Tim Schafer: An Artist of Gaming

Known for his unique and creative development of video games, Tim Schafer was a great innovator for the gaming industry. He helped make games such as The Secret of Monkey Island, Psychonauts, and Brutal Legends, all with an immersive and unusual story.

Tim Schafer went to college at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. He had a chance to work at Lucasfilm Games. During his interview, he accidentally mentioned that he loved their past game called Ballblaster which was actually the pirated version of their game that is actually called Ballblazer. He was still asked to apply with a cover letter of his dream job, which he wrote in a form of a text adventure game. They hired him as a game tester at first. Later Tim was promoted to a writer and designer for the game The Secret of Monkey Island. The game was an adventure game that emphasized Exploration and puzzle solving. The sequel to the game was in development soon after the first one's release. Tim was offered a chance to work as a project lead on a sequel for Maniac Mansion.

During the time that 3D gaming started to rise in popularity, Tim wanted to make a game using the 3D mechanics, but didn't like the look of the graphics at the time. He then came up with the idea to make a game where the characters are 3D models of paper mache skeletons to merge the 2D look with a 3D feel. The game was called Grim Fandango. Although the game was a huge hit for critics in the gaming industry, the game did not sell well due to the rising trend for the shooter genre. LascasArts shut down Shafer's adventure game division.

Tim Schafer left LucasArts and started a company of his own called Double Fine. Microsoft liked Tim's idea for the game Psychonauts at first and agreed to publish it as an Xbox exclusive, then later decided to pull out. Many publishers rejected his game because it wasn't the popular trend. Finally, Majesco Entertainment took the risk in publishing the game, although the game ended up not selling. It's a game where you play as a kid in a government training summer camp learning to use his psychic abilities. Although Psychonauts was not very popular, it started a tight knit fan base that wanted more games like it. Microsoft noticed this surprisingly large group of fans and decided to re-release the game on Xbox 360 on the marketplace.

Double Fine started developing a new game called Brutal Legends. The game was hyped up for it's comedic gameplay and it's rockstar voice actors such as Jack Black and Ozzy Osbourne. The game was well received by gamers but still wasn't a huge seller.

Although Tim Schafer has had struggles keeping adventure games on its feet, he successfully helped bring it to it's peak in popularity and watched as the genre dropped to the ground. Regardless, he is a developer that should be appreciated for what he has done to define games in a fun and creative way.

A Look at Stardrive and Stardrive 2

By: Zabcarno

A Look at Stardrive and Stardrive 2

            Stardrive is an indie 4x space combat strategy game and passion project from Daniel Diccio of Zer0 Sum Games. It is his first attempt at creating a commercial videogame. Most art assets that were made by Ariel Chai and the music was composed by Jeff Dodson. Developing a game is a huge task, usually done by whole teams of people with specific skills. DiCiccio however has done it almost entirely for himself thanks to the financial help of a Kickstarter back in December of 2011. So how did it work out?

            The crowdfunding was very successful, and DiCiccio received $17,676 for the project, more than doubling his goal of $7,500. The features listed on the Kickstarter included race customization, module-based ship design, ground combat, a research tree, diplomacy, and most importantly: multiplayer.

            Stardrive finally released on Steam April 26 of 2013. The core gameplay of module based ship construction and real time combat was available in its entirety and very much in depth. The 2D and 3D art was wonderful and dialogue with the other races immersive and entertaining, at least for the first time playing. The music was also very well done and stands on its own as a composition. Being able to control your own flagship in massive real time battles was so satisfying of a mechanic that it could have been made into a game by itself. Planetary governance, research trees, and artifact discovery were satisfactory and functioning. With open mod support, though inconveniently not through Steam Workshop, the game was extremely replayable.

            Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that the game was not exactly everything that was promised. Aside bugs the most glaring issues were a seemingly unfinished ancient alien side-quest that ended abruptly, and the absence of the multiplayer components promised in the kickstarter. The ground combat and espionage systems were also fairly bare, though they were functional. For every feature that was engaging and had depth, there was another that was either missing or unpolished.

            Some features, such as the ancient alien questline, have eventually been finished through ongoing patches but what has caused the most issue with players is that the game remains without any multiplayer component whatsoever, despite the kickstarter promising it. Does this make the money from the kickstarter ill-gotten? Were all the backers taken advantage of? It certainly isn't the first time a kickstarter has gone rotten, and this is not nearly the worst case. With nearly 200 hours played, I can advocate that the game as it is is fun enough, though I would like to play with friends. However, is “fun enough” enough for DiCiccio?

            On February 25 this year Stardrive 2 was announced. Zero Sum Games claims in a GamingShogun.com article that: “It will bring [players] back to the golden age of 4x gaming with familiar strategic gameplay while using the power of the Unity engine to push AAA visuals.” When asked on twitter for hints about the ground combat DiCiccio replied: “It's what it should have been the first time.” On whether multiplayer will be in the game, DiCiccio would only say that “I've learned the hard way not to make promises about multiplayer. Suffice it to say that it is a distinct possibility.”

            Owners of the current Stardrive will be given a 33% loyalty discount for a purchase of Stardrive 2, which may be available as early as September.

Star Wars Battlefront III Is Not Dead

Although the many issues with Battlefield 4 hindered  DICE Stockholm's production on Battlefront III, they are still set to continue developing the game to be released in 2015. The studio is currently working on the Battlefield 4 expansion, Naval Strike. Afterwards Stockholm will resume the work on Battlefront III and all other expansions will be developed by DICE L.A.  Patrick Soderlund said in an interview with Polygon:

"The most important thing for me is that we take the Star Wars license and come up with games where peoples' jaws drop," he said. "We need to do with this what we did for the Batman license. It's going to take awhile. We just announced the license and showed a sneak peek of Hoth. The speeder and the AT-AT will be in for sure. We didn't toss anything out."

There may be quite some time until we hear much more about the game, but we can be sure that we will know more about it in 2015. We can only hope it lives up to the expectations of all the Star Wars fans out there.

Trailer:

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Preview

Metal gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes takes place after the events of Peace Walker and precedes the upcoming game The Phantom Pain. Announced at PAX Prime 2012, the trailer showed intense graphical detail, a strong emotional theme, and some hints of story development.

The Metal Gear Series has always been known for its stealth. This game allows players to choose to play stealthily or go into the full action, although it rewards players more if they play stealthily On hard difficulty the AI know how to tactically flank Snake if he is spotted. They can also see him from a farther distance. At times when the player is spotted by an enemy, it will activate reflex mode where the player can react before the enemies can alert the others. You may turn this feature off to obtain bonuses from completing a mission without it. The harder the game is, the more rewards you will get.

Snake has many devices that will help him through each mission. Binoculars can be used to tag enemies to keep track of where they are throughout the area. They will also be shown on the mini map. You may turn that feature off any time. You can also gather information on each area by calling for Intel when looking through your binoculars. The binoculars have a directional mic built in so players can gain information by listening to an enemy's conversations with the binoculars. Players will be able to drive enemy vehicles without being spotted as long as they drive normal and do not draw attention to themselves. You may call an escape helicopter to arrive at certain landing zones. If the player orders the helicopter to land close to an enemy compound it will attract enemies to that spot to try shooting it down. If shot down, the player must find a alternate way out of the enemy territory.

The game is open world and will have side missions to complete throughout the game. The game will effect how you play based on the time of day, the weather, and the mission objective. Some objectives will require you to find a specific target. So even if you know your way around the map, it can change where the objective is. While in combat you can use CQC to knock out enemies, steal their weapon, or take them hostage.

A open world stealth game that rewards you for challenging yourself? Sounds like a definite buy. It uses the best mechanics from its previous titles and adds in much more. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will be in stores March 18th, 2014 for PS3, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360.

Gameplay Videos:

The Witcher 3 Delayed

The highly anticipated RPG,The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, has been delayed from Fall 2014 to February 2015. CD Projekt Red explained in a letter to fans:

"We know many of you would have liked to play The Witcher 3 sooner, as soon as possible, even. We're sorry to make you wait longer than you, or we, initially assumed you would. At the same time, we believe the game will prove to be worth the wait and meet the expectations you have of us. We believe The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be an exceptional RPG, one of the best, providing many hours of wonderful entertainment."

There is a lot to expect from this title considering it is said to have an open world that is 20% larger than Skyrim. With all these AAA titles that try to reach a deadline once a year, developers who have been taking their time polishing their game have come out with greater responses from the community of gamers. This delay can only improve the quality and entertainment of the final product.

Trailer: 

Titanfall Preview

Titanfall dropped in as a seemingly smash hit with it's announcement gameplay trailer at E3. Since then the game has had nothing but positive reactions from the gaming community. Jason West and Vince Zampella, who were originally known for the development of Infinity Ward, founded Respawn Entertainment. Using the funding provided by EA, they started off with their first project called Titanfall. This game seems like an ordinary first person shooter at first glance, but with the addition to special abilities, fast and fluent free running, and the use of giant mechs called titans, it takes on a new perspective of how shooters should be played.

Although the titans seem overpowered, they do have their advantages and disadvantages making everything in the game very well balanced. While the titans can withstand a beating and have heavy gun power, the soldiers will be able to get to certain vantage points and use weapons specifically to take out these monstrous machines. Players will even be able to take the risk of jumping on these titans and shoot at their wiring to do much more damage to it, leaving it helpless. Unless the pilot of the titan has certain perks that allow it to defend itself from these attacks.

Each players can customize their pilots after a certain level. They can choose their weapon, weapon attachments, abilities, and their titans abilities. All abilities give advantages to help the team win. Leveling up will unlock more weapons and abilities. Completing challenges will increase the player's XP and also reward players with burn cards. A burn card gives players a special ability they can use only once and will only stay active until death.

Gameplay feels polished and strategic. The AI interacts with players to either give them strategic advice or create a randomly generated event that makes the battle seem all too real.  There are teams of 6 players who will be accompanied by multiple waves of AI to fight each other. Players will be rewarded more points when they kill another player rather than an AI. Some of the AIs are robots called specters that you can hack to take control of and make an ally.

The maps are very well made. Each part of the map can provide tactical advantage on the enemy. Whether it be for cover, high ground, or running from the enemy, each bit of the map is easily accessible and maneuverable. After many playthroughs, players will find a starting route they like the most that will allow them to get the advantage if they run it right.

There is so much to say about this game. Overall Titanfall is a must have out of this years upcoming titles. Titanfall will be released on March 11th for Windows and Xbox One.

Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Review

Assassin's Creed Black Flag takes an interesting turn from it's predecessors. The story no longer follows the life and memories of Desmond Miles' ancestors, but now follows a new unnamed character who works for Abstergo Entertainment. This company takes the memories of employees' ancestors and turn them into products such as video games and movies. The protagonist is currently researching the life of Edward Kenway; a pirate who gets caught in the war between the Assassins and Templars.

Players must traverse the immense world to complete missions, find treasure, and explore the vast seas. The visuals are stunning. With the lush tropical islands, the vast powerful sea, and the well-designed cities the game looks amazing. While you run through the streets and across rooftops, it looks and feels smooth and realistic. The sound design however sounds quirky at times and repetitive. While swimming you hear the same two sounds over and over again. At points when you are near a person that is a mission objective, they may repeat a line 3 or 4 times in a row before changing what they say making it really noticeable that it is an AI.

Although most missions allow you to decide whether to sneak past stealthy or run through and kill everything, you do get a completion bonus for doing it without going into combat. There may also be another side objective such as killing enemies around a corner or inside a hidden area. You may restart from a checkpoint at the beginning of the mission to retry as many times as you want until you are satisfied with how you completed it.

Players will find themselves spending most of their time on sea. Their ship will encounter whales, hurricanes, and other ships that will seek to destroy them. The ship battles are fun but get repetitive after a short while. Controlling the ship may be a challenge at first but players will catch on fairly quickly. Upgrades will be available for your ship, armor, and weaponry as you progress through the game.

Overall, Assassin's Creed Black Flag gives a strong feeling of adventure. Exploring the tremendous world and learning your surroundings creates an experience that allows players to have strong control over the outcome of each mission. Although it may have moments where it feels repetitive, there is enough missions to choose from to enjoy the game in general. Even if you are not an Assassin's Creed fan, this game is worth picking up and playing through.