“Obviously I was bluffing, I didn’t have all the money. The goal was to convince them that we had the financial backing and we could do this.”

– Vishal Gondal, a dev on what’s reportedly the first mobile Spider-Man game, speaks to Gadgets 360 about licensing. 

While Spider-Man games have been developed for nearly every console, the superhero’s first mobile game debuted in 2003 thanks to a small studio in India. 

In an interview with Gadgets 360, game designers from Mumbai-based Indiagames discuss development of the first mobile iteration of Spider-Man, which was put together in under a month and nearly shipped with assets taken from Spider-Man: Mysterio’s Menace for the Game Boy Advance.

It’s always interesting to see how mobile games were developed and published before the conception of Google Play and the Android Marketplace, especially for a licensed IP like Marvel’s Spider-Man. 

Before Indiagames went on to develop Spider-Man, the studio was best known for making generic mobile arcade games and was fairly successful, looking to extend its reach beyond India and parts of South East Asia.

“We were at E3 2003 when the idea struck that if we can get a certain amount of revenue on non-branded titles what if can get a big brand? Maybe that could make us a lot of money,” developer Vishal Gondal explains. “On a piece of paper I started writing down the names of every big superhero like Spider-Man and Batman.”

“Coincidentally at E3 itself we met the guy who represented Marvel Comics,” he adds. “In that meeting we said that we’d be interested in licensing Spider-Man.”

“They didn’t know who we were and they never licensed anything like this to a company outside of the US. Before this, no Spider-Man mobile game was made.”

Thus began the licensing talks. Marvel initially licensed the rights to Activision, but since Activision hadn’t developed the game the rights had to come from Activision and not Marvel directly. It had to be structured as a deal involving Marvel Comics, Activision, and Indiagames.

“Even before we got the license, we started making the game,” Gondal says. “Our goal was the day we get the license, in a few weeks we should launch the game.”

“Typically what used to happen was you get the license, you make the game, that takes three to six months and then you launch the whole thing. As we were negotiating the deal with Marvel, the game was already under production so we were ready.”

But the game had a very strict deadline and needed to be released within a tight time frame, and Indiagames was given one month to complete Spider-Man. Their source material was also restricted to the comics, but the studio was given freedom over what kind of game they wanted to develop.

Because of the short deadline, the small team initially took assets from Spider-Man games on Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance as placeholders which nearly made it into the final product. 

The interview was part of a larger conversation around how the very first Spider-Man game on mobile was developed, so be sure to read the entire piece over at Gadgets 360.

In this GDC 2018 talk, Game Grumps’ Tyler Hutchison discusses the initial goals of Dream Daddy, and how it managed to become something that made a whole lot of people from different backgrounds very happy.

Hutchison explains how Dream Daddy was critically praised for providing players with inclusive representation, examining how certain options were included and the choices and development hours that were required to include them.

With a little love and potentially a small investment of time, he explains how developers can make their game inclusive and give players more representation in character choices.

It’s an insightful talk that’s definitely worth watching, so developers shouldn’t miss the opportunity to do so now that it’s freely available on the official GDC YouTube channel!

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Americas.

Welcome to Next Week on Xbox, where we cover all the new games coming soon to Xbox One! Every week the team at Xbox aims to deliver quality gaming content for you to enjoy on your favorite gaming console. To find out what’s coming soon to Xbox One, read on below and click on each of the game profiles for pre-order details (dates are subject to change).

Games

September 04, 2018

Alone and far away from home, you find yourself in the center of a conflict of epic proportions where second chances are rare. Planet Alpha is an adventure game that takes place in a living alien world where you can control the day and night. It combines fast platforming, challenging puzzles, and stealth elements with a unique art style to create an unforgettable experience.

Games

September 04, 2018

A unique, isometric single-player RPG with real-time tactical combat, Shadows: Awakening puts you in control of a demon summoned from the Shadow Realm to consume the souls of long-dead heroes. Gather your party, control powerful heroes, and use their skills to your advantage. But who is in charge… the demon, or the souls that it has devoured?

Games

September 04, 2018

An anime-inspired, 1-2 player beat ‘em up with varied enemies and deep player customization. Play as the rabbit Ninjin, or Akai the ninja fox, and fight to retrieve the carrots stolen by Shogun Moe. Redeem carrots for weapons, upgrades, and more. Ninjin also features a unique survival mode called “Oni TV Show” where players will fight endless waves of enemies for rare rewards.

Games

September 04, 2018

Xbox One X Enhanced – Cayde-6 has paid the ultimate price. The Reef has fallen to lawlessness. And the most-wanted criminals are running loose. Beyond the Vanguard’s authority, you’ll venture into the Reef alone and take justice into your own hands. Explore new regions, awaken new powers, earn a wealth of new weapons, and uncover lost Awoken secrets. The hunt is on in Destiny 2: Forsaken.

Games

September 04, 2018

Xbox One X Enhanced – Punch and claw your way through 40 fast-paced levels of pure mayhem, while honing your ninja cat skills to rescue your master from the evil claws of an unknown enemy. Claws of Furry is a blend of action and classic arcade beat ’em ups with four distinct environments with unique enemies to battle. With multiple modes such as rogue-like and arena, and unlockable outfits with unique bonuses, you’ll have plenty of content to keep you coming back for more.

Games

September 04, 2018

This intense space shoot’em up challenges you to fight across two battlefields on one split-screen. Unlock and power-up a variety of weapons and master advanced techniques like the drift drive that lets you dodge bullets in a split-second or even flip into reverse drive to hit enemies when they least expect it. Play solo or via local co-op partner.

Games

September 05, 2018

Moonfall Ultimate is a 2D side-scrolling, action-RPG, set in an industrial gothic universe. Hack, slash and cast your way through a treacherous hand-painted world in solo, couch co-op, or endless arcade mode. Discover a story of a once small kingdom now under threat from so-called Savages. They hunt a mysterious element known as Lunarium and you must protect the land at the front line.

Games

September 05, 2018

Humanity is on the verge of extinction due to an alien invasion and it just so happens, you’re the last hope to save the world. FullBlast is a vertical-scrolling shooter that’ll bring a dose of nostalgia to gamers who spent many hours at their local arcade. It’s not just an alien menace you have to worry about, but their projectiles you’ll need to dodge if you hope to survive across the game’s 12 random levels.

Games

September 06, 2018

Xbox One X Enhanced – In 2073, Earth was struck by a horrid childhood disease and Elea’s husband joins an expedition to colonize Solace, a habitable exoplanet, to save humanity from extinction. The interstellar ship he was on, Pilgrimage, went radio silent shortly after it reached the planet. 13 years later, Elea joins a recovery mission to investigate the faith of the expedition in this surreal sci-fi adventure game.

Games

September 07, 2018

Use your tactical knowledge to tip the scales of triumph in your favor to save the kingdom. Build towers, each with a different ability, to lead your defense forces against difficult enemies. Fight across three different environments in three campaigns that offer an intense tower defense experience with 50+ challenging and unique levels.

Games

September 07, 2018

Xbox One X Enhanced – Take on the role of a living weapon, unleashed to stop the source of a cataclysmic event threatening to end all worlds in this challenging action RPG. Discover the secrets of these worlds, master the unique but lethal gun combat, and defeat legendary bosses. It will require many harsh lessons to unlock this potential in an unforgiving universe full of murderous foes.

Games

September 07, 2018

Dive into a wild story of gangsters and criminals in Out of the Box, a captivating thriller where you decide the fate of the peculiar customers of a luxurious nightclub in a never-ending race against the clock. Will you let teenagers into the club in exchange for money? Will you confront a wealthy client to save his girlfriend? Or will you work with the police to bring down the most powerful gangster in town?

Games

September 07, 2018

A young girl has traveled to the Sacred Lands. Within this realm she will face many challenges, fight dangerous monsters, and solve mysterious puzzles. Many have come to this land before, all in hopes of finishing the Sacred Trial, but none has succeeded! Will she fail like the others or will she overcome the odds and return home?

Games

September 07, 2018

Join Knight Sigi as he runs, jumps, and battles in a flatulent quest to save Melusina, the love of his life. Take down hordes of goofy enemies and crazy bosses. Earn riches, find long-lost holy artifacts and make your way up to the top of Mount Stinkup.

Games

September 07, 2018

Six exotic Islands filled with games and treasure waiting for adventures of all skill levels. Explore these islands solo or invite a group of friends over for some local co-op and competitive gameplay. Collect Treasure as you master all 33 games in your quest to be crowned Ruler of the Islands.

Games

September 07, 2018

Xbox One X Enhanced – Celebrating 20 years of redefining what sports gaming can be, from best in class graphics and gameplay to groundbreaking game modes and an immersive open-world “Neighborhood.” NBA 2K19 continues to push limits as it brings gaming one step closer to real-life basketball excitement and culture. The standard edition of NBA 2K19 arrives on September 11 on Xbox One.

Games

September 07, 2018

Xbox One X Enhanced – Pursue basketball glory with the freedom to create your path in The League and The Streets, in the return of The One. Build your squad of superstars, legends, and cultural icons to join your quest for greatness on courts across the globe. With Real Player Motion and 1v1 Everywhere gives you control in every possession, providing you the ability to change momentum in any game and dominate your opponent. EA Access members can start playing NBA Live 19 today.

Games

September 07, 2018

With more ways to race than ever before, NASCAR Heat 3 helps you build your own race team and compete in the Xtreme Dirt Tour in the newly expanded Career Mode. Prove you’re the best driver in the world in new Online Tournaments. And with new at-track stories mean anything can happen on race day. Plus, all your favorite modes are back and better than ever like Split Screen, Challenge, Championship, 40-player online, and more!

Games

September 07, 2018

Survive the zombie apocalypse with turn-based combat and permanent death! Manage survivors, go on dangerous scavenging runs, build alliances, craft equipment, make difficult story-influencing decisions, defend your camp against undead hordes and experience non-linear rogue-lite elements. An innovative Indie Survival-RPG!

Developer CAVYHOUSE and publisher Unties have revealed that The Midnight Sanctuary will now arrive on Nintendo Switch on 4th October, delayed slightly from the originally intended launch date of 6th September.

In The Midnight Sanctuary, players must explore a long-isolated Japanese village where residents appear and disappear, leap off cliffs, and twist themselves in half. Lovely. You’ll be uncovering the mysteries of The Midnight Sanctuary while trying to escape with your life and sanity safely intact. If you haven’t quite had your fill of creepiness from the trailer above, the game’s story overview should be more than enough:

“Um, so. Are you… maybe one of the Dead, too?”
A curious, haunting tale.
Is it salvation which the Saint who descended into this isolated village brings… or is it the end of things?
“What ending do those eyes desire, little watcher?”

The game puts players in the shoes of a famous historian named Hamomuro Tachibana, voiced by popular Japanese actress Yū Shimamura (Final Fantasy XV, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Attack on Titan). As mentioned above, Tachibana soon witnesses residents mysteriously leaping off cliffs and twisting themselves in half. Are these people dead, or not quite? Has “The Saint” returned to the mountain village? If so, does she bring salvation or herald the end? These are the questions that you must try to resolve.

Game Features:
Mysterious Graphics: Gorgeous graphics like cut-paper art that blur the line between realism and surrealism. Experience a trip into a mysterious world that’s not quite two or three dimensional.
Fully Acted, Fully Animated: Animated by the two-person team at CAVYHOUSE and voiced by a team of professional Japanese actors, Midnight Sanctuary comes to life in ways you’ll never expect. Voice audio is in Japanese.
Mysterious Doings: Hamomoru Tachibana has been invited to catalogue the traditions of Daiusu Village, long isolated from the rest of Japan. But once she arrives, a being the villagers identify as the Saints also appears. What could it mean?…

The Midnight Sanctuary arrives on 4th October for $9.99 / €9.99 and will support full English text localisation.

Too spooky? Or the right kind of horror? Let us know your thoughts on this one below.

© 2018 Valve Corporation. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries.

Sandbox

General

• Fixed an issue where Antaeus Wards were sometimes generating orbs when used by Sentinels
• Fixed an issue where Shards of Galanor were not giving energy back when knives hit from a long distance
• Fixed an issue where players were able to create 10 Deadfall Void Anchors using Orpheus Rigs and Moebius Quiver 

Armor

• Fixed an issue where the Cloak of Remembrance would not interact properly with other objects

Exotic Weapons

• Lord of Wolves
• Fixed an issue where Lord of Wolves could lose ammo
• Ace of Spades
• Fixed an issue where visual effects from the Memento Mori perk would persist when swapping weapons

Weapons

• Fixed an issue where the Explosive Payload perk was dealing less damage than intended

Abilities

• Titan
• Fixed an issue where Thundercrash was missing some visual effects
• Fixed an issue where walking into the Dawnblade Well of Radiance while blocking with the Sentinel Shield would drain Super energy
• Fixed an issue where Sentinel Super kills would not progress the Code of the Commander subclass path
• Reduced amount of health, melee energy, and grenade energy returned when using the Sentinel Commander subclass path

• Warlock
• Fixed an issue where Phoenix Dive would grant alternate amounts of health due at different frame rates on PC

• Hunter
• Fixed an issue where Exploding Knives would deal less damage due at different frame rates on PC

Items and Economy

Character Boost

• Fixed an issue where boosted characters were not unlocking the Curse of Osiris or Warmind campaign triumphs

Bounties

• Fixed an issue where bounties were not being sorted properly in the Pursuits section of character inventory
• Fixed an issue where Lost Sector bounties were not progressing properly when in a fireteam
• Fixed an issue where the “Fist of Judgement” bounty had an incorrect objective
• The wanted bounty for Irxis Partisan now shows the correct mug shot

Triumphs

• Fixed an issue where the “Relic Rumble” Triumph was not progressing properly
• Fixed an issue where “The Best Defense” Triumph was unlocking prior to completing the proper objective
• Removed a duplicate checkbox in the Mercury “Lost Sectors” Triumph
• Fixed an issue where Baron Triumphs would not unlock for players who joined an activity in progress
• Fixed an issue where the “Adventurous” triumph for Io was not granting proper Triumph score

Activities

Escalation Protocol

• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused players to revert to wave 1 after failing a wave and restarting it
• Players may now restart at wave 6 after completing wave 7
• Option available for 60 seconds after wave 7 completion

Technical

PC

• Fixed an issue with Toggle ADS where players would not auto-cancel out of ADS when expected

IGR Bounties

• Fixed an issue where players in IGRs in the Korea region could no longer earn IGR bounties

Disruption/Insults/Disrespect

Disruption/Insults/Disrespect

Harassment/Personal Attacks/Privacy Violation

Gory Violence/Explicit Sexuality

Illegal Activity

Hacking/Cheating

Spoilers/Stolen Content

Soliciting/Phishing/Impersonation

Dealing with the tremendous amount of data generated today presents a big challenge for companies who create or consume such data. It’s a challenge for tech companies that are dealing with related storage issues.

“Data is growing exponentially each year, and we find that the majority of data growth is due to increased consumption and industries adopting transformational projects to expand value. Certainly, the Internet of Things (IoT) has contributed greatly to data growth, but the key challenge for software-defined storage is how to address the use cases associated with data growth,” said Michael St. Jean, principal product marketing manager, Red Hat Storage.

Every challenge is an opportunity. “The deluge of data being generated by old and new sources today is certainly presenting us with opportunities to meet our customers escalating needs in the areas of scale, performance, resiliency, and governance,” said Tad Brockway, General Manager for Azure Storage, Media and Edge.

Trinity of modern software-defined storage

There are three different kinds of storage solutions — block, file, and object — each serving a different purpose while working with the others.

Block storage is the oldest form of data storage, where data is stored in fixed-length blocks or chunks of data. Block storage is used in enterprise storage environments and usually is accessed using Fibre Channel or iSCSI interface. “Block storage requires an application to map where the data is stored on the storage device,” according to SUSE’s Larry Morris, Sr. Product Manager, Software Defined Storage.

Block storage is virtualized in storage area network and software defined storage systems, which are abstracted logical devices that reside on a shared hardware infrastructure and are created and presented to the host operating system of a server, virtual server, or hypervisor via protocols like SCSI, SATA, SAS, FCP, FCoE, or iSCSI.

“Block storage splits a single storage volume (like a virtual or cloud storage node, or a good old fashioned hard disk) into individual instances known as blocks,” said St. Jean.

Each block exists independently and can be formatted with its own data transfer protocol and operating system — giving users complete configuration autonomy. Because block storage systems aren’t burdened with the same investigative file-finding duties as the file storage systems, block storage is a faster storage system. Pairing that speed with configuration flexibility makes block storage ideal for raw server storage or rich media databases.

Block storage can be used to host operating systems, applications, databases, entire virtual machines and containers. Traditionally, block storage can only be accessed by individual machine, or machines in a cluster, to which it has been presented.

File-based storage

File-based storage uses a filesystem to map where the data is stored on the storage device. It’s a dominant technology used on direct- and networked-attached storage system, and it takes care of two things: organizing data and representing it to users. “With file storage, data is arranged on the server side in the exact same format as the clients see it. This allows the user to request a file by some unique identifier — like a name, location, or URL — which is communicated to the storage system using specific data transfer protocols,” said St. Jean.

The result is a type of hierarchical file structure that can be navigated from top to bottom. File storage is layered on top of block storage, allowing users to see and access data as files and folders, but restricting access to the blocks that stand up those files and folders.

“File storage is typically represented by shared filesystems like NFS and CIFS/SMB that can be accessed by many servers over an IP network. Access can be controlled at a file, directory, and export level via user and group permissions. File storage can be used to store files needed by multiple users and machines, application binaries, databases, virtual machines, and can be used by containers,” explained Brockway.

Object storage

Object storage is the newest form of data storage, and it provides a repository for unstructured data which separates the content from the indexing and allows the concatenation of multiple files into an object. An object is a piece of data paired with any associated metadata that provides context about the bytes contained within the object (things like how old or big the data is). Those two things together — the data and metadata — make an object.

One advantage of object storage is the unique identifier associated with each piece of data. Accessing the data involves using the unique identifier and does not require the application or user to know where the data is actually stored. Object data is accessed through APIs.

“The data stored in objects is uncompressed and unencrypted, and the objects themselves are arranged in object stores (a central repository filled with many other objects) or containers (a package that contains all of the files an application needs to run). Objects, object stores, and containers are very flat in nature — compared to the hierarchical structure of file storage systems — which allow them to be accessed very quickly at huge scale,” explained St. Jean.

Object stores can scale to many petabytes to accommodate the largest datasets and are a great choice for images, audio, video, logs, backups, and data used by analytics services.

Conclusion

Now you know about the various types of storage and how they are used. Stay tuned to learn more about software-defined storage as we examine the topic in the future.

Join us at Open Source Summit + Embedded Linux Conference Europe in Edinburgh, UK on October 22-24, 2018, for 100+ sessions on Linux, Cloud, Containers, AI, Community, and more.

As more businesses begin to explore the benefits of moving on-premises data and applications to the cloud, they’re having to rethink their traditional approaches to data security. Not only are cybercriminals developing more sophisticated attacks, but the number of employees and users who can access, edit, and share data has increased the risk of breaches. In fact, Gartner indicates* that “through 2022, 95 percent of cloud security incidents failures will be the customer’s fault. CIOs can combat this by implementing and enforcing policies on cloud ownership, responsibility and risk acceptance. They should also be sure to follow a life cycle approach to cloud governance and put in place central management and monitoring planes to cover the inherent complexity of multicloud use.”

Instead of relying on a patchwork of third-party security solutions that don’t always speak to each other, potentially leaving systems vulnerable to attack, companies are now adopting a unified, end-to-end cloud security defense. This typically involves choosing a cloud provider that can integrate security controls right into existing corporate systems and processes. When these controls span the entire IT infrastructure, they make it easier to protect data and maintain user trust by offering increased compatibility, better performance, and more flexibility.

Protection that’s always compatible

A holistic, cloud-supported threat warning and detection system can be designed to work seamlessly across every asset of an IT environment. For instance, built-in security management solutions can give IT teams the ability to constantly monitor the entire system from a centralized location, rather than manually evaluating different machines. This allows them to sense threats early, provide identity monitoring, and more—all without any compatibility issues.

Container shipping company Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has gone this route. As in many businesses, MSC’s IT environment is spread across a variety of locations, networks, and technologies, such as container ships, trucking networks, and offices. Its previous security strategy employed a mixture of third-party solutions that often ran into compatibility issues between different components, giving attackers a large surface area to probe. This made MSC vulnerable to threats such as fileless attacks, phishing, and ransomware. However, after transitioning to a unified cloud security solution, it has been able to guard against attacks using protection that integrates effortlessly into its existing environment.

Reliable performance, more efficiently

The more complex an IT environment gets, the more time employees spend testing, maintaining, and repairing third-party security solutions. A unified cloud security approach improves performance by not only providing a consistent, layered defense strategy, but by also automating it across the entire IT infrastructure. At MSC, software and security updates are now done automatically and deployed without delay across the cloud. Information about possible threats and breaches can quickly be shared across devices and identities, speeding up response and recovery times so that employees can focus on other issues.

Security with flexibility to grow

Scalability is another factor driving adoption. A cloud environment can easily scale to accommodate spikes in traffic, additional users, or data-intensive applications. A patchwork of third-party security solutions tends not to be so nimble. At MSC, security controls are integrated into multiple levels of the existing IT infrastructure—from the operating system to the application layer—and can be dynamically sized to meet new business needs. For example, continuous compliance controls can be established to monitor regulatory activities and detect vulnerabilities as they grow.

A unified security approach: becoming the standard

The best security solutions perform quietly in the background, protecting users without them noticing. Unified cloud security does this while also reducing the resources required to keep things running smoothly. “Once you have true defense in depth, there’s less chance of having to single out a user and impact their productivity because you have to reimage an infected machine,” said Aaron Shvarts, chief security officer at MSC Technology North America.

After moving its workloads to Azure and upgrading its previous third-party security solutions to the native protection of Windows Defender, MSC now has a defense strategy that suits the complexity of its business. Learn more about Azure security solutions and how Microsoft can help you implement unified security across your cloud.

To stay up to date on the latest news about Microsoft’s work in the cloud, bookmark this blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

*Gartner, Smarter with Gartner, Is the Cloud Secure?, 27 March 2018, https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/is-the-cloud-secure/