Spiritfarer is Out Now on Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass
Today, it’s with great pride that we are launching Thunder Lotus’ third game, Spiritfarer, a cozy management game about dying.
Death is a recurring theme in our games, from the Viking afterlife in Jotun to the meandering eldritch caverns of Sundered. You could say that I’m obsessed. Spiritfarer is quite different though. Diving deep into the subject with a lighter touch and a cozier vibe. You play Stella, ferry master to the deceased, and must build a boat to explore the world, pick up spirits, and release them into the afterlife.
Spiritfarer is a game about celebrating life. As you meet these spirits and fulfill their final requests, you get to know them: their likes, dislikes, who they were, and what they did. Hopefully, you’ll connect with them. Their stories were often inspired by loved ones of the devs on our team.
Among others, we have Gwen, the deer spirit and Stella’s fiendishly sarcastic best friend. Atul is Stella’s uncle the frog spirit, always happy, hungry, and ready for a hug. And Summer, the snake spirit, who teaches Stella the importance of gardening and of connecting to the earth and to one’s inner self.
As for gameplay, you could say we threw everything but the kitchen sink at Spiritfarer. Platforming, exploration, narrative dialogue, minigames, crafting, cooking, fishing, farming and more. Spiritfarer has it all! Some could call it unfocused but I call it a beautiful mishmash of creative game design. The different game modes naturally flow between each other, allowing for player expression and min-maxing of various management activities. Just beware of capitalistic sharks and raccoons, they’re always looking to snatch up your hard earned Glims, the game’s luminous currency.
We hope you’ll enjoy your time with Spiritfarer. We’ve poured our heart and soul into this game and are extremely proud of what it means for us as developers. Hopefully, Spiritfarer can act as a warm blanket in these hard and uncertain times.
Windwalk Games is a YC-backed gaming startup founded by an ex-Rioter that is dedicated to building the next generation of huge, online, social games. We are building games that are fun to play and can support vibrant, dedicated communities of diehard fans. Our current focus is building THE genre defining game in the Social Deception genre. If you love games like Mafia, One Night Ultimate Werewolf then keep reading.
Our game, Enemy on Board, is an action packed take on social deception. Enemy on Board is currently in open alpha.
We are currently on the hunt for a lead artist. Someone who can work closely with our team and own the visual direction of Enemy on Board and our future games. We are a small studio so we are looking for someone who is excited to wear multiple hats and just get stuff done. You will be helping build and manage a squad of contractors AND create kickass art as an IC. We are looking primarily for candidates based in Austin, Texas but are open to exceptional remote candidates.
Requirements
Excited to join a small, dynamic, fast growing startup
4+ years as an Art Lead or Contributing Creative Director
Has shipped 2+ games in the above roles. (Or similiar live service experience)
Kickass IC skills in one or more of the following areas: UI Art/Design, Character Concepting, Environment Concepting, 3D Modelling, 3D Animation
Ability to get the best out of contractors in the following disciplines: Animation, Character Art, Prop/Environment Art, UI Art, 2D Marketing and VFX
Responsibilities
Drive the artistic vision and provide feedback and direction to implement that vision
Direct the creation of art both internally and by third parties
Evaluate, hire, and work with contractors across all art disciplines. Emphasis on Concepting, 3D Modelling, Animation, 2D Asset/UI
Things that make you a better fit
Experience owning the creative direction on small teams
Experience working at a startup or directly with entrepreneurship
Experience working and managing remote art teams
Experience with live service structure and deadlines
Please submit a cover letter, resume and link to your portfolio. Applications without these materials will be ignored.
Whether you’re just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what’s out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers.
Gamasutra’s Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A.
The Sinking City yanked from stores in dispute over publishing rights
The maw of Cthulhu, though vast and unknowing, must still bow before the might of a publishing dispute. French developer Frogwares announced today that it has requested that The Sinking City be removed from most game stores after a dispute over the game’s publishing deal with Nacon (formerly known as Bigben Interactive).
In a statement on its website, Frogwares claimed that Nacon took multiple steps to both deny payments to the developers and act as though it was the IP-owner for the game. Frogwares states that their original deal was for Nacon to publish the game on Xbox One, PS4, Steam, and the Epic Game Store, but after its launch in June of 2019, the company began allegedly reneging on promised payments and claiming that certain stores weren’t paying royalties.
During this time, copies of the game were allegedly sold without Frogwares’ logo on the front or back of the case, and the studio’s name was removed from marketing materials. Nacon (under its former name Bigben) apparently also published a tabletop RPG without Frogwares’ involvement that claimed it was the copyright holder of The Sinking City.
On April 20th, after a year of back-and-forth on these issues, Frogwares says it moved to terminate its contract with Nacon. This opened up a new legal minefield, one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the pandemic began, France passed emergency laws meant to protect companies during the pandemic, and Bigben claimed that because of these laws, Frogwares could not terminate its contract.
Frogwares, for its part, says that a Force Majeure clause in the contract still allows them to initiate the termination. They also say that Nacon has refused to pay 1 million euros worth of royalties.
This finally led Frogwares to request the game be removed from the Steam, Epic, Xbox One, and PS4 game stores. The game is still available on platforms where Frogwares has published the game itself. These include Origin, Gamesplanet, and on Nintendo Switch.
I'm Worried Scarlet Nexus' Combat Won't Evolve In A Satisfying Way
Ahead of the release of Scarlet Nexus, I got to check out a preview build of Bandai Namco's upcoming action RPG. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get actual hands-on experience with the game, but Bandai Namco did provide an extended behind-the-scenes look at some gameplay, specifically combat. What I was most surprised by was how much it reminded me of The Force Unleashed.
Scarlet Nexus sees you play as Yuito Sumeragi, a psychokinetic who's a part of the special task force that defends humanity from demonic-looking mutants called Others. Though he's armed with a sword, Yuito's primary means of attack is his powers--he can use his mind to pick up objects in the environment and fling them at enemies. Small boxes and bicycles can be tossed around with ease while flinging cars and ripping down the ceiling seems to take considerably more effort.
When paired with Yuito's melee combat mechanics, it creates a sense of flow that reminds me of how Starkiller fought in The Force Unleashed. Yuito can dive past the Others' long-range attacks to get in close and slice away. He can also pummel enemies from afar with whatever is lying around, and given that Scarlett Nexus takes place in a city, there's plenty to throw. But Yuito seems to be at his strongest when he dances back and forth between the two styles, stunning targets with a thrown car and quickly finishing them off with a few snappy melee attacks.
This article answers a number of questions how to accomplish different things with a Python array in one line. By studying these questions, you’ll become a better coder. So, let’s roll up your sleeves and get started!
Python One Line Print Array
If you just want to know the best way to print an array (list) in Python, here’s the short answer:
Pass a list as an input to the print() function in Python.
Use the asterisk operator * in front of the list to “unpack” the list into the print function.
Use the sep argument to define how to separate two list elements visually.
Here’s the code:
# Create the Python List
lst = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] # Use three underscores as separator
print(*lst, sep='___')
# 1___2___3___4___5 # Use an arrow as separator
print(*lst, sep='-->')
# 1-->2-->3-->4-->5
Try It Yourself in Our Interactive Code Shell:
This is the best and most Pythonic way to print a Python array list. If you still want to learn about alternatives—and improve your Python skills in the process of doing so—read the following tutorial!
The most basic ternary operatorx if c else y returns expression x if the Boolean expression c evaluates to True. Otherwise, if the expression c evaluates to False, the ternary operator returns the alternative expression y.
Here’s a minimal example:
var = 21 if 3<2 else 42
# var == 42
While you read through the article to boost your one-liner power, you can listen to my detailed video explanation:
Method 1: If the loop body consists of one statement, simply write this statement into the same line: for i in range(10): print(i). This prints the first 10 numbers to the shell (from 0 to 9).
Method 2: If the purpose of the loop is to create a list, use list comprehension instead: squares = [i**2 for i in range(10)]. The code squares the first ten numbers and stores them in the array list squares.
Let’s have a look at both variants in more detail in the following article:
How to iterate over an array in a single line of code?
Say, you’ve given an array (list) lst and you want to iterate over all values and do something with them. You can accomplish this using list comprehension:
lst = [1, 2, 3]
squares = [i**2 for i in lst]
print(squares)
# [1, 4, 9]
You iterate over all values in the array lst and calculate their square numbers. The result is stored in a new array list squares.
You can even print all the squared array values in a single line by creating a dummy array of None values using the print() function in the expression part of the list comprehension statement:
This creates an array of ten elements filled with the value 0. You can also fill the array with other elements by replacing the 0 with the desired element—for example, [None] * 10 creates a list of ten None elements.
Python Initialize Array One Line
There are many ways of creating an array (list) in Python. Let’s get a quick overview in the following table:
Code
Description
[]
Square bracket: Initializes an empty list with zero elements. You can add elements later.
[x1, x2, x3, … ]
List display: Initializes an empty list with elements x1, x2, x3, … For example, [1, 2, 3] creates a list with three integers 1, 2, and 3.
[expr1, expr2, ... ]
List display with expressions: Initializes a list with the result of the expressions expr1, expr2, … For example, [1+1, 2-1] creates the list [2, 1].
[expr for var in iter]
List comprehension: applies the expression expr to each element in an iterable.
list(iterable)
List constructor that takes an iterable as input and returns a new list.
[x1, x2, ...] * n
List multiplication creates a list of n concatenations of the list object. For example [1, 2] * 2 == [1, 2, 1, 2].
You can play with some examples in our interactive Python shell:
How can you filter an array in Python using an arbitrary condition?
The most Pythonic way of filtering an array is the list comprehension statement [x for x in list if condition]. You can replace condition with any function of x you would like to use as a filtering criterion.
For example, if you want to filter all elements that are smaller than, say, 10, you’d use the list comprehension statement [x for x in list if x<10] to create a new list with all list elements that are smaller than 10.
Here are three examples of filtering a list:
Get elements smaller than eight: [x for x in lst if x<8].
Get even elements: [x for x in lst if x%2==0].
Get odd elements: [x for x in lst if x%2].
lst = [8, 2, 6, 4, 3, 1] # Filter all elements <8
small = [x for x in lst if x<8]
print(small) # Filter all even elements
even = [x for x in lst if x%2==0]
print(even) # Filter all odd elements
odd = [x for x in lst if x%2]
print(odd)
The output is:
# Elements <8
[2, 6, 4, 3, 1] # Even Elements
[8, 2, 6, 4] # Odd Elements
[3, 1]
This is the most efficient way of filtering an array and it’s also the most Pythonic one.
Python programmers will improve their computer science skills with these useful one-liners.
Python One-Linerswill teach you how to read and write “one-liners”: concise statements of useful functionality packed into a single line of code. You’ll learn how to systematically unpack and understand any line of Python code, and write eloquent, powerfully compressed Python like an expert.
The book’s five chapters cover tips and tricks, regular expressions, machine learning, core data science topics, and useful algorithms. Detailed explanations of one-liners introduce key computer science concepts and boost your coding and analytical skills. You’ll learn about advanced Python features such as list comprehension, slicing, lambda functions, regular expressions, map and reduce functions, and slice assignments. You’ll also learn how to:
• Leverage data structures to solve real-world problems, like using Boolean indexing to find cities with above-average pollution • Use NumPy basics such as array, shape, axis, type, broadcasting, advanced indexing, slicing, sorting, searching, aggregating, and statistics • Calculate basic statistics of multidimensional data arrays and the K-Means algorithms for unsupervised learning • Create more advanced regular expressions using grouping and named groups, negative lookaheads, escaped characters, whitespaces, character sets (and negative characters sets), and greedy/nongreedy operators • Understand a wide range of computer science topics, including anagrams, palindromes, supersets, permutations, factorials, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, obfuscation, searching, and algorithmic sorting
By the end of the book, you’ll know how to write Python at its most refined, and create concise, beautiful pieces of “Python art” in merely a single line.
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Blood Bowl 3 Brings Violent Fantasy Football To The Nintendo Switch In 2021
At Gamescom 2020, Cyanide Studios announced it would be releasing Blood Bowl 3 on the Nintendo Switch and multiple other platforms early on in 2021.
The third entry in the violent turn-based strategy series set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe (and based on the board game of the same name) brings together 12 races – each with their own arena and cheerleaders. It’ll also include a campaign, multiplayer modes and there’s post-launch content planned.
If you haven’t played one of these games before, it’s loosely based on American football. You take on the role of the coach who instructs each player on the field and must lead the team to victory. Here are some screenshots, courtesy of the Steam page:
Take a look at the trailer above and tell us in the comments if this is the turn-based sports fix you’ve been seeking on Switch.
Medal Of Honor: Above And Beyond Trailer Shows Off VR Combat
During Gamescom Opening Night Live, we got a lengthy look at Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. The Oculus Rift game takes place entirely in first-person and without cutscenes, so you'll be right in the thick of the action. You can watch the presentation below.
According to game director Peter Hirchsman, you play as soldier in the OSS, the organization that eventually became the CIA. Though you're working with the French resistance and taking on some spycraft, the trailer also showed plenty of big bombastic action scenes too--from almost being run over by a tank in the French countryside to storming the beaches of Normandy. Hirchsman said it has roughly 120 pages of narrative.
The developer chat ended with a hint of multiplayer, though specific plans weren't shown. Meanwhile, the trailer ended with a display of Oculus Quest, though the studio has previously said that it's a Rift-exclusive. That appears to have been an allusion to the ability to play on Quest through an Oculus Link.
If you were still hopeful it might one day arrive on the hybrid system (considering the developer’s ties with Nintendo platforms), it really won’t be happening. In a recent interview with our sister site Pure Xbox, the game’s director, Ulf Hartelius, doubled-down on Sigurgeirsson’s previous comments – stating how it would be “permanently exclusive” to Microsoft’s platforms.
Since making this game is such a big step for us we knew we wanted to find a strong partner and Microsoft had been excited about it since our earliest conversations. And yes, it will be permanently exclusive for Windows 10 and the Xbox consoles. The gunk itself is using an advanced rendering technique that should benefit a lot from the added power of the Series X. It will also be a lot easier to get the game world as lush and vibrant as we’re aiming for.
This is a one-time exclusive deal and the team has already reassured Nintendo fans it will continue making SteamWorld games for the Switch – as previously stated by Sigurgeirsson:
SteamWorld is indeed closely associated with Nintendo. And we certainly haven’t made our last SteamWorld game. Nintendo Switch (and future Nintendo consoles) are natural parts of those plans.
To read more about The Gunk, view the full interview on Pure Xbox. Were you hoping to see this particular game on Switch? Are you relieved to hear SteamWorld will still be associated with Nintendo platforms moving forward? Tell us below.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 08-28-2020, 03:15 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Turn-Based FPS Lemnis Gate Announced At Gamescom
Gamescom's Opening Night Live has been chock full of announcements, but one was more curious than the rest. Developed by indie studio Ratloop Games, Lemnis Gate is a brand-new turn-based FPS that centered around a unique, 25-second time-loop mechanic. It will launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2021.
In Lemnis Gate, every turn matters. After each turn, players add a new hero into a time loop. These heroes then battle for various objectives, such as controlling a point or capturing a flag. The actions that are performed are then repeated throughout the entire match, with heroes from the past and present fighting alongside real-time actions akin to Nimble Giant Entertainment's Quantum League.
You can check out the official reveal trailer for Lemnis Gate above.