-game currency. As we saw recently with Pirates Outlaws, grind can be bad, and it’s made all the more bitter if you have to pay for the privilege.
But then you’ve also got ThirdMiracle (iOS | Android) & Kings Hero 2 (iOS | Android) which have also released this week and don’t appear to be any more than what they are. The former is another JRPG, while the latter is a hex-based tactical RPG in the old-school fantasy façade.
We’ll try and get to all of these as/when we can, but as always – buyer beware.
The gift that keeps on giving, there’s been several updates to the game since we last checked. The main thing you need to know that the upcoming release of deployable fighters and Carrier-class ships has been pushed back till the 2.5 update, and the release of a new Era/Story season has been brought forward. Other than that, the Trese Brothers continue to tweak and adjust their magnum opus.
A firm favourite amongst PT readers, Sentinels has just received its final expansion along with the 3.0 updates. Season 2 pass holders get it for free, otherwise its available to purchase via IAP. It comes with five new heroes, five new environments, and the final boss battle scenario.
One of our favourite RTS games, DomiNations is celebrating its 4th Anniversary with a brand new content update focusing on space travel. Sally Ride, the first American woman to go into space, has been added as new leader, as well as the Space Shuttle and SETI Wonders. In addition, new events have been added that focus on key milestones surrounding mankind’s journey into space, from Yuri Gagarin, to Apollo 13.
We rather enjoyed this stylish turn-based strategy game, and now you can too as the game is once again down to half price.
Football Manager 2019 Mobile (iOS & Android): $5.99
FM Mobile is the streamlined version of Football Manager (you could almost call it ‘Lite’) as opposed to the near-direct port that is FM Touch. It’s currently enjoying a small discount, if you’re interested.
We didn’t like Alien Blackout, but it’s now on sale for the first time since launch, down a couple of bucks. It’s also recently been updated with a new mode called ‘Survive’, which is basically Ironman.
And just before we go, Android users can pick up the original Warhammer Quest for $1, if you’re interested.
Seen anything else you like? Played any of the above? Let us know in the comments!
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 03-23-2019, 02:36 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Overwatch saw 40% less disruptive behavior with the endorsement system
Speaking at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this afternoon, research developer at Blizzard Natasha Miller shared how the studio implemented social features into Overwatch to promote positive behavior among players.
The two social features mentioned above include “endorsements”, designed to reward positive behavior (good sportsmanship, supportive teammate, etc.) conveyed through a level system.
“Looking for group” gave players the options to link up with players who had a similar play style.
Miller explains that one of the first steps Blizzard took in fostering positive behavior was adding a thank you message to players after they sent a report. On the flip side, they studio began sending out warning messages to players accumulating verified penalties.
“We wanted to give them a chance to change their behavior after we penalized them,” Miller said. Blizzard decided to focus on prevention first. “How do we go about preventing these behaviors? We did research in the form of focus groups and surveys.”
Miller mentioned two key areas that usually encourage disruptive behavior among Overwatch players, the first being a lack of social consequence. “By performing well within society’s expectations, you’re rewarded. In online communities there aren’t effective consequences,” she said. Thus, bad behavior.
She added that there also wasn’t a clear way to reward players either, and it was important to highlight those who did play nice. Implementing endorsements was a way to focus on the lack of social consequences.
In-game positive reinforcement rewarded players for good behavior, and can be given to the enemy team as well. The more endorsements a player acquires, the higher their level becomes. This feature uses positive reinforcement to be a good player, Miller said. It encouraged consistent, positive play and consequence for deviating from that.
“If you’re not consistently getting endorsements, if you slip up, you’re not going to get endorsements and your level is going to slip,” She added. If a player does slip up and their level falls, Miller said it was a form of loss aversion.
“This often causes players to want to get that level back and keep going, which offers a path to redemption.”
Miller also said that peer recognition was important and endorsements had a positive impact on players after a match. The decision to add loot boxes as a reward after a player’s endorsement level increased was something Blizzard hesitated with.
“It was a really big discussion for us. We didn’t want to encourage the wrong behavior either. We wanted most of the push to be good to come intrinsically.”
So loot boxes as reward operated under a more randomized schedule. “Even if you slipped you could come back. If players slipped during any randomized checks, they wouldn’t receive rewards.”
Miller then provided some data as to whether or not the social systems worked (endorsements in particular). There was a 40 percent reduction in matches that contained disruptive behaviors since implementation.
When asked if they saw it as a product of the system, players agreed. “The system makes people nicer.” Miller explained that players appreciated they were able to show thanks and support for their team. In addition, 50 to 70 percent of players have given endorsements.
Miller concluded by saying that the team was happy with the results so far, and planned on improving upon the systems and maybe implementing more in the future.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 03-23-2019, 02:36 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Boyfriend Dungeon dev examines why game fashion sucks, and what to do about it
How much thought have you put into the fashion options in your next game?
Today at GDC Victoria Tran of Kitfox Games (Boyfriend Dungeon) gave a great talk about why fashion in games often sucks, and why devs should put more time and effort into making it not suck.
Up front, she points out fashion isn’t just clothes, and it’s not just high-concept runway shows, either; it’s the art and science of communicating information through what we wear and how we carry ourselves.
“I’m not here to talk about what good fashion is,” said Tran. “I want to talk more about how we’ve ignored it as a serious mechanic and an information-rich piece of storytelling” in game development.
“The first reason we should care about fashion is that fashion really increases our understanding,” she continued. “It can put you in a certain time or era…it can convey a certain mood without walls and walls of text, and it can say where your character came from.”
Fashion is weakest when it’s meaningless, so Tran encourages game makers to look at what characters are wearing as a vital communication channel. Players will instantly make a judgment about your characters based on their outfits, so make sure they mean something.
As an example of an outfit that’s “information poor”, Tran pulled up a shot of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 protagonist Rex, noting that his flashy “Diver” armor is striking but conveys almost nothing about what a Diver is or does.
Some players may feel strongly about Rex’s outfit because they have deep ties to the series, for example, or the game’s artist, but if they’re just seeing him for the first time, it’s hard to read him as a character.
Fashion is a useful tool for evoking strong emotions in general, said Tran, pointing out that many people pick outfits for their in-game characters (when they have the option) for the same reasons they pick their own outfits: to feel strong, or attractive, or powerful, or just comfy.
“For me, when I was too afraid to wear sexy outfits, I would wear them in games to explore how they made me feel,” said Tran. “Did I actually like this? Did I want to dress more cute? Did i want to dress more masculine, to feel more comfortable? Fashion can give you powerful feelings.”
Games have been using fashion to elicit powerful feelings in customers for a long time, of course, but its almost always by putting women characters in ridiculously skimpy outfits. Tran says it can be powerful to give players room to express their characters’ sexuality, but that power is quashed when devs don’t give players room to chose their own outfits.
“Of course I have to talk about sexualized fashion. I’ve come to have very complicated feelings about it right now,” Tran said, recommending everyone read Maddy Myers’ Kotaku article on the fashion of Soul Calibur’s Ivy Valentie. “She does champion reclaiming sexiness for ourselves, though I find it hard to feel empowered when [women characters don’t have non-sexy clothing options].”
She also cautions game makers about putting fashion and iconography from other countries and cultures in your game without doing serious research first. Putting every American video game character into an outfit sporting an American flag gets old fast, she argues; the same goes for characters from other parts of the world.
“Get sensitivity readers, hire diverse people to work on your project,” she suggested calling out The Geeky Baju Project as a great example of how game artists can work a variety of “information-rich” fashion into their game’s assets.
The Geeky Baju Project is an effort by artist Charis Loke to explore the intersection of popular culture with traditional garments and fan art, but what’s so special about it is the way Loke weaves real history in with creative designs that convey a game’s essence through fashion.
“These designs are not only fun, they’re a way of learning about the history of traditional outfits,” said Tran. “Especially from somewhere like Southeast Asia, which isn’t well-represented in games.”
Good fashion isn’t just a useful, vibrant medium for communicating information about your game’s design and narrative; it’s also just cool, and in a modern game market where it seems like every dev is fighting to get their game noticed, having a cool-looking game is a big plus.
“As a community manager, I’m always looking for things to hook in players,” Tran explained. “Players want to embody their ideal selves, online and offline, and fashion is a great way to help them do that.”
So where are all the fashion games these days? Mostly in the indie and mobile spaces, says Tran, which is an opportunity for canny devs who are interested in making more fashion-centric games to carve out space for themselves on PC and console storefronts.
“This is a whole market out there that someone can get in on,” Tran said, pointing to a fruitless search she did recently for a “fashion game” genre on Steam.
Bottom line? “Fashion is fun,” concluded Tran. “And games are fun, so it’s an ideal marriage.”
