BioShock 2 DLC is Already On the Disc
Written by from on March 12th, 2010 | 0 CommentsTrouble is brewing in Rapture. The recently released Sinclair Solutions multiplayer pack for BioShock 2 is facing upset players over the revelation that the content is already on the disc, and the $5 premium is an unlock code. It started when users on the 2K Forums noticed that the content is incredibly small: 24KB on the PC, 103KB on the PlayStation 3, and 108KB on the Xbox 360. 2K Games responded with a post explaining that the decision was made in order to keep the player base in tact, without splitting it between the haves and have-nots. “The way our engine and game structure works is that people need to have the exact same content for people to play together,” wrote community manager 2K Elizabeth. “One of the challenges with post launch content for MP is that it can split the player base, and we want to avoid that whenever possible. For this content, creating the DLC package the way we did allowed for us to not split the player base – so whether you purchase the new content or not, you can still play with your friends.” The answer may not be enough to satisfy upset fans who would’ve preferred on-disc content unlocked from the beginning. But as Shacknews notes , it’s possible this content was made on a separate DLC budget. That would essentially force the company to recoup the development costs through DLC charges. It does raise the question of what will happen with future DLC. This pack is a large boost to the multiplayer, but 2K has promised more packs coming in the future, which could include more multiplayer expansions. If this move was made to keep from splitting the player base, one has to wonder if future multiplayer DLC is already on the disc as well. The effort to keep everyone playing together is noble, but if it leads to more instances like this one months down the line, fans will probably grow increasingly annoyed.
Gabe Newell: Portal 2 is "The Best Game We’ve Ever Done"
Written by from on March 12th, 2010 | 0 CommentsFollowing this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony, we were able to grab Valve’s Gabe Newell for a brief chat about Portal 2 , wherein he mentioned that he thinks it is the best game Valve has ever created. Here’s the transcript of our interview: 1UP: Was Portal 2 from the beginning always going to be a full price game? Gabe Newell: “One of the nice things about The Orange Box was it allowed us to try out a couple of different things, and Portal really seemed to resonate. We got the signals that we wanted — this is what people liked; this is what people didn’t like. And to us, it was like, ‘OK now we know how to take this big,’ so that’s what we’re going to do with Portal 2.”
Valet Hustle Wraps Gay Rights Support in Casual iPhone Title
Written by from on March 2nd, 2010 | 0 CommentsAs a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, Factory Games CEO Andrew Littlefield saw the effects of Proposition 8 first-hand. The controversial California ballot, also known as the California Marriage Protection Act, restricted the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples, thereby banning same-sex marriages. “My friends had spring wedding plans just prior to the announcement of Prop 8 passing,” Littlefield told 1UP in an interview. “I was there with him and his boyfriend, and he was destroyed. The kind of work that goes into [planning a wedding], there’s a lot of expectation. I can only imagine how I’d have felt 3 or 4 months before the wedding, and ‘oh, sorry, you can’t get married’.” Prop 8 itself wasn’t the impetus for Valet Hustle , a casual iPhone game recently released to the App Store. But the game’s themes and charitable donations are certainly an indication of Littlefield’s own passion and empathy for challenges of the gay community. Mechanically, the game is a casual iPhone title in the style of Diner Dash . Players manage a busy parking lot, satisfying customers quickly to progress through the stages. What sets Valet Hustle apart is its lead characters, Ren and Akira, who are a lesbian and gay man, respectively. This has earned it a 12+ rating on the iTunes App Store, for “Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content” and “Suggestive Themes.” In the case of both characters, the story begins when they’re thrown out of their school for kissing a member of the same sex. “For us it was more a question of ‘why not?’ than ‘why?’,” Littlefield explained. “When I started to write the backstory, my friend Lulu was supposed to be the inspiration, and she happened to be a lesbian. So rather than avoiding her sexuality, we thought it was a reasonable thing to include it. We thought it was important to start seeing more equal representation of people of all sexualities in video games.” He said the development team chose the iPhone because of its older demographic, which they thought would be most accepting of the game’s themes.
God of War III Team Considered Leaving Out Sex Mini-Game
Written by from on March 1st, 2010 | 0 CommentsHidden mini-games in which Kratos engages in various sexual acts has been a series staple since the first game. Speaking with UGO though, director Stig Asmussen admitted that he wanted to leave that tradition out of God of War III . “It was more a debate between me and several of the story writers,” Asmussen said during a God of War III press event in Los Angeles last week. “I was like, ‘I’d rather not have it in there at all.’” Asked what the purpose of the mini-game was, he said, “You asked a very fine question, and I felt sort of the same way. What is the point? If we do it, it has to have a point.”
Bungie Says Future is "Undefined" Regarding Possible PS3 Development
Written by from on February 25th, 2010 | 0 CommentsBungie is currently focusing on Halo Reach , but there’s no doubt that they’re also looking ahead to the day when they really go independent. For now though, the studio remains vague about their future projects, including whether or not they will be going multi-platform. Asked by Computer and Video Games whether or not the studio is planning to work with the PlayStation 3, Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard said, “I mean, I think our whole future’s kind of undefined right now and it’s definitely not something we’re going to be comfortable getting into too much detail about. “We’ve had another team internally [other than those making Reach] for quite a while now – they’ve been working on the genesis of what will become our next big thing.
Backstage Episode 2: Outsourcing at 2K Marin
Written by from on February 19th, 2010 | 0 CommentsHow 2K used multiple studios to develop BioShock 2.
Supreme Commander 2 Launch Center
Written by from on February 17th, 2010 | 0 CommentsSupreme Commander 2 Launch Center Get ready for strategic giant robot mayhem in our Supreme Commander 2 launch guide. continued… By 1UP Staff , 02/17/2010
Online Play in SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 Requires Special PSN Registration
Written by from on February 17th, 2010 | 0 CommentsBuying the newly released SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 and jumping into the online multiplayer isn’t as straightforward a process as it is with most games. Before accessing the online component, you’ll need to register your copy online through the PlayStation Network. This is done automatically for digital copies of the game, while physical copies will come with a voucher you need to redeem before being granted access. This is the latest attempt by Sony to thwart piracy of games on its PSP, but its effect might ultimately be felt more by the secondhand market than it will by pirates. Because the voucher can only be used once, playing a used copy of Fireteam Bravo 3 online will require the purchase of a special add-on from the PlayStation Store. Its price? $19.99. Sony Computer Entertainment of America’s John Koller spoke with IGN about the new initiative, making it clear that Sony is doing this as a trial. As such, don’t expect any other games to come laden with this DRM — at least not at this point. “Today’s consumers are more tech savvy and better connected to the internet than ever before,” he explained. “Piracy continues to be an issue of concern for the PSP platform. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 is a trial run for a new initiative we are exploring for the platform. We will continue to explore this as an opportunity for the platform going forward, but we have no announcements to make on future iterations at this time.”
Bruce Shelley Consulting on Settlers 7
Written by from on February 2nd, 2010 | 0 CommentsWe haven’t heard much from Ensemble co-founder Bruce Shelley since the studio closed down last year. The dean of PC strategy games is still kicking around the industry though, with his name having recently come up in connection with the upcoming Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom . The Big Download is reporting that Shelley is consulting on the upcoming Ubisoft title, as revealed in one of the development diaries. You can watch the video above.
Developers Reimagining Flight Control for iPad
Written by from on January 27th, 2010 | 0 CommentsHaving sold over 2 million copies to date, Flight Control is without a doubt one of the most successful iPhone apps available. And now that Apple’s taken the wraps off their new tablet, the iPad, developer Firemint is ready to take Flight Control to the next level. “We will bring an optimized and reimagined version of Flight Control to iPad,” reads a post on the developer’s website. “Like almost 140,000 other apps on the App Store, Flight Control will work perfectly on iPad without any changes from us, but we want to ensure a delightful experience on iPad that feels just right.” So what’s in store for the iPad version of Flight Control? Firemint hasn’t revealed their hand just yet, but they did hint that they’ve been working on the updated game well ahead of Apple’s official announcement this morning: “We started developing Real Racing before the iPhone 3G was announced. Similarly, we are already building our next generation of games for higher definition, more powerful devices than are available today. We like to imagine what the devices of tomorrow will be capable of, and invest in bringing our games to the next generation of hardware. The iPad announcement and Apple?s A4 chip have come at a fantastic time for us. We are working on some incredibly fun and exciting games that will look amazing on iPad and take full advantage of its features, as well as working brilliantly on iPhone and iPod touch.