Industry News / Upcoming Games

[Antimatter]

Sounds like smaller games will gradually stop picking the EGS as an exclusive platform, and that store will be left for bigger titles (as exclusives). It's reasonable at least because smaller titles just couldn't get enough players if they didn't come to Steam.

Epic isn't done with Epic Games Store exclusives, it's just focused on big ones

Epic-published games like Alan Wake 2 will be EGS exclusives, not that there was much doubt about that.

www.pcgamer.com

On a side, a great observation about the Hogwarts Legacy game and The Last of Us show successes and what it means for the whole industry:

Two decades later, the cross-media dream is a reality | Opinion

On the face of it, there aren't too many points of comparison between The Last of Us and Hogwarts Legacy, beyond the fa…

www.gamesindustry.biz

 

[Antimatter]

Felipe Pepe updated his book about computer RPGs and it's absolutely free as a PDF.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1490471354411323392

 

[Antimatter]

Remedy is one of the few studios left maintaining their own proprietary tech (I can think of Larian as well here; CDPR moved on to use the UE5 now). They've released a video about their in-house technology, Northlight. The video gives an insight into the game development process.

A hint from Antimatter: if you haven't played Control yet, DO IT!

 

[Antimatter]

Gaming is not always about being pretty and nice, unfortunately.

Rust developer cancels community event due to death threats

Facepunch had planned to meet up with game developers and fans near GDC.

www.pcgamer.com

"The cancellation has been met with disappointed head-shaking on Twitter, but not a great deal of surprise. Death threats are a problem for everyone in the games business, from employees of giant corporations to solo developers. In recent memory we've covered threats received by Bungie, CD Projekt, Twitch streamers, and modders, which are just a few instances among many more."

Disco Elysium fans blast 'absolutely demonic' ZA/UM execs for new photo mode: 'it wasn't enough to rob the creators of their own work, you had to turn it into this meme ridden sludge, too'

"[You] know you will never produce anything with 1/1000th the artistic merit yourselves so now you have to grind it down for fertilizer".

www.pcgamer.com

"Over on the Disco Elysium subreddit, one of only two pinned posts is a detailed breakdown of just why fans are so upset about Collage Mode (the other pinned post? The Collage Mode announcement). The top-rated comment, from loudmouth_kenzo, reads, "Stealing another’s created world, one that had been developed over years and with the input of close friends, is not just theft of intellectual property. It is a crime that shows an internal rot, a black mark on the soul. Absolutely demonic." If the Collage Mode was meant to distract people from the struggle around ZA/UM, it seems to have achieved just the opposite."

 

[Fandraxx]

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but some of the old silver box games, which have been conspicuously absent from places like GOG and Steam (especially since the gold box titles were released ages ago), are finally getting a release later this month.

8 D&D classics including Spelljammer and a Silver Box bundle are headed to Steam and GOG

Spelljammer, DragonStrike, Heroes of the Lance, and more will join the great Gold Box games that came out last year.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[m7600]

I love the Gold Box games, they're so nostalgic : )

 

[Antimatter]

This has been generating a lot of bad comments online everywhere. We have a thread about using the AI for art, but how about... using the AI for game dialogues...

Ubisoft's new AI tool automatically generates dialogue for non-playable game characters | TechCrunch

Ubisoft announced that it's using an AI "Ghostwriter" tool to automatically write dialogue for some NPCs in its games.

techcrunch.com

Former Watch Dogs lead defends Ubisoft's new AI assistant writing tool

There's been a sustained backlash to Ubisoft's new tool since it was first revealed

www.gamesradar.com

 

[m7600]

AI is starting to appear more and more in all kinds of areas... I don't think it's necessarily a good thing, but it seems inevitable.

Not to go too off topic, but here's a case in point:

'Robot lawyer' DoNotPay is being sued by a law firm because it 'does not have a law degree'

DoNotPay, which uses AI to provide legal services, is facing a class action lawsuit filed by Chicago-based law firm Edelson.

www.businessinsider.com

There won't be any AI lawyers for now. But in 10 years, who knows?

 

[mlnevese]

As a Lawyer I can say there are AIs being offered to big Law firms that will analyze a case and even write legal documents. I've been offered one but it was totally out of my price range.

 

[m7600]

Just heard about this. Several women were drugged and abused at this year's Game Developers Conference:

GDC Was Reportedly Full Of Abuse, Drink Spiking, And Sexism

Multiple women were reportedly drugged and abused at GDC this year.

www.thegamer.com

 

[Antimatter]

Dungeons & Dragons is coming to Minecraft

Mojang and Wizards of the Coast reveal major D&D DLC

www.polygon.com

"Minecraft players will be able to explore the Forgotten Realms as classic D&D character classes and battle monsters like beholders, mimics, mindflayers, and — the most Minecraft-appropriate abomination — gelatinous cubes.

The story-driven Dungeons & Dragons DLC for Minecraft will start as many D&D adventures do: at the table, with players choosing their character classes and stats before they set off for locations like Candlekeep and Icewind Dale.

Mojang and Everbloom Games’ “blocky take on the world of D&D” will let players role-play as a paladin, barbarian, wizard, or rogue, and will feature a custom combat system. Players will be able to utilize skills — like the rogue’s backstab — and equip gear that affects their character’s stats in the action-RPG take on Minecraft."

 

[O_Bruce]

For the first time since forever I'm actually interested in what's going on in minecraft

 

[Antimatter]

Yeah, considering this is a completely separate adventure, it's such a win-win scenario.

"DLC has a "game within a game" scenario not unlike the recent Jumanji films, as the adventure begins in someone's basement. Players meet a DM there, who explains D&D's rules and helps them create a character based on one of four classes: Paladin, Barbarian, Wizard and Rogue. From there, they're thrust into the Forgotten Realms and undergo an adventure. Although it isn't fully open-world, it has several vast land and cityscapes for players to explore on their journey.

The Minecraft x Dungeons & Dragons DLC includes single and multiplayer options, simulating traveling companions in D&D. Part of the plot also involves a dragon that loses his body under mysterious circumstances and ends up sharing one with the player. According to the creative team, this leads to extensive banter between the player character and the dragon. Fans can also expect to encounter several famous towns and creatures from D&D, including Mimics, Displacer Beasts and Beholders."

Dungeons & Dragons Invades Minecraft in Its First Fully-Voiced Role-Playing DLC

Minecraft gets its first fully-voice acted DLC with a Dungeons & Dragons RPG-style adventure, including four class options, dice rolling and more.

www.cbr.com

 

[Antimatter]

Vampire Survivors won a BAFTA award! And not one but two! The best design and the best game. An indie game that costs like 5 USD. Wow. And finally.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1641550211624361986

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1641517548473556996

@alice_ashpool Are you a diviner?

Vampire Survivors is one of the best games of the year. And it costs <£2.00

That is all. It is great. Anyone else playing?

tavernrpg.com

 

[Chronicler]

Sonic Murder Mystery Visual Novel! Apparently it's an April Fool's joke but also a very real game you can play.

 

[Antimatter]

On the topic of bad PC ports: one of the best console games, The Last of Us, was released in a really bad state on PC. Here is an in-depth view from Digital Foundry:

The Last of Us Part 1 on PC: what we think so far

It's impossible to review an obviously unfinished game, but here are Digital Foundry's thoughts right now.

www.eurogamer.net

 

[Antimatter]

The developer of the game Unrecord has impressed the whole industry with how realistic the game video looks.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1649104852704690178

Steam page with more details.

 

[Antimatter]

UK is blocking the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft. Earlier The Financial Times reported it was expected to be approved.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1651181545409982466

 

[BelgarathMTH]

I'm curious whether the blocking of the deal in the UK means it won't happen in the US either. Was it an all-or-nothing deal?

 

[Antimatter]

On the topic of bad PC ports: one of the best console games, The Last of Us, was released in a really bad state on PC. Here is an in-depth view from Digital Foundry:

The Last of Us Part 1 on PC: what we think so far

It's impossible to review an obviously unfinished game, but here are Digital Foundry's thoughts right now.

www.eurogamer.net

If it continues, we'll soon need a new thread just for this trend.

"Not only one of the best Star Wars games to date, but a masterclass in blending genres, pacing, and emotional gut-punches", one of the biggest games this year, gets a trash PC version.